mage by Jana Kadah

In a rare development, SJ City Council on August 27 couldn’t achieve a unanimous vote on endorsing Prop 5 (it passed 8–2). Prop 5 aims to lower from 66% to 55% the majority needed for new local taxes, undoing Proposition 13’s precedents. Prop 13 was passed by a large margin of Santa Clara County and San Jose voters. CM Doan, who voted against the Prop 5 endorsement, queried city staff as to why there hasn’t been broad outreach by the city to residents regarding the endorsements. Staff responded by saying that the city’s Intergovernmental Relations Group engages only with nonprofits and non-governmental organizations, and that they will continue with that limited outreach model. The Doan/staffer exchange below.

CM Bien Doan: In the 350 different items we support or don’t support, there are items I agree with—a lot I agree with—and a few I don’t support. Do you ever think about having a community engagement on these positions once a year? Because we represent our constituents and that way we could get their support as well. 

Zane Barnes, Intergovernmental Relations Group: Councilmember, we have engaged stakeholders in the Legislative Programs Development on an annual basis. This usually consists of NGOs {non-government organizations} and other organizations like San Jose State and others, and we will continue to do that.