The City of Mountain View continues to see a growing pool of City Council candidates. There are four seats open for election and seven candidates vying for the seats.
First on the list is current Mayor Margaret Abe-Koga. Abe-Koga is running for her fourth term on the Mountain View City Council. During her tenure, she has focused on issues of public safety, transportation, environmental sustainability, youth and families and health and wellness. Abe- Koga represents Mountain View on regional bodies including the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, the Silicon Valley Clean Energy Board, the VTA Policy Advisory Committee, and the Santa Clara County Cities Association Executive Committee.
The next incumbent running is Council Member Lisa Matichak. During her time in office, Matichak has prioritized quality of life issues for Mountain View residents including cyclist and pedestrian safety, airplane noise and public health issues. She has also strived to balance city growth without diminishing existing services. Matichak represents Mountain View on a number of boards including the Airport Land Use Commission and the Bay Area Water Supply and Conservation Agency Board of Directors.
Former Assembly Member Sally Lieber is the latest candidate to join the race. Lieber served on the council from 1998 to 2002 before a six-year stint in the state Assembly. During her time in the Assembly, Lieber authored or co-authored legislation that increased economic equality by raising California’s minimum wage, protected the environment- including the creation of the San Francisco Bay Restoration Authority, and protected survivors of crime by introducing legislation that would ultimately reclassify human trafficking as a felony. Her top priority for Mountain View is preserving and building more affordable housing.
Former Council Member Pat Showalter, who narrowly lost her reelection bid in 2018, is seeking to return to the council for another term. Showalter served on Mountain View’s City Council from 2015 to 2019 and was selected Mayor in 2016. Among her list of policy priorities are housing, transportation, climate resilience, combating homelessness and fighting inequality. Showalter currently serves on the San Francisco Bay Conservation & Development Commission, the Santa Clara County Roads Commission and the Mountain View Coalition for Sustainable Planning Executive Committee.
Former Council Member Lenny Siegel, who lost his bid for reelection in 2018 has also thrown his hat into the ring. During his time on the Council and as Mayor, Siegel embraced social justice issues, urging Mountain View to push the envelope on building more housing while protecting low-income residents and expanding the city’s transportation efforts. Siegel, a longtime activist, founded and serves as the Executive Director of the Center for Public Environmental Oversight, a watchdog group that monitors polluted sites. The organization has been actively involved in the cleanup efforts at Moffett Field and other closed military bases across the country.
Next on the list is Mountain View Whisman School District board member Jose Gutierrez. Gutierrez, a patent litigation paralegal, joined the school board in 2015. During his service on the school board, he has been one of the more vocal trustees in demanding that Google provide sizable, centrally located land for school sites and stating that past proposals by the company had been insufficient. His top priority for the council race is economic development.
Last but not least is Alex Nunez, a community advocate and active member of the Mountain View Coalition for Sustainable Planning. Nunez is particularly focused on increasing the city’s housing supply and preserving tenant protections under Mountain View’s rent control law. He served as Co-Lead for two high profile campaigns in Mountain View which resulted in the defense of affordable housing protections against Measure D this last March and approval of the city’s business tax in 2018. While his advocacy has been on behalf of tenants and supporting anti-displacement measures, Nunez’s goal is achieving sustainable housing growth.
The seats up for grabs are currently occupied by Mayor Margaret Abe-Koga and Council Members Lisa Matichak, Chris Clark and John McAlister. Clark and McAlister are termed out. Mountain View votes for their City Council Members at-large.
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