Anthony's Vision

Living and working in downtown San José, I see firsthand the challenges our community faces every day. From housing affordability and homelessness to blight and public safety, District 3 is the epicenter of the most pressing challenges facing our city. But with these challenges comes the opportunity to build a better future: one where we tackle our homelessness crisis with the urgency it requires, where we invest in new housing to bring life back to downtown, and where we combat blight, beautify our streets, and ensure all our residents feel safe.

I’m running for City Council because I have a vision for a safer, more affordable, and more vibrant District 3, and I have the policy expertise and experience to deliver results. For too long, special interests have been more concerned with electing their chosen candidates than delivering on the promises they make to our communities. I will be a councilmember you can count on. Together, we will build a better San José with hard work, accountability, and data-driven policy.

Abundant, Affordable Housing

I understand that housing affordability and the high cost of living are defining issues for our district. San José regularly tops the list of the most expensive cities in the country, and recently made national headlines when the median sale price of a single-family home crossed $2 million[1]. It’s no surprise that in a recent poll 96% of residents described the cost of housing as a serious issue[2], and 41% of renters are currently rent-burdened with 1 in 5 renters spending over half their income on housing[3]. Our residents deserve better.

The high cost of housing is a direct consequence of our housing shortage. In recent years the Bay Area has added about 5 jobs for every 1 new home, and researchers estimate the total shortfall at about 700,000 homes[4]. To keep up with demand, San José needs to build over 62,000 units in the next 8 years. But despite the clear evidence of a housing shortage, residential construction in San José has slowed, and the gap between supply and demand is growing. The status quo is not working, and we need leaders with new ideas and the expertise to see them through in order to build our way out of this crisis. On the Planning Commission, I have led efforts to add tens of thousands of units of residential capacity in urban villages and growth areas throughout the City, and have championed policies to make it faster and cheaper to build new housing. I’m ready to lead the fight against our affordability crisis by:

  • Supporting new housing construction at all affordability levels, particularly in downtown and urban villages, to get run away price increases under control and eliminate our housing shortage.
  • Reducing unnecessary bureaucracy to make housing construction faster, cheaper, and more efficient.
  • Working with county, regional, and state partners to secure new funding sources for constructing permanently affordable housing.
  • Partnering with public agencies and nonprofits to acquire, rehabilitate, and preserve our existing supply of affordable housing.
  • Enabling more cost-effective construction methods via building code reform and simplification of design and development standards.
  • Reforming our neighborhood outreach and public comment procedures so that our neighbors are informed about new developments and have pathways to voice concerns.

A Holistic Approach to Homelessness

San José has one of the largest unhoused populations in the nation and has the highest percentage of unhoused residents living without shelter[5]. Many factors have contributed to this crisis, from the high cost of housing in our city to the persistent shortage of affordable housing, temporary shelter, and basic services our residents deserve. Not only is this crisis inhumane for our unhoused neighbors who deserve to live with dignity, but it also imposes significant environmental, public health, and quality of life costs to our residents and local businesses. The truth is that the scale of this crisis means that there are no easy solutions. To make progress, we need a holistic approach that combines immediate action to shelter our unhoused neighbors and connect them with supportive services with long term investments in affordable housing and homelessness prevention programs. On the Planning Commission, I have supported initiatives to streamline the construction of new emergency shelters and make progress to swiftly shelter our unhoused neighbors. On Council, I will go further and act with the urgency this crisis requires by:

  • Funding a spectrum of cost-effective forms of temporary shelter including quick build and modular emergency interim shelters and safe parking and sleeping sites to provide immediate relief to our unsheltered residents.
  • Reforming community outreach for shelter site selection to ensure that our neighbors can voice concerns and provide meaningful feedback to the city.
  • Distributing temporary shelters equitably across San José to make sure every district in our city is doing their fair share to address this crisis.
  • Affirming programs like the Tenant Protections Ordinance, rent stabilization ordinance, and Ellis Act to safeguard our working class neighbors from illegal rent hikes and evictions.
  • Strengthening evidence-based programs that prevent homelessness, like emergency rental assistance programs to keep struggling families in their homes.
  • Investing in the mental healthcare and addiction treatment services to get folks the support they need to stay off the streets.
  • Investing in affordable housing at scale, which evidence shows is the only viable long term solution to address this crisis.

Safer Streets and Neighborhoods

I believe that everyone in San José deserves to feel safe, whether inside their homes, enjoying a night out downtown, or navigating our city streets. San José faces several challenges to make this a reality. Staffing our police department continues to be a challenge, with about 100 vacant sworn officer positions. As a result, response times continue to grow, with less than half of Priority 1 calls meeting the City’s response time target, and overtime costs have ballooned to $64 million this year[6].

I know that public safety encompasses more than just crime. Each year, upwards of 50 people are killed in traffic incidents on our streets, including dozens of pedestrians[7]. Hundreds more are seriously injured, and thousands suffer more minor injuries. With the highest crime rate in the City[8] and more traffic fatalities and severe injuries than any other district, I know that issues of public safety are critical to the residents of District 3. I will work to address these challenges by:

  • Fully staffing our police department by working in partnership with SJPD and community stakeholders to support recruitment and retention of new officers.
  • Investing in alternative field response programs, like the county’s TRUST pilot and SJPD’s Community Service Officer Program, to free up capacity for officers to respond to priority calls that only sworn officers can address.
  • Bolstering programs that invest in our youth and provide supportive services to families in order to address the root causes of crime.
  • Responsibly leveraging technology, like speed safety cameras, to improve road safety while allowing officers to focus on issues that require a police presence.
  • Supporting Vision Zero to improve road safety while leveraging scalable and cost-effective quick build solutions to provide safe infrastructure for pedestrians, bicyclists, and other vulnerable road users.
  • Empowering our neighborhoods and supporting efforts to build community and encourage a sense of safety within our neighborhoods.
  • Partnering with our D3 business community to understand their needs and develop strategies to combat theft and property crime.

An Inviting Downtown and Vibrant District 3

I know that a thriving downtown is critical to the health of our city. While evening and weekend visits to downtown have returned to pre-pandemic levels, foot traffic during the work day has not recovered, and downtown office vacancies remain at historic highs. Growing concerns over blight, cleanliness, and public safety have further slowed downtown’s recovery. I believe in a “yes and” approach to improving our downtown.

  • By building more housing downtown we can improve affordability and increase foot traffic, which will support local businesses and help improve public safety.
  • By bolstering our local businesses, restaurants, and cultural spaces we can build a more vibrant and liveable city while creating good jobs, generating revenue to support city services, and providing economic opportunity for our residents.
  • By increasing vibrancy and combating blight we can attract more investment in District 3 and San José to further support the creation of new homes, businesses, and cultural attractions.

On Council I will support this vision by:

  • Streamlining the construction of new housing downtown to ease affordability and add density to support local businesses.
  • Supporting incentive programs to encourage new businesses to set up shop downtown.
  • Continuing to invest in bicycle and pedestrian improvements to make downtown safer, more accessible, and more pleasant to navigate.
  • Working to strengthen the city’s code enforcement process and holding property owners accountable for blighted and unmaintained buildings.
  • Ensuring that arts and cultural organizations have the resources necessary to thrive and maintain downtown’s position as the premier cultural destination of Silicon Valley.
  • Supporting street fairs and park activations by working with partners across city and county government to make it easier and more affordable to hold outdoor events that bring life to our streets.

A Greener City with Robust Public Transit

I understand that cheap and reliable public transit is essential to keep our communities connected, provide economic opportunity for our residents, and make it easier to enjoy all that our city has to offer. Good transportation policy is also critical to meeting our climate goals, as 49% of San José’s greenhouse gas emissions stem from transportation[9]. From my time on the Planning Commission, I also know that land use policy is climate policy, and that by placing new jobs and housing downtown and near transit, we can reduce vehicle miles and promote transit ridership. In City Hall, I will advocate for strong pro-transit and pro-climate policy by:

  • Supporting VTA initiatives to increase service frequency and improve transit speeds, including cost-effective solutions like Transit Signal Priority and dedicated bus lanes and queue jumps.
  • Providing the oversight necessary to bring BART Downtown on-time and under budget while minimizing impacts on surrounding businesses.
  • Promoting walkable, mixed-use development near new and existing transit lines to increase ridership, decrease gridlock, and strengthen the fiscal health of our transit agencies.
  • Investing in expanding San José’s bike lane network and multi-use trails so folks of all ages and ability levels have the option to safely navigate our city without a car.
  • Decreasing the environmental impact of new development by requiring transportation demand management plans to minimize new car trips and ensuring appropriate charging infrastructure to support the transition to zero emission vehicles.
  • Supporting all-electric construction for new development, and working with public agencies to provide incentives for electrification and energy efficiency retrofits for existing buildings.
  • Supporting efforts to relocate encampments from our parks and waterways to minimize environmental impacts and connect unhoused residents to shelter and services.

Strong Neighborhoods

As President of the South University Neighborhood Association, I know our neighborhoods are the beating heart of our city. On Council, I will work to ensure that they have a seat at the table and are provided the resources they need to thrive. I’ll do so by:

  • Partnering with our neighborhood groups to hold regular litter pickups, dumpster days, public art installations, and park activations to beautify our streets and build a sense of community.
  • Supporting programs like Beautify SJ that invest resources into our neighborhoods and empower residents to directly improve their local community.
  • Investing in growing our urban tree canopy in collaboration with neighborhoods, the Department of Transportation, and organizations like Our City Forest to make our streets cooler, safer, and more beautiful.
  • Ensuring our neighborhoods have a seat at the table for the policies and developments that affect them. That includes investing in community meetings for new housing projects in District 3 and establishing robust feedback channels for residents to voice concerns.

A City Hall That Works for Us

City Hall special interests are making our politics feel dirty. I will clean them up by advocating for City Hall reforms that will make sure our local government is working for the people and not just their wealthiest friends. I will bring integrity back to City Hall by:

  • Advocating for public financing of municipal elections, which has been successfully deployed in dozens of cities like Seattle, Denver and New York, to decrease the outsized influence of wealthy donors and big money special interests.
  • Promoting ranked choice voting in city elections to make our elections more representative, and avoid costly runoffs.
  • Working to end the revolving door between local government and lobbying firms, so you can have confidence that public officials are representing your best interests and not thinking about lining up their next gig.
  • Strengthening transparency rules for lobbyists.
  • Reforming how our city approaches community outreach and engagement to ensure that all our residents have an opportunity to voice their concerns.
  • Restoring remote participation and public comment to make City meetings more accessible and equitable.
  • Making our city services more transparent and accountable with publicly accessible dashboards that are regularly updated with the City’s progress, including reports on responses to District 3 constituent concerns.