Despite my five-year effort to educate the public and lobby the county Board of Supervisors to implement Laura’s Law, with the support of my colleagues on the San Jose City Council, county leaders failed to move this law forward on Jan. 28. Laura’s Law is a temporary, court-supervised, involuntary conservatorship law that would help some...
Vargas: Let’s end the ‘gay candidate’ test
In the wake of Pete Buttigieg’s surprise and historic win in the Iowa caucuses, the prospect of American’s electing their first LGBTQ President suddenly feels like a real possibility. Buttigieg’s victory in Iowa also virtually guarantees that he will stay in the race long into the primary and Democrats around the country will have the...
Smith: SJ construction workers continue to wait on wage theft protection
Tick tock. Tick tock. Tick tock. What’s that sound? The sound of time being wasted by Mayor Sam Liccardo and five of his colleagues in cracking down on human trafficking and wage theft in the construction industry. The fact that San Jose construction workers are exploited and victimized by wage theft perpetrated by unscrupulous low-road...
Percival and Currin-Percival: Moving San Jose’s mayoral elections to presidential years will strengthen democracy
In April 2019, in a 6-5 vote, the San Jose City Council defeated a proposal to move the timing of the city’s mayoral elections from their current gubernatorial cycle to presidential years, which have historically generated higher levels of voter participation. Indeed, political science research demonstrates clear evidence that the simplest and most effective solution...
Bramson: Why the deepest affordability matters the most
The recent defeat of SB 50 – a controversial bill authored by Sen. Scott Wiener which ostensibly sought to increase residential density near transit corridors and job-rich areas – brought forth a somewhat troubling new dimension to an already complicated housing conversation. Not only was the bill opposed by the typical cavalcade of single-family homeowners,...
Loving: Measure E will help reduce and prevent homelessness in San Jose
We can solve homelessness in San Jose. We have effective, proven solutions but continue to lack the resources needed to scale them to meet the enormous need in our community. But, the good news is that on Tuesday, March 3, San Jose voters can help achieve this goal by voting in support of Measure E....
Staedler: SB 50 is defeated; leadership needed now more than ever
One of the needed paths to recovery from California’s housing tragedy hit another legislative brick wall. Senate Bill 50, authored by Sen. Scott Wiener, failed to get enough votes last week. In short, SB 50’s intent was to undo California’s decades long housing policies of single-family housing and suburban sprawl by inducing development near transit and job...
Chavez: We must double down on our affordable housing investment
In my recent State of the County address, I highlighted the county’s success with the voter-approved Measure A housing bond. Measure A is ahead of schedule, almost halfway to building more than 4,000 new permanent homes for the homeless. This week, I called for the county to double down on Measure A — to put...
Navarro: The Mercury News’ failure to mention me in editorial
I was very disappointed that the Mercury News failed to mention me as a San Jose City Council candidate for District 6 in its Jan. 21 endorsement editorial. By not mentioning the only District 6 candidate who grew up in the lower-income neighborhoods of District 6, in which income disparity, affordable housing, public safety and...
Ganesh: Measure E deserves support from San Jose voters
In a San José Spotlight op-ed published on Jan. 16, Pat Waite argued that Measure E — a property transfer tax on properties worth over $2 million which is slated for the March ballot — represented a money-grab by the city that would fail to deliver on its promises of increasing the city’s capability to...