☆ Veteran lawmakers offer perspective, context—and their candidacies—to open SJ CM seats
Rose Herrera (District 8) and Forest Williams (then-District 2) have both served as SJ councilmembers, so they bring experienced points of view to how SJ politics have changed, and the challenges the new council faces. Both have applied for the interim seats the council will appoint. They chatted with us in this Opp Now exclusive.
Opportunity Now: Then and Now. How do you compare the dynamics of local politics today with when you last served?
Rose Herrera: Clearly, many of the issues we faced when I was on the council back in 2009–2016 are some of the same issues we face currently, with some differences.
Back then, when I first joined the council, we faced the Great Recession, which caused massive unemployment, collapse of the housing market, and a fiscal crisis for the city. We were, quite literally, trying to save the city and preserve services.
We know economic cycles repeat, and it is likely we will be facing fiscal headwinds again. This council will have to make hard budgeting decisions, and—at least from my experience—will need to be sharply focused on getting priorities done and doing a few things very well. The key is to make sure we allocate our funds in a way that reaches to every corner of the city and makes the difference for the people who need it the most.
Many of the issues we face now are not new but have taken on a new urgency:
Homelessness—is certainly a critical issue facing the city that will require focus and partnering with the County and State. There are no simple solutions.
Affordable housing—If we want to keep teachers, workers, and middle class families living and working in San Jose, we must build more affordable housing.
Small businesses—Our small businesses are still recovering from the pandemic. Finding ways to support our business community, which provides jobs and revenue to our city, is important.
A need to increase the number of Companies with HQ’s in San Jose to bring a larger tax base, which will support city services—We have to increase jobs and provide more affordable housing; it is not either/or. I led on this issue when I Chaired the Economic Development Committee.
Forest Williams:
We are dealing with the same concerns as when I last served as council member, but the economic and political terrain has changed in notable ways. We’re dealing with the similar issues:
Affordable housing
Homelessness
How to manage economic development, what we’re required to do, and new things we want to do, within the constraints of the budget
But clearly, the needs around homelessness and affordable housing have increased dramatically since 2008, when I last held office. I was chair of the economic development committee, and one of the key takeaways from that experience was that certain expenses in the budget are just fixed; they have to be paid regardless of who is in the seat. For example: Employee Salaries, Utilities, Maintenance, Safety, Security, etc. But you do have some flexibility with issues like Housing, the General Plan, Traffic Management, and Carbon Reduction, which can be adjusted to changing conditions.
But at the end of the day, the council needs to meet the needs of the citizens. The politics now are perhaps a little more evident than when I was last on the council, but fireworks will always go off, and people will position things to advance their political position.
ON: Local media likes to frame every issue, every political race, every disagreement in our politics as emblematic of the ancient business vs. labor divide. Does that make sense to you?
FW: My view is that we are all in this barrel together. We will always have issues with business and labor, but I think it’s overemphasized and people use it to cloud the debate instead of just looking at the nuts and bolts of the issues.
And clearly, the issue which confronts both business and labor, which they both should be aligned on, is making this city more affordable to live in, to start a business in, and to raise a family in. So many things go downhill if people can’t live where they work. It negatively impacts both business and labor—It’s not one against each other. It’s about creating an affordable city. The politics should be outside of achieving that goal.
RH: This divisive framing of what drives city politics doesn't work for me. I think it's shallow and needlessly oppositional. At the highest level, business and labor need each other: especially when we are dealing with a labor shortage. They are both pursuing the same goals: growth and prosperity for our community. Business needs labor to get the work done, and labor needs business to create jobs and opportunities.
Of course, they will lobby for their own particular interests regarding how to get that done, but that in no way suggests that there is some business vs. labor dialectic at the core of our governance. We need to get past this lazy thinking and work to bridge the divides and stay focused on agreed-upon goals.
ON: Citizens won't be voting the new CM's into office; the council will. How do we implement a process that makes sure the CM's are beholden to the people of their district, not fellow CM's?
RH: I have been on both sides of this kind of decision. Back in 2014, I, along with a council majority, voted to have an appointment process to fill a vacancy in District 4 when Kansen Chu was elected to the State Assembly. We chose Margie Matthews, an experienced Councilmember, to fill the vacancy, which proved to be a good decision. Margie served in 2015 until the special election was held. She kept her promise not to run for the open seat.
On Dec 5th, the City council expressed a desire to appoint someone who can hit the ground running on Day 1 and represent the residents with no gap in service. As a two-term councilmember like Margie, I have the ability to hit the ground running at City Hall—including advocating for Evergreen's priorities in the budget process, which will begin in March.
I have a track record of representing District 8 and getting things done for residents: such as the Village Square Evergreen Library, Evergreen Ball Fields, and saving Lake Cunningham Skate Park, just to name a few. I will be able to set up a responsive process to address constituent services immediately.
Finally, my pledge to not run for the full term in 2024 will allow me to focus exclusively on the residents' needs and not be distracted by an upcoming campaign in 2024.
FW: I would’ve been satisfied with either an election or an appointment process. The point is to make sure we give D10 appropriate representation for the next two years. Of course, it’s not fair to make D10 residents wait two years for an election, but we need to support the rules and the decisions of Council.
So when the council looks at qualities for an appointed representative, I believe that experience has to rise to the top of the list. We need someone who’s fought the wars, who has proven service to the community, who doesn’t need a learning curve. Someone who can sit in the chair on Day 1 and people will know they are being listened to, being heard, by someone who knows their way around and can connect their needs to what city government does.
I believe my background as a council member, school board trustee, and planning commissioner all give me the right profile to fill this appointment for the next two years.
Regarding whether or not the appointee plans to run in 2024, I don’t think we can demand that. I will simply say that I’m only applying for the interim position, I have no interest in 2024 or after. I have no ulterior motives; I am here to bring solutions to my community. And I think D10 will be best served if all the appointee candidates just focus on the next two years and leave the 2024 campaign for another time.
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