Do you remember your 8th grade graduation? I do. I graduated from Hoover Middle School in 1984 at the Municipal Rose Garden Park in the historic Rose Garden neighborhood. I remember the day perfectly. I wore my best collared shirt with slacks and sported a “bowl-style” haircut.  The sun was shining, the smell of roses lingered in the air, and the freshly-mowed grass was dark green. I remember walking through the pristine gardens with the girl whom I had a crush on. Students and parents took family photos in the gardens with the colorful roses as a natural backdrop.

That was 23 years ago.  Things have changed.

On my twelfth day as councilmember, I met with city staff and 18 Rose Garden residents to do a walkthrough of the Rose Garden Park.  Instead of the pristine, well-kept, fragrant park that I remembered, it felt and looked more like one of those movies where residents abandon an area after a major disaster.  I saw weeds that were taller than the rosebushes, crabgrass growing in empty rose beds, and bathrooms you would not want your children to use.

Rose Garden Park also hosted our sister city from Japan ten years ago.  The delegation from Japan is returning at the end of the month but they will not be visiting the park this time.  The Rose Garden neighbors are ashamed of the state of the park and feel embarrassed to bring our guests there.

Rose Garden Park is not alone.  Newly-built Cahill Park off The Alameda and many other parks throughout San Jose are not receiving the care that they deserve. Budget cuts are only part of the problem.  The bigger issue is that San Jose is not being creative in adopting new ideas to solve these problems.  When I was campaigning—not that long ago—I proposed the idea of a pilot program to outsource maintenance for some of our neighborhood parks. The residents that I talked to—Democrats, Republicans, Independents and others—agreed that such a pilot program for some of San Jose’s parks was a good idea.

The residents of San Jose want their neighborhood parks back, as they justly deserve.  Let’s put our pride aside. The city can’t do it all anymore and it’s time to quit thinking it can.  It’s time to be creative and solve problems.  Let’s consider outsourcing park maintenance so that the students graduating at Rose Garden Park this year won’t trip over weeds.

The City of San Jose Via a Web Browser

If elected, constituent service will be my top priority.

For the past twelve years, I have worked in the private sector high-tech industry.  Based on my experience, web browser technology is an excellent communication tool that can be implemented into the way the City of San Jose does business. By implementing a web-based solution to the District 6 office, I will be able to enhance constituent services and, within a year, have empirical evidence describing specific outcomes by tracking constituent issues in real time.

I will install the technology during the first couple of weeks taking office.  After installation, D-6 constituents will be able to go to the D-6 website where there will be an icon labeled “constituent service.”  Once the constituent clicks on the icon, they will be prompted to a form. The form will ask for contact information and the issue. Once the constituent finishes inputting their data they will submit their form.

From here, the submittal will be forwarded to one of my staff members.  An e-mail will then be sent to the constituent within 24 hours confirming the receipt with a login number. This number can then be used to track the issue like a Fed Ex number is used to track a package.

At anytime of the day or night, the constituent will be able to go to the D-6 website and input the number assigned to their issue and see the status of their issue.  For example, let’s say Mr. Duran submits a claim at 9:00 a.m. on a Monday morning regarding graffiti on his building on Minnesota Avenue.  The next day, Mr. Duran decides to look up the status on his issue.  Mr. Duran goes to the website and inputs his number.  From there, he would see that Jane, my staff person, sent his issue to Code Enforcement and they will be sending someone out to paint over the graffiti within 48 hours.  Status delivered and problem solved.

The beauty of the web browser is that anytime—24/7—constituents, my staff and/or myself will be able to look up the status of an issue.  The web browser allows for transparency in constituent issues and holds everyone accountable.  It will not make issues get resolved faster; it will, however, make sure that communication with staff and the community is open and transparent so that the constituent has a one stop shop.

In addition to constituent service, the web browser will allow me to measure what specific issues are being brought to the attention of the D-6 office.  For example, if my office receives 3,000 calls within 12 months, 2,500 of them regarding street repair, I can show Mayor Reed and other councilmembers the empirical evidence of the constituent needs in D-6.  I can then back up my claims on why I think certain departments should be funded based on actual need.

I look forward to implementing this technology and the possibility of having other city councilmembers joining me.

Pierluigi Oliverio is a candidate to represent District 6 on the San Jose City Council. The election is March 6.