Gilroy: Meet the candidates who could reshape the face of city council

With half of Gilroy’s city council seats up for reelection, three incumbents hope to hold on to their seats against three newcomers in an open election where voters have the potential to keep the current council intact or completely reshape the dais.

Both of the self-identified progressive Councilmembers Rebeca Armendariz and Zach Hilton, are up for reelection, as well as Fred Tovar, who has often been a swing vote in the council chambers.

“There’s a lot more at stake in this election,” said Armendariz. “The culture and the approach towards the most vulnerable folks are what’s at risk … It scares me what will happen if we don’t retain our seats.”

However, newcomers Stefanie Elle, Terence Fugazzi, and Kelly Ramirez hope to offer a new perspective to the council and work more collaboratively with the mayor and current council to move legislation forward.

“Everybody (on the council) has brought forward some great ideas and some good concerns, but there seems to be some lack of being able to work together,” said Elle. “I think we’re going to be able to hopefully find more common ground and move things forward.”

Regardless of the outcome of the election, newly-elected councilmembers will have to face a slew of challenges for Gilroy.

The city faces a stark shortage of firefighters and police officers – whose numbers have been virtually unchanged over the past decade, even as the population of the city has grown and its calls for service have ballooned. While a ballot measure looks to shore up some of that lack of funding, it will fall short of what is needed to grow public safety to the levels needed by the city.

Gilroy also contains the largest homeless population per capita in the county, according to county data from last year, and will continue to weigh quality of life issues, camp sweeps, and aid in addressing homelessness.

In the coming years, the council will wrestle with ongoing questions of how to manage the city’s budget and attract new business in the face of shrinking sales tax revenue and how to manage housing demand in a growing city.

Rebeca Armendariz

If reelected she hopes to push for “good, quality affordable housing” and a renter’s bill of rights that would help prevent evictions. She also is a proponent of a safe parking program for homeless Gilroyans and a moratorium on encampment sweeps to better allow housing and aid providers to connect homeless residents with services.

Armendariz was previously an object of public scrutiny, an investigation, and a failed recall effort – led by current candidate Kelly Ramirez – when two teenagers died after being shot at a Halloween party at her home.

Armendariz however, rejects making that issue part of the race. “It’s not for political expediency, the lives of those kids,” said Armendariz. “I’ve been working since I was their age for my community. That’s why those boys’ friends and family members reach out to me and tell me to keep on doing the work that I do.”

Armendariz’s endorsements include the Santa Clara County Democratic Party, the Gilroy Firefighters Association, and the South Bay Labor Council.

Stefanie Elle

The software engineer at Hewlett Packard, 52, has served on the city’s planning commission since 2021.

Elle holds that many of the issues in the city stem from the need for good governance and data driven, deliberate decision making. She says among her biggest concerns are conflict within the city council and improving staffing in city hall. Higher staffing, she said, would bolster the city’s ability to deal with simple quality of life issues, such as parking enforcement, reduce the need to rely on outside consultants that cost the city more money, and allow the city to be proactive in pursuing projects to improve Gilroy.

“If we can’t enforce parking, how are we going to resolve larger issues like our unhoused community?” said Elle. “I think having a strong core (staff) is the most important thing to move forward.”

Beyond issues of governance, she hopes to hold developers accountable to ensure affordable housing for low-income residents and seniors on a fixed income and bargain for more perks like neighborhood parks from developers.

Elle says she is a “grassroots candidate” and does not currently claim any endorsements from organizations, but has been endorsed by current Councilmember Dion Bracco.

Terence Fugazzi

Fugazzi, 56, is a former marketing executive who is currently building an aquarium equipment business and previously served on the Planning, Parks and Recreation, and Open Government commissions.

He argues his business background would help him grasp the complex issues and contracts that come before the council. Fugazzi says he will take a “fiscally conservative lens” to his role, using the budget as a way to prioritize the most essential services for the city, an approach he credits towards growing up with a single mother. “My mom taught me early on, look, you’re not always gonna have enough money for everything, but you have to prioritize things,” he said. “Budgeting was a necessity.”

Fugazzi says he will push to grow Gilroy “within its DNA” of diverse socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds, in part by encouraging more development of starter townhomes and condos to get young families “on the ownership ladder.”

On homelessness, Fugazzi rejects “housing first” solutions, but hopes to promote mental health and drug and alcohol treatment as part of the solution.

Fugazzi’s endorsements include the Gilroy Police Officers Association, the Gilroy Business Political Action Committee and Gilroy Mayor Marie Blankley.

Zach Hilton 

Hilton, 47, is a firefighter-paramedic for Oakland who has served the last four years on the Gilroy City Council, and previously served on the Bicycle Pedestrian Commission.

“I still have a lot of energy, and I still have the time, and so I want to be able to have another four years to continue those accomplishments,” said Hilton.

The self-proclaimed progressive says he has brought in federal, state, and county money for infrastructure projects throughout the city and hopes to use a second term to bring in more outside funding and pursue grants to improve Gilroy.

Hilton hopes to negotiate with builders to build more extremely low and moderate income housing to serve what he calls “the missing middle.” To help address homelessness in the city, he also hopes to work towards safe parking programs, transitional housing and permanent supportive housing in Gilroy. “We don’t have the money to build that, but we need the political will,” he said.

Hilton’s endorsements include the Santa Clara County Democratic Party, the Gilroy Firefighters Association, and the South Bay Labor Council.

Kelly Ramirez

The retired English teacher, 62, has a history of management with local nonprofits throughout Gilroy, including the Gilroy Garlic Festival, and has served on the planning commission.

Ramirez says she hopes to be a “voice of common sense” on the council and someone who listens to the people. “I don’t have a personal agenda,” said Ramirez. “I don’t know all the answers. I need the answers from the people. That’s why listening is so important.”

She says her first priority is public safety and shoring up “grossly understaffed” police and fire, in part by looking at the city’s budget and departments and exploring ways to reallocate funds.

While Ramirez acknowledges the issue of housing affordability, she hopes to push back on state requirements and prioritize the citizens of Gilroy with housing opportunities. “Just building more is not going to solve the housing crisis, but it is going to impact our quality of life,” she said.

On homelessness, Ramirez promotes mental health and drug and alcohol treatment as part of the solution.

Ramirez’s endorsements include Gilroy Police Officers Association, the Gilroy Business Political Action Committee, and Gilroy Mayor Marie Blankley.

Fred Tovar

Tovar, 55, currently works as a director of admissions at Santa Clara University. He has served as a city councilmember for eight years and is seeking a third term.

“This is my 20th year as a public servant. The passion and desire and commitment I have is the same,” said Tovar, who was a school board member and college board member before being elected to city council. “It’s not something that I have to do, it’s something that I want to do.”

Tovar’s priorities include shoring up public safety, including supporting the quality of life officers and bringing in more school resource officers. He hopes to negotiate with and incentivize developers to bring more affordable housing into Gilroy and is a proponent of safe parking initiatives, as well as labor apprenticeship initiatives for homeless residents. Tovar supports pursuing grant money to help kickstart essential initiatives and has advocated for dipping into the city’s reserves for urgent needs like public safety.

Tovar’s endorsements include the Gilroy Police Officers Association, the Gilroy Firefighters Association, the Gilroy Business Political Action Committee, and Gilroy Mayor Marie Blankley.