Why Our Vote Matters, & Why Candidates Listen
By Mike Kihmm, President
This November, voters across the country head to the polls to cast votes in races at every level of government, from Congress to Governor, down to local contests like city council and school board. It's fascinating to think about it. When the polls close on November 3, tens of millions of us will have just made the decision of who leads our country, down to the local school board, and by extension of those choices, how much things will change or how much they will remain the same.
I urge each one of you to exercise your right to vote. You've seen me state this before, showing up matters. Most may not realize this, but voting today not only impacts the current election, it impacts the next election. How? Simple. Your vote this election impacts the current race. The act of voting defines who the elected officials and candidates pay attention to in the next election. The electoral math is simple: they target and listen to the groups who vote the most. As retirees, we are a formidable voting block.
Let's look at age's impact on San Jose Council District 9 (Association endorsed Genny Altwer) as an example. Voters aged 18-34 make up 23.5% D9 registered voters, while voters 55 and older comprise 42.7% of registered voters, a distinct advantage. However, when we look at who actually shows up, our advantage grows larger. In the June Primary election, D9 voters 55 and older made up 57% of those who cast ballots, while 18-34 share of voters actually shrunk to 14.4%.
The Power of Showing Up: Voter Registration vs Participation
When you look at the differences in raw vote totals, the contrast becomes very stark:
June Primary, San Jose Council District 9
votes from ages 18–34
votes from ages 55 and older
This is the power of showing up. Candidates and consultants see these numbers and base their political and policy agendas on them. Voters 55 and older cannot be ignored. In fact, they must be courted, or else. This means we have the ability to keep our issues, retiree issues, at the top of the political agenda. If we keep showing up.
This is why the Association gets involved politically. This election we used our PAC funds to educate voters about two of our endorsed candidates for City Council. We could stand on the sidelines and hope for the best. Doing so, however, leaves the fate of the benefits we worked our careers for in the hands of others. Instead, we directly told voters who we thought the best candidates were. We got involved. We showed up.
In the spirit of showing up, our annual Christmas Luncheon is on December 10. If you have not come to an Association function in a while, or if this would be your first, please think about joining us. You will be surprised how good it feels to reconnect with old friends and how easy it is to make new ones when you've patrolled the same streets and rolled out of the same stations.
With respect for our past and commitment to our future,
Mike
Member Assistance Program:
Getting Started with The Holman Group
By Mary Gutierrez, Director
We hope you are taking advantage of our Member Assistance Program (MAP) provided by The Holman Group. I reached out myself and am very glad I did. With guidance and support from my counselor, I successfully worked through an issue. All it took was one confidential phone call.
I want to share some information with you to ensure your experience with our MAP benefits goes as smoothly as possible.
One of the best features of our MAP is that when you call The Holman Group at 1-800-321-2843 to access services, a trained professional will reach out to you personally. No automated loops or phone trees forcing you through a frustrating series of "press 2 now" prompts.
Here are a few simple tips to help fast-track your request:
Phone number & voice messages
Be prepared to pick up a call from a 1-800 number if you are seeking services. The Holman team will ask if your voicemail is set up and if spam/unknown calls go to junk or get blocked.
Email Use & Monitoring
To quickly receive your provider (counselor) information, you will need access to a working email address. Because your privacy is protected, your details will arrive in an encrypted email, so be sure to check your Spam or Junk folder.
U.S. Mail
Because phone or email contact isn't ideal for everyone, you can also request to have your provider information sent via regular mail. The choice is entirely yours.
Finding the Right Match
Finally, and this is important. If you feel your assigned counselor isn't a good match for you, don't worry. It happens. Contact The Holman Group and ask for a different counselor. Their mission is not to get you a counselor; it's to help you get the right counselor.
If you find yourself still having challenges, call me. I will work with you to find solutions. You can reach me directly at (408) 218-0194.
Table of contents
Join Us for the Annual Christmas Luncheon
SJPOA Hall, 1151 N. 4th St., San Jose
Table of contents
Resetting Your Clock:
Easy Ways to Navigate the Time Change
We've all felt that post-time-change grogginess, but why does shifting just one hour throw us off? Inside your brain, a master biological clock uses sunlight to keep your heart, liver, and digestive system on a smooth 24-hour cycle. When the clocks shift, your schedule falls out of sync with your internal organs, leaving your body scrambling to catch up.
Not all time changes affect us the same way:
- Springing Forward: Forcing yourself to wake up an hour earlier is tough. Because our natural body clock runs slightly longer than 24 hours, adjusting to that lost hour of rest can take up to two weeks.
- Falling Back: While "falling back" adds an hour of rest on paper, it pulls sunset an hour earlier. Losing that late-afternoon sunlight cuts off key mood-boosting light signals during your active hours, often triggering energy drops as winter approaches.
Luckily, retirees often have the flexible schedules needed to transition smoothly. Here are four simple ways to help your body adapt:
- Ease In Gradually: Starting the Wednesday before the shift, move your bedtime, wake-up time, and meals 15 minutes earlier each day.
- Catch Morning Sun: Get 20 to 30 minutes of bright morning sunlight right after waking to signal to your clock that the day has begun.
- Set a Caffeine Curfew: Cut off coffee and tea by 12:00 PM (noon) during transition week so caffeine doesn't disrupt deep sleep.
- Dim Evening Lights: Lower household lights and limit screen time two hours before bed to boost natural melatonin.
With just a little planning, you can keep your body in sync, your energy high, and your sleep sound all year long.
Table of contents
Condolences, Retirements &
New Members
Condolences
Scroll left to right to see more.
Passing of Former Association Director Paul Mulholand
He showed up. He walked precincts for Association-endorsed candidates, manned the grill at the community BBQs we helped city councilmembers host in their districts, and rode shotgun at a lobbying meeting at City Hall to make sure a fellow board member had back up when taking on a politician. That could describe a typical week in the life of Paul Mulholand when he served this organization. He showed up. Always.
Paul retired as a Fire Engineer in February of 1995. He is survived by his wife, Carmen; his son, Tom; and his daughter, Colleen, who, like her father, dedicated her career to serving the people of San Jose through the San Jose Fire Department.
As a board member, Paul helped drive the expansion of the Association's political influence, moving us from an organization viewed as a group in the background that assisted the active unions to establishing our own political identity. We moved from helping to contribute to a SJPOA or SJFF Local 230 independent expenditure (IE) campaign to support council and mayoral candidates to running our own IE campaigns. He advocated for us to be more assertive, to start seeking advice from the actives instead of permission when making endorsement decisions or pushing an issue at City Hall. And when it came time to help candidates, he showed up. Always.
In politics it's easy to fall back on making an endorsement and sending a contribution check. Not for Paul. He'd ask, "why mail a check when you can hand it to the candidate or the campaign manager?" He wanted the campaign to associate the help and the organization with a face, our faces. Knowing that a campaign never has enough help, he'd show up at a candidate's campaign every weekend to walk a precinct, and would just as likely pop in midweek to stuff envelopes or drop off lawn signs at a supporter's house. Most of the time, he'd recruit a fellow member to help and ensure that the Association was seen as a resource.
Paul never sought the limelight. He didn't want titles, didn't need to see his name in the paper, and didn't seek recognition. He'd much rather chew your ear off about fly fishing than tell you he was at a political event with the Governor. His aversion to the spotlight is exactly what makes his exit from the Board incredibly ironic, yet incredibly fitting for who Paul was.
In 2012, at the height of the pension wars, a retiree was needed to sign onto a lawsuit being filed against then-San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed, the Director of Retirement Services, Russell Crosby, as well as the boards of both pension funds, alleging that they improperly used the funds of plan beneficiaries (us) to pay for bogus pension projections that were used to scare employees into pay and benefit cuts. Despite the intense media scrutiny, taking on the Mayor and the pension board of directors, Paul did what he always did. He showed up.
On Thursday, March 1, 2012, Paul Mulholand, SJPOA President Jim Unland, and retired senior city architect Mary Follenwelder sued Mayor Chuck Reed and Russell Crosby for breaching their fiduciary duties to plan members by using pension funds to pay for the bogus pension projections. Before he signed the lawsuit, Paul resigned from the Board to protect the Association from the political fallout of his lawsuit.
He knew he'd take heat for directly taking on City Hall. He had to walk away from an organization he helped build from the ground up. But he was outraged by the lies and callousness towards public servants, active and retired, demonstrated by the mayor and his allies. For Paul, the math was easy. He was just going to do what he did his whole life. Stand by his friends and do the right thing. And let's be real, he got a little bit of a kick out of pissing off Chuck Reed.
Paul, you will be missed. We hope the fish bite in heaven.
Sincerely,
Mike Kihmm
President
Retirements
Scroll left to right to see more.
New Members
Scroll left to right to see more.
Table of contents
I'm Dead. Now What?
We hope you won't need this anytime soon — but when the time comes, we've got you covered.
A useful and helpful planner to give you peace of mind — covering your belongings, business affairs, wishes, contacts, health, and financial details.
Contact Walter Bugna at [email protected] if you'd like a copy. Please include your name, phone number, and mailing address.
OCTOBER 2026 Edition — Volume 34 No. 10