San José runs because of its residents, and the people who serve this city every day.
Services remain stretched thin, recruitment and retention gains are at risk, and City leaders are warning of tens of millions of dollars in budget shortfalls -- which could mean layoffs, hiring freezes, and even takeaways.
At the same time, the City continues to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on SAP Center luxury upgrades, special sporting events, and developer giveaways. And new technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) are being introduced that could reshape and hollow out public services without workers or residents having a voice in the process.
We believe San José should be built around residents, and the people who make this City work -- A People Powered San José. We are calling for:
- Responsible use of artificial intelligence, with workers and residents having a seat at the table before new technologies are implemented.
- Investing in public services by fully staffing city departments and protecting the workforce that delivers them.
- Budget priorities that put residents and public services ahead of subsidies and giveaways to billionaires and special interests.
- Respect for the city workers who keep San José running every day.
By signing our shared People Powered San José Promise, I stand with city workers and community members and call on City elected officials to prioritize public services, responsible and ethical AI, and the workers who make our City work.