Welcome to the Silicon Valley Young Democrats Spring Newsletter!
SVYD SPRING NEWSLETTER
As we leave the first few months of 2025 and reflect on everything this community has accomplished, it’s clear that SVYD members have once again risen to meet the moment. In the face of federal overreach, attacks on immigrant, undocumented, and LGBTQ+ communities, and corporate interests undermining our democracy, SVYD members have shown up — loudly and unapologetically.
We’ve stood on picket lines with workers demanding their employers bargain in good faith. We’ve protested assaults on our rights and demanded accountability from those in power. Our members, endorsed elected officials, supporters, and allies have gone even further: showing up to city council meetings, advocating in the halls of government, seeking appointments to boards and commissions, introducing legislation, and rallying their communities — all during difficult, uncertain times.
This work isn’t just symbolic — it’s strategic. We are not waiting to be the “next generation” of leadership. We are leaders now.
We are building real power: as organizers, elected officials, policy advocates, and grassroots activists. We are taking action where it matters most — in our schools, our city halls, our streets, and our state Capitol. And every time we show up together, we make clear that young people are not only paying attention, we are setting the agenda.
SVYD continues to be a home for young leaders to find their voice, develop their political power, and build a community that has their back. As you read this newsletter, you’ll see how our members are making it happen — and why we need you with us in the fights ahead.
From the President’s Desk
April, May, and June Special Meeting Recap
Here’s a recap of our recent meetings, highlighting key discussions, decisions, and actions taken by SVYD members as we continue building power and advancing progressive change. To stay up to date, including access to full agendas and minutes, visit the Meeting Agendas and Minutes pages on our website.
At our April General Membership Meeting, SVYD members came together for important updates and thoughtful discussion. We dove into new business with a presentation (link) from our Political Director, Kadence Walker, on the San José District 3 City Council Special Election and upcoming runoff. We also held a powerful forum focused on mental health and well-being, creating space for reflection and shared support hosted by Membership Director Ashley Guerrero. Finally, members discussed opportunities for congressional advocacy, including writing letters to representatives about Medicaid and other priorities.
At our May General Membership Meeting, SVYD members gathered for a packed agenda centered on building our leadership and advancing local advocacy. We officially opened nominations for the 2025–2026 Executive Board, with multiple candidates stepping up to lead across key roles. Councilmember Pamela Campos joined us for a presentation and discussion on the housing crisis, providing insights into the state and local response (link). Members also reviewed and nominated state legislation for SVYD to support or oppose, identifying key bills to move forward to our Legislative Committee. We voted to sign onto the Stevens Creek Coalition Letter and reopened our endorsement process for the San José District 3 Special Election Runoff, setting a special meeting for June 2. Members were reminded to turn out for the June 9 public hearing on the San José budget and to plug into Medicaid phone banking efforts.
June Special Meeting
At our June Special Meeting, SVYD members reconvened to vote in the San José District 3 City Council Special Election Runoff. After interviewing both candidates, members engaged in thoughtful discussion before voting to formally endorse Anthony Tordillos. SVYD reaffirmed its support for Anthony, recognizing his alignment with our values and commitment to bold, community-centered leadership.
Closing Out the 2024–2025 Term
As this year’s Executive Board wraps up its term, we want to thank President Jaria Jaug, Vice President Krista De La Torre, Financial Director Ryan Globus, Political Director Kadence Walker, Communications Director Elise Lester, and Membership Director Ashley Guerrero. With your leadership, SVYD achieved powerful victories, grew our membership, and strengthened our impact. Elections for the next board will take place at our June General Meeting!
SVYD at the 2025 California Democratic Party Convention – Anaheim, CA
This year’s CADEM Convention in Anaheim was a powerful reminder of why young Democrats must continue to show up, organize, and demand the future we deserve. Silicon Valley Young Democrats showed up in full force—not just as attendees, but as delegates, proxies, organizers, and leaders pushing for a more inclusive, progressive Democratic Party.
Among the most powerful moments was hearing from Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, who reminded us that small, practical investments—like providing free school meals—can have transformational effects, including dramatically boosting graduation rates. We were also inspired by the words of legendary labor leader Dolores Huerta, who grounded the weekend in the long legacy of organizing, resilience, and solidarity.
For our members, the convention was more than just a gathering—it was a space to build statewide relationships, deepen our political education, and continue our fight for justice from within the party structure. We’re especially proud to celebrate SVYD member Nina Chuang, who was elected as Bay Area Regional Director for the California Young Democrats, further demonstrating the leadership and impact of our membership at every level.
The work doesn’t stop at the convention. SVYD remains committed to organizing for housing, workers’ rights, immigrant justice, LGBTQ+ protections, and a Democratic Party that listens to and represents all of us. When young people show up, we change the narrative!
The Fight for Housing Justice
Written by Elise Lester
Housing is not a luxury — it’s a human right. And yet, in one of the wealthiest regions in the world, thousands of our neighbors remain unhoused, and countless others are one paycheck away from losing the roofs over their heads. The housing crisis in Silicon Valley has been over 45 years in the making, fueled by racist zoning policies, systemic disinvestment, and a political system that often listens more to wealthy homeowners than to working families or young people.
How We Got Here
Redlining and racially restrictive zoning shaped the physical and social geography of our region. In Santa Clara County, single-family zoning entrenched segregation during the postwar boom — and has remained largely unchanged even as the population has diversified and demand for housing has skyrocketed. Local decisions about what gets built and where have been dominated by small but powerful groups resistant to change, often leaving renters, immigrants, young adults, and low-income families without a seat at the table.
Understanding the Housing Continuum
At its core, homelessness is a housing issue — not an individual failure. Santa Clara County’s housing landscape ranges from emergency shelters and motel conversions to deeply affordable, moderate-income, and market-rate housing. The gaps in that continuum, especially in permanent affordable housing, are what leave people stuck.
In 2023, for every one person housed, nearly two became unhoused. This isn’t a personal choice — it’s a structural failure.
Who Is Impacted
Over 44% of county residents are renters. Nearly half of them are rent-burdened, meaning they spend more than 30% of their income on housing. One in five renters spends more than 50%. 85% of extremely low-income renters are on fixed incomes or working low-wage jobs. And of those who are unhoused in Santa Clara County, 85% were living here before losing housing. These are our neighbors, our classmates, our coworkers — not strangers, not outsiders.
What Does This Mean for Solutions?
We cannot police our way out of a housing crisis. The idea that shelter refusal should result in arrest is not only ineffective — it’s inhumane. Temporary shelter, while necessary in crisis moments, is not a substitute for long-term, affordable housing. Framing jail as a viable alternative to housing does nothing to address the root cause: a severe lack of homes people can actually afford.
San José’s recent budget decisions reflect these tensions. What began as the “Responsibility to Shelter” ordinance was ultimately passed as an updated “Code of Conduct for Encampments,” which includes language stating unhoused residents have a “responsibility” to accept shelter. The budget also includes the creation of a Neighborhood Quality of Life Unit within SJPD, a potentially troubling move that risks increased surveillance, harassment, and criminalization of unhoused people. Additionally, two ordinances passed around trespassing and “vanlording” may be weaponized against unhoused residents, compounding their precarity.
Why We Must Defend Measure E
Measure E, passed by San José voters in 2020, was meant to fund deeply affordable, permanent housing solutions. It generates around $50–60 million a year — money voters intended to go toward getting people off the streets and into homes for good. But now, those funds are being eyed for expensive, temporary shelter options that offer no long-term path to stability. This shift not only undermines the measure’s original purpose — it delays real progress.
The math doesn’t lie:
- 13 shovel-ready affordable housing projects are stalled due to a lack of funding
- Shelter construction could cost taxpayers $92 million by 2030
- Every dollar invested in homelessness prevention yields $2.47 in community benefits
- Rapid rehousing costs one-third as much as transitional housing or emergency shelters
A Vision for Real Housing Justice
We need to stay committed to a framework that works:
- Production of deeply affordable and supportive housing
- Preservation of existing affordable homes
- Protection of tenants and unhoused residents from displacement and criminalization
We also need trauma-informed, culturally competent housing and services that are accessible to people of all backgrounds and needs — including seniors, immigrants, families, disabled residents, and LGBTQ+ individuals.
San José is one of the most diverse cities in the country. It should also be one of the most inclusive and affordable — a place where everyone can live with dignity and safety. That can’t happen unless we continue to fight — together — for policies that build homes, not walls.
The Fight is Ongoing
The Silicon Valley Young Democrats remain committed to advocating for long-term, community-driven housing solutions. We will continue to speak out against policies that criminalize poverty and redirect resources away from what actually works. Housing justice is racial justice. It is economic justice. It is immigrant justice. And it is youth justice.
We’ve seen the costs of inaction. We know what the solutions are. Now, we must continue to organize and demand them.
Pride Is Protest. Showing Up Is the Assignment.
Written by Cristian Munoz
When the glitter fades and the Pride merch goes on clearance—what’s left?
Pride isn’t just a party. It’s resistance in motion. It’s showing up when the world tries to push us back. It’s reading a protest sign that makes you laugh and feel seen. It’s declaring: We are here. The Gays. The Theys. The Dolls. All of us and we’re not going anywhere.
Pride is how we signal to that kid in a small town; Rejected, othered, scapegoated—that they are not alone. It’s not just about celebration. It’s about maintenance and survival. Because equality is not guaranteed, democracy is not promised, and queerness has always been on the front lines.
Being a young Democrat in 2025 doesn’t mean having all the answers, it means showing up. To anything that sparks your curiosity or care. We’re isolated, flooded with bad news, and hungry for connection. So show up. With presence. With purpose. With love.
But that’s just the beginning.
Our role isn’t to play it safe. It’s to mobilize and organize.
We can’t enjoy the privileges of democracy while ignoring the cracks in its foundation.
Rome once fell. America is not invincible. That’s not hyperbole, it’s the reality we’re facing.
We are seeing a surge in political activism. Let’s build on that momentum. AOC recently said in Foslom, CA; “I am coming to you as a bartender, now congresswoman telling you, that the impossible IS possible.” That gave the crowd chills. That moment shows us what collective hope looks like. We stay in this fight because we believe in future generations. Whether we were at the Fight Oligarchy Tour or at SJ City Hall demanding change. We want to be able to say: We showed up when it counted with Pride.
Where We Go From Here
As we reflect on the work we’ve done over the past few months — in the streets, at city council meetings, on picket lines, in protests, and in community spaces across Silicon Valley — one thing is clear: we are showing up. Our generation is not waiting for permission to lead. We are not waiting to become “the next generation of leaders.” We are the leaders. Right now.
We keep organizing. We keep telling the truth. We keep showing up for each other — because solidarity is our strongest tool. We continue building the kind of power that isn’t dependent on wealth or access but rooted in values, relationships, and people. We continue finding ways to take up space in the institutions that make decisions about our lives. And yes — we run for office.
SVYD encourages young progressives to take every opportunity to learn the skills it takes to run — and win. Whether it’s applying to serve on a commission, learning how to fundraise, managing a campaign, or simply understanding the nuts and bolts of local government, these are the tools we need to build lasting change. Real power is built when we organize strategically and step into the rooms where decisions are made — from school boards and city councils to water districts and the State Capitol.
We also commit to keeping each other informed. This newsletter exists because information is power, and disinformation thrives when people feel disconnected or disillusioned. In an era of chaos, censorship, and manipulation, telling the truth boldly and consistently is an act of resistance. That includes highlighting key state legislation, lifting up local campaigns, and sharing tools that help us take action.
And most importantly, we continue to stand together. That means showing up not just when it’s easy, but especially when it’s hard. When rights are on the line. When public comment stretches late into the night. When victories feel far away. We remember that we’re not in this alone. We fight smarter, and we fight together.
Thank you for Reading!
As always, here are photos from this quarter where we showed up, stood in our power, shared joy, and came together in community through every challenge and every moment of solidarity.
