Special Reports March 19, 2026

Tony Webster from Minneapolis, Minnesota, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Violent crime is up 50% in SJ year-to-year, yet Mayor Mahan keeps repeating dated findings suggesting that SJ is the “safest big city in America.” SVGOP chairman says this shows disregard for the trauma violent crime brings to local citizens and the associated cost of that crime.

“Whether it’s a teenager getting stabbed to death at Santana Row, a wild Black Friday shooting spree at Valley Fair, a violent smash and grab in South San Jose, shootings and a murder on Super Bowl Sunday downtown, a likely antisemitic violent assault over brunch just last week, or a double murder in Naglee Park, Mahan hits replay on the same comment, asserting that ‘San Jose is the safest big city.’

“I’m sure that somewhere his team been able to find an Internet survey that says SJ is not so violent– – and I know I can find the opposite (see Money Geek “safest US cities” list).

“But the bigger point isn’t who can rack up the most dubious social media laurels or how much they spend to get that coverage.  Rather, it’s the facts on the ground: it’s the lost moms and dads, sons and daughters. And the growing fear we all experience living in the city in which a teenage girl walking to school gets sexually assaulted by a resident at one of our tiny home communities.

“For Mahan to deflect these tragedies with the repetition of a campaign ad’s talking point shows a disregard for the pain, the loss, and trauma our neighbors are experiencing.”

–David Johnson, SVGOP

Leaders need to be honest about crime, while finding the right mix of candor and optimism. STL News explains. 

“In cities like Chicago, where crime has been a persistent and highly visible issue, leadership has often struggled to strike the right balance between acknowledging the reality of violence and projecting confidence in the city’s future.  But when leaders downplay or minimize the severity of crime, they risk alienating victims’ families, eroding public trust, and undermining the very progress they claim to celebrate.  Crime is not simply a statistic to be managed — it is a lived reality that can destroy lives, families, and entire communities.”--STL News

Read more here.