Happy New Year! I hope your holidays were spent with loved ones and filled with laughter and good cheer. I certainly enjoyed spending more time with my wife and children. Looking ahead, there will be many challenges as well as opportunities as we kick-off 2009. Two challenges that we will face are our City's budget and how we handle the local impact of the State’s budget crisis and the fall-out from the recent decision to halt State infrastructure funding. To take a closer look at how the infrastructure funding freeze will affect us at the local level, please click here.

The community-based budgeting process for the next fiscal year (2009-2010) will begin this month; you may get the opportunity to participate in the process. For a third year, the City has asked Fairbanks, Maslin, Maullin & Associates (FMMA), a public opinion research company, to conduct a telephone public opinion survey about issues that interest and affect San José residents. FMMA representatives will contact random households throughout the city. We would like to know your opinion of City services, funding priorities, and whether you support or oppose various revenue generating or budget cutting strategies. I ask that you be receptive to these calls, if convenient, and encourage you to be honest in your responses. This is a great opportunity for you to have your voice heard and opinion counted.

Mayor Reed will be addressing our budget issues as well as other issues facing our city at the annual State of the City Community Breakfast. This event will be held on Wednesday, January 14, 2009 and you can find out more about the event by clicking here.

The new year is often seen as a new beginning - a fresh start. Each year, it is customary for the mayor to make adjustments to our committee assignments, and if you click here, you can read about my roles and responsibilities for the upcoming year.

I am looking forward to the start of my second year on the council - forging ahead on issues and projects that I started last year, moving forward aggressively on balancing the budget and focusing on fiscal responsibility, and continuing to look for ways to improve our public safety. There is a lot of work to be done especially in the face of such difficult economic times. I am ready to tackle these issues and look forward to the challenge.

Your Neighbor,

P.S. I will continue to hold my community office hours in the district and plan to be at the West Valley Library on Wednesday, January 7, and the Cypress Senior Center on Thursday, January 15. For specific hours and future dates throughout the year, please click here.

PETE IN THE NEWS

December 10, 2008
Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal, San Jose council OKs $6M for San Pedro Square, expanded affordable housing
An expansion of minimum affordable housing requirements to cover all new construction in the city passed on a 9-2 vote, with Pete Constant and Pierluigi Oliverio opposed. Until now the policy only applied to redevelopment zones in the city.

December 2, 2008
San Jose Mercury News, Latest effort to fill San Jose City Hall retail space moves forward
The 9-2 vote on the retail space, with Pete Constant and Pierluigi Oliverio opposed, came after Constant's motion to drop a "labor peace" provision was defeated. That provision, which would require any tenant of the space to "assure that no labor dispute or unrest will occur," has been blamed over the years for stalling previous deals for the 6,200-square-foot space along South Fourth Street.

December 1, 2008
San Jose Mercury News, Third try for San Jose City Hall retail space
Councilman Pete Constant on Monday said he wasn't convinced the new proposal will do enough to bring in bidders - You can't keep doing the same thing over and over again and getting the same result," he said. "What is the cost of inaction? That's the question we need to be asking ourselves."

November 19, 2008
The Metro Fly, SJDA Prez Wants Police Board
The council's pro-labor union majority supports issues dear to police union members who do not want citizens reviewing their activities. And three members of the non-union aligned council bloc include former SJPD officer Pete Constant, ex-prosecutor Sam Liccardo and a former military man, Mayor Chuck Reed.

Councilmember Pete Constant
District 1, City of San José
200 East Santa Clara Street,
18th Floor
San José, CA 95113
Telephone: (408) 535-4901
Fax: (408) 292-6448
Pete.Constant@sanjoseca.gov
www.sjdistrict1.com

Inside this Issue:

• Pete's Message
• Infrastructure Funding Freeze
• 2009 Community Breakfast
• Committee Assignments

Helpful Links for D1 Residents:

• Pete's Calendar
• Council Agenda
• Live and Archived Council Meetings
• District 1 Map
• Photos of District 1 Events
• District 1 Neighborhood Groups
• Pete and District 1 in the News
• Parks in District 1
• District 1 Staff
• Review permits in San José

Service Providers for D1 Residents:

Connecting to your government:

• Mayor and Council
• San José Charter
• San José Municipal Code
• San José Boards and Commissions
• Santa Clara County
• Registrar of Voters
• Guide to Government
• State of California
• U.S. Government

Important Phone Numbers:

Questions?
If you have any questions about the District 1 E- Newsletter, please contact our office at District1@sanjoseca.gov or call (408) 535-4901

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