SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – Among the applicants interested in the open seat last year, Grant McCracken was one of a handful that decided to run for city council officially. McCracken says he’s always been angling for a seat and chose this year to run. “I’m excited and passionate about representing the people and I’m hoping that we get better representation in city council.”

McCracken works in cybersecurity and founded vlkn.ai and DarkHorse. He says that he was in part interested in running for council because he witnessed the conduct at meetings. “But I’ve always wanted to get involved in government,” said McCracken.

His website states that he does not want public office to be limited to people with unusual amounts of free time, wealth or institutional backing, identifying himself as a worker, a parent and local resident who does not want to bend for outside incentives.

McCracken sees an issue with how difficult it is to participate civically and said, “I’d like to see civic discourse and engagement become more accessible.” A big part of that to him is trust.

“Trust and character matters to the people in this town. It’s something earned, not something you ask for,” said McCracken. “I think people can trust in my decision making as someone who rose up in my career, where I developed the skills to interrogate and process information. I think being inquisitive is an important skill because asking good questions gets to good outcomes.”

McCracken went on to say that he also wants to build trust so that people know he’s in their corner. “I’m incredibly passionate and I believe that the job of government and this role is steward the people and resources. Power comes from the people so the responsibility is to them.”

The next priorities beyond trust that McCracken has are a functioning year-round community, broader local economy, protecting Tahoe while allowing progress and providing core services.

“Housing is a major part of fostering year-round community,” said McCracken. He suggested looking at zoning and coverage, as well as enabling accessory dwelling units (ADUs) for housing as examples of what the city could do. “We can’t deny that we need to develop, but there’s a lot of nuance to that.”

He also suggested that the city could strike a better balance with vacation home rentals (VHRs) and making it less lucrative for outside investors to buy up homes, instead prioritizing responsible and local operations.

McCracken also emphasized the importance of fostering community in general, as he believes that the creation of better community engagement would result in better dialogue and more solutions.

He also wanted to look for economic opportunities for residents through education and trade, as well as incentives for businesses that are not seasonally dependent.

Overall, McCracken spoke on collaborating with agencies in the city to collaborate, as well as researching what the city’s capabilities are. “The role of city council is to ask questions that ensure fiscal responsibility and prioritize what the people want. Collaboration is not highly effective when there’s division, so there’s an opportunity to not be adversarial but to understand both sides and get to a shared solution.”

McCracken returned to speaking on trust as he discussed his campaign.. “There is an opportunity with three seats open to install a majority that represents the people and benefits them. I want the people to have trust and pride in our city and where we’re going… for us to not be dominated by special interest groups or known for criminal behavior.”

He continued, “I want the people to be able to look at city council and say, ‘They got us.'”

To read more about Grant McCracken’s campaign and platform, visit https://grantforslt.com/.