Silicon Valley business leader Ibrahim Bashir April 25 announced his candidacy for the Los Altos City Council. Bashir is the first challenger, joining incumbent council members Jonathan Weinberg and Sally Meadows in the race for three open council seats in the Nov. 5 general election.
A father of three, naturalized immigrant, former commissioner and technology executive, Bashir said he has a proven track record of solving big problems. Bashir said he has “brought together hundreds of people who disagreed to reach cross-disciplinary consensus and solve complex problems in the private sector, at some of Silicon Valley’s most iconic companies. … In order to solve big problems, you have to set ambitious goals. You have to think creatively. You have to spend smart. You have to execute with discipline.”
It’s an approach he said he’s eager to bring to a city hall. Bashir points to the city’s recent history of frivolous lawsuits, slow progress on housing, and a lack of discipline when it comes to spending.
“While the city has made progress in recent years, with plans for downtown, housing and climate action, significant work remains to fully realize the community’s vision,” Bashir said. “We need to bring a more creative, common-sense approach to solving our community’s biggest problems.”
Bashir, a Democrat, is former Los Altos library commissioner. He holds a master’s of science degree in computer science and engineering from the University of Michigan. He’s currently vice president of product management at Amplitude.
For more information, visit BashirForLosAltos.com.
Weinberg, currently mayor, and Meadows jointly announced their re-election bids last month. Both were elected to council in 2020.
“It has been a privilege to serve the community as members of the city council,” he said. “Sally and I enjoy working together and sharing ideas. We believe that we have made a positive impact on our city, and we look forward to the opportunity to continue working with our residents, businesses, property owners and city staff.”
“Looking back over the past three-plus years, we’ve been able to correct many of the issues that motivated me to run in the first place, such as high legal spending for counterproductive lawsuits and addressing obstructive policies in important areas such as housing and wireless telecommunications,” Meadows said.
