City of Davis City Council Councilmember Bapu Vaitla

Bapu Vaitla was first elected to the Davis City Council in November of 2022. He was born in India but grew up in California. He currently works with Data2X on gender equality and is focused on improving the lives of children and youth through social cooperation. Other issues he emphasized during his campaign include housing for all, climate action, and increasing Davis community cooperation. Vaitla received a postdoctoral fellowship from the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, is a visiting lecturer at UC Davis, and has received a Mickey Leland International Hunger Fellowship and a Fulbright Scholarship.

First Elected: November 2022

Alma Maters: University of California Davis (B.A. in Nature and Culture and M.S. in International Agricultural Development), Tufts University (Ph.D. in international relations/political economy)

Other Positions Held: Vaitla previously served on the City of Davis Social Services Commission and was on the boards for Cool Davis and Davis Opportunity Village.

Board and Committee Assignments: Finance and Budget Commission, Planning Commission, Senior Citizen Commission, Utilities Commission

Notable quotes: “On climate, people are feeling that we’re truly in this period of emergency and wanting Davis to be a leader in carbon negativity, not even just carbon neutrality.” (Source: Davis Vanguard) 

“Starting with the downtown plan and then working our way really to think about how soon can we do a general plan update. How do we get a 5, 10, 20-year strategic vision for housing development that meets our affordable requirements, but also is climate-friendly.” (Source: Davis Vanguard)