San Jose�����������s Office of Racial Equity presents annual report; director to retire

Solma Maciel, director of the City Manager's Office of Racial Equity, presented the offices annual report and asked the Public Safety Finance and Strategic Support Committee to accept its findings and next steps; the committee voted unanimously to accept the report.

Maciel said the offices work follows a three-pronged approach—racial and social equity, disability accessibility, and inclusion and belonging—and emphasized embedding equity into city operations. "This work reflects a growing commitment across departments to embed equity in how we serve residents every day," she said, and acknowledged council support for continued funding and implementation.

Mia Hernandez highlighted numerical outcomes: more than 700 employees trained across the city, 24 departments with active racial and social equity action plans, and 236 action-plan items completed. Hernandez said the office engaged more than 800 community members in the general-plan outreach process.

Sheila Sanchez described disability-access work and the successful implementation of the five-year Welcoming San Jose plan 3.0; the city retained a 4-star Certified Welcoming rating after meeting 80 certification criteria with 37 stakeholders. Staff asked the committee to accept the annual report and noted plans to continue training, expand inclusion practices and build a disability-affairs strategic framework.

Maciel announced this was her final council-committee meeting and thanked staff and council for their support. Councilmembers thanked Maciel for her service and moved to accept the annual report by unanimous vote.