After the City Council appointed him in January, Councilmember Arjun Batra is running to keep his seat in District 10 in South San Jose, southwest of Highway 85.
Batra, a retired Intel employee, has served on different city-led committees to help improve technology practices. He and his family have lived in the district for 40 years.
Though Batra won the appointment, Mayor Matt Mahan had backed George Casey, who currently serves as a representative on the planning commission. The corporate lawyer, with masters degrees in Urban Planning from San Jose State and Real Estate from UC Berkeley, is making another attempt at the seat, though this time he will appeal directly to voters rather than the City Council. He has been endorsed by the police officers’ association.
The business-friendly Silicon Valley Biz PAC offered a dual endorsement of Casey and Batra.
Lenka Wright, a former broadcast journalist who now works as a communications director for the city of Mountain View, is also tossing her hat into the ring. Wright, 52, moved to San Jose in 2010, and says that she wants to make the city as great as it was then. She is endorsed by the South Bay Labor Council, as well as City Councilmembers Dev Davis, Omar Torres and Sergio Jimenez.
On homelessness and Measure E:
- Batra: Prioritizes interim housing, because the city can’t wait for the time it takes to develop longer-term housing “when we have 4,000 people sitting unsheltered,” he said.
- Casey: “You can’t solve homelessness with the million-dollar-a-unit housing, it takes too long. We need the quicker-build homes.”
- Wright: Wants to see the funding go toward permanent supportive housing, as Measure E intended. “Let’s follow through with the will of the voters.”
On public safety:
- Casey: Advocates repealing Prop 47. “A state-level law is preventing us from policing and dealing with retail theft.” To help retain more cops, he advocates creating a down-payment assistance program.
- Batra: In addition to attempting to fill vacancies in the police department, wants to invest in more technology to fight retail theft.
- Wright: Wants to see better retention among officers, and also shift some police responsibilities to unarmed community service officers.