The mayor will see you now: Folsom's Sarah Aquino has an open-door policy

Sarah Aquino is starting her new term as Folsom mayor by renewing a welcoming, open-door policy that has become her trademark. Every Tuesday, Mayor Aquino will hold open office hours from 2-5 p.m. During that time, anyone can come to city hall, walk into her office and talk to her about concerns, ask questions or just get to know her. "When I'm here, the door is open and anyone is free to pop their head in and chat for a while," said Aquino. Aquino was also Folsom's mayor in 2020 and held open office hours then, too. She points out that many people have never been to city hall, let alone the mayor's office; so having open office hours is a good way to connect with people and help them get involved. Aquino said in many ways she was influenced, or perhaps inspired, by her late father, Dave Cox, who was in elected office for decades. Cox served on the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors, the State Assembly, was Republican Leader of the Assembly, and served as a senator. Aquino has fond memories of her esteemed father being widely accessible to the communities he served. "I grew up in a political family. My dad held elected office in this region for 22 years, and he was first elected in a time when it was before cell phones and before the internet and email and all that stuff so he gave everyone his home phone number," said Aquino. "People would call once in a while but they certainly didn't abuse it. I mean, I give out my cell phone number all the time. "People don't call me and abuse it. They're sometimes surprised when I answer the phone though," she said, laughing. Aquino also just launched a new series called "Minute with the Mayor" on Facebook, which will consist of short videos, often giving helpful information to people about the city. This week's video introduced viewers to the basics of attending a city council meeting. "A lot of people, when they come to a city council meeting, they've never come before and they don't know that you can speak to an item, they don't know if you speak to an item where you stand, what microphone you talk into, all that kind of stuff. It's intimidating for a lot of people," explained Aquino. "I think we have an obligation to make it as easy as possible for people to participate in the government." Aquino also makes a point of posting the city council agenda on social media, and even highlights items the public may find especially interesting. And while she embraces the responsibility of providing as much useful information as possible, she said ultimately it is also up to the community to read the items she posts, so they can be informed. "I take my job very seriously. I enjoy it. I love the public part, I love the service part, so I have a lot of fun but I also take it seriously and I feel like I have a responsibility, so I just do the best I can," said Aquino. Aquino is optimistic about the city council, with new members Justin Raithel and Barbara Leary joining the ranks recently. She said she expects this new council to be collaborative and function well together. "Do we have some challenges ahead? Yes. But I think this is a council that is very policy focused. It's time for people to roll up their sleeves and figure out some of our challenges," said Aquino. As the Telegraph wrapped up its conversation with Mayor Aquino, some community members walked into her office with notepads, ready to discuss a number of topics. This is the part of the job Aquino loves, and she was more than happy to launch into a friendly conversation. "All of my colleagues are willing and happy to meet with the public. Our information is on the city website. For most of us, I think it's our cell phone numbers there," said Aquino. "So if the office hours don't work out for you, feel free to reach out, I'm always happy to talk via phone, text, meet you at a coffee shop, whatever."