Dear Neighbors, 

As I sit down to write this, I've just returned to City Hall after joining community leaders at Amigos de Guadalupe to make it clear: federal agents have no place in San José. While it appears that the federal government is walking back plans to send troops to the Bay Area, we’re still preparing to do what it takes to protect our communities.

If you see something, say something. Reach out to the Rapid Response Network about any suspected ICE activity at 408-290-1144. I'm grateful for their swift response to a sighting of Customs and Border Patrol agents here in District 3.

We’re the safest big city in America and we look out for our neighbors here, no matter where they're from. I hope to see you and many of our neighbors at our town hall next month! If you haven’t already, please RSVP here.

With Halloween around the corner, check out some ways for families to get into the spooky season by scrolling down to the Upcoming Events section. I'm looking forward to dropping in on celebrations across the district!

Yours in community, 

I've been making my way around the district with our neighborhood leaders, whether that's neighborhood association meetings in Spartan Keyes, Guadalupe Washington, Naglee Park, and North 13th Street NAC, a neighborhood walk with SJPD in McKinley Bonita, or engaging with our District 3 Community Leadership Council. As a former neighborhood president myself, I know that no one understands the issues impacting our neighborhoods quite like the folks who spend their precious free time working to make their communities a better place to live.

Last week, I started my day at Lowell Elementary School with our SJPD School Safety Unit by stepping into the shoes of one of our school crossing guards! But whether or not you see a councilmember ushering students and families through the crosswalk, it's on all of us to make sure we're driving safely to make sure that every student gets to school safely.

We’re thrilled to welcome the Silicon Valley Asian Art Center to our growing arts and culture scene in the heart of Downtown San José! Spaces like this activate our streets and celebrate our city’s incredible diversity.

A huge thank you to Mr. Shu for your decades of dedication to advancing Asian and international art and for choosing Downtown San José for this exciting new chapter. Stop by their new gallery to experience their inaugural showcase featuring world-renowned artist Zheng Chongbin!

Last weekend, I joined the McKinley-Bonita Neighborhood Association for their Dumpster Day! Five dumpsters were filled in no time, keeping all that trash off our streets! I appreciate all the incredible volunteers who came together bright and early to keep their neighborhood clean and beautiful.

Happy Diwali! I had the pleasure of joining the celebrations at the Children's Discovery Museum, where families took in amazing performances and worked on crafts like diya lamps and creating their own mandalas. The museum is celebrating 35 years of inspiring creativity, curiosity, and lifelong learning and events like these make it one of the gems of our downtown museum scene.

Even after two months in office, we're still celebrating firsts. On Wednesday morning, I took part in my first groundbreaking as your D3 councilmember! 

Julian Street Studios will bring 300 permanently affordable homes to District 3, just a five minute walk from our future Five Wounds BART station. With 96% of Silicon Valley residents in the latest Joint Venture Silicon Valley poll citing the cost of housing as a serious concern, projects like this one from Integrated Community Development are critical to helping working families stay here in San José.

Ribbon cuttings are one of the best parts of my job, because we get the opportunity to celebrate folks investing in our city and show everyone that Downtown San José is the place to be. That’s why I was excited to join in welcoming Poppy & Claro to our downtown!

Poppy & Claro is aiming to serve everyone who comes to our downtown: from office workers, museum goers and other visitors, to our downtown dwellers who call this neighborhood home. That’s the kind of 24/7 activation that leads to a vibrant downtown!

I had the pleasure of taking part in Smith Carlos Day at San José State University, joining some of my Council colleagues for the From Speed City to City Hall panel. Tommie Smith and John Carlos stand as examples to all of us (Spartans or not!) who have a platform. Whether that platform is an Olympic podium or the dais at City Hall, we must use it to forward the cause of justice.