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Friends & Neighbors - 

First, we want to thank you for being one of our newsletter contacts. Connecting with you is important for us to fully serve you and Santa Clara County - especially with so much going on in our community, our nation, and the world.

We affirm the right to women’s reproductive and health care rights. The unexpected draft to reverse Roe v Wade & Planned Parenthood v Casey from the U.S. Supreme Court has rattled our nation at a time when we need unity and stability more than ever. With unforeseen timing, at our last Board of Supervisors meeting we affirmed the County’s support for women with funding for Planned Parenthood and their full array of primary care services to ensure we are a welcome and safe community for anyone in need of care or support. I joined seventy other Santa Clara County elected officials as signatories on a letter to Governor Newsom to support reproductive and abortion rights in California.

GUN BUYBACK EVENT - May 22 - Milpitas
We are hosting a Gun Buyback Event with the Santa Clara County District Attorney and the Milpitas Police Department on May 22 from 9 am – 1 pm at the Milpitas Community Center.

Gun violence is a complex issue that sadly does not have an easy solution - and is on the rise. While we work to address the roots of hate, anger, instability, and sadness that drive so much of this violence - we also want to take actions to get guns out of the community. We would like to thank the Milpitas Beat for sharing my editorial about addressing gun safety.

Please help us share information about this event on Facebook, Twitter, or forward this email. Gun violence is the leading cause of death for our children, let’s help get unwanted firearms out of our community. Click HERE to learn more - information available in Tiếng Việt   |   Español   |   中文   |   English.

IN MEMORIAM
Since we last connected we lost two major community leaders - Fmr. U.S. Secretary of Transportation Norman Y. Mineta, and Tháng Do. Click HERE to read more about our recognition for Santa Clara County legend and our dear friend, Norm Mineta, and click HERE for San José Spotlight's reflection on Tháng Do's contributions to our community. We are working with our colleagues to recognize Norman and Tháng at our next meeting. We express our deepest condolences and thoughts to both of their families and loved ones.
UKRAINE & REFUGEE RESOURCES
While international affairs continue to be a major focus of our attention and disruption of our lives, ABC7 shared my story about my recent international travel where I was able to visit refugee centers in Poland. This was not the first time I faced the impacts of war, but this time I was a civilian witness. I offered help and learned about the situation so we can find ways to help here in Santa Clara County. I’m thankful our community has been dedicated to supporting refugees. Click HERE to learn more about you can help Ukrainian families or refugees in Santa Clara County.
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COVID UPDATES
Since mask requirements have changed, our community is being more active in-person with many events returning for the first time since 2019. While we’re feeling more comfortable and gathering together again, this pandemic is not over. We need to continue our layered approach - masks, vaccines, testing, and mindful hygiene practices - because cases continue to rise and we need to continue our diligence to address this pandemic.

We would like to thank our health care workers and officials that ran our successful mobile vaccine program - MoVax. We recently held our last MoVax event in Milpitas. Vaccines and booster shots are still available every day at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds and other sites across the community. Visit SCCFreeVax.org for more information.
While we are currently preparing to review the FY 2022-2023 County Budget, we have several important updates from our recent Board of Supervisors meetings. Our May 3rd meeting provided a key update on our efforts to address mental health and substance abuse services for our community.
My joint motion with Supervisor Ellenberg is an effort to look at our behavioral health system as a whole and reimagine how Santa Clara County moves forward with infrastructure, service delivery, and collaboration with behavioral health partners and other key stakeholders.

We are requesting Administration report back on August 30, 2022, to the Board with establishing a charter to be more inclusive of behavioral health partners and other key stakeholders, using SMART objectives to guide long-term change, creating a workplan to phase in planned behavioral health system redesign, and an update on addressing the workforce shortage. Right now is a great time for these conversations as May 2022 is Mental Health Awareness Month.

We welcome any feedback from the D3 community and encourage your participation through public comment during the budget workshops on May 16, May 17 and May 18, each beginning at 1:30pm, and the budget hearings on June 13, 14, and 16.

We also had a discussion about wildfire prevention and water usage - and how we need to enact more water conservation measures - especially as California is facing severe drought conditions. Click HERE to learn more about how you can help conserve water.

Also at our May 3rd meeting we recognized May 2022 as Asian American Pacific Islander Month & Jewish American Heritage Month. These cultural recognitions are an important part of celebrating the diversity of Santa Clara County.

At our April 19 meeting, we received several updates about carceral reform and our custodial facilities in Santa Clara County. We are making progress on expanding mental health services and alternatives to incarceration. Reform is not always a swift process, but the report we received from staff shows that we are moving forward on this major issue. I look forward to our next update on this issue and having the Board's continued concerns addressed.

Our next Board meeting is May 24.
D3 Community Roundtable - Meeting May 19
Our next meeting of the District 3 Community Roundtable, D3CRT, is online on Thursday, May 19, 2022 at 7 pm. We will be joined by friends for a discussion about the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds. We would like to thank our guests from the District Attorney’s Office for joining us last month to talk about gun safety and our upcoming buyback event. Click HERE to view April’s meeting or sign-up to join our D3CRT meetings.
AROUND THE COMMUNITY

D3 attended several events to celebrate Earth Month. The D3 Team joined the City of Milpitas for their Earth Day event and Bay Area leaders for the South SF Bay Shoreline Project Phase I ground breaking in Alviso. I also joined Our City Forest to plant more than twenty trees in East San José - and special thanks to my daughter Aubri for helping plant new trees. We must take action every day to mitigate the impacts of climate change and care for our planet. Click HERE to learn more about what is happening in Santa Clara County to protect our environment and resources to help you make a difference at home.
I joined Supervisor Ellenberg at the Santa Clara County Parks Volunteer Recognition Luncheon at Hellyer Park. The biggest of thanks to our Parks staff and our amazing for keeping Santa Clara County parks beautiful, safe, and fun!

We also joined our Vietnamese community for several Black April events across Santa Clara County. During this time of reflection and healing, we also hold hope for the future. Click HERE to read more about Black April and the Fall of Saigon, including our video message.
My wife, Sally Wu and Deputy Chief of Staff Mark Tiernan attended the groundbreaking for new apartments on Delmas Avenue in San José.

The D3 Team was at the Berryessa Arts Festival at Penitencia Creek Park in San José on May 7th. It was great to join our community for this event.
My office was honored to celebrate the opening of the Peace, Love, Unity Children/Youth Art Contest at the County Government Center. The art work by local students was incredibly moving and we hope you will get a chance to see this exhibit running until the end of the month. Click HERE to watch video from the event. This exhibit was made possible through the mini-grant program I championed in response to the rise of hate incidents and racism.

Thanks again for staying connected with us, contact us anytime. 
 
Warm regards,



Supervisor Otto Lee
Santa Clara County District 3
Supervisor.Lee@bos.sccgov.org
SupervisorLee.org
UPCOMING COMMUNITY EVENTS & IMPORTANT RESOURCES
National River Cleanup Day - May 21
From 9 am to Noon on Saturday May 21 join the community cleaning up our rivers. Register for your own self-guided cleanup site to clean up and report your data on your own time or connect with a local group. Learn more at https://cleanacreek.org/. More than 900 volunteers cleaned up more than 75,000 lbs of trash last year in the Bay Area!

BAY AREA OLDER ADULTS
Henry Coe Tramping on May 25 from 9:30 AM to 1 PM
A Henry Coe docent will teach the history and nature of the park durin a walk along a creekbed with late Spring wildflowers. Visit the endlessly peaceful and vibrant fish pond where you may find endangered pond turtles, newts, hummingbirds, quail, jays and woodpeckers. Please register by visiting https://www.bayareaolderadults.org/bao-hikes and look for Hike 8. If you have questions, please contact Bay Area Older Adults by phone 408-774-0593 or email share@bayareaolderadults.org.
Community Meeting - Affordable Housing Development in D3!
Thursday, May 26 from 6:00 to 7:30 pm, join us online via Zoom to discuss an affordable housing development at 525 North Capitol Avenue in San Jose. The meeting will share design details and invite community members to ask questions of the development team and share their support or concerns about the project - interpretation services available. See included flyers for the event in English/Spanish/Vietnamese/Mandarin - register at bit.ly/525CommMtgEN.
Community Feedback - Womanhood
Womanhood and the SCC Office of Woman's Policy are excited to announce their latest outreach and mapping campaign. They are asking community members who live, work, play, and visit the region to provide feedback from home by pinning their feedback and ideas to specific locations on Womanhood’s interactive map.
- How would you like to see Santa Clara County women recognized?
- Where would you like to see women recognized?
- Who are the past and present-day women or groups who should be recognized through this project?
Participants can provide their answers anonymously via text and/or leave a voicemail in English or in their own language to the campaign SMS.
Milpitas Incentive Corner - Save Money & Conserve Resources
Explore appliance and landscape upgrades that will help you save money, reduce emissions, and save water! Click HERE to learn more.
California Primary Election - June 7, 2022
We would like to extend our appreciation to the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters, ROV, and their outstanding volunteers for their work. Ballots for the June Primary are arriving at our homes and early voting has started!

Please note that due to redistricting changes that your ballot may look different and you may now be voting in new districts. Click HERE to "Look Up Your District" and other voter information resources from our ROV.
CLICK HERE for VACCINATION SITES and RESOURCES
Available in English, Español, 中文, Tiếng Việt & Tagalog.
Did you or someone you know lose your vaccination card?
- Click HERE - California Digital COVID-19 Vaccine Record Link -
COUNTY SUPERVISOR OTTO WEBSITE - SupervisorLee.org
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