Dev Davis for Mayor of San Jose 2022

A Safe, Clean, and Thriving San José.

San José residents deserve a safe, clean, and thriving city. As Mayor, I will continue to make San José a better city for all residents. We have tough problems to tackle in San José: crime, homeless encampments, blight and illegal dumping, businesses devastated by the pandemic, and the elimination of single-family home zoning.

Solving these problems requires working together. Issues – like homelessness, mental illness and drug addiction – require County resources and partnership. I will prioritize this work to improve public safety and ensure people get the services they need. The city also must add more police officers to patrol our streets and provide traffic enforcement. In addition, we must clean up our city. A safer, cleaner San José will improve daily life for residents and be better for business.

Finally, San José must restore single-family home zoning. We need more density and nearby services in urban villages – so people can choose where to live and what is best for their families. Further, the urban village plans that were identified over a decade ago – with extensive community input – need to be completed, to meet our need for housing.

If you would like to help elect me as your next mayor, we have many opportunities to help me reach voters with my message. You can contribute financially, with your time, or both! Please click Contribute below to donate to my campaign or click Ways to Help to volunteer and we will connect with you when the time comes. If you have specific questions for me related to my campaign to become the next Mayor of San José, click Contact Me.

News

May 24, 2022

Silicon Valley Chinese Association Endorses Dev

May 24, 2022

Thank you to SVCA for recognizing Dev’s conservative voting record while endorsing her for Mayor of San José.

My Goals as Mayor of San José

Safe. Clean. Thriving. I believe this is what we all want for our city and we have got some work to do to get there. I have been working on those goals in my first two terms as councilwoman for District 6. For example, we have more police officers than when I took office. We have life-saving LUCAS chest compression devices on every fire engine, and soon we will see Fire Station 37 completed and fully staffed. Blight is certainly an issue and I helped lead the charge for increased funding to counter that. I have championed numerous housing solutions as you will read about below, including housing our veterans, seniors, and families. Our work is far from finished however, and with your support, I aim to do far more to improve the lives of all our residents and I have a plan on how to do it.

We will restore San Jose to the safest big city in America.
Prioritize adding add 250 officers by 2030 during my terms, with a significant portion allocated to traffic enforcement.
Open and fully staff the South San José Police Substation.
Expand partnership between the San José Police and County Social Services to ensure every mental health call receives a response with a mental healthcare provider.
After Fire Station 37 is completed in 2022, complete the construction of two additional new fire stations (32 and 36) and the relocation of Fire Stations 8 and 23.
Fully staff all new fire stations as soon as they are completed.
Complete Police Training Center and Fire Training Center on time and on budget.
Ensure BeautifySJ is fully funded to keep our city clean and free from litter and blight.
Complete repairs and paving of all 2,000+ miles of neighborhood streets by 2029.
Enroll San José in the Blue Zones Project to encourage improved health and health equity and strengthen social ties, which leads to longer and healthier lives.
Plant 1000 trees each Arbor Day to expand our urban canopy, clean our air, and improve quality of life across the city.
Keep our parks and open space clean and open to all residents.
Ensure all neighborhoods have parks within walking distance for all residents.
Help pass a statewide initiative to restore local control of land use decisions.
Accelerate the work of the City’s General Plan Envision 2040 and pass all the Urban Village plans. Urban Village areas were defined by a years-long community process, are located on transit corridors, and allow for a mix of housing types as well as neighborhood-serving businesses.
Strengthen partnership with the County to ensure that all homeless housing has appropriate services to get people the help they need to stay healthy and housed.
Expand partnerships with faith leaders and community groups for solutions to homelessness – including safe interim shelter, safe parking, and affordable housing.
Make outdoor dining permanent in San José.
Make Downtown San Jose a destination with events and attractions like Urban Confluence and Levitt Pavilion.
Complete the plan for Diridon Station expansion, including car-free rapid transportation between the airport and downtown.
Continue working to ensure Google’s Downtown West project gets built.
Streamline the city process for new business to open and create new jobs.
Reduce red tape and issue building and remodel permits faster.
Create a planning department that makes veteran employees want to stay and work in San José.

Protecting Neighborhoods

Recently, there have been attacks against San Jose's single-family home neighborhoods from Sacramento and from coalitions within the city. Sacramento politicians have recently passed Senate Bill 9 (SB 9) which eliminated single-family home zoning throughout the state.

SB 9 is an effort to allow owners of lots with a single home to tear that home down and replace it with multiple units on that single lot. This can now happen without community notice or input. Elected city officials now have no say in the matter.

Numerous trees would need to be removed to accommodate the additional units. Our city's tree canopy would be reduced. This will impact our health and well-being. It's also bad for the environment, which is why the Sierra Club opposed this policy.

I am leading an effort to repeal SB 9 and I was the first person in the state to sign the petition against it. Along with our grass-roots organization, we will acquire the signatures required to place it on the ballot in 2024. When it passes it will not only allow cities to reinstate single-family home zoning, it will also prevent Sacramento from ever doing it again.

My vision for adding housing in San Jose is focused and strategic. Since my time in office, I have gotten four Urban Village plans approved. These plans responsibly place high density housing near transit corridors and are accompanied by zoning for businesses to serve these areas.

Public Safety

Ensuring the safety of our community is my top priority. I have worked with our Police Department, our Fire Department, our Office of Emergency Management to improve public safety, preparedness, and disaster resilience for our neighborhoods. As Mayor, I will increase our police force to reduce response times and solve and prevent crimes.

Prioritize adding add 250 officers by 2030 during my terms, with a significant portion allocated to traffic enforcement.
Open and fully staff the South San José Police Substation.
Expand partnership between the San José Police and County Social Services to ensure every mental health call receives a response with a mental healthcare provider.
After Fire Station 37 is completed in 2022, complete the construction of two additional new fire stations (32 and 36) and the relocation of Fire Stations 8 and 23.
Fully staff all new fire stations as soon as they are completed.
Complete Police Training Center and Fire Training Center on time and on budget.
Voted to increase the number of police officers
Voted to increase the Police Department budget for hire-ahead program to stabilize officer headcount and ensure sufficient officers are available for patrol
Supported new sexual assault response protocol training for police officers
Voted for a new police helicopter
Secured funding for LUCAS chest compression devices for life-saving automated CPR on fire engines
Broken ground on Fire Station 37 to be built by 2022
Began funding reserve to ensure Fires Station 37 will be fully staffed by building completion
Worked closely with the City Attorney to get an illegal marijuana business called Coachella “Church” shut down
Advocated strongly for and secured funding for new Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) classes

Housing

ADU construction Photo: Bay Area News Group — ADU construction
Photo: Bay Area News Group

The Bay Area’s biggest challenge is a lack of housing, which leads to excessively high housing costs and increasing homelessness. Although we cannot solve this problem alone at the city level, we must do our part while we continue to encourage other cities and towns in our region to do their part too. I have worked on initiatives to add to our permanent housing supply and to help improve the lives of our homeless neighbors as they wait for more housing to be built.

Help pass a statewide initiative to restore local control of land use decisions.
Accelerate the work of the City’s General Plan Envision 2040 and pass all the Urban Village plans. Urban Village areas were defined by a years-long community process, are located on transit corridors, and allow for a mix of housing types as well as neighborhood-serving businesses.
Strengthen partnership with the County to ensure that all homeless housing has appropriate services to get people the help they need to stay healthy and housed.
Expand partnerships with faith leaders and community groups for solutions to homelessness – including safe interim shelter, safe parking, and affordable housing.
Voted to protect single-family home zoning
Opened Vermont House, which is permanent housing for formerly homeless veterans
Supported the recently opened affordable senior housing project on Southwest Expressway and Leigh Avenue
Voted to roll back regulations for accessory dwelling units (ADUs or granny units)
Voted for Community Bridge Housing (tiny homes)
Initiated a new General Plan Amendment hearing for affordable housing projects
Convened Faith Leaders across District 6 to increase the availability of faith-based homeless services, including temporary shelter and safe parking sites

Economic Development

Although our region faces a housing shortage, San Jose is further challenged by a lack of sufficient jobs for all its working residents. This jobs shortage means that over 100,000 San Jose residents have to commute out of our city just to get to work every day. Raising the profile of San Jose, promoting events, and working with individual businesses to relocate or expand in San Jose have been my strategies for addressing our jobs imbalance.

Make outdoor dining permanent in San José.
Make Downtown San Jose a destination with events and attractions like Urban Confluence and Levitt Pavilion.
Complete the plan for Diridon Station expansion, including car-free rapid transportation between the airport and downtown.
Continue working to ensure Google’s Downtown West project gets built.
Streamline the city process for new business to open and create new jobs.
Reduce red tape and issue building and remodel permits faster.
Facilitated community partnerships with Google in anticipation of their Diridon Station area project
Worked with a major company, Varian, to relocate to San Jose
Hosted the College Football Playoff and NHL All-Star Games, which brought thousands of tourists and millions of dollars into San Jose
Raised the profile of ComicCon/SiliCon and other convention center events
Created an innovation zone designed to spark tech companies and startups piloting new technologies
Worked with Apple Co-Founder Steve Wozniak to raise funds for a city dog park

Parks and Community

Our parks, libraries, and community centers are our gathering places, the places where we can go to connect with each other, learn together, and just have fun. I enjoy hosting events that bring neighbors out to build community and be entertained.

Ensure BeautifySJ is fully funded to keep our city clean and free from litter and blight.
Enroll San José in the Blue Zones Project to encourage improved health and health equity and strengthen social ties, which leads to longer and healthier lives.
Plant 1000 trees each Arbor Day to expand our urban canopy, clean our air, and improve quality of life across the city.
Keep our parks and open space clean and open to all residents.
Ensure all neighborhoods have parks within walking distance for all residents.
Completed Three Creeks Trail from Minnesota to Coe Avenues
Completed Phase 2 of Del Monte Park with new soccer fields and a playground shade structure
Brought fun activities to the Rose Garden such as jazz concerts, movie nights, and ladybug releases
Added pickleball courts to Bramhall Park
Began the process for renovation of Lincoln Glen Park to become an all-inclusive playground for kids with special needs
Renovated Hummingbird Park with community design input
Purchased a site on The Alameda to become a new park
Completed the renovation of the Bramhall Park Lawn Bowling Center
Opened Bramhall Park’s concessions and bathrooms and installed 6 large upcycled picnic tables
Supported Willow Glen Little League’s improvements to the Bramhall Park ballfields
Hosted Shakespeare in the Park and Summer Movie Nights across the district
Secured funding for free block parties citywide for two years
Secured funding for a new sound system at Willow Glen Community Center
Fixed the electronic sign at Bascom Community Center
Assisted the formation of new neighborhood association near Meridian and San Carlos—Midtown Connections—and co-hosted their first Public Safety Fair

Planning, Building, and Code Enforcement

Hearing from neighbors about the nuisance properties in their neighborhoods inspired me to delve deeply into our code enforcement process at the city. Because of necessary budget cuts in the early 2010s during the Great Recession, I learned that we no longer had the staffing to pressure owners to maintain their properties. Further, we needed to develop specific plans with community input so that entire neighborhoods could improve.

Reduce permit wait times to 90 minutes or less
Assign a Permit Ally to each applicant to guide them swiftly through the process
Ensure consistency across inspectors to eliminate repetitive work
Provide up front pricing for fees
Completed four Urban Village plans and ensured robust community input
Worked closely with Responsible Landlord Engagement Initiative (RLEI) on blighted and nuisance properties
Secured funding for a dedicated City Attorney for code enforcement issues
Encouraged Code Enforcement public outreach to inform residents about their services

About Dev

Dev with her husband Chris and their two children

Councilmember Dev Davis represents District 6 in San José. Before being elected in 2016, Councilmember Davis spent 12 years as an education researcher for Stanford University's Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO). With a strong interest in community organizing, she served as a Chair of the City of San José's Early Care and Education Committee, a delegate to the Junior League of California’s State Public Affairs Committee, President of the North Willow Glen Neighborhood Association, and Public Relations Chair for the Sherman Oaks Neighborhood Playground Committee. Dev has a bachelor's degree in Economics and master's degrees in Public Policy and Education Policy, Organization & Leadership from Stanford University.

Dev and her husband, Chris, have been married for 21 years, and have lived in San José for almost 17 years together with their two children who attend public schools in San José. They currently reside in the North Willow Glen neighborhood.

In 2010, then with two preschool-aged children, Dev and her husband acutely felt the cutbacks the city was obliged to make as a result of the city not being able to fund its basic services.

“I would take my (potty-training in progress) preschool-aged children to the park, only to find the bathrooms closed. I would then want to take them to the library (surely the libraries would be open during the Summer) only to find the doors locked. Why weren’t these basic core services being maintained? Finally, as the city’s budget remained in a deficit, SJPD slowly stopped patrolling our neighborhood, until one day, they stopped coming altogether. This was the last straw!”

The city’s budget crisis and extreme service cuts motivated Dev to run for City Council. Like many families, Dev and her husband relied on those services and felt the impact when they were gone.

Dev ran for City Council to make sure that doesn’t happen again. As a councilmember, she focused on finding cost-effective ways to enhance public safety, improve our roads, and bring more jobs to San José while keeping our core services (Fire, Police, Roads, Libraries, and Parks) operating. While the city and our neighborhoods have improved, there is still much work to be done, particularly in caring for our unhoused neighbors and addressing our three biggest issues—housing, climate, and transportation.

Dev would love to hear your thoughts and ideas on how to make San José an even better place to live. Please call her at (408) 479-4864 if you’d like to discuss local issues or have ideas about possible solutions.

Dev is actively working on a wide variety of committees, working on issues that impact District 6 residents on a daily basis while planning for long term improvements that will benefit residents for decades to come.

Chair of the Transportation & Environment Committee
Member of the Rules Committee
Member of the San Jose/Santa Clara Treatment Plant Advisory Committee (TPAC)
Council Liaison to the Federated Retirement Board
Council Liaison to the Historic Landmarks Commission
Council Liaison to the Santa Clara County Emergency Operational Area Council (formerly Emergency Preparedness Council)
San Jose Sports Authority Board of Directors – City Council Liaison
San Jose Arena Authority Board of Directors – City Council Liaison
Chair of Joint Powers Board (2021)
San Jose Representative on Joint Powers Board (JPB)
Chair of the Finance Committee (2020)
Member of the Ad-Hoc Committee on Positive Train Control/Communications - Based Overlay Signal System (PTC/CBOSS)
Member of the Centralized Equipment Maintenance & Operations Facilities Oversight Committee (CEMOF)
Alternate Member for the Board
Member of the Diridon Station Joint Policy Advisory Board