Kamei is the best choice for S.J. City Council District 1
The San Jose City Council will change dramatically next year, no matter who is elected to replace Mayor Sam Liccardo and termed-out members Chappie Jones, Magdalena Carrasco and Raul Peralez.
It's critical that voters replace them with strong leaders who can best address homelessness, public safety and affordable housing in a fiscally prudent manner.
In District 1, Rosemary Kamei has the experience, intelligence and independence to help the City Council navigate those challenging issues. We recommend her to voters in the June 7 election.
The West San Jose district stretches from Santana Row to Westgate Shopping Center and is the only council district to share a border with four cities — Campbell, Cupertino, Santa Clara and Saratoga. Decisions made in those cities have a major impact on West San Jose and vice versa. The District 1 council member needs to play a lead role in creating win-win situations for San Jose and those communities as major developments along the Stevens Creek corridor and at Westgate progress.
The city's 2040 general plan calls for creating walkable neighborhoods rather than car-centric sprawl. For decades, District 1 has been anything but, with no light rail line on Stevens Creek Boulevard and limited bus service along Saratoga Avenue.
Kamei's thoughtful approach has been on display as a member of the Santa Clara County Board of Education, where she has been a calming voice in the charter school wars that have plagued the board for years. She has supported and rejected charter applications based on merit rather than a knee-jerk political approach.
She is the rare candidate with the backing of both the San Jose Realtors and the South Bay Labor Council. And her endorsements also include business-oriented council members Jones and Pam Foley and labor-backed council members Sergio Jimenez and Raul Peralez.
Kamei has a solid understanding of the development challenges in the district, having served as president of the Baker West Neighborhood Association, which borders the Westgate Shopping Center. She understands the needs of small businesses, having owned a nursery for 15 years.
She advocates for more foot patrols throughout San Jose and more police officers in a city that has the smallest police department of any city of its size in the United States. But she also stresses the need to avoid the kind of pensionrelated outlays that created the problem.
The other two candidates in the race are former flight attendant and volunteer program manager Ramona Arellano Snyder and paratransit operator Tim Gildersleeve.
Snyder has been an active volunteer in District 1, serving on a variety of committees. She has a solid understanding of budget and housing issues but lacks the political experience that Kamei would bring to the council. Gildersleeve is a perennial candidate for office but does not have the financial backing or political support to be a serious contender.
Asian Americans make up more than 30% of San Jose's population, but they do not have representation on the City Council. Kamei's father immigrated to the United States from China, and her mother is from Puerto Rico. Spanish was Kamei's first language. She would bring an understanding that would benefit the council of the obstacles many San Jose families face. She is the best choice for District 1 voters.