Matthew is a true son of San José who grew up in our community, attended our local public schools, graduated from San José State and is now raising his own two children with his wife A’Dreana right here in our district. Matthew is the former president of the San Jose Downtown Residents Association who has been a proven champion for stronger neighborhoods throughout our district – working for more affordable housing, to link our communities to better transit, to fight for cleaner neighborhoods and bring high-wage jobs and economic opportunity to every community.
Matthew was the campaign manager for Matt Mahan’s Revolution of Common Sense in 2022 and joined Matt at City Hall to continue the fight for common sense, working as Mayor Mahan’s champion for neighborhood concerns.
As that champion, Matthew saw with his own eyes – the fight for common sense needs to work faster. Our neighborhoods – particularly our neighborhoods in District 3 – can’t keep waiting for safer streets, an end to street homelessness, more affordable housing and for the high-wage jobs that help families get ahead.
Matthew knows we need to put politics aside and put our residents first, starting with focusing on the Cornerstones of Common Sense – a comprehensive approach to ending street homelessness, safety, creating housing our families can afford and jobs that pay living wages so we can keep up with rising costs.
Our plan is to build enough safe and decent shelter to bring everyone indoors and require that everyone comes indoors. We will focus on preventing homelessness, which costs so much less than re-housing people once they become homeless. We will require accountability from our service providers and ask homeless people also to be held accountable by being good neighbors, accepting housing, accepting treatment if they need it and accepting jobs that help them work their way off the streets. And most of all – we will fight for a Fair Share Plan so that every district, every city and every county in California is required to do their fair share on homelessness.
Starting with more police in our neighborhoods, but it doesn’t end there – it continues with a focus on surrounding our kids with the help they need to stay on the right track and stay in school. Matthew will work to expand proven technologies, like license plate readers, that help stop sideshows and deter people coming to San José to commit crimes like retail theft. As a strong proponent of Proposition 36, Matthew will fight to ensure that it is implemented quickly and fairly by the County. This law requires people who are committing crimes because of their addiction to be held accountable and get treatment.
Starting with a plan to bring at least 10,000 new homes and apartments along our transit corridors, including downtown San José, so we can spark a renaissance for our downtown core while putting housing where it makes the most sense, not where it will create traffic congestion for long-time residents.
Matthew will fight to make San José the most small-business friendly city in America.
Cutting the time it takes to get permits, making sure our neighborhood business corridors are safe, clean and free of all encampments, and making sure San José is “buying local” so our small businesses – and all businesses – are helping lift even more families into the middle class and keep them there.