SJSU Political Science Alumni Association

10/10/2026

How San Jose City Council candidates plan to tackle housing affordability. Garrick Percival, professor of political science, said the housing issue is one of the most complex challenges councilmembers will face in the coming term. “How do you build more housing and at the same time protect the cultural and aesthetic elements that people who own housing want to protect?”

While all six candidates support concentrating new housing development along transit corridors, commercial centers, or areas with infrastructure to support more homes, they differ on what kinds of housing should go where and the methods to…

10/03/2026

Angelic Cortez ('10), PhD, is CEO of LEAD Filipino, a national nonprofit organization focused on advancing the civic engagement, health equity, and grassroots action of Filipina/x/o and broader AAPI communities. She is currently also the Bay Area Regional Organizer for the No on Prop 39 campaign (Voter ID).

09/27/2026

Mercury News: Newsom administration proposes removing explorer John C. Frémont’s name from state park, citing his violence against Native Americans
“We are seeing groups that have been dismissed and ignored increasingly acknowledged,” said Larry Gerston professor emeritus of political science. “History is living. What you see now is what you didn’t see before and what you may not see in the future. Traditionalists say we are changing things too fast.” He added, “Are we repaving the past in such a way that we don’t remember the past? The answer to that question is a really difficult thing. It’s issue by issue.” https://us.list-manage.com/18iRYJLY3GF?e=69f8e1e2c7&c2id=56a9f120af20ea4ad62fb5ce730c9297

09/25/2026

Fernando Marquez ('10) has been appointed to the South or Market (SOMA) Advisory Council by San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie. SOMA focuses on housing, transit, economic development, public parks/space services for the area.

09/23/2026

Mark Linder (MPA '94) passed away recently. Mark retired from a distinguished career in city management and as adjunct faculty in SJSU's MPA program. Mark mentored innumerable SJSU MPA students and public employees who will remember him fondly as do his colleagues in local government and at the university. RIP Mark.

09/19/2026

SJSU political science lecturer Donna Crane said students are skeptical of the 5K. She mentioned how students are concerned about AI, but they can’t figure out a path forward without it. “My students think about this as a giant juggernaut that seems unstoppable. If we try to imagine how would we have regulated electricity or the internet. Students have no idea, but they’re very concerned. They’re worried about their job prospects.” She continued, “The only way I see this intersecting is around data centers, which is a fight that is doable for society.”
://www.linkedin.com/in/donna-crane-b46b7226b/

San Jose State Political Science Professor Donna Crane discusses the week's political news - from the GOP midterm convention to AI safety and whether congress will take action to regulate it.

09/19/2026

Mary Currin-Percival, professor of political science, organized a successful SJSU Votes Festival on September 15th. National Voter Registration Day. The deadline to register to vote in California and receive a vote-by-mail ballot is 15 days before the election. For the November 3 General Election, the deadline is October 19. If you miss the voter registration deadline, you can also register to vote in person at the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters’ Office or a vote center using “same-day” voter registration. ://www.linkedin.com/in/mary-currin-percival-b62b25397/

09/11/2026

James Revell ('96) relects on his internship with Rep. Anna Eshoo.

09/06/2026

Gloria Steinem died recently. Alumni will remember that she was a speaker in our Don Edwards Lecture series.

09/05/2026

Robert Sapien, Jr. ('95) is Chief of the San Jose Fire Department.