The six finalist candidates for District 10’s seat on the San Jose City Council will meet and answer questions from the public for the first time this week at two free evening meetings hosted by the Almaden Valley Community Association (AVCA).

At 7pm Thursday (January 19), four of the finalists (Arjun Batra, George Casey, Dennis Hawkins, and J. David Heindel) will attend an in-person event at the Westgate Church auditorium (6601 Camden Ave.) to discuss their qualifications and goals for being on the city council. This meeting will also be accessible over Zoom (https://bit.ly/AVCA2023Jan19) and Facebook Live (https://www.facebook.com/avcasj) .

Two candidates who said they could not attend Thursday’s event (Wendi Mahaney-Gurahoo and Ron Del Pozzo) will participate in a Zoom-only event on Friday, also starting at 7 pm. ( https://bit.ly/AVCA2023Jan20 )

After District 10 councilmember Matt Mahan was elected San Jose Mayor in November, the City Council chose to appoint his successor rather than conduct a special election. Twenty-four residents applied for consideration, and last week the council selected the six finalists. The council will interview each finalist during a special meeting starting at 3pm on January 26 and is expected to decide who will fill the vacancy at the end of the meeting.

Written and oral public comments can be made to council members in accordance with procedures detailed here: https://sanjose.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=1067037&GUID=5DE0E02F-0850-4574-8EE6-C334F79BCA11

“Since we don’t have any direct vote in this matter,” said Shiraz Kotadia, AVCA president, “I think it is very important that District 10 residents meet and listen to each finalist and then convey their opinions to the existing council members before they vote on who will represent us for the next two years.”

AVCA is a volunteer-led organization that since 1961 has strived to enhance the quality of life in the Almaden Valley area by facilitating public engagement in civic, economic, and social topics relevant to the community.

AVCA activities include hosting public events with local speakers on timely topics and pre-election forums with candidates and ballot measure discussions. AVCA also posts reports to its website (avcasj.org) on topics such as public safety, planning & zoning, education, transportation, parks & recreation, and youth affairs. The AVCA website (https://www.avcasj.org/) is also a resource for exploring interesting and important information about the Almaden Valley.