Meet The San Ramon Candidate: Jeffrey Joh

SAN RAMON, CA — Patch reached out to all candidates for San Ramon mayor and for Council Districts 2 and 4 with questions we feel San Ramon voters want to know.

We reprinted their answers verbatim.

Below, read the responses of Jeffrey Joh, a tech consultant running for City Council District 4.

What is your educational background?

I grew up in San Ramon and attended SRVUSD schools. During high school, I served as a Congressional Page on Capitol Hill and spent a year as an exchange student in Germany. I graduated from UC Berkeley with a Bachelor’s in Molecular and Cell Biology, and completed exchange programs in London and Copenhagen.

What is your professional background?

During my university studies, my early career included research assistant roles with the Berkeley Lab and the National Park Service. Following graduation, I spent nearly a decade working with tech startups in Europe. My experience includes venture capital roles as well as working as an independent consultant in growth, developer relations, and business development for early-stage startups.

Have you ever held public office, whether appointive or elective?

I have not held elective public office. I served as an appointed member of the City of Berkeley Transportation Commission. I also served as a high school Congressional Page on Capitol Hill and completed internships with several members of Congress.

What are the top three issues facing San Ramon right now?

Job Growth & Business Attraction: Office vacancies continue to be elevated. We must attract companies of all types, from regional corporate offices to tech startups, creating diverse local jobs and restoring commercial vitality.

Fiscal Responsibility & Core Services: Balancing municipal budgets as sales tax revenues shift, planning for the eventual sunset of Measure N through commercial growth rather than higher taxes, and securing long-term funding for public services.

Housing & Local Governance: Complying with state housing mandates while maintaining local control, preserving our neighborhood aesthetic, and protecting our open spaces from sprawl. We must restore citizen oversight and lower appeal fees so residents have a real say in local planning.

What is one specific action you would prioritize during your first year in office?

During my first year, I would prioritize an economic development and zoning reform package.

That means updating our economic development strategy to aggressively recruit high-value employers, exploring incentives where they provide long-term benefit to the city, and reviewing zoning rules that may limit new businesses.

I would also reform the city’s appeal process by reducing zoning and permit appeal fees to $300. I would expand opportunities for public comment to the fullest extent allowed by state law. Economic growth and efficient government should go hand-in-hand with transparency and meaningful resident participation.

Thousands of homes are planned at Bishop Ranch as former office properties are redeveloped. What should the city require or prioritize regarding affordability, transportation, schools, parks and infrastructure?

Growth must align with public infrastructure capacity and our neighborhood aesthetic.

A Real Downtown Core: Build a beautiful, walkable center featuring everyday essential services for both local families running daily errands and regional visitors. We must focus on urban planning that minimizes transportation bottlenecks, creates aesthetically appealing streetscapes, and delivers a true public venue.

Infrastructure & Transportation: Concentrate growth strictly within existing commercial areas protects our natural hillsides and surrounding open space from sprawl. Developers should pay their full share of transportation and infrastructure improvements. We should also explore microtransit and emerging technologies where they can reduce car dependence.

Affordability & Housing: Prioritize middle-income and workforce housing for teachers, nurses, and young families, while continuing to streamline ADUs.

Schools & Parks: Align housing development directly with school capacity to preserve the high-quality education parents move here for. Ensure developer impact fees directly fund school improvements. Developments must integrate parks, plazas, and pedestrian corridors to enhance local quality of life.

Aesthetics & Resident Voice: Strengthen the architectural review process and enforce clear, objective design standards so new builds enhance neighborhood look-and-feel. Above all, we need more citizen input during planning, growth, and beyond.

As office vacancies reshape San Ramon’s economy, how should the city attract jobs and maintain its tax base without relying excessively on either office development or housing?

San Ramon should grow its tax base through economic activity. My priority is making San Ramon a destination for employers while creating a more diverse and resilient local economy.

Attract Growing & Global Firms: Recruit multinational corporates and Bay Area tech startups that can take advantage of our talented workforce and existing Class-A office space. We have incredible, diverse local talent. Build internship and pipelines connecting employers with local students.

Modernize Commercial Zoning: Allow a broader mix of uses, including labs, industrial, and experiential retail, and consider targeted incentives when a new employer provides long-term fiscal benefits.

Build a Commercial Destination: A true downtown should generate activity beyond the workday. Attractive streets, retail, and events can bring residents and commuters together while generating sales-tax revenue.

Support Entrepreneurship: Provide vacant spaces for co-working, incubators, and new businesses so local entrepreneurs can start - and stay - right here.

San Ramon and many other Tri-Valley communities have recently seen a rash of commercial burglaries. How can we better prevent this from happening?

Commercial burglary requires proactive policing, smart use of technology, and strong partnerships with local businesses.

Targeted Technology & Privacy: Focus on major routes for organized crime without creating unnecessary surveillance of residents. Since San Ramon already operates an ALPR network, I would regularly evaluate its effectiveness, placement, data retention, and privacy safeguards, with citizen oversight and transparent reporting. The city should prioritize vendors with the strongest privacy protections and minimize unnecessary data collection.

Business & Private Security Partnerships: Maintain an open dialogue with businesses to identify recurring vulnerabilities, improve coordination, and share information quickly.

Small Business Support: Offer security assessments and explore grants or group purchasing programs that help businesses improve lighting, cameras, locks, and other protective measures.

Regional Cooperation: Strengthen real-time information sharing with neighboring police departments because organized burglary crews frequently cross city boundaries.

Safer Design: Encourage Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design, including better lighting, clear sight lines, thoughtful landscaping, and store designs.

Why do you feel you're a better candidate than your opponents?

I offer a unique combination of strong local roots and a practical, global mindset. Raised in San Ramon and educated in SRVUSD schools, I have experienced our community at every stage of life. My parents and extended family live here in the Valley, and protecting our quality of life is personal to me.

Having spent over a decade living and working abroad in tech startups, I experienced vibrant, livable cities where youth and seniors thrive, while learning to solve complex problems in dynamic settings.

My campaign is entirely resident-focused. I only answer to San Ramon residents - not to other government officials, political parties, labor unions, or PACs. As an independent candidate free from outside influence or campaign obligation, my sole focus is making local government transparent and keeping San Ramon a great place to live.