This year, I have the privilege of serving as chairperson of the Valley Water Board of Directors. Our agency and community are facing many challenges, and I look forward to addressing those issues head-on.  In this leadership position, my goal is to make sure our Board is action-oriented and forward-thinking. I also want to make...

My family immigrated to the United States in 1976 seeking the American Dream. Like many families before and after us, a major component of that dream was to become a homeowner. My parents worked hard and slowly built up their savings—my Mom worked as the Avon Lady and as a hairstylist at Regis and my...

One in six adults born between 1997 and 2002 – a portion of Gen Z – identifies as LGBTQ, a Gallup poll found. Our younger generation’s radical openness and acceptance of differences should be celebrated. And to best serve this growing community, we must keep an eye on their lived realities in the continued fight...

On Monday, the San Jose City Council will vote whether or not they should do something their Bay Area neighbors have already done: prioritize the regulation of surveillance technology. Oakland, San Francisco, Davis, Berkeley, Alameda, Santa Clara County, and even BART have all taken action to bring more oversight to the acquisition of surveillance technology. But San Jose, a...

Under the current economic slowdown, most Americans have spent time thinking about how they will cut personal spending, how they will pay their rent or mortgage, and some are also asking themselves how long they can endure this economy that is hanging on by a thread. Our local small business owners have worked hard to...

In a recent op-ed in the Mercury News, Planning Commissioner Pierluigi Oliverio launched into a tirade against Opportunity Housing, a proposal to allow four-plexes on lots currently zoned for one home. The bulk of Oliverio’s piece consists of cartoonish fear-mongering that Opportunity Housing will be akin to “an anvil…falling from the sky about to demolish a house” and...

The solution to bigotry against one group cannot be bigotry against another. In a Feb. 14 op-ed in the Mercury News, Daniel Chung, a deputy district attorney for Santa Clara County, blamed California criminal justice reforms like mental health diversion for the recent, horrific attacks on people of Asian descent. His baseless assertion fans the...

This month marks the one-year anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic arriving in Santa Clara County, but this March looks very different than last. We have many reasons for optimism in 2021 that we did not have in 2020 because of the enormous sacrifices and tenacious work that has been undertaken by our entire community to fight back –...

When Jeff Rosen first ran for Santa Clara County District Attorney in 2010, I did not endorse him. He won. When I first ran for county supervisor in 2013, he did not endorse me. I won. Jeff and I are not natural political allies. We’re a bit of an odd couple. He is a centrist...

Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen has premised his bid to be appointed Attorney General of California on the false notion that he is a progressive prosecutor. What’s true is that Rosen would be the wrong person for the job. Governor Gavin Newsom will appoint a new attorney general soon, following Xavier Becerra’s expected...