The San Jose creative sector is hosting a mayoral forum from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, August 31 at La Plaza. The forum, co-hosted by the School of Arts and Culture at MHP, Silicon Valley African Film Festival, MACLA, San Jose Jazz, and San Jose Taiko, will ask a series of questions to Santa Clara County Supervisor Cindy Chavez and San Jose City Councilmember Matt Mahan, both whom have advanced into the November runoff election.
This unique forum will focus on issues that directly affect the arts and culture communities in San Jose. Unlike other forums or debates, this event will allow Mahan and Chavez to let the community know where they fall on issues affecting artists, creatives, culture bearers, and the arts and culture sector as a whole. The forum also looks to build a bridge with our future mayor and our diverse constituents and communities. We invite everyone to learn more about how each of the candidates will leverage the power of the arts and cultural sector to make a better San Jose. Members of the public will also have the opportunity to ask both mayoral candidates questions through a brief Q&A session. This forum will be moderated by Chike Nwoffiah, founder and executive director of Silicon Valley African Film Festival and recent recipient of San Jose’s Cornerstone of the Arts Award.
This is an indoors event and masks are highly encouraged, but not required. Complimentary snacks and beverages will be served in the Theater Lobby.
Residents took to the polls on June 7 for San Jose’s mayoral election. “The first round of results showed Chavez with about 40% of votes, compared to Mahan's 32%. Third-place finisher Dev Davis, also a city councilmember, trailed Mahan by some 22 points,” according to KQED.
About the candidates:
As a mother and former Vice Mayor, Cindy Chavez has the values and experience to take on the toughest challenges facing San Jose families. As County Supervisor, she championed affordable housing by authoring Measure A – 4,400 new affordable homes are now built or in the pipeline. Working with non-profits, they relocated over 14,000 homeless people off the streets and into safe housing. We can end family homelessness by 2025.
Chavez is running for Mayor to improve the quality of life. Working with police officers and communities, we can make San Jose the safest big city in America. She’ll tackle the affordable housing crisis, homelessness, rising crime, climate change and inequality with passion and experience.
Matt Mahan is a new member of our city council who comes from the business world, where he founded and grew companies dedicated to empowering neighborhoods and communities and holding government accountable. He built tools millions of Americans are using to demand radical transparency from their elected officials and to hold them accountable at the ballot box.
In 2020 he ran successfully for city council — pledging to give government “a wake-up call.” After Matt took office he saw just how bad the problem really is. Matt saw how all too often our government doesn’t work for us, it works for itself — with little accountability, built in inefficiencies and almost no incentive to do better. Matt’s campaign — our campaign — is about requiring accountability, efficiency and innovation. It is about demanding common sense.