Sergio Lopez, 30, has spent the past year as mayor of Campbell. He’ll rotate-out of that position in December. But prior to stepping back into a regular Council seat, he agreed to sit down with the Los Gatan to share what it’s been like in the top job.
He spoke about where the community is headed and the library in the heart of their downtown (which was scheduled to reopen this Saturday but has been postponed until early next year). In his interview with contributor Faizi Samadani, Lopez, who grew up in Campbell, traces his political career, gives kudos to his mentors and shouts-out a punk rock band. Questions were gathered from local residents prior to the meeting.
How was your time as mayor of Campbell?
It’s gone by so quickly. We rotate much like Los Gatos. so we’re there for a year. In our small cities, as you know, it’s often a symbolic role. For me, what that signifies, as someone who grew up in the community, is that we are an inclusive community with whatever you look like and wherever you come from, you are welcome. So I think it’s been incredibly meaningful for me personally. Whenever we have a second council meeting in December, is when my term ends.
What’s your favorite thing about Campbell?
I think we strike the perfect balance of being proud of our history and what’s unique and special in the small town charm, while absolutely not being afraid of the future and what’s next—while being creative and innovative. That was what I felt growing up, and what I’ve tried to bring, not just as mayor, but to the Council, period. It’s everything from our restaurants and beautiful downtown, where you know we have the hottest new thing next to businesses that have been there for 30 years. That we have family businesses and tech startups next to the largest light industrial areas. Campbell’s secret strength is a lot of the clean energy, green tech businesses—like ChargePoint is there.
You’re a relatively young mayor. What inspired you to follow this path?
One of the things that’s great about Campbell is, I’m not even close to being the youngest mayor that Campbell has had. In the 70s we actually had the youngest mayor anywhere in the United States, mayor Rusty Hammer. And I had the honor of meeting his family while I was running. He was 18 years old. I met his widow when I was running which was incredibly meaningful.
For me, it came down to my personal experiences. I grew up in Campbell and I went to Leland High School. I was the son of immigrants, and my family started a small business called Casa Lopez Mexican Food. We had it going for a few years, but we ended up losing it during the recession. We ended up losing our home due to a foreclosure as well, and it was a wake up call. I can’t say I was super politically engaged before that, but I saw what happens when the system doesn’t work, and when government’s not responsive.
I didn’t have a larger game plan, but I started figuring out, How do I have a voice at the local level, at the school level and the state level. I launched my campaign in 2019. There was an open seat and I think I have something to contribute having grown up and having had these experiences. I talked about my story and it was housing insecurity and supporting our local businesses. A lot of people said why are you being so negative, and then Covid hit, and that was all that anyone was talking about.
Do you have plans to run for state office?
I plan to be in public service for as long as I can be. There isn’t a particular office I’m looking at, but as long as I’m able to serve—whether that’s in some other form of public service—I hope to be able to do that for a long time.
Care to comment on young people wanting to get into politics?
I think we’re seeing a wave of people who are engaged. I mentioned in Campbell we have a very active youth commission. We have a very active civic improvement commission that has a lot of young people on it. I think there’s a different role for everyone, but there is a role for everyone in public service and politics.
A lot of people that I talk to nowadays may start a podcast, Instagram or TikTok account speaking about local issues. To them, that’s a form of political power, a way to influence and make change in your community. I think there are so many more routes in being able to have an influence.
I’ve only gotten to where I am because of the mentors that I learned from. My first term I was sworn in by Rod Diridon, Sr., and I had the honor of having him as a mentor. Second term, I was sworn in by Senator Josh Becker. And he was someone who helped teach me that you can give back as a private citizen, as a business owner, as a nonprofit leader. There’s all these ways to get engaged.
What are some changes that could be made to improve Campbell’s downtown?
I think one change that I would like to see in my time that has not risen in the same level of priority as housing and economic development is the return of live music venues. If you go back and talk to people two or three decades ago, we had a thriving live music scene. It would be so great to have a small venue where you can really build the next generation of musicians. It’s something that I and others on the council are really interested in.
I serve District 2, which is centered around the Pruneyard, and goes right up to downtown—and the VTA light rail tracks are the border of it. There’s a big dirt pit there by a park and the downtown. That’s going to be housing soon.
Do you know of any tech companies that are looking to open their offices in Campbell?
Under a year ago we brought on a new economic development manager that’s focused on that full-time, so its an active priority for us. But not right now.
What about an e-bike resolution?
That’s a great point, it’s not as much of an issue that I have actively heard. The difference between us and other cities is that, if you go to our downtown core, we don’t have stoplights. So, pedestrians have the right of way. That would be my concern, making sure that we have rules and protections in place to keep that safety in downtown that we need—our vitality.
Who is your favorite famous person from Campbell?
That’s a great question because if you go back to the live music, we have a lot of great rock history from Campbell. The original Fleetwood Mac spent time in Campbell. And there’s a band called Rancid that came out of Campbell, and actually has a song about taking public transit through Campbell.
The League of California Cities has a motel voucher program for unhoused residents, which they say could be the first step in reducing homelessness across the region. Care to comment?
What inspires me about that program is that, during the time I’ve been on Council, we’ve gone from saying we’re a smaller city—so therefore we don’t have the resources—to flipping that and saying we’re a smaller city—and that means we have to be more creative to address these issues, because they affect all of us.
We’ve also created an inclement weather program, so now that we’re getting to the colder months, we have additional resources that kick-in for people to protect their safety and public health to get them off the streets. We’ve also been a leader for the West Valley, because Campbell put in the initial funding for the first phase of a program to look at shelter resources.
Are there plans to attract businesses to empty lots?
One of the things we’ve found as we’ve been studying these issues is that we have much lower rates of retail vacancies. Like everyone else, we are struggling more now with empty offices, but our retail and restaurant scene is doing very well.
Is there a plan to develop the East Campbell Avenue stretch between Railway and South Bascom avenues?
We just had a national group called the Urban Land Institute that put together a panel of experts from around the country that came into Campbell just to study that exact section—from Railway to South Bascom. They brought back a number of recommendations, one of which was: there are two major lots that need to be developed and activated, and one of them is the giant dirt pit that is an active housing development. The other one was Hickory Pit that has since been shut down.
The advice that they brought back was that, with current market conditions, we need to really look at upzoning and more height for those two properties to make that work out. I was fully supportive of that. And I think unanimously on the Council there is a lot of interest in that. So, it is something we will be looking at.
What do you see as the trajectory of this town?
It’s going to be a place where we continue to hold onto our history and find ways to tell that story. But we’re not gonna be afraid of the future. Making sure we can incubate the next generation of businesses. And making sure we maintain the regional leadership role that we’re now playing.
What’s your perspective on your neighbor—Los Gatos?
I love Los Gatos. And many of the Town Council members are our good friends. And I think generally in the West Valley cities we try to be good neighbors to one another. In my role as the VTA chair, I’ve made sure that we’re extending resources especially around emergency preparedness and wildfire evacuation. So, we do our best to be good neighbors. I’m the first person to serve as VTA chair from Campbell since 2003 and the first person from anywhere around the West Valley since 2013.
What’s going on with Campbell’s library renovation?
Before this project, we had the honor of being the oldest library in the entire Santa Clara County system that had never been renovated. It had the original-everything since the 1960s.
We were in a temporary space for a few years in the community center, but now we’re getting ready to move back into the new building. Early next year is the tentative time for opening, and we’ve done our part in terms of construction in terms of getting the building done. And I think it’s going to be a beautiful space. It’s two stories with kind of a half-atrium design.
*The interview has been edited for length and clarity.
