Hi Neighbors,

I want to wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving! I hope each and every one of you gets to spend quality time with the people closest to you. This holiday season, I am proud to announce a Warm for Winter Coat Drive in partnership with the Evergreen School District. We have set up donation bins all around the district and invite you to drop off a coat or two through the 7th of December. A very special thanks to Mary Escobar from LeyVa Middle School, who has been the driving force behind this project.

Throughout the holidays, I strongly encourage you to shop local, especially on Small Business Saturday (November 25th, 2023)! There are 11 business districts to support throughout San José. In District 8, the Tully Road, Eastridge Business Association (TREBA) has cultivated a bustling business corridor with flagship stores and many mom-and-pop shops to choose from. 

Please remember to stay safe and vigilant as the holiday season also invites the risk of theft and burglary in our neighborhoods. The San José Police Department's revamped CAM Registration Program is an important program that helps law enforcement efforts by informing the department where there are cameras in our City. This saves investigations officers time by checking this secure and internal database so they can contact you to request permission from your neighborhood camera footage. As a reminder, the SJPD will not have access to your camera, just the knowledge of where the camera is located. You can register your security camera by clicking here.

Lastly, the BeautifySJ program has done incredible work in our city and continues to push the envelope on being the boots-on-the-ground force that keeps our city clean. We have achieved remarkable progress addressing blight across our City. Much of this progress can be attributed to our close collaboration with key partners, including Caltrans, Union Pacific Railroad, Valley Water, and the County of Santa Clara. This is why the Council unanimously approved the directive I led this past week for BeautifySJ to work with the Valley Transportation Authority to clean-up graffiti and other forms of blight to ensure our streets and parks are clean.

I will be hosting two holiday events next month to ensure District 8 residents don’t have to go far for some holiday cheer (check out more details below).

Viva Holidays at the Lake

Lake Cunningham Regional Park - Cypress Pavilion

Friday, December 8th | 6PM - 9PM

Celebrations start at 5PM; Movie starts at 7PM

RSVP

Santa at the Square

Evergreen Village Square

Friday, December 15th | 5PM - 7PM

RSVP

I look forward to seeing you all there and wish you and your family a happy and healthy holiday season.

Domingo Candelas

Councilmember, San José District 8

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.

Upcoming Events

Warm for Winter Coat & Clothing Drive

@ Various Locations

Now through December 7th

Help make a difference this winter season! Donate new and gently used coats, jackets, and sweatshirts of all sizes for people in need. Click here for more information!

All donations will be going to the non-profit Opening Doors 2020! Every contribution makes an impact in our community. Stop by one of our many convenient donation boxes located at:

• Evergreen Community Center
• Evergreen Branch Library
• Village Square Branch Library
• Carolyn A. Clark Elementary
• George V. Leyva Middle School
• Tom Matsumoto Elementary
• Cadwallader Elementary School
• Chaboya Middle School
• Evergreen Elementary School
• Millbrook Elementary School
• John J. Montgomery Elementary School
• Norwood Creek Elementary School
• Quimby Oak Middle School

Viva Holidays at the Lake

Lake Cunningham Regional Park - Cypress Pavilion

Enjoy a fun holiday celebration with Viva Parks activities,

winter holiday décor, tree lighting, and a movie night!

Friday, December 8th | 6PM - 9PM;

Celebrations start at 5PM; Movie starts at 7PM

RSVP

Santa at the Square

Evergreen Village Square

Stop by for pictures with Santa, check out the winter

holiday décor, and have a hot cup of cocoa!

Friday, December 15th | 5PM - 7PM

RSVP

Councilmember Candelas at the Farmer's Market

@ Evergreen Village Square

Stop by and share your thoughts and questions with me at the Farmer's Market. No appointments needed.

Every 3rd Wednesday and Sunday of the Month from 9am - 10am

Senior Scam Stopper at Atria Evergreen Valley

@ Atria Evergreen Valley - 4463 San Felipe Rd.

Join Councilmember Candelas and the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office for an important town hall discussion on how to protect yourself and your loved ones from scammers.

Learn how to identify common scams and find help if you have been victimized. Older adults of all ages, families, and caregivers are all welcome to attend!

Thursday, November 30th | 2pm - 3pm

RSVP

Anonymous Gun Buyback at Reid-Hillview Airport

@ Reid-Hillview Airport, 2500 Cunningham Ave.

To help save lives and keep our communities safe, I am working in conjunction with Councilmember Omar Torres, the District Attorney's Office, the San José Police Department, and the County Sheriff's Office to host an anonymous gun buyback right here in District 8. We will be collecting unwanted and unregistered guns making our neighborhoods safer for all.

Please arrive early as funds are limited. No ammunition is allowed.

Saturday, December 2nd | 8AM - 1PM

Your Tax Dollars at Work

Road Repaving Continues

The intersection at Sylvan Dr. and Hayworth Dr. is now freshly paved.

The City's Department of Transportation (DOT) continues to implement its Pavement Maintenance Three-Year Plan (2023-2025). 

These essential community infrastructure projects have been made possible thanks to funding from the voter-approved Measure T (2018) and SB 1 (2017) passed by the state.

Several major and local streets are also announced for maintenance through 2025. Please view the GIS Pavement Projects Storymap for all updates and information.

In the Community

Veterans Day Parade

It was an honor to participate in San José's 105th Veteran's Day Parade! Alongside hundreds of people, we honored all who served or are currently serving our country.

We thank all of our veterans who have served and honor

the sacrifices they have made for our nation.

Diwali Proclamation

On November 7th, the Council proclaimed November 12th as the celebration of Diwali, or the “festival of lights”. Diwali is celebrated by more than a billion people worldwide including Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, and Buddhists. During this time, people celebrate by lighting up diyas (small lamps) and placing them around the home to welcome wealth, peace, and universal well-being.

Diwali symbolizes the spiritual victory of good over evil, light over darkness, and knowledge over ignorance.

I also had the opportunity to join various Diwali celebrations throughout District 8. Thank you to all the community leaders who hosted and sponsored these enlightening festivities.

Family Fall Festival at Lake Cunningham

Thank you to all who attended my first

Family Fall Festival at Lake Cunningham!

Hundreds of our neighbors had a great time trick-or-treating through our resource fair, decorating pumpkins, taking pictures in the photo booth, dancing with our Zumba crew, climbing our inflatable obstacle course, and enjoying our Lake Cunningham play structures!

Thank you to our sponsors for supporting this event!

Community Beautification Continues!

Thank you to everyone who participated in our Autumn Litter Harvest at Meadowfair Park, Welch Park, Lion Plaza, and Quimby Road Business Plaza!

80 volunteers helped fill over 70 bags in under 3 hours, ensuring our parks, neighborhoods, roads, and business corridors are free of litter!

Thank you to the Welch Park Neighborhood Association, Tully Road-Eastridge Business Association (TREBA), and the many Sheet Metal Workers Local Union 104 for making our cleanup such a huge success!

I also worked with residents of the Norwood Neighborhood Association to co-host yet another successful dumpster day. We filled 5 bins

and helped prevent unwanted items and furniture from

ending up in our parks and neighborhoods.

Lastly, thank you to all the neighbors who once again participated in our Meadowfair Park cleanup helping spread even more

mulch for our soon-to-be-planted trees!

This area has been a hot spot for homeless encampments, and with the continued help of local neighbors, we have not only brought trees but also cleaned graffiti, pulled weeds, and brainstormed future investments for continued park beautification! I continue to encourage any local neighbors and your neighbors to please share ideas for this local enhancement!

Dumpster Day at Overfelt High School

We had a very successful joint dumpster day and cleanup in the Welch Park neighborhood filling 6 bins and collecting over 10 bags of litter.

Neighbors also embraced the Thanksgiving spirit and distributed 50 bags of food to members of the community in need. As always, thank you to the Welch Park Neighborhood Association for their continued collaboration in building stronger neighborhoods.

State of the City Honoree Christina Bui

During the State of the City, owner of Love Me Knots Bridal and

TREBA Board President Christina Bui was presented with the

District 8 Community Hero Award!

Christina and TREBA serve 600 local businesses and are dedicated to fostering a thriving, clean, and safe community.

Thank you Christina and TREBA! Looking forward to future collaborations!

Juan Saves Tom Matsumoto Elementary

I honored Juan Jimenez, the hero who stepped up to stop a fire from spreading at Tom Matsumoto Elementary. His quick actions helped save the school from further damage.

Tom Matsumoto Elementary, the San José Fire Department, and I all had a chance to commend his heroic actions.

Lake Cunningham Tree Planting

During our Lake Cunningham Beautification Day, we planted

6 trees and collected several bags of litter from our park.

A big thank you to our awesome volunteers! With their help,

we are revitalizing our park for everyone to enjoy.

Fall Community Events

I want to give one final round of applause to all the involved community leaders who hosted this year's fantastic Fall/Autumn events:

• Diwali at the Community Center
• Diwali and community celebration at Tom Matsumoto Elementary
• Halloween/harvest neighborhood and school events
• and a celebration of life for Mr. Dallas Clark

Thank you all for your dedication and efforts. I look forward to our upcoming winter event collaborations!

City Hall Update

Some exciting news to report, the City of San Jose has received a multi-million dollar grant to combat retail theft in our city, particularly “smash and grabs” which have risen in recent years. This funding will allow more officers and our District Attorney to combat this growing criminal activity and give our residents peace of mind. As a part of this, the City also approved funding for Flock Safety Cameras, which are specialty cameras equipped with Automated License Plate Readers (ALPR).

As your Councilmember, I am actively working on getting more of these cameras in corridors where burglaries, sideshows, and retail theft have been prevalent. Community safety is important and we are taking tangible actions to ensure our neighborhoods are safe.

Finally, our 2023-24 Fiscal Year investments are off to a strong start for District 8 families. This past June, I wrote two Budget Documents to provide 8 additional park activations. The first in the series will be hosted at Lake Cunningham on December 8th as our Viva Holidays movie night and tree-lighting celebration!

You can check out the rest of my Budget Documents as well as my other Budget updates in my June 2023 newsletter.

Announcements

Slow Down Pledge

We still have a pressing need for expanding Vision Zero in San José.

Vision Zero is a vital initiative aimed at eliminating traffic fatalities and serious injuries, making our streets safer for everyone. We must continue to take steps to prevent such senseless tragedies from occurring in the future. Take the Pledge to drive the speed limit.