Morgan Hill – City council candidate Chris Borello, 25, remembers when life was simple.
Growing up on a 120-acre family farm, Borrello said his earliest memories include him and his two brothers running after their father during early mornings, as he did the chores.
“We used to get up at 5am,” Borello said happily, “and follow him around, doing everything he did.”
During those summer days, Borello and his brothers built tree houses and played baseball and soccer.
“That was pretty much what we did on the weekend … It was the same thing back then, not too much to do,” Borello said. “And that’s one of the reasons I decided to run for council.”
As the youngest – and most energetic – of five city council candidates, it comes as no surprise Borello is the most enthusiastic about bringing nightlife to Morgan Hill. Like the other candidates vying for two open seats in the Nov. 7 election – Alex Kennett, City Councilman Greg Sellers, Marby Lee, and Al Tervalon are also in the mix – Borello wants to add more apartments and encourage more unique, ground-level shops in downtown Morgan Hill. No matter what, Borello wants Morgan Hill to finally come alive after 9pm.
“I went out to eat after the candidates’ forum (Oct. 16), and nothing was open downtown at 9:30pm. We had to go to Marie Calendars” on Cochrane Road, he said.
There’s more to Borello than his interest in revitalizing downtown. He’s also telling voters he’d look for ways to use the redevelopment funds to stimulate the local economy after a seven-year stretch of adding public facilities that require tax dollars to run. After that, he’s in favor of adding more police officers to the force.
“I don’t think there’s one issue in particular that I am most passionate about,” Borello said. “But I’d make downtown a focus, and look to build revenue before building public projects.”
After growing on the farm his family’s owned since 1945, Borello attended San Jose State University and earned a degree in political science. Last year, he married his high school sweetheart and bought a house in town. He’s been a Realtor since 2004 at South County Realty, and he says his long-standing interest in politics has grown stronger since then.
Tony Burchyns covers Morgan Hill for The Times. Reach him at (408) 779-4106 ext. 201 or tburchyns@morganhilltimes.
