Editorial: San Ramon voters should pick Armstrong for mayor, Shetty for council

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With two longtime elected officials retiring, San Ramon voters should pick replacements with the skills needed to address the city’s financial challenges.

For mayor, Mark Armstrong, with nearly four years on the City Council, clearly meets that criterion. For the council seat representing District 1, covering the northwest section of the city, Vasanth Shetty is the stronger of the two candidates running, although he will have a lot of budget homework if elected.

In San Ramon, the mayor runs citywide and serves a two-year term while the four district-elected councilmembers serve staggered four-year terms. Also this year, District 3 incumbent Sridhar Verose is running uncontested for a second term representing most of Doughtery Valley.

The rapid population growth San Ramon experienced in the first two decades of this century has flattened. But the budgetary constraints remain.

Current annual expenditures for the city are about $63 million per year. That number has risen significantly since 2020 because of increased costs for items such as salaries and benefits, liability insurance and contracts for outside vendors who provide city services.

Meanwhile, city revenues have not kept pace. While San Ramon residents are relatively affluent, the city’s government is anything but.

That’s in part because San Ramon has an unusually small retail base for a city of its size, about 83,000 residents. It doesn’t have auto dealerships, an outlet mall or even a Costco warehouse within the city limits — all major sales tax-generators for other cities.

The problem is exacerbated by an unfavorable 1986 deal with Contra Costa County that split sales tax revenue from the Bishop Ranch development and now costs the city about $1.5 million-$2 million a year. And another problematic deal with the county, cut in 1994 for sharing property taxes from the 11,700 homes built in Dougherty Valley, now costs the city about $6 million annually.

So, to keep up with rising costs, city officials have had to dip into reserve funds and now face projections that the problem will only get worse without a new revenue source. It’s why the city has placed Measure N, a one-cent sales tax increase, on the Nov. 5 ballot.

Voters must decide whether to approve Measure N and who should manage city finances with or without the additional sales tax revenue.

Mayor – Mark Armstrong

Armstrong is hands down the better candidate in this race to replace Dave Hudson, who is retiring after four years as an elected mayor and 23 additional years as a councilmember.

Armstrong has served on the council since January 2021, when he was appointed to fill a vacancy created by Hudson’s election as mayor.

A West Point graduate who served in the Army for 30 years and then coordinated disaster relief for the Federal Emergency Management Agency for seven years, Armstrong has brought an attention to budgetary detail that serves the city well.

His opponent, Chirag Kathrani, cofounder of a company to help Indian company brands succeed in the United States, has not served on any city boards or commissions. When interviewed, he spoke in generalities about the city budget, apparently lacking detailed knowledge.

District 1 – Vasanth Shetty

Incumbent Scott Perkins is retiring after 21 years on the council. The two candidates vying to replace him, Vasanth Shetty and Robert Jweinant, would each have a steep learning curve, as was clear during their joint interview.

That said, both are smart candidates capable of meeting the challenge.

Shetty is a consultant with an MBA in banking and finance who has advised and worked for major health care and technology companies. Jweinant was a sales executive before becoming an attorney in 2022. Shetty is currently a member of the city’s Economic Development Advisory Committee; Jweinant previously was.

Of the two, Shetty brings a stronger financial background, which is most critical for City Council service right now. It’s that advantage that makes him the better candidate.