My philosophy is simple: take challenges head-on and get results! That’s the attitude I’ve applied to every aspect of my life, and it’s what I’ll apply to the Town Council.

As a 3rd generation Los Gatan, I love the charm and character of our town; I like what Los Gatos has to offer, and I want to keep it that way.

Los Gatos had a population of around 3,000 when my grandfather, Benjamin Franklin Stump, arrived in 1924. He was called to serve at First Baptist Church of Los Gatos. One year later, in 1925, my father was born on the same land that is now the Los Gatos High School lawn! Ask me about that sometime.

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The downtown, then as it is now, is important to the charm and character of Los Gatos. It has been the hub of community activity for generations. Both my father and I worked in Downtown businesses; my dad at Duncan’s Drug Store and the Mobil Gas Station, and me at Frank’s Los Gatos Market. I grew up in Los Gatos, attending Louise Van Meter, Raymond J. Fisher and Los Gatos High School.

Family is of central importance to my wife Nancy and me. We’ve raised three children while being members of the Los Gatos Community for 36 years and hillside residents for 26 years.

Living on the hillside has brought a whole new understanding of land stewardship in an effort to thwart the on-going and increasing threat of wildfire to the Town of Los Gatos. We have both been active in raising awareness of this threat throughout the Civic Center Hillside Neighborhood and the Town of Los Gatos.

In 2025, I was appointed to the Los Gatos Planning Commission. I was motivated to serve to assist our community in navigating through a period of unprecedented develop-ment. Many of the projects were filed under Builder’s Remedy resulting in designs that did not meet our local town standards including proposed high-rise buildings ranging from four to thirteen stories. I wanted to ensure that Developers were held to the letter of the law including the appropriate study of the cumulative environmental impacts of this unprecedented building program. While development is needed, particularly affordable housing, I hold fast to our building standards that preserve the charm and character of the Town.

Our children, Mary, Rachel and Peter are 4th generation Los Gatans and 3rd generation graduates of Los Gatos High School. In this community, they thrived socially and academically including developing many life-long friendships. They still call Los Gatos their home.

I want to make sure that every family, whether your roots run 100 years deep like mine or are brand-new to the community, have the same authentic, real, safe and secure opportunities that were presented to my family. Preserving the charm and character of Los Gatos for generations to come is a high priority.