Nov 11, 2016
Bucking the national trend local Labor-backed candidates and measures did extraordinarily well in Tuesday’s election. Here’s a recap: In what was one of the most contested and expensive races in San Jose, Ash Kalra won his bid for Assembly District 27, surpassing his opponent Madison Nguyen by nearly 5,000 votes and counting. Charter schools, a primary funder of Nguyen’s, and…
Nov 2, 2016
As the election campaign enters its final week, many are fatigued, but none so much as Labor Council Political Director David Urhausen, who has been running the South Bay’s largest, most sophisticated field campaign 24×7 for over two months. To his credit, the campaign has contacted well over 100,000 voters, and convinced many of them to support good causes and…
Oct 31, 2016
City of San Jose Modifying resolution policy to limit City Council’s actions on national issues, plus letter in support of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe As recommended by the Rules Committee on October 19, Council will consider amending the Resolution policy to allow Councilmembers to issue letters individually or collectively representing their position, and not the Council position, on an…
Oct 10, 2016
City of San Jose San Jose: Potential changes to Affordable Housing Impact Fee; KMA report released; exempted projects so far would have brought in $112M in fees Provide recommendations to staff regarding the following recommended changes to the Affordable Housing Impact Fee (AHIF): Add an exemption to change the threshold size of rental projects to which the AHIF applies from…
Sep 29, 2016
Today, more than 1,000 local construction trade workers gathered to rally against developers and land speculators like KT Urban for failing to hire local skilled workers and pay them middle-class family sustainable wages. KT Urban is currently developing its latest high-rise, luxury condominium project, Silvery Towers, in downtown San Jose. Workers also urged San Jose elected officials to create good public…
Sep 26, 2016
Santa Clara County Creating Oversight Committee for Measure A Housing Bond; Counsel advised to not include Assessor or a housing advocate On August 16, the Board of Supervisors directed Administration to draft an ordinance to establish an independent citizens’ oversight committee for the Housing Bond. The attached ordinance meets the Board’s referral, with two exceptions. First, to ensure full independence…
Sep 21, 2016
City of San Jose Approving an additional $1.9 M for outside staffing in Planning Dept. plus 5 one-year options In February 2012, the City Council approved hiring private contractors to address temporary or “peak staffing” requirements in City departments including building inspection, plan review, planning services, and fire inspection services. A total of $5 million has been approved to outside…
Sep 16, 2016
Last week the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority Board took a big step towards shrinking inequality and building an inclusive middle class. The Board voted to open up career opportunities on over $4 billion in construction projects for local community members who are struggling to find good, family-supporting jobs. This groundbreaking Community Workforce Agreement policy was a major goal of…
Sep 15, 2016
Cafeteria workers at Intel’s Santa Clara campus voted overwhelmingly to unionize and be represented by UNITE HERE Local 19. Following key wins by janitors, security officers and shuttle bus drivers, this victory for food service workers — the fastest growing subcontracted industry that serves the tech sector — breaks new ground for Silicon Valley Rising, an unprecedented campaign across these…
Sep 15, 2016
You’ve got to give it to San Jose City Council candidate Dev Davis for her chutzpah. She held a press conference to denounce fellow Republican Donald Trump for his Neanderthal views towards women, while Ms. Davis by contrast “vows to defend women.” Ironically, her answers on the questionnaire of the socially conservative Values Advocacy Council reveal a different Dev Davis. …