The Sept. 27 forum was hosted by the Silicon Valley Central Chamber of Commerce, League of Women Voters of San Jose\/Santa Clara and San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. The questions covered some of the biggest issues facing the city, from housing and infrastructure to economic development and government transparency.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_1393-1024x683.jpg\")
Santa Clara Councilmember Kevin Park said council dysfunction has affected the city\u2019s ability to conduct business. Photo by Ashley Kang.<\/p>\n
Council discord<\/p>\n
Candidates offered different ideas for addressing the divisiveness that has plagued Santa Clara City Council meetings in recent years<\/a>.<\/p>\n Ferraris said disagreement is inevitable, but it should not prevent councilmembers from efficiently working together.<\/p>\n \u201cI welcome differences on the council and, in fact, with seven different people I would expect differences, but those differences don\u2019t need to become dysfunctional,\u201d Ferraris said.<\/p>\n Watanabe pointed to a 2024 Santa Clara County Civil Grand Jury report that criticized the council\u2019s infighting<\/a> and recommended establishing an independent ethics commission, among other changes. The report said councilmembers\u2019 inability to communicate respectfully and work together had undermined effective governance and city morale.<\/p>\n \u201c(The civil grand jury) had several recommendations that they made to the city. One of them was an ethics, an independent ethics commission. That was never done,\u201d Watanabe said. \u201cI would like to see that happen in order to help build cohesiveness, collaboration and democracy back on our council.\u201d<\/p>\n Park said council dysfunction has also affected the city\u2019s ability to conduct business, pointing to lengthy late night meetings, agenda management and times when the council could not conduct business because of a lack of decorum.<\/p>\n \u201cThe chair sets the whole game,\u201d Park said. \u201cThe chair sets the agenda, the chair decides how long we\u2019re going to talk about things, the chair decides whether people get to speak.\u201d<\/p>\n Data centers<\/p>\n The candidates also differed over how Santa Clara should manage and whether they should continue to approve more data centers<\/a>, which have grown to about 60, as their demands impact the city\u2019s infrastructure. Hardy said she supports a moratorium on new data centers while residents\u2019 concerns about electricity, water and other infrastructure are addressed.<\/p>\n \u201cI have called for a moratorium on data centers,\u201d Hardy said. \u201cI am tired of people saying we need to look at it. I\u2019m doing something about it.\u201d<\/p>\n Kertes said he is not opposed to data centers, but wants them limited to industrial areas \u2014 an issue residents have also raised during discussions about new projects \u2014 and be required to pay for the infrastructure they need.<\/p>\n \u201cI want to make sure that when we do infrastructure, we have the power going to those data centers that they\u2019re paying for it, not the residents,\u201d Kertes said.<\/p>\n Wiltberger took a more pragmatic view, saying artificial intelligence and the data centers supporting it are not a passing trend and that Santa Clara needs to account for the technology\u2019s continued growth.<\/p>\n \u201cAnybody that does AI is here to stay,\u201d Wiltberger said. \u201cIt\u2019s not just a bubble. And what\u2019s coming up behind it, it\u2019s gonna be even more. \u2026 So nobody likes it, but let\u2019s be realistic.\u201d<\/p>\n Housing affordability<\/p>\n As Santa Clara faces high housing costs, a\u00a0state housing mandate<\/a> requires the city to plan for 11,632 homes by 2031, of which 6,506 need to be below market rate, or below 120% of the area median income.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we need to have developers incorporate affordable housing into the same projects, rather than letting them help fund other projects,\u201d Ferraris said.<\/p>\n Ferraris also pointed to transit corridors as an opportunity to add housing without placing as much pressure on existing neighborhoods, but parking is an ongoing concern<\/a>.<\/p>\n Kertes somewhat agreed and said increasing the housing supply alone will not necessarily make homes affordable, particularly for lower-income residents and essential workers. He said the city should look at incentives to create more housing affordable for residents earning 30% to 40% of the area median income and help first-time homebuyers.<\/p>\n \u201cSupply and demand doesn\u2019t solve the affordability problem,\u201d Kertes said.<\/p>\n Hardy said Santa Clara needs to explore different types of housing to give residents more options and help reduce costs.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have not done something they\u2019ve done back east \u2014 cooperative housing \u2014 and I want to look into that and why we are not doing that on the West Coast,\u201d Hardy said. \u201cI want to make certain that we have more options. That\u2019s what will bring down our costs.\u201d<\/p>\n Wiltberger said the city needs to consider whether people who work in Santa Clara can afford to live in the community rather than being priced out. He acknowledges high density buildings can\u2019t continue to be built on main streets like El Camino.<\/p>\n \u201cMy kids can\u2019t live here. They can\u2019t afford to live where I live,\u201d Wiltberger said.<\/p>\n Aging infrastructure<\/p>\n The candidates also acknowledged the city\u2019s infrastructure is in disrepair, and the $400 million Measure I<\/a> approved by voters in 2024 was not sufficient when the actual need totals approximately $624 million.<\/p>\n Ferraris said the city needs to strategically prioritize maintenance with the remaining bond funding after the estimated $22 million allocated for the international swim center to prevent the infrastructure backlog from growing.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need to make sure that we\u2019re maintaining what we have so that we don\u2019t get into another situation where we\u2019re going to have to go back to the voters for another bond,\u201d Ferraris said.<\/p>\n Kertes said the city should dedicate money to infrastructure each year and prioritize its most pressing needs, including fire stations built in 60s and 70s, roads, sewer systems and parks.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need to start putting $30 million to $40 million aside,\u201d Kertes said. \u201cWhen you start looking at that, you can start putting $30 million to $40 million.\u201d<\/p>\n Great America development<\/p>\n Candidates weighed in on the future of California\u2019s Great America, which is expected to close after the 2027 season unless its owner Prologis extends its land lease. Prologis purchased the 112-acre property from previous operator Cedar Fair for $310 million in 2022 and leased it back to the amusement park operator.<\/p>\n The city once owned the property through its former Redevelopment Agency, but state redevelopment-dissolution laws required the agency\u2019s assets to be sold. The Successor Agency sold the Great America property to Cedar Fair in 2019.<\/p>\n Park said the amusement park is an important source of jobs for local students and that any redevelopment should be closely scrutinized.<\/p>\n \u2018If we lose Great America, we will lose thousands of student jobs,\u2019 Park said.<\/p>\n Watanabe said Great America\u2019s future should involve the community and described the amusement park as an important part of Santa Clara.<\/p>\n \u201cThat Great America theme park is an icon in our city, and we just don\u2019t want it to go away,\u201d Watanabe said.<\/p>\n Wiltberger said the property\u2019s location next to Levi\u2019s Stadium makes it an important opportunity for Santa Clara to maintain an entertainment destination rather than replace it with another technology-focused development.<\/p>\n \u201cI still want an entertainment center out there,\u201d Wiltberger said. \u201cI want people to come here for a reason, you know, not a tech center.\u201d<\/p>\n 49ers and local politics<\/p>\n The San Francisco 49ers\u2019 long involvement in Santa Clara politics<\/a>, including the team\u2019s financial support of candidates and its independent expenditures political committees, was a big part of the discussion at the forum.<\/p>\n Watanabe said she has opposed outside political spending in Santa Clara and contacted the 49ers after learning about a political action committee targeting her campaign<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI asked, could you please call off the dogs? Make it a fair election. And they said, \u2018No, we\u2019re going forward,\u2019\u201d Watanabe said.<\/p>\n Park and Hardy agreed, saying candidates should be able to seek support from voters without the 49ers determining which candidates should advance.<\/p>\n \u201cThe 49ers should not be picking the candidates for us to vote for,\u201d Park said.<\/p>\n Hardy said the 49ers contacted her during her first campaign for city council, but she declined to meet with the team.<\/p>\n \u201cI wish the 49ers would stay out of local politics,\u201d Hardy said. \u201cThey said, \u2018We\u2019re not gonna support you.\u2019 And I said, \u2018Good.’\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_1333-1024x683.jpg\")
David Kertes wants to limit data centers to the city\u2019s industrial areas. Photo by Ashley Kang.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_1484-1024x683.jpg\")
Santa Clara Councilmember Karen Hardy said the city needs to explore providing a variety of housing options for residents. Photo by Ashley Kang.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_1531-1024x683.jpg\")
Armando \u201cGary\u201d Ferraris said the city needs to plan how to use remaining Measure I funds for infrastructure maintenance. Photo by Ashley Kang.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_1422-1024x683.jpg\")
Mike Wiltberger said Great America\u2019s location should be maintained for entertainment instead of becoming something tech-focused. Photo by Ashley Kang.<\/p>\n![\"In-line](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/1791132971_95_interactive-321838904008.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/IMG_1394-1024x683.jpg\")
Former Councilmember Kathy Watanabe is opposed to outside political spending. Photo by Ashley Kang.<\/p>\n