Like his late father who was a mailman, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan said it’s time to “deliver” solutions in America’s 10th largest city – starting with the overflowing trash that’s plagued San Jose streets. During his nearly two-hour inauguration Wednesday, San Jose’s 66th mayor focused on three key areas City Hall needs to fix: blight, homelessness and public safety.
Drawing roaring cheers from the crowd, Mahan zeroed in on people who dump trash and debris in San Jose. He said the city’s code enforcement department has a 22% vacancy rate while juggling a backlog of 4,000 trash-related complaints. “Actions must have consequences – it is unacceptable for one person’s negligence to burden the entire community,” Mahan told a crowd of more than 2,000 gathered at the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts.
In addition to filling those vacancies, Mahan plans to improve the city’s 311 app – which allows residents to report blight and dump sites – to ensure they receive a photo of the cleaned-up area once it’s done. He also invited residents to scan a code on their phones to volunteer for a series of trash pickup days – starting with District 7 this weekend. Mahan also created a new “neighborhood outreach” team in his office to aid beautification efforts and wants to expand programs that pay homeless people to pick up trash.