Karen Hardy

Background

Karen Hardy has lived in Santa Clara since 1985 and in what is now District 3 since 1989. She holds a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from Brigham Young University and a master's in teaching from National University. She taught math and computer science at Wilcox High School, started the Santa Clara Unified School District's computer science program and, in 2014, launched an after-school robotics program with Suds Jain, now a fellow councilmember. She retired from the district in June 2025. Before joining the council she served on the city's Planning Commission and its Historical and Landmarks Commission. In November 2018 she became the first elected representative of District 3 under the city's new district system, and she served as vice mayor in 2020. She is vice chair of the Bay Area Water Supply and Conservation Agency.

In office

In October 2022 a Santa Clara County civil grand jury report titled "Unsportsmanlike Conduct" named Hardy as one of five councilmembers (with Anthony Becker, Kevin Park, Raj Chahal and Suds Jain) who, it said, voted in ways favorable to the San Francisco 49ers. It said she and Chahal had briefly violated the city's gift policy by accepting 49ers game tickets; the two said they had attended an operational tour. Hardy told San José Spotlight the report was politically loaded. The council majority filed a response to the report, and Mayor Lisa Gillmor and Councilmember Kathy Watanabe filed a dissent from it.

She won a second term in November 2022 over Christian Pellecchia. Two 49ers-funded committees, one supporting Hardy and one opposing Pellecchia, had received a little more than $1 million by October 28, San José Spotlight reported. That year she backed Measure H, an update of the business license tax.

The Silicon Valley Voice reported in October 2026 that she voted for all eight Silicon Valley Power rate increases during her tenure, a combined 48.8 percent by its count. At the October 6, 2026 council meeting she asked to add a moratorium on new data center construction and an end to non-disclosure agreements for data center projects. Both requests were pushed to a later meeting, and the council unanimously referred the broader data center item back to staff. Vice Mayor Albert Gonzalez said he was uncomfortable with a moratorium.

Christian Pellecchia, her 2022 District 3 challenger, a construction company executive and adult school teacher, said he entered the 2022 race because "Nobody wanted to run against my opponent" out of fear of the 49ers and what the team would do (San José Spotlight, November 1, 2022).

On the ballot

Hardy is a candidate for mayor of Santa Clara on November 3, 2026, an open seat because Mayor Lisa Gillmor terms out in December. Her ballot designation is City of Santa Clara Councilmember District 3. The other candidates are Mike Wiltberger, Armando "Gary" Ferraris, David Kertes, Kathy Watanabe and Councilmember Kevin Park. She lists housing, low utility costs, infrastructure and city services as priorities and has said she would propose a moratorium on new data centers on her first day. Through September 24 she had raised about $10,500, including $5,000 in loans, and she agreed to the city's voluntary spending limit. A 49ers-funded committee is spending to support Ferraris and oppose Watanabe and Kertes, the Silicon Valley Voice reported.