Long Story Short...

Here’s what you need to know this week — in 30 seconds or less:

• San José reached a milestone no other major city can claim: we tripled our shelter capacity in under a year — proving that faster, scalable solutions to homelessness are possible.
• We’re betting big on economic growth: launching major cultural events, starting with a Kehlani block party outside City Hall, to ensure San José is at the center of the 2026 Super Bowl excitement.
• And we’re strengthening regional safety: partnering with Bay Area mayors, sharing strategies, and coordinating across borders because crime doesn’t stop at city lines — and neither should accountability.

Keep scrolling for all the data and details.

Dear Neighbor,

Hope fuels action. It’s won presidential campaigns, it’s ended wars, it’s powered scientific breakthroughs. 

The absence of hope breeds stagnation. Because the moment we lose faith in progress, we stop doing the things that make progress possible. 

And in California, we’ve come dangerously close to losing hope when it comes to the greatest humanitarian crisis we face: homelessness.

For years, we’ve poured billions of taxpayer dollars into a strategy that simple math could have told us would never scale. We clung to a rigid, overly narrow interpretation of “housing first” — one that insisted the only solution was the most expensive and slowest form of housing possible.

And meanwhile, we’ve left over 100,000 people to suffer on the streets while a lucky few received keys to brand new apartments that cost too much and take too long to build. 

We’ve been told again and again that with just one more tax, one more bond, or one more measure, we would end this crisis. Until recently, it’s been easier for those in power to cling to the ideal solution and pretend it’s working, even while the population of people living on the streets grows and the conditions of our neighborhoods worsens. 

It’s pretty darn difficult to have hope when the people representing you refuse to acknowledge what you’re seeing every day. Hope starts by being honest about the challenges we face and choosing pragmatic action. 

In San José — and in a handful of other big California cities — we’ve made our choice. We’ve listened to our residents. And while Sacramento clings to ideological purity tests, we’re choosing to act by building out a safe, dignified shelter system that gets more people off the streets faster using fewer taxpayer dollars. We’re choosing not to let the perfect be the enemy of the good. 

In fact, this week, we kept a promise we made to you at the start of the year: we tripled our shelter capacity. We opened more than 1,000 new shelter beds in under 12 months — more than any other city on the West Coast, and likely the nation. 

Hundreds of people in San José will get the help they need. They will be able to access the services that will help them graduate to something more permanent – job training, addiction treatment, mental health care, reconnection with loved ones. 

This milestone gives me hope. And I hope you feel it too. 

Because over the last two homelessness counts, we’ve seen an over 20% reduction in the number of people sleeping on our streets each night – and those counts were taken BEFORE we tripled our capacity this year. Reducing homelessness has become a trend in San José— one that not only we can learn from, but one that can and should be modeled across our state. 

Our neighborhoods can breathe a sigh of relief. Not because we’ve solved the crisis, but because we’ve proven it can be solved. And we’re staying the course. Now that we’ve tripled capacity in our shelter system, we’re moving to our next phase: system optimization. Over the coming months, we’re going to dive deep into the data with a goal of reducing operating costs and increasing system throughput so that we can graduate more people out of interim shelter each year and move toward our ultimate goal of zero unsheltered homelessness. 

But the truth is, as I’ve always said, San José can’t solve this crisis for California. We need every single city and county to do its part — and that starts by mandating it at the state-level. Please join me every chance you get in telling our state leaders that Sacramento should hold every city and every county accountable for building their fair share of interim housing units and in-patient treatment beds.

What San José can do is inspire others by bringing back the hope that ending unsheltered homelessness is possible here in California. I believe it is — and I hope with time, we can prove it to you, too. 

Sincerely,

Mayor Matt

If you’ve been a regular reader over the past three years, you know my main focus is on the basics — creating a safer, cleaner city and ending unsheltered homelessness. 

But in order to continue our progress on these big issues, we need to grow our tax base. We need to focus on economic development so our residents have upward mobility and our city can fund core services. 

One of our big bets? Lean into what’s working: the experience economy. We’re going to make San José a world-class destination for food, art, culture and entertainment. And with the Super Bowl, World Cup and March Madness putting our city on the national stage in 2026, we aren’t leaving our fate to chance. 

Last time when the Super Bowl came to the South Bay, we missed out on most of the excitement — which means we also missed out on the economic activity that came along with it. This year, we’re making some big bets. So even if you don’t have a ticket to the big games, there'll be something going on that will bring you out of your home and into the community. San José will be where the party is — and this week, we announced our first event. 

The Bay Area’s own Kehlani will be joining us at a block party in San José right outside City Hall! This is just the first of many events we’ll be announcing over the coming weeks, so stay tuned — there will be something for everyone. 

Sign up for pre-sale tickets here so you can come help us celebrate the big game and the South Bay: 

For too long, the headlines coming out of the Bay painted a picture of doom. We've come a long way — but we have a long way still to go to create the safe, clean streets our residents expect and deserve across our region. And the truth is, we can't do it alone, in silos.

We need to learn from each other. San Francisco, like San José, is exploring how we can use Deflection Centers to get repeat drug users into recovery. Oakland is partnering with the NAACP to send PD recruitment officers into the community - including visiting churches.

San José may be the safest big city in the nation, but we can always do better, work harder and build deeper partnerships. Because let's face it, crime crosses borders, but by working together, we can send a message that no matter what city you harm, you will be caught and held accountable. 

Thank you to Mayor Lurie, Mayor Lee and your respective Police Chiefs for coming together to discuss these important issues, share learnings and best practices, and talk about how we can work even closer together to keep our cities and our region safe.

Did you know that our city operates a zoo?

Nina, Luke, Silvia and I stopped by last week to meet the newest member of the Happy Hallow family — a one-year-old red panda named Twix! 

Twix is part of the Red Panda Species Survival Plan — and we’re excited to help protect this endangered species and ensure a healthy future for red pandas in zoos nationwide.

Come by and meet him! Happy Hollow is open Saturdays and Sundays — you can get tickets right here:

Calling all high school and college students with a passion for civic engagement! Our office is looking for capable young people to join our dynamic team. As an intern, you’ll have the opportunity to do exciting, hands-on work with our Neighborhood Outreach, Communications, and Data teams. Apply for our Winter 2026 cohort by November 30, 2025 at sjmayormatt.com/internships.

Wicked: For Good at the Tech Interactive

November 23rd to December 3rd

201 S. Market St., San Jose, CA 95113

Step the world of Oz in IMAX at the Tech! Praised by Director John M. Chu as a “giant canvas to experience” the film’s incredible details, an IMAX viewing offers an immersive experience like no other. When you see Wicked for Good at The Tech, you are doing good too! Each ticket supports our mission to inspire the innovator in everyone, grab your tickets here.

2025 Applied Materials Silicon Valley Turkey Trot

Thursday, November 27th at 8:30 AM

Downtown San José

Join over 23,000 neighbors for America’s largest Thanksgiving Day race right here in San José! All proceeds are donated to local nonprofit beneficiary organizations: Second Harvest of Silicon Valley, Healthier Kids Foundation, and Second Harvest Food Bank Santa Cruz County. Kick off the holiday season at the biggest Thanksgiving Day block party in the country, and sign up here.

Thanksgiving at The Pressroom

Thursday, November 27th

189 W Santa Clara St., San Jose, CA 95113

Featuring three courses of comforting classics and refined seasonal dishes, guests can choose from five entrées, including Thanksgiving favorites as well as options for every dietary restriction, with optional wine pairings available. Come celebrate Thanksgiving with The Pressroom, and find more information here.

Christmas in the Park Opening Day

Friday, November 28th

Plaza de Cesar Chavez

Walk through our enchanted forest of decorated trees, marvel at over 40 animated displays including the famous Lima Train, and step inside our 50-foot Christmas tree. Enjoy free photos with Santa, nightly entertainment, and holiday refreshments. Find all the details here.

Swan Lake

Thursday, December 4th at 7:00 PM

Center for the Performing Arts, 255 Almaden Blvd., San Jose, CA 95113

Step into the world of Swan Lake – a story of love, magic and triumph, brought to life through the powerful choreography of Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov, set to Tchaikovsky’s iconic score. This production features new, handpainted sets and over 200 custom-designed scenery elements, and boasts world-class ballet artists from around the world, purchase your tickets here.

Yesterday morning, I joined the Evergreen Islamic Center to distribute turkeys to families in need. With SNAP and food insecurity making headlines recently, it’s all the more important for our community to come together and do what we can to make sure no one goes hungry in San José. Extremely grateful for partners like the EIC who step up to meet the need year after year. To learn more about their upcoming food distributions, visit the EIC here: https://www.eicsanjose.org/wp/

Whether you’re taking a ten-minute ride from the San José Mineta Airport to Levi’s Stadium or headed up 280 to San Francisco, there couldn’t be a better moment for Waymo's autonomous vehicles to expand across the Bay Area. With San José at the center of the biggest sporting events of 2026, we’re helping deliver the most technologically advanced Super Bowl and World Cup experience ever.

It’s beginning to look a lot like 2026 around here! If you take a walk down Santa Clara or stop by Cesar Chavez Plaza, keep an eye out for our 2026 banners. Stay tuned for big announcements from the San José Foos coming soon and find more information about the city’s efforts to ensure all our residents get to be a part of the action right here: https://sj26.sanjose.org