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MINUTES OF THE
JOINT MEETING OF THE RULES AND OPEN GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE AND
COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE
SAN JOSÉ, CALIFORNIA WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2026
The Committee meeting was held in the Council Chambers and convened at 2:00 p.m.
Present: Councilmembers - Cohen, Kamei, Foley, Doan, Candelas.
Absent: Councilmembers - None.
Staff: Lee Wilcox, Assistant City Manager, City Manager’s Office; Kevin Fisher, Assistant City Attorney, City Attorney’s Office; Joy Rodriguez, Assistant City Clerk, City Clerk’s Office; Rachelle Blattman, Senior Executive Analyst, City Manager’s Office; and Daniel Aguilar, Deputy City Clerk, City Clerk’s Office.
A. City Council (City Clerk)
1. Review June 2, 2026 Final Agenda
a) Add New Items to Final Agenda
b) Assign "Time Certain" to Agenda Items (if needed)
c) Review of Notice of Waiver Requirements for Agenda Items or Documents (if needed) Public Comment: Brian Darby offered public comment.
Action: Upon motion by Vice Mayor Pam Foley, seconded by Councilmember Rosemary Kamei, and carried unanimously, the Committee approved the final agenda for the City Council meeting on June 2, 2026, including the add sheet. (5-0-0)
2. Review June 9, 2026 Draft Agenda
a) Add New Items to Draft Agenda
b) Assign "Time Certain" to Agenda Items (if needed)
c) Review of Notice of Waiver Requirements for Agenda Items or Documents (if needed) Public Comment: None provided.
Action: Upon motion by Councilmember Domingo Candelas, seconded by Vice Mayor Pam Foley, and carried unanimously, the Committee approved the draft agenda for the City Council meeting on June 9, 2026. (5-0-0)
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B. Consent Calendar
Public Comment: None provided.
Action: Upon motion by Councilmember Domingo Candelas, seconded by Vice Mayor Pam Foley, and carried unanimously, the Consent Calendar was approved as a whole, with the following actions taken as indicated. (5-0-0)
1. Approval of the Juneteenth 2026 Flag Raising Sponsored by the Office of Mayor Matt Mahan as a City Council Sponsored Special Event to Expend City Funds and Accept Donations of Materials and Services for the Event. (Mayor)
1. Approve the Juneteenth 2026 Flag Raising scheduled on June 7, 2026 as a City Council sponsored Special Event and approve the expenditure of funds.
2. Approve and accept donations from various individuals, businesses or community groups to support the event.
3. Place the item on the June 2, 2026 City Council Agenda for action.
Action: The Juneteenth 2026 Flag Raising, sponsored by the Mayor’s Office, was approved for placement on the June 2, 2026 City Council agenda for action. (5-0-0)
2. Retroactive Approval of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) Expansion Flag Raising Sponsored by Council District 9 as a City Council Sponsored Special Event to Expend City Funds and Accept Donations of Materials and Services for the Event. (Foley)
1. Retroactively approve the PWHL Expansion Flag Raising scheduled on May 19, 2026 as a City Council sponsored Special Event and approve the expenditure of funds.
2. Retroactively approve and accept donations from various individuals, businesses or community groups to support the event.
3. Place the item on the June 9, 2026 City Council Agenda for action.
Action: The Professional Women's Hockey League expansion flag raising, sponsored by Council District 9, was approved for placement on the June 9, 2026 City Council agenda for action. (5-0-0)
C. Rules Committee Reviews, Recommendations and Approvals
1. Ranked Choice Voting for Vacancies. (Cohen, Kamei, Mulcahy, and Tordillos)
Place on the November 2026 Ballot a measure to institute amending the City Charter to allow the option for the City Council to choose to utilize Ranked Choice Voting in the case of special elections to fill vacancies in Mayoral and City Council races.
Councilmember David Cohen introduced the item, bringing forward the recommendation as outlined in the May 27, 2026 joint memorandum co-authored by Councilmember David Cohen, Councilmember Rosemary Kamei, Councilmember Michael Mulcahy, and Councilmember Anthony Tordillos.
Public Comment: Gabby Chavez-Lopez, Tom Charron, Vickie Mueller Olvera, and Jordan Moldow offered public comment.
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Kevin Fisher, Assistant City Attorney, City Attorney’s Office, announced that a Workload Analysis is not necessary, as work for the item has already been conducted by the City Attorney’s Office; and if the item is approved by the Rules and Open Government Committee, the draft resolution and charter measure would advance to the City Council on June 23, 2026.
Action: Upon motion by Councilmember Vice Mayor Pam Foley, seconded by Councilmember Rosemary Kamei, and carried unanimously, the item regarding ranked choice voting for vacancies was approved to be heard by the full City Council on June 23, 2026 with a proposed draft resolution and charter measure. (5-0-0)
2. Data Center Uniform Standards. (Mayor, Candelas, Cohen, and Ortiz)
Direct the City Manager to:
1. Establish a set of uniform standards and best practices for data center projects in the City of San José. These standards should build upon existing local and state environmental regulations and help mitigate potential impacts related to:
a. Energy consumption and energy sourcing;
b. Water usage, including strategies to reduce reliance on potable water through recycled water infrastructure, closed-loop systems, or other efficient technologies; c. Air quality, backup power generators; and
d. Other environmental factors, including greenhouse gas emissions, noise, and water quality protections.
e. The standards should also outline a clear and consistent process for community notification and engagement for new data center projects, building upon existing City outreach policies and processes (City Council Policy 6-30).
2. Support statewide legislation like Senate Bill 887 that supports local jurisdictions in creating cleaner infrastructure for data center development, including but not limited to recycled water/purple pipe infrastructure, cleaner energy, transmission infrastructure, with the goals of lowering environmental impacts, protecting ratepayers, and expanding access to economic opportunities.
Councilmember Domingo Candelas introduced the item, bringing forward the recommendations as outlined in the May 19, 2026 joint memorandum co-authored by Mayor Matt Mahan, Councilmember Domingo Candelas, Councilmember David Cohen, and Councilmember Peter Ortiz.
Public Comment: Brian Darby, Vanessa Tapia, Dash Leeds, Will Smith, Jordan Moldow, Emmanual Zendejas, Doug Bloch, Chris Paup, and one anonymous speaker offered public comment.
Action: Upon motion by Councilmember Domingo Candelas, seconded by Vice Mayor Pam Foley, and carried unanimously, the item regarding data center uniform standards was approved to return to the Rules and Open Government Committee on June 10, 2026 and the City Manager’s office was directed to submit a Workload Analysis for the item. (5-0-0)
D. Open Forum
1. Brian Darby proposed that the City formally acknowledge public comments and emails to help residents feel that their input has an impact.
2. Jordan Moldow discussed proposed changes to the state’s cap-and-trade program which could reduce funding for transit and affordable housing; and also advocated for remote public participation options and longer public comment speaking times.
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E. Adjournment
Chair David Cohen adjourned the Committee meeting at 2:45 p.m.
Minutes Recorded, Prepared, and Respectfully Submitted by,
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Daniel Aguilar
Deputy City Clerk, City of San José
Approved at Council on:
Number of actions: 5
Attest by:
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Toni J. Taber, MMC
City Clerk, City of San José