With so many different faiths and cultural traditions, this time of year is a feast of celebration. Diwali, India’s festival of lights, started us off in late October. Hanukkah, Christmas, and Kwanzaa have arrived, and the new year is just around the corner.
The holidays are an apt time to reflect on our bounty, as well as give thought to those who are in need – to the good works and kindnesses we can offer, and to what we can do to make the next year an even better one, for all.
This is also a time when many of us stop to reflect on the year past and what we’ve been able to accomplish, setting the stage to pursue important goals in the year ahead.
At the County, 2022 kicked off with redistricting, moving Los Gatos and Monte Sereno from our County’s District One to District Five (the District I represent). I’m delighted to have the opportunity to reengage with these communities, which I represented for a brief time when I was in the California State Legislature. In addition to the North County area, I now represent four of the five West Valley cities (with Saratoga and Cupertino already in District Five), and portions of San Jose.
This year we’ve made lasting progress on issues related to health and safety, affordable housing, food security, land use, education, and recreation — for folks in my district, as well as countywide. I’m grateful once again for the many civic and community partners who made it possible to tackle these, and other issues too big for one person, one group, or one city alone.
Challenges with mental health and addiction affect us all, and pandemic-related stress continued to impact many individuals and families this past year. I’m proud that my office advanced improved access to mental health care on several fronts.
In September, our efforts to provide the County’s first in-patient emergency psychiatric care for children and teens in crisis moved forward in a big way with demolition of a past-its-prime parking structure on the Valley Medical Center Campus. In its place the County will build a new state-of-the art Youth Mental Health Care facility – a dual-purposed site that will also offer a major upgrade in services for adults.
In October the Board of Supervisors unanimously supported my proposal for a pilot program to ensure the “missing middle” has access to mental health treatment. These are residents who earn a bit too much to qualify for government-funded health care like Medi-Cal, but can’t afford to pay for care out of pocket or the high-quality insurance that would fully cover mental health care. The County’s new effort, starting in 2023, adds these services to the County’s existing Primary Care Access Program, and expands eligibility to include residents making up to 650% of the federal poverty level – e.g., $180,375 annually for a family of four.
Additional mental health initiatives from our office that launched or progressed this year with County support:
- An awareness effort to ensure that residents know their “mental health parity” rights, a guarantee under state law that medically necessary treatment for all mental health and substance use disorders gets equal treatment with other health conditions.
- The Mental Health Systems Navigator program to help guide people through the systems find and stay on the right path to treatment.
- A partnership with Momentum for Health and Pacific Clinics on the Trusted Response Urgent Support Team (TRUST) program, to provide community-driven mobile mental health crisis response in North County. The County also expanded its partnership with Pacific Clinics to provide Mobile Crisis Response Team services for young people between 16 and 24 years old.
- An expansion of Youth Community Service’s vital substance use and suicide prevention work in North County.
- In the West Valley, making it easier for kids, the elderly, and low-income residents to access mental health services at a reasonable cost in their own communities — not miles away from home.
- County funding enabled Hope Services in Mountain View to expand its clients’ access to behavioral and psychiatric care in person and through tele-health services.
Mental health, however, was just one issue on our multi-faceted priority list in 2022. Highlights of our work this past year also included:
- Affordable Housing: The Board approved a pilot “teacher housing” project I proposed for the North County, and to pursue development of similar educator workforce housing in the West Valley. In September, the Board also approved my motion to purchase land in Mountain View for the development of a 100-unit affordable housing project; the La Avenida Apartments will have units set aside for individuals and families with special need and homeless veterans. In March, plans moved forward to build a 50-unit affordable housing development for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities on County-owned land in Palo Alto.
- Food Security: The Board continued support for the West Valley Community Services Park-It Market mobile food pantry – what I call a “bookmobile for groceries” that benefits seniors, students, and families who have barriers to transportation. With County support, The Mountain View Whisman School District also continued to provide free meals to children in need throughout the summer while school is out of session.
- Health Care Access: At my request, the Board unanimously approved a long-term lease on the Mountain View-Palo Alto border for the first County primary care clinic in District Five in the County’s 172-year history. To address West Valley health needs, in November, the Foothill-De Anza Community College District Board and the County agreed to pursue development of a medical clinic on De Anza’s Cupertino campus. In March, the County’s newest specialty care clinic and pharmacy, administered in partnership with Planned Parenthood, opened in Mountain View.
- Lehigh Cement Plant Closure: Since returning to the Board of Supervisors in 2013, I’ve pushed for increased oversight at Lehigh’s cement manufacturing and quarry operations, holding the company accountable to environmental regulations and helping the public navigate the thicket of local, state, and federal agencies that have jurisdiction over the 3,510-acre site in unincorporated Cupertino. In November, Lehigh Hanson announced that they will not re-start production at the cement plant, which has been dormant since April 2020.
- MedAssist: To help combat high prescription drug costs, I led the County’s effort to create and launch MedAssist, an essential new program that covers the cost of life-saving medications for qualifying residents who have been diagnosed with diabetes, asthma, and severe allergies. In September, I successfully proposed expanding the program to include all medications for diabetes care.
- Job Training and Opportunities: The Board approved funding for new Metropolitan Education District (MetroEd) programs in health care and electric vehicle repair, which will help prepare even more high school students and adults for college and in-demand technical careers. The Board also supported my funding proposals for: the NOVAworks “Whole Person” employment program, providing individually-tailored resources, support, job preparatory services, and training; and, a partnership between the County, AbilityPath and Ada’s Café to provide adults with developmental disabilities practical onsite employment experience in the food services and hospitality industries.
- Open Space/Recreation: In October, the Board unanimously approved my funding proposal to help the popular and historic Montalvo Arts Center expand its community programs and increase accessibility, particularly for economically challenged families. In June, the Board agreed to fund a portion of Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District's Alpine Trail project, creating an important regional trail connection for cyclists, equestrians, and hikers throughout Santa Clara and San Mateo counties. The Board also approved the purchase of a 47-acre property in my district that will connect Santa Teresa and Calero County Parks.
- Public Health: In September, at my urging, the Board allocated state funds towards the distribution of Narcan – an emergency treatment that can quickly reverse an opioid overdose – to local high schools. In August, the Board also approved my proposal for significant increases in penalties for retailers who illegally sell tobacco products to minors or market illegal tobacco products.
- Public Safety. After pursuing accountability for a pattern of problematic management and scandals involving the County Sheriff’s Office, and raising the call for a no-confidence vote from the Board, I was relieved that longtime Sheriff Laurie Smith declined to run for re-election, and, in October, resigned from office. Days later, a County Civil Court jury found her guilty of willful and corrupt misconduct. With a new sheriff, Bob Jonsen, elected in November, I’m hopeful the Sheriff’s Office can restore trust in our County’s justice services.
- Senior Services: In June, the Board approved my proposal to help fund ADA-related improvements at the Los Gatos-Saratoga Adult Recreation Center, the community’s older adult services and activities hub. The Board also supported my proposals to continue supporting adult day care programs and legal assistance for older adults in the West Valley.
- Transportation Safety. In response to concerns raised by Los Gatos residents, in June the Board extended the 30-mph speed limit on Black Road between Thompson Road and Highway 17 Frontage Road. The Board also approved traffic and pedestrian safety improvements in Almaden Valley and along Foothill Expressway, as well as preventive bridge maintenance projects in the North County and West Valley.
- Wildfire and Emergency Protection: expansion of the Santa Clara County Central Fire Protection District’s Pre-Fire Management and Wildfire Resilience program added a dedicated crew to clear brush and vegetation along evacuation routes, and extended a free “chipping” program that helps individual residents and communities create and maintain defensible space. In addition, the Board unanimously supported my proposal directing County staff to upgrade emergency services for our residents living in the Santa Cruz Mountains’ remote Loma Prieta community.
As I think about the work of 2022, I’m mindful that so many of our efforts at the County comes to fruition over time. For example, we’ll spend the next year developing formal proposals for a health clinic and affordable “teacher housing” on the West side. On so many fronts, we need to do more and we need to do it faster.
There’s much to look forward to in 2023! Many thanks.