Karen Hardy

The State has mandated that we approve a certain amount of housing. We signed the deal and we must uphold our agreement, so yes.

The city is between a rock and a hard place. We must have a certain amount of below-market-rate housing, but you are right that could make a project infeasible. I have an out-of-the-box idea. Back East there is such a thing as cooperative housing. I would like to understand this more. I want to know why it has not occurred on this coast. It could be an option that would be feasible and help more people.

The city's ability to dictate housing has been taken over by state mandates. Local control is mostly gone. R-1 is not protected. A residential lot can now be subdivided into two lots, both with ADUs, which puts four units where one was originally. My personal thoughts on this are now superfluous. Additional clarification received September 27, 2026: The middle housing could be a large cooperative-housing development containing multiple types of residential units. Residents could buy into the project without high down payments and move to differently sized units as their needs change over time. Hardy noted that this is done more on the East Coast and said she wants to understand why it has not been done more on the West Coast.

The housing mandates, or RHNA numbers, we are tasked with are very high and mostly impossible to meet. Santa Clara is doing better than the other municipalities in the South Bay. I personally want to see as many housing options as possible. Everyone has different needs, and those needs can change over time.

I made the motion to pledge about $1 million per year for seven years for a family interim supportive housing complex proposed by the county, with a room full of residents yelling at us with signs in the council chambers. The project has returned to us two more times, and I have voted for it each time. Some residents have calmed down about the project and some have not. I have tried to answer questions and help them to understand it.

State law is somewhat in flux over this. The council does not have direct control over enforcement by police. We have worked to have services available to those who will accept them.

I am concerned about the cost and the delays. I truly hope that BART can come to Santa Clara and our transportation hub; it will link many services together.

Our best water well is on the property across from the railroad station. I want to protect it. This is also an area of history, both above and below ground. One possible way to protect this area is to build a new Fire Station No. 1 there. This would protect the history of the area and the water well. I voted against the first proposal of a high-rise development even though Norm Mineta personally called me and tried to lobby me.

The city owns some of the land in the Downtown area. We are currently looking at what is possible. Private land should be developed with private money.

The city should always keep its options open. We are very close to a saturation point with data centers. The plan for electrical growth is essentially spoken for. As far as data centers, we have required carbon-neutral electricity use, and we are developing required standards for water use. Most of our data centers use reclaimed water and/or are closed loop. Twenty percent of the water use in the city is reclaimed water, the highest in the South Bay (other cities are five percent or less). The city received about $41 million last year in revenue from data centers.

We already had to do this during the pandemic. Our TOT (hotel tax, the third-highest percentage of our revenue) fell by 81 percent. The first thing is we went to our employees and asked for a freeze on wages. The second thing we did was postpone any capital expenses possible. We asked all directors to go through their budgets and make recommendations for cuts. All departments had to comply.

We have negotiated contracts for three to four years with the thought of paying our employees appropriately and still being careful with city funds. We cannot see the future, but the City Council, while I have been on it, has put the brakes on extreme wage increases.

The 49ers should stay out of local political races. They do not have a good track record, but it is not illegal. Also, they should not try to make the Stadium Authority pay for offsite office space.

Those expenses are legal but, in my opinion, a bad choice. Publicly saying anything is not always helpful because it puts a spotlight on the situation when it should be ignored. I don't like 'feeding the wrong wolf.' The amount is not so much the concern, but the fact that a candidate is not to engage at all with an independent expenditure. I have publicly declared that I will not accept PAC or special-interest money.

I have personally told Gary Ferraris he should apply to the Civil Service Commission. I wish he had taken my advice. He is a nice person and has a good heart, but he needs to learn about policy. At this point he has no understanding of the governance side of the city, but I think he could learn.

During eight years on the council, I have tried to be the grown-up in the room: collaborative while still making my point. The mayor controls the meeting process, speakers, and rules. My experience chairing meetings showed that I can keep proceedings orderly, professional, and productive.

City leadership must collaborate with both small and large businesses. I have placed a proposed data-center moratorium and nondisclosure discussion on the council agenda because residents and businesses need reliable city services and direct answers about the effects of future approvals.

I requested a moratorium so residents’ questions about electricity, water, sewer, and community benefits can be answered before additional approvals. Santa Clara government is responsible for those core services, and I want the city to demonstrate clearly how another data center helps residents.

The city does not build housing; it approves housing, and state law has removed much local control. Santa Clara needs more options, including supportive and fully affordable projects and cooperative housing of the kind found on the East Coast, so residents with different needs can find attainable homes.

The city is already negotiating a land swap with Santa Clara University to assemble a larger Downtown site and preparing an RFP. I am also pursuing another effort to obtain the former courthouse property from the state so the city controls a larger contiguous area for redevelopment.

I supported pursuing the larger bond, but the council needed a unanimous approach capable of winning two-thirds voter approval, so it advanced $400 million. Measure C’s design-build authority could make those funds go farther, and the city has begun setting aside more money for future capital needs.

I do not want to balance the budget on businesses that already contribute significantly. Employee costs represent a large share of spending, and the city has worked to restrain unsustainable compensation growth. Recent financial management has improved the city’s position and produced a small surplus.

Related was approved before I joined the council, and the city is bound by that agreement. The developer revised its approach and has faced financing and engineering challenges associated with building on a landfill. I would keep working within the agreement while scrutinizing assumptions and feasibility.

I opposed Measure J but accepted the result and then looked for practical ways to improve stadium economics. I pushed for concert-curfew waivers after recognizing that non-NFL events were the meaningful revenue opportunity. That is an example of acting on the situation the city actually has rather than merely talking about it.

First, I would advance the data-center moratorium so residents understand the implications for electricity, water, and sewer. Second, I would continue infrastructure work, including water systems and a full rebuild rather than a Band-Aid approach at the swim center. Third, I would fight for greater local control from the state.

Wilcox students spoke 52 native languages, and I have spent years learning Spanish and attending a Spanish-language church. The city should use new live-translation technology for meetings and establish regular mayoral office hours so residents do not need a personal connection to enter the mayor’s office.

Because the city no longer owns the land, its leverage is limited. I met directly with Prologis leadership and asked that the newer water park and historic carousel be preserved. That conversation led company staff to begin discussing those ideas internally.

The 49ers supported me in a previous election but told me they would not support me for mayor; I told them that was good. They are a city business partner and should stay out of local politics unrelated to the limited period when they manage stadium events.

I helped recruit the current city manager from San Bruno and believe he has helped turn around city operations. Councilmembers and the mayor must work through the city manager rather than directing departments themselves, which is why competence and a clear working relationship in that position matter.

I have served Santa Clara for more than 20 years across the Historical and Landmarks Commission, Planning Commission, Charter Review Committee, and council. I have shown that I can identify a need and build something lasting, including establishing computer-science education in the school district and training teachers to deliver it.