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When Rosario Neaves became the face of San Jose in 2017, the city grappled with sharp criticism and fallout from a failure to communicate amid massive flooding nine months earlier. Neaves was given an important task from her boss, City Manager Dave Sykes. “His challenge to me was to modernize our communications approach so we...
Ben Field, head of South Bay Labor Council, resigns
After nine years leading Silicon Valley’s powerful labor council, Ben Field is resigning from the South Bay Labor Council. “It was a tough decision to make but in the end it became clear to me that this was the right time for me to move on both for my family and the institution,” Field told...
San Jose leader faces heat for suggestion to drop word ‘race’ from office name
San Jose Councilmember Johnny Khamis faced criticism this week for trying to remove the word “race” from the city’s new Office of Racial Equity. Khamis, who was rebuked by the City Council’s Latino members, defended his argument by saying race is a term people have used to divide each other for centuries. The dispute sparked...
Carl Guardino’s next move finally revealed
After Carl Guardino announced in January he is stepping down as CEO of Silicon Valley Leadership Group, speculation swirled about the powerful business leader’s next move. “I truly do not know what is next, as I did not believe it was appropriate to start searching in any way while I was still being entrusted to...
San Jose mayor compares racist cops to teachers in deleted tweet
San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo compared racist cops to teachers in a now-deleted tweet as calls to defund the police intensified after Facebook posts made by active and retired police officers were exposed by a blogger. In a now-deleted tweet, Liccardo responded to a tweet from Sajid Khan — a public defender who recently became...
Johnny Khamis apologizes for ‘lower-income’ remark, clarifies his intent
San Jose Councilmember Johnny Khamis raised eyebrows — and garnered a chuckle from Mayor Sam Liccardo — when he complained that his WiFi is spotty even though he doesn’t live in a low-income neighborhood. The comment came during Tuesday’s virtual City Council meeting after Khamis experienced technical problems. Liccardo asked him to turn off his...
South Bay leaders demand Kansen Chu resign over racially-charged remarks
Bay Area civil rights organizations joined forces Monday to call for Assemblymember Kansen Chu’s resignation in response to his “racist and hateful” comments. Condemning Chu’s comments to the Chinese language publication World Journal, Walter Wilson, a community leader from the Black Leadership Kitchen Cabinet, said leaders in Silicon Valley’s Asian, Black and Latinx communities will...
Leaders push to name new BART station after ex-San Jose mayor
A coalition of powerful Silicon Valley leaders want to name the new BART station in San Jose after ex-Mayor Ron Gonzales. After all, former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown gave Gonzales the nickname “Mayor BART.” Pete Carrillo, principal of consultancy Silicon Valley Advisors, this month launched an email campaign, gaining support from political leaders, activists...
Community leader Harbir Kaur Bhatia running for Santa Clara City Council
Longtime civic entrepreneur and organizer Harbir Kaur Bhatia threw her name into the ring for Santa Clara City Council Tuesday. Running for the District 1 seat held by Councilmember Kathy Watanabe, she said her background in grassroots organizing would be an asset at City Hall. Bhatia said she’d push for a better quality of life, more diverse voices...
San Jose lawmaker faces heat after describing George Floyd protests as ‘race wars’
San Jose Councilmember Pam Foley came under fire this week for saying the protests around the country against George Floyd’s death highlight people’s frustration over “race wars.” She made the comment as lawmakers on Tuesday questioned Police Chief Eddie Garcia on San Jose’s curfew during the City Council meeting. “People are frustrated for a lot...