Four candidates hope to succeed business-friendly Councilmember Dev Davis, who is terming out of her District 6 seat, which encompasses the neighborhoods west of downtown, including Willow Glen, West San Carlos and Fruitdale.
Alex Shoor, who leads Catalyze SV, a pro-housing nonprofit, is backed by various YIMBY (or “Yes in my Backyard”) groups. He also previously worked with the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority on public engagement around the BART extension. He has received endorsements from state Sen. Josh Becker and former City Councilmember Ken Yeager.
Angelo Pasciuti, 39, is running for elected office for the first time. After retiring from the U.S. Marine Corps in 2023, he moved back to his hometown of San Jose. In May, he unsuccessfully sought appointment to the San Clemente City Council, where he had been living before.
After losing a bid for mayor in 2006, real estate investor Michael Mulcahy is entering the race for a seat on the City Council. The San Jose native runs SDS NexGen Partners, which has invested in several properties around downtown Willow Glen, such as the Garden Theater, and the Sun Garden shopping center. He is endorsed by Mahan, as well as the Silicon Valley Biz PAC.
Labor unions are backing Olivia Navarro, 45, who works as an insurance agent and political advisor for a local labor union. In 2018, she helped to pass Measure T, a $650 million bond to pay for public safety and infrastructure projects, and has served as an executive board member of California Democratic Party Assembly District 28.
On homelessness:
- Shoor: Has said that the city should rotate its “sanctioned encampments” among the city’s neighborhoods, and that permanent supporting housing “is the true solution to homelessness.”
- Pasciuti: Believes interim housing is critical to help people “off-ramp from being unhoused as fast as possible.”
- Mulcahy: With construction costs high, he feels that building long-term housing is a “difficult pill to swallow” and that the city should double down on the mayor’s plans to build more short-term housing.
- Navarro: Said that the city can’t force people into housing programs, and should work on preventing homelessness.
On public safety:
- Navarro: Wants to shorten police response times to emergency calls and encourage more community cleanups.
- Mulcahy: Prioritizes fully staffing the police department. Like Mayor Matt Mahan, he also supports reform of Prop. 47, the law that reduced from felonies to misdemeanors most drug possession and theft valued under $950.
- Shoor: Wants to fill vacancies in the police force to reduce the number of officers working overtime, bolster the mental health services within the emergency system. In terms of traffic safety, he supports safer street designs and new cameras put up to fine speeding cars.
- Pasciuti: Supports better compensation for officers to increase retention. Regarding emergency services, he supports bringing ambulance services in-house, ending the city’s contract with a private ambulance company.
On the BART extension to Santa Clara:
- Shoor: Is open to eliminating the stop in Santa Clara, but worries that delaying the project further would create further cost overruns.
- Mulcahy: Believes that BART should terminate at Diridon. Those who want to get to Levi’s stadium from there should take the light rail from Diridon.
- Navarro: Supports the extension.
- Pasciuti: Supports the extension.