Message from Councilmember Pete Constant
Welcome to the District 1 Web site. I am honored to serve as your representative and I’m committed to making sure that your voice and interests will be heard by the San José City Council. In my role as Councilmember, I will do my best to serve our community by increasing efforts to organize our neighborhoods, making our City open and customer friendly, and building our employment base. I am confident that if we work together, we can achieve these goals and ensure that San José will be a healthy place to raise a family for years to come. Please take some time to explore the District 1 Web site to learn more about what is happening in your community and how you can get involved..
NEWS UPDATE:
Come out and combat blight at the 2nd Annual Illegal Sign Clean-Up
Join Councilmember Pete Constant, District 1 Leadership Group, and San José Code Enforcement to clean up illegal signs in the public right-of-way. Kick-off will be at the West San José Community Center at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, February 27, 2010. You will receive a brief training from Code Enforcement officers then go out in teams to clean up the blight! Code enforcement will supply assignments, maps, trash bags, green vests, and copies of the municipal code to all participants. Lunch will be provided for volunteers. For more information call the District 1 Office at (408) 535-4901 or click the flyer.
Councilmember Pete Constant Continues to Bring City Hall to You Councilmember Pete Constant will continue bringing City Hall to you in 2010. Come share your concerns, offer your insights, or ask questions. Remember, no appointment necessary! Drop by one of the two locations in the District and welcome Pete to YOUR neighborhood! Please click the link below or the flyer to the left to view the full-page flyer and dates for the 2010 District 1 Office Hours.
Councilmember Pete Constant Announces a Smart Way to
Report Neighborhood Problems
New App from CitySourced will empower San José residents to improve their community from the convenience of their smart phone. San José City Councilmember Pete Constant announced today that he is partnering with CitySourced, one of a select few companies to launch at the annual TechCrunch50 conference, to pilot a new smart phone application that they have developed, putting the power of the City in the palm of your hand. The application will allow residents to send real time requests for City services to Constant’s Council office. San José’s District 1 residents will be the first to use this application.
- Click here to read the full press release from Councilmember Pete Constant
- Click here to read the press release from CitySourced
- Video presentation at TechCrunch 50
- Article on PC World titled "IPhones Take on Potholes With City Reporting Tool"
- Article on CNET titled "Citizen complaint app finally fires up TechCrunch50"
- Article on YouVox titled "CitySourced Launches At TechCrunch50"
Councilmember Pete Constant presents the Draft Winchester Enhancement Strategy Report
A draft of the Winchester Enhancement Strategy Report is now available online for your review. Please click here to view the report.
You may reference past meeting agendas, presentations and minutes at the Winchester Boulevard Master Plan Homepage. A final Community Meeting has been scheduled for Wednesday, August 19 to discuss the draft report, community feedback and the proposed final report. For further questions please contact the District 1 office at (408) 535-4901 or district1@sanjoseca.gov.
SAVE THE DATE!!!!
District 1 E-Newsletter February Edition Available Online!
Find out what Councilmember Constant is working on this month and get updates on what is going on in your community. The District 1 E-Newsletter features Councilmember Constant's monthly message to District 1 residents and articles that pertain to your needs. In addition, a calendar of events is featured with fun events in your community. Click the link below to view this month's issue. If you have any questions, call Rhovy Cansino at 535-4901.
Great American Litter Pick-Up on Saturday, March 20th
Join Councilmember Pete Constant at the 10th Annual Great American Litter Pick-Up! There will me multiple kick-off locations throughout District 1. We need your help in cleaning up litter spots in District 1. Anti-Litter will provide the equipment and training for the event. We are looking for volunteers to come out in full force. Please save the date on your calendar as more information will be provided in the coming weeks. For more information on how to nominate neighborhoods or to volunteer, please call the the District 1 Office at (408) 535-4901.Great American Litter Pick-Up»
2010 Community Breakfast & State of the City Address
Join your city leaders and neighbors at this year's Community Breakfast. The City of San José’s annual Community Breakfast will feature Mayor Reed’s State of the City address. The event will also recognize Outstanding Citizens from each City Council District and present exemplary city employees with the Pride of San José award. The event will be on Thursday, February 18, 2010 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. San José McEnery Convention Center located at
150 West San Carlos Street. Tickets must be purchased in advance of the event. Seats are $25 per person. Tables can be reserved by purchasing 10 tickets ($250). For more information on the event and tickets, please call the Mayor's Office at (408) 535-4800 or click the link below.
Latest News from around West San José
January 18, 2010
San Jose Mercury News, San Jose councilman, businesses work on bag ban details
Councilman Pete Constant - who cast the sole vote against the bag ban - led a discussion in November with roughly 40 business leaders at the San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce, and city environmental officials took note of their concerns. ... "Some of the concerns were about the $650,000 cost of implementation," Constant said recently. "I wonder how we can justify that when we're laying off employees and we're short-staffed in our police and fire departments."January 12, 2010
Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal, Team San Jose moves closer to resolving labor dispute
Councilman Pete Constant, who is the council’s representative on the Team San Jose board, said, “The board gets it. We have had a long discussion about the topic and everyone is very sincere about resolving this.” Constant said the board is “thrilled” that jobs generated at the Convention Center will now go to Local 287, but he added, “I wish we never would have the controversy along with that.”
January 12, 2010
San Jose Mercury News, In San Jose, new housing developments must include affordable units
Councilmen Pete Constant and Pierluigi Oliverio restated their earlier opposition to the ordinance, citing concerns from business leaders and the housing industry that it would stifle economic recovery and that developers would end up raising the costs of their market-priced homes to recover costs from the affordable units.
January 4, 2010
San Jose Fitness Examiner, Local politicians to join fitness effort for world record at Workout Worldwide Saturday, January 9
Word just in from Becky Williamson, host of San Jose's activities for Workout Worldwide, that two popular local politicians will be attending the January 9 event as impartial witnesses to certify the event for the Guiness Book of World Records: County Supervisor Ken Yeager and City Councilman Pete Constant.
December 17, 2009
Government Technology, San Jose Pilots an iPhone App for Reporting 311 Services
"When you see a problem, you can take a photo of it, and by virtue of taking a photo of it, we've captured your GPS coordinates," said David Kralik, director of marketing for CitySourced, the company that designed the application. CitySourced has partnered with the 1st District's Councilman Pete Constant to spearhead the project, which utilizes Microsoft and Bing's mapping system.
December 15, 2009
CivSource, San José taps citizens to improve neighborhoods, save city money
Despite inclement weather, Kralik said the “download day” was a success. “The Councilmember [Pete Constant] was pleased, and one of his colleagues in a neighboring district showed interest as well.” ... According to a statement prior to “download day,” Councilmember Constant said his motivation behind the project stemmed from his experience in law enforcement. “Crime and urban blight go hand in hand,” Constant said. “As a former police officer, I know how important it is to respond quickly to problems in our community. Mobile City Hall will provide my residents with an easy way to report neighborhood blight.”
December 13, 2009
ABC7, iPhone app helps fight blight in San Jose
"The other important thing is we gather the GPS information so we know exactly where it's at," explained Constant. "If you report something on Winchester Boulevard, that's a long street, but we'll know within 10 feet of where you are reporting and that's really important." The app is the first of its kind in the Bay Area according to the company that developed it. It could be implemented in other cities if it takes off.
December 13, 2009
Stark Silver Creek, San Jose councilman turns to iPhone to fight crime, holds ‘download day’
According to Bay City News Service, “Pete Constant has announced a new iPhone application that allows users to snap pictures of these offending conditions using the phone’s built-in camera, then register their complaint with Constant’s office.” Over 350 people downloaded the free application the first weekend it was available.
December 11, 2009
KTVU.com, SJ City Council Launches iPhone App For Logging Complaints
City Councilman Pete Constant has announced a new iPhone application that allows users to snap pictures of these offending conditions using the phone's built-in camera, then register their complaint with Constant's office. His staff in turn directs the maintenance requests to the proper city department.
December 11, 2009
KCBS, San Jose Uses iPhone To Fight Blight
Cleaning up your neighborhood could soon be as easy as making a few taps on your iPhone, thanks to a new app that makes it easier to report pot holes, blight and other problems to City Hall. Councilman Pete Constant said the Fight Blight App would be available for download at a special event Saturday morning at the West Side Community Policing Center.
December 10, 2009
San Jose Mercury News, Editorial: San Jose councilman has an app for blight
The latest entrepreneurial venture is by Councilman Pete Constant, who's running a pilot project with an iPhone application that allows people to instantly report blight or other problems — complete with a photo. No longer will somebody at City Hall be able to say: "Oh, that pothole people are talking about can't really be that deep...."Constant is trying out the application by CitySourced in his district, kicking off with a blight-fighting event Saturday morning where people can download the application. It'll be available on other platforms soon. Constant believes the photo and GPS features will save the city time and money.December 4, 2009
Public CEO, iPhone App 'Mobile City Hall' Ready For Residents To Use
I am happy to report that the iPhone application is now ready for District 1 residents to use. The application will be available on other platforms in the near future. To celebrate the official launch of Mobile City Hall, we are hosting a "Download Day" on Saturday, December 12, from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at the West Community Policing Center (3707 Williams Rd.). ... Mobile City Hall is just one of many examples of the how popular Web 2.0/social media technologies can help us work more efficiently and cost effectively. Click here to learn how I'm using various social media tools to better serve you."
November 5, 2009
San Jose Mercury News, San Jose council wants workers and taxpayers to share deficit burden
The council rejected a proposal by Oliverio to seek agreement from workers to hold labor negotiations in public rather than behind closed doors. Oliverio argued it would give residents a say over a major city expense, but only councilmen Sam Liccardo and Pete Constant supported the idea.
November 4, 2009
San Jose Mercury News, San Jose officials order release of 911 tapes, other records in fatal police shooting of Pham
Last month, a council majority led by Reed narrowly rejected a proposal from a community task force calling for routine release of many police records. Police opposed the idea, arguing it would make witnesses and victims fearful of coming forward. But Reed said the city would consider releasing more records than it has in the past on a case-by-case basis through the Rules Committee, which he chairs. Others on the committee include Vice Mayor Judy Chirco, Councilwoman Nancy Pyle and Councilman Pete Constant, a retired police officer.
November 3, 2009
San Jose Mercury News, Herhold: With Pham tapes, oversight — not privacy — should rule
If you accept the privacy argument in the Pham case, you're saying that it's OK for government to know how people acted in situations of life and death — and how cops respond. But it's not OK for the rest of us to know. That's why the City Council's rules committee meeting at 2 p.m. today at City Hall is so important. The committee members are Mayor Chuck Reed, Judy Chirco, Pete Constant and Nancy Pyle.
October 27, 2009
San Jose Mercury News, Pizarro: Advice for a new father
His colleague on the San Jose City Council, Pete Constant, has earned considerable cred in my book as the father of five young children. One bit of advice he passed along was this: "Once they are older, if you are busy or work a lot, make sure you schedule time to spend with them — just like any other appointment you would make. And keep the appointment; no rescheduling."
October 21, 2009
San Jose Mercury News, Council rejects greater public access to police records
"We're being asked to do something no other city in the state is being asked to do. It's wise to take some advice from people who have sailing experience, and they are saying, 'Don't do it. It's a bad idea.' Constant, a former police officer, echoed that sentiment, saying the worries and fears expressed by at least one victims' rights advocate who spoke at the meeting as well as Santa Clara County District Attorney Dolores Carr and San Jose Police Chief Rob Davis should be taken seriously. Access to more detailed police records can pose unforeseen problems, he said.October 7, 2009
The Metro Fly, iGotta Problem
Everything from graffiti to gang wars, potholes to public nuisances can be reported directly to the city, along with a picture and GPS location, through the new app called CitySourced. Councilman Pete Constant, who now monitors the complaints, is optimistic about the app's potential: "I think it's going to be just a steady flow of information so that we can deal with things without small problems becoming big problems."
October 2, 2009
California Chronicle, City´s Annual Walk to End Domestic Violence Reminds Us: It Can Happen To Anyone
The program will begin at 11:00 a.m. (registration starts at 10:30 a.m.) in the West Plaza area in front of San José City Hall. The program will include a victim´s tribute and remarks by a survivor of domestic violence. Vice Mayor Judy Chirco, Councilmember Nora Campos, and Councilmember Pete Constant, City Manager Debra Figone, and District Attorney Dolores Carr will participate in the program.
Councilmember Pete Constant | 200 East Santa Clara Street, 18th Floor, San Jose, CA 95113 | 408-535-4901 | district1@sanjoseca.gov
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