Editor’s Note: Due to a city clerical error, and through no fault of his own, the city’s website listed candidate Kyle Madej’s email address incorrectly. As a result, we extended the invitation for Madej to complete our candidate survey.

With a full slate of candidates, The Weekly wanted to give voters insight into each candidate’s position on a slew of issues we believe matter most to Santa Clarans. 

Consequently, we asked them seven questions, giving them the flexibility to answer as many as they wanted. We limited their responses to 1,000 words (allowing a bit of flexibility for how disparate word processors count words). Their responses appear verbatim. 

The Silicon Valley Voice will roll out each candidate’s answers in the days leading up to the election.

How do you think the city handled the Super Bowl and the FIFA World Cup this year? If you were on the city council, what would you have done differently? How would you balance the desire to have more events like these at Levi’s Stadium with neighborhood impacts?

Our police department did an outstanding job. I recently sat down with the Chief to talk about the World Cup, and he told me SCPD was recognized nationwide as one of the best safety providers. Other host cities even asked them to send officers to help prepare for their games. That is something every Santa Clara resident should be proud of.

However, I don’t think we did as well everywhere else. I’m a lifelong sports fan, and these are two of the biggest events in the world. This was our second Super Bowl, and the World Cup hadn’t been in the Bay Area since 1994. I’m not a policy expert, but I can tell you what I saw. Other host cities turned these events into something much bigger than the games, and we didn’t. Our local businesses and our sports community missed out, and a lot of the celebrating happened in neighboring cities. If I were on the council, I would have pushed hard to change that.  

Perhaps we could have turned Lincoln Ave/El Camino into a watch party zone with local vendors, food trucks, contests, and games for kids. Another option would have been using one of our parks for something similar, putting banners for each participating country along El Camino, or at least displaying their national flags. Any of these could have helped numerous local businesses in the short and long term. There is so much more we could have done to celebrate this event and the nations who were here.

I want more events like these in Santa Clara. But I think we only earn them back if the whole city is part of the experience, and I would want to hear from neighbors about their concerns before we say yes to the next one.

Over the past ten years, the city has added lots of housing but has floundered with respect to public amenities and infrastructure (the swim center is in disrepair, the convention center is falling apart and the BMX Park is slated to move, just to name a few). What more should the city be doing to prevent the loss of — or add more — public amenities and find a better balance between housing and public amenities, without asking residents to approve another $400 million bond measure?

I’m running because I see this every day as a homeowner, a dad, a coach, and a lifelong resident. The swim center, the convention center, and the BMX park are only a few examples. The BMX park is one of the last things left for our kids to do in Santa Clara. The arcades are gone, the bowling alley is gone (unless you count Valley Fair), our main golf course is gone, and our other golf course is about to shrink. We have added a lot of housing without the amenities to match, and that isn’t sustainable.

I don’t pretend to have every answer, but I know where I’d start. First, we have to take care of what we already own. That means setting money aside for maintenance and having a proper maintenance schedule so our facilities last instead of falling apart.  Second, we should look at our neighbors. Sunnyvale has added amenities without going back to voters for another massive bond, and they are right next door. I would want to sit down with their leaders, learn what worked, and see what we can apply here. 

According to Silicon Valley At Home, while Santa Clara does well to meet its Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) numbers for Low Income and Above Moderate Income households, it struggles to create housing for low-income households. What should the city do to create PERMANENT spaces for the poorest Santa Clara residents?

This is an area where I still have a lot to learn, and I would lean on housing experts and nonprofit partners. But I do know that housing only helps our lowest-income neighbors if it is permanent and affordable. As a lifelong resident and a coach, I’ve seen families struggle to stay in the community they grew up in, and it matters to me.

The city should look at land it already owns and ask whether some of it could go to affordable housing through long-term leases to nonprofit builders. I have worked closely with Homefirst of Santa Clara County and Abode Services just to name a couple.  A few years back I also was on stage with Governor Newsom at the ribbon-cutting of San Jose’s first tiny home community.  

I also want to be sure that as we add people, we add the parks, services, and places to play that go with them. I’d want to hear from residents and the experts every step of the way.

Silicon Valley Power has increased rates six times since January 2022 as the utility continues to expand. Would you like to see this expansion continue? With more data centers than ever, do you think SVP’s trajectory is in the best interest of residents?

I’d like us to explore a fair trade. Data center companies could build here, and in exchange for using SVP to run their centers, residents would see lower bills. Both sides would get something of value, and the city would benefit from the revenue. I know there is a lot more to work through before we approve any massive data center expansion, and I’d want to hear from residents and SVP experts first. But as a starting principle, expansion should directly benefit the people who live here.

Name some issues on which you would have voted differently from your predecessor and some that you would have voted the same. Explain why.

I have a lot of respect for Karen Hardy. She has been our council representative for eight years, and her work in government goes back much further than that. She has been one of the most influential people in local politics and a driving force on many issues. I wasn’t in the room for those decisions, and conditions were different then, so I don’t think it would be fair for me to say how I would have voted.

What I can tell you is what I would do differently: get out into the district more. I believe a district councilperson’s job is to represent the people who live here, and the only way to know what matters to the people of District 3 is to talk with them, answer their questions, and do that as often as I can, with as many different residents as possible.

How do you plan to balance neighborhood-specific advocacy with citywide budget and policy tradeoffs?

I see it as two jobs that I have to do at the same time. District 3 voters are choosing me to be their voice, so I will always start by listening to the people who live here and taking their concerns to City Hall. But once I’m sitting on the council, I’m voting on decisions that affect every part of Santa Clara, and I take that just as seriously.

I believe that what’s good for one neighborhood is often good for the whole city. A well-kept park or a safe street in District 3 makes Santa Clara better for everyone. I would work with my council colleagues and look for solutions that solve problems across district lines.

Other District 3 Post:
Eric Crutchlow District 3 Candidate