Thushan Amarasiriwardena

Thushan is running the most detailed pro-housing platform in this race. His plan commits to hitting Alameda's state-mandated 5,353 homes by 2031, prioritizing housing in transit-rich districts and at Alameda Point across affordable, middle-income, rental, and ownership options. He backs the city's rent stabilization program to keep current residents housed while we build, and he wants to renegotiate the outdated Navy housing cap at Alameda Point that has held back thousands of homes. He ran in 2024, lost, and came back anyway, attending most council meetings since and speaking up in public comment on the issues he ran on. That is the kind of persistence this movement needs. He is endorsed by Mayor Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft, Vice Mayor Michele Pryor, and Housing Authority Vice Chair Vadim Sidelnikov, among many others.

Thushan Amarasiriwardena ran for Alameda City Council in November 2024 and is a candidate for the council again in November 2026. He has served as President of the Alameda Free Library Board and most recently worked at the U.S. Digital Service during the Biden administration on modernizing the IRS. Earlier, he co-founded the Emmy-winning education app company Launchpad Toys, led teams at Google after it acquired his company, and worked in journalism at The Boston Globe. He studied computer science at NC State University.