ICYMI: Online Townhall on Safety
This week, I held an online townhall on how we can make San José the safest big city in America once again. I’ve put forward a comprehensive plan that includes adding 200 cops to the beat and returning to community policing and I’ve been talking about these ideas in neighborhoods across the city and on telephone townhalls as well.
The online forum was another chance to hear directly from residents on what we can do to improve safety. This was the first forum of its kind by any candidate in this race. I believe in having an innovative approach in city government – ...
KTVU: San Jose emergency response time debated
By Robert Handa
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Some people at a traffic accident in downtown San Jose Tuesday got a first-hand chance to evaluate a city decision dealing with emergency medical responses.
A young man on a bicycle was hit by a motorist on Reed Street Tuesday afternoon. He did not appear to suffer any life-threatening injuries but required medical attention he got from a San Jose Fire Department unit that one person said arrived, "really fast."
"I saw the whole thing (accident) and it was really horrible," said Jadon Dube, "but firefighters responded within three ...
KPIX: Plan for Free Motel Rooms for San Jose Homeless Would Also Target Prostitution
By: Len Ramirez – SAN JOSE (KPIX 5)
The city of San Jose is exploring a new strategy to help the homeless and fight prostitution at the same time, by giving away motel rooms to the homeless where prostitutes have set up shop.
Along North First Street and Monterey Highway, prostitutes work the streets out in the open, often using the strip’s low-rent motels as their home base.
At the same time, a growing number of homeless people have also moved out into the open…onto downtown streets and parks.
San Jose City Councilmember Sam Liccardo thinks there’s a ...
Taking on Homelessness
The Mercury News has a great piece out on an initiative I crafted to allow non-profits to temporarily lease hotel rooms to house the homeless while they get assistance getting back on their feet.
As the article notes, a perfect storm of economic conditions has made it exceptionally difficult for many to find housing here. San José currently ranks fifth in nation in terms of our homeless population, behind New York, Los Angeles, Seattle and San Diego.
This proposal would allow non-profits to lease hotel and motel rooms across the city from owners who have a ...
Education Must Be Part of the Discussion
I’ve talked about the important role of education in moving our city forward and attracting high wage jobs. While San Jose’s Mayor doesn’t have a direct role in education policy, it’s simple common sense to see that our public schools play a huge role in the quality of life in our city – our next mayor can’t turn a blind eye to the challenges these schools face.
Many people have reached out to me to tell me they agree. I’m particularly pleased that Santa Clara County Office of Education trustee Joseph Di Salvo is one of those people. Read his new piece on ...
The Right Tools for the Job
A carpenter wouldn’t use a sledgehammer to hang a picture. A welder wouldn’t use a blowtorch to light a candle. And a gardener wouldn’t use a backhoe to plant a flower garden. It’s common sense to match the right tool for the right job.
But that’s not currently how we respond to emergency calls in San José.
Right now, medical emergencies comprise 94% of the calls to which our Fire Department responds. Yet each response – whether its for someone who is having trouble breathing, has had a workplace accident, or is intoxicated – is given the same treatm...
Great News – Google taps San José for Potential High-Speed Fiber Rollout
Google today announced that San José would be one of the first 34 cities targeted for the expansion of their Google high-speed fiber networks.
Bringing more high-speed Internet options helps San José become even more competitive economically and increased competition and options could ultimately help lower high-speed costs.
TechCruch covers the story here. I was proud to have worked to set up an early meeting between Google and Mayor Reed – and I’ll continue to do whatever I can to drive forward this kind of infrastructure investment.
Listening to San José on Safety
I want to thank the thousands of San José residents who participated in our telephone town hall last night – it was great to hear so many excellent ideas on how to make our city safer.
As a former criminal prosecutor I know just how important it is to involve the community in the fight for a safer city. Making San José America's safest big city again means keeping the community involved every day – which is why having so many great discussions last night was inspiring.
As a candidate for Mayor of San José I’ve published my plan for safety – which I hope ...
Mercury News: Disabled ‘serial plaintiffs’ do legal battle with small businesses over access issues
By Patrick May
You've heard of painting the town red.
When John Ho rolled through San Jose, he went with blue.
On one fateful weekend in 2012, the wheelchair-bound paraplegic from Southern California said he dropped in on nearly 80 small businesses in the South Bay that he deemed to have inadequate parking or access for the disabled. Then he sued them all, saddling economy motels, burger joints and other humble establishments with fat bills for lawyer fees, settlements and buckets of blue paint to bring their properties up to code.
While targeting some ...
Mercury News Editorial: Security cameras can help San Jose police
Mercury News Editorial
If you're on a neighborhood e-mail list in any Silicon Valley community, you've probably seen one of these videos: a clear shot of a recognizable person walking from a car to a porch and stealing a package, probably just after a delivery truck dropped it off. All courtesy of a home security camera.
We were reminded of those real-life crime snippets when San Jose Councilman Sam Liccardo made a pitch to the City Council rules committee a few weeks ago to help police connect with homeowners who'd like to help catch a criminal with their home ...