Mayor Sam Liccardo isn’t rattled by Gov. Gavin Newsom’s threat to withhold money from cities that fail to build enough housing — despite San Jose falling short of its housing production goals. Liccardo said he was “all in” to support the governor’s ambitious housing development goals. “We’ve been begging for these kinds of carrots and...
San Jose council debates Coyote Valley with developers, environmentalists
Coyote Valley – the 7,000 acres of mostly undeveloped land in south San Jose – has been a topic of contention for city planners for decades. And it was no different at Tuesday’s San Jose City Council study session. City Manager David Sykes called the issue a “balancing act” as councilmembers looked toward experts to...
Outgoing San Jose Councilman Tam Nguyen to keep working on housing issues
Ousted San Jose City Councilman Tam Nguyen isn’t planning to disappear now that his one term on the council is over. In a recent interview with San José Spotlight, Nguyen said he plans to continue working on finding solutions to issues like affordable housing and homelessness as a community member. Nguyen, 62, lost his bid...
“Stand up, fight back”: Women’s March takes over downtown San Jose
From City Hall to Arena Green, thousands took to the streets of San Jose over the weekend to shout their support for women — in their communities, in America and around the world. They brought signs, drums, water, food and demands. The third-annual Women’s March San Jose, organized by nonprofit Women’s March Bay Area, began...
Don Rocha outlines vision for Dave Cortese’s office
As he takes the reins of Supervisor Dave Cortese’s office, former San Jose Councilman Don Rocha says he’ll focus on bolstering Santa Clara County finances in the face of potential cuts in federal funding to a county that’s boldly led the resistance against Donald Trump. “No one knows what the White House or Congress is...
Pedestrian deaths spiked in San Jose last year
A New Year’s Day traffic collision that injured San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo marks an ongoing trend of pedestrian injuries and fatalities throughout San Jose — and has given a high-profile face to a public safety campaign that some say needed a publicity boost. Liccardo collided with a 2002 Toyota Highlander on Jan. 1 while...
Liccardo’s focus in 2019: Housing, housing, housing
Sam Liccardo easily won four more years as San Jose mayor in November, but the high-profile former attorney faces a Gordian Knot of intersecting issues entering his second term — especially the intractable housing crisis. Upon his swearing in four years ago, Liccardo contended with a bitter pension battle that ended in a mass exodus...
Who is behind the anti-Google protests?
The chaos inside a recent San Jose City Council meeting was like nothing seen before: Eight people chained themselves to chairs to protest the city selling public land to Google for a massive tech campus. SWAT officers paced the room. Authorities blanketed the hallways all night, tense and ready for an uprising after monitoring social...
Johnny Khamis jumps into state Senate race
Several prominent politicians are lining up to replace termed-out state Sen. Jim Beall in an election that’s more than a year away. San Jose Councilman Johnny Khamis, a former Republican who fled the party in June over Donald Trump’s immigration policies, confirmed that he’ll run for the seat. Khamis discussed the idea with political consultant...
Attack ads run rampant in local elections
They say politics is a blood sport. Silicon Valley’s 2018 midterm election, featuring a handful of competitive city and county legislative races, was no exception. A slew of opposition ads and smear tactics shadowed several Bay Area candidates running for public office this year — including ads bankrolled by a new committee helmed by the...