With a hefty donation from a developer building a massive project in the city, Santa Clara’s police union is funding campaign mailers supporting a slate of City Council candidates backed by Mayor Lisa Gillmor. The Related Company has coughed up $25,000 to the Santa Clara Police Officers’ Association Political Action Committee to re-elect Councilmembers Kathy...
San Jose names new city attorney, the second woman to fill the role
Nora Frimann was named San Jose’s second female city attorney Tuesday after serving in an interim role since the retirement of former City Attorney Rick Doyle. “I am honored to have been selected to serve San Jose as City Attorney,” Frimann said in a statement. “The City Attorney’s office will do our best to continue...
Levi’s Stadium becomes Santa Clara County’s newest vote center
Levi’s Stadium will become a vote center for the general election for Santa Clara County from Oct. 31 to Nov. 3. The San Francisco 49ers are partnering with the county Registrar of Voters Shannon Bushey, Black voter organization More Than a Vote and California Secretary of State Alex Padilla to offer voting at the stadium....
Public service a family affair for San Jose council candidate David Cohen
During the civil unrest of the 1960s, David Cohen recalls stories of being carted around in a stroller and carried on his parents’ backs during protests. He became eligible to vote in 1986 and during the 1988 presidential election he signed up to volunteer with the “Get Out the Vote” campaign. That year, while studying...
Santa Clara, South Bay candidates debate redistricting, racial equity, housing
Candidates for state and city government for Santa Clara debated police accountability, racial equity and voting rights on a San José Spotlight virtual forum co-moderated by Editor Ramona Giwargis and Michael Lane, the San Jose director for the San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association (SPUR). Seven candidates for City Council districts 1,...
Farmworker bills aim to protect against COVID-19 but may not go far enough
In a fragrant field of dew-drenched leaves, an uneven row of farmworkers labored before sunrise at a farm in Morgan Hill. These men and women, as well as hundreds of thousands of other farmworkers across California, could benefit from a suite of Assembly bills that will likely be passed by the end of this month....
Union blames lack of overtime for San Jose’s fire inspection backlog
Despite having filled nearly all of its vacant positions, San Jose’s Fire Prevention Bureau will likely fall behind in conducting fire inspections — and largely because of its failure to pay overtime. “There’s a short-term solution to try to bring down the backlog and that is to reinstate the allowance of (paid) overtime,” said Matt...
Victims urge supervisors to tackle sexual harassment at Santa Clara County schools
During a young woman’s sophomore year at Henry M. Gunn High School in Palo Alto, a fellow student sexually assaulted her off campus. That began years of intense suffering, taunting and trauma. “I was forced to choose between my physical and mental safety and my education,” according to the student, who ultimately left the high...
Santa Clara County supervisors pump $13 million to help people quarantine
Santa Clara County residents who are exposed or have contracted COVID-19 are getting more financial help to cover the cost of isolating and quarantining. Supervisors on Sept. 22 approved a $13 million infusion to the county’s cities to pay for motel costs, at-home support and financial assistance related to mandatory quarantine if residents get the...
San Jose lawmaker makes case for racial equity in criminal courts
As a public defender, Ash Kalra said he experienced firsthand the impact racism has had on communities of color in the court system, including jury selection, the use of racially discriminatory language and disparities in charging and sentencing. The San Jose assemblymember said his answer was to author Assembly Bill 2542, the California Racial Justice...