Green Party candidate Jake Tonkel has jumped into the San Jose City Council race in District 6, forcing incumbent Dev Davis to fend off two challengers in her re-election bid next fall. “I want to ensure our city is moving forward in a way that addresses income inequality,” Tonkel, 28, told San José Spotlight. “My...
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The fight over Willow Glen Trestle goes back to court
A battle between San Jose city officials who want to see a long-delayed trail connection in Willow Glen come to life and a group devoted to preserving a historic train crossing made its way back into the courtroom this week. The bitter court battle has raged on for the past five years, with the most...
Republican challenger emerges in San Jose council race
San Jose Councilmember Sergio Jimenez who handily beat a Republican challenger four years ago is about to face another one — and he’s a familiar name in political circles. Mechanical engineer Jonathan Fleming, who unsuccessfully ran against one-term Councilmember Tam Nguyen in 2016, just moved into Jimenez’s district. And now he’s challenging the longtime Democrat,...
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San Jose lawmakers narrowly approve budget amid inequity concerns
San Jose City Councilmembers on Tuesday narrowly voted to approve Mayor Sam Liccardo’s June budget message, despite criticism that it didn’t go far enough to address racial and economic inequities in the city. The split vote marked the first time in recent history that nearly half the City Council voted against a mayor’s fiscal budget, which is historically...
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San Jose lawmakers fundraised nearly $3.7M last year. Here’s where it went.
Contact Grace Hase at [email protected] or follow @grace_hase on Twitter.
In split vote, San Jose lawmakers decide to study potential 2020 tax measure
Despite warnings from Councilmembers Johnny Khamis and Sergio Jimenez that San Jose residents are becoming overtaxed, a split City Council on Tuesday decided to move forward with researching a 2020 ballot measure to help build affordable housing and shelter the city’s homeless. Last month, San Jose administrators studied three potential tax measures – two of them were...
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San Jose mayor focuses on equity and blight in budget message
As San Jose lawmakers prepare to approve next year’s budget, Mayor Sam Liccardo announced in his budget message Monday that he wants to distribute public dollars equitably – focusing limited funding and resources on areas with the greatest needs. “All of us should agree that across several city program areas, high-poverty neighborhoods need greater resources,” Liccardo wrote. “In some...
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San Jose mayor one step closer to suing over overnight trains
In an effort to combat the blaring horns of trains that have been waking San Jose residents from slumber, Mayor Sam Liccardo, along with four of his council colleagues, have signed on to explore legal options against Union Pacific Railroad and consider designating the land along the rail line as public open space. According to...
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Rapes in San Jose tripled in ten years; lawmakers want answers
San Jose elected leaders on Thursday called for a series of public hearings to address an alarming rise of reported rapes and sexual assaults in San Jose. All five female members of the San Jose City Council — Magdalena Carrasco, Sylvia Arenas, Dev Davis, Maya Esparza and Pam Foley — gathered in front of San...
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San Jose lawmakers want to fund nearly 100 new ideas. Here’s a look at some of them.
Nearly 100 ideas are vying for funding in Mayor Sam Liccardo’s new budget, and they include everything from cleaning blight, to installing metal detectors at City Hall and mounting license plate readers on parking enforcement vehicles. Liccardo is scheduled to release his final budget message on May 31, which could include some of the councilmembers’...