By Sasha Ryu, Contributor
On Nov. 3, Los Gatos residents will decide who will fill the three open Town Council seats for the next four years. Candidates Jeff Suzuki, Steve Raspe, Rob Stump and Heidi Owens qualified to appear on the ballot alongside incumbents Rob Moore and Mary Badame.
Because the Town canceled the previous race after two incumbents ran unopposed in 2024, this is the first election for Town Council since Los Gatos missed the State’s Jan. 31, 2023 Housing Element deadline and filed five unsuccessful drafts before the California Department of Housing and Community Development certified a final version on July 10, 2024.
During that 525-day period without a certified Housing Element, the Town became subject to California’s “Builder’s Remedy” provision, which allows developers to bypass local zoning rules and submit larger projects than would normally be allowed. The Town received 19 Builder’s Remedy applications, including multiple submissions for the same address.
All six candidates spoke to the Los Gatan and shared how they would manage the Town’s pending Builder’s Remedy and SB 330 projects, as well as what steps they would take to ensure the Town’s next Housing Element, due in 2031, gets certified on time. The candidates also discussed key issues, including beach traffic congestion, public safety and managing the Town’s budget.
Mary Badame
A lifelong Los Gatos resident and Los Gatos High School graduate, Badame raised her daughter as a single parent while building up her local insurance business. She was elected to the council in 2020 and reelected in 2022.
Badame described the previous Housing Element cycle as a case of “failed leadership,” saying she did not believe several of the proposed drafts were “substantially compliant.” She served as vice mayor and mayor during much of the Town’s efforts to pass a compliant draft. She abstained on the first draft in January 2023, and later voted against the plan on other occasions,including its final adoption in June 2024, arguing it called for 2,371 new homes by 2031—hundreds more than the state’s minimum requirement.
On public safety, Badame wants the Town to fund the police department to full strength and hire lower-cost, unarmed community service officers. She also wants to see the Town invest in better wildfire evacuation plans.
Badame said she voted in 2024 to extend the Town’s contract with Flock Safety through 2029 because she weighs public safety “a little higher” than privacy concerns, though she adds she remains open to further discussion if residents have concerns about the contract.
In December 2025, Badame voted against updating the Town’s flag policy to allow the Pride flag to fly at Town Hall, saying flagpoles “should be used for government purposes.” She said she would never refuse to work with or befriend someone because they are gay, adding, “Love is love.”
Badame has been endorsed by eight former Los Gatos mayors, Santa Clara County Supervisor Margaret Abe-Koga and the San Jose Mercury News.
Rob Moore
Moore was elected to Council in 2022 and became mayor in December 2025 at 27 years old, making him the youngest person to hold the position in Los Gatos history. He has not missed a Town Council meeting in the past four years.
Moore highlighted that he voted in favor of the Town’s Housing Element at every stage, including its first draft in January 2023 and its final adoption in June 2024. Moore believes the Town should start its next Housing Element process earlier in the cycle to avoid renewed exposure ahead of the 2031 deadline.
His 2026 platform centers on six key issues: housing; public safety and emergency preparedness; reducing traffic; revitalizing downtown Los Gatos; protecting parks and the environment; and supporting youth, families and seniors.
Moore supports tolling pilots, free bus passes for students and seniors, and completing the Highway 17 Congestion Management Project to address beach traffic. He also hopes to build public restrooms in Los Gatos’ Town Plaza Park to support nearby local businesses and make it easier for residents and visitors to enjoy downtown Los Gatos.
Moore initially told the Los Gatan he “did not recall” voting alongside Badame to extend the Town’s contract with Flock into 2029, but after reviewing his voting records, acknowledged it was true.
“At the time, my focus was on public safety and giving our Police Department a tool that other departments in the region were also using,” Moore said in a written statement. “That said, especially in light of the numerous documented cases of misuse of Flock technology and data, including by the federal government and neighboring cities, I have serious concerns about this technology.”
Moore has been endorsed by the Santa Clara County Firefighters Local 1165, the Sierra Club, Supervisor Margaret Abe-Koga and the Santa Clara County Democratic Party.
Heidi Owens
Owens has been a resident of Los Gatos for the past 25 years. She previously ran for Council in 2020, but “lost by a teensy margin.”
Owens’ 2026 platform centers around fiscal management, community inclusivity, and safety and infrastructure investment.
Owens seeks to “preserve the unique, historic charm of Los Gatos” and fight to have local control over new and ongoing housing developments. She believes the council, rather than an advisory board, should directly manage the next Housing Element process, arguing the previous back-and-forth structure “caused unnecessary delays.” She said she would push Town staff to prepare housing-need scenarios earlier in the 2031 cycle.
As a longtime privacy advocate who worked on “risk assessments and privacy assessments” during her time at Cisco, Owens is the only candidate who has explicitly highlighted “consumer and data privacy” as one of her platform’s key issues. She says “automated license plate readers can be used effectively by law enforcement,” but other technologies, including facial recognition and cell-site simulators, warrant council-level review. She has proposed a Town policy requiring Council approval before police adopt new surveillance technology, citing a similar policy she worked on at Santa Clara County.
Owens did not say whether she would vote to end the Town’s contract with Flock, but said she believes all surveillance technologies in Los Gatos should be subject to individual review.
“Flock is one of just many different surveillance technologies,” Owens said. “I think the public’s focus on Flock is a little bit myopic because we need broader protection from surveillance technology.”
Owens has proposed studying bond financing for a planned senior and youth community center, and has continued to advocate for a community garden project at Pinehurst, an issue she raised during her prior campaign.
Owens has been endorsed by Los Gatos council member Rob Rennie, Valley Water Director and former State Sen. Jim Beall and California State Board of Equalization Chair Sally Lieber.
Steve Raspe
Raspe has been a resident of Los Gatos for the past 12 years. Raspe, a real estate attorney, has served as vice chair and chair of the Planning Commission, as well as the Historic Preservation Committee.
Raspe said his platform’s key issues are managing housing growth, improving public safety and ending school and beach traffic in downtown Los Gatos.
“There will be change,” Raspe said of the State’s mandate to increase housing in Los Gatos. “My platform is: Let’s manage and control that change, and let’s do it with rational, moderate, practical solutions that work well for everybody.”
Raspe specifically hopes to direct new housing toward downtown and transit corridors rather than hillside areas. He also said the Town’s limited power to regulate Builder’s Remedy projects under State law means officials should focus on negotiating directly with developers to shape individual project outcomes.
Raspe supports ongoing discussions to expand the Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department jurisdiction to include Saratoga, saying it would “create efficiencies where we can spread the costs over two communities.”
Regarding Flock, he said “the appropriate and proper use of Flock cameras is a benefit,” but added the Town should establish rules governing data access, sharing and retention.
Raspe has been endorsed by the Santa Clara County Democratic Party, District Attorney Jeff Rosen, Councilmember Rennie, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, and Campbell City Council members Sergio Lopez and Terry Hines.
Rob Stump
Stump is a “third-generation Los Gatan” who has lived in the community for over 50 years. He previously ran for Council in 2022.
His platform focuses on wildfire preparedness, an issue he says is largely inspired by the 20 years he spent working at PG&E. His other key issues include improving traffic safety near Los Gatos High School and exercising fiscal discipline.
Stump, a sitting Planning Commissioner, said he has pushed for a cumulative impact review of the Town’s Builder’s Remedy projects and voted against approving early applications that lacked such a review. He said a top priority would be ensuring the next Housing Element is submitted without missing the State deadline, proposing the formation of a citizen advisory committee and creation of quarterly progress reports.
Stump also wants to rein in spending to fit a more “sustainable” model, stating the Town spends $1.60 for every dollar of revenue it collects.
“We’ve got to take a look at our budget in all aspects and figure out where we might need to do things differently,” Stump said. “It doesn’t mean that cuts are inevitable, but how can we do things more efficiently?”
Stump said he would encourage the Town to use AI in its “work practices (and) business practices” to increase efficiency and cut costs. He also proposed creating a fixed paydown schedule for the Town’s pension debt.
Recently, in his role as a planning commissioner, Stump pushed for an attendance cap at the West Valley Muslim Association’s Los Gatos mosque based on a parking-space ratio, despite staff telling the Commission that a similar vehicle-based restriction calculated in that manner could not be found on any other religious institution’s permit in Town. After repeated urging from Stump, the fire department ultimately cut the building’s occupancy limit from 1,214 to 566 people.
CAIR-SFBA, alongside other civil rights groups such as the NAACP and the ACLU, have warned the Town to respect federal religious anti-discrimination laws and stated that some of Stump’s positions raise serious civil rights concerns.
Stump did not provide comment on the reasoning behind his proposals. In a written statement, his campaign told the Los Gatan: “As a Planning Commissioner, Rob cannot comment on the West Valley Muslim Association Conditional Use Approval matter since it is still under active consideration.”
On the license plate readers, Stump said he met with the police department’s Flock camera administrator in 2022 and was satisfied with the Town’s data controls.
Stump has been endorsed by eight former Los Gatos mayors, three planning commissioners and two former LGSUHSD trustees.
Jeff Suzuki
Suzuki grew up in Los Gatos and returned to town after earning his bachelor’s degree in economics from UC Berkeley and his master’s degree in data science from Northwestern University. He has served on the Complete Streets and Transportation Commission, the Planning Commission and the Historic Preservation Committee. He is the president and founder of the Los Gatos Anti-Racism Coalition. Read his Op-Ed on P8.
Suzuki’s platform centers on transportation, affordable housing and community services. He highlighted his work as a community organizer during the Town’s efforts to finalize its Housing Element, when mobilized residents to speak in support of opening up to additional housing options during Council’s 3-2 votes. Suzuki says working to complete a compliant Housing Element before the State’s 2031 deadline would be one of his top priorities.
“It is particularly important for new developments in our town to be evaluated by our local institutions, like Planning Commission and the Los Gatos Town Council,” Suzuki said.
As a member of the Complete Streets and Transportation Commission, Suzuki helped negotiate a program providing free VTA transit passes to Los Gatos High School students and staff for about $20,000 a year, and has proposed congestion pricing for non-Los Gatos residents to address cut-through traffic on Highway 17.
He supports continued funding for rental assistance and homelessness prevention services and supports a general-purpose community center for residents of all ages.
Suzuki was the only candidate who explicitly said he would like to see the Town end its contract with Flock, citing his concerns with the company’s data practices.
“There is a demonstrable history of people using Flock systems to do surveillance where it is not appropriate, and it is a for-profit company that does not have the strongest incentives to fix these systems,” Suzuki said. “I’m just not convinced by any statistical evidence that Flock actually makes our community safer, in that it actively prevents crime.”
Suzuki has been endorsed by Santa Clara County Supervisor Margaret Abe-Koga and former Los Gatos Mayor Marico Sayoc, along with several current and former members of the Town’s Complete Streets and Transportation, and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion commissions.
