Pete Dailey is running for Los Altos City Council.

Dailey currently serves on the city’s parks and recreation commission and is part of an ad-hoc working group creating a feasibility plan for a theater in downtown Los Altos. In 2014 he retired from a career in tech to spend more time with his family. He’s also coached and served on the board of directors of Mountain View Los Altos Girls Softball and Los Altos Mountain View PONY Baseball.

While his opponents claim to run more “positive” campaigns, Dailey has explicitly positioned his candidacy in opposition to Enander’s. He has attacked her on issues ranging from affordable housing, to her vote against the climate action plan and housing policies that Dailey says perpetuate systemic racism. 

“[Enander’s] actions are consistent with the structural racism that has kept people of color out of our community,” Dailey said.

Housing

Increasing the housing stock is Dailey’s number one priority. While many of the candidates support housing along the El Camino corridor, Dailey takes the idea one step further: He suggests developing higher density housing along San Antonio, across from downtown. 

“If we rezone that area, and do it in a way in a way that’s attractive to developers… then what we’ll have over there is a neighborhood where young professionals, teachers, firefighters, police officers will be able to afford to live in our community and patronize all the wonderful businesses we have in downtown without having to drive,” Dailey said.

Those kinds of developments are also key to Dailey’s environmental goals. Building housing closer to business areas will reduce the need for cars, Dailey said.

Climate

Dailey supports reducing carbon emissions to make the city carbon neutral by 2035 and developing more walkable neighborhoods. 

“I care a lot about the environment,” Dailey said. “I think we can make some meaningful changes locally … you can do some great things here locally, and the world will change as a result of accumulated impact of local changes.”

Dailey has also made changes in his personal life to reduce his carbon footprint, like getting an electric bike to reduce car trips.

Mental health

A father of two, Dailey acknowledged that parents in Los Altos, intentionally or not, put pressure on their kids to succeed.

“Many of our households are sort of high performing … where mom or dad went to elite universities and are prosperous financially, and whether they actively put that pressure on their kids or whether it’s passive because of the environment, a lot of young adults probably feel that intense pressure,” Dailey said.

As an example of collaboration between different agencies, Dailey pointed to his work on the parks commission, when he brought in the Santa Clara County Office of LGBTQ+ Affairs to make a presentation to the commission. 

Dailey also stressed increasing education about mental health resources. 

“We need to work with stakeholders to educate our residents and let them know what’s available,” Dailey said. “And we need to invest in new support structures to help young people.”

Dailey supports CHAC and has pledged to increase funding, though it’s unclear by exactly how much. 

Road safety

If elected, Dailey pledges to vote for projects similar to the creation of a bike lane along El Camino. Enander voted against the project earlier this year.

“It brought a tear to my eye when I was in that council meeting, watching that council meeting,” Dailey said of the March 7 meeting when the council voted on the project. “So [Enander] and I are very different. I would be hugely in favor of a bike lane on El Camino, and enhanced bike lane with some bollards to protect bike riders.”

Dailey also emphasized the necessity of a variety of services in Los Altos. According to Dailey, keeping that variety in the city’s business district will reduce traffic because if residents have everything they need within walking distance, they won’t drive as much.

“Grocery stores are hugely important,” Dailey said. “But I love the skateshop … the bookstore, the framing shop next to [Peet’s coffee], those are all highly critical pieces of our vital downtown experience, and I don’t want to lose those.”

To learn more about Dailey, visit his website here.