San José City Council, District 9

Why does this race matter?

After eight years representing the district, Vice Mayor Pam Foley is termed out of her council seat, leaving an opening in a district that includes the suburban neighborhood of Cambrian. Foley is an ally of Mayor Matt Mahan and a key member of his moderate majority on the San José City Council. 

Candidates

Genny Altwer
Genny AltwerBusiness owner
Rick Ator
Rick AtorProduct manager
Gordon Chester
Gordon ChesterInfrastructure engineer, city of San José
Mike Hennessy
Mike HennessyBusiness owner
Scott Hughes
Scott HughesChief of staff, Councilmember Pam Foley
 

Positions on Key Issues

Candidate summaries are based on interviews with the candidates, questionnaires, statements made at debates and public events, and past news coverage.

San José is facing a budget shortfall of $56 million in the current fiscal year. If you were on the council, how would you direct the city manager to balance the budget?

Altwer says, “We have to keep funding where it matters most, and I do think that's in our public service in first responders with police and fire.” She vows to examine city vendors that “aren't producing results.”
Ator wants to rein in cost overruns on the city’s capital projects. “Cost overruns, delays, scope creep. Those drain the budget year after year. What can we do about that to trim those pieces? Because there's a lot of things that just cost money because they weren't executed correctly.”
Chester proposes lowering the hours required for city employees to keep their jobs and benefits, rather than having layoffs. “So that way, after we break out of this poor budget cycle that we're in, everybody is still maintained, the institutional knowledge is still there.” In the long term, he is promoting more dense residential development, arguing “that is how we can build and broaden our economic tax base.”
Hennessy vows to fund police, fire and first responders, then look for cuts elsewhere. “There's grants that's given, some of those grants might need to be held back,” he says.
Hughes says he would work to avoid layoffs and instead “look at restructuring certain departments to make them a little bit more efficient.” He would also ask the county and state for funding to cover more costs (such as food or security) at the city’s tiny home communities for people experiencing homelessness.

Mayor Matt Mahan and the city council have invested heavily in building tiny homes for people experiencing homelessness. Do you agree with that approach?

Altwer supports how Mahan and the council have used transfer tax revenue (approved by voters in 2020 through Measure E) for interim housing. As a council member, Altwer would expand no-encampment zones and track whether people experiencing homelessness are moving from the interim shelters into permanent housing, so that “we don't have folks who are occupying interim shelter for years and years.”
Ator wants to look for ways to trim the costs of the city’s interim housing and also “prioritize the permanent supportive housing over the cycling we have now.” He wants to reserve local interim housing beds for “people with actual ties to District 9.”
Chester says tiny homes are “here to stay, but I do think we need to focus now on where do those people have a next opportunity.” He says the city should build more permanent affordable housing, “because that's how we're going to be able to see people that are in emergency housing be able [to] go to affordable housing.”
Hennessy disagrees with the interim housing projects, such as one in District 9 on Cherry Avenue, arguing they cost too much. He wants to set aside large areas for sanctioned encampments, modeled after a site in Salt Lake City. “The homeless, to me, could be in a camp situation where counselors should be there,” he says.
Hughes says the current strategy is necessary to reduce unsheltered homelessness. He touts his work building neighborhood support for the Cherry Avenue tiny home community. “We have 136 beds over there where we took folks that had been living along the Guadalupe River” and brought them indoors, he says. He hopes the state and county will help cover shelter costs, allowing the city to invest more of its money into affordable housing.

The City Council recently approved changes to tighten rules governing license plate cameras. Do you agree with the changes? What is your position on the camera program?

Altwer supports the council’s decision and emphasizes she does not want data from the cameras shared with federal immigration agencies. Altwer points to her experience as a former San Mateo police officer, adding, “I'm the person who understands how these processes work and knows how to ask the right questions to make sure that we're protecting community members.”
Ator calls the council’s move a “step in the right direction” but would push for a full audit of the city’s contract with Flock Safety, the provider of the automated license plate cameras, before supporting a renewal. Citing his prior experience with vendor contracts, he says that because of data privacy concerns “the original Flock contract would not have passed my review, absolutely not.”
Chester describes the council’s changes as “well thought out,” but says going forward, the council needs to take a hard look at whether or not to renew the city's contract with Flock. “I hope that there are other companies that are going to prove themselves to be even more protective of our information,” he says.
Hennessy supports the license plate reader program. “If we have a child abducted or we have a problem — the crimes that are [solved] are way more positive to me than somebody worrying about their privacy,” he says. He does support having some rules about sharing the information with “an outside source.”
Hughes agrees with the council’s vote and says the new rules will help the city remain “open and transparent to residents.” He points to the challenge of recruiting police officers and adds that “the job that these automated license plate readers do for our community, I think, far outweighs all of the things that could go wrong.”

What is your vision for making it easier to start and maintain a small business in District 9?

Altwer says she is looking at the issue from a “crime perspective.” She adds: “We have to make sure that we have enough law enforcement to conduct preventative measures to make sure that small businesses can also thrive without having to fear being victimized in some way.”
Ator contends that city permits take too long and cost too much. He would push to enact a 30-day “shot clock” for small businesses looking to get a city permit. “I'd set that … target: Earn a decision in 30 days or less and hold the department accountable to that.” He vows to publicly post quarterly data comparing business in District 9 to that of neighboring Campbell.
Chester is proposing the idea of an “accessory commercial unit” — small businesses operated on residential lots. “Something that fits the neighborhood, really brings out community, can help us meet our neighbors in a more organic way.”
Hennessy says he will bring an understanding of what it takes for a small business to thrive. “I've been in business over 40 years, running a business. I've been taking care of my employees from day one,” he says. “Somebody relocating to our district — there should be some sort of incentive for the landlord and the person to bring their business to town.”
Hughes points to his work helping small businesses maintain outdoor dining that began during the COVID-19 pandemic. “I've been working with a couple of restaurants, actually, here in District 9, to try and help them through that process so they can bring their patios up to the code so that we can continue to let their patrons eat outdoors.”

Key Supporters

This list represents notable organizations and individuals who have taken a position on the ballot measure or candidate, or who are funding campaigns in support or opposition. This list is not exhaustive, and may be updated.

For Altwer 

  • San Jose Police Officers Association
  • Santa Clara County Association of Realtors 
  • Silicon Valley Biz PAC

For Ator 

  • N/A

For Chester 

  • San Jose YIMBY
  • Santa Clara County Democratic Party 
  • South Bay Labor Council (dual endorsement)

For Hennessy 

  • Dave Cortese, state senator 
  • Cal Fire Local 2881 
  • South Bay Labor Council (dual endorsement)

For Hughes 

  • George Casey, City Council member, San José
  • Pam Foley, vice mayor, San José
  • Chappie Jones, former City Council member, San José

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