Candidate Forum: Before You Go Vote

I’m a champion for Foster City’s values of being sustainable, smart, and inclusive. My husband Shawn, son Shai, and I are proud to call Foster City our home since we moved here in 2014. 

I bring a lot to the table, including my expertise in community building, communications, and collaboration on behalf of global companies across several industries. As a first-generation Chinese American, and the first person in my working-class family to graduate from college, I’m grounded in the values of strength, resilience, and community.

Other ways I serve our local communities:

As a Foster City Planning Commissioner, I have a track record of supporting equitable outcomes using qualitative and quantitative data to drive my decision making.

As a survivor of domestic violence, my work as a board member of CORA (Community Overcoming Relationship Abuse) is especially meaningful. I serve as the board’s Treasurer and Finance Committee head.

I enjoy volunteering with Foster City Village, a non-profit organization that helps local seniors age in place with dignity and care. I especially enjoy hearing people’s stories, and helping them with tech support so they stay connected to their loved ones, friends, and community.

I’m proud to be a founding and executive board member of the San Mateo County Asian American Pacific Islander Alliance, an organization that empowers AAPI people to be civically and politically engaged.

Richa Awasthi has been a dedicated resident of Foster City for more than 20 years. She has actively contributed to her community through various roles, including volunteering in schools, serving on city committees, and as a councilmember.

As Mayor and Councilmember, Richa has worked diligently to enhance the quality of life for Foster City residents. Her notable achievements include overseeing the Levee improvements project, the largest infrastructure project in the City’s history, which was completed on time and under budget. She has also focused on supporting small businesses, schools, and seniors, with priorities in public safety, infrastructure, traffic solutions, cooperation with school boards, and improving parks. Under her leadership, the city consistently delivered balanced budgets.

Richa has represented Foster City on several local committees and boards, including the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG), City/County Association of Governments (C/CAG), League of California Cities, Emergency Services Council, Peninsula Clean Energy Authority, Peninsula Traffic Congestion Relief Alliance (Commute.org), and South Bayside Waste Management Authority (SBWMA). She also served as a Board Member at the Joint Powers Authority Fire Board for the San Mateo Consolidated Fire Department and as an Ex-officio Board Member of the San Mateo Foster City Education Foundation.

Professionally, Richa has a 20+ year career in banking and finance, worked for some of the world’s leading banks.

Richa’s priorities are fiscal responsibility, inclusive representation, and a safe, sustainable enviroment in which all residents of Foster City can thrive.

A native of Foster City, Suzy is the daughter of a Fire Protection Engineer and teacher/homemaker who moved their 3 children to Foster City in 1965 before Suzy was born. Suzy attended Audubon Elementary School, Bowditch Middle School and Notre Dame Belmont High School. Suzy began dancing at 3 years old at the Hillbarn Theatre and took countless dance classes at the Foster City Recreation Center. Suzy can honestly say she has seen Foster City grow from mounds of crushed seashell to developments like Edgewater shopping center with a movie theatre and beautiful restaurant on the water.

Suzy received her Bachelor of Science degree in Business Finance from California State University Sacramento and her MBA from California State University San Jose. She began working for the City of Mountain View in 1989 as an Intern in the Finance Department and served 12 years as the Assistant Finance and Administrative Services Director, managing the Budget, Investments, Revenue, and Accounting Sections of the Department before retiring in 2021.

Suzy and her husband, Jamie Cavagnaro, met in Mountain View where Jamie was born and raised. In 2003 they decided to move to Suzy’s hometown Foster City to raise their two children, and quickly became involved in youth sports and the community.

A snapshot of Suzy’s community involvement:

• Foster City Little League Treasurer for 7 years
• Coach and volunteer for AYSO
• Team treasurer Peninsula Youth Soccer Club for 3 years
• 14 years volunteering with her husband in his work as a member of the Rotary Club of Foster City

Suzy has deep roots in Foster City and wants to see it continue to thrive with our beautiful parks, recreation, outstanding schools, and strong sense of community. She believes it is important for the City to be fiscally sound with a solid balanced operating budget. She believes it is important for the City’s leaders to collaboratively set clear policy and direction to staff to accomplish goals and complete projects timely.

I earned my master's degree in computer science from the University of Mumbai and successfully ran an IT consulting firm for 25 years. My family and I have proudly called Foster City home for 33 years, where we raised our wonderful daughter.

Until around 2016, my focus was primarily on raising my family and building my career, and I wasn't fully aware of the happenings at City Hall. However, a series of events during that period caught my attention. Over the next two years, I observed a councilman misbehaving and disrespecting residents. When that council member led the effort in late 2018 to deny the mayoral rotation to then-Vice Mayor Catherine Mahanpour, I joined forces with fellow residents to form a recall movement. 

We successfully recalled the council member after working tirelessly for over a year.

Since then, I have remained actively engaged with the city council. I have attended or watched every meeting and have kept residents informed about council proceedings through social media, emails, and texts. I’ve made it a priority to alert residents of important agenda items in advance and have acted as a community watchdog. Transparency has always been my top priority and will continue to be.