BY BRADEN CARTWRIGHT
Daily Post Staff Writer
Los Altos City Council candidate Ibrahim Bashir says he wants to focus on projects that 80% of residents desire, like playgrounds and a swimming pool, rather than listening to a vocal minority.
“A lot of times, the direction of the city and the decisions of the council feel like they’re unfairly influenced by a very small group of people,” Bashir said in an interview. “There’s a lot of other people who want their voices heard, but they doin’t have the time, the skill, the access or the ability to go engage.”
Specifically, Bashir said he would listen to parents who are busy and residents who are newer to the area.
“That’s a crowd that I can better access and empathize with because that’s my own experience,” said Bashir, one of five candidates running for three open seats on council.
Bashir, 43, said he’s been walking neighborhoods since April, before elections were on anyone’s mind, and that he’s knocked on almost 3,000 doors. On council, Bashir said he would expand office hours and set up a booth at downtown events.
Residents don’t know who to go to about downed trees, leaky hydrants and potholes, Bashir said, so he would look into hiring a city ombudsman and setting up a website to help field complaints.
The next council may decide whether the city should move forward with a downtown performing arts theater backed by the Los Altos Stage Company. Theater supporters are looking at how to raise $23 million for a 160-seat theater, and council set aside a parking lot behind the post office for the potential development.
Bashir said he isn’t opposed to a theater, but he wants a “bulletproof” plan for keeping the city’s costs low.
“I hear a lot of other things before I hear a theater,” Bashir said. “I hear, ‘Why are there no playgrounds outside of the school?’ I hear, ‘Why don’t we have a community pool?’ So I think there are more ’80% opportunities’ before we get to the theater.”
Bashir said his priorities in year one are housing and public safety. Bashir got involved with the city through an appointment to the Library Commission in October 2016.
Growing up in Saudi Arabia, Bashir said he didn’t have access to public libraries.
“I just think it’s the most beautiful invention,” Bashir said.
Bashir is vice president of product management at Amplitude, a software company based in San Francisco.
Former Mayor Jean Mordo encouraged Bashir to run.
Bashir has raised $64,216 through Sept. 21 — more than three times as much as the next candidate and the most in city history.
Bashir’s fundraising, mostly from out of town, prompted Vice Mayor Pete Dailey to fund a campaign attacking Bashir’s attendance on the Library Commission.
Bashir missed eight of 26 meetings before resigning in March 2019, according to meeting notes.
Bashir said he needs to build name recognition since he hasn’t lived in Los Altos for decades, and he’s running ads on streaming services.
“It’s a hot election cycle. People’s mailboxes are full. The cost of ads has gone up,” Bashir said.
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