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For all of Los Gatos’ magnificence and attraction, the town of 30,000 residents nestled in opposition to the Santa Cruz mountains has its share of challenges: a $3.5 million price range deficit, contentious debate over the best way to meet its housing obligations, and important upper-management turnover.
The arguments over the best way to plan for the town’s future is compounded by the continued presence of the Los Gatos Neighborhood Alliance, which opposes the 2040 Common Plan accredited by the City Council in June. The alliance is in search of to place a referendum on the poll at a future election that may ask voters to repeal the portion of the Common Plan that requires 3,196 housing items to be developed over the following 20 years, saying it’s unnecessarily excessive for Los Gatos.
Six candidates are working for 3 open seats on the City Council. Councilwoman Marico Sayoc is termed out after serving two phrases. We advocate Los Gatos voters reelect incumbents Rob Rennie and Mary Badame and elect promising newcomer Rob Moore within the Nov. 8 election.
Rennie and Badame disagree on the housing challenge, with Rennie voting to approve the Common Plan and Badame opposing it. However their expertise on the council will probably be important following the turnover of the city’s finance director, parks and public works director, HR director and police chief. Moore, 24, brings a wealth of political expertise for somebody his age. He’s good and prepared to hunt compromise on contentious points. His perspective could be a welcome addition to the council as it really works on its long-term technique for Los Gatos.
Rob Rennie
If reelected, Rennie could be the one City Council member with greater than two years’ expertise. He brings a balanced strategy on housing and demonstrates a much better grasp of the town’s monetary challenges and the best way to handle them than any of the opposite candidates.
Rennie was first elected to the Los Gatos City Council in 2014 and gained worthwhile political expertise by serving on the Silicon Valley Clear Vitality Authority board, the Valley Transit Authority and the Santa Clara County Housing and Neighborhood Growth Advisory Committee.
We didn’t advocate Rennie when he ran for the Meeting earlier this yr, however solely as a result of we felt Gail Pellerin was higher suited to serve in Sacramento. We famous then that Rennie is vibrant, articulate and would do a stable job if elected to the Meeting. That goes double for the Los Gatos City Council election.
Mary Badame
Badame was elected to a two-year time period in 2020 created when Steve Leonardis vacated his council seat in 2019 to develop into Monte Sereno’s metropolis supervisor.
Badame served on the Planning Fee from 2014 till she was elected to the City Council. She has been a Los Gatos insurance coverage enterprise proprietor for 30 years. She stays a powerful proponent of preserving Los Gatos’ small-town character, which led on to her vote in opposition to the Common Plan. However she helps the trouble to construct the two,200 housing items Los Gatos should full beneath state legislation by growing developer incentives.
Badame advocates elevated use of group service officers to scale back police division prices. She additionally helps Measure J on the November poll as a method to shut the price range deficit. The measure would increase an estimated $1.2 million a yr by growing the enterprise tax, which hasn’t been elevated since 1991.
Rob Moore
Moore is a particular tasks supervisor for the San Jose Conservation Corps, the nonprofit that trains younger adults to create transformational change of their communities. His focus has been offering youth with reasonably priced interim/transitional housing within the type of tiny houses, making him particularly well-versed on reasonably priced housing points. He cites planning for the housing required by the state his highest precedence. If elected, he could be the one City Council member youthful than 55.
For somebody who’s 24, he has exceptional political expertise. He’s a member of the Los Gatos Housing Component Advisory Board, which is charged with creating an implementation plan to satisfy the town’s housing wants. He’s vice chair of the Santa Clara County Fee on Equal Entry and Employment Alternatives, a member of the Los Gatos Full Streets and Transportation Fee, and a Los Gatos Chamber of Commerce board member.
He has additionally been an outspoken advocate in opposition to the appalling verbal assaults by protesters outraged on the city’s variety marketing campaign and LGBTQ help. Moore was one of many lead organizers of the Los Gatos United In opposition to Hate march.
The remaining candidates within the race are Los Gatos Planning Commissioners Margaret Smith and Reza Tavana and Sundown Studying Institute government vp Rob Stump.
Smith is the previous proprietor of Domus, the favored kitchen and residential equipment retailer that was a Los Gatos landmark till it closed in 2011. She is well-versed on points, however her positions on housing aren’t possible to assist Los Gatos meet its state-mandated objective. Tavana didn’t reply to our repeated requests for an interview. Stump calls defending in opposition to the specter of wildfire his highest precedence. His plans to make the town safer is commendable, however his strategy to fixing reasonably priced housing points is much less clear.
Rennie, Badame and Moore carry the most effective mixture of expertise and experience to maneuver Los Gatos ahead. We advocate them within the Nov. 8 election.
