Meet the District 5 Candidates, Santa Clara

On Aug. 30, The Weekly submitted the following questions to District 5 candidates — incumbent Suds Jain and challenger David Kertes. Candidates had until Sept. 13 to reply.

After multiple attempts to reach Kertes, the candidate chose not to reply.

Below are the answers The Weekly received from the candidates. Answers are presented verbatim.

What are the biggest resident concerns in your district?

Jain: I would say we have 4 major concerns in District 5. The first is getting our downtown built now that we have passed the Specific Plan with form-based codes which allows developers to know what they can build without needing to do a separate EIR. The second is impacts of University students on residents. We have loud parties with red Solo cups littering our streets and many student cars parking on the streets. The third is homelessness as we regularly have unhoused people at the Franklin Mall. The fourth is preserving historic homes and character of the Old Quad. 

Do you support the Neighborhood University Relations Committee? Explain why.

Jain: I do support the NURC because it keeps pressure on the University to do more to minimize student impacts on our neighborhoods. While NURC rarely has action items to be referred for council action, it is a great forum for SCU leaders to hear from neighbors as well as the police department. I expect that NURC had influence on SCU to make Freshman and Sophomores live on campus. I want to establish a NURC-like committee to address issues at Levi’s Stadium.

Do you support Reclaiming Our Downtown?

Jain: Yes, I have often complained that my wife and I had to go to downtown Campbell, Mountain View or Sunnyvale to enjoy an evening out. I attended many meetings of the Downtown Community Task Force and supported the idea of form-based code to promote the density we need and the aesthetics that will draw people to the area. I think that after 44 meetings of the Task Force they came up with a good plan that should attract developers once the interest rates come down.

What would you do to promote a collegial and respectful city council?

Jain: I have tried to greet Kathy Watanabe and Lisa Gillmor every time I see them at an event and am usually rebuffed. Often Councilmember Watanabe pretends to not see me. I hear that other councilmembers receive the same treatment from Watanabe and Gillmor so unfortunately I see little prospect of things improving. Hopefully trainings recommended in the Grand Jury report will help but only if ALL councilmembers do the trainings.

What are your thoughts on negative campaigning? Unless you support such campaigning, how do you plan to address the inevitable campaigns targeting your opponents? If you support such campaigning, please explain why.

Jain: There are many levels of negative campaigning so it’s hard to make blanket statements. For example, pointing out my opponent’s lack of experience could be considered negative campaigning. Certainly lying and making false accusations crosses the line. I will not do that and hope that no one else will be doing that. It seems that there have been push polls on both sides. I don’t know who is doing those polls. I don’t communicate with any PACs. I don’t take any money from any special interest – not PACs, 49ers, unions, or businesses. 

What actions would you take with respect to the long-stalled Related project? What is your opinion of Related’s new plan?

Jain: As a planning commissioner, I opposed the size of the Related project. I much preferred a smaller project. I also asked for them to pay option payments for locking up our land for 15 years. I didn’t like the idea of an exclusive negotiating agreement (ENA). COVID changed everything as did Amazon. As people work from home the demand for office space is way down. Also brick and mortar retail is struggling. I agree that Related needed to change their plan and the new plan makes sense. I wish there was more housing in this plan.

How can Santa Clara benefit from hosting the Super Bowl and the World Cup? What do you plan to do to ensure this?

Jain: I opposed the Stadium coming to Santa Clara. The Stadium has certainly put Santa Clara on the map because so many people around the world follow the 49ers and the tour dates of Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran and Beyonce. Billions of people around the world will know Santa Clara because of the Super Bowl and World Cup. But how does that benefit Santa Clarans? I opposed spending $2 million on the SuperCommunities events around SB50. Big events such as these are often money losers. We need to ensure that the Bay Area Host Committee covers all City expenses.

What initiatives have you supported during your tenure on the council that demonstrate your priorities?

Jain: I pushed for the Homelessness Task Force and money for outreach to unhoused people. I advocated for form-based codes in the Downtown Plan. I pushed for deeper levels of affordability for inclusionary housing at the Patrick Henry Specific Plan. I was the key driver to get VTA to change the Santa Clara BART station design to have the at-grade concourse, saving $75M. I pushed for retention of City council emails for 2 years to improve transparency and accountability. I also pushed for more aggressive carbon reduction targets in our Climate Action Plan (80% by 2035).

Election day is Nov. 5, 2024. To register to vote, visit the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters website. The deadline to register to vote is 15 days before the election.