As mayor, his priorities include housing, empowering youth and families, improving street safety<\/a> and traffic<\/a>, emergency preparedness, environmental stewardship<\/a> and supporting small businesses.<\/p>\n Moore became interested in politics while attending California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, where he received a bachelor\u2019s degree\u00a0in political science with a concentration in public service and urban planning. Involved with the student-run Cal Poly Democrats, he led a campaign for a ballot measure to ban fracking in San Luis Obispo County. He interned for former Congresswoman Anna Eshoo<\/a> and worked as a senior district representative for Assemblymember Gail Pellerin. He also did international vaccine advocacy work for the United Nations Foundation.<\/p>\n \u201cI very quickly realized the further away I got from the local, the less of an impact I was having,\u201d he said. \u201cAfter I graduated, I moved back to Los Gatos and got very much involved in the community. And after a little while, decided to run for town council<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n Voters elected Moore to the council in 2022 and he\u2019s up for reelection next year. He works as a policy aide for District 5 Santa Clara County Supervisor Margaret Abe-Koga.<\/p>\n Moore said although Los Gatos has cottage style homes perfect for young families, they cost millions of dollars. He said there are opportunities to create more affordability, such as the townhomes being developed at the former Los Gatos Lodge site<\/a>. It\u2019s a balancing act between creating deed restricted affordable housing, new market rate condos and preserving the existing affordable housing stock, he said.<\/p>\n Builder\u2019s remedy projects have proven a major challenge, Moore said. California\u2019s \u201cbuilder\u2019s remedy<\/a>\u201d law refers to a provision which allows developers to bypass local planning processes and zoning laws under certain conditions. Builder\u2019s remedy was triggered when Los Gatos missed its deadline to submit a compliant housing plan<\/a> to the state.<\/p>\n \u201cOn housing proposals, a lot of our authority has been taken away by the state,\u201d Moore said. \u201cIf the town denies these projects, the developer has every right to sue and they have legal backing to end up prevailing. We saw this with the North 40 Phase 1, which was our most controversial housing development. With that development, the town tried to impose conditions that the developer deemed unreasonable and made the project infeasible. The developer sued the town and essentially won.\u201d<\/p>\n North 40,<\/a> a 44-acre mixed-use housing development, is being developed where the area\u2019s last privately-owned orchard grove stood. Following years of debate and revisions, Phase 2<\/a> of the development is one step closer to a vote.<\/p>\n Moore said the only aspect the town succeeded in enforcing was a 35-foot height limit, which made the project less attractive than the developer\u2019s vision of a mix of cottage style homes and 40- to 45-foot apartment buildings. Instead, the developer created three-story townhomes with flat roofs.<\/p>\n \u201cThe town needs to be thoughtful about reserving political capital, resources, money and our legal bandwidth to push back on the developments that are the most out of step with the character of the town,\u201d Moore said. \u201cThere are going to be some changes. When developers put in a plan that complies with state law, the town is very much constrained in what it can and can\u2019t say.\u201d<\/p>\n Vice Mayor Maria Ristow<\/a> said Moore has created a previously unseen level of outreach through social media and his newsletter. She appreciates his effort to make regional connections with neighboring councils and higher levels of government. She said his past work with Pellerin allows him to bring an understanding of how state level housing laws impact Los Gatos, and his work with Abe-Koga provides insight into the county budget.<\/p>\n Ristow said Moore is respectful when he speaks to councilmembers, ensuring they feel their voices are valid even when they disagree.<\/p>\n \u201cHe has a youthful energy and outlook, and he also reaches out to all age groups,\u201d Ristow told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cThey may not agree with everything he does, but he is sincerely hardworking, and he doesn\u2019t try to represent just one constituency.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_8367-1024x683.jpeg\")
Los Gatos Mayor Rob Moore and Vice Mayor Maria Ristow are sworn in. Photo courtesy of Rob Moore.<\/p>\n
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