Our first D3 newsletter

Dear Neighbors,

Today marks one month since I took my oath of office as your councilmember. In that time, my team and I have certainly been busy building an office to serve your needs. I want to thank Councilmember Salas one more time for his work as our caretaker councilmember and for making the transition a smooth one.

Over the past month, we’ve celebrated Pride, opened San José first safe sleeping site, and passed impactful legislation to hold negligent property owners accountable, keep the Sharks here in San José and make our streets safer.

It’s an honor to work every day for our neighbors here in District 3. Please send any feedback or events, announcements, or issues you’d like to see included in our newsletter to district3@sanjoseca.gov.

Yours in community,

Taking on blight

Last month, the Council approved legislation I coauthored with Councilmembers Ortiz and Campos to hold negligent landowners accountable for blight on their properties. Our memo increases both the daily penalties and the maximum total fines for property owners that fail to address blight, sending a clear message that being a bad neighbor and causing urban decay doesn’t pay.

The future is teal!

I was proud to join the unanimous support of my colleagues to keep the Sharks in San José for the next 26 years. This investment isn’t just good news for hockey fans — the SAP Center generates about $4 million in local tax revenue every year, funding services that keep our streets clean and support residents and small businesses across San José.

Speed limit reductions

In 2024, there were 49 traffic fatalities in San José. Thirty-nine of those deaths happened on streets with speed limits of 35 miles per hour or higher. To combat high speeds and traffic fatalities, City Council passed a resolution to reduce speed limits on 23 street segments around the city. Learn more about these reductions at bit.ly/speed-limit-reductions.

Looking ahead...

My office was devastated when we heard the news about Jtown Pizza and Spread closing. My team and I are looking at how we can improve our historic preservation ordinances to make sure they’re striking the right balance between preservation and enabling adaptive reuse, and we are meeting with local business owners and community stakeholders to understand the permitting changes necessary to support our small business community. We’ll reach out with updates and how you can help our office ensure that something like this doesn’t happen again.

In the meantime, our former councilmember, Raul Peralez, is running a GoFundMe to help the Trigg family. You can donate here.

Taylor Street Safe Sleeping Site

District 3 recently became the home of San José’s first Safe Sleeping Site. This navigation center will serve as a critical first step on the journey from homelessness to permanent housing.

But we wouldn’t be here today without our Community Advisory Committee, who worked for many months to get us to this point. These local leaders have been engaged in making sure that this site addresses neighborhood concerns and I'm continuing that work with my District 3 team.

San José is America's safest large city!

I’m proud that not only are we the safest big city in the country, but when you look at the data more granularly, we are in the top 10 best-performing cities across every metric measured. Considering the unique resource constraints facing our city, this is a big accomplishment.

But safety isn’t just about data — it’s about how people feel. We still have room for improvement on that front, and ensuring that every resident feels safe at home, on our streets, and visiting downtown is one of my top priorities.

Boards and commissions applications due September 30th

Serving on a local board or commission is a great way to make an impact on San José! Learn more and apply at bit.ly/SJCommissions or email district3@sanjoseca.gov if you have any questions!

Apply to be a Creative Ambassador

The role of the Creative Ambassadors is to champion the power of creative expression and engage residents in finding their own creative voice. Ambassadors serve a one-year term Jan 1 - Dec 31 during which they produce a creative project that invites active participation from residents and celebrates the diversity of San José's cultural communities. Learn more and apply here.

Apply for a park activation grant

Trust for Public Land (TPL) and San José Parks, Recreation, and Neighborhood Services want to support your big ideas for local parks and public spaces!

🗓️ Deadline to apply: Sept. 23 at 5 PM

🔗 Learn more and apply: 10minutewalk.org/partnership-fund

We wrapped up August by celebrating 50 years of Pride in San José! I joined Vice Mayor Foley and Councilmember Cohen in presenting Silicon Valley Pride with a commendation for their half century of fighting for love, legacy, and liberation before raising the Pride flag at City Hall.

Later in the week, I got to join in the grand opening of Romance, the street mural in our Qmunity District, before wrapping up the week with the Silicon Valley Pride Parade. Marching through the heart of downtown, I couldn't help but be proud of the opportunity I have to represent our LGBTQ+ community on the dais here in San José.

Can you believe that we just celebrated a decade of Viva CalleSJ? Ra, Elizabeth, and Daniela from my team spent the day out at the Watson Park activity hub here in D3. This was our last Viva Calle for 2025, but mark your calendars for next year's events on April 19, June 14, and September 13!

If you ever have any questions or need any help, don't hesitate to contact us at:

District3@sanjoseca.gov

(408) 535 - 4903

All the best,

-Anthony