A few years ago I was approached by a colleague that was planning to step down from a prominent and powerful board. He told me that he would like me to take his place. Boy was that an ego boost. I was excited at the great opportunity to advance my own personal power and with...
Trailblazer: Cynthia Guerrero breaks boundaries in tech lobbying
As one of California’s top tech lobbyists, Cynthia Guerrero has been a driving force for nearly two decades in bridging the gap between public policy and tech companies to make an impact in her community. She’s one of few Latina women to mount a successful career in tech lobbying, an industry often dominated by men and one...
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...
San Jose housing developers voice concern with Ellis Act
Ramon Navarro Johnson lost his rent-controlled apartment in 2015 when his landlord decided to charge market rate. “I was abruptly displaced from my home, could not find other affordable housing options (and) ended up homeless for a year and a half,” he said. Johnson now has stable housing, but said he still suffers the effects of his...
Labor leaders condemn Sam Liccardo over stance on immigration
A band of top labor leaders Thursday signed onto a resolution condemning Mayor Sam Liccardo’s push to revise the county’s sanctuary city policy in the wake of the murder of a San Jose woman by an undocumented immigrant. In the resolution, the South Bay AFL-CIO Labor Council executive board, Latinos United for a New America, Human Agenda and...
Santa Clara County law enforcement have taken 6,000 guns off streets
More assault weapons were received in 2016 and 2018 than years prior. Last year, LaCap said her department capped buybacks at $400 maximum because “we had these people that would bring in like 40 guns, and they would wipe out all of our funds on one person.” “A lot of it was gun dealers who...
Downtown church decided to sell to Google amid fear of eminent domain
“What would happen to us, what would happen to our church if this project had already been approved?” Zuniga told the council. “We consulted with a legal expert to give us advice on what would happen to us,” he added. “His advice was to negotiate with Google because if the city wanted to they could...
East San Jose leaders decry San Jose planning commission appointment
When Ada Márquez stepped down from San Jose’s most powerful city commission last year, community leaders were hopeful that lawmakers would appoint another person of color from East Side to fill her spot. But that’s not what happened. “The council had a chance to embrace diversity and instead they chose to replace a seat that...
Bay Area has third largest homeless population in U.S., new report says
A new report on homelessness shows that the Bay Area has the third largest homeless population in the country, with 28,200 people in the region experiencing homelessness. According to the latest annual report on the state’s homelessness by the Bay Area Council Economic Institute, homelessness in the Bay Area is just behind Los Angeles, with about...
Santa Clara County to explore changes to sanctuary city policy
Amid a brewing battle on immigration, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors announced Tuesday that it will explore changes to the county’s sanctuary city policy following immense backlash from the community. After an emotional meeting that included three hours of public testimony, county lawmakers voted 4-1 in favor of requesting county staff to come...