Voters in three of Campbell’s five City Council districts will cast ballots in the November 3 election, though only two districts have more than one candidate. Councilmember Dan Furtado, who is currently serving a one-year rotating term as mayor, is running for reelection in District 3 against local business owner Joe Brenner. District 4 Councilmember Elliot Scozzola is not seeking another term, leaving Planning Commission Chair Davis Fields facing off against political newcomer Joseph Guardado. Councilmember Anne Bybee is termed out in District 5, with tech executive Daraius Sorabji running unopposed for the seat. Hot issues in the city of approximately 43,000 people include meeting state housing development goals while preserving residential neighborhoods and the need for generational change.
District 3 Contest: Joe Brenner vs. Dan Furtado
Joe Brenner, owner of South Bay Suds, which sells commercial cleaning products, is eager to contribute fresh views to the Campbell City Council. He noted that his background as an active community volunteer made him realize the next step in public service is running for office. Brenner’s volunteer work includes serving as president of the Downtown Campbell Neighborhood Association, sitting on the board of Silicon Valley Shakespeare, and chairing the ambassador committee of the Campbell Chamber of Commerce. His top goal for the city is growing revenue by improving the business climate, noting that businesses, particularly downtown, do not always have a great relationship with the city and that leadership needs to be more open-minded to creative solutions to bring in sales tax revenue-generating businesses. Brenner also wants the city to get ahead of state housing mandates for how many homes Campbell needs to plan for over the next several years, emphasizing that pushing for high-density development is necessary to prevent dense projects from haphazardly cropping up in residential neighborhoods.
Councilmember Dan Furtado has contributed a lifetime of service to his native city, including a total of 18 years on the city council. Stating that his greatest asset is his experience, Furtado has studied every area of city government responsibilities. A veteran who retired as a colonel in the US Army Reserve, Furtado was also a professor of pharmacology who taught at Stanford University and Cal State University Monterey Bay. He has served on numerous boards and commissions, including the National League of Cities, the Association of Bay Area Governments, and VTA’s Policy Advisory Committee. Furtado enjoys local public policy because it allows him to make things happen, fix potholes, create parks, and maintain a balance of services across quality of life, public safety, and youth programs despite tight municipal budgets. He aims to get ahead of the curve on housing while navigating state encroachment on local government decision-making. Furtado holds a long list of endorsements, including all four of his city council colleagues, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, Assemblyman Patrick Ahrens, state Sen. Josh Becker, and Congressman Sam Liccardo.
District 4 Matchup: Davis Fields vs. Joseph Guardado
Davis Fields, Campbell Planning Commission Chair, has found in talking with residents that the top issues in the city are traffic safety, housing, and aging infrastructure. Joining the planning commission in 2022, Fields supports new homes at all price points while ensuring growth respects neighborhood character and resident concerns. A tech executive who previously served on the Civic Improvement Commission, Fields also wants to repair or replace aging public infrastructure, an issue highlighted by the permanent closure of the city public pool due to unrepairable leaks. He emphasizes the need for early conversations on costs and transparent approaches to funding municipal projects. Endorsements for Fields include Councilmembers Anne Bybee, Terry Hines, and Sergio Lopez, Santa Clara County Supervisor Susan Ellenberg, Assemblyman Ahrens, and the Campbell Police Officers Association.
Joseph Guardado, a grocery store clerk, was motivated to run for the District 4 council seat after witnessing a car hit a pedestrian in his neighborhood four years ago. The incident highlighted infrastructure dangers regarding sidewalks and road lighting. As the youngest person in the race, Guardado wants to inspire other young individuals to enact community change. Alongside traffic safety and infrastructure, his priorities include financial transparency, expanding public transportation, and reducing city taxes to accommodate future population growth. Guardado also advocates for providing residents with exact itemized lists of how tax dollars are spent rather than losing track of fiscal details.
District 5: Daraius Sorabji Runs Unopposed
Daraius Sorabji, a tech executive who previously ran for a council seat in 2018, wants the council to improve follow-up actions when residents raise concerns during meetings instead of merely listening without subsequent discussion. Sorabji supports a balanced approach to housing growth while ensuring infrastructure such as road access is sufficient for increased populations. He also wants to explore ways to help homeless residents by utilizing warm, electrified community center buildings that are otherwise left unused on cold days. Additionally, Sorabji aims to rein in Campbell’s sales tax, which is currently the highest in Santa Clara County, by exercising greater administrative efficiency and cutting back on controllable expenses rather than seeking increased revenues.
