Meet The San Ramon Candidate: Mark Armstrong

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 Mark Armstrong, who is running for re-election for mayor. He has served since December 2024.

What is your educational background?

I graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point. I also earned a Master of Military Arts and Sciences from the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College and a Master of Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College.

What is your professional background?

I am a retired U.S. Army Colonel with 30 years of active-duty service in leadership positions in the United States and overseas. After retiring from the Army, I continued my public service with FEMA, serving in senior leadership roles coordinating disaster response, recovery, and emergency management with federal, state, territorial, and local agencies.

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

Yes. I was appointed to the San Ramon City Council, District 2, following the 2020 election and re-elected in 2022. I was then elected Mayor in 2024.

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

San Ramon faces several important challenges. First, we must manage housing and redevelopment responsibly. As state housing laws increasingly limit local control, our job is to direct new housing to appropriate areas such as the City Core while protecting established neighborhoods, hillsides, and open space. We must also ensure infrastructure and services keep pace with growth, including roads, parks, transportation, schools, utilities, and public facilities.

Second, we must maintain San Ramon’s long-term financial stability through disciplined budgeting, controlling ongoing costs, and ensuring we can continue providing the high-quality services residents expect.

Third, public safety must remain a top priority. We must continue supporting our Police Department, investing in crime prevention and technology, and strengthening emergency preparedness. These challenges are connected by one goal: protecting the quality of life that makes San Ramon such a special community.

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

One specific action I would prioritize is completing and implementing a long-term financial sustainability plan for San Ramon.

Residents approved Measure N to help protect the services they value, including public safety, parks, road maintenance, and other essential City services. But Measure N should not substitute for disciplined long-term financial planning.

During my first year, I would continue the work already underway to closely examine revenues, expenditures, reserves, and the long-term cost of City programs. That means making thoughtful choices, controlling ongoing expenses, identifying efficiencies, and ensuring new spending has a sustainable way to pay for it.

San Ramon has built its reputation on excellent services and a high quality of life. My priority is to make sure we can continue providing those services not just next year, but for many years to come.

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?

I understand why residents are concerned about the construction they see today and the additional housing planned at Bishop Ranch. I am a resident too and share some of those concerns. San Ramon is changing, and even when development is carefully planned, that change can be difficult.

California law requires cities to plan for substantial amounts of new housing and increasingly limits our ability to say no to projects that meet state law and adopted standards. My focus is on managing that reality responsibly while protecting what makes San Ramon special.

Concentrating much of our new housing in the City Core allows aging and underutilized office properties to be redeveloped near jobs, shopping, transit and services, while helping protect established neighborhoods, hillsides and open space from additional development pressure.

Housing, however, cannot be considered in isolation. Development must address transportation and traffic, schools, parks, public safety, utilities and other infrastructure. We must continue requiring affordable housing consistent with our ordinances and ensure developers contribute their fair share toward needed services and improvements.

The question is not whether San Ramon will change, but how we manage that change thoughtfully while maintaining our quality of life.

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’s economy needs to become more diverse. The traditional large-office model has changed, but the answer cannot be simply replacing every vacant office with housing.

We should retain existing employers while attracting businesses in technology, healthcare, professional services and emerging industries. We must remain business-friendly by working with the Chamber of Commerce, property owners, employers and small businesses to understand what helps them stay, grow and invest here.

We need responsive City staff and efficient, predictable permitting. Our Business Concierge program helps businesses navigate City requirements and the steps needed to open or expand. We must also proactively compete for businesses considering the Tri-Valley.

Just as importantly, attracting and retaining businesses requires maintaining a safe community, great parks and landscaping, well-maintained streets and strong schools.

The City Core plan provides opportunities for retail alongside housing and employment, creating places where people can live, work and spend locally while preserving viable commercial areas.

A strong tax base requires balance: a diverse mix of employers, retail, services and housing, not dependence on any single land use.

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

Public safety must remain one of San Ramon’s highest priorities. That starts with continuing to fully support and appropriately fund our Police Department so officers have the staffing, training, technology, and investigative resources they need to prevent crime and hold offenders accountable.

We should also continue funding targeted crime-prevention efforts, including the City’s crime protection task force supported in part through grant funding. These focused resources help our Police Department respond to burglary and organized retail theft patterns that often cross city boundaries.

But enforcement is only part of the solution. We also need to continue working directly with local businesses to help reduce opportunities for crime. San Ramon Police already provides crime-prevention education and works with businesses on practical measures such as lighting, cameras, alarms, property identification, employee training, and other security practices.

Finally, crime does not stop at city borders. Continued coordination with neighboring police departments, the Sheriff’s Office, and regional law-enforcement partners is essential when the same individuals or groups are targeting businesses throughout the Tri-Valley.

Our goal should be straightforward: deter crime where we can, respond quickly when it occurs, and give our police and local businesses the tools they need to keep San Ramon safe.

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

I believe my experience and record of service distinguish me in this election. I have had the privilege of serving San Ramon as a Councilmember and, since 2024, as Mayor. Before that, I spent 30 years as a U.S. Army officer and later served in senior leadership positions with FEMA, experiences that taught me preparation, teamwork, accountability, and how to make difficult decisions.

San Ramon faces important challenges, including maintaining strong finances and public safety while meeting state housing requirements and protecting established neighborhoods, open space, and our quality of life.

Effective leadership requires listening, understanding the facts, working with people who may disagree, and finding practical solutions. I offer experienced, steady leadership and a demonstrated commitment to keeping San Ramon safe, financially strong, and an exceptional place to live.