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San Jose Assemblyman Ash Kalra is jockeying to replace Attorney General Xavier Becerra as the state’s top law enforcement official. Becerra was tapped by President-elect Joe Biden to be the next U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, leaving California’s attorney general position vacant. If Becerra is confirmed, Gov. Gavin Newsom will appoint the state’s next attorney general— and Kalra thinks...
How will David Cohen shake up the San Jose City Council?
As the newly-elected David Cohen gears up to represent San Jose’s District 4, political observers look to the past to see where local policymaking is headed. The council for years has been divided across business and labor lines, leading to a handful of 6-5 split decisions in favor of Mayor Sam Liccardo’s voting bloc, which...
Voting rate in Silicon Valley reaches historic levels
Voters came out in droves for the 2020 general election as voting rates reached historic levels in Silicon Valley, where the majority cast ballots for Joe Biden. According to Rachel Massaro, vice president and director of research at Joint Venture Silicon Valley, which authored a recent report along with Silicon Valley Institute for Regional Studies,...
What the failure of Prop. 16 means for the future of affirmative action in San Jose
On Election Day, California voters overwhelmingly rejected a ballot proposition which would have reversed the state’s 24-year ban on affirmative action programs that use race or gender to decide who deserves a leg up in public employment, contracting and college admissions. Fewer than 44 percent of voters in the state voted to approve Prop. 16...
Amid deep political divides, how can the nation move forward?
WASHINGTON, D.C. — For just a few minutes on Saturday night, the massive crowd celebrating the election results at Black Lives Matter Plaza quieted down and turned their attention to the loudspeakers in front of St. John’s Episcopal Church. Joe Biden was addressing the nation for the first time as the president-elect. “It’s time to...
Diep concedes San Jose City Council race, Cohen names transition team
San Jose City Council candidate David Cohen over the weekend declared victory over Councilmember Lan Diep in the nail-biter District 4 race. Cohen on Nov. 9 also started naming his transition team, which met over the weekend to begin building a staff and preparing to take over the council office in January. The race was...
Silicon Valley reacts to Joe Biden winning presidency
After winning Nevada and Pennsylvania four days after the election, Joe Biden defeated President Donald Trump on Saturday and will become the 46th president of the United States with Kamala Harris, the first woman Vice President, by his side. With victories in those two states, the former Vice President under Barack Obama harnessed a total...
Young South Bay activists mobilize to fight for climate justice
Marching down a narrow neighborhood street with signs reading “Green New Deal Now” and “We Can’t Breathe,” about 20 youth climate activists sought to surprise San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo with an early morning protest outside his home. “No justice, no sleep,” one of the protesters chanted through a megaphone while cars squeezed between the...
Major political changes coming to Santa Clara City Hall
One incumbent councilmember is out. Three new faces are in. And Mayor Lisa Gillmor has lost her stronghold on the Santa Clara City Council. “You’ve got a unique city because they have so much potential in Santa Clara and all of it is being squandered on personality,” said political consultant Rich Robinson. “This election is...
Voter turnout in San Jose’s East Side falls behind West Valley
Education trustee Teresa Castellanos spent weeks going door to door to speak with East Side voters before the Nov. 3 election. To her dismay, many of them told her no one has ever knocked on their door on the campaign trail. “That’s when I realized that there’s a whole electorate that’s not being targeted and not being...
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