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Santa Clara County Supervisor Margaret Abe-Koga speaks at a City Council meeting at City Hall in Mountain View on Jan. 13. Photo by Seeger Gray.<\/p>\nSanta Clara County Supervisor Margaret Abe-Koga speaks at a City Council meeting at City Hall in Mountain View on Jan. 13. Photo by Seeger Gray.<\/p>\n
It has been an eventful first year on the job for Santa Clara County Supervisor Margaret Abe-Koga. Since joining the board last January, Abe-Koga has had to tackle a massive budget deficit<\/a>, exacerbated by $1 billion in lost revenue<\/a> that the county expects to incur from federal spending cuts under the Trump administration.<\/p>\n The proposed cuts<\/a> have targeted state and county programs that rely on federal dollars for services including health care<\/a>, affordable housing<\/a>, food assistance<\/a> and child care<\/a>.<\/p>\n The past year has been challenging but not insurmountable, Abe-Koga told this publication in a recent interview reflecting on her first year on the county board. If anything, it has reinforced her top priority \u2013 getting the county\u2019s $13.5 billion budget in a good place.<\/p>\n \u201cI know it\u2019s not the most exciting topic, but it\u2019s the foundation for everything else that the county can do,\u201d said Abe-Koga, who represents nine cities in the north county, including Mountain View and Palo Alto.<\/p>\n Abe-Koga<\/a>, a former Mountain View City Council member, clinched the seat<\/a> representing District 5 on the Board of Supervisors in the November 2024 election. She defeated Sally Lieber<\/a>, who also previously served on the Mountain View City Council and currently sits on the California State Board of Equalization.\u00a0<\/p>\n The two contenders, while aligning on some policy areas, diverged on issues<\/a> including homelessness, policing and rent control. On the campaign trail, Abe-Koga also stressed ways to trim costs as well as to generate revenue to help close the county\u2019s budget deficit.\u00a0<\/p>\n Funding issues ended up taking center stage in 2025, as the county grappled with federal cuts.<\/p>\n In November, Santa Clara County voters approved a sales tax increase<\/a> to help offset some of the federal cuts, which are expected to have a big impact on Medi-Cal, a state program that provides health care to low-income residents. The 5\/8-cent general sales tax is projected to generate $330 million in annual revenue for five years.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have some good foundations that we\u2019re laying down right now,\u201d Abe-Koga said, adding that the board also was working towards ensuring more budget transparency and accountability.<\/p>\n Even so, Abe-Koga noted that the sales tax will not cover the entire budget deficit but rather buys the county more time to minimize impacts to services, especially for programs that rely heavily on county funding.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re not going to just eliminate things,\u201d Abe-Koga said, giving the example of allcove Palo Alto<\/a>, a youth mental health center that local students have rallied to protect. Instead, Abe-Koga says she supports keeping critical services intact while looking for more streamlined and cost-efficient solutions.<\/p>\n Abe-Koga also stressed the importance of self-sufficiency, especially with respect to the county\u2019s budgetary needs.<\/p>\n \u201cWe can\u2019t really depend or lean on the federal government \u2013 or even the state government at times \u2013 because of what could happen politically,\u201d she said. \u201cWe have to be more independent frankly and come up with our own resources to be able to continue to provide services.\u201d<\/p>\n Reacting to Stanford\u2019s development plans<\/p>\n While Abe-Koga emphasized the need for more self-sufficiency, she also highlighted the importance of collaboration and working towards shared goals with regional partners, like Stanford University.<\/p>\n Several years ago, Stanford abandoned an ambitious campus growth plan<\/a> after failing to reach a development agreement<\/a> with the county that would set the parameters for the growth. Stanford is now teeing up a new plan<\/a> that would add a lot more academic spaces and housing on campus. As before, the plan would require the county to approve a general use permit for the university.<\/p>\n Abe-Koga envisions that an agreement with Stanford will involve extended discussions about community benefits, not dissimilar to how Mountain View has negotiated concessions<\/a> from large corporations like Google.<\/p>\n \u201cWe required community benefits from Google and other entities that want to expand in the city, and I would expect the same from Stanford,\u201d Abe-Koga said.<\/p>\n Abe-Koga also noted that growth was likely inevitable but that it was important to work with the surrounding community and mitigate impacts, like traffic and other environmental concerns.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s always going to be externalities that come out of growth,\u201d Abe-Koga said, adding that there are still a lot of benefits to working with Stanford. \u201cIt can be a win-win situation.\u201d<\/p>\n Trying to expand beyond safe parking lots<\/p>\n Abe-Koga noted that the county still has a big role to play in promoting affordable housing, especially in the north county, which has some of the highest housing costs<\/a> in the state.<\/p>\n Abe-Koga expressed particular concerns about meeting the needs of the county\u2019s unhoused population. She said she was disappointed with the results of the county\u2019s most recent<\/a> \u201cpoint in time count,\u201d a report that captures the number of sheltered and unsheltered individuals on a single night in January.<\/p>\n Mountain View\u2019s homeless population spiked 56%<\/a> over the last two years, with the vast majority of unhoused people residing in vehicles, according to the report. Countywide, the homeless population also increased but less steeply.<\/p>\n Abe-Koga described the trend as a setback, especially since Mountain View has invested a lot of resources in its homeless response strategy<\/a> and has one of the largest safe parking lot programs<\/a> in the Bay Area.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s just not sustainable,\u201d Abe-Koga said. \u201cNumber one, to continue to put resources in and see numbers go up and not go down. And two, it doesn\u2019t incentivize other communities to want to do the same.\u201d<\/p>\n Abe-Koga, who is a proponent of safe parking lots, says she would like to see a \u201cfull spectrum of strategies\u201d to meet the needs of the unhoused population, which she described as extremely diverse.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have to try to tailor and to meet people where they are,\u201d Abe-Koga said. \u201cWe have to offer different options, and safe parking is one of them.\u201d<\/p>\n Looking to boost public transit funding<\/p>\n Another top priority for Abe-Koga is accessible and reliable public transit. Abe-Koga has sat on several transportation agency boards, including Santa Clara County Valley Transit Authority, Caltrain and Metropolitan Transportation Commission.<\/p>\n \u201cI call it the trifecta of transportation agencies,\u201d Abe-Koga laughed, adding that she wants to make sure mass transit continues.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/PA_STANFORD-CAMPUS_Oct2025_WEB_06.jpg\")
A person walks through a gate on Stanford University\u2019s campus in Palo Alto on Oct. 7, 2025. Photo by Seeger Gray.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/46688_original.jpg\")
RVs at the Shoreline safe parking lot on Jan. 4, 2023. Photo by Magali Gauthier.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/CALTRAIN_Sep2025_WEB_02-2.jpg\")
Passengers board a Caltrain in Mountain View on Sept. 16, 2025. Photo by Seeger Gray.<\/p>\n