Dear Neighbor,

Each year, mayors across the nation deliver a “State of the City” address to reflect on recent efforts and look ahead to the future. This year, like last, our State of the City will be short on speeches and focused on service–and it wouldn’t be the same without you there! 

Please join us for State of the City on May 17th at Arena Green East Park (340 W St John St, San Jose). RSVP today!

We’ll start bright and early at 10am to highlight a few community heroes and outline a vision for making San Jose the safe, clean and vibrant city we all deserve and can be proud of. We’ll have a couple of exciting announcements and surprise guests during the hour-long program before we break out into service projects around the Guadalupe River Park area in Downtown.

We’ll paint, plant and pick-up trash alongside our neighbors. There’s nothing that brings people closer than a little hard work in pursuit of a better city for everyone – except maybe breaking bread together. 

So after we complete our service projects, we'll reconvene to celebrate our impact with an afterparty picnic with music, free food trucks, and games and activities for everyone. 

I hope you'll join us this year to celebrate our progress and chart a path forward together – it takes all of us!

Thank you for joining me in action,

Mayor Matt

After two long weeks, thousands of our students, seniors and families stranded by the VTA strike can once again get where they need to go. Buses are running again, but VTA and ATU, one of the agency’s unions, still have not come to an agreement. I wrote this op-ed before a judge ruled that the strike was a breach of contract, but the essence of what I wrote still stands true as the two sides work toward a contract that works for everyone. 

For the sake of the system, we need to be fair to drivers, mechanics, riders and frankly – do the math. If we keep approving unsustainable wage increases, we are going to tie our own hands. At some point, we will be unable to justify using so many taxpayer dollars to fund a system that can’t compete with new technology. If we don’t work within our means today, we are doing a disservice to our drivers, our riders, and our taxpayers. The decisions we make today don’t just affect our transit-reliant residents who haven’t been able to make it to work this week — they affect the future of transit in the South Bay.

A new UCSF study confirms what we see every day: Only 1 in 10 people struggling with addiction while homeless are getting treatment. That’s unacceptable.

We cannot keep cycling people through our streets, our jails, and our emergency rooms while pretending that housing alone will fix this crisis. We need real accountability and a system that ensures people get the treatment they need—not in a few months, not in a few years, but now.

San José is doing its part, but we need statewide action. We need action from Santa Clara County and every county. It’s time to stop managing homelessness and start ending it.

As you know, one part of my overall plan for ending homelessness in our community is using brief, targeted interactions with the justice system to compel severely addicted individuals into our behavioral health courts and in turn compel our County to expand the life-saving services they need. It is not progressive, compassionate or practical to allow individuals to choose to live and die on our streets when we are offering safe, private, and low-barrier housing options. 

Read the UCSF study here.

Graffiti has long been a challenge in big cities like San Jose, creating a sense of disorder and neglect that weighs on our community. Since taking office, my team and I have prioritized working more closely with Caltrans to move the needle on graffiti and other blight along our freeways. While we have a lot of work ahead of us, I want to thank Caltrans District 4 leadership for being responsive to our outreach. Here are some quick updates on progress: 

This past week, five major freeway tags on overhead freeway signs were abated, removing long-standing eyesores that have frustrated residents.

In the coming weeks, Caltrans will be replacing old freeway signs and catwalks across key locations with new anti-graffiti protective coating, making it quicker and easier to maintain:

• NB 101 Santa Clara Alum Rock Sign, 680 Overpass
• SB 101 Tully Road Sign, 680 Overpass
• SB 101 Story Rd Sign, 680 Overpass
• Alma Exit Sign on SB 87, 280 Overpass
• NB 101 San Francisco Sign, 880 Overpass
• NB 101 Old Bayshore Highway Sign, 880 Overpass
• NB 101 880 Los Gatos Santa Cruz Sign, 880 Overpass
• SB 85 Downtown SJ Sign
• SB 85 Almaden Expressway Sign

Enforcement is a critical part of this work, which is why we are also partnering with CHP and District Attorney’s Office to crack down on repeat taggers and hold them accountable for the costly damage caused by graffiti. By strengthening enforcement and investigative efforts, we are working on preventing vandalism.

Beyond removal and enforcement, we are looking ahead to long-term deterrents. This month, we reviewed preliminary designs of new shield deterrents that can help proactively protect freeway signs from tagging.

Our public spaces reflect the pride we have in San Jose. Together, these actions mark a significant stride towards uplifting the beauty of our city. We are grateful to our partners at Caltrans, CHP, and the District Attorney’s Office for their continued support in reducing access to hotspot areas and holding repeat offenders accountable.

San Jose Giants vs. Oakland Ballers

Wednesday, April 2nd at 6:00 PM

Excite Ballpark

Batter up for the Battle of the Bay 2.0! Support the San Jose Giants as they face off against the Oakland Ballers — and receive a free “Battle of the Bay 2.0” poster for attending! Learn more and purchase tickets here. As a fun aside, I bet Oakland’s mayor a bottle of La Vic’s Famous Orange Sauce against Oakland’s best barbeque sauce that the SJ Giants will win–I’m looking forward to trying that BBQ sauce! 

Meadowfair Park Beautification Day

Saturday, April 5th at 9:00 AM

Corda Drive & Barberry Lane

Our next Saturday service project is out in Meadowfair (District 8). As you know, our team partners with community members to organize a clean up every Saturday at 9am – these events only work with your support! Next Saturday, April 5th, we’ll be joining neighbors and Councilmember Candelas to beautify Meadowfair Park. Join us and be part of creating a safer, cleaner San Jose by RSVPing here. 

San Pedro Saturdays: Move & Groove Day

Saturday, April 5th at 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM

Downtown San Jose, 60 N San Pedro Street, San Jose CA 95113

Move and groove in Downtown San Jose with the San Jose Downtown Association and MOMENT! Lace up your sneakers and join the Downtown Run Club or put on your best dancing shoes for 4 different dance classes throughout the day. 90 minutes of free parking is available at the Market/San Pedro garage. Learn more here. 

A lot of moments of synchronicity at last weekend’s cleanup! It takes all of us rowing in the same direction to make change — we saw that earlier this month when we passed the March Budget Message and we certainly see it every Saturday, when we come together to create a safer, cleaner San Jose. Join us next time — it feels good to give back and even better when you’re doing it alongside your neighbors! Bit.ly/cleansj

Figure AI, a groundbreaking AI robotics company, has officially moved its headquarters to North San Jose — a significant investment that strengthens our position not just as the center of innovation, but as a hardware town that knows how to build things. Welcome to the Capital of Silicon Valley, FigureAI – you’re in good company! Read more here.

At the beginning of March, we joined a great group of volunteers at Coyote Creek near Olinder Park to clean up tons of trash—literally! Huge thanks to Deb Kramer & Keep Coyote Creek Beautiful for leading this effort. We’re working hard to expand shelter, prevent re-encampment, and heal our environment. Want to help? Join us at our next clean-up: bit.ly/cleansj