December 28, 2006

Anti-graffiti and anti-litter volunteers awarded

San Jose considered role model worldwide for graffiti and litter abatement

By Jeanne Carbone Lewis
Staff Writer

Eight years ago Mayor Ron Gonzales set a goal that San Jose would be nearly graffiti- and litter-free. He kept that pledge and at a recent volunteers awards ceremony he thanked the residents whose dedicated service has made the city one of the cleanest large cities in the nation.

“We’re all in this together and I’m not doing more than anyone else. There are lots of other groups and individuals involved,” said volunteer recognition winner Ken Hazen. Left: Leigh Weimers, Hazen, Jan Ochs, Mayor Ron Gonzales and Anti-Graffiti and Anti-Litter volunteer coordinator Rob Boyles. Photos courtesy of San Jose Anti-Litter and Anti-Graffiti Program

“Making San Jose the cleanest big city in America was one of my earliest goals as mayor,” said Gonzales at the Annual Volunteer Recognition event. “When I took office eight years ago, there was far too much graffiti and litter in our city. We needed to make it a top priority, not just by City Hall, but by our residents and businesses, too.”

“You answered the call. Together, we have succeeded in ways I never dreamed of because of our dedicated volunteers, our amazing staff, and tough law enforcement to catch vandals,” added Gonzales.

A cleaner city
The results are impressive. Since 1999, the number of tags [words, symbols and shapes drawn or scratched on buildings, overpasses and poles] found in San Jose was 71,541. In the annual January 2006 survey, there were only 129. In fact, the San Jose Anti-Graffiti and Anti-Litter Program are recognized both nationally and internationally.

Cities across California and the United States as well as Sydney in Australia and Calgary in Canada identify San Jose as the anti-graffiti model often contacting the department inquiring on their successful programs. Reader’s Digest cited San Jose as the cleanest city in America in 2005. FBI crime statistics acknowledged San Jose as the safest city with a population of over 500,000 the same year.

Gonzales made the eradication of graffiti a top priority when he became mayor in 1999 as part of his focus on strengthening San Jose’s neighborhoods. City staff started to remove graffiti in parks within 24 hours of notification and all other graffiti within eight hours of notification. The Anti-Litter Program also enlisted thousands of neighborhood volunteers and public and private partners to assist in the eradication.

Volunteer recognition winner Bud Courtney clutches his award for his outstanding work for eliminating graffiti in San Jose. Left. Cathi Courtney, Bud Courtney and Mayor Ron Gonzales.

The clean city movement gained momentum when Gonzales launched the city’s efforts with the Anti-Litter Program in 2002, building on the already successful Anti-Graffiti Program using the same aggressive cleanup, public education, enforcement, and community partnership. Annual community wide clean-ups have tackled the “100 Hot Spots” with neighborhoods and public agency partners cleaning up litter from freeways, interchanges, creeks and transportation right of ways.

One of the key indicators of San Jose successful Anti-Litter and Anti-Graffiti program is the volunteers. The office has few staff members but with the support of nearly 3,000 anti-litter volunteers and 2,900 anti-graffiti volunteers, the city is now one of the cleanest cities in the world.

“Residents pay taxes to have a certain quality of life,” said San Jose Anti-Graffiti and Anti-Litter volunteer coordinator Rob Boyles, a longtime Almaden resident. “Mayor Gonzales is the person most responsible for making graffiti and litter unacceptable. He never faltered from his commitment and now we’re the model worldwide. And I can’t put a price on how valuable our volunteers are and we want to thank all of them.”

2006 awards
Recognized at the Mayor’s Annual Volunteer Recognition Event for 2006 were Bud Courtney, Ken Hazen, Comcast, Sierra Neighborhood Association and longtime east side volunteers Carl Sangetta and Larry Tilbury.

Volunteer recognition winner Bud Courtney clutches his award for his outstanding work for eliminating graffiti in San Jose. Left. Cathi Courtney, Bud Courtney and Mayor Ron Gonzales.

Bud Courtney lives near Santa Teresa High School and is in his eighth year of cleaning up San Jose. Not only does he volunteer for the Anti-Graffiti program but assists Cal Tran and Transit digitally recording unsightly spaces in area of over 10 square miles starting his days at 5 a.m. several days a week. Courtney is colorblind, so he has created a unique system of 3 X 5 cards to match tag colors that he removes with solvent and then repaints.

“I got tired of looking at it—filthy language near schools, tags around businesses and streets,” said Courtney, 76. “Its better now but it is a never-ending battle. I do the labor and the city provides the supplies. We have too beautiful a city not to help. I’m trying to recruit some new volunteers at the senior center. I need some help.”

Almaden resident Ken Hazen’s clean up efforts started innocently enough. When his four children were young, Hazen and his wife, Gay, would take their four young children to building sites “scavenging for entertainment” and while walking they would always pick up litter on the street. Now, he patrols a large area of Almaden keeping the streets clean.

“Officially, I started helping about four or five years ago,” said Hazen, 70-something. “When I was first started it was a mess but the last two years it has been greatly reduced. We’re all in this together and I’m not doing more than anyone else. There are lots of other groups and individuals involved.”

San Jose residents interested in helping fight litter and graffiti or who want to report problem areas should call the Anti-Graffiti and Anti-Litter Program at (408) 277-3208.