Two forums scheduled for four District 1 candidates

The San Martin Neighborhood Alliance is hosting a forum for the candidates of the District 1 County Supervisor race.

By Marty Cheek

Competition for the Santa Clara County District 1 board supervisor position is heating up.

San Jose City Councilmember Sylvia Arenas announced Jan. 6 she intends to run for the seat. Meanwhile, candidate Johnny Khamis moved into a southern San Jose condo to return to the district and get back into the race.

Morgan Hill Mayor Rich Constantine and Santa Clara County Board of Education President Claudia Rossi are also escalating their campaigning for the June 7 primary race for District 1. Current supervisor, Mike Wasserman, will be termed out in November.

The candidates will share their thoughts with South Valley residents at two upcoming candidate forums.

Originally living in Almaden Valley, Khamis found himself temporarily out of District 1 in mid-December following the Board of Supervisors approving by a 3-2 vote a controversial map that relocated him and another candidate, Los Gatos Mayor Rob Rennie, to District 5. Rennie left the race, saying he will run in the District 5 race in 2024 when Supervisor Joe Simitian is termed out. Khamis believes the board’s vote on the new map, with Supervisors Otto Lee, Susan Ellenberg and Cindy Chavez voting in favor of it, was a form of political gerrymandering with an intention to keep him out of the race. Supervisors Simitian and Wasserman voted against the map because they felt taking out Almaden Valley and Los Gatos and adding the urban Evergreen and Silver Creek regions of San Jose did not serve the governance needs of people living in the rural South Valley.

“Moving is never an easy prospect, but my family is very supportive,” Khamis said.

Khamis and his wife tried to find a house to purchase in Morgan Hill, Gilroy and San Martin, but the limited real estate inventory made that impossible to do in their price range. Several people in the South Valley offered rooms in their homes for the family to live so Khamis could be a resident of District 1 again, but the couple declined, he said.

Sylvia Arenas

With a home in the Evergreen region along the eastern hills of San Jose, Arenas decided to enter the race when the newly redrawn map made her a resident of District 1. According to her biography on the city of San Jose’s website, she received a master of public administration degree from the University of San Francisco. She worked in youth and early childhood educational agencies and served as a member of the Evergreen Elementary School District Board of Trustees. She and her husband, José, have a son and daughter.

Arenas did not respond to calls and an email requesting comment prior to Morgan Hill Life’s Jan. 7 press time.

Rich Constantine

The SMNA’s board decided to invite candidates for District 1 to its forum to let them address issues unique to the South Valley. One significant issue is the county’s plans for the San Martin Airport and the increased flight traffic over the community if Reid-Hillview County Airport in East San Jose is closed by 2030. Increased traffic on San Martin’s rural roads, well water safety, the sheriff department and fire protection, and the future of the California High-Speed Rail project are also important issues for the candidates for District 1 supervisor to address with South Valley residents, said SMNA Vice President Connie Ludewig.

“There are a lot of issues that pertain specifically to San Martin,” she said. “I think it’s really important that the candidates become aware of San Martin. I think they really don’t know us and aren’t really

Johnny Khamis

familiar with our needs, our trials and tribulations, and what SMNA is.”

The forum will help voters understand how each candidate views the unincorporated community, which seeks to balance its farming heritage with a significant population growth over the past two decades, said SMNA President Stephen McHenry.

“What we don’t often get is a sense of each of the candidates and what their views are on a consistent set of topics,” he said. “So asking the same set of questions to all candidates and hearing what their responses are will be of great benefit to the community.”

Claudia Rossi

Sharon Luna, the SMNA board secretary, took on the task of heading the organizing of the candidates forum, the first one the group has ever held. Due to COVID-19, seating will be limited, she said. People will be able to watch it on Zoom and YouTube by going to www.sanmartinneighbor.org.

“It’s important we all work together and we look at positive things that are happening,” Luna said. “I view this forum as a positive thing for San Martin, Morgan Hill and Gilroy. If you want to get involved and make a difference or change, you’ve got to really know who you’re electing.”