From a historic election recount to a San Jose councilmember’s arrest: 2024 was one for the books. As the South Bay turns a page into 2025, San José Spotlight is looking back at the pivotal moments that made this year memorable — from scandals and protests, to historic votes and those we lost.
Mental health and health care
Santa Clara County’s staggering $250 million budget deficit meant county leaders said “No” to some salary demands from one of California’s largest public hospital workforces.
The result: More than 3,000 Santa Clara County nurses headed to the picket lines in April over pay and working conditions. A month later the county and nurses worked out an agreement.
Soon after, the local health care system faced its greatest threat of the year. Private corporation HCA Healthcare cut lifesaving services at Regional Medical Center, East San Jose’s only hospital, while looking to expand Good Samaritan Hospital in the wealthier West Valley. In response, county officials announced their plan to purchase Regional in August and expand California’s second largest public hospital system.
Meanwhile, county leaders made big changes to mental health care in Silicon Valley. After a couple of snags, they made it easier to access a non-police response to mental health crisis calls, known as TRUST, by adding a direct line in November. Behavioral health officials also implemented the CARE Act on Dec. 2., a new behavioral health court that allows family members, clinicians and first responders to petition the court to help an adult with psychotic disorders receive treatment.
Education
In October, the Santa Clara County Board of Education created a firestorm when it voted to fire Superintendent Mary Ann Dewan without cause.
The decision roused an uproar among Dewan’s supporters. The school board later explained its decision by requesting audits into misuse of public funds under Dewan’s tenure. County supervisors are now exploring ways of expanding their control over the school board.
Concerns over financial mismanagement, program cuts and school closures also fueled the resignations — and firings — of superintendents helming school districts in East San Jose, Mountain View and Los Gatos.
Declining enrollment and the end of federal funding forced cash-strapped districts to close schools. Parents in the Berryessa and Alum Rock union school districts fought for schools to stay open, but in the end officials approved closing three schools in Berryessa and six in Alum Rock in coming years.
Housing and development
It was a turbulent year for efforts to stand up emergency housing and shelter. This news outlet first reported how an emergency housing project San Jose championed as cheap and revolutionary faced mounting flaws — including mold — and repeated delays.
San José Spotlight also broke the story about a county inspection report finding that for years, homeless veterans housed at 10 Kirk Ave. have lived in squalor with bed bugs, black mildew, fire hazards and a lack of warm water.
Officials at Valley Water plan to clear homeless encampments along the agency’s waterways and fine individuals caught camping there.
San Jose officials also pumped more funding into police patrols to enforce “no return zones” for homeless camps along the Guadalupe River and those surrounding temporary shelter sites citywide — aimed at pushing people into safe parking and sleeping sites. The city’s first safe sleeping site is set to open in March.
Meanwhile, proposals for a jail diversion housing site in South San Jose met fierce backlash, and the city scrapped its agreement with the county to purchase and repurpose the tiny home facility.
County leaders also tackled development issues impacting their offerings of open space and parkland. In November, some county supervisors laughed off the San Jose Earthquakes’ proposal to turn part of the county fairgrounds into a private soccer complex. In January, county leaders purchased Richmond Ranch for preservation as a public park after a long history of it being eyed for tech and industrial uses. Discussions about ending synthetic turf in recreational areas also gained traction across the county.
Transportation
It was a good year to be a public transit leader. The South Bay scored a massive infusion of federal cash in August to see through a highly-expensive plan to extend BART through Santa Clara County.
San Jose officials are closer than ever to turning Diridon Station into one of the West Coast’s largest mass transit hubs. They just have to juggle the ongoing effects of major construction over the next few decades.
And ridership at San Jose Mineta International Airport is climbing back up after COVID-19 sent traffic plummeting — as the battle for airway dominance is intensifying across the Bay Area.
Police and public safety
The Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office is rolling out Tasers in the jails for the first time. The decision sparked scrutiny over the sheriff’s oversight office and met protests from a coalition of civil rights groups. One of those, the NAACP of San Jose/Silicon Valley, had a major leadership change in November. Sean Allen, a former correctional officer turned whistleblower, succeeded the longtime former president, the Rev. Jethroe Moore, who returned to Georgia.
This year also saw the exit of one San Jose police chief and the appointment of another, along with a new police auditor. Speaking of police – Joanne Segovia, former office manager of the city’s police union, pleaded guilty to her high-profile drug smuggling case in October.
Politics
San Jose residents had their faith tested this year over child sex abuse scandals involving a youth pastor and the San Jose Sharks. But the ultimate shocker came in October, when then-Councilmember Omar Torres was named in a child sex abuse probe that led to his arrest and resignation on Election Day. The scandal has prompted scrutiny over the city charter and a special election, which is bound to set up a showdown between labor and business interests.
But it was an interesting political year in other ways. Silicon Valley’s hottest congressional race took a stunning turn in an unprecedented three-way runoff in the March primary between former San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo, State Assemblyman Evan Low and former county Supervisor Joe Simitian. A shadowy recount effort — which Liccardo allegedly coordinated but denies doing so — knocked Simitian out of the November election, which Liccardo won against Low.
Meanwhile, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan sized up Gov. Gavin Newsom multiple times on issues like crime and the Democratic Party — building his statewide profile as a possible contender for higher office.
This year saw the fall of a Santa Clara official. A jury in December found Vice Mayor Anthony Becker guilty of perjury and failing to uphold his duties as a public official, related to him leaking a 2022 Santa Clara County Civil Grand Jury report about the San Francisco 49ers’ stranglehold over city politics. The verdict ended Becker’s month-long trial covering accusations that he leaked the report to a 49ers executive and lied to the grand jury about it during their investigation. Jurors reached their decision after just three hours of deliberating. Becker resigned from his Santa Clara City Council seat after the guilty verdict. He plans to appeal.
Community
The past year was full of community milestones — and losses. East San Jose saw the passing of two local Latino icons: La Raza RoundTable founder Victor Garza and community development champion Chris Esparza. But a glorious vision for the Mexican Heritage Plaza and the economic future of Alum Rock Business District seeks to ensure their legacy lives on.
A $100,000 grant to local business advocates won’t just go to neighborhood beautification. Community leaders say it will solidify the area’s cultural identity through public murals and art installations, along with a gateway structure for the city’s first cultural district, “La Avenida” at Mexican Heritage Plaza.
Contact Brandon Pho at [email protected] or @brandonphooo on X, formerly known as Twitter.
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