Dear Neighbor,

State of the City this year centers on service. And instead of just talking about the impact we’ve had, we’re going to deepen it by participating in 8 different beautification projects each led by a Councilmember. I hope you’ll join us at Happy Hollow on June 1 at 9am.

We’ll start with a short program to honor neighbors going above and beyond to create a better city and I’ll share my thoughts on the year ahead before we get to work. 

You get to decide what kind of impact you’d like to have – whether you choose to plant trees with Councilmember Cohen or paint a fence with Vice Mayor Kamei, you’ll be working alongside your neighbors to make a difference. 

The biggest lesson I’ve learned this year is that it takes all of us working together to make progress. Whether that’s neighbors coming together to beautify their corner of San Jose, Councilmembers working in tandem to make tradeoffs during a tough budget season, or the State and Federal government leaning in on solutions to homelessness, we have better, more meaningful outcomes when we collaborate. And we should be celebrating that collaboration! 

After we complete our service projects, we’ll reconvene and honor our impact with food truck pop-ups, music and some special guests. I hope you’ll join us this year to celebrate our progress and chart a path forward together – it will take all of us!

See you there,

Mayor Matt

Last week, we broke ground to fulfill a promise decades in the making. The “Thank You America” statue at San Jose’s Vietnamese Heritage Garden will depict an American soldier and a South Vietnamese soldier standing together, as we do today. Our shared vision is a garden that remembers the past but looks ahead to the future. That pays homage to the journey that thousands of families took to find a better life here in America, and then helps create that better life by providing a space for people to come together, celebrate and share the rich culture of our Vietnamese community with the next generation. 

San Jose has the largest Vietnamese community of any single city outside of Vietnam, and that community deserves a place to celebrate and maintain their culture and traditions. Thanks to all involved and to Councilmember Doan for organizing!

Some of you may have seen a recent article on a local website spreading falsehoods about the humanitarian and environmental crisis along our waterways, seemingly trying to downplay the legal and financial risks of encampments lining our rivers and creeks. It claimed that we were inflating the risks we face if we fail to stop the flow of trash into our creeks and rivers. That is incorrect – and frankly dangerous misinformation. 

We all need to have our eyes wide open as we face the most difficult fiscal shortfall in years. To do that, we need to start with the same basic understanding of facts. Since the outlet refused to correct factual errors in the article, the City Manager and City Attorney set the record straight this week at our council meeting and during a budget study session. You can find the clip here.

The bottom line is: penalties of up to $66,000 per pollutant per day is not a figure that we simply pulled out of a hat. It is the EPA’s allowable penalties for violations of the Clean Water Act. Over the past year, we have had our waterway Direct Discharge Plan rejected 3 times, putting at risk our stormwater permit. The EPA delegates the regulation of the Clean Water Act to the Water Board, and if the Water Board revokes our stormwater permit – which will happen if we don’t address the pollution entering our creeks and rivers (88% of which comes from people living along our waterways) – we can be sued by literally anyone in the US under federal law. We have faced litigation like this in the past (in 2015, the City entered into a $100M+ legal settlement related to waterway pollution) and we know that we likely will again if we don’t take measures to address this environmental crisis head on. 

We need to be clear with our community about the situation at hand. And to do that, we need journalists to understand that they have a job that is vital for the maintenance of our democracy – and an abuse of that power is detrimental to our collective well-being no matter your political persuasion.

Calle Willow is 29 trees greener! Last year, the neighbors here raised concerns about high summer temperatures impacting their day-to-day lives. Thanks to Councilmember Torres and our City arborist, we planted trees that will provide much needed natural cover and make our city a more beautiful place to live! While unfortunately some of these new trees were vandalized, the culprit has been identified and we will be restoring the damaged trees and continuing to maintain them. 

Block Parties are back and better than ever! Thanks to the Urban Vibrancy Institute for organizing the first event of the season in San Jose’s downtown historic district – with vendors, live music and food. If you missed this event, don’t worry, you’ll have a chance on the third Thursday of each month through September. I’ll see you at the next one!

Thank you to everyone who showed up to speak in support of our “back to basics” budget at City Council. Your representatives heard you and because of your advocacy, my March Budget Message was unanimously passed by council. I hope you continue to stay engaged as we move towards the final vote in June. We face some tough tradeoffs ahead and need your help to ensure the Council prioritizes public safety, alternatives to encampments, blight eradication and support for housing and job creation in the final budget vote in June. If you’d like to support our push for focus in the weeks ahead, sign up here.

Japantown Farmer's Market

Sunday, May 19th to Sunday, October 27th at 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM

Gordon Biersch Brewery, 357 E. Taylor Street, San Jose, CA 95112

Shop from dozens of local businesses at the Japantown Farmer's Market! The Farmer's Market will be hosted every Sunday through October 27th, with vendors selling fruits, vegetables, baked goods, fresh cut flowers, and more. Learn more here. 

Small Business Empowerment Day

Monday, May 20th at 9:00 AM to 1:30 PM

City Hall, 200 E Santa Clara Street, San Jose, CA 95113

Join the Office of Economic Development for Small Business Empowerment Day, an in-person event where you can network with fellow entrepreneurs and City staff, and participate in insightful workshops tailored to your needs. Translation provided upon request. Learn more and register for this free event here. 

Alviso Park Community Day

Saturday, May 25th at 8:45 AM to 12:00 PM

Wilson Way, San Jose, CA 95134

Help beautify our city! Join PRNS to clean up Alviso Park, meet neighbors from across the city, and work together to create a safer, cleaner, greener city for everyone. Learn more and sign up here. 

Painting Asphalt Mural at San Pedro Square

Monday, May 27th to May 31st at 9:00 AM to 7:00 PM

San Pedro Square, N. San Pedro Street, San Jose

Interested in helping us add a huge pop of color to San Pedro Square? Grab a brush and join Local Color, the San Jose Downtown Association, and artist Jimmy Paints to help us install an asphalt mural along San Pedro Street. Volunteers will be able to participate in 2 hour blocks of painting (paint-by-numbers style) between 9:00 AM and 7:00 PM. All ParkSJ garages offer 90 minutes of free parking, including the Market & San Pedro Square garage. Learn more and sign up here.

¡Feliz Cinco de Mayo, San Jose! Silvia, Nina, Luke, and I had a great time cruising in lowriders down King & Story with the United Lowrider Council of San Jose and Councilmember Ortiz’s office. San Jose is proud to be the lowrider capital of Northern California!

We turned trash into treasure at last weekend’s dumpster days! Thanks to Kaiser, BeautifySJ and the Glenside-Riveria Neighborhood Association, San Joseans came out of their homes, found connection and lost their junk! If you want to join a community of neighbors doing their part to create a cleaner city for everyone, sign up here: http://bit.ly/cleansj.

Forbes confirms: there is no better place to start a small business than San Jose! Our city is the heart of Silicon Valley — the innovation capital of the world. And we’re working every day to create a cleaner, safer city for all. When we get the basics right, we make it easier for our businesses to thrive. Read more here.