San Jose Council Candidates Unite on Affordability

0:00It's April 21st, from your city to your ears. This is California News Today, powered by AI. Candidates in San Jose's District 5 City Council race hit the stage at a forum this week, laying out plans to tackle the city's big affordability. Crunch. Three contenders showed up and come in Peter Ortiz, former council member and assemblywoman Nora Campos, and journalist Vi Deng. They all push for more affordable housing, cheaper child care, and better support for immigrants, with the June 2nd primary just weeks away. The event, hosted by local nonprofits, showed these candidates mostly on the same page, backing the city's progressive side, despite it being a minority-on-counsel. Ortiz touted his three years pushing tenet protections and fighting housing-fund shifts. Campos slammed his record, saying E-San Jose feels less safe now than when she left office years back. Deng leaned on her news anchor background to highlight struggles of working families in this diverse district, where 40% of voters are, Latino and 38% Asian.

1:04The area around alum rock has great local spots, but long battles with underinvestment. They united on key stuff like redirecting measure e-fans back to permanent affordable homes, skipping arrests for homeless folks who turned down, shelter, and boosting legal aid for immigrants and renters facing eviction. Campos bragged about building 3,000 affordable units in her past role, facing a projected $56 million budget hole, all agreed on cutting waste and consultants first to keep services intact. With voters tuning in close to election day, district 5's picking from solid progressive options aiming to lift up the east side.