India Post News Service
From Engineer to reformer, Rishi Kumar is fighting for California’s seniors as Candidate for Assessor by exempting their property tax.
As property tax reform sweeps the nation, Silicon Valley’s Rishi Kumar is showing California the way. An innovator from the artificial intelligence software industry Kumar is now innovating to show the public policy wonks what good tax policy is.
Across America, counties and states are adopting property-tax exemptions for seniors—from Virginia to Texas to Florida. Now Santa Clara County Assessor candidate Rishi Kumar is determined to bring that same reform home to California.
“No senior should lose their home because of rising property taxes,” Kumar said. “After a lifetime of work, our seniors deserve stability, dignity, and the security of staying in the homes they built.”
Kumar, a Silicon Valley technology executive, former Saratoga City Councilmember, and longtime fiscal-reform advocate, has formally submitted a Proposition 13 amendment to the California Office of Legislative Counsel—making him the only candidate in the Assessor’s race to take legislative action for seniors. The proposed amendment would grant a full property-tax exemption on primary residences for homeowners aged 60 and over, while maintaining full funding for schools, roads, and essential services by cutting waste—not programs.
Kumar has the call to action –– “I believe Santa Clara County can cut as much as $4 billion in government bloat — savings that could directly improve people’s lives. That money should go toward better services for seniors, targeted healthcare, homelessness solutions, law enforcement support, and even increased funding for our schools.”
Protecting seniors and Proposition 13
Kumar is also the only candidate who has opposed Measure A, Santa Clara County’s proposed sales-tax hike, calling it a regressive tax that “punishes working families and seniors for government inefficiency.”
He argues that Measure A ignored the county’s $4.4 billion structural deficit and would have deepened economic strain instead of reforming spending.
Kumar has been championing fiscal discipline throughout his political career. “We can’t keep solving fiscal mismanagement with new taxes,” he said. “Fiscal discipline—not higher taxes—keeps communities strong.”
A lifelong defender of Proposition 13, Kumar says its spirit of homeowner protection must be expanded: “What should be the golden years of retirement are turning into years of financial anxiety. We must act now.”
A Life of Advocacy for seniors
Kumar’s policy commitments to senior are dates back to 2011, when he launched Saratoga’s Got Talent, raising more than $25,000 for the Saratoga Senior Center. As a City Councilmember, he pushed Saratoga earn its Age-Friendly City designation and consistently supported programs bridging youth and seniors.
When the pandemic struck in 2020, Kumar suspended his congressional campaign – a campaign where he came within 19,000 votes of beating Representative Anna Eshoo who had been in office for three decades – to focus on service. He created the Neighborhood Pandemic Preparedness Team, mobilizing hundreds of volunteers who reached 86,000 seniors with grocery deliveries, prescription pickups, and check-ins. Volunteers sewed 4,000 masks, hosted 25 virtual town halls, and launched online coding and entrepreneurship boot camps for home-bound students. “This pandemic reminded us what makes America special—neighbors helping neighbors,” Kumar said. “That same compassion and problem-solving leadership is what I’ll bring to the Assessor’s Office.”
A Record of Results
As a Saratoga City Councilmember, Kumar led initiatives that reduced burglaries by 50 percent, the largest drop in city history, and earned him the highest vote count in 70 years a record that still holds good today.
He also took on PG&E and the San Jose Water Company, convincing state regulators to reject or reduce 10 rate hikes that would have hurt residents.
Leading a National Movement
Property-tax reform is gaining momentum nationwide—and Rishi Kumar is leading California’s fight.
“Other states have already implemented senior property-tax relief,” he said. “Why not Santa Clara County?”
Kumar is the only candidate in the race committed to protecting Prop 13, opposing Measure A, and delivering a statewide property-tax exemption for seniors. “Seniors have earned the right to stay in their homes without fear,” Kumar said. “I won’t stop fighting until that right is guaranteed in California law.”
Rishi Kumar is on today’s (November 4, 2025) ballot, and one thing is certain — he’ll continue fighting for what’s right and standing up for seniors who need our help the most. His mission goes beyond politics: it’s about service, fairness, and ensuring that every Californian can age with dignity in the home they worked a lifetime to build.
Also Read: Rishi Kumar – The Maverick Crime Fighter
