Author Archives : The Left Hook

Two Incumbents Vie to be Sunnyvale’s First Directly Elected Mayor


The current Sunnyvale Mayor and Vice Mayor are battling to be the city’s first directly elected Mayor. At the March 3, 2020 election, City voters approved changing to a district-based electoral system for selecting City Council Members, with an elected Mayor.   Mayor Larry Klein was elected to Council in August of 2016, and re-elected to his seat in November of…

Campbell Gears Up for First Ever District Council Races


The November 2020 election will mark the first time Campbell voters elect their Council Members by district instead of at-large. Two districts will have seats up for election, Districts 1 and 2. Currently, Anne Souza is the only candidate who has filed paperwork in District 1. Souza, a long-time education professional and youth advocate, has served on the Campbell Union…

Policy Watch: Week of 6/22


Digital Divide | City of San Jose| Approve funding strategy for digital inclusion and authorize agreement with AT&T for up to $3.4M Date/time/location item will be heard: Tuesday, June 23, 2020, 11am Issue summary: Council will receive a staff report and may approve a funding strategy for proposed investment of Coronavirus Relief Funds in specific projects that provide broadband services…

Six Candidates Vy for Three Seats on Gilroy City Council


Gilroy City Council will have three seats up for election, and to date, there are six candidates eyeing those seats. Current Council Members Fred Tovar and Carol Marques are seeking reelection. First on the list of candidates who have joined the race is Rebeca Armendariz, a fourth-generation Gilroy resident and well- known community activist. Armendariz served as a member of…

Policy Watch: Week of 6/15


It’s been 13 weeks since the Santa Clara County shelter-in-place became effective and 3 weeks since the killing of George Floyd that ignited a nation to support #BlackLivesMatter. This week we resume our weekly policy watch listings across the South Bay Area with an unequivocal commitment to social and economic justice. | City of San Jose| Liccardo/ Jones / Peralez/…

Santa Clara County Democratic Party Passes Resolution in Support of Placing the Fair Elections Initiative on November Ballot


Yesterday, the Santa Clara County Democratic Party passed a resolution in support of placing the Fair Elections Initiative (FEI) on the November ballot. The resolution calls on the City of San Jose to find the roughly 3,000 petition signatures lost by the City Clerk “or, failing that, the San Jose Council must place the FEI on the November 2020 ballot.” …

Two Seats Up for Election on Milpitas City Council


Milpitas City Council has two seats up for reelection this year. Current Vice Mayor Bob Nunez and Council Member Anthony Phan are running to keep their seats. Also jumping into the race is Evelyn Chua, City of Milpitas Planning Commissioner. Chua, who  ran for City Council in 2016, has served on the community advisory commission and the emergency preparedness commission. …

Open Space Authority Director Hints at 2022 Run for Higher Office


In a Facebook post announcing her acceptance to Mills College, Santa Clara County Open Space Authority Director Shay Franco-Clausen signaled that she plans to run for an unnamed higher office in two years. In her now deleted post, she states that “Graduating from Mills College will be the preparation to continue my run for higher elected office in 2022!” With…

Policy Watch – Week of 5/18


In this week’s “Policy Watch” segment, we bring you the upcoming top ten policy issues for the South Bay area. |City of San Jose| Adopting amendments to strengthen eviction moratorium; update from BOS delay in extending countywide eviction moratorium Issue summary: Staff provide a supplemental memo with an update on Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors’ decision to wait until its…