Letters from the Public — San Jose City Council, August 11, 2026

Outlook
CC 8-11-26 Item 3.8
From Glenna Howcroft
Date Thu 8/6/2026 4:43 PM
To Agendadesk <[email protected]>
[External Email. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources. Learn morel Dear Mayor and Council,
Please include this request in your packet for 8-11-2026 Please Return Zoom for public access in City Council Meetings, Commissions and Committees.

Thank you for your time,
Glenna Howcroft
D-7 Resident
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Outlook
Re: CC 8-11-26 Item 3.8
From Martha O'Connell
Date Fri 8/7/2026 7:19 AM
To
® 1 attachment (51 KB)
Region Manager Stationary.doc;
Kamei,
Ramirez,
Co en, David
e as, omingo
asey, George
berg
atrick Grimes
[External Email. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources. Learn morel My apologies
Bad eyes
date on my letter wrong
it is 2026 not 2024
see attached correction
If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality. - Desmond Tutu
On Thu, Aug 6, 2026 at 4:13 PM Martha O'Connell wrote:

If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality. - Desmond Tutu
G O L D E N S T A T E M A N U F A C T U R E D – H O M E O W N E R S

L E A G U E

August 6, 2026

TO: Mayor and Council

FROM: Martha O’Connell, GSMOL Regional Manager
Region 1 Zone A-1

RE: CC 8-11-26
Item 3.8

On behalf of the thousands of Mobilehome residents who have been unable to give their input to the Housing and Community Development Commission for years because zoom participation was not allowed, I urge you to approve agenda item 3.8.

As you have heard me say for years, many of our folks have disability, mobility, transportation, childcare, employment, and other issues that prevent them from coming down to City Hall.

From the bottom of my heart, I thank whichever Councilpersons are supporting this much needed and long-awaited expansion of inclusion.

GSMOL Region Manager Region 1 Zone A-1

~SMOl ____ _ www gsmol org 1 (800) 888• 1727
Outlook
CC 8/11/26 Item 3.8
From Donna Sanchez
Date Thu 8/6/2026 9:49 PM
To Agendadesk
[External Email. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources. Learn morel You don't often get email from
To: Mayor And Council
From: Donna Sanchez
Moble Home Park
San Jose CA 95128-4528
RE: CC 8/11/26
Item: 3.8
Learn why this is important
I am visually impaired and hearing impaired and live in Quail Hollow mobile home park. It is not easy for me to get to important meetings regarding our Mobile Homes. First of all I am not able to hear what is going on because of the acoustics of the building.Second of all it is hard for me to get to the meetings because I don't drive because I am visually impaired. third I cannot read the prompters.

Therefore I implore you to please approve agenda item 3.8 regarding Zoom participation in important meetings. Thank you so very much for thinking of us who are physically handicaped, and are unable to get to the meetings.

Sincerely
Donna Sanchez
Sent from Donna's iPhone
Do something every day to glorify the Lord no matter how small it is this will make you happy.

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Outlook
FW: CC 81126 Item 3.8
From City Clerk
Date Fri 8/7/2026 7:23 AM
To Agendadesk
From: Glenna Howcroft
Sent: Thursday, August 6, 2026 4:13 P
To: The Office of Mayor Matt Mahan
Glenna Howcroft
Subject: CC 81126 Item 3.8
[External Email. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources. Learn more) Dear Mayor and Council,
Please include this request in your packet for 8-11-2026 Please Return Zoom for public access in CC Meetings , Commissions and Committes.

Thank you for tyour time,
Glenna Howcroft
D-7 Resident
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Outlook
FW: CC 8-11-26 Item 3.8
From City Clerk
Date Fri 8/7/2026 7:24 AM
To Agendadesk
From: Glenna Howcroft
Sent: Thursday, August 6, 2026 4:23 P
To: The Office of Mayor Matt Mahan
Subject : CC 8-11-26 Item 3.8
[External Email. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources. Learn more) Dear Mayor and Council,
Please include this request in your packet for 8-11-2026 Please Return Zoom for public access in City Council Meetings, Commissions and Committees.

Thank you for your time,
Glenna Howcroft
D-7 Resident
This message is from outside the City email system. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources.

Outloo k
Zoom meetings vote item 3.8 CC 8-11-26
From Daniel Finn
Date Thu 8/6/20 26 4:57 PM
To Agendades
ei, Rosema
mirez, Luca
oh
ien
Fol
ha O'Conn
The Office of Mayor Matt
Campos, Pamela
ordillos, Anthony
Ortiz, Peter
go
orge
[External Email. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources. Learn more] Some people who received this message don't often get email from Learn why this is im12ortant I am the representative for mobile home residents on the HCDC. I am writing only for myself and my constituents not the HCDC. We have been waiting for years for the citizens of San Jose to regain their ability to comment on Zoom on matters that affect them . When the state passed a bill requiring all legislative bodies to resume that ability we all believed that boards and comm issions would again have that ability. It seems now that it is up to the City Council to accept or deny this ability. Please do the right thing and allow the public their ability to express their opinions for these public meetings.

Regards,
Daniel Finn
HCDCMR
Get Outlook for i0S
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Outloo k
Item number 3.8 CC 8-11-26
From Michael Patterson
Date Thu 8/6/2026 5:05 PM
To
n elas, Do
asey, Georg
f Mayor Matt Mahan
os, Pamela
rdillos, Anthony
tiz, Peter
n, Bien
Foley, Pam
[External Email. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources. Learn morel You don't often get email from
Mayor and Council members ,
Learn why this is important
I'm Michael Patterson, a disabled man that lives in
Please vote to approve the return of Zoom, Item Number 3.8.

Thank you,
Michael Patterson
in San Jose.

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Outlook
support for item 3.8, City Council August 11, 2026
From Patrick Grimes
Date Thu 8/6/2026 5:06 PM
To
Cc
Ramirez, Lucas
Cohen, David
1chael
e as, Domingo
asey, George
[External Email. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources. Learn morel You don't often get email from Learn why this is important Dear City Council,
Good government depends on "we the people" being able to inform decision makers about what we need. City Council has a chance to improve city government by approving item 3.8, allowing residents to participate in government meetings online.

It would be nice if everyone who wanted to speak could show up to City Hall in person. Not everyone can. There are many reasons: health and mobility issues, lack of transportation, and schedule conflicts, to name a few. Online participation allows these folks to be heard. Hearing from more people will lead to better decisions.

It's true that some people might be disruptive online, but they could say similar things in person. It's actually easier to handle disruptions online by simply muting the caller and quickly moving on to the next person.

Let's include more people in the decision-making process. Item 3.8 deserves your support.

Sincerely,
Patrick Grimes
Outlook
FW: 8/11/26 Item # 3.8
From City Clerk
Date Fri 8/7/2026 7:28 AM
To Agendadesk
----- Original Message----
From: DON MURDOCH
Sent: Thursday, Auoust 6, 202
To: City Clerk
Subject: 8/11/26 Item# 3.8
[External Email. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources. Learn more< httP.s://aka .ms/LearnAboutSenderldentification >] [You don't often get email from
.b.ttP.s://aka .ms/LearnAboutSenderldentif ication ]
Learn why this is important at
This is regarding item# 3.8 to be heard and voted on, on Tuesday 8/11/26 I am urging you to vote yes and allow Zoom access to the meetings, too many people do not have the ability to attend Council and Commission meetings in person, and allowing free Zoom access will allow all voices to be heard, You represent all the people, Thank you. Don Murdoch.

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Outloo k
FW: ccS/ 11/26 Item 3.8
From City Clerk
Date Fri 8/7/2026 7:28 AM
To Agendadesk
From: Donna Sanchez
Sent: Thursday, August
To: City Clerk
Subject: cc8/11/26 Item 3.8
[External Email. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources. Learn morel You don't often get email from
To: Mayor and Council
From: Donna Sanchez
Home Park
. Learn why this is im12ortant
San Jose CA 95128-4528
RE: CC 8/11/26
Item: 3.8
I am visually impaired and hearing impaired and live in home park. It is not easy for me to get to important meetings regarding our Mobile Homes. First of all I am not able to hear what is going on because of the acoustics of the building.Second of all it is hard for me to get to the meetings because I don't drive because I am visually impaired . third I cannot read the prompters. Therefore I implore you to please approve agenda item 3.8 regarding Zoom participation in important meetings. Thank you so very much for thinking of us who are physically handicaped , and are unable to get to the meetings.

Sincerely
Donna Sanchez
Donna's iPhone
Do something every day to glorify the Lord no matter how small it is this will make you happy.

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Outloo k
CC 8-11-26 Item number 3.8
From
Date Thu 8/6/2026 10:23 PM
To
Cc
f Mayor Matt Mahan
os, Pamela
rdillos, Anthony
tiz, Peter
n, Bien
Foley, Pam
[External Email. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources. Learn morel Dear Mayor and Council Members,
My next birthday is August 18, and I will be the awesome age of 88 years young.

I want to be included in the council meetings, to have a say should I choose to do so. I no longer drive at night to downtown San Jose. This is my birthday present from the Mayor and City Council - the ability to zoom in and participate at the Council Meetings.

Thank you for making this happen. Thank you for considering those of us who cannot get around like we used to, both mobility wise and vision wise. Thank you, Mayor, for being
1 'for the people." I read every one of your emails to us. I like the job you are doing - please continue it by making sure this motion passes at the next meeting.

Thank you,
Marge Lundberg
Dr. 95136
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Outlook
cc 8/11/26 zoom access
From GARY SMITH
Date Fri 8/7/2026 11 :08 AM
To Agendadesk Martha O'connell
[External Email. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources. Learn more l You don't often get email from Learn whY. this is imr2ortant re instate zoom access at city council meetings. Very important this be done.

This message is from outside the City email system. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources.

Outlook
CC 8-11-26 Item number 3.8
From Russell Paige
Date Fri 8/7/2026 12:22 PM
To
Kamei,
Ramirez,
Co en, David
, mmgo
asey, George
[External Email. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources. Learn morel You don't often get email from
Mayor Mahan and City Council,
Learn why this is important
We encourage you to approve Agenda Item 3.8, which will allow zoom participants to provide their input during commission meetings such as the Housing and Community Development Commission.

There are many residents affected by the decisions of the Commissions who are unable to get down to City Hall for meetings and therefore denied the opportunity to voice their feedback on the issues being discussed.

We applaud the proposal that will expand access to the disabled and homebound so they may voice their opinions at the meetings.

Russ and Beth Paige
Lifelong Residents of San Jose
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Outlook
FW: Support for item 3.8
From City Clerk
Date Fri 8/7/2026 1 :54 PM
To Agendadesk
From: Linda Toyota
Sent: Friday, August
To: City Clerk
Subject: Support for item 3.8
[External Email. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources. Learn morel You don't often get email from - - Learn why this is im12ortant I understand you are vo~r to allow public comment to people watching online city council meetings. Please vote yes to support this! Lots of people that are elderly may not be able to physically attend a meeting however they may have a complaint or suggestion that should be heard. At the very least you can read these comments later to see how the public feels about what's being discussed in your meeting.

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Outlook
Agenda Item 3.8 for CC 8-11-26
From Shar Jones
Date Fri 8/7/2026 2:58 PM
To Agendadesk
arnei, Rosemary
Ramirez, Lucas
Cohen, David
u cahy, Michael
Candelas, Dorninao
Casey, George
The Office of Mayor Matt
Campos, Pamela
ordillos, Anthony
Ortiz, Peter
[External Email. Do not open links or attachments fro m untrus ted sources. Learn morel You don't often get email from
Good afternoon,
Learn whY. this is imP-ortant
As a senior in a mobile home park in San Jose, it seems we are continually fighting for fairness.

Many of us have mobility issues and appreciate having Zoom so we can participate in the government proceedings.

Thank you in advance for adding Zoom to counc il meetings.

Sharon Jones
D Virus-free.www.avg.com
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Outlook
Re: support for item 3.8, City Council August 11, 2026 - CORRECTION From Patrick Grimes
Date Fri 8/7/2026 5:26 PM
To
Cc
Ramirez, Lucas
Cohen, David
1chael
e as, Domingo
asey, George
[External Email. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources. Learn more l You don't often get email from Learn why this is important In case it was not clear, my earlier message was in support of allowing residents to participate online in ALL city government meetings, including all City of San Jose Commission meetings.

Sincerely,
Patrick Grimes
On Thu, Aug 6, 2026 at 5:05 PM Patrick Grimes
Dear City Council,
> wrote:

Good government depends on "we the people" being able to inform decision makers about what we need. City Council has a chance to improve city government by approving item 3.8, allowing residents to participate in government meetings online.

It's true that some people might be disrupt ive online, but they could say similar things in person. It's actually easier to handle disruptions online by simply muting the caller and quickly moving on to the next person.

Let's include more people in the decision making process. Item 3.8 deserves your support.

Sincerely,
Patrick Grimes
Sincerely,
Patrick Grimes
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Outlook
FW: Support for item 3.8, city council August 11,2026
From City Clerk
Date Mon 8/10/2026 7:35 AM
To Agendadesk
----- Original Message----
From: Dexter Goody <
Sent: Saturday, Auqust 8,
To: City Clerk
Subject: Support for item 3.8, city council August 11,2026 [External Email. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources. Learn more< htt12s://aka .ms/LearnAboutSenderldentification >] [You don 't often get email from
.b.tt12s://aka .ms/LearnAboutSenderldentification ]
Learn why this is important at
I and feel residents should have the ability to participate in all city government meetings Thank you!
Dexter Goody
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Outlook
FW: Oppose quarterly meeting frequency for SJ advisory commissions - Item 3.8 Council 8/11 From City Clerk
Date Mon 8/10/2026 12:07 PM
To Agendadesk
From: Jordan Moldow
Sent: Monday, August 10,
To: City Clerk
District9
Office of Mayor Matt Mahan
Subject: Oppose quarterly meeting frequency for SJ advisory commissions - Item 3.8 Council 8/11 [External Email. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources. Learn morel Honorable Mayor, Council, and City Clerk,
I request that Council strike the following sentence from the P-rOP-osed additions to Council PolicY. 0-4. In Section Ill, subsection E:
"Commissions shall meet no more frequently than quarterly, unless staff determines that more or less frequent meetings are necessary to fulfill their statutory responsibilities." I'm happy and appreciative for the return of Zoom public comments. I know that multiple advisory commissions, including the committee I chair (BPAC), had asked for that. Most of the other changes proposed by the Clerk for Item 3.8 seem fine to me as well.

But I'm very concerned about the reduction of meeting frequency to (by default) quarterly. Even if our advisory commissions can justify meeting at their current meeting frequency , it's concerning that the burden of proof now falls on the commissions to prove that quarterly meetings are insufficient, as opposed to staff having to justify why more frequent meetings are unnecessary or unsustainable. San Jose already suffers from infrequent public engagement on important topics. Making our commissions have to fight to meet regularly, and adopt bare-bones work plans by default, makes the problem that much worse.

The advisory, non-judicial/non-quasi-judicial advisory commissions cover the topics of Climate, Library & Education, Parks & Recreation, Senior Citizens, Bicycle & Pedestrian, and Youth (and perhaps others I've missed). These areas have a lot of facets to them. Even if their statutory responsibilities may be able to be fulfilled by quarterly meetings, most if not all of these This message is from outside the City email system. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources. commissions will be ineffective at providing advice to Council and Staff if reduced to meeting only four times a year. Most of all, the public will lose out on a valuable source of information and interaction with staff.

By approving that sentence today, you would be disenfranchising an unknown number of advisory commissions, because it isn't known which departments will champion for their commissions to continue meeting regularly, and which will accept this new directive as-is.

I ask Council to remove this change from consideration, while approving the rest of the staff recommendations. If some commissions are meeting more frequently than is valuable, or have too high of a staff burden, that should be addressed individually, with weigh-in from the public and from the commissions in question. It should not be addressed via a devastating change to the default meeting frequency of every commission.

Best,
Jordan Moldow
BPAC Chair (speaking for myself)

Outlook
FW: Use of SB 707 Teleconferencing - Item 3.8 Council 8/11 From Taber, Toni
Date Mon 8/10/2026 5:30 PM
To Agendadesk
I 1 attachment (311 KB)
BPAC Letter to City Council Advocating for Remote Participation signed.pdf; Toni J. Taber, MMC
City Clerk
City of San Jose
200 E Santa Clara Street
San Jose, CA 95113
408-535-1260
The content of this email is confidential and intended for the recipient specified in message only. It is strictly forbidden to share any part of this message with any third party, without a written consent of the sender. If you received this message by mistake, please reply to this message and follow with its deletion, so that we can ensure such a mistake does not occur in the future.

From: Jordan Moldow
Sent: Monday, August 10,
To: City Clerk
Cc: Madou, Ramses Smith, Ryan
Subject: Use of SB 707 Teleconferencing - Item 3.8 Council 8/11 [External Email. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources. Learn morel You don't often get email from Leam why this is important Honorable Mayor, Council, and City Clerk,
District3
In addition to the staff recommendations for Item 3.8 regarding reinstating remote participation for all boards, commissions , and Council Committees, please also approve the use of 54953.8.6(a) of the California Government Code (SB 707 (2025), Durazo), to allow citizen advisory bodies to decide for themselve s, every six months, whether to allow their members to participate remotely.

This message is from outside the City email system. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources.

On behalf of the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee, please see the attached memo, which was adopted at our regular meeting on February 23, 2026 and sent to the City Council; and which was re-adopted at our regular meeting on August 3, 2026 for inclusion in today's agenda item 3.8.

On behalf of myself only:

Participating fully in the public process requires engaging with citizen advisory bodies, and other City public bodies. As we've seen in the written public comments for this item, remote participation is an accessibility necessary for allowing the full population to engage in the meetings.

But that isn't sufficient to ensure equity. Advisory commissions should be able to recruit and appoint any qualified City resident, including those who cannot commit to traveling physically to City Hall regularly due to accessibility, mobility, caretaking, health, employment, and other reasons. The current travel requirements are an unnecessary filter on who can serve on advisory commissions.

SB 707's provision allows for remote participation of any advisory commission members, if (a) approved by Council; and then (b) subsequently approved by the commission itself. The authorization lasts only six months, at which point it can be either renewed or sunset. Remote participation is similar to how remote participation works today under "just cause", except that commission members aren't limited to "just cause", and aren't limited to only use it twice.

This is incredibly useful for marginalized communities who would like representation on a commission, but may have difficulty being there in-person for every regular meeting. And it is useful for everyone who serves, since the occasional situation may arise where you are unable to be present at City Hall in-person, but cannot post an agenda in an alternate public meeting location 72 hours in advance.

The VTA and Caltrain have been using SB 707 successfully with their advisory committees for months now. The members of City Council who sit on those Boards have already voted for those SB 707 resolutions.

My commission, the BPAC, is still invested in holding hybrid meetings where the expectation is to participate in- person if at all possible, but with the flexibility of remote participation when necessary. I hope that Council can grant us that flexibility using SB 707, and also grant the other advisory commissions the flexibility to decide for themselves whether they would also like to do that.

Best,
Jordan Moldow (speaking on my own behalf, except where noted) Chairperson, Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (for identification only)

City of San José
Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee
April 6th, 2025
City of San José
200 E. Santa Clara Street
San Jose, CA 95113
RE: Approve the Use of SB 707 Teleconferencing for BPAC Meetings Dear City of San José,
Pursuant to 54953.8.6(a)(4) of the California Government Code ( SB 707 (2025), Durazo 1 ), the
San José Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC)2 requests approval of the use of a two-way audiovisual platform for conducting our public meetings, and for our fellow citizen advisory bodies to conduct their public meetings, so that we may fully meet our obligations to connect with diverse, underrepresented residents.

BPAC duties include “To help [..] improve bicyclist and pedestrian safety” and “to promote and facilitate community engagement in bicycle and pedestrian issues.” Our target audience are members of the public who value safe active mobility on City streets, whether out of personal preference or because they do not have the ability and means to use automobiles for their daily needs. Given the vast geographic size of our City and the incompleteness of the bike network, many in that target audience face barriers to attending in-person meetings to offer public comments. Yet it is precisely those folks whom we need to engage with the most. At least two of our fellow citizen advisory committees have expressed similar concerns. 3 4 With 54953.8.6(a), advisory body members can also participate remotely. This enhances our flexibility in case of personal emergency, caregiving need, disability, illness, or other reasonable circumstances, without depriving the public of their right to engage with members in-person.

Though 54953.8.6(a) is less restrictive on in-person requirements for citizen advisory bodies, we are committed as a body to meet an in-person quorum at nearly every meeting. As individuals, we are committed to making use of the remote option for just cause or rare circumstances, not for casual use.

Most other cities in our County, and most regional governing bodies (including VTA, MTC, and ABAG) have maintained remote meeting participation since 2020. It is inconsistent with San 1 https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB707 2 The BPAC is a City of San José advisory body with the role of advising the Department of Transportation (DOT) on issues affecting active transportation in San José. Our public meetings are subject to the City’s Sunshine Resolution.
3 Youth Commission: “the decision [..] disproportionately affects youth [..] preventing us from actively engaging in civic discourse.”
https://www.sjpl.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/142/2024/02/Youth-Commission-February-2024-Virtual-Public- Comment.pdf
4 HCDC: https://sanjose.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=12811796&GUID=41DB9C2B-5749-4F39-9A95- B66AFE3931C7
ITYF ~

SANJOSE
CAPITAL OF SILi N VALLEY

SAN JOSE BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Page 2 ends

DATE
Jose's identity as a leader in innovation to offer fewer paiticipation options than our neighboring cities. To promote equitable community engagement among those who lack reliable and safe transit options, we respectfully ask you to revise the City policy5 that eliminated remote meeting paiticipation, and to utilize SB 707 flexibility for advisory committee members and for verbal comments from members of the public. This will ensure the residents we se1ve are not excluded by the ve1y geography and infrastrncture we ai·e working to improve.

Sincerely,
Jordan Moldow, Chairperson
5 https://www .sanjoseca.gov/home /showdocument?id= 1087 61 Outlook
FW: REAL Coalition Letter re Item 3.8, Remote Access for City Committee Meetings From City Clerk
Date Tue 8/11/2026 7:20 AM
To Agendadesk
~ 1 attachme nt (66 KB)
8 10 Item 3.8 Remote Access for Committees Letter.pdf;
From: Shannon Zhang
Sent: Monday, August 10, 2026 4:59 PM
To: The Office of Mayor Matt Mahan ◄
◄
. .
to, Kiyo
guye
ynn
dera,
Gomez, David A
strictl
District4
Fruen, Joseph
Gvatua, Alexander
Moreno, Brisa
ming, Jonathan
Hughes, Scott
Subject: REAL Coalition Letter re Item 3.8, Remote Access for City Committee Meetings [External Email. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources. Learn more] Dear Mayor Mahan, Vice Mayor Foley, and Councilmembers, Please see attached a letter from the REAL Coalition's San Jose Racial Justice Workgroup regarding Item 3.8, Amendments to Council Policy 0-4 and San Jose Municipal Code Title 2.08 related to Boards and Commissions.

We look forward to your discussion on the topic.

Sincerely,
Shannon Zhang I Nonprofit Policy+ Advocacy Associate
Silicon Valley Council of Nonprofits
I Web: svcn.org I Linked In I lnstagram I Facebook
Pronouns: she/her/hers
This message is from outside the City email system. Do not open links or attachments from untrusted sources.

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August 10, 2026

Mayor & City Council
City of San José
200 East Santa Clara Street, 18th Floor
San José, CA 95113
Sent via electronic mail

Dear Mayor Mahan, Vice Mayor Foley, and members of the City Council,

I write to you on behalf of the Race Equity Action Leadership (REAL) Coalition to express support for Item 3.8 on the August 11, 2026 City Council agenda, which would establish remote participation options for committee meetings.

We support and applaud the City for its timely compliance with SB 707, which required remote access options for all local government body meetings. Doing so has allowed people with disabilities, older adults, immunocompromised residents, community members who rely on transit, parents with small children, and many other residents to civically engage in City Council meetings. Remote participation is crucial to ensuring that the San José community is equitably represented in government meetings – and this includes committees. Committees, like Council meetings, rely on equitable representation of the community in order to make informed policy decisions. It is unjust and counterproductive to keep certain community members out when we have the technology that would allow their participation and input.

REAL Coalition stands in solidarity with the mobilehome community in supporting this item. Many mobilehome residents who rely on remote participation channels should not be provided inferior access such as written comment. We urge the Council to vote in support of this item and implement remote public comment for the City’s committee meetings.

Sincerely,

Race Equity Action Leadership (REAL) Coalition
San José Racial Justice Workgroup

About the Racial Equity Action Leadership (REAL) Coalition REAL Coalition is a community of Santa Clara County-based nonprofit leaders and allies has been meeting since June 2020 to use our positional power to advocate for a more racially-just and equitable society; to establish a peer network of leaders committed to fighting white supremacy and systemic racism in ourselves and our institutions; and to hold each other accountable to the promises we made in the Nonprofit Racial Equity Pledge. The REAL coalition is broadly representative of the nonprofit community, including human and community services, behavioral health and health, arts and culture, domestic violence, older adults, food security, education, environmental, farming, legal, disability rights, LGBTQ rights, ethnic, immigrant rights, housing and homelessness, criminal justice reform, urban planning, intermediary organizations, and others. REAL has 50 core nonprofit members, numerous individual members, and hundreds of active participants in the nonprofit community. Silicon Valley Council of Nonprofits and Sacred Heart Community Service are proud co-conveners of REAL Coalition.

San Jose City CouncilAugust 11, 2026

San Jose City Council
August 11, 2026