Rauh standout candidate for S.J. District 3
Joanna Rauh is not just the best candidate to represent downtown San Jose on the City Council. Her 15 years as a professional negotiator would also be a godsend as the council navigates the sticky issues of public safety, homelessness and affordable housing.
District 3 encompasses the downtown core, Japantown, San Jose State University and the neighborhoods of Washington-Guadalupe and Spartan Keys.
Voters in downtown have come to expect strong leadership from their council representatives. With good reason. The district has provided proven leaders such as Raul Peralez, Sam Liccardo, Cindy Chavez, David Pandori, Susan Hammer and Tom McEnery.
Rauh is bright, articulate and demonstrates the greatest potential to follow in their footsteps. She works as an assistant general counsel at the Big Four accounting firm Deloitte, where she leads the legal team's pro bono and philanthropic work.
That's given her an understanding of the compelling need to help those who are struggling in life. That includes seeking short-term and long-term housing solutions, which she lists as her highest priority if elected. She doesn't offer a laundry list of new approaches, but she understands the importance of getting the city, county, state and nonprofits working together if we are to make progress.
“I'm not interested in fighting or taking an extreme position that will cause us to be playing tug of war,” she says. “I'm interested in getting everyone pulling in the same direction.”
San Jose needs people on the council who aren't locked into knee-jerk positions on its biggest challenges, command the respect of both business and labor interests, and are capable of crafting win-win compromises. As a mother of three children under the age of 4, Rauh understands the need to create a safe environment in the downtown district and build more affordable housing.
The four other candidates seeking to replace Peralez, who cannot run again because of term limits, are attorney Elizabeth Chien-Hale, mediator Irene Smith, health care professional Ivan Torres and San Jose-Evergreen Community College District board trustee Omar Torres.
Chien-Hale is president of the San Jose Downtown Residents Association. She, too, articulates an independent approach to issues and has proven negotiating skills as an intellectual property lawyer. But she lacks the financial and political backing of Rauh, who is endorsed by Liccardo, McEnery, the San Jose Police Officers Association and the League of Conservation Voters of Santa Clara County.
Smith has experience working inside a mental health facility in downtown San Jose. She, too, has a law degree and has her own mediation business. But she was fuzzy on her position for providing longterm solutions to San Jose's homelessness problem.
Ivan Torres works at Stanford hospital and is the most progressive candidate in the race. But he fails to clearly understand the council's role, as demonstrated when he advocated that the city pay the tuition for San Jose's community college students.
Omar Torres, who is not related to Ivan Torres, is the labor candidate in the race and is backed by the South Bay Labor Council. He is also the only experienced officeholder in the field, having previously served on the Franklin McKinley School District.
The City Council would be Rauh's first elective office, as it was for Peralez, Liccardo, Chavez, Pandori, Hammer and McEnery. She would provide a fresh approach to what have been divisive issues. We recommend her to District 3 voters.