2017 Newsletters

Silicon Valley Institute: Breakdown of local elected officials

Only a third of Silicon Valley elected local officials are women and just 18 percent of registered voters in the region are Republicans, according to a new brief by Joint Venture’s Institute for Regional Studies.

The report, prepared in partnership with GrassrootsLab, shows Democrats hold 72 percent of Silicon Valley local elected offices, compared to 69 percent in the Bay Area and 45 percent statewide.

Read the news release.

Download the report.

More than 200 pack forum with Dutch cycling experts

More than 200 people attended a public forum hosted in May by Joint Venture and the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition to hear from Dutch Cycling Embassy experts how Silicon Valley can model Amsterdam as one of the world’s great biking communities.

The forum at LinkedIn explored what Silicon Valley can learn from the Dutch experience overcoming policy and planning challenges to make it a city with more than 18 million bicycles and 35,000 kilometers of bike paths.

Watch the forum video.

Learn more about the Silicon Valley Bike Vision plan.

San Jose City Council votes for Community Choice Energy

The San Jose City Council, led by San Jose Mayor and Joint Venture co-chair Sam Liccardo, voted unanimously this month to adopt Community Choice Energy for San Jose. A standing ovation greeted the vote for the alternative electricity provider to save money and reduce pollution.

Joint Venture advocated vigorously for the decision through letters, memos, white papers and testimony by CEO Russell Hancock.

Read the Mercury News coverage.

Learn more about San Jose Community Energy.

Melissa Stevenson Diaz is too modest to call herself Wonder Woman or Batgirl, but she credits her success to a super hero back story that led her from California to Maine to Japan and back, and ultimately to her “dream job” as the city manager of Redwood City.

It was her parents, she says, who instilled important values that brought out what others see as her special abilities to run a city of 86,000 in the heart of Silicon Valley.

Read her profile.

Joint Venture’s Witkowski named to international advisory board

David Witkowski, Executive Director of Joint Venture's Civic Technology Initiative, will formally participate in the Connected City Advisory Board (CAB), an international group of municipal leaders, government officials and invited industry experts.

The CCAB, an initiative of the Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA), develops, shares, and promotes thought-leadership and practical frameworks for the social and economic development and sustainable operation of the Connected City ecosystem.

Read the news release.

Learn more about the Connected City Advisory Board.