Advocacy Positions
The Members of the Silicon Valley Central Chamber (SVC Chamber) take pride in making a difference in the halls of government. This is OUR community. We WORK here - yes. But, we also LIVE here. And, PLAY here. Every businessperson, especially managers and executives, eventually come to the understanding, that...
Just because you are not interested in politics...
Doesn't mean politics isn't interested in you.
(especially your wallet)
ADVOCACY (meaning: taking political positions on issues that affect business aka "fighting city hall") is a big part of the SVC Chamber. It is not the only dimension of why Members join, but it is the first word we all use to describe what we do at the SVC Chamber.
After all, we...
ADVOCATE. EDUCATE. CONNECT.
THE BUSINESS CHAMBER & CVB
IN SILICON VALLEY
We advocate mostly with the City Councils in the various cities of Silicon Valley. We also are very active in County politics, advocating in Santa Clara County, Alameda County, and San Mateo County. On occasion we will make our loud voice heard in Sacramento at the California State Legislature and/or the Governor's office. And, rarer still, we may even wade into national politics, advocating with Congress.
The following are the Advocacy Positions we have taken over the last several years.
2023:
2022:
12.02.22
Strongly urge the San Jose City Council to hold a ’special election’ to fill the District 8 and 10 vacant council seats thereby allowing citizens to elect their representatives on the highest governmental body of the 10th largest city in America. View Letter Here.
11.11.22
Support City of San Jose Downtown Residential High-Rise Program and staff recommendations which further define the downtown as a metropolitan center and increase residential housing options. View Letter Here.
10.04.22
Support the South San Francisco Bay Shoreline Phase I Project which is currently under construction but at risk of not being completed. Phase I of the Shoreline Project will reduce coastal flood risk for 2,220 residents along Route 236 by protecting up to 2.6 feet of sea level rise. Also protected will be the Silicon Valley Wastewater Facility that serves 1.5 million people encompassing nearly the entire Santa Clara County population. View Letter Here. View Letter Here.
07.12.22
The Silicon Valley Central Chamber of Commerce opposes any dramatic increase in the Business License Tax, such as the nearly 700% increase that is being proposed. Similarly, we oppose any harmful tax on small and medium-sized businesses. View Letter Here.
OFFICIAL ARGUMENTS ON HEAD TAX BALLOT PROPOSITION (November 8, 2022 Election):
City of Santa Clara's Argument in Favor of Head Tax (Measure H).
SVC Chamber's Argument Against Head Tax (Measure H).
City of Santa Clara's Rebuttal to SVC Chamber's Argument Against.
SVC Chamber's Rebuttal to City of Santa Clara Argument in Favor.
SVC Chamber in the News on this Issue:
08.24.22 Santa Clara Head Tax Arguments: Local Businesses and Restaurants Oppose Increase.
07.13.22 San Jose Spotlight: Will Santa Clara City Voters Approve a Headcount Tax for Businesses.
07.13.22 Silicon Valley Voice: Santa Clara City Council Business Tax Increase Set for November Ballot.
07.06.22 Silicon Valley Voice: Proposed Business Tax Measure Not ‘Business Friendly,’ Council Says.
07.05.22 San Jose Spotlight: UPDATE: Santa Clara Delays Putting Business Tax Before Voters.
06.21.22 Santa Clara News: Silicon Valley Central Chamber of Commerce Opposes Santa Clara Employer Head Tax.
06.21.22 San Jose Spotlight: Silicon Valley Business Group Opposes Proposed Headcount Tax.
06.10.22
Oppose CA Assembly Bill 257 which creates an unelected bureaucratic "Fast-Food Sector Council" that would regulate, increase prices, over-burden, and create barriers to entry in the restaurant industry. View Letter Here.
05.13.22
Support Related Santa Clara in Public Works Case No. 2020-014 by supporting not classifying this Public-Private Partnership (PPP) as a public works project thereby making it subject to California Prevailing Wage Law which would increase expenses significantly and cost jobs. View Letter Here.
04.06.22
Support Seamless Transit through Senate Bill 917 to bring the 27 different transit operators in the Bay Area together to improve coordination and integration across all rider-focused issues. View Letter Here.
01.14.22
Reject Socialized Medicine as proposed in Assembly Bill (AB) 1400 and Assembly Constitution Amendment (ACA) 101 which would destroy the California Healthcare system. There is never a good time to overtax income, lose jobs, and withhold services only to deliver a poor product that will slow recovery, cause pain, and retract advancement. But, during a pandemic is certainly not the time. View Letter Here.
2021:
12.13.21
Oppose City of San Jose Council Amendment to lower 21-2574 Project Labor Agreement threshold from $3M to $1M which would discourage subcontractors and small emerging businesses from bidding thereby removing opportunities for essential local skilled workers and apprentices of diverse backgrounds to miss out on work in their own backyard. View Letter Here.
12.10.21
Support the Pacheco Reservoir Expansion Project with the CA Water Commission to bolster water supply, emergency water, and solve raw water quality issues as voted on by the CA voters when they approved Proposition 1 in 2014. View Letter Here.
11.12.21
Encourage & Motivate CA Governor Newsom to take steps to correct the Supply Chain Crisis by providing him eight specific actions he can take immediately as California receives 40% of the nation’s imports making our ports and transit infrastructure critical to the long-term health of not just our business community here, but the business community nationwide. View Letter Here.
11.02.21
Reject the Yellow Unity Map at Santa Clara County for elected representation which would adversely affect Gilroy, San Martin, Morgan Hill, Los Gatos, and Almaden Valley by lumping them in with the dense population of San Jose instead of other more rural areas.
11.01.21
Support Santa Clara County using federal ARPA funds to provide $10M or more in small business grants to make them whole for the sacrifice that was asked of them by the government during one of their hardest years on record.
09.02.21
Support inclusion of $100M in the state budget for the Electrification Project to modernize the corridor from San Francisco to San Jose and replace diesel trains with electric trains and also laying the foundation for the future expansion of Caltrain. View Letter Here.
08.02.21
Oppose Mask and Vaccine Mandates by Santa Clara County which place small and medium-sized businesses at a distinct disadvantage and require them to act as the enforcement arm of the county. View Letter Here.
07.21.21
Support Bid for Levi’s® Stadium to be a 2026 FIFA World Cup™ Host Venue. Speak publicly on support when news becomes press-worth in November 2021.
06.28.21
Encouraged Gavilan College Trustees to adopt inclusive Measure X Project Labor Agreement language to give all skilled and trained workers prevailing wage opportunities and to maximize bond dollars for the benefit of the students. View Letter Here.
05.24.21
Officially request Santa Clara County Department of Health and Solicitor to extend vaccine mandate tracking requirement of businesses by 15 days to allow for better dissemination in a county with over 100 spoken languages. View Letter Here.
05.20.21
Work with Santa Clara County Department of Health and Solicitor to clarify numerous items of the June 1, 2021 vaccine mandate tracking required of employers; namely, related to HIPPA violations.
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- How often must businesses record the tracking of their employees?
- How, exactly, do businesses document the private medical information they discover about their employees?
- How must this information be stored?
- Who in the company may have access?
- Can small businesses opt out?
- How long is this employee tracking requirement in place? When does it expire?
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04.20.21
Oppose CA Assembly Bill 257 which will devastate the restaurant/franchise businesses throughout California by creating new costly regulations, independent from any elected official's oversight, that would regulate, increase prices, over-burden, and create barriers to entry in the restaurant industry. View Letter Here.
04.15.21
Co-Host Small Business Town Hall with US Congressman Ro Khanna and CA Assemblymember Alex Lee to assist small businesses with Pandemic Relief loans, grants, and services.
02.03.21
Rally for Small Businesses in Santa Clara County to suspend permitting fees during the pandemic and recovery to allow the local economy to build back and more jobs to be restored.
01.22.21
Oppose Santa Clara County's so-called “Hero Pay” Ordinance to force grocery stores, pharmacies, and drugstores to increase wages by $5.00/hour, which would eliminate jobs, drastically raise prices on the consumer, and lengthen lines/wait times thus increasing COVID-19 spread.