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Occupation: Senior field representative for U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo
Age: 27
Years living in Mountain View: 3
Top priorities: Equitable growth, public safety, sustainability and community wellbeing
Nicholas Hargis, a congressional aide for U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo, is making his mark as the youngest contender in the Mountain View City Council race. But while relatively new to the campaign trail, Hargis comes to the race with a strong background in politics.
Hargis has entered the competition with a robust policy platform, honed from his studies in government and politics at Harvard University and his experiences working on legislative issues in the region.
Hargis says Mountain View has a good blueprint for building more homes, especially when compared to other cities. But he also expressed concern about housing affordability. Under its previous housing element, the city built a lot of market-rate units. Now it needs to make up for lost ground and focus more on lower-income households, he said.
Hargis supports requiring market-rate developers to set aside more of their units as affordable and to go deeper with their levels of affordability. But he also says it’s important for moderate-income households to have options as well.
“It’s vital to give everyone economic mobility, and housing is the first step because it’s the most expensive cost for folks in general,” Hargis said.
On the issue of homelessness, Mountain View can do more to increase its shelter services for unhoused residents, Hargis said. The city has updated its zoning code to allow for more shelters, but there’s still a big gap in getting shelters actually built, he said.
Hargis also supports expanding the city’s safe parking sites, and emphasized the importance of county and state partnerships to help move vehicle dwellers into transitional housing opportunities.
With the city budget, Hargis says it’s important for the city to prioritize its infrastructure projects, particularly when faced with future deficits. Hargis described federal initiatives, like Direct Pay and the Inflation Reduction Act, to help get projects built, especially if Measure G fails to pass. It works like tax credits, Hargis said, adding that the programs are tied to climate resiliency initiatives.
Sustainability is another major area focus for Hargis, who says he supports increasing park fees from developers if it is balanced with what the market bears, and in terms of not impeding housing. He also identified state funding sources for urban park programs and expressed interest in collaborating with neighboring cities to expand park spaces in bordering areas.
In terms of downtown revitalization and supporting the city’s economic development, Haris says permitting for site renovations should be streamlined and land use should be more flexible. Hargis opposes a vacancy tax, office cap or paid parking, and says he wants to pursue other strategies to get people downtown, like having better advertising and more large-scale community and pop-up events.
Public safety and traffic improvements are another high priority area for Hargis. This includes a focus on street maintenance and responsiveness to community requests for road and sidewalk work. Hargis also is in strong support of safety measures like “no right-turn on red,” speed bumps and slowing down vehicle speeds in sensitive areas.
While Hargis backs the city’s active transportation plan, he emphasized the need to take quicker action in its implementation. Everything becomes more expensive as time passes, he said. Strengthening the public works department to move projects along more quickly would help too, he added.
On the issue of policing, Hargis says there is a lot of property crime in Mountain View and automatic license plate readers can help assist law enforcement with these investigations. “We need to protect people’s civil rights … and their personal privacy, but it gives our police department a better opportunity to serve justice,” he said.
Compared to most other candidates, Hargis has a more favorable view of the city’s relationship with the Mountain View Whisman High School District. The current situation over the Shoreline funding agreement is a bit of an anomaly, he said. In the past, the city and school district have had a good history of working together. “We all have the same end goal, which is the security and prosperity of Mountain View residents,” he added.
More information about Hargis’ policy positions and priorities can be found on his campaign website, https://www.nicholas4mv.com.
