Earlier this year, there was a celebration at Milpitas City Hall to mark the 70th anniversary of the city’s incorporation.
The celebration continued yesterday at the State of the City address, which was delivered by Mayor Carmen Montano in Council Chambers.
The theme of the night, “Bridging our Past and Future,” was a nod to Milpitas’ rich cultural legacy, which is rooted in historic landmarks and agricultural growth.
Mayor Montano spoke of how she, her parents, and her 6 siblings moved to Milpitas from the Central Valley in 1964.
“I have witnessed firsthand the growths, the challenges, and the triumphs that have shaped our city to what it is today,” said Montano.
Mayor Montano also spent time sharing the City’s recent achievements with the audience:
- $1.1 million in AARPA funds were put into improving 8 city parks. An additional $3.5 million was put toward upgrades for 13 city parks.
- $773,341 was funneled toward the local housing allocation program to incentivize affordable housing projects.
- A workforce housing rental assistance program was launched to support 50 extremely low-income Milpitas households and workers with rental assistance.
- Milpitas SMART – the affordable, on-demand transit service – now averages 800 riders per week. It was recently recognized by the American Public Transportation Association and California Association of Public Information Officials for excellence in marketing and public information.
- Businesses including Corsair Gaming, BD Biosciences, Tarana Wireless, SMTC Manufacturing, and Amazon all relocated their operations to Milpitas and created new job opportunities in the community.
- As part of a rezoning plan, an Innovation District was created near the Great Mall, measuring 75 acres. The area is envisioned as a dynamic job center and creative hub, complete with social gathering spaces, research areas, and proximity to public transit.
- In April 2024, the City launched a police department transparency portal, an online platform that gives the public a way of looking into police operations, policies, and community engagement activities.
Mayor Montano also spoke of the Council’s intention to continue focusing on revitalizing Main Street, stating that the arts would play an important role in the area’s enhancement.
Mayor Montano announced the launch of two surveys: the Join the Conversation survey and the Public Arts Master Plan Engagement survey. She encouraged all residents to share their thoughts by participating in both.
“As we close, it is with a grateful heart to serve you as your mayor. Together, let us embrace the next chapter of our city’s story. A new chapter of prosperity, preserving our history, and protecting our community,” Mayor Montano said.
While I appreciate all that the Council and staff have accomplished, I am concerned about the future if Mayor Montano is re-elected. We have seen at the national level the effects of a President of low moral character when 4 years were wasted while Trump did everything he could to enrich himself at the expense of us all.
Here in Milpitas, there is strong evidence that former Mayor Tran bribed Mayor Camen Montano and Councilmember Barbadillo. We’ve known about the bribery charge since May ’23 when City Manager Steve McHarris filed a claim against the city. In December 2023, McHarris went further by filing a lawsuit (http://bit.ly/3UjCwZG) claiming that former-Mayor Tran had offered a bribe to candidates running for Council including Carmen Montano and Gary Barbadillo. Tran offered his active campaign endorsement in exchange for the candidate’s commitment, if elected, to remove McHarris as their first order of business. Shortly after taking office, Montano and Barbadillo were joined by Chua in firing McHarris who was well-regarded by people working with him. None of the 3 provided any explanation for their action which violated the City’s contract with McHarris. The Mayor then helped delay a resolution of this case until after the upcoming election – a stalling tactic that Trump is very skilled at.
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Candidates for Mayor this year are the honorable Hon Lien (who turned down the bribe), and the apparent bribee (Montano). We the People replaced a corrupt loser in 2020 with Joe Biden; let’s flex our democratic muscle again by replacing Montano with Hon Lien.