Photograph by Jeff Kearns
Healing Effort: Board of Supervisors Chair Jim Beall said during his State of the County address Jan. 31 that he wants the community to discuss how best to destigmatize mental illness.
City Beat
Beall offers a plan for housing in the county
Supervisor unveils 'Housing Action Plan' in State of the County speech
By Erin Mayes
Last year's State of the County address was titled, "Be Responsive, Be accountable, make a difference." Former board chairman Don Gage gave the optimistic speech during an unprecedented economic boom.
The main problem Gage covered in his speech was traffic, which seems now to pale in comparison to this year's power crisis and plummeting stock market.
Chairman Jim Beall's State of the County address on Jan. 31, was titled "Affordability, Prevention, Spirit."
In a reassuring tone, Beall acknowledged the "crisis of affordability" in the Bay Area, noting that the median-priced home in Santa Clara County is affordable to only 16 percent of the residents. He then announced the creation of a countywide housing action plan.
"Together we must do what it takes to build more homes while preserving the quality of life we all want," Beall said.
He proposed looking at ways that the county's surplus property could be used to build more houses and also establish a revolving land trust.
Beall also concentrated on the energy crisis, mentioning that low-income seniors and families are being forced to choose between food or paying their energy bills. He said the board of supervisors should create an energy task force, which he's asked supervisors Pete McHugh and Liz Kniss to head up.
"Our county now has more than 157 buildings," Beall said. "We could figure out how to conserve power in all of our county buildings, hopefully, at least 10 percent."
The audience applauded after he said the county needs to look at ways of providing long-term energy, perhaps by generating its own.
Other goals Beall mentioned were making sure all children in the county have health insurance and implementing Proposition 36, which requires drug treatment for convicted drug users.
As far as personal commitments, Beall said he wants the community to discuss how to remove stigmas that are placed on people who have mental illnesses.
"We need to reconsider how we think of this group of people by also supporting their courageous healing efforts," Beall said.
Lastly, he voiced concern about the county workforce. Beall said the county isn't the only one that's suffering, that many businesses in Silicon Valley are also facing a shortage of workers. As a solution, he said workers who are committed to public service should be rewarded with special treatment. In addition, he said the county should try to make careers in public service attractive to young people by expanding its internship and scholarship programs.
Beall represents the county's District 4, which includes the cities of Campbell, Santa Clara and parts of West San Jose.
Beall acknowledged his counselor and former professor from San Jose State University, Terry Christensen, during his speech.
"I thought [the speech] hit on a lot of very important things," Christensen said.
He said Beall has done a great job of mentoring interns, adding that he was astonished to learn that there are more than 3,400 vacant positions in the county, which Beall had mentioned in his address.
Willow Glen, California Since 1992
