January 26, 2006

Election 2006 Coverage

Former youth theater director runs for mayor

Michael Mulcahy cites state of politics at
City Hall as main reason for seeking office

By Sheila Sanchez
Staff Writer

Another mayoral contender has thrown his hat in the ring, bringing the number of candidates vying for San Jose’s highest office to five.

Michael Mulcahy

Michael Mulcahy, 40, a local businessman and former executive director of the Children’s Musical Theater, announced Tuesday his decision to run for office was motivated by his disgust with the state of affairs at City Hall.

Mulcahy said only an outsider could bring City Hall back to proper governance.

“We need an outsider to clean up the mess at City Hall,” Mulcahy told the Times this week. “We’re at the point where we can’t send politicians to solve the problems they have created. The solution needs to come from the outside.”

Mulcahy said he’s “ready, willing and able to be that citizen leader” who will bring more transparency to City Hall.

“Many backroom deals and the secrecy at City Hall are not allowing good decision making to happen,” he said.

“This isn’t a horse race and not a single vote has been cast,” Mulcahy said. “If I do my job and show the voters I can provide leadership ... I think I’ll win their support.”

He said to come up with his campaign platform he would be listening to voters and seeking their input, but he cited a need to improve traffic conditions in the city, fight crime and improve education.

“If I was a politician I would be coming out of the gate and saying, ‘I’ve got it all figured out,’ but I don’t,” Mulcahy said.

A third-generation San Josean, Mulcahy’s grandfather, Frank DiNapoli, and his business partner were in the tomato canning business dating back to the 1930s. As a result, the family moved into real estate business.

Since 2000, Mulcahy has been managing partner of SDS NexGen Partners, a San Jose-based real estate and investment firm owned by his family.

Mulcahy has been a co-chair of the Greater Downtown Development Strategy Task Force, a board member of the San Jose Convention and Visitor’s Bureau and a founding member of Baseball San Jose. He serves on the boards of Team San Jose, Willow Glen Business Associa-tion and American Leadership Forum Silicon Valley.

Mulcahy said he began thinking of running for office several years ago, but only recently realized “the reality of the opportunity” while learning about City Hall scandals and investigations of recent years that have tainted the city’s image.

“I believe that the solution needs to come from the outside and after a tremendous amount of self reflection and time and conversation with my family, I’m convinced that I’m the right citizen to change the direction of San Jose,” Mulcahy said, adding that former city leaders had urged him to run.

Other mayoral contenders include San Jose Vice Mayor Cindy Chavez, Councilmen Chuck Reed and David Cortese and East Side Union High School District School Board member J. Manuel Herrera.

Mulcahy said the San Jose City Council’s recent decision to give $4 million to the San Jose Grand Prix without adequate citizen input or professional review was the most recent example of a government that is “out of touch with the people of San Jose.”

“The politicians view problems through the prism of City Hall. We need a citizen-leader, not a politician, to open up the process so that every single resident of this city can participate in our government,” Mulcahy said.

“We’ve had enough decisions made behind closed doors, enough partisanship, special interest influence and party politics. We need a strong independent leader to restore trust in our government by changing the current culture of secrecy at City Hall,” Mulcahy said.

Mulcahy said his campaign would be focused on finding solutions to improve education, fighting traffic gridlock, promoting safe and family-friendly neighborhoods, and creating and retaining high-wage jobs.

Mulcahy will kick-off his candidacy early next month.

Mulcahy lives in Willow Glen with his wife, Kimberly, and their three daughters. Kimberly Mulcahy was a policy analyst to former San Jose Mayor Susan Hammer.