County Supervisor and Board Vice President Susan Ellenberg’s Statement on Budget Vote

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   
6/16/2022 3:00pm  

 

"Though I was disappointed my motion to remove the jail from the current budget fell short of three votes, I was not prepared to cast a no vote on today’s budget.

In small part, that is because approval of the budget is not equivalent to approval of a specific bond issuance, but more significantly, because I have a fiduciary responsibility to our 22,000+ employees and to the nearly 2 million residents of this County.

I would not be prepared to suspend our many services, resources and programs, as would be the result if the budget did in fact fail to pass today.

Today’s budget will facilitate a lot of extraordinary work for the FY 23 year: work that will benefit infants, children, families, older adults, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, immigrants, refugees, foster youth, transitional age youth and others. SCC’s progressive policies reach far beyond what County government is mandated to do and I’m proud of our innovative services in many areas.

I will continue to advocate for the prioritization of care first, for mental and behavioral health services, for substance use disorder treatment, and for all who remain underrepresented and underserved. I will insist on accountability for the promises to expand our mental health facilities.

I will continue to champion for children and seek ways to increase public safety for all of us, in every neighborhood, without perpetuating further violence or trauma. I’m here for the work and ready to work with the community, as well as with my esteemed colleagues and County administration. I know we all want to do the right thing." 

 

District 4 includes the cities of Campbell and Santa Clara, the unincorporated pocket of Burbank, and West San Jose. For more information about Supervisor Ellenberg’s office, visit supervisorellenberg.com.     

     
CONTACT   
Michael Norris, [email protected]   
Cell: 669-250-8572