Candidates for Congress make their case at youth forum

With less than two weeks to go until the March 5 primary, candidates looking to succeed U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo tried to distinguish themselves from the crowded pack on Feb. 22 as they fielded questions from local students.

Held at the Neutra House in Los Altos, the event was produced by the Los Altos Institution, a policy group oriented around high-school students. Over the course of 90 minutes, candidates offered their thoughts on Social Security, tax policy, immigration, the Israel-Hamas war, artificial intelligence and other policy areas. For the six candidates who participated in the event — Joby Bernstein, Peter Dixon, Julie Lythcott-Haims, Ahmed Mostafa, Peter Ohtaki and Greg Tanaka — the forum also offered an opportunity to set themselves apart from the two candidates who did not attend the event but who are currently considered frontrunners: former San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo and Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian.

A poll taken earlier this month by San Jose Spotlight and Probolsky research showed Liccardo and Simitian leading the pack. Sixteen percent of the voters in the 16^th Congressional District supporting Liccardo with 13.3% favoring Simitian, while 34% said they remain undecided. The two candidates with the most votes will advance to the general election in November.

Assembly member Evan Low also did not attend the Feb. 22 event, while candidate Rishi Kumar answered a few questions before departing about 30 minutes into the forum.

Those who did attend used the opportunity to offer their opinions on policy issues and tell prospective voters why they are most suited to replace Eshoo, who has represented the Silicon Valley district for three decades.

“This is a very short sprint,” said Peter Dixon, a Marine Corps veteran and former CEO of a cybersecurity firm. “For those of us who’ve been lifelong public servants but have not been lifelong politicians — we’re going from zero name ID to trying to get into the general in a very short amount of time. Frankly it’s a lot like building a startup, but maybe at three times the speed.”

Peter Ohtaki, a former Menlo Park mayor and the only Republican on stage, and Ahmed Mostafa, a human-rights attorney and former Google employee, both made the case for reaching across the political aisle — albeit, from opposite sides. Ohtaki said he wants to join the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus so that he can represent America’s “sensible middle.”

“Congress is so polarized that each part wants to make the other part look bad rather than to solve the major issues facing our nation right now,” Ohtaki said. “Many of the other candidates are career politicians who toe the party line but dare not reach over across the aisle and seek compromise or seek solutions.”

Mostafa said he hopes to join “The Squad,” an informal group of progressive Democrats that includes, among others, Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jamaal Bowman. When the debate moderators pointed out that these politicians have a dismal record when it comes to actually passing legislation, Mostafa suggested that this is because their message doesn’t get spread far enough. He pledged to take the progressive message to red states.

“If we use terminologies that are very partisan, that is how we don’t get things done,” Mostafa said. “But I want to preach to the entire country, and that’s how we will pass legislation.”

The forum also highlighted policy disagreements among the candidates. Ohtaki and Tanaka, a Palo Alto City Council member, both said they would oppose raising taxes on the wealthy to pay for social programs and infrastructure while the rest of the candidates said they support doing so. Tanaka was also the only candidate who said he opposes providing aid to Ukraine as it fends off an invasion from Russia.

Julie Lythcott-Haims, an author who also serves on the Palo Alto council, was the only candidates who voiced opposition to increase funding for border security, while Mostafa was the only candidate who indicated he would have voted against the border security bill that was recently presented, and ultimately rejected, in the U.S. Senate.

And while all candidates said they would support renewable energy projects at the federal level, Lythcott-Haims and Mostafa both indicated they would oppose nuclear energy projects. Bernstein, Dixon, Ohtaki and Tanaka all said they would support them.

Tanaka, a technology entrepreneur, suggested that Silicon Valley needs a candidate who understands emerging technology. He also made the case for undergrounding Caltrain all along the Peninsula, which he argued would create land, improve public safety and reduce traffic.

“And you can actually pay for it by capturing the value above. As you monetize the land above by building, you can use the funds to underground it,” Tanaka said.

Candidates also made their case to local youth by discussing their commitment to keeping young people engaged and involved in policymaking. Tanaka noted that over his tenure on the council, he has always had high school students serving as legislative aides. Bernstein, a graduate student at Stanford University and climate investor, said he would continue the student advisory board program that Eshoo had introduced.

“It is in government that we will fix the biggest problems of today and solve the crisis for tomorrow,” Bernstein said. “And so ensuring that all students are ready to fight and stand up as the next generation will ensure that we have a better America.”

Lythcott-Haims, meanwhile, was asked about one of her top campaign priorities: the high cost of living. Travis Hodges, co-moderator of the debate, said that as policymakers, noted that the cost of housing has consistently gone up and suggested she and her council colleagues bear some responsibility for the problem.

“We still have plenty of people in Palo Alto who’d like to keep Palo Alto as it is rather than make room for more people,” Lythcott-Haims said.

She said she has been actively trying to educate people about the benefits of housing and this has made a difference.

“Voters are increasingly willing to raise heights and increase density and welcome more housing to Palo Alto,” Lythcott-Haims said.

Julian Hong, student body president at Palo Alto High School and one of the two moderators, said the forum was initially slated to be open to the public. But due to “political tension” in the community, attendance was limited to candidates and the media and streamed online. A forum that Embarcadero Media held on Jan. 31 was repeatedly interrupted by pro-Palestinian protesters who chanted and jeered at the candidates before the organizers shut it down just before the candidates were set to deliver their closing statements.

Hodges, chief deputy director at Los Altos Institution, said the youth-organized forum “shows the impact and increasing prominence that young people have in our political system.”

“And although many of us are unable to vote, we hold a voice in our democracy,” he said.