Lamar Heystek

{{Infobox_Politician
| image = Lamar heystek profile.jpg
| name =Lamar Heystek
| office = Member of the [[Davis City Council]]
| term_start = 2006
| party = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1979|02|17}}
| birth_place =
| death_date =
| death_place =
| residence = [[Davis, California]]
| religion =
| spouse =
| alma_mater=[[University of California, Davis]]
| website = http://cityofdavis.org
}}
'''Lamar Heystek''' (born February 17, 1979), [[United States|American]] politician, has been a member of the Davis City Council since 2006.

He was born in [[San Leandro, California]], was educated at [[University of California, Davis]], is currently a councilmember for the Davis City Council, and the coordinator of Youth Programs at the [http://www.yolofrc.org | Yolo Family Resource Center]. <ref>City of Davis Bio: [http://cityofdavis.org/cmo/bio.cfm?id=15]</ref>

==Personal Life and Education==

Lamar grew up in the Bay Area and attended [[San Leandro High School]]. He is a graduate of [[UC Davis]], where he earned his B.A. Degree and M.A. Degree in Political Science and Linguistics. He taught as a lecturer of Linguistics at [[UC Davis]] and served the city of Davis on several municipal boards, including the City of Davis Recreation & Park Commission, Open Space Commission, and Finance & Budget Commission.

Lamar is the son of René and Yeap Nee Heystek. His father, René, was interned in a concentration camp with his family during the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies in World War II. In 1959, he settled in [[San Leandro, California]], where President [[John F. Kennedy]]’s call to service inspired him to join the [[Peace Corps]]. On his mission to Malaysia, he met Yeap Nee Cheam, and they married in 1976. After returning from Malaysia, René began a career as a teacher in the [[Oakland Unified School District]] in 1977 and retired in 1999. This tradition of service has inspired all three of his children to follow in his footsteps: Councilmember Heystek’s siblings are [[United States Marine Corps]] Staff Sergeant Loretta Heystek and two-term San Leandro School Board Member Louis Heystek, his twin brother.

In 1997, Councilman Heystek became an active union member with the [[United Food and Commercial Workers]] Local 588. He worked for Safeway until 2006 when he resigned to run for city council.

==Political career==
===City Council===
[[Image:Davis city council2007.jpg|thumb|300px|Lamar Heystek (far left) and the Davis City Council in 2007.]]
On June 6, 2006, Lamar Heystek was elected to the Davis City Council, a major victory for the student vote, as he presented himself as a councilmember that would pay attention to the needs of the students, who are a significant portion of the Davis voting population.

As a member of the city council, Heystek has been a proponent of smart growth and sustainable development, and is a defender of renter's rights, having voted to prohibit landlords from forcing renters to remove political signs from their windows.<ref>Davis City Council Meeting Minutes 1/8/08: http://cityofdavis.org/meetings/council/01-08-07.pdf</ref>

The modified Davis City Code reads as follows:
<blockquote>
(8) Not withstanding any lease to the contrary, no landlord or lessor shall prohibit a tenant lawfully in possession from posting political signs. Political signs may be posted or displayed in the window, on the balcony, or on the door of the premises leased by the tenant in a multifamily dwelling, or from the yard, window, door, balcony, or outside wall of the premises leased by a tenant of a single family dwelling.<ref>Davis Municipal Election Code 12.01.120: http://www.cityofdavis.org/cmo/citycode/detail.cfm?p=12&q=2604</ref>
</blockquote>

Heystek believes that open space in Davis should be preserved for green technology startup companies,<ref>California Aggie, 12/4/08: http://www.theaggie.org/article/2174</ref> and wants to see more lower and middle-class home ownership opportunities in Davis, and supported limiting home appreciation amounts as an alternative to sprawl.<ref>California Aggie, 5/20/08: http://www.theaggie.org/article/812</ref>

One of Heystek's biggest fights on the city council has been advocating for a living wage ordinance. During his successful city council race in 2006, he framed the issue of living wages as one of social justice. In 2006, he introduced an ordinance that would require billion-dollar retail employers to provide their employees with living wages.<ref>Voices of Action: From Clerk to City Council: http://spring2007.voice-of-action.org/lamarheystek.htm</ref>

Heystek's plan called for a living wage of $14.21 per hour without health coverage, or $12.71 per hour with health coverage.<ref>California Aggie, 9/29/08: http://theaggie.org/article/1374</ref>

<blockquote>
'' “Companies that have huge yearly profits can well afford to treat their employees fairly and pay them a living wage,”''<ref>Voices of Action: From Clerk to City Council: http://spring2007.voice-of-action.org/lamarheystek.htm</ref>

''"This should be more than symbolic, this should actually help people."<ref>California Aggie, 9/29/08: http://theaggie.org/article/1374</ref>

<blockquote>
"''This would enable our most vulnerable population to afford our most affordable housing."<ref>California Aggie, 9/29/08: http://theaggie.org/article/1374</ref>
</blockquote>

<blockquote>
“''Employees of big-box retailers often depend on public health care, subsidized housing and other taxpayer-funded services. That’s an indirect subsidy of large corporations. When all companies pay a living wage, it levels the playing field for companies that behave responsibly.”<ref>Voices of Action: From Clerk to City Council: http://spring2007.voice-of-action.org/lamarheystek.htm</ref>''
</blockquote>

''-''Heystek on the living wage ordinance

Heystek offered the following opinion on California's Proposition 83, which requires lifetime GPS monitoring for felony registered [...] Offenders, and increases penalties for violent [...] offenders and child molesters<ref>[...] Offenders. Sexually Violent Predators. Punishment, Residence Restrictions and Monitoring Initiative Statute: http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/vig_06/general_06/pdf/proposition_83/entire_prop83.pdf</ref>:

"I am not sure whether all these individuals would be subject to GPS tracking provision of Proposition 83, but allowing local law enforcement officials to know whether high-risk offenders are deliberately approaching schools, parks and other sensitive areas in Davis makes sense. My concern is that the emphasis should be on prevention not just through legal consequences, but also through clinical intervention."<ref>California Aggie, 4/22/08: http://theaggie.org/article/441</ref>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==

[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American political candidates]]
[[Category:1979 births]]