Two years ago I was the campaign manager for Matt Mahan’s successful campaign for Mayor.

We called it a “Revolution of Common Sense,” and that’s exactly what it became. Tens of thousands of voters stood up to the status quo and fought for change – and we won.

When we launched our campaign, victory seemed improbable. Virtually the entire political

establishment in Santa Clara County was aligned with Matt’s opponent. But we discovered something powerful in the course of this effort. We learned that when we focused on listening to our neighbors we built a bond of common purpose that was much more powerful than the last-minute onslaught of attack ads. Voters came to understand that there was so much we could do to improve our city when we worked together.

But the challenge we face now is how to make sure our voices are still being heard. Yes, we have the opportunity to use our votes to elect back-to-basics leaders. But between the votes we take every two years for city leaders are hundreds of votes at the City Council and thousands of decisions that are made by city staff that can make or break our Revolution of Common Sense.

After Matt’s overwhelming re-election in March, a few of our veterans of the Revolution of Common Sense got together to talk about how we can support a back-to-basics agenda for San José in the years ahead. While Matt’s margin of victory is a clear mandate for a vision of a city that works better for all of us – we know we can’t rest. And that’s why we are launching a new community group dedicated to making sure the Revolution of Common Sense continues and grows – which we are calling Back to Basics.

During our campaign we heard time and again that our neighbors wanted a city that worked – a safer city, a cleaner city, a city that can create high-wage jobs and opportunities for more people, and most of all a city that can bring everyone indoors.

This is not always what you hear at City Hall – which can be an echo chamber for those with the time and resources to lobby, testify, and on occasion – simply shout.

If you watch these City Council sessions, you would think it is controversial to prioritize bringing our homeless residents indoors. You might even think it is controversial to expand our police department or focus on balancing budgets by growing our tax base, rather than simply increasing taxes.

The truth is both polls and recent election results show that the people of San José want our leaders to focus on the basics – and get the foundational job of government done with greater efficiency and accountability.

That’s why we are organizing Back to Basics – to help create an informed electorate that is empowered to advocate effectively for better government.

We will start by training residents on how they can engage to make their voices heard on important issues. We will work to curate, commission, and share important research on what works, and doesn’t work, when it comes to government and other programs that we are funding with our tax dollars. Certainly, we want to keep bringing residents together so they can share ideas, learn from each other, and build the kind of social capital that strengthens our communities.

But most of all we want to be the place where common-sense voters can participate in shaping the direction of our city. A place where we understand that the people of San José have so much more in common than the news and social media would lead us to think. Our city doesn’t need to be “us” versus “them” fighting the same old political battles. We will be so much stronger when we unite as “we” and move forward together – starting with getting San José City Hall back to basics.

Adrian Rafizadeh was Mayor Matt Mahan’s first campaign manager in his 2022 election.