By Theresa-Marie Wilson
With only one meeting under their belts, rookie councilwomen Barbara Nicolls and Mariam Shah are ready are ready for their next four years at the dais.
Because both women ran unopposed, a trek down the traditional campaign trail wasn’t necessary, which means no raising funds, canvasing neighborhoods, seeking endorsements or participating in candidate forums. All of which makes an election bid a little easier on the candidates, but leaves the public wondering where their newest leaders stand on the issues.
The Coast News sat down with Nicolls and Shah to learn a little more about them.
Nicolls, 76, is a former bookkeeper. She and her husband, former Councilman Bill Nicolls, have been married for 53 years. Together they have two children, a grandson and a great-grandson. Her husband, who termed out in 2014, was a big influence on her decision to run for election.
“Bill and I got to talking about it, and it seemed like I had been being tutored for eight years,” Nicolls said. “It seemed like the logical thing to do. I like the direction the city is starting to move in, and I really want to keep it going that way.”
Shah, 38, was an attorney before becoming a stay-at-home mom. She and her husband, Asad, have two young children.
“In my last life as an attorney, I was a corporate litigator, but I was always more interested in working with people,” said Shah. “I had always been more interested in the political side of things. That’s why I ended up going to law school in (Washington) DC. I had hoped to go that route, but when I graduated I had all of these student loans, and I ended up going the corporate route. When we moved to California, and I became a stay-at-home mom, I was not super excited about going back to the corporate world. I was looking for something more on the community and political side.”
Both women have been on the audience side of city council meetings in the past, but last December they had their first opportunity to witness city government from the other side.
“I enjoyed the meeting,” Shah said. “I feel like we are functioning already as a pretty cohesive group. I’m sure that we are going to disagree at different times, but everyone is very respectful. I think everybody is interested in efficiency and really getting things done. It is exciting when five community-minded people want to get things done. It makes the next four years really exciting.”
“I thought it was a very positive experience,” said Nicolls. “There were a lot of people in the audience, which gives a whole different atmosphere to the discussion. It went really well. I was very pleased with it.”
The councilwomen hit the ground running playing a role in shaping the outcome of a challenging situation within the city. After numerous complaints from residents, the council began discussion about how best to handle increased problems with vagrancy at Ramona Garden Park as well as what is considered aggressive panhandling throughout the city.
“I think the core of it is getting the (county’s) 10-Year Plan to End Homelessness working,” said Nicolls. “It has been worked on for almost 10 years, and it hasn’t come to any fruit yet.”
Nicolls said that the county, the 5Cities Homeless Coalition, the People’s Kitchen and other related non-profit organizations and advocates need to work together to create the planned comprehensive day-use center in South County.
“We need to work as a greater community of Pismo, Arroyo Grande, Oceano and Grover to find a property that can house all of this and then help get the funding for it,” she said. “The cities have not been forthcoming with emergency locations that are reasonable or feasible for any long-term time. We have to get really serious about it and get things moving. “
Shah also supports a center as a stepping stone to a solution.
“We can’t tell our homeless citizens to leave the park when we have nowhere for them to go,” said Shah. “We have to focus on providing a safe space that can also function in our community and not bother other members of the community. That is going to be the juggle and the balance. It seems like people have always started with the best intentions and have hit so many roadblocks that they have sputtered out on this. We are hoping to come with new energy and maybe a little bit idealistic. We haven’t been beaten down yet, and we are going to keep pushing for this. We can’t give up on it.”
Grover Beach is on the completion cusp of some pretty big projects that have been in the works for a long time and are closing in on the final stages of negotiations before work begins. Standout projects include the 150-room Grover Beach lodge and conference center to be constructed at the end of West Grand Ave. as well as the installation of the fiber-optic broadband network.
Shah welcomes the progress, but hopes to keep key aspects of the city the same.
“I want to ensure that the town maintains its personality and maintains its culture,” she said. “I think that we have always been an affordable place for families to live, so that they don’t have to leave this area. I want to keep affordable housing here. Keep having opportunities that no matter how much good business, good hotels and good streets we get going here that it is still a welcoming place for people of al economic levels.”
Nicolls would like to see residents and business owners embrace Grover with a sort of kinship in mind.
“I would like to see neighborhood watch get awakened and running in Grover Beach again whether on a formal basis or just clusters of community members working together for safety, for neighborhood beautification and all those sorts of things,” she said. “I would like to see it become a more cohesive community instead of people who just live here and work here.”
Although Shah and Nicolls are each involved with five agency boards within the county in addition to their council duties, they do find time to enjoy a little fun away from government doings.
“Right now I am adoring my great grandson,” said Nicolls. “He’s 8-months and just started crawling. I’m baby proofing my house and all that stuff. I’m so excited.”
She is also the director of the Friends of the Grover Beach Community Library and will continue to volunteer with the Parks, Rec department.
“We are involved with more of the kids’ side of things around here,” said Shah, who has a 3-year-old and a 6-year-old. “We also do a lot of walking. One of our family activities is to walk down to the beach or maybe to get something to eat.”
She also enjoys cooking, which she says is a good thing because her parents and her sister are moving to the area soon.
Editors note—Nicolls and Shah took part in their second council meeting post interview on Jan. 20.
In their own words
Who was your greatest influence?
Barbara Nicolls
“It comes down to as trite an answer as my junior high English teacher. Mrs. Smith was elderly when I got to that level, and she had taught all six of my siblings, plus she knew my mother well.
I was very near-sighted but we couldn’t afford glasses for me and this “old bat” (as I thought of her) goaded me through two years of working off the blackboard from my seat to earn straight A’s in all my classes simply by making me realize I could achieve anything I wanted to achieve, and helping me learn how to do it.
This gave me the strength to step out on my own at 18 and take on jobs for which I was under-qualified, but had enough humility and self-confidence to learn to do them as expertly as I can, which is how I still conduct myself in personal and business relationships.”
What was the best piece of advice you were ever given?
Mariam Shah
“When I was a new mom, my daughter never slept unless she was near one of us and simply wanted us to hold her all the time. Many people warned us that we were spoiling our baby. We were friends with a much older couple that told me “You can spoil a child with things, but you can never spoil a child with too much of your time and attention.” It made me realize that giving my children my time, really listening to them and giving the people I care about my undivided attention are really the most valuable gifts I can give. I think that advice translates well when working as a councilperson because already, at times, I have felt torn in many different directions, trying to accomplish many things at once. However, if a constituent or co-worker wants to reach out and talk, I remind myself to take a deep breath, slow down, listen, process and utilize the information. It really is the most important thing I can do in my new position.”
