City of San Jose City Council Councilmember Arjun Batra

Arjun Batra is a retired tech professional who has enjoyed a successful career in both Silicon Valley and his native India. Having worked first for IBM and then an impressive 22 years at Intel, Batra has a tech-focused perspective that helps him relate to and understand those living in a city like San Jose, whose residents are sharing their backyard with the cutting-edge giants of technology. 

Batra is the first Indian American on the council since Ash Kalra moved on to statewide office. Batra’s focus is on resolving the homeless population as well as developing affordable housing options within San Jose, a city that is a melting pot of everything from high-income tech executives to low-income immigrant families.

First appointed: January 2023 (selected by a vote of the council to fill the vacancy left when Councilmember Matt Mahan won the mayoral race in November 2022).

Alma maters: Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta & McGill University (MBA) 

Notable quote: “In a city as wealthy as San Jose, it is an unfortunate reality that many of our citizens lack affordable housing, and are forced to live in unhygienic, unsafe and unsheltered unsafe conditions." (Source: San Jose Spotlight) 

Committees: Innovation and Technology Advisory Board, Smart City Advisory Board

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