Stoneridge, the budget gap and the hotel tax divide District 1 council hopefuls Narum and Kruttiventi

Voters in northwest Pleasanton's District 1 will choose Nov. 3 between a former City Council member and a first-time council candidate who says the city needs new thinking, and the two laid out where they differ at a Pleasanton Weekly forum on Sept. 29.

Kathy Narum held a council seat from 2013 to 2022 and now sits on the Zone 7 Water Agency board, where she was appointed in 2023 and then elected to a full term in 2024. Vin Kruttiventi, an entrepreneur, started the Vinay Kruttiventi Foundation, which supports businesses.

They are running to succeed Council Member Jeff Nibert, according to the Weekly's account of the forum, published Monday. The event at the Pleasanton Civic Center drew a standing-room-only crowd and was streamed online.

Stoneridge and the business base

Kruttiventi called Stoneridge Shopping Center "our biggest opportunity." The council adopted a framework in early 2023 to redevelop the mall and surrounding area as a mixed-use district with roughly 1,100 homes, but little has moved since, the Weekly reported.

Kruttiventi said the council should press the property owners for an update, arguing redevelopment could bring housing for younger residents plus restaurants and entertainment that would generate revenue. He also said the city should work with business leaders to fill vacancies at Hacienda Business Park and downtown.

Narum agreed the owners need to get moving and said she wants more study of what kinds of stores residents would actually use at the mall. She said Hacienda's vacancy rate is falling as park and business leaders recruit tenants, and she credited the city for adding an assistant director to its economic development department.

Money and Measure HH

Both candidates tied their priorities to the city's budget. Pleasanton projects a deficit of roughly $10 million a year for several years, the Weekly reported.

Kruttiventi said growing the revenue base is his top priority and said he backs Measure HH, the hotel tax increase on the November ballot, only reluctantly, saying new businesses and housing at a range of incomes should come first.

Narum was more upbeat about the measure, calling the roughly $2.8 million a year it is expected to bring in by late 2028 a good start and noting it is one of several possible revenue sources not counted in the deficit forecasts.

Experience against change

"Experience got us here," Kruttiventi said, adding that term limits exist for a reason and casting himself as the candidate of fresh ideas. Narum said her engineering background and experience in a family business prepare her to handle budgets, contract talks and staff.

She cited endorsements from first-responder unions, local officials and state Sen. Jerry McNerney, and said she has no plans to seek higher office. Kruttiventi has previously run for Congress, the Weekly noted.

On public safety, both said the city should review how many first responders it has as Pleasanton grows. Video of the forum is posted on the Pleasanton Weekly's YouTube channel.

Sources

pleasantonweekly.com