Emergency physician Gary Gechlik entered the crowded race for three open Palo Alto City Council seats on Monday, Aug. 10, pulling papers two days before the filing period closes at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 12.

Gechlik, a first-time candidate who lives on Skyline Boulevard in the city's rural western hills, told Palo Alto Online his top two priorities are respect for city staff and opposing tall buildings downtown.

"For me, two issues: respect to staff that work for Palo Alto, all of them. Second, no skyscrapers downtown," Gechlik said.

His housing stance puts him at odds with the wave of development applications already filed near the downtown and California Avenue Caltrain stations under SB 79, which allows buildings up to seven stories within a quarter-mile of those stops. Nine developers filed applications for 384 units during a two-week window in early July before local restrictions took effect, The Ledger reported Aug. 5. Gechlik wants mandated housing built near Highway 101 instead.

By day, Gechlik works in the emergency department at Good Samaritan Hospital in San Jose. He earned a law degree from Stanford Law School in 2003, practiced in the nonprofit sector, then returned to medicine. He told the Palo Alto Daily Post on Aug. 7 that his campaign platform boils down to "Be good to other people."

Gechlik also said he wants to represent the lightly populated hills community along the Santa Cruz Mountains ridge, an area that includes Foothills Park and the Pearson-Arastradero Preserve. He told Palo Alto Online that most people in city government outside of firefighters "don't even understand where we are."

Gechlik joins incumbents Ed Lauing and Mayor Vicki Veenker; first-time candidates Parks and Recreation Commissioner Yudy Deng and Planning and Transportation Commission Chair Bryna Chang; and returning candidate Henry Etzkowitz, 86, as confirmed contenders, as we reported Aug. 5. Nathalie Tcholagheu had also filed intentions to run as of early August, though her status was unclear as of this writing — the city's own candidate list had not yet confirmed her entry. The final field won't be set until the filing window closes Wednesday.

Deng leads the fundraising race with $83,000 raised through June 30, nearly four times Chang's $22,000. Veenker and Lauing have reported almost nothing. Gechlik's fundraising is unknown; he entered after the June 30 reporting cutoff, and the next disclosure deadline is Sept. 24.

Whoever wins the three seats will inherit a $17.1 million structural budget deficit driven by falling sales tax revenue. Councilmember Julie Lythcott-Haims is not seeking reelection, which triggered the five-day extension of the filing period from Aug. 7 to Aug. 12 under California law.

The filing window closes Wednesday at 5 p.m. at the City Clerk's office.