124 results for author: sf-admin

Beyond the Grieving — Keeping Each Other Safe

First published on Medium In recent weeks, our television and computer screens have transmitted terrifying views of violence in Orlando, Baton Rouge, Falcon Heights, and Dallas. Predictably, scores of commentators and politicians have rushed in to opine on these events and their implications for an emotionally reeling nation, largely focusing on what divides us, citing issues of race, gun control, or even immigration. We should not allow this to distract us from the pain that this violence has inflicted on our families, communities, and country, and on our need to heal these deep emotional wounds. Divided or not, we should heed President ...

Effective, Efficient and Innovative Government? Here’s How.

By Greg Fischer, Edwin M. Lee and Sam Liccardo in Washington Monthly Technological innovation has revolutionized our world and the way we interact with it. Smart phones, Wi-Fi, and cloud computing have disrupted traditional industries and transformed the consumer experience. The next technological revolution—whether in artificial intelligence, virtual reality, autonomous vehicles, or energy storage—will drive the next chapters of the human narrative. In contrast, government has adopted innovation at a notoriously slow rate. All too often, navigating the Department of Motor Vehicles, waiting through Customs at the airport, or applying for a ...

Sam Liccardo: San Jose needs to invest, innovate in 2016

By Sam Liccardo, Special to the Mercury News Editor's note: Mayor Liccardo adapted this from his State of the City speech on March 5 at Overfelt High School. We live in an era governed by a tyranny of the immediate. Hourly reports agitate financial markets. Media fixate on a 24-hour news cycles. Donald Trump articulates his deepest thoughts in 140-character tweets. This breeds a myopia -- and decisions that satisfy today but betray the future. So we consume natural resources at unsustainable rates, underinvest in education, and neglect crumbling infrastructure. Fortunately, in Silicon Valley, we share a bolder vision, born of our collective ...

Sam Liccardo: Let’s bring our veterans ‘All the Way Home’

By Sam Liccardo, Special to the Mercury News In the last year, San Jose has had much to celebrate. We've welcomed the thousands of jobs created by the expansion of tech giants Apple and Samsung, as well as fast-scaling companies Splunk and Xactly. We've christened three new international flights from our airport, witnessed an unprecedented revitalization of our downtown, and cut the ribbons on a half-dozen new manufacturing facilities, dozens of retail stores, three college campuses and even a soccer stadium. Job growth in San Jose and our county exceeds that of any other metropolitan area in the United States. Yet after this growth spurt has ...

Sam Liccardo and Chuck Reed: Measure B settlement is right for San Jose

By Sam Liccardo and Chuck Reed, Special to the Mercury News For both of our mayoral administrations, three objectives have guided our negotiations to settle litigation with our police and fire unions over pension reform: First, reducing the costs of unsustainable retirement benefits; second, ensuring that the pension system does not add to the $3 billion in unfunded liabilities already thrust on future generations; and third, reaching a settlement that enables us to rebuild San Jose's shrinking police force. The agreement reached in July accomplishes all three. First, it will save taxpayer dollars. The calculations of city staff and an ...

Thank You

After a long election, weeks of voting and days of counting, I am proud to have been elected San José's 65th mayor. I spoke to County Supervisor Dave Cortese and accepted his gracious congratulations after a hard fought race. I look forward to working with him to move San José forward – because ultimately, that's what this election was all about. I was honored to face an opponent with the intelligence and resolve of Dave Cortese. He has a long and distinguished record of public service and leadership in this community. I am grateful that he has offered to lend his support and insights as we now work together to make our city safer and our ...

Sam’s Remarks at his Election Night Party

Thank you. Friends, I want to thank Dave Cortese for a spirited campaign. We've come a long, long way. Wow, what a journey! This has been an extraordinary journey, and no journey can be all bad if it ends in a brewery. Thanks to Dan Gorden for hosting us tonight, and reminding us that yes, manufacturing is alive and well in San José! We began this odyssey over a year ago. This journey has taken us through every San José neighborhood and seemingly, over every street in San José. We started this journey when many folks believed we didn't have a chance. We started 20 points behind in the polls. We knew we'd be taking on a formidable ...

In the lead

What an amazing night! When I first got into this race for mayor, folks didn't think I had a chance. I was behind by double digits and it didn't seem like we'd ever be able to overcome the gap. But we succeeded for one simple reason: You. And while they are still counting late absentee ballots down at the Registrar's office, we lead 51% to 49%, a margin that was steady as new ballots came in last night. There are many more ballots to be counted, but we have every reason to believe this lead will hold up. Thanks to your support, your hard work, your dedication and faith, we beat the odds. Now it's time to move forward and start uniting ...

San Jose mayor’s race: Sam Liccardo appears to be slim winner

By Mike Rosenberg, from the Mercury News SAN JOSE -- Councilman Sam Liccardo appeared to be headed for a narrow victory over county Supervisor Dave Cortese in Tuesday's hotly-contested battle to become the next mayor of San Jose. In the early hours of Wednesday morning, with all precincts reporting, Liccardo had won 51 percent of the vote and Cortese had secured roughly 49 percent -- a gap that had held steady throughout election night. Still, a good chunk of mail ballots turned in at the last minute will be counted over the rest of the week, and it wasn't clear if Cortese would concede Wednesday. Liccardo dominated voter results in the western ...

Early Voting Locations in San José and Santa Clara County

Voting is now well underway in San José – and 60,000 people have already returned their absentee ballots or voted early at one of the many early vote locations throughout the County. If you have an absentee ballot, today (Thursday, October 30) is the last day to return it in order to guarantee it will arrive before Election Day on Tuesday, November 4. Remember your ballot must be received before Election Day to be counted. At the very latest, you can mail your ballots by Friday morning – but after that it is best to take them to Early Voting locations or drop them off at your regular polling place on Election Day. You can look up your polling ...