Duplicate - Formerly City of Santa Clara CouncilCandidate for City Council

A lifelong Santa Claran and longtime Santa Clara business owner, Mario Bouza knows what makes the Mission City a wonderful place to live, work and raise a family. His passion and commitment for Santa Clara is demonstrated through his many years of community service and involvement with the city. Simply put, Mario knows Santa Clara inside and out — and it is this intimate knowledge and dedication to the City that makes him stand out against all other candidates in this year's City Council race.  

A two-term member and Vice-Chair of the Santa Clara Civil Service Commission, Mario has helped shaped many of the hiring policies currently in place at City Hall, as well as helped influence the future of the city's leadership. During his tenure, Mario has helped update and review a variety of city employment opportunities. Additionally, Mario served as a member of the Santa Clara Charter Review Commission, where he helped update and approve the current city charter, and of the Santa Clara Citizens' Advisory Committee.

In addition to his Civil Service Commission experience, Mario is also a graduate of Leadership Santa Clara, a six-month program designed to prepare current and future community and government leaders for the many unique challenges faced by the city, as well as the Santa Clara Citizens' Police Academy.

Mario is a dedicated member of the Rotary Club of Santa Clara, a philanthropic organization dedicated to contributing to the welfare of Santa Clara residents. He regularly volunteers at local Rotary events including: the club's annual Silicon Valley Barbecue Championship; Steps for Success, a project that provides school children from low-income families in Santa Clara with a new pair of shoes; and Christmas for Kids, which provides low-income Santa Clara children with holiday gifts and new winter jackets.

He is also the current Vice-Chair for the Boy Scouts of America Pioneer District, which serves communities from Santa Clara and Monterey Counties.

Mario is a proud graduate of Santa Clara schools, having attended both Buchser Middle School and Santa Clara High School. He lives in Santa Clara with his wife of 30 years, Carolyn, who herself is a proud lifelong Santa Clara resident. He has four adult children, all of whom were raised in the City, as well as two young granddaughters.

As a two-term member of the city’s Civil Service Commission and a recent member of the Santa Clara Charter Review Commission, I am well-versed in the inner workings of our city. If elected to City Council, I will strive to ensure residents are informed and involved in the decision making that shapes Santa Clara’s future.

The city needs real, open communication — not just lip service. Town halls may be blasé, but they are vital connections between the city government and the city residents. Before implementing more services, we need to hear from our citizens and understand what they feel they are missing in our city. From there, the city can better assess the needs of its residents. People will use the resources that they want and need, so it is important to get this feedback from the mouths of Santa Clarans.

I will work with the planning department to help make smart decisions regarding high-density developments that increase traffic, reduces Parking and strains Santa Clara’s resources. We need to bring our city infrastructure up to date before allowing any more new development. As we grow, we must preserve our heritage while planning for the future — and promoting smart development is the best way to do this.

We are a city surrounded by more cities. At this point, it would be hard for Santa Clara to acquire more land. We have to consider the open spaces and recreation facilities currently in place and begin brainstorming how we can expand upon and improve these resources.

We must encourage developers to make some affordable housing available to those who need it. We need jobs and workers at all income levels, and it is essential that Santa Clara maintains its image as a welcoming city for all people.

I feel we can always improve the balance of available jobs to available housing. The city has recently approved many multi-story units in the city, but ignores existing housing developments with absentee landlords who do not maintain the appearance and safety of their rental properties. These developments are a blight on the community. 

I would urge my colleagues to examine older apartment complexes that do not make good use of space or are in need of renovation. If the city could work with landlords or buy up these types of properties, we could clear out the oldest of those units to make room for new complexes that provide ample parking and more attractive facilities for young adults and families.

Job growth and tax revenue must be our city's priority. If approached from the view of smart economic growth, taxes can be beneficial to ensuring the security and expansion of city services and infrastructure. However, certain income and parcel taxes have the ability to act as a drain on economic growth and have driven away businesses from our city in favor of nearby areas with more attractive business incentives. I am opposed to taxes that negatively affect potential investors and business owners, as they often discourage new economic growth in Santa Clara

I would be willing to consider a business’ past spending in order to extend tax credits to businesses that have a history of spending their funds in Santa Clara. The more a business is willing to spend in the city, the larger the tax credit they should receive.

Our city parks, libraries, Great America theme park and Levis Stadium are all great assets in our city that drive revenue, tourism and continued growth. We must continue to improve these services and attractions to sustain Santa Clara’s position as a leading city in the region. 

A good example to consider is the proposed expansion of the Santa Clara Swim Center and Hall of Fame. The plans call for rebuilding the recreation center, making it larger and adding more classrooms. This is a great model, and we should emulate it across the city. We have to keep up on our parks and make sure they are in the best shape possible. This might mean upgrading bathrooms or playground equipment, adding additional picnic areas for families, or re-imagining existing open spaces to include multiple facilities such as dog parks or sports courts. New developments should be required to include open space areas.