Public safety.

By David D. Cortese

My plan for the safety of our community.

Similarly, we must seek out the "best practices" found in other communities and implement them here. I have learned first hand that our police must be allowed and encouraged to work closely with our schools on prevention, intervention and enforcement. In turn, I have already established a strong relationship with our SJPD officers who respect me by virtue of working together on these issues for the greater good. I am the only candidate in this race who has been endorsed by the San Jose Firefighters and the San Jose Police Officers Association. Our paramedics, as well as the Retirees Association for these groups support the concept of community policing. Our crime rate is relatively low here in most of District 8, but we are constantly at risk of increasing incidence of youth crime.

Currently we have the lowest rate of firefighters per capita of any major city in America. We cannot accept "shell games" like the recent attempt to shift Willow Glen Firefighters to the new firehouse in Evergreen without any net increase in personnel or equipment. With an increasing population comprised of larger homes being built on smaller lots in increasing numbers we are at greater risk, and we need to fight for our share of emergency resources in every budget year.