Palo Alto City Council member Greg Tanaka has joined the crowded race to succeed U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo, who is set to leave Congress next year after three decades of representing Silicon Valley in Washington, D.C.
According to the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters, he is one of 13 candidates who is vying for the seat and one of three who is either currently serving or has previously served on the Palo Alto council. Candidates had until Dec. 13 to file their candidacy papers.
His current council colleague, Julie Lythcott-Haims, had previously announced that she is running. Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian, the first candidate to announce his candidacy, had served as a Palo Alto council member and mayor before moving on to elected positions at the county and state levels.
Tanaka, a fiscal conservative who unsuccessfully ran for Congress two years ago, is one of nine Democrats in the field, along with Simitian, Lythcott-Haims, former San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo, state Assembly member Evan Low, former Saratoga City Council member Rishi Kumar, researcher Joby Bernstein, attorney Ahmed Mostafa and tech CEO Peter Dixon.
Two Republicans — former Menlo Park Mayor Peter Ohtaki and Los Gatos resident Karl Ryan — are running to succeed Eshoo. So are two candidates with no party affiliations: Richard Fox and Gabriel Warshauer-Baker.
The district covers the Midpeninsula and portions of South Bay and includes Palo Alto, Mountain View, Menlo Park, Portola Valley, Atherton, Woodside, Los Altos and portions of San Jose.
Comments
Registered user
College Terrace
on Dec 15, 2023 at 9:37 am
Registered user
on Dec 15, 2023 at 9:37 am
Greg Tanaka has not grown during his tenure as a Palo Alto City Council member. Mr. vote no is his stance on most items. He pushed cryptocurrency where he urged the city to adopt
Palo Alto Coin (his term). He always seems to be chasing the money and is known for being in the pocket of developers. He is seeking name recognition and continues to live in a dream world.
Registered user
Another Palo Alto neighborhood
on Dec 15, 2023 at 12:05 pm
Registered user
on Dec 15, 2023 at 12:05 pm
Joe Simitian is the strongest candidate of the lot, by far. He has got my vote.
Registered user
Midtown
on Dec 15, 2023 at 1:13 pm
Registered user
on Dec 15, 2023 at 1:13 pm
Oh please.
Registered user
University South
on Dec 15, 2023 at 1:15 pm
Registered user
on Dec 15, 2023 at 1:15 pm
Joe Simitian is the strongest candidate by far. He has my vote.
Cecilia
Registered user
South of Midtown
on Dec 15, 2023 at 3:15 pm
Registered user
on Dec 15, 2023 at 3:15 pm
No thanks for me. If he was more aware he’d know he has zero chance of winning.
Registered user
Palo Verde
on Dec 15, 2023 at 6:50 pm
Registered user
on Dec 15, 2023 at 6:50 pm
NOOOOOOOO
Registered user
Barron Park
on Dec 16, 2023 at 2:35 pm
Registered user
on Dec 16, 2023 at 2:35 pm
All these people with zero chance like Greg are doing is ensuring Joe's election by splitting the considerable anti-Simitian vote. Evan Low is an up and coming Asian American LGBTQ leader with experience at the city and state level. He is a talented young person who, like Khanna and Swallwell will be in Congress long enough to amass seniority.
In the House, seniority is everything. Joe Simitian is going to be over 70 if he is elected. which means he won't be able to gain important leadership roles. Evan also has an unblemished record of supporting women, having sponsored bills to strengthen the laws on sexual assault. Evan Low has everything we are looking for in a leader for this district at this time. Of course I support electing women. But that isn't the only kind of diversity that matters, and Asian Americans are severely under-represented in Congress. All of these other no-chance people just looking to raise their profile are merely electing Simitian. Maybe that's their plan.
Registered user
Crescent Park
on Dec 16, 2023 at 4:13 pm
Registered user
on Dec 16, 2023 at 4:13 pm
"All of these other no-chance people just looking to raise their profile are merely electing Simitian. Maybe that's their plan."
Hahahahahaha. Yes, that was the plan all along. ;-) And it would have worked, too, if not for Michele Dauber.
Registered user
Another Palo Alto neighborhood
on Dec 16, 2023 at 5:06 pm
Registered user
on Dec 16, 2023 at 5:06 pm
The Low campaign’s lead line is indeed “Asian-American, LGBTQ+.” However, it might be a mistake to completely write off Simitian’s own qualifications. Despite the obvious, remember he’s an Armenian-American, and the history of oppression of Armenians is well-known. And there are sectors in which seniors are also considered a protected group. So while Simitian’s qualifications may lag behind Tanaka, Low and at least one other, he’s probably ahead of, for example, Dixon or possibly even Liccardo, though Italian-Americans have also faced discrimination.
Registered user
Ventura
on Dec 16, 2023 at 6:56 pm
Registered user
on Dec 16, 2023 at 6:56 pm
I met with Greg as a seasoned IT expert to discuss Palo Alto's opportunities to deliver high speed Internet access throughout the city. I have deep experience as am international sales and technical expert for Tymnet, the largest packet network in the world before the Internet went public. I encouraged Greg to try to cut through more than a decade of inactivity to work with vendors like AT&T to provide gigabit service for everyone. Why not Google Internet? That is another disappointing story that reflects badly on the City of Palo Alto's technical management.
After all, aren't we the core of Silicon Valley?
Greg had an assistant taking notes, which I thought was valuable. Instead, a few weeks later I saw a distorted transcribe published of our conversation, with statements I did not say and no productive action items. The relevant and important issues were omitted.
He may be a political participant, but I would never trust am ounce of my future or my son's future to him.
As an aside, a couple of raggedy guys showed up at door a few weeks ago, offering to install AT&T fiber Internet service. If you aren't technical, please understand that most consumer Internet services have fast download and very slow upload speeds. I got very, very fast AT&T 2Gb download and 2Gb upload for about $125/month. That is unbelievably faster and better. It turns out that City-of-Pall-Alto-Greg didn't have the final say. Commercial competition eventually wins in an area that is not over-regulated by the government.
Registered user
Downtown North
on Dec 16, 2023 at 8:27 pm
Registered user
on Dec 16, 2023 at 8:27 pm
What? !!! It’s laughable to say Simitian’s qualifications lag behind Tanaka and Low.
No one who paying attention would write off Simitian’s qualifications. 40+ years of serving in school, municipal, county and statewide elected office.
Seniority needed for power? Jeez, did you watch Liz Cheney’s lightening rise to the 3rd most powerful leadership position in the GOP?
Joe is by far the best able to do what needs to be done for us in DC.
Registered user
Midtown
on Dec 17, 2023 at 12:39 am
Registered user
on Dec 17, 2023 at 12:39 am
I urge you all to look at the qualifications of another candidate running, Peter Dixon. He has the background, qualifications, and foundational expertise to make a genuine difference in Congress and in the ability of our nation, not just our district, to meet the enormous challenges that we face now and will face in the future. He is 40 years old, but has already had experience as a Marine Corps officer with combat experience in Iraq and Afghanistan. This sort of experience is in very short supply in the Congress these days, and we live in a world in which it is vital in order for our nation to navigate its complex strategic path. Peter has worked under Sec. Hillary Clinton in the Dept. of State, working with drug and law enforcement on both sides of the border to combat the drug cartels, the poisoners of our youth. He is a cyber security expert who founded a company to identify the very best technology for the U.S. Government to use to keep us, our utilities and vital services, and our world-changing tech companies safe.
I see that we have a field of very good candidates, but we need to look to something larger than our own parochial issues. I see a horrifying dearth of expertise in Congress to even understand the modern world around us, technologically, economically, and militarily, much less lead us ahead. And as a septuagenarian myself, I can tell you that we need to elect younger leaders and those who have cutting edge and in-depth knowledge and skills in all these areas. I am voting for Peter Dixon.
Registered user
College Terrace
on Dec 17, 2023 at 9:18 am
Registered user
on Dec 17, 2023 at 9:18 am
I fully agree with Christine Czarnecki's well-stated post. Last night I mentioned Dixon's name and profile to a group of people in their late 20s and the response was positive. It is not unusual to hear people ask "can't we do better than this?" when evaluating candidates. Dixon is answering that call; he is the type of candidate we need.
Though doubtfully unintentional, many of the older, entrenched politicians in D.C. have shown/are showing how critical energy and an agile mind are to the jobs they hold. If they really want to serve this country (rather than their own egos or some political agenda) they should recognize when it is time to step down and do just that.
Registered user
Barron Park
on Dec 17, 2023 at 9:51 am
Registered user
on Dec 17, 2023 at 9:51 am
In the House, Committee chairs are nearly always the ranking member. Joe Simitian simply does not have sufficient time to gain the seniority necessary. Nor is he likely to end up in party leadership, given the need to draw leaders from different constituencies that are key to the Democratic Party. In other words, he would be a low ranking back bencher who would never have the influence that this district deserves. On the other hand, Low is young and would in fact meet many of the important criteria (like Ro Khanna who has endorsed him) to become both a Party leader and an influential Representative. No matter what one thinks of Joe he will never be able to achieve the seniority needed to be a ranking member, not ever. If being in Congress was his dream he should have moved out of Palo Alto and run in another district. He didn't and now it's too late. Evan Low is a great candidate and I urge people to meet him.
Registered user
Downtown North
on Dec 17, 2023 at 12:15 pm
Registered user
on Dec 17, 2023 at 12:15 pm
Dauber is axe grinding over her long antipathy toward Simitian who didn’t always agree with her view of things.
She is now grasping at thin straws to try to justify her yearning for Simitian’s defeat.
Won’t work.
Registered user
College Terrace
on Dec 17, 2023 at 9:07 pm
Registered user
on Dec 17, 2023 at 9:07 pm
Some of those commenting have amnesia when it comes to Joe Simitian’s record. Do you not remember There Oughta be a Law where Joe wrote the bill that caught fire in the nation? Do not drive and talk on your cell phone. He listened to women patients and medical personnel to get the dense breast bill 1538 passed. Dense breast tissue can make it harder to evaluate the results of a mammogram. It is associated with an increased risk of breast cancer. “This bill is about a patient’s right to know,” said Joe Simitian.
I will vote for Joe Simitian because he listens to constituents. His outstanding record exemplifies his role as a true public servant. He is by far the best candidate running for congress.
Registered user
Crescent Park
on Dec 18, 2023 at 9:57 am
Registered user
on Dec 18, 2023 at 9:57 am
Greg’s running for congress? All I can say is it’s about time!
Look at his stellar record on the Palo Alto city council. During his eight years he initiated:
1. Council agreed to consider a new skate park as part of the Parks master plan.
2. That’s it.
The record speaks for itself.
He also has a spotless record advancing the cause of stacked, mechanical parking. During his eight years, he never missed an opportunity to propose stacked parking, whether it was relevant to the situation or not. On social issues his support for the robots who power these systems is solid.
I’m sure his donors will be thrilled with how he spends their donations. Hopefully the FPPC will be as well.
I don’t see how any other candidate can possibly compete.
Registered user
College Terrace
on Dec 18, 2023 at 11:52 am
Registered user
on Dec 18, 2023 at 11:52 am
I have often appreciated that Tanaka is conservative when it comes to spending. That said, he struggles to persuade his Council colleagues. I think members of Congress need that skill. If he cannot convince 6 local colleagues to follow his lead, how effective can he possibly be as a member of Congress? Unfortunately, this is a concern.
Registered user
Community Center
on Dec 19, 2023 at 10:58 am
Registered user
on Dec 19, 2023 at 10:58 am
Joe Simitian may not rise to seniority in the Democratic party but his ability to engage constructively with others and his thoughtful approach to issues are strong factors in his favor.
Registered user
Duveneck/St. Francis
on Dec 19, 2023 at 10:03 pm
Registered user
on Dec 19, 2023 at 10:03 pm
I don’t like any of the candidates for this important office. Sad. I wish a moderate would have a chance around here nowadays, but no.
Registered user
another community
on Dec 20, 2023 at 11:54 am
Registered user
on Dec 20, 2023 at 11:54 am
Experience counts.
Let's not let race, sexual orientation or religion distract us from electing a strong representative with a PROVEN TRACK RECORD.