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A list of nearly 40 people competing to fill two San Jose City Council seats is down to just 11. The top contenders were named late Friday after current councilmembers voted for their top choices. The two seats are open in Districts 8 and 10 after two former councilmembers won their bids for higher office...
San Jose mayor promised change but hired Liccardo insiders
San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan ran a campaign promising a “revolution” at City Hall. But with nearly half his office filled with senior officials from his predecessor, some are questioning whether he can keep that promise. Mahan, who said his staffing and policy priorities would differ from his predecessor, has hired 11 workers from former Mayor Sam...
Alviso resident settles development lawsuit
An Alviso man known for challenging developments proposed in the North San Jose neighborhood has settled a lawsuit with a hotel developer, while ramping up rhetoric against a nonprofit food bank he’s suing. Resident Mark Espinoza dismissed his lawsuit against Milpitas-based Terra Development Partners and San Jose last month after the developer and Espinoza agreed to...
San Jose changes rules to replenish tree canopy
San Jose is changing how it manages its shrinking urban canopy after an audit found the city is ineffectively preventing tree loss. San Jose councilmembers voted unanimously Tuesday to change how the city collects and reviews permits to remove trees, develop procedures to enforce replanting requirements and identify large locations to replant trees. There are roughly...
San Jose renters rally for more rights
A coalition of local groups is calling on the San Jose City Council to prioritize policies preventing displacement of renters amid the ongoing housing crisis. The coalition, which includes Sacred Heart Community Service, SOMOS Mayfair, the South Bay Community Land Trust and others, want city policymakers to bolster renter’s rights, preserve affordable rental housing and stop criminalizing...
A new year, a new San Jose council
The first San Jose City Council meeting of the year feels like the first day of school. New Mayor Matt Mahan and freshman Councilmembers Rosemary Kamei, Omar Torres, Peter Ortiz and Bien Doan took pictures with loved ones in front of the dais before being sworn into office on Tuesday. Councilmember Pam Foley, who ran for reelection...
San Jose recycling service disrupted by brief strike
Local workers reached an agreement Friday afternoon with San Jose’s largest recycling hauler after a brief strike that threatened service for more than 175,000 homes. The strike came after Teamsters Local 350 and California Waste Solutions (CWS) deadlocked over a contract for 10 clerical workers who provide customer service. Union members claimed the company was taking away...
UPDATE: San Jose mayor selects newcomer as vice mayor
San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan has announced his choice for vice mayor is first-term Councilmember Rosemary Kamei, in hopes of bringing together a divided governing body. “San Jose residents don’t care about labels, they care about results,” Mahan said Friday. “Rosemary Kamei is collaborative, thoughtful, independent, has a ton of common sense and is a...
San Jose lobbyists skirt transparency
In the heart of Silicon Valley, lobbyists of powerful organizations meet frequently with city officials, but not everyone discloses what they discuss. A San José Spotlight review of 2022 lobbying disclosure reports show how some lobbyists failed to divulge details of their meetings. While some provide a blanket statement about who they work for, others...
Storm displaces San Jose homeless living along creeks
Geraldo Garcia had 10 minutes to pack his belongings, scramble into a car and leave his makeshift shelter near Coyote Creek. The threat of flooding from an unprecedented atmospheric river storm gave him barely enough time to grab his essentials. “I’m sad. I’m desperate. I really don’t know where to go,” Garcia said, who’s been living...