League of Women Voters Debate
Introduction
I am running because D3 is in a crisis. We need action. We need a sense of urgency. But city policies remain stuck in the muck and are proven failures for D3. Their response has been to pour in more mud with the same plans and then spend more money trying to get out of the hole they keep digging. With this type of pattern, it’s worth looking at who benefits from all this? Big benefits. Big government, big business, big nonprofits, big special interest. Little Loses. Our neighbors, small neighborhoods. Small nonprofits. The guy living on the sidewalk being told to stay there just five more years while we build, the mom-and-pop business owners that are struggling to survive. I’m running because I can see solutions clearly without the mandated tinted glasses issued by special interests. I am that new voice that can shake off the muck and my D3 recovery plan is the beginning of our answer
What’s your perception of your role as CM?
My job as CM is to get programs and policies passed with my fellow councilmembers that address the inequities D3 experiences every-day. Which means: decrease crime, quit using D3 as a dumping ground for the city and county’s homeless population & affordable housing schemes, clear out inhumane and dangerous homeless encampments, and revitalize our small local businesses. To do this, I will have to be a
Thought Leader — coming up with new ideas
A Bridge Builder — getting other CM’s to agree with me, because I’m only one of 11 votes.
And a Woman Who Will Say No — to stand firm against the groupthink in City Hall that currently punishes D3. There’s a lot of go along and get along and that has been disastrous for D3. I will need to stand firm.
What are your three most urgent goals?
#1 Restaffing the police to 2012 levels and getting San Jose back to the safest big city in America.
#2: Shelter-Stability Now. We are failing our unhoused neighbors by letting them live in dangerous, unhealthy, and unsanitary conditions and degrading the D3 neighborhoods around them. The Solution: My Incremental Ladder of Housing Success is an important first step and puts an emphasis on Shelter-Stabilization, Services, and Treatment — First, instead of waiting for expensive new housing to be built in a decade.
#3: Vouchers Now. The answer is existing subsidized housing right now to prevent further homelessness. And we can do it by expanding the Federal HUD Section 8 Voucher program by creating our own city voucher program to include those who need it most.
If you could only do one goal, what would it be, why?
Clean out the encampments in D3.
Here’s why the city’s approach to homelessness is a failure: it’s just a re-traumatizing hamster-wheel of abatements — allowing, and then dismantling homeless encampments. Abatements are not a solution and the lack of accomplishment is causing severe distress: among the unhoused, on neighborhoods, and on small businesses.
On top of that, there is a complete lack of financial foresight for new buildings — it is an outrage that some new supposedly affordable units’ cost $1M per door.
My plan is very similar to San Diego’s Community Action Plan on Homelessness, which has been very successful in cost-effectively and quickly addressing the needs of their unhoused neighbors — and Tacoma where encampments are not allowed to start.
We can do this right now.
D7 and D3 have the most affordable housing how would you encourage through the whole city?
Pressure the Housing Dept to do their job.
The housing department refuses to acknowledge all the vast variety of affordable housing which already exists in D3: sororities, dorms, halfway houses, rooming houses, shelters, tiny homes, homekey hotels, rent controlled units, mobile home parks, group home … different from any other district in San Jose and this refusal negatively impacts the affordable housing distribution to D3 and ignores the cities own Siting Policy. The City must follow their own rules and stop dumping on D3.
Top 3 solutions to solve homelessness
Let me rephrase the question to — what can we do to address homelessness — quickly. Not in a decade
And the answer is: Immediate Shelter-Stabilization. Local Rental Vouchers. Repurposing underused existing housing stock.
Implementing the ILHS will help those who are living on the streets and creeksides to get shelter-stability, safety, showers, services, and security. And we know there are many types of unhoused experiences.
To address other types, the Placement First program takes advantage of unused spaces to repurpose and reimagine how these spaces increase housing. Look at Milpitas, which has made a call for empty bedrooms — to help teachers get housing faster.
We must also look to prevention. My Rental Voucher program assists families in need to keep them in their homes.
Of course, we need new housing, but not in a decade and not at a million dollars a pop.
How would you balance the needs of apartment dwellers and homeowners?
I don’t believe there is any magic in balancing. These two categories of folks want the same things. Clean parks, safe streets, and a healthy thriving city to raise a family or a small business.
Rent control is only on 25% of the apartments in San Jose and anyone can get one. There is no income means test for entry or applcation. My Rental Voucher program would address those in need having difficulty with rental payments and work with both short term and long term and is a much better approach to homelessness prevention.
In addition, we should find ways to encourage homeownership working with the County or with the Association of Realtors. If folks have a goal of homeownership we should explore different ways of assistance.
What programs and strategies would you develop to meet the needs youth, low income underserved?
Young Americans are enduring staggeringly high rates of joblessness. The official unemployment rate for 16 to 24 year old’s is 14.5 percent, and I bet it’s worse in D3. The pandemic exacerbated this problem. And Youth unemployment leads to bad downstream results, so the solution is upstream. More jobs. Here’s what I’d suggest:
1.) Double-down on community colleges.
2.) Work with nonprofits to develop high school and college training programs that meet the needs of high-demand industries.
3.) Expand Apprenticeship programs at the city level.
4.) Work with schools and nonprofits to overhauling school dropout prevention policies.
Providing jobs for our youth is arguably the most important upstream thing we can do to solve D3s long term problems.
How would you streamline permits?
SJ fell very short of the mayor’s goal of building 25,000 units (10,000 of which would be affordable)
I have a realistic plan to streamline the process that includes: a master plan for the permit process, consolidating multi-department permit review processes, consolidating fees, publishing fees in advance, reducing multi-inspection process, consider peer review certification of industry experts to avoid delays, and measuring and adjusting our goals to ensure we hit them.
Doing this right needs the perspective of developers, land use experts, permit policy experts and others because we need to answer questions such as where and how fast. We need to be more inclusive of who helps solve these problems.
I’ve been on the receiving end of these regulations — and they are onerous.
Public safety — how would you deal with these issues?
Here’s how I reimagine the SJ PD in 2023.
Imagine this — a city that has recaptured its position as the safest big city in America.
Imagine this — a PD that can respond to 911 calls; to property crimes; and who keep our sidewalks safe.
Imagine this — officers paid at a rate equal to or higher than neighboring cities.
Imagine this — a county that has a jail with real mental health services.
Imagine this — a police force who can enforce our laws.
I look forward to when families walk downtown, play and have picnics at St James park, and enjoy a vibrant, feeling of safety in D3.
How would you balance district goals with city goals?
I believe the way forward for D3 is to follow the spirit of Jane Jacobs in the Death and Life of Great American Cities and get less centralized and more local in our planning.
San Jose’s hypercentralized model does not meet our needs in D3.
Let me give you an example:
Citywide, there is no budget for towing RVs. D3 is overrun by RVs and abandoned vehicles — it’s a critical quality of life issue for residents and small businesses. But D10-and other districts — do not have a RV towing problem, so when it comes to voting for an RV towing budget, it is dismissed.
I believe we need to start the process of creating greater planning, administrative, and financial independence for all our districts, but especially D3. There’s more on this on my Website Under my D3 Recovery Plan, section: Liberate D3.
Closing — What did you wish we asked?
Context.
You asked a lot of good questions. But one thing I think is missing from a lot of these fora and local media is historical context. How did we get into this mess? What government decisions contributed to the crisis in D3. These types of questions provide accountability to officeholders and provide useful direction as to how to fix our problems.
Issues I think we would end up talking about would be:
Why did homelessness increase from 2017 (only 4,350 unhoused in 2017)?
Why are re-traumatizing abatements our only answer to cleaning our creeks and parks?
Who on earth decided that keeping a low police force was a good idea?
Why is the Siting Policy enforced in other districts but not D3?
Why does vehicle abatement work in other districts but not D3?
Where is code enforcement?
Why did we have a flood in downtown San Jose in 2017 and have to rescue 400 people by boat?
Those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it.
This highlighted what the race is all about.
It’s this — Do we go down the same old road or do we turn onto a new road?
We are choosing between unconsciously following our old habits or consciously choosing a change agent.
My experience in business, mental health and housing leads us forward with the real-world expertise that D3 desperately needs.
So, the question before us in D3, do we want more of the same or do we want a fresh start inspired by the incredible potential of D3?
