A city commission on Monday unanimously approved salary increases for San Jose elected leaders, including a whopping $58,000 raise for Mayor Sam Liccardo and a $28,000 raise for city councilmembers. But on Tuesday morning, Liccardo rejected the raise in a new memo released by his office. Instead, Liccardo suggested aligning current and future mayoral salary...
Poll: Dave Cortese leading opponents in state Senate race
Santa Clara County Supervisor Dave Cortese has emerged as the frontrunner in a crowded race to replace state Sen. Jim Beall, holding a 13-point advantage over his likely opponents, according to a new poll obtained by San José Spotlight. The poll, which surveyed 600 likely voters from March 26 to April 2, found that 32...
San Jose leaders to mull improving public outreach on development
From involving neighborhood organizations to creating a form for public feedback to reaching limited English speaking areas, city officials on Tuesday will recommend a series of improvements to help San Jose better engage the community over upcoming building projects. The San Jose City Council will review eight sweeping recommendations on development noticing as prepared by...
San Jose explores reducing police staffing at outdoor events
San Jose city leaders are looking to reduce police presence at major outdoor events — a cost-savings measure first suggested by Mayor Sam Liccardo last summer. The mayor last June asked city administrators to find “ways to safely reduce the city’s police staffing requirements at major events” such as the San Jose Jazz Festival, Silicon...
Following outcry, major changes coming to San Jose Planning Commission
Mayor Sam Liccardo joined with political rivals to propose sweeping changes to the Planning Commision following community outcry, changes that could reshape the size and diversity of the powerful panel. In a new proposal, Liccardo and Vice Mayor Chappie Jones teamed up with progressives Magdalena Carrasco and Maya Esparza to suggest prohibiting more than two...
San Jose has nearly 600 job openings, but it’s an improvement
San Jose has reported a steady decline in job vacancies and employee turnover for the last three years, a statistic that city officials say is the result of sweeping efforts to improve employee retention and compensation following an economic downturn in 2012. According to data requested by San José Spotlight, the city had 650 vacancies in...
Initiative to align San Jose mayoral election with the presidential election fails
Despite a push from community advocates to align San Jose’s mayoral election with the presidential election cycle, the votes to make the change just weren’t there on Tuesday. Mayor Sam Liccardo, Vice Mayor Chappie Jones and Councilmembers Lan Diep, Pam Foley, Johnny Khamis and Dev Davis voted against the measure, citing concerns that the presidential...
Silicon Valley Democratic Club endorses Kimberly Ellis for state party chair
Candidates running for Chair of the California Democratic Party swung by the South Bay to answer questions at a forum on Monday — each making the case for why they are fit for the role. Following the hourlong candidate forum, the Silicon Valley Democratic Club voted to endorse Kimberly Ellis, a progressive activist and former...
San Jose City Council to debate moving mayoral elections
San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo and Vice Mayor Chappie Jones on Tuesday will implore their City Council colleagues to make no changes to the mayoral election cycle and instead explore alternative ideas to increase voter turnout. Liccardo previously told San José Spotlight that he wouldn’t support an initiative to align the mayoral election year with...
San Jose lawmakers propose giving low-income areas more public funding
Instead of giving San Jose’s affluent, privileged neighborhoods such as Almaden Valley and Willow Glen the same amount of money as struggling areas such as East San Jose and Meadowfair, five city lawmakers want to make the budget process more equitable. They’re calling for the city’s public funding to be divvied up based on each...