A New Voice for South Davis

I was born in Davis just before the turn of the millennium, and I’ve spent nearly my entire life in the same single-family home in South Davis. I attended DPNS for preschool in Downtown Davis, Marguerite Montgomery Elementary School just a few minutes from my house, then going to Harper Junior High School before finishing my Davis education at Davis Senior High School. When you grow up in one place for that long, you don’t just live in a community… the community lives in you. My childhood was shaped by greenbelts and bike rides, by Little League and AYSO, by FFA projects and raising animals for the Yolo County fair, by fishing and hunting, by gardening, by cooking, rock-climbing, exploring, and by long afternoons at the neighborhood park playing catch with my dad. Davis wasn’t just the town I lived in, it has been the soil I flourished from.

Growing up my family attended First Baptist Church out on Russel Blvd, and it was there that I first learned what it meant to live a life of service. Week after week, I watched people show up for one another. Not out of obligation, but out of genuine care. I was taught to lead with compassion, to act with humility, and to view service not as charity, but as my responsibility. My father, a UC Davis professor and researcher, taught me the other half of that equation: how to think scientifically, listen critically, and understand the world through logic without ever abandoning intuition or heart. That balance of science and compassion, clarity and empathy, sits at the center of who I am today.

I did leave Davis once, from 2015 to 2021, to compete in pole vault for the University of Tennessee. While there I studied psychology, biology, and pre-med. That chapter taught me discipline, resilience, and the importance of showing up with intention. How to build something great “brick by brick” as the Athletic Department drilled within us. But ultimately, it brought me back home. Back to South Davis, back to the community that raised me, and back to the people who made me who I am. Coming home from Tennessee I had a new perspective on diversity, equality, bigotry and oppression. This deeper understanding of resilience, teamwork, and diversity changed me in ways I am eternally grateful. Upon moving back to Davis, I worked for some time with a local landscape company.

Today, I help run a ten-bed adult mental health rehabilitation facility on ten acres just outside Davis. My job directly exposes me to psychosis, addiction, homelessness, SSI benefits, Health and Human Services, and trauma. While I bring personal understanding and experience of some of these challenges, my work has further solidified my personal understanding of how we are failing the most vulnerable populations. My life, and my work, also shows me the power of human resilience and the ways people transform when they are seen, supported, and given a real chance to rebuild. Every day reinforces the same truth: people are not inherently broken. Systems are. And it is our responsibility as neighbors, as leaders, and as a community to fix the systems that fail the people who need us most.

I don’t have a single moment that pushed me toward public service. Instead, my calling grew from a lifetime of listening to others, and now listening to this community’s stories, to its strengths, to its frustrations, and to its dreams. Davis is one of the most remarkable places in California. Which is one of the most remarkable states in the country. So truthfully, I feel Davis is one of the most remarkable communities in this country. Call it grandiose, but I feel so lucky to be born in one of the greatest cities in America! (I may be bias). I want Davis to further become a leader and continue to inspire communities at large - serving as an example for other cities in this county, state, and country to follow. Davis has inspired the world through the university, as well as the eccentric stories that arise from the heart of our community, and I hope we can continue to evolve in a way that continues inspiring others while preserving what makes Davis, Davis.

Davis, CA is Unique

 We are a university town, a bike capital, an agricultural hub, a family-friendly haven, and a quirky, brilliant, diverse, unified community that genuinely believes in progress and change. But we also face struggles we can no longer ignore: a growing unhoused population, rising addiction, traffic strain around I-80, limited affordable housing, and restrictive developing laws that prevent Davis from adapting to a changing world.

I’m not running because I believe I have every answer. I’m running because I know how to listen, learn, and lead with both integrity and imagination of what could be. Awarded the scholar-athlete award every year while at Tennessee, I am confident in my ability to learn how to make this city better for ALL. I believe deeply in the people who call this place home. Whether that is liberals, conservatives, lifelong residents, students, farmworkers, scientists, families, renters, homeowners, and the unhoused alike. I believe we can build a Davis where we preserve the small-town charm while embracing solutions that allow future generations to thrive. A Davis with even more parks, food forests, community events and shared spaces; safer bike connections across I-80; smart, inclusive housing strategies; and a mental-health-informed approach to supporting our most vulnerable neighbors through collaborating with the Davis Police and Fire Departments, local business, and most importantly those struggling in our community. My goal is to listen to, learn from, and grow with our community in ways that strengthen and support the people who call Davis home. As our university and student population continue to expand, I’m committed to ensuring that our policies reflect both the needs of long-time residents and the realities of a changing, diverse University town.

What I plan to Do

I am compassionate by nature, calm at baseline, but driven and passionate when it matters. I care about people more than politics. I believe in every person’s capacity to change, to grow, and to be part of something greater. I am disciplined, creative, future-oriented, and unafraid to speak my truth, even when it challenges the status quo. And more than anything, I am someone who listens.

I am running for City Council not to radically change South Davis, but to safeguard what makes it special while guiding it into a future that is stable, affordable, compassionate, and community-driven. I want to meet with residents over coffee, hear concerns directly, and work side-by-side with law enforcement, educators, families, farmers, students, and business owners to solve the problems we face. I want South Davis to be a model for the rest of Davis. I want Davis to be a place where we remember our agricultural roots while pioneering a sustainable and inclusive future for ALL community members and those who call Davis home.

I believe in Davis because Davis shaped me, and I believe in myself. I want you to believe in me as well. But to believe in me, you need to believe in yourself first. “Be the change you want to see in the world”.

I will need a broad coalition of grass-roots supporters, local community members, and residents of this city to be a voice for those who have always called Davis home. I want to keep Davis, Davis. I believe in this community because this community raised me. And I am proud of who I am today. And I want all of you to be proud not just of who you are, but the community you call home. I am ready to give back: with heart, with clarity, and with the steady determination of someone who has never forgotten where he comes from.

~Nathan James
Hopeful Candidate for Davis City Council
Leadership for a New Era