Guest View

Every year I notice some legislators seeking community engagement by requesting ideas for new laws. This year I hope a bold lawmaker produces a program called, “There Ought to be a Law…Repealed!”  The 2018 law, known as the Safe Sidewalk Vending Act, signed into law...

To my council colleagues, city staff and the public, I am very excited to be a part of the many changes coming to Gilroy this year. I will continue to bring the views of my constituents to these meetings, as well as my own.  We...

Where do you spend most of your time...in fear or faith? You have a “natural” faith of things: awakening each morning knowing the sun will shine or putting your foot on the brake trusting the car will stop. You have faith when you board...

Anyone driving through the cities and unincorporated areas of southern Santa Clara County will immediately notice its diverse and vibrant landscape. For many, the area evokes memories of the region’s rich agricultural heritage.  However, South County's location and topography also make it particularly vulnerable to...

In California’s fight against homelessness, the Governor just announced a $12 billion plan to end homelessness in five years. Combine that with Santa Clara County’s 5-Year Plan to End Homelessness and one might think we are making progress. But it seems the more money...

Spring is an uplifting time to rejoice and watch how the “garden” grows. A true time of renaissance. During Downtown Gilroy’s Art Walk, I had the pleasure of seeing how the seeds of my teaching years blossomed. Like climbing roses with the right support coupled...

For the past four years I have participated at some level with California State legislative bills, first as an advocate and now as an elected official. I have spent hours listening, reading legislative files, all while writing letters of support and testifying myself. That...

Gilroy Garlic. Over the years, the words have become so synonymous it is hard to think of one without the other. Growing up in Gilroy, as a member of the third generation of a “garlic family,” the association of this identity has become part...

What would make Gilroy an even better place to live? It’s not billboards, especially not huge electronic ones. But the City is considering changes in our ordinance which would allow them. The Mitigated Negative Declaration should be denied because it claims that our environment won’t...

President Joe Biden is right. The massive tax cuts under the Trump administration turned out to be nothing more than a giant giveaway to the world’s largest corporations.  Mega corporations like FedEx, Nike, General Motors, Ford, Chevron and dozens of others have paid nothing or...