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Greg Lin Tanaka is an American politician and businessman currently serving as a member of the City Council of Palo Alto, California. He was previously a member of the Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce, as well as the founder of the business analytics company Percolata. He is a member of the Democratic Party, and is one of the first Japanese-Americans elected to office in Palo Alto. [CITATION NEEDED!]

On December 18th, 2020, Tanaka submitted a statement of candidacy for the House of Representatives position for  California’s 18th Congressional District.

Early life and education
Tanaka was born in Los Angeles, California to a Japanese-American father and a  Chinese-American mother. Tanaka would remain in Orange County for his childhood, graduating from the Dana Hills High School. He would go on to acquire a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the University of California, Berkeley, and a master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the California Institute of Technology. He would also study under Stanford University’s Structural Instructional Television Network program, which allows working professionals to take supplemental classes through the university’s engineering program.

Tanaka moved to Palo Alto in 2004, where he resides today with his family.

Early political career and business
Tanaka has been in public service for over a decade, first serving as the president of the College Terrace Residents’ Association from 2006 to 2010. Under his leadership, the neighborhood implemented popular public permit parking measures and programs to calm excess traffic and increase parking availability for residents, inspiring similar policies that would go on to be adopted throughout the city.

Work in infrastructure and commerce
In 2010, Tanaka became a commissioner for Palo Alto’s Planning and Transportation Commission. In this role, Tanaka supported policies that improved downtown commercial areas, notably expanding sidewalks and increasing parking availability on a major downtown avenue. These changes proved incredibly beneficial in improving business and commercial expansion, helping revitalize development in the business district. Tanaka would also go on to serve as the chair of this commission in 2015.

During his tenure in the Planning and Transportation Commission, Tanaka also served on the city’s Infrastructure Blue Ribbon Commission between 2015 and 2016. Under his organization’s purview, Palo Alto improved its road pavement condition from fair to some of the best in the country. This in turn increased the response times for emergency services and improved commutes for thru traffic.

Percolata
Concurrently during his years in public service, Tanaka founded and became the CEO of the venture-funded enterprise Percolata, backed by major firms including  Menlo Park-based firm Andreessen Horowitz and Alphabet Inc.’s venture capital branch,  Google Ventures. Tanaka founded and has maintained an active role in the management of Percolata since 2012. Percolata is an analytics company that utilizes algorithm-based machine learning to optimize marketing and staffing at certain times to meet trends of demand, increasing available resources when they are needed and decreasing them when not needed to decrease overhead costs. Percolata has served companies including, but not limited to, Uniqlo, Gymboree, and 7-11.

As of the COVID-19 Pandemic, Percolata has shifted its focus from in-person storefront business optimization towards its online marketing optimization and supply chain management instead. As many locales begin to reopen, however, Percolata has also begun to resume post-COVID occupancy management as well.

Palo Alto City Council tenure
In 2017, Tanaka ran a successful campaign for a position on the Palo Alto City Council, and won his reelection bid again in 2020. Tanaka served on or as a liaison for several of the city council’s policy groups, including the Financial Committee, City/School Committee, Policy and Services Committee, Human Relations Commission, and Rail Committee. Tanaka was most active in the Financial Committee, serving on it between 2017 and 2018 and in 2020, as well as acting as its chair. He would gain a reputation for being a vocal fiscal hawk, often challenging his colleagues on the council when it came to budgetary expenses. Tanaka also worked as a liaison between the City Council and the Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce, with many of his policies and previous work being conducive to the development and expansion of Palo Alto’s downtown business district.

Stop Asian Hate Movement
Following the series of shootings in Atlanta on March 16, 2021 and the noted increase in anti-AAPI xenophobia caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Tanaka became a vocal supporter of the Stop Asian Hate movement in Palo Alto, organizing a series of Stop Asian Hate rallies spanning from March to May of 2021, along with fellow councilmember Lydia Kou. Tanaka supported the City Council in drafting a statement denouncing xenophobia and vowing to combat racial discrimination in March, as well as hosting a second and larger rally in May. This second rally was also where Tanaka introduced his 8by8 initiative, where participants are encouraged to register 8 close friends, family, or acquaintances to register to vote within 8 days, as an effort to increase civic engagement.

2022 Congressional Bid
In December 2020, Tanaka filed a statement of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission for the 2022 House of Representatives race for the 18th Congressional District in California, which includes parts of the counties of Santa Clara, San Mateo, and Santa Cruz. The district has been represented by Congresswoman and Democrat Anna Eshoo since 1993.