☆ Khamis: SJ Council 2023 priorities shouldn’t surprise us

Former two-term D10 councilmember Johnny Khamis spells out San Jose’s need for creative solutions on public safety, homelessness, and blight — a tall order, but the same ongoing underlying needs, says Khamis. An Opp Now exclusive on Local Gov't Hopes & Fears.

The council knows what they need to do in the coming years. The priorities from the public have not changed since I’ve been in office. People have concerns about public safety, homelessness, and blight.

How you solve these issues requires new ways of thinking. City leaders should work closely with the county to look at helping the mentally ill and severely drug addicted get off the streets by using the new Care Court law passed last year. We need to make sure that repeat offenders don’t keep using the revolving door in the county jail. 

Also, the council needs to work with the state on cleaning blight on our highways and task the city’s volunteerism coordinator to increase the number of cleanup projects in the city. Unfortunately, depending on other branches of government was challenging in the past and will be challenging now.

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