San Ramon Parks and Community Services Commissioner Sridhar Verose is the most recent resident to announce their candidacy for City Council, and is asking for support from residents in District 3.

Pitching himself as a candidate who has gained the experience and perspective on various city commissions, Verose said his main priorities for San Ramon will revolve around supporting the city's high standard for public safety, preserving its pristine open space and maintaining its residents' quality of life.

"I strongly believe in community-based solutions (and) I've been engaged in our community services for the past 13 years," Verose told DanvilleSanRamon.com. "The key reason I am running is to make sure that in San Ramon, the quality of life that we are enjoying today, wanting to protect that quality of life for both us (today) and for future generations."

"During my time with Parks and Community Services, I have had time to learn about the requirements of the community and also enabled me to execute the things that the community are looking for," he added.

Prioritizing San Ramon's standing as one of, if not the, safest communities in California, Verose says support for the San Ramon Police Department is paramount to maintaining this achieved level of safety. Further stating that support is best given by providing local police with the tools and training they need

"One of my top priorities is going to be public safety. Right now San Ramon is actually ranked as the safest city in California and we need to continue to have that quality… and look for those opportunities to improve," he said. "We cannot just take it easy. We need to make sure that people are safe."

With that being said, Verose did add that there is always room for improvement, and prioritizing certain types of training that promote fair and equitable policing is also key to maintaining a safe community with a high quality of life.

Touching on the civil unrest and police reform movements sweeping the country, Verose said he doesn't support defunding police but would be a proponent for promoting training or methods that support racial equality and prevent racism.

"I don't support defunding the San Ramon police department but I support providing the required tools and equipment for the San Ramon police department, especially focused on the training that is focused on anti-racism, implicit bias, appropriate responses and problem-solving," he said. "Also, I would work with our community as well as our San Ramon police department to review and reform any policies."

Verose has also placed a particular importance on preserving San Ramon's open space, going so far as to call the city's scenic natural resources "sacred."

I strongly believe that we need to keep our open space from being encroached upon," he said. "So all of our open spaces, trails and golf courses, I consider them as sacred and I will oppose any development that threatens our beautiful natural landscapes."

In addition to his time on the Parks and Community Services Committee -- where he served as a liaison to several other city committees -- Verose is also a member of the San Ramon Chamber of Commerce, Rotary Club of Dougherty Valley, a Cub Scouts den leader, a founder and former president of San Ramon Cricket Association and a founding member of the San Ramon Valley Diversity Coalition.

According to his campaign website, he graduated with a Master’s degree in Software Engineering from San Jose State University and has been working in information technology for the past 25 years. Most recently he is employed as a senior manager of Cloud Operations at Opentext Inc.

This will serve as Verose's second attempt to join the San Ramon City Council, after previously running in 2018. He placed third out of four in that race, coming in behind current council members Dave Hudson and Sabina Zafar in San Ramon's last election where council members were elected at-large.

The upcoming November 2020 general election marks the first time the San Ramon City Council will seek to elect candidates on a district-based voting method where voters are only permitted to vote for candidates who live in their geographic area.

As a resident of San Ramon's third district, Verose will be competing for councilman Phil O'Loane's seat, whose four-year term is set to expire at the end of the year. In order to vote for Verose, residents will need to reside in District 3, which primarily covers a large section of the Dougherty Valley along Bollinger Canyon Road.

To learn more about Verose and his campaign, residents can visit his campaign website at http://sridharforsanramon.com.