Four Candidates Vie for Two Open Santa Clara Council Seats This Fall

Two Santa Clara City Council seats are up for grabs this fall with no incumbents on the ballot, and four candidates are already laying out competing visions for how to fix the city's aging infrastructure, tighten its budget and manage its complicated relationship with the San Francisco 49ers. Yvonne Inciarte and Kimberley Williams are running for the District 2 seat, while Eric Crutchlow and Kyle Madej are competing for District 3.

The open seats exist because District 2 Councilmember Raj Chahal and District 3 Councilmember Karen Hardy are both term-limited and must leave office in December 2026, according to San José Spotlight. Under the Santa Clara City Charter, council members and the mayor can serve a maximum of two consecutive four-year terms before they must step aside, a rule confirmed by the City of Santa Clara. Hardy is not leaving politics altogether — she plans to run for Santa Clara mayor, per the same report, in a race that will also determine who succeeds longtime Mayor Lisa Gillmor, who is term-limited out of the city's top job at the end of the year.

Who's Running in District 2

Inciarte, 37, is a longtime Santa Clara resident and first-generation college graduate who currently works as director of intergovernmental strategy for Congressman Ro Khanna. She serves on the city's Economic Development Committee, its Chief's Advisory Committee, the Historical and Landmarks Commission, and the West Valley-Mission College Foundation board, the outlet's report notes. Inciarte said her government experience prepared her to bring a transparent and accountable approach to City Hall, and that she wants residents included regardless of language barriers.

Her platform centers on housing affordability, public safety, fiscal responsibility, infrastructure and economic growth. Inciarte wants the city to make it easier for small businesses to operate and to improve maintenance of sidewalks, streets and other infrastructure. She has also said Santa Clara's budget deficit will require difficult council decisions while still protecting parks, services and community programs.

Williams, 48, has lived in Santa Clara for more than 18 years and has spent roughly a decade involved with local schools and parent organizations. She helped establish a PTA at Central Park Elementary and serves on the California State PTA Board of Managers and the Santa Clara Schools Foundation. Williams has said education is connected to housing, parks, transportation, infrastructure and neighborhood safety.

The 49ers Question Resurfaces

Williams has also weighed in on the city's fraught relationship with the San Francisco 49ers, calling Levi's Stadium a city asset and saying both sides share responsibility for making sure it succeeds and benefits Santa Clara residents. That relationship has been strained for years: a Santa Clara County Civil Grand Jury report titled “Outplayed,” published in June 2024, concluded that city officials were repeatedly overmatched in contract negotiations with Forty Niners Management Company, prompting council debate later that year, as reported by The Silicon Valley Voice.

The tension has also shown up in campaign spending. During the 2022 municipal election, independent expenditure committees funded by 49ers CEO Jed York spent more than $1 million supporting candidates including then-District 3 incumbent Karen Hardy, according to Local News Matters, which noted the ownership group had spent roughly $3 million on city elections two years earlier. In May 2024, the City Council and Stadium Authority voted 5-2 to settle the final lawsuit tied to Levi's Stadium operations with the 49ers, a deal that generated $20 million for the city over two years and cut Stadium Authority debt from $22.3 million to $14.8 million, per San José Spotlight.

District 3's Two Contenders

Crutchlow, 66, has lived in Santa Clara since 1984 and has worked in the technology industry for more than two decades, most recently at Lumen Technologies as a cybersecurity product manager, with about 25 years in that field overall. He chairs the Santa Clara Planning Commission, where he has served for roughly three years, and previously sat on the city's Charter Review Committee. Crutchlow has said the council has substantial tension among its members and wants a more collaborative approach; his campaign focuses on improving city finances, maintaining infrastructure and increasing public participation.

Crutchlow pointed to the George F. Haines International Swim Center as an example of Santa Clara's infrastructure challenges, and said the city should plan and save for maintenance and replacement rather than deferring it. The swim center was forced to shut down in January 2024 due to extensive structural and safety hazards, and in December 2025, the City Council approved an urgency contract estimated at $23.18 million for its Phase 1 rehabilitation, according to The Silicon Valley Voice. That repair sits alongside the broader $400 million Measure I infrastructure bond that Santa Clara voters approved in November 2024 to address more than $600 million in unfunded needs, which allocated $115.3 million toward parks and aquatic facilities, along with money for fire stations, storm drains, and streets, per San José Spotlight.

Madej, 45, is a Santa Clara native born and raised in District 3, where his family has lived since 1969. He is the CEO of Sentinel Holdings Ltd. and also operates Gladiator Solutions and United Security Specialists, and has previously worked for the city of Santa Clara and the Santa Clara Unified School District. Madej has served as Briarwood Little League president since 2023 after 12 years on its board, sits on the Santa Clara Youth Soccer League board, and has coached youth, high school and collegiate baseball and soccer.

Fiscal Pressure Meets Neighborhood Priorities

Madej described Santa Clara as being at a tipping point and said he wants to be a voice for ordinary residents, adding that one of his strengths is building relationships between opposing sides. His campaign prioritizes investing in District 3 neighborhoods, maintaining the city's long-term fiscal stability, fully funding police, fire and emergency services, expanding youth programs and recreational spaces, and supporting small businesses. Madej has said Santa Clara should protect neighborhood character, upgrade infrastructure and remain affordable for working families.

Fiscal stability is likely to remain a flashpoint through the campaign. When Santa Clara property tax bills arrived in November 2025, property owners were assessed $28.70 per $100,000 of assessed value for Measure I — 51% higher than the $19 figure cited in the 2024 ballot summary, according to The Silicon Valley Voice. City officials have clarified that the $19 figure was a projected 30-year average rather than an annual rate cap, the outlet reported.

All four candidates — Inciarte, Williams, Crutchlow and Madej — say they are prioritizing affordable housing, quality of life, public safety and aging infrastructure, according to San José Spotlight. Their races unfold as the city separately weighs a revised El Camino Real Specific Plan that could add up to 4,390 new housing units along a transit corridor, an issue Hoodline previously reported is now moving toward a council vote.