January 23, 2009

Councilmember Rose Herrera addresses District 8 Community Round Table

By Larry Cargnoni
Special to the Times

Newly-sworn-in San Jose Councilmember Rose Herrera addressed the District 8 Community Round Table on Jan. 15 and outlined a few of her priorities for the coming year. Energized and optimistic, Herrera cited economic development, transportation and working on the city’s budget deficits as key objectives.

“Economic development in District 8 and Evergreen will grow the tax base, bring in revenue and help fund services,” said Herrera.

Acknowledging the area as a “bedroom community,” Herrera envisions Evergreen transformed into a “destination” with new retail services, restaurants and jobs. She fully supports the continued development of Evergreen Village Square and other areas like it in District 8. “Infrastructure needs to surround these opportunities, including fixing traffic flow, installing signage and creating jobs, which create demand for services,” added Herrera.

Herrera has met with Mayor Chuck Reed and reinforced the need to create jobs in District 8. She pointed out the grass-roots organization GoingEVERGREEN which has as one of its objectives to bring clean, reliable and affordable energy technologies to the marketplace, and she reminded him about the Campus Industrial Properties as being ideally situated for “clean and green” technology development.

She wants San Jose and her office to be aggressive in getting the city’s share of any federal or state “bail-out” money that could be used immediately to fund the new Eastridge Light Rail extension and the Highway 101/Tully Road/Capitol Expressway improvement analysis project, bringing jobs to the area.

Herrera was assigned to key City Council Committees including the Transportation and Environment Committee and the Community and Economic Development Committee. She was assigned as Council representative to the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority. She was also assigned as Council liaison to the Advisory Commission on Rents and to the Police and Fire Department Retirement Plan Board of Administration. She expressed her excitement at being assigned “great opportunities” as these committees help advance her agenda on job creation and addressing the district’s traffic issues.

Herrera has been busy assembling her staff. She selected Jennifer Malutta as her chief of staff. Malutta, a prior deputy chief of staff for former Mayor Ron Gonzalez, is expected to help Herrera “navigate the 18-floor” of City Hall. Bushra Rasheed, who served with Dave Cortese, has joined Herrera’s staff. Herrera issued a call for volunteers, interns and someone who has transportation experience, especially one who has worked with the VTA, to join and work with her staff. Those interested should contact the District 8 office.

Resident Bea Baechle asked Herrera about her strategy to bring in retail to the Evergreen Village Square. Herrera stated that it was important to create jobs in the area that would create a noon-time demand for the retailers.
Responding to a question from resident Roger Lasson about cutting wasteful city spending, Herrera pointed out that many city employees are looking for ways to cut spending and improve effectiveness and efficiency. She mentioned that the city is considering layoffs, in part, to resolve the city’s deficit.

Herrera reinforced her commitment to follow through with key projects started by her predecessor, Dave Cortese. These include establishing a south-east Evergreen library, finding a location for a community center in west Evergreen, and addressing traffic issues in the district. She also reiterated her desire to work with the District 8 Community Round Table on joint projects and interests.

Councilmember Herrera can be contacted at (408) 535-4908 or at rose.herrera@sanjoseca.gov.

The next District 8 Community Round Table meeting will be held on Feb. 5 at the Evergreen Branch Library from 7-9 p.m. For more details on the D8CRT, visit www.d8crt.org. Larry Cargnoni is an officer of the D8CRT.