Trio of candidates seek two spots on LA council in November election

Like other cities across the state, Los Altos’ next council must adopt and likely begin to implement the city’s housing element. The city’s state-mandated goal is to add just under 2,000 housing units before 2031. The daunting task will require updating zoning in the city’s office districts, including those along San Antonio Road. New council members also will confront the task implementing the Climate Action and Adaptation Plan, adopted last spring.

On top of preparing Los Altos for growth, council members will have practical matters to address. When City Manager Gabriel Engeland came to Los Altos in 2021, he brought a finance-focused approach – and discovered messy accounting and missed commitments that will take more work to reconcile. Furthering budgetary woes, the city continues to face major legal-fees expenses – in the past fiscal year alone, fees totaled $3.5 million.

The Town Crier interviewed the candidates about their approaches to leadership and their plans to address Los Altos’ challenges and opportunities.

Pete Dailey 

Dailey, who serves on the Parks and Recreation Commission, said he plans to bring a “different approach” to the Los Altos council if elected. He’s serious about his slogan, “Teamwork makes the dream work.”

“If you ask anybody who’s ever worked with me … they will tell you that I reach out to others – not just people who agree with me, but people who don’t agree with me, and bring them into the process and into the conversation and come up with better solutions that work for a broader group,” he said.

Dailey supports reach codes, “with the caveat that I don’t support forcing residents to replace broken gas appliances with electric ones or to force residents to electrify when they sell their home.”

“Reach but don’t overreach,” he added.

On housing, Dailey said the city will have to rezone its office administrative districts and adopt new ordinances to create conditions to develop the housing units required by state law.

Dailey also lists improving the city’s financial position among his priorities, both when it comes to expenses and revenue.

“Our legal budget is ridiculous for a city our size,” he said, “and that’s because of decisions that past councils have made with regard to particular developments that have created an environment where the city could be sued.”

Dailey pointed to his record on the Parks and Recreation Commission as evidence of his coalition-building experience. He said he opted to organize a group of residents to advocate for the Hillview dog park rather than placing it on the agenda himself to ensure the park earned enough support to pass.

For more information on Dailey’s campaign, visit pete4losaltos.com.

Anita Enander

Currently serving as mayor, Enander said she is running for re-election to complete the work she began in 2019 to improve the city’s day-to-day operations and services.

“I think the people who elected me expect me to stay with it until I’ve done everything I can possibly do over the course of eight years,” she said.

Enander’s priorities include supporting Engeland as he continues to right the city’s budget, working to attract and retain top-notch employees with competitive compensation and desirable working conditions, and implementing the housing element.

“As someone who started managing people when I was 21 years old … I know what it takes to manage an organization,” Enander said. “As a former management consultant where I’ve fixed broken organizations, I know how long it takes to rebuild a staff to change a culture. And that’s what we’re in the middle of doing.”

With a strong focus on fiscal responsibility, Enander said she has generally voted against “grand projects.” In June, she opposed the city’s allocation of funds to study the prospect of building a downtown theater, as well as the decision to hold a portion of a downtown parking lot for the project. Enander noted that her decision to oppose the study hinged on the initial promise from Los Altos Stage Company that the study would be conducted at no financial cost to the city.

When it comes to housing, Enander is generally concerned about what adding units will cost the city – in both financial and quality-of-life terms.

“What worries me about the housing element is that we will lose (the city’s seven business districts),” she said. “Everybody in this town is within one mile of a grocery store. I don’t want to see that go away.”

For more information on Enander’s campaign, visit anita4losaltos.org.

Neysa Fligor

Fligor said she is seeking re-election because she enjoys serving on the council.

“But in addition … I really believe my leadership has made a positive difference on council and in the community,” she said.

The city faces significant challenges and opportunities over the next four years, according to Fligor, primary among them addressing the housing crisis, investing in city infrastructure, implementing staff- and city-adopted plans and maintaining the current character of Los Altos as it grows.

Fligor said pushing developers to make space for below-market-rate units in their projects is not only critical for affordability, but also will add value to the community as a whole. Referring to improving affordability so that public employees can live and work in Los Altos, she said, “having our teachers being part of the community just adds so much more value to the students.”

In her first term, Fligor has supported the theater feasibility study and noted that her work implementing the housing element would consider how to support the city’s business community.

“I think keeping our business districts is a priority for council,” she said. “Especially new residents, they love our downtown. I hear this all the time, so we need to preserve it and I support doing things to increase the vibrancy and vitality of downtown.”

Fligor said she’s proud of her record on the council over the past four years and believes her leadership approach will benefit Los Altos going forward. She describes her slogan and approach, “Balanced leadership,” as “listening to all residents, and making sure I understand different perspectives, the pros and cons of different issues.”

She said she approaches the community for feedback before making decisions, rather than going into an issue with a preconceived opinion.

For more information on Fligor’s campaign, visit voteneysa.org.

Watch for coverage of the Sept. 28 virtual candidate forum in next week’s issue.