Election 2024: D10 San Jose official says he has more to do

San Jose Councilmember Arjun Batra’s interest lies in identifying the perceived weaknesses in the city’s systems — and working to fix them.

The San Jose City Council appointed Batra to represent District 10 in 2023 after Matt Mahan vacated the seat to become mayor. He is vying for a chance to continue the work he started against his challenger, former Planning Commissioner George Casey. It’s a tight race, with Casey taking a 2% lead over Batra in the March primary election. District 10 covers the Santa Teresa and Almaden areas in South San Jose.

During his 20 months in office, Batra said he’s worked on addressing issues his residents view as most pressing. That includes public safety, homelessness, traffic safety — especially around schools — cleaner parks and lower costs of services.

“I came to serve the community in which I have lived for 37 years, to make it better than what I found it to be,” Batra told San José Spotlight. “We made progress, but the work is not finished. So as a result, I’m going to continue giving to the community that service and use my skills, which I developed in the business world.”

Batra, 78, has lived in Almaden since 1987. His background doesn’t include the typical long-running list of political positions — instead, he is a retired Intel executive and software engineer who forayed into government a few years ago after working for former Mayor Sam Liccardo’s office of technology and innovation. He’s served on various city committees, including those that oversee tax measure spending and smart city initiatives.

Batra said his background is what helps him think outside the box when it comes to finding solutions and getting down to the root of a problem. 

“My goal is to make structural improvements where the benefits are happening year after year, day after day,” he said. 

After a state audit revealed San Jose couldn’t consistently measure the effectiveness of its homelessness service providers, Batra pressed the city to conduct its own audit of its homelessness services. 

“We have residents who are really concerned because… they do not feel that they know enough about where their dollars have went and what outcomes they have achieved. Transparency and having the confidence of your residents is very important to me,” Batra said. 

Batra and Councilmember Bien Doan previously proposed a pilot program to build massive assembly room-style homeless shelters, with the option for private rooms. While their proposal — called SJ LUV or Lifting Up Lives — was unanimously rejected at a Rules and Open Government Committee meeting in March, Batra said it’s not the end for the proposal.

“The need is growing, it will come back,” he said. 

While many homeless residents say they prefer tiny homes or apartments instead of congregate shelters, Batra argues there is still a need for quick-build, low-cost shelters. 

His idea is to build shelters in District 7 — Doan’s district — that will accommodate at least 1,000 beds for homeless residents from Districts 2, 7 and 10. Batra said the shelter would be customizable, and can almost be configured into individual rooms if needed. He said it costs less than permanent supportive housing—$16,000 per bed, compared to $800,000 per apartment when constructing an affordable housing project.

“Different people have different needs. It’s suitable for certain people,” Batra said. 

Batra has advocated for a no re-encampment policy for the tiny home site being built in his district, Via Del Oro. Councilmembers agreed to pay for more employees and police patrols to enforce “no return zones” within a two-block radius of tiny homes, safe parking and safe sleeping sites citywide. 

After learning of the county’s plan to turn the Monterey/Bernal tiny home site into a jail diversion facility and hearing community outrage toward the city selling the site, Batra successfully advocated to stop it.In terms of public safety, Batra secured 10 new school crossing guards and $190,000 to add more lights in the Hoffman Via Monte area in last year’s budget. Within six months in office, he approved 15 new speed bumps across his district and placed speed radars to encourage slower driving. He saw how long the process took for them to be installed, and he is advocating for a 12-month cap on the installation time.

“Councilmember Arjun Batra is not only a visionary leader, but also a true ally to the people of South San Jose,” Doan told San José Spotlight. “His unwavering commitment, command of the issues and innovative solutions make him the best choice for our city’s future.”

If elected, Batra said he will continue to look for structural improvements and investigate root causes of issues, particularly for homelessness. He wants to look for ways to make his district safer, to maintain park cleanliness and to seek private and public funds to improve Almaden Lake Park. 

“I want to get more to the bottom of the problem, or the real cause of the problem. We’re treating the symptoms right now, but a lot of people are happy just with that,” Batra said. “I am not.”

Contact Joyce Chu at [email protected] or follow @joyce_speaks on X, formerly known as Twitter.