George Casey has taken a significant early lead over Arjun Batra in the race for San Jose City Council District 10 as the polls close.
As of 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday, former San Jose Planning Commissioner Casey appears to be ahead with roughly 58.9% of the vote over Councilmember Batra with 41% of the vote. More than 423,000 ballots have been cast, with county voter turnout at about 40.4%.
As the results roll in, Casey exhales a sigh of relief and flashes a huge grin. His supporters clap and cheer, raising their fists. They flock to him with hugs, handshakes and high fives. They tell him how proud they are of him and how happy they are with the results.
“I’m overwhelmed,” Casey told San José Spotlight. “I think they just had confidence in me and my background, and they believed in me.”
District 10 covers the Santa Teresa and Almaden areas in South San Jose. Batra was appointed to the seat in January 2023, when it became vacant after voters elected then-District 10 Councilmember Matt Mahan as mayor in 2022.
“We’re still optimistic,” Batra told San José Spotlight. “We ran a good campaign with integrity, and we will expect the results will get tighter. Whatever happens we will see in the final results.”
Casey, 52, moved to San Jose with his family when he was 7 years old. He grew up in Santa Teresa and has lived in Almaden for almost 45 years. Casey has two master’s degrees: one in urban planning from San Jose State University and another in real estate development from University of California, Berkeley. He also earned a law degree from Santa Clara University and works as senior counsel and vice president for Unlock Technologies. He served four years on the San Jose Planning Commission.
With a background in urban planning and experience on the planning commission, Casey said he has an inside view of how housing markets and development work. He wants to revitalize downtown and support businesses by addressing blight and crime. He said the city’s onerous regulatory environment is what hinders investors from coming in. The Planning Department is understaffed, causing delays in the permitting process for housing developments, he said.
Casey wants to create a pipeline by introducing students in middle and high schools and colleges to law enforcement. Casey wants to create a down payment assistance program for officers to be able buy a home in the city as a way to keep them from jumping ship to work in other cities.
His priorities include public safety, hiring more police officers, cleaning up encampments and addressing the housing and homelessness crisis.
To address the housing crisis and lack of affordable homes in the city, Casey proposes increasing the supply of homes by building more naturally affordable starter homes, such as condominiums and townhouses.
Casey said there isn’t enough urgency when it comes to solving the homelessness crisis and that the county needs to play a greater role. He sees building more tiny homes as the quickest solution to ending homelessness. However, he wants these sites to require drug treatment, mental health services and job training.
“He is someone who’s devoted to the idea that it’s not about what side you’re on, but rather what’s in the best interest of San Jose,” former San Jose Planning Commissioner Rolando Bonilla told San José Spotlight. “This is someone who’s going to come in on day one already very battle tested.”
During his 22 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.
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 has 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. His priorities for this term include housing and public safety.
Since the start of his campaign, Casey raised $287,950, including $32,000 from loans, and spent $276,414. Batra raised $242,524, including $100,000 from loans, and spent $180,762.
Contact Joyce Chu at [email protected] or @joyce_speaks on X, formerly known as Twitter.
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