Top Silicon Valley GOP leaders didn’t hold back criticism of a former Bay Area Democrat’s attempts to keep control of the House — after losing his seat three years ago. Former U.S. Rep. Mike Honda, who lost his seat to Democrat Ro Khanna in 2016, earlier this year launched a new political action committee, the Hold the House...
A sitdown with Dianna Zamora-Marroquin
Just in time for the frenzy of the 2020 election, Silicon Valley’s most powerful labor coalition has a new political director — Dianna Zamora-Marroquin, who previously handled communications for the South Bay Labor Council. Zamora-Marroquin told San José Spotlight that her new focus will be on activating young voters and marginalized communities of color to...
Hundreds of union workers continue fight with Santa Clara County
The battle between union workers and Santa Clara County supervisors rages on, as hundreds of workers sporting purple and red t-shirts crowded the board chambers last month before the supervisors parted for summer recess. “Please be quiet so we can hear people speaking, so we don’t have to stop the meeting,” said Supervisor Cindy Chavez,...
San Jose lawmaker accused of dating a senior staffer
This article was corrected on August 31, 2019. San Jose Councilmember Lan Diep is the target of an anonymous political poll released in late May that alleges he “violated city policy” by dating a senior staffer and taking her with him on last year’s taxpayer-funded sister city trip to Japan. The three-day telephone poll —...
Santa Clara picks committee to help divide the city for elections
Santa Clara has appointed seven people to its Charter Review Committee, a group that will help determine how future City Council members are elected. The committee will meet over the summer and fall to gather resident feedback before helping craft a ballot question about how the city should be split up for voting purposes that...
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Santa Clara receives $6.2M from San Jose following bitter lawsuit
Santa Clara officials are deciding how the city will spend $5 million earmarked for affordable housing that the city has received from San Jose this week as part of a lawsuit settled last year. Though the money will go toward affordable housing, the city hasn’t yet identified specific projects or initiatives for the funds. San...
Hotop: Where is the accountability over Silicon Valley’s housing crisis?
“Rents at all time highs!” “Homeless population growing” “Incomes not keeping up with rents” We’ve all seen these headlines the last few years and understand there’s a problem. However, there’s a bigger underlying problem that hasn’t been adequately addressed. These headlines go all the way back to the 1970’s. In 2003, San Jose’s Housing Department...
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Remember the Sonic Runway at San Jose City Hall? It could be coming back.
For nearly four months, more than a million people flocked to San Jose City Hall to catch a glimpse of the jaw-dropping “Sonic Runway,” a light-art installation that converted music into light patterns on 25 giant arches that stretched an entire city block. The art installation was so wildly popular that city leaders are now...
Staedler: Retail downtown needs a strong foundation to build upon
One of the greatest challenges to face downtown San Jose is the lack of a stable retail base. The former and now dissolved San Jose Redevelopment Agency worked tirelessly on creating retail in downtown San Jose and beyond. We spent an ungodly amount of money to create retail before it was ready to take hold....
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Mayor Sam Liccardo unblocks hundreds on social media after Trump ruling
A federal appeals court upheld a ruling last month that President Donald Trump violated the First Amendment by blocking critics on Twitter — prompting San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo to begin reinstating hundreds of social media users he’s blocked on Twitter and Facebook, a move that one good government advocate said is “better late than...