San Jose business owners welcome plan for more police officers patrolling downtown

SAN JOSE — Many business owners say they support San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan’s plan to increase the size of the city’s police department. The mural outside San Jose’s Mezcal restaurant is as colorful as the food is flavorful, but owner Aldolfo Gomez says it’s not easy running his downtown business. “Homelessness, that’s still a major issue for us as a small business,” said Gomez, owner of Mezcal Restaurant. Gomez says his business has struggled with vandalism and vagrants as well as a perception problem from some would-be customers that the downtown area simply isn’t safe. “The safety issue is…