As Yan Zhao prepares to wrap up her tenure as mayor of Saratoga, she’s set her sights on becoming Santa Clara County’s next assessor.
Zhao, who has served on the Saratoga city council since 2018, said she hopes to better address the needs of the county’s ever-growing immigrant population if elected as county assessor.
There’s some dissention as to whether she’s equipped to handle the job, as she recently sparred with her city council colleagues over how to improve economic vitality in downtown Saratoga. Zhao’s contention that businesses in the Saratoga Village along Big Basin Way aren’t in need of these efforts led some residents say she’s disconnected from the lives of everyday people.
The job that Zhao’s now campaigning to take on in 2026, the same year that her second city council term ends, would make her primarily responsible for setting property values in the county. Larry Stone, the current county assessor, has held the job since 1994. Stone hasn’t filed papers to run for re-election in 2026.
“I haven’t really thought about who I’m running against,” Zhao said. “I don’t know who else will be jumping in and run for this position.”
Zhao officially kicked off her campaign at an event in Palo Alto on Dec. 7, supported by other local officials like state Sen. Dave Cortese, who also named her “Woman of the Year” in his district in April, and has previously spoken publicly in favor of unseating Stone.
Zhao said her background in both technology and local government has set her up to serve the county as assessor. She said she hopes to prioritize new educational initiatives and outreach programs in multiple languages to help residents better understand property tax laws and regulations.
“This job demands critical thinking, analytical skills, proficiency in technology. I think I have all of that,” Zhao added.
But comments Zhao made about the need to invest the city’s resources in the Saratoga Village have some wondering whether she understands the community she currently serves. After an ad hoc committee presented a series of recommendations on improving economic vitality at a council meeting last month, council members were split on approving a pilot program in which Hero Ranch Kitchen would self-fund an expansion of the restaurant’s outdoor dining area. Zhao, one of the no votes on the program, said she didn’t support taking away three public parking spots for a private business to use.
“For me, our downtown is pretty vibrant,” she said at the meeting.
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Saratoga resident Nedda Ashjaee said she watched a recording of the meeting and was disappointed by Zhao’s comments. “I don’t know if I want that kind of person doing anything in any kind of government when they don’t care,” she said.
Resident Ilaria Keogh said Zhao’s comments at the meeting gave her the impression that the mayor was disconnected from the community and didn’t understand the importance of economic vitality in the city, which Keogh said doesn’t bode well for her bid for county assessor. She added that the Saratoga Village needs more foot traffic in order to become vibrant.
Zhao “really should be working on connecting with her constituents and listening to the residents and listening to the constituents before she moves on to bigger things,” Keogh said.
Zhao told this publication that she wished she phrased her comments at that meeting to better convey that Saratoga’s sales tax revenue has increased, which the city’s 2024-2025 budget confirms. She said she’s interested in investing resources to make the Saratoga Village even better.
“I should have said that downtown is not dying, but we are always trying to improve it,” she added.
Jim Cargill of the Saratoga Chamber of Commerce cautioned community members not to judge the mayor’s performance based on one meeting.
“I would recommend that people have that conversation directly with her to understand exactly where she stands,” he added.
