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Hi Neighbors,
March is Women's History Month — an opportunity to recognize and honor past and current generations of women who have provided countless positive contributions to our culture and society.
San José has been a leading community for women's leadership dating back from former San José Mayor Janet Grey Hayes to the many woman community champions we have in District 8 today including the board of Evergreen Leadership Neighborhood Association, Creekside Neighborhood Association, Estates Neighborhood Association and Welch Park Neighborhood Association.
Thanks to these leaders, we can work with residents when we propose budgetary and policy changes in the City like the return of Raging Waters, and other community investments in public safety and affordable housing.
These proposals, alongside my commitment to bringing public safety investments and creating stronger neighborhoods, will be discussed in my upcoming Community Budget Meeting at Overfelt High School on April 15th from 6PM to 8PM.
Lastly, I want to remind everyone of the many beautification events we are having this Spring — starting with weed abatements where my team and I will bring out tools and volunteers where maintenance staff may not yet be on-site; more dumpster days for folks who are continuing spring cleaning, and I go with my team to remove illegally dumped items from local blocks; and finally, litter pickups including the yearly Great American Litter Pickup on Earth Day this year! See more details on these events below.
I hope to see you all at these upcoming events. Please contact my office for any questions.
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Domingo Candelas
Councilmember, San José District 8
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Learn more about our community work and accomplishments in my past monthly newsletters from February 2023 onward, which provide a wealth of information including updates on legislation, community events, and important issues like the City budget, public safety, homelessness and more.
Please share this with your neighbors and let them know what's happening in my district. They can sign up by following this link.
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District 8 Joint-Budget Meeting at Overfelt High
Monday, April 15th
6PM to 7PM; Doors open at 5:30PM
RSVP
Join Councilmember Domingo Candelas and Councilmember Peter Ortiz as we review the budget process with you and your neighbors!
Share your questions or ideas about the city budget and discuss local District 8 ideas.
Stop by Overfelt High School on April 15th, Doors open at 5:30 PM!
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Great American Litter Pickup (GALP)
Saturday, April 20th
9AM to 11:30AM
RSVP
April 20th is Earth Day and what better way to protect our open space and neighborhoods than to take action alongside volunteers of all backgrounds at the biggest litter pickup of the year.
Stop by one of our District 8 sites and contact our office if you have any questions:
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Dumpster Day at Laurelwood Elementary
Saturday, April 13th
8:30AM to 11AM
RSVP
Bins start loading by 8:30 AM; last drop off at 10:50 AM. Please refer to the list of allowed and NOT allowed items. Staff will be on-site to help answer any questions.
RSVP is not required. Let us know if you have any questions!
What's Allowed
Old Furniture, Desks, Drawers, Mattresses, Box Springs, Hardware, Toilets, Glass, some Lumber, Lawn Mowers (fluids drained), Plastic Toys, Rims, Clean Concrete, and More
What's NOT Allowed
Automotive and Cleaning Products, Fertilizer and Pesticides, Fluorescent Light Bulbs, Gas Cylinders and Tanks, Paints, Solvents, Medications, Needles, and More
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Dumpster Day at LeyVa Middle
Saturday, April 27th
8:30AM to 11AM
RSVP
Bins start loading by 8:30 AM; last drop off at 10:50 AM. Please refer to the list of allowed and NOT allowed items. Staff will be on-site to help answer any questions.
RSVP is not required. Let us know if you have any questions!
What's Allowed
Old Furniture, Desks, Drawers, Mattresses, Box Springs, Hardware, Toilets, Glass, some Lumber, Lawn Mowers (fluids drained), Plastic Toys, Rims, Clean Concrete, and More
What's NOT Allowed
Automotive and Cleaning Products, Fertilizer and Pesticides, Fluorescent Light Bulbs, Gas Cylinders and Tanks, Paints, Solvents, Medications, Needles, and More
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Councilmember Candelas at the Farmer's Market
@ Evergreen Village Square
TIME CHANGE! Stop by and share your thoughts and questions with me at the Farmer's Market. No appointments are needed.
Every 3rd Sunday of the Month from 10AM - Noon
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Happy Holi!
Happy Holi! I was honored to celebrate the arrival of Spring with the community at the Association of Indo-Americans Holi Fest. I am proud to represent such a diverse community.
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Mexica New Year
I am excited to have been able to attend a community event with so many wonderful individuals at the 26th Annual Mexica New Year celebrated this past Sunday, March 17th! Hosted by Calpulli Tonalehqueh and in collaboration with the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe, this event was an inspiring celebration of indigenous culture!
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Community Beautification
Earlier this month, I hosted some of our most successful Dumpster Days to date! Working hand-in-hand with neighbors and volunteers, we filled 18 bins at 3 different locations in 1 Saturday morning!
Thank you to everyone who came out to dispose of their unwanted items, you are all playing an important part in beautifying our community. Special thank you to the Welch Park Neighborhood Association and the Evergreen Leadership Neighborhood Association! Stay tuned for our next Dumpster Days in April and onward.
With Spring underway, our community cleanups are back in full swing! This month, my office partnered with The City Peace Project for a beautification day at Brigadoon Park! I also stopped by with our many volunteers at the Meadowfair Park Community Day to ensure we keep working on this park and the neighborhood's ongoing beautification. Altogether, we gathered well over 25 bags of litter and cleaned up some overgrown weeds at both parks this month.
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District 8 Park Activations
Last year, I submitted two budget documents to fund activation events at our District 8 Parks.
Budget Document #31- District 8 Movie Nights in the Park
Budget Document #32- District 8 Park Activations
This month, neighbors got to enjoy a paint night at Groesbeck Hill Park, and a Viva Parks Movie Night originally planned for Welch Park but moved indoors to Katherine Smith Elementary School due to the weather forecast.
At the Paint Night at Groesbeck Hill Park, we had a full house of folks who channeled their inner artist and came out to enjoy the evening! When we host activities like these in our parks, we bring our neighbors closer together and help keep our community happy and healthy!
Similarly, we had a fun time with residents this past month with the San José Earthquakes and East San José Native Edwyn Mendoza and Evergreen Community Center each partnering to enhance our Welch neighborhood's ability to utilize their park space and neighborhood center.
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District 8 Baseball Opening Days
Spring marks the beginning of baseball season for our Overfelt High School baseball team! I was honored to join Councilmember Ortiz during the opening day celebration and throw the first pitch. Let’s go Royals!
It was also great to throw the first pitch and celebrate the opening day of both the Evergreen Little League and the East Hills Little League! It was great to see many families engaged and building stronger neighborhoods.
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San Jose Police Chief Recruitment Community Meeting
Thank you to all of our neighbors who came out to share their ideas as the City of San José looks for a new Police Chief!
Who we recruit as our Police Chief impacts every council district, not just in how they lead the police department, but also in how they engage with our neighborhoods. It is important for community members to be engaged in the recruitment process.
Stay tuned for the upcoming community meetings in this ongoing process including the community survey process.
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Lightrail to Eastridge Extension
The Eastridge to BART Regional Connector has been in the works for over two decades, but on March 8th, the VTA Board of Directors voted unanimously to fund the construction of this project!
This is an essential investment for our community and it couldn't have been possible without the dedication and hard work of many advocates throughout the years including former County Supervisor Blanca Alvarado, former Senator Jim Beall, and many more community leaders.
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City Hall Update
Tenant Preferences
After well over 7 years of work, this week the Council approved an anti-displacement tenant preferences program. As we deal with the housing affordability crisis in our city, it is imperative that we explore innovative solutions to ensure that all residents have access to stable, and affordable housing. It was an honor to be on the Council and a part of helping to bring this over the finish line. Tenant preferences Program would require a percentage of apartments within affordable housing properties, implementing the preferences to be set aside for applicants who meet the Program’s criteria. The Tenant Preferences Program would enable affordable apartment managers to prioritize applications of current San José residents who are most vulnerable to the housing market’s pressures and need stable and affordable homes.
The program would set 35% of all restricted affordable apartments otherwise available to the general public in a subject property:
- No more than 15% of apartments set aside for applicants living in the same neighborhood as the property, and
- 20% of apartments set aside for applicants living in displacement tracts. Set-aside of apartments would be a commensurate mix of all apartments for the general public (number of bedrooms and affordability levels)
Public Safety and Budget Memo
At the March 19 Council meeting, along with the Mayor’s March Budget Message, the council also approved the memorandum authored by Councilmember Ortiz, Jimenez and myself which included:
- Directed the City Manager to find a funding mechanism to pay for the nearly half a billion in deferred park maintenance backlog.
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The City of San José conducts an Annual Community Opinion Survey to collect feedback from residents about the quality of life in the City and to identify areas of improvement. In the latest survey, residents indicated the top three changes desired to be made were addressing homeless issues, providing more affordable housing, and improving public safety. Based off that data, we directed the City Manager to adequately fund new Affordable Housing developments for new construction, acquisition, and preservation while at the same time funding programs and interim housing to get our unhoused off the street and into shelters.
- Directed the City Manager to develop a cost estimate to expand the TRUST (Trusted Response Urgent Support Team) program by funding a third TRUST team based in San Jose. TRUST’s team of responders includes behavioral health staff from community organizations who are specially trained to help people who need urgent help for mental health and substance use conditions. This would ease the strain on our dedicated and often overworked police officers.
To read the rest of the my budget memo.
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