City of Mayor and Council Offices
1852 Santa Clara
Memorandum
The Center of What's Possible
Date: April 18, 2023
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Executive Assistant to the Mayor and City Council Subject: Moment of Silence / Adjournment for April 18, 2023, Council & Authorities Concurrent Meeting Moment of Silence
Eliyanah Crisostomo
• On April 8, 2023, we lost a young, bright and beautiful member of our Santa Clara community, five-year old Eliyanah Crisostomo.
• Eliyanah was on the way to a restaurant with her family to celebrate her grandmother's birthday.
• She was fatally shot in their vehicle as they traveled along Interstate 880 by suspected gang members.
• Eliyanah was a Kindergartner at Central Park Elementary School in the Santa Clara Unified School District.
• Eliyanah was known as a fun-loving girl with three other siblings who loved life, she was excited to celebrate Easter that weekend and she would have turned six years old on April 21st
• Together, we mourn this senseless and tragic loss of life. • We share in our feelings of grief and sadness with the Crisostomo family, our entire community and with the Santa Clara Unified School District family. • Please join me in a moment of silence in memory of Eliyanah Crisostomo.
Don Von Raesfeld, Sr.
This evening, we will also honor the memory of Don Von Raesfeld, Sr. We are joined by members of the Von Raesfeld family at the Council meeting.
• Don Von Raesfeld, Sr. passed away on Easter Sunday while attending mass at St. Clare's Church at the age of 96.
• Those of us who remember the old Santa Clara will remember Don and the impact he made on the City and the entire Silicon Valley.
POST MEETING MATERIAL
• The name Von Raesfeld holds significant weight in this area, as evident by the Don Von Raesfeld Power Plant and the Von Raesfeld Family Fire Tower at Mission College. • Don made a profound impact on our community. What we see today is a direct result of his tireless devotion to a City he truly loved.
• Don was a visionary; an innovator who was not afraid to challenge the status quo and he played a key role in building partnerships between community, business and local government. In addition to being a small business owner, he spent five decades in public service.
• After graduating from Santa Clara University, he started his career in Public Works before serving as City Manager from 1960-1985. He served a 4-year term on the City Council until 1992
• Don was instrumental in bringing tech to the area, with companies like Intel, National Semiconductor and Applied Materials making Santa Clara their home. • The development of California's Great America, Mission College and the Santa Clara Convention Center were a few of the accomplishments during his term to shape the area. • Like most Bay Area residents, he loved the Niners and helped champion the San Francisco 49ers training camp relocation, eventually leading to the construction of Levi's Stadium. • And he did all this while maintaining a household of 9 children and a slew of grandchildren (35) with his wife, Celine, lovingly by his side until her death in 1997. • He didn't care for technology and hated computers but his thought leadership and commitment to community followed by a greater action helped shape the area. • Don Von Raesfeld, Sr. was considered by many to be the Mission City's greatest City Manager. He was also one of the most influential city managers in Bay Area history.
This evening, we will adjourn the meeting in honor and in the memory of Don Von Raesfeld, Sr. and also in memory of Eliyanah Crisostomo.