The Power of the Neighborhood Voice

It was a dead body found in a neighborhood park that motivated one group of Campbell and San Jose residents to take action.

They formed the Hamann Park Neighborhood Association almost three years ago and haven't looked back.

"Our neighborhood has the same issues that other neighborhoods have, like cars being broken into, but this got our attention right away," says Glen Lynch, Hamann Park Neighborhood Association co-president. "So we went down the neighborhood association path and tried to figure out what our neighborhood wanted."

Hamann Park is one of only three neighborhood associations recognized by the city of Campbell. The other two include the Downtown Campbell Neighborhood Association and San Tomas West Neighborhood Association.

Both Hamann Park and San Tomas straddle the Campbell-San Jose border and include members of both cities. The Downtown Campbell Neighborhood Association is the only one exclusive to Campbell.

"There are relatively few for the size of Campbell," Lynch says.

One man is working to change that.

Campbell Planning Commissioner Phil Reynolds Jr. will host a meeting Wednesday for locals interested in forming, joining and supporting neighborhood associations. Mayor is also a partner in this endeavor to create neighborhood associations throughout the city.

"He’s (Phil) a huge advocate," Lynch says. "His goal is to create more neighborhood associations. There are many unrepresented areas in Campbell."

Reynolds began his community activism in the 1990s in San Jose, but when he moved to Campbell, he found that there wasn't enough neighborhood representation.

"The purpose of starting a neighborhood association is to reduce crime, build community spirit and citizen empowerment," Reynolds says.

Reynolds ran for Campbell City Council last year, and one of his commitments was to form more neighborhood associations. As he went door to door and asked neighbors how they felt, he says a pattern began to emerge.

"Something that I found last year was that there were many residents concerned about their part of their city, but they felt like their voices weren’t being heard," he says. "With a neighborhood association, you have an outlet that represents the neighborhood.

"You have a group of representatives that work as liaisons between city and neighborhood," Reynolds says. "And in my experience, the city is more responsive when an association president calls with the voice of the neighborhood rather than a single individual."

Already, Reynolds has received interest from neighborhoods from the Union Avenue area as well as the Westmont area. There is a large group from the area around Leigh/Campbell/Hamilton avenues that has already RSVP'd.

"Sounds to me like the group wants to get one up and running right now," he says.

When the Hamann Park residents initially formed their association, this collective voice with local government is also what they had in mind. Three years later, it's the community-building events that have become the favorite benefit of the neighborhood.

Ice cream socials, National Night Out, Halloween parades and haunted houses and neighborhood Christmas trees all bring everyone together.

"Whether it's to better communicate to your government or something else, this meeting is to help neighborhoods set up the framework," Lynch says.

The event will be at , 1461 Campbell Ave. If you dine, come at 6:30 p.m. The meeting begins at 7 p.m. There will be a drawing, and the winner will have their dining tab paid for.

Speakers will include Ken Kelly, CEO of United Neighborhoods of Santa Clara
County; , CEO; the presidents of three existing neighborhood associations; and a special guest speaker, Campbell Mayor Jason Baker.

Seating is limited. For more information and to RSVP, contact Reynolds at renyno1@sbcglobal.net.