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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.

On 22 March 2025, I gave a talk on Origami at the Triton Museum in Santa Clara that touched on the history of paper folding and how it has progressed from ancient times to modern day. While every culture that has paper has a tradition of paper folding, we often use the Japanese term “origami” (literally “fold” and “paper”) because of Akira Yoshizawa’s contributions to the art.

I thank everyone who attended, especially my friend Maria who took the above photos of the event! Thank you all!

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The section below was for planning purposes…

Kevin is a scientist and engineer with over 30 years of experience in many high tech companies in Silicon Valley. With degrees in Aero/Astronautics and Mechanical Engineering Design from Caltech and Stanford, he has worked in a variety of technical roles, designing Unix servers for Unisys, developing testing frameworks for startup companies, and working as an engineer on the Enterprise Team at Google. Kevin has also worked in a number of AI companies, most recently serving as the Head of Engineering at a startup specializing in the productionization of machine learning models.

But long before his engineering career, Kevin’s passion for Origami (Korean: 종이 접기) took root in his childhood, shaping the way he sees the world. For him, Origami is not just about folding, it is about perception, about being able to discern prominent aspects and translate them to an audience. Origami is a social experience, and sharing models is just as much about what you see as being able to see through the eyes of others. Through Origami, Kevin has learned to view problems differently, exploring what others may or may not notice in the simplest of subjects. Now, he finds joy not just in the technical aspects of Origami with complex models and realistic designs, but in understanding the unique differences that make each subject distinct in the simplest of terms, and in rediscovering the pure, unadulterated vision of children – and sometimes child-like adults.

I want to thank everyone so much for contributing to my campaign and the future of Santa Clara!

I am not taking donations from any special interests, which means that all funds raised during my campaign will be from residents and individuals, just like you. While I may seek endorsements, I am also not accepting any monetary contributions from the organizations that give the endorsements.

I would encourage people to give smaller amounts and convince more like-minded people to contribute.