Almost all San Jose councilmembers and candidates are backing one person for mayor: Santa Clara County Supervisor Cindy Chavez. Chavez is facing off against San Jose Councilmember Matt Mahan this November, but only one of his colleagues has endorsed him—Mayor Sam Liccardo who is terming out. Vice Mayor Chappie Jones has yet to make a public endorsement,...
San Jose leaders say no to statewide gambling measures
Two statewide propositions to legalize and expand sports betting are coming to voters in November—and San Jose officials oppose both of them. The city council unanimously voted earlier this week to oppose Props. 26 and 27, viewing them as having a negative impact on San Jose casinos and reducing revenue gambling generates for the city. Prop. 26...
San Jose mayor travels to France on environmental group’s dime
San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo took an all-expenses paid trip to France this past week, and the timing is raising some eyebrows. The Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority and Terre & Cité, a French environmental nonprofit, paid $3,021 for the mayor’s trip to Plateau de Saclay, a town just south of Paris. Liccardo and...
Santa Clara County officials request state audit of VTA
A California legislator fighting to change VTA’s leadership is shifting tactics in the wake of public pushback. Assemblymember Marc Berman announced Monday he is not advancing Assembly Bill 2181 this year, which would eliminate VTA’s board of directors on or after July 2023 and shrink the board from 18 to 12 members, at least six...
San Jose councilmembers want to cut parking requirements
San Jose officials are green lighting a plan to reduce parking in new developments, but some are concerned about how it’ll impact residents. San Jose councilmembers voted unanimously Tuesday to create a policy to eliminate the city’s minimum parking requirements for new developments. The policy would incentivize alternative modes of transportation, like biking and public transit. The...
San Jose budget tackles homelessness and public safety
San Jose has more money to spend this fiscal year and officials are prioritizing homelessness, public safety, fighting blight, environmental sustainability and equitable economic recovery. On Tuesday, the City Council unanimously approved the $5.3 billion budget for fiscal year 2022-23. The city has $212 million more dollars to fund its 20 departments and various programs than...
San Jose AAPI community thrilled with apparent winner in District 1
Santa Clara County Board of Education trustee Rosemary Kamei’s resounding lead in the San Jose City Council District 1 race is also a win for the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community, AAPI leaders said. As of 5 p.m. Friday, Kamei has more than 60% of the vote, and assuming nothing changes, that nixes the...
San Jose council nixes Liccardo’s Qatar travel plans
San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo’s travel plans to Qatar got axed by the City Council after they cited human rights concerns. Liccardo was invited by the foreign ministry of Qatar to attend the country’s Environment and Energy Research Institute from June 11-13 and learn about their water conservation efforts. All travel accommodations and meals would...
Rosemary Kamei appears to win West San Jose council seat
Last updated 5 p.m. on Monday. The next update will be 5 p.m. on Tuesday. Santa Clara County Board of Education trustee Rosemary Kamei appears to be winning outright in the San Jose City Council District 1 race with 65.79% of the vote, or 9,426 votes. With 94% of the ballots counted, Kamei still holds...
How are special interests swaying Silicon Valley elections?
Special interest groups have spent a whopping $2.3 million to boost their preferred candidates across eight local races—making the 2022 primary election one of the most expensive seasons in recent Silicon Valley history. More than half of all political action committee (PAC) spending has gone to the San Jose mayor’s race. Special interests are also...