San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan will give his State of the City address in downtown San Jose on Feb. 7, the day before Super Bowl LX. And that’s not a bad strategy given how much media attention will be focused on the South Bay that weekend.
“I think the kickoff to Super Bowl and the big events of 2026 are the perfect moment to celebrate how far San Jose has come,” Mahan said Wednesday. “When you think about it, San Jose is leading the way in California in a number of ways.”
Without giving much away, Mahan said he plans to talk about some of San Jose’s noteworthy achievements when it comes to homelessness, public safety and its improved relationship with key partners like Santa Clara County, the San Jose Sharks and PG&E.
When Mahan entered office, the city was somewhat at odds with all three — remember when San Jose was going to start its own utility — and these days, everyone’s a lot more chummy. The Sharks re-upped at SAP Center for another quarter century, PG&E is working with the city to open data centers, and if the city and county aren’t always on the same page, they still seem to be using the same book.
As with Mahan’s previous State of the City events, this one includes a service project. Volunteers will spend the morning working on a number of projects downtown, with the potential list including painting the dilapidated former Greyhound Bus station site on Almaden Boulevard and working on the Guadalupe River Park trails.
At noon, everyone will gather at San Pedro Square where Mahan will commandeer the entertainment stage at the San Pedro Superfest for his speech. “I figured we’d save the taxpayers a little money by using the infrastructure that was already set up,” he said.
Mahan said he also plans to talk about how things can still improve in the years ahead, especially when it comes to making housing construction more affordable. He says the situation is like Baumol’s cost disease, with the cost of building things higher than the market can afford.
However, on a weekend when NFL stars, music legends and other celebrities are swarming the South Bay for the big game at Levi’s Stadium, Mahan is smartly choosing to accentuate the city’s positive strides. Especially, if he ultimately decides to spend his spring campaigning for governor.
“San Jose still thinks of itself as a small city, and it gets the short shrift in national news,” he said. “I want our citizens to be proud that San Jose is leading the way. You look around the state, other cities are not making the kind of measurable progress we’re making. We should be proud of that and celebrate it, and we should understand why.”
THE WRITE STUFF: It should be quite a weekend for readers and potential writers in San Jose.
More than a dozen Bay Area writers will be on hand Saturday to talk about their books, their writing process and more at the 13th annual LocalLit Author Fair, presented by the San Jose Public Library and the San Jose State University King Library.
The genres range from historical fiction to poetry to children’s books. The authors taking part include Aimee Phan (“The Lost Queen”), Carmen Salah (“A Love Letter”), David Koehn (“Sur”), Linda Ullesit (“Innocents at Home”) and John Doll, whose novel “St. James Park” is based on his mother’s tales about the lynching and hanging that took place at San Jose’s St. James Park in 1933. The event runs from 2 to 4:30 p.m. in room 225 at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Main Library at 150 E. San Fernando St. Get more details at www.sjlibrary.org/locallit.
And earlier Saturday, award-winning author Jordan Rosenfeld will lead a writing workshop for the South Bay Writers Club at History Park in San Jose. The workshop will focus on developing voice and tone, which just so happens to be the topic of Rosenfeld’s latest book,” The Sound of Story.” The workshop runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and costs $100 ($90 for South Bay Writers Club members), which includes morning coffee, lunch and Rosenfeld’s book. Go to www.southbaywriters.com for details.
MUSIC TO YOUR EARS: Michael Burroughs, director of music at Saint Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Saratoga, believes the combination of pianist Jon Nakamatsu and clarinetist Jon Manasse is priceless. And that’s why the church is requesting donations instead of charging for tickets for the duo’s 7:30 pm. concert Friday night at the church.
“This is truly a special opportunity to see two of the finest, internationally touring concert musicians perform locally,” Burroughs said. “We’re delighted Jon Nakamatsu is returning to play our Imperial Bosendorfer Grand Piano, designed for concert halls, and bringing his duet partner, Jon Manasse with him.”
The suggested donation is $30, and you can get more information at www.st-andrews-saratoga.org.
