EDITORIAL: Carmen Montano, state senatorial candidate, answers Bay Area News Group's primary questionnaire

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Ahead of the June primary election, the Bay Area News Group compiled a list of questions to pose to the candidates for California State Senate District 10. You can find the full questionnaire below. Questionnaires may have been edited for spelling, grammar, length and clarity.

You can read our endorsement in this race here.

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Name: Carmen MontanoCurrent job title: Mayor of MilpitasDate of birth: February 22, 1955

Political party affiliation: DemocratOther political positions held: Vice mayor / Milpitas city councilmember / trustee for the Milpitas Unified School District BoardCity where you reside: Milpitas

What are the top three problems you're seeking to solve if elected SD 10 senator?

1. Economic survival for the middle class: Families and seniors are being crushed by the cost of living, skyrocketing utility rates and suffocating property taxes.

2. Neighborhood safety: The surge in organized retail crime and property theft requires a return to strict accountability and fully-funded local law enforcement.

3. The homeowners insurance crisis: Sacramento's bureaucratic inertia has collapsed the insurance market. We must stabilize rates and restore comprehensive coverage so purchasing or owning a home in the Bay Area doesn't lead to financial ruin.

Why are you uniquely qualified to address the three problems you've identified above?

I am uniquely qualified because I am a tested executive, not an ideologue. While others debate political theory, I have actively balanced complex municipal budgets, fully funded a local police department and stood up to state bureaucrats to protect our neighborhoods. My 26 years as a public school teacher taught me that real equity means ensuring safe streets and economic stability for every family. I am the only candidate who has successfully navigated the intersection of law enforcement funding, municipal infrastructure and community preservation from the executive mayoral chair.

What differentiates you from your most serious competitors for this seat?

What sets me apart is authentic independence and a record of working-class stability. I am not an elite corporate operative hiding my tech industry ties, nor am I a trial lawyer beholden to special interests. I have never voted to defund police oversight to benefit wealthy casino bosses, and I have never forced public nuisances into residential neighborhoods against the tearful pleas of parents. My career is defined by 26 years in the classroom and proven fiscal discipline as mayor. I work in the middle to get things done, fiercely protecting our suburban middle-class dream.

What Senate committee would you most like to chair, if given the opportunity? And how would that position serve your constituents?

I would seek to chair the Senate Governance and Finance Committee. This position is vital to protecting the economic lifeblood of District 10. From this chairmanship, I would champion the California SALT Conformity Act to ensure our residents fully benefit from the new $40,000 federal tax deductions. I would also drive legislation to cap skyrocketing, income-based utility fees and fight to enact sweeping property tax exemptions for seniors. By controlling finance policy, I can serve as the ultimate firewall protecting middle-class taxpayers from bureaucratic overreach and endless tax hikes.

You're running to be a lawmaker. If you were going to be remembered for writing and passing one law, what would it be?

I want to be remembered for passing the "Insurance Policyholder Bill of Rights." California's homeowners insurance market is collapsing, forcing families onto the inadequate FAIR Plan and destroying property values. My legislation would legally compel insurance companies to offer and renew policies for any homeowner who successfully meets state-certified wildfire safety standards, strictly prohibiting retaliatory non-renewals. Coupled with a massive $25,000 state income tax credit for home hardening, this law would break the bureaucratic gridlock, lure capital back to the state and permanently secure the financial foundation of the California dream.

You're running to replace Sen. Aisha Wahab. What has Sen. Wahab done right while representing this district?

Sen. Wahab brought necessary attention to the struggles of working-class families and renters in our region. Her advocacy for raising the minimum wage and her focus on the intersection of housing scarcity and poverty forced the legislature to confront the realities of income inequality in the Bay Area. I respect her willingness to elevate the voices of marginalized communities, reflecting a genuine desire to ensure that the foundational workforce of Silicon Valley is not entirely displaced by the extreme cost of living.

How has Sen. Wahab failed this district? And what would you do differently?

Where the current representation fell short was in prioritizing rigid ideological mandates over pragmatic, localized solutions. The district suffered when state legislation actively alienated local municipalities, stripped cities of their zoning sovereignty and ignored the devastating impacts of organized retail crime on small businesses. I will do things differently by operating in the pragmatic middle. I will empower local cities to manage their own housing density, demand strict accountability and mandatory minimums for repeat retail thieves and prioritize the immediate safety and fiscal health of our suburban neighborhoods over divisive political theories.

What solutions would you support to reduce housing costs in your district? If that's increasing supply, explain the policies you'd support.

We must increase supply, but we cannot destroy suburban neighborhoods to do it. I champion Concurrent Infrastructure Mandates. I will author legislation where the state matches local transit and utility impact fees dollar-for-dollar, provided those funds are used exclusively to build mass transit linkages, water facilities and schools before high-density residential units are occupied. Furthermore, I support allowing high-performing municipalities that meet their affordable housing targets to regain local control over zoning, shielding single-family enclaves from aggressive, top-down state mandates like SB 9. We need smart growth, not bureaucratic overreach.

Why should renters who live in your district vote for you? (If you think you've addressed this in prior answers, then note that.)

Renters should vote for me because I understand that true housing security requires economic growth, not market manipulation. While I proudly rejected extreme rent control policies that would have killed new housing construction and driven away investment, I have actively championed targeted workforce housing rental assistance programs. In Milpitas, we successfully utilized these programs to keep our foundational workforce - teachers, nurses and service workers - in their homes. I will fight for robust transit-oriented development and direct state rental assistance, ensuring renters have a realistic pathway to stability without punishing mom-and-pop property owners.

Why should first-time homebuyers vote for you?

First-time homebuyers face insurmountable hurdles in the Bay Area. You should vote for me because my Radical Economic Armor platform is built to make homeownership viable again. I will fight to maximize the new $40,000 federal SALT tax deduction at the state level, allowing you to keep your hard-earned income to afford your mortgage. Furthermore, my Insurance Policyholder Bill of Rights will stabilize the collapsed homeowners insurance market, ensuring that your dream of purchasing a home isn't derailed by exorbitant, unregulated insurance premiums or sudden FAIR Plan assignments.

What actions would you take to tackle homelessness? Do cities and counties need more control over the problem or does the state need to demand more coordination and accountability? How are your policy prescriptions different than what's already been done?

The state must demand absolute accountability and end the era of blank checks without metrics. However, cities need the jurisdictional authority to clean their own streets. I support doubling state matching funds for aggressive, localized encampment sweeps - modeled after the "BeautifySJ" program - with a zero tolerance policy for encampments near school buffer zones and critical transit corridors. My approach differs by prioritizing public safety and the restoration of public rights-of-way first, paired with mandatory audits of all state homeless spending. We must expand proven prevention models, like Destination: Home, but we cannot surrender our sidewalks in the interim.

Bay Area counties will lose billions in coming years as a result of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. These federal cuts, particularly to health care, are expected to hit Alameda and Santa Clara counties' residents hard. What actions, if any, would you support to protect these counties' budgets, in general, and health care services, in particular?

The federal Medicaid cuts under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act are devastating, but we cannot force local taxpayers to absorb this burden through regressive local sales taxes. To protect our counties and community clinics, the state must step in. I will propose legislation to close the $3 billion "water's edge" corporate offshore tax loophole, redirecting those recaptured funds directly into a state health care backfill block grant for impacted counties like Alameda and Santa Clara. We must reprioritize the existing state budget to protect Medi-Cal and street medicine teams without punishing the middle class.

Should California have a single-payer universal health care system? Explain.

No, California should not implement a single-payer universal health care system. While I believe deeply in universal access to quality care, proposals like AB 1400 would require unprecedented, multi-billion dollar tax hikes that would instantly bankrupt our state and cripple middle-class families. Transitioning to a government-run monopoly would severely disrupt the world-class care networks currently operating in the Bay Area. Instead of chasing impossible ideological theories, we must focus on pragmatic improvements: strengthening Covered California, protecting Medi-Cal funding against federal cuts and expanding public private partnerships to lower prescription drug costs without raising income taxes.

Why should your district's commuters vote for you?

Commuters should vote for me because I understand that mobility is a quality-of-life issue. In Milpitas, I launched the highly successful SMART transit service, proving that localized, on-demand micro-transit can bridge the crucial first-and-last-mile gaps. I will fight to expand this model district-wide. Furthermore, I will demand strict security and zero-tolerance crime enforcement on BART and regional rail. Commuters are abandoning public transit because they feel unsafe. Until we restore law and order to our transit corridors, we cannot solve traffic gridlock. I will prioritize your safety and your time over transit bureaucracy.

Do you think BART has made enough of the difficult financial choices to right-size the agency? Do you support the proposed sales tax on the November ballot? If not, what should BART be doing to stabilize the transit system?

BART has fundamentally failed to make the difficult financial choices necessary to justify further taxpayer subsidies. I do not support the proposed sales tax on the November ballot. Before we ask families struggling with inflation to pay higher taxes, BART must enact severe structural reforms. The agency must aggressively renegotiate unsustainable pension liabilities, consolidate redundant administrative bloat and institute strict farebox recovery minimums. Furthermore, BART must prioritize passenger safety and fare evasion enforcement to rebuild ridership. As a state senator, I will demand a comprehensive state audit of BART's finances before supporting any regional tax bailout.

Please list Bay Area transit governance reform legislation that you would support?

I strongly support the principles behind the Seamless Transit Transformation Act to eliminate the disjointed, inefficient fiefdoms operating across the Bay Area. We currently have more than 24 separate transit agencies, resulting in massive administrative waste and terrible commuter experiences. I would sponsor legislation mandating the consolidation of back-office operations, procurement and fare integration across all Bay Area transit agencies. Furthermore, I would support legislation tying future state transit subsidies directly to strict performance metrics, including on-time reliability, crime reduction rates and minimum farebox recovery ratios, ensuring agencies are finally accountable to the taxpayers.

Explain your position on California's High-Speed Rail project.

California's High-Speed Rail has devolved into a case study of bureaucratic incompetence and fiscal irresponsibility. I oppose the issuance of any new state bonds for this project until it undergoes a forensic financial audit. While I support modernizing our infrastructure, we cannot continue to pour billions of middle-class tax dollars into a mismanaged project that suffers from endless delays and massive cost overruns. The High-Speed Rail Authority must be held strictly accountable to its current funding limits. Moving forward, the project must secure massive private-sector investment rather than relying on endless taxpayer bailouts to survive.

Joint Venture Silicon Valley estimates 400,000 Bay Area jobs are at risk of being replaced by AI. What role should the state play, if at all, in regulating AI to protect Bay Area workers and/or consumers?

The state must balance consumer protection with the need to maintain Silicon Valley as the epicenter of innovation. I do not support heavy-handed, broad AI regulations that would drive technology companies and thousands of high-paying jobs out of California. However, the state has a critical role in mitigating harms. I support targeted legislation that mandates absolute transparency regarding AI-generated content (watermarking) to protect consumers from deepfakes and fraud. Furthermore, the state must invest heavily in workforce retraining programs and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education to transition displaced workers into the advanced manufacturing and grid-modernization jobs of the future.

Would you support legislation to curb children's use of social media?

Yes, absolutely. As a public school teacher of 26 years, I have witnessed firsthand the devastating impact that addictive social media algorithms have on the mental health, attention spans and social development of our youth. Tech companies have intentionally designed these platforms to be highly addictive to developing brains. I fully support legislation to establish strict guardrails, including banning addictive algorithmic feeds for minors under 16, requiring robust age verification and supporting laws like AB 2023 to regulate AI chatbots targeting children. We must protect our children's psychological safety rather than corporate profit margins.

What actions would you support to help California balance its chronic deficit? If that's by raising revenues, explain how. If that's by cutting spending, explain how.

We must balance the deficit through rigorous spending cuts and closing corporate loopholes, not by raising taxes on the working middle class. First, I support ending the $3 billion "water's edge" offshore tax loophole that allows multinational corporations to stash profits in tax havens. Second, we must institute forensic audits of all state agencies, beginning with the billions squandered on ineffective homelessness programs, and claw back unspent funds. Third, we must freeze the expansion of administrative bureaucracy in Sacramento. I balanced a municipal deficit by cutting waste and driving efficiency. I will bring that executive ruthlessness to the state budget.

In what ways, if at all, would you support modifying Proposition 13?

I will fiercely defend Prop. 13 protections for residential homeowners. For seniors and working families, Prop. 13 is the only firewall preventing them from being taxed out of the very communities they built. I will not support any modification that increases property taxes on residential homes. In fact, I am aggressively championing Initiative #25-0035 to completely exempt homeowners aged 60 and older from paying property taxes on their primary residence. Furthermore, I support the Local Taxpayer Protection Act to require two-thirds voter approval for all special-purpose local taxes. We need stronger taxpayer protections, not weaker ones.

What are the biggest challenges facing your district's public schools? What actions would you take to improve them?

Our public schools are suffering from declining academic rigor and ideological battles that distract from core learning. The systematic elimination of advanced math tracks and merit-based admissions in the name of equity is failing our excelling students and frustrating parents. As an educator, my actions will focus on restoring meritocracy. I will fight to expand funding for STEM pathways and GATE (Gifted and Talented Education) programs. Furthermore, I will champion legislation granting automatic, transparent admission to the California State University system for highly qualified high school graduates to alleviate the hyper-competitive admissions crisis.

What do the biggest contributors to your campaign expect from you?

My contributors - ranging from local small business owners to fellow educators and neighborhood leaders - expect me to be exactly what I have always been: a pragmatic protector of our community. They expect me to go to Sacramento to fight for safe neighborhoods, strict fiscal discipline and the protection of the suburban middle-class dream. They know I will not bow to extreme partisan ideologies, nor will I surrender our local municipal sovereignty to state bureaucrats. They are investing in my campaign because they want a tested, independent executive who puts the immediate needs of District 10 families first.

What more should we know about you that might inform our board's judgment of your capacity to serve this district's constituents?

I am uniquely positioned to build a broad, multiethnic coalition because my life reflects the story of the Bay Area middle class. Raised in the historic, integrated Sunnyhills neighborhood, I have spent decades bridging cultural divides as an ESL teacher and a municipal leader. I am proud to be the historic first Latina mayor of Milpitas, but my governance is driven by universal, pragmatic truths: families need safe streets, seniors need to be able to afford their utility bills and businesses need an environment free from crippling crime. I possess the executive fortitude to make the hard decisions Sacramento avoids.

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