Next year’s June primary election is still seven months out, but the battle lines are already taking shape in the District 9 San Jose City Council race. A relative newcomer to San Jose politics is stepping in to a crowded field that includes a well-established City Hall staffer.
Lifelong District 9 resident Genny Altwer, a licensed marriage and family therapist and former police hostage negotiator, is making the case that her professional background and outsider status will position her well to represent the district, which covers southwest San Jose.
“I think that our neighbors and our neighborhoods deserve to have someone on council who gets it,” Altwer, 45, told San José Spotlight. “They deserve to have someone who is getting results and not utilizing excuses.”
With Altwer’s campaign announcement, so far five candidates have filed paperwork for the June 2 primary election. The other candidates are Mauni Jalali, Gordon Chesterfor, Mike Hennessy and Scott Hughes.
Hughes has served for the past seven years as chief of staff for the district’s longtime councilmember, Vice Mayor Pam Foley. Foley, who has endorsed Hughes, will term out at the close of 2026 after eight years in office.
Altwer has taken a somewhat unconventional career path for a potential San Jose elected official. After earning a degree in criminal justice from San Jose State University, she served for 13 years as a sworn officer with the San Mateo Police Department. During that time, her assignments saw her carrying out hostage negotiations and working as a detective investigating sexual assault cases.
Then she executed a dramatic career pivot. After observing her law enforcement colleagues struggle with mental health challenges, she decided to pursue a career as a therapist, earning a master’s degree in psychology. She runs her own therapy practice in San Jose, where she specializes in treating post traumatic stress disorder, depression and anxiety, especially among first responders and essential workers, she said.
“My background has been spent solving problems, and I do that with compassion and accountability, which is what I think the residents of San Jose want,” she said.
Altwer, who lives in the Pinehurst neighborhood with her husband and two daughters, serves on San Jose’s Appeals Hearing Board, which adjudicates code enforcement cases. She also serves as a board member for the Branham High School Parent Teacher Association.
In making the case for his candidacy, Hughes has highlighted his accomplishments over his tenure in City Hall. That includes his work supporting the redevelopment of Cambrian Park Plaza and the transformation of hotels into transitional housing for homeless people.
In contrast, Altwer argued she will bring a much needed pair of fresh eyes to local governance.
“I think anyone who has served in City Hall for that amount of time is going to have the lens that they see problems through,” Altwer said. “My lens is just different being out here in the community and raising my family here and having a business here.”
Hughes did not respond to a request for comment.
Laying out her campaign platform, Altwer expressed broad support for Mayor Matt Mahan’s policy agenda, including his efforts to boost housing affordability, improve public safety and reduce homelessness.
“I think what’s driving me to run for this position is that I’ve seen the progress that (Mahan) has made, and it’s inspired me, because I think he needs a partner like me on city council to keep moving his policies forward,” Altwer said.
On the housing front, Altwer said she would support new housing development “where it makes sense,” such as along transit corridors and in job-dense areas of the city, such as downtown.
In addition, she pledged to work to address the San Jose Police Department’s longstanding officer shortage by boosting recruitment and retention efforts.
She also expressed support for the mayor’s “Responsibility to Shelter” initiative, which has stiffened penalties for homeless people sleeping on the streets. That includes the possibility of jail time for those who repeatedly reject the city’s offers of shelter.
“I think that compassion also means that we have to help get people off our streets and not leave them there,” Altwer said.
Marco Puebla, a neighbor and longtime family friend of Altwer, expressed strong support for her candidacy.
“I’ve seen her do tough jobs within the community,” he said. “I’ve seen her do tough jobs over her life, and I think that really matters when it comes to achieving some of the outcomes that we really needed to have here in our neighborhood.”
Altwer’s campaign is planning to hold an official launch event on Saturday.
Contact Keith Menconi at [email protected] or @KeithMenconi on X.
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