Councilmember Dev Davis represents District 6 in San José. Before being elected in 2016, Councilmember Davis spent 12 years as an education researcher for Stanford University's Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO). With a strong interest in community organizing, she served as a Chair of the City of San José's Early Care and Education Committee, a delegate to the Junior League of California’s State Public Affairs Committee, President of the North Willow Glen Neighborhood Association, and Public Relations Chair for the Sherman Oaks Neighborhood Playground Committee. Dev has a bachelor's degree in Economics and master's degrees in Public Policy and Education Policy, Organization & Leadership from Stanford University. 

Dev and her husband, Chris, have been married for 20 years, and have lived in San José for almost 16 years together with their two children who attend public schools in San José. They currently reside in the North Willow Glen neighborhood.

In 2010, then with two preschool-aged children, Dev and her husband acutely felt the cutbacks the city was obliged to make as a result of the city not being able to fund its basic services.

“I would take my (potty-training in progress) preschool-aged children to the park, only to find the bathrooms closed. I would then want to take them to the library (surely the libraries would be open during the Summer) only to find the doors locked. Why weren’t these basic core services being maintained? Finally, as the city’s budget remained in a deficit, SJPD slowly stopped patrolling our neighborhood, until one day, they stopped coming altogether. This was the last straw!”

The city’s budget crisis and extreme service cuts motivated Dev to run for City Council. Like many families, Dev and her husband relied on those services and felt the impact when they were gone.

Dev ran for City Council to make sure that doesn’t happen again. As a councilmember, she focused on finding cost-effective ways to enhance public safety, improve our roads, and bring more jobs to San José while keeping our core services (Fire, Police, Roads, Libraries, and Parks) operating. While the city and our neighborhoods have improved, there is still much work to be done, particularly in caring for our unhoused neighbors and addressing our three biggest issues—housing, climate, and transportation.

Dev would love to hear your thoughts and ideas on how to make San José an even better place to live. Please call her at (408) 479-4864 if you’d like to discuss local issues or have ideas about possible solutions.

Dev is actively working on a wide variety of committees, working on issues that impact District 6 residents on a daily basis while planning for long term improvements that will benefit residents for decades to come.

CITY COUNCIL COMMITTEES

• Chair of the Transportation & Environment Committee
• Member of the Rules Committee
• Member of AD-HOC Committee for Housing Construction & Development Services
• Member of the Smart Cities & Innovation Committee
• Member of the San Jose/Santa Clara Treatment Plant Advisory Committee (TPAC)
• Council Liaison to the Federated Retirement Board
• Council Liaison to the Historic Landmarks Commission
• Council Liaison to the Santa Clara County Emergency Operational Area Council (formerly Emergency Preparedness Council)
• San Jose Sports Authority Board of Directors – City Council Liaison
• San Jose Arena Authority Board of Directors – City Council Liaison

CALTRAIN JOINT POWERS BOARD

• San Jose Representative on Joint Powers Board (JPB)
• Chair of the Finance Committee 
• Member of the Ad-Hoc Committee on Positive Train Control/Communications - Based Overlay Signal System (PTC/CBOSS)
• Member of the Centralized Equipment Maintenance & Operations Facilities Oversight Committee (CEMOF)

VTA

• Alternate Member for the Board
• Member of the Diridon Station Joint Policy Advisory Board
• Member of the El Camino Real Grand Boulevard Initiative
• Grand Boulevard Initiative Task Force – City Council Liaison

As an environmentalist, feminist, and social justice activist; I have learned from and worked with so many great community organizers here in San Jose that it’s hard for me not to see a bright future for our city. It has already grown so much from the old photos up on the walls of Sam’s BBQ on Bascom.

That said, I see a system that keeps us divided. Working full time for a biomedical startup, it’s a challenge to make 6pm community events, much less 1:30pm City Council meetings. Too often, I hear residents voice their concerns for 2 minutes into a microphone and then everyone goes home. I know its a challenge but building a community requires constant connection, where people learn about each other and feel empowered to act together.

As a Peace Corps Volunteer in Morocco, I was able to learn Arabic and organized successful community-driven projects by listening to the community. Over almost 2 ½ years, I worked with community members on everything from health-education initiatives with local nurses to well-water systems with Engineers Without Borders. 

Before going to Morocco, I earned my engineering degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, graduating with honors and with a minor in Sustainability Studies. I developed a passion for social, economic and environmental justice early on through my mom, Jackie, who was studying Sociology and Women’s Studies while raising me and my brother and sister. My Dad, Jeff, would put my brother and I to bed with fun games on binary numbers. In my career as a Biomedical R&D Engineer, I’ve worked to develop minimally-invasive heart valves and arthroscopic surgical equipment, bringing projects all the way from research prototypes to final commercial products.

Anyone can find me riding my bike all over the district, being out of the car connects me with my city, giving me the time and space to fully comprehend the diversity of District 6. This helps me to build on a vision that all of us share. One with welcoming communities, safe neighborhoods and great opportunities for our children. A city filled with vibrant green spaces, healthy residents, responsive city services, and a thriving local economy that leaves no one behind.

Community takes care of community. We have built a political system that benefits those with money and pushes the rest of us to the side. It's so important that our local elected officials understand how to listen and represent their entire community to the best of their ability. Too often voices of color and low income are purposefully left out of the decision making process. If we want a stronger community we need to improve community engagement by making city council meetings more accessable, reaching into communities for input on projects and policy rather than waiting for the community to reach out to the elected office and by providing food and childcare to ensure barriers to attendence are lowered. With stronger community engagement, we will get smarter policy that works for everyone.