If you had bet me a billion dollars in 2007 that I would still be going to city council meetings — as a council member no less — twenty years later, I would have lost a billion dollars. If you had bet me a trillion dollars in 2020 that I would be running for mayor in 2026, I would have bet against that too and lost a trillion dollars. I am not very good at gambling. Which is why I do not do it.
I have learned so much about the city and how city hall works in the past six years of being on council, and what I know for sure is that things need to change. And that change needs to come from the top down.
Fiscal Responsibility: The only sure way to manage finances is to control spend, which seems out of control in a city with a $1.9 billion budget.
Maintenance and Basic Infrastructure: While other cities with a small fraction of our budget reimagine their downtowns and civic centers, Santa Clara struggles to maintain infrastructure and assets like our International Swim Center and Entertainment District while charging the residents with the most need – our youth and senior populations – for services others often provide for free.
Residential Supportive Services: I want to increase the responsiveness of the city to residential issues and build out more residential-supportive retail and activity areas; development should have more planning, and planning involves telling people what we want, and where.
As mayor I will promote local businesses, basic infrastructure, supportive services, individual rights, and the sanctity of all communities. I will refocus on the needs of residents so we do not continue to lose assets like our Downtown, Great America, the International Swim Center, and commercial services that made our city a leader in growth.
As City spokesperson I will cultivate civility and teamwork. I listen to, and am responsible to, the people. Together we will renew the promise of Santa Clara. We will restore vision in development. We will ensure fiscal responsibility and reduce expenditures. We will preserve and expand City resources like our Senior Center, libraries, pools, and parks. Future generations in Santa Clara will have room to grow and reasons to stay.
Let us realize the billion-dollar city that we are, the Center of What is Possible, in the Valley of Heart’s Delight.
And DONATE! Let’s get this bread.