Sheila Mohan

Sheila Mohan is a longtime Cupertino resident, having lived in the city for more than 30 years. During her time here, she has volunteered in various community activities and worked as a Cupertino Fine Arts Commissioner, a Cupertino Library Commissioner and the treasurer for the Santa Clara County Library District ballot measure. Mohan believes her experiences provide her with an in-depth knowledge of “how a city works and how a city does not work.”

In her professional career, Moha has also been involved in local government, having worked for the county of Santa Clara as the Senior Finance Manager as well as the Director of Administrative Services for Union City. She feels that her service to Cupertino demonstrates her commitment to the city and makes her the most qualified City Council candidate.

“I feel I’m uniquely qualified to address [our] challenges,” Mohan said. “When you grow up and you either go to De Anza College or you want to work in Cupertino, there’s very few opportunities for you to come and buy [or even rent] a house here. So one of my priorities is to make sure housing is available for anyone at all levels.”

Besides housing, Mohan’s priorities also include building regional partnerships between Cupertino and neighboring cities. However, her top priority is to fulfill what she believes is the responsibility of every City Council member, by placing “the interests of the city at the forefront of every action.”

“I believe in governance, fiscal accountability, fiscal transparency and respect for the residents who come up and speak before the city council on certain issues,” Mohan said. “[I will] treat them with respect, treat them with understanding and mainly listen to peoples’ concerns.”

Learn more at: https://www.sheilamohan.com/

Steven Scharf

Steven Scharf campaign website | Used without permission

Steven Scharf is a former mayor of Cupertino.

Stephen Scharf, a resident of Cupertino since 1999, has served as a Cupertino Mayor for two years and is running for re-election this November. Scharf believes that he has increased transparency between the City Council and residents and led Cupertino to be more financially sustainable during his term as Mayor. He hopes to further increase communication between the City Council and the general Cupertino population if elected for another four years.

This term, Scharf wants to move forward with a new housing plan that will satisfy the upcoming state-mandated housing requirements of 4500 housing units in Cupertino. Although identifying potential sites was a challenge, Scharf is currently working on the city’s plan for the development of affordable housing.

Scharf believes that he brings logic and critical thinking skills to the City Council, as well as two years of experience as the Mayor of Cupertino. He mentions his advocacy for more housing space in the new Westport development on Stevens Creek Boulevard, rather than the hotel and office space the developers wanted to build.

Besides focusing on housing, Scharf wants to ensure that Cupertino is protective of its funding, saying that the council has to be careful with the sales tax the city generates from Apple, as the state is trying to divert some of the funds that cities with major employers get from such companies.

“In reality, nothing has a simple answer,” Scharf said. “[Running] a city is extremely complex. We have to be advocates. I always advocate on behalf of the residents and not on behalf of special interests.”

Learn more at https://scharf4cupertino.com/