Saratoga council names Chuck Page as mayor and Tina Walia as vice mayor

In this year’s mayoral rotation in Saratoga, Vice Mayor Chuck Page was promoted to mayor and Councilmember Tina Walia was elected vice mayor after dozens of residents spoke in support of her on Dec. 3. Page takes the gavel from Councilmember Belal Aftab, who served as mayor in 2025.

The city has had a mayoral rotation policy since 2010. In July 2025, the council amended the policy so that the top two vote-earners in each election are considered to be in the queue for mayor and vice mayor. However, the amendment went on to state that no councilmember has the right to serve in either position. Saratoga cancelled elections in 2024 after incumbents Kookie Fitzsimmons and Walia ran unopposed.

During the Dec. 3 council meeting, Page received unanimous support from the council to become mayor, marking his 12th year in public service in Saratoga. He’s been mayor twice before, in 2008-09 and 2011-2012.

As for occupying Saratoga’s top spot, Page said, “This city is not like other cities where you’ve got a strong mayor that controls everything; we’re not like that. We’re a city of loving, caring people who want to do more for our city.

“Get to know the people in your neighborhood,” Page advised residents. “Bond together. Learn how to like your neighbors.”

There was some tension concerning who would become vice mayor. Several residents took issue with the change in the mayoral rotation policy, saying that the original rotation policy allowed for a predictable transition of power. Mona Kaur-Freedland wrote in an email to the council that Councilmember Rishi Kumar was bypassed in 2019, even though he was next in line to become mayor, which led to the break in tradition. In 2020 the council elected Councilmember Yan Zhao and Walia mayor and vice mayor, respectively, out of rotation.

Kaur-Freedland criticized this approach, saying that although it was “procedurally valid,” it opened up the city’s representation to personal politics.

“This issue transcends any one individual or election cycle,” Kaur-Freedland wrote in her email. “It is about the integrity of our process, and the expectation that the council’s internal decisions should be understandable, consistent and rooted in shared standards, not left to shifting interpretations or personal alliances.”

Since there was no election in 2024 and Page, Aftab and Zhao were elected to the council in 2022, residents asked that the queue revert to Walia and Fitzsimmons, the two candidates who got the most votes in the 2020 elections.

“One key issue that prompted this policy review–how rotations should prevail when an election is cancelled because incumbents run unopposed–has still not been addressed,” resident named Mohini said. “Since the rotation queue remains part of the policy, the only logical approach is to return to the last election where votes were actually cast.”

In vying for vice mayor, Fitzsimmons said Walia might be too busy for the role due to her involvement with the Cities Association of Santa Clara County.

“I’m not sure it’s the best timing for Tina to be vice mayor, and that’s okay,” Fitzsimmons said. “I think the timing is better next year. I hope it’s possible to have your support as vice mayor this year.”

In response, Walia said that although she is president of the association, she was “absolutely ready” to support Page as vice mayor.

“I can assure everyone, I am ready for the leadership to be vice mayor next year in addition to being president of the cities association,” Walia said.

About a dozen residents spoke in favor of Walia becoming mayor or vice mayor. They included a woman who said Walia helped her family through her family’s building application that was stuck due to new fire safety regulations, a resident of the Saratoga retirement community who thanked Walia for visiting the site of an expansion project and talking to residents, and an eighth-grade boy who praised her for walking him to school while she was mayor.

Walia ultimately received four votes for vice mayor, with Fitzsimmons abstaining.

“I want to thank each and every resident of Saratoga for taking the time to come here this evening, for your support,” Walia said, adding that she is “always open to your feedback in how we, the council, can work together to improve your lives every day,”

To mark his service as mayor, Santa Clara County Supervisor Margaret Abe-Koga presented Aftab with a certificate of commendation. The other city councilmembers gave Aftab a plaque with a golden gavel on it. He received praise from all his fellow councilmembers for his work on disaster preparedness, his willingness to listen and his dedication. In his outgoing speech, he continued to preach that kindness should be a defining characteristic of Saratoga.

“The past year has been a privilege that I will carry with me forever,” Aftab said. “I spent the year doing something simple and what I consider to be really sacred, which is trying to show up for the place that we all call home and the place that I got to grow up in. It’s really special because I got to serve where I grew up.”