Josh Koehn
DA to Examine George Shirakawa City Council Campaign Forms
Mar 11, 2013, by Josh Koehn Politics, Culture Comments (4)
George Shirakawa’s campaign forms from his time on the San Jose City Council will be given to the District Attorney’s office Monday.
The District Attorney’s investigation into George Shirakawa Jr. has some new paperwork to add to the pile, as discrepancies may have been found Monday in forms the former county supervisor filed during and after his time as a member of the San Jose City Council in the late 90s and early 2000s. The City Clerk’s Office began making copies of forms for the DA when San Jose Inside’s inspection of “Friends for George Shirakawa Jr.” campaign forms found inconsistent signatures from previous campaign treasurers Shirakawa employed for his 1998 council re-election campaign and officeholder account.
The Unraveling of George Shirakawa Jr.
Mar 06, 2013, by Josh Koehn Politics, Business, Culture, Media Comments (5)
DA Jeff Rosen, center, along with Karyn Sinunu-Towery and Michael Brown, announced 12 criminal charges last Friday against former Supervisor George Shirakawa. The DA said its investigation was sparked by a Metro/San Jose Inside report and a Public Records Act request. (Photo by Geoffrey Smith II)
It’s always a shame to let facts interfere with a good story, but county Supervisor George Shirakawa Jr.‘s downfall didn’t start with a hushed voice from a trench coat in the dark corners of a parking garage. Here’s how Metro/San Jose Inside uncovered some of the disgraced politician’s illegal activity.
Supervisors Lean Toward Special Election
Mar 04, 2013, by Josh Koehn Politics Comments (2)
With blinding efficiency, the county’s website was updated.
UPDATE: The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously (4-0) to call for a special election on June 4. A second reading of the matter will take place at next week’s BOS meeting.
County supervisors seem poised to call a special election Tuesday rather than appoint someone to fill the seat of George Shirakawa, who resigned from his supervisor post Friday just hours after being charged with five felonies and seven misdemeanors relating to his misuse of campaign and public funds.
Madison Nguyen Files Papers to Run for Mayor of San Jose in 2014
Feb 27, 2013, by Josh Koehn Politics Comments (16)
Madison Nguyen is the first candidate to formally declare intent to run for mayor of San Jose in 2014.
Madison Nguyen, San Jose’s vice mayor and councilmember for District 7, filed paperwork Dec. 19 with the City Clerk’s office declaring her intent to run for mayor.
County Superintendent Xavier De La Torre Agrees to Help Pay Home Loan
Feb 21, 2013, by Josh Koehn Politics, Business, Culture Comments (8)
County Superintendent Xavier De La Torre announced Thursday he will pay $2,500 a month to the county to help cover interest and principal for a home relocation loan he received last year.
Xavier De La Torre, superintendent for the Santa Clara County Office of Education, has agreed to give back nearly $100,000 of his salary over the rest of his contract to help pay down the interest and principal of a housing relocation loan he received last year. The manner in which he announced the giveback, however, was a little curious.
Shirakawa Holds On to Missing Funds, Misses Auditor’s Repayment Deadline
Feb 18, 2013, by Josh Koehn Comments (22)
County Supervisor George Shirakawa, who is under investigation for not filing campaign disclosure forms going back a number of years, has now missed his deadline to repay the county for misses funds.
George Shirakawa has a reputation for missing important deadlines. It then comes as little surprise that the county supervisor under investigation for his misuse of county funds ignored Friday’s due date to reimburse roughly $12,500 in charges. If that wasn’t bad enough, Shirakawa also ignored an extension he was given to Monday, according to County Executive Jeff Smith.
Yes, Don Rocha is Still a Male Model
Feb 15, 2013, by Josh Koehn Politics, Business, Culture Comments (6)
Before Don Rocha became a San Jose councilman, the District 9 rep did a little modeling on the side. We assumed those days were done. We were wrong.
Mayor Reed Not Interested in Yeager’s ‘Deal’ on Healthy Kids Funding
Feb 15, 2013, by Josh Koehn Politics, Business, Culture Comments (6)
Mayor Chuck Reed said he supports the Santa Clara Healthy Kids Program, but it’s time to cut the cord on funding now that the county has more money through Measure A.
Call it a preemptive strike but Ken Yeager deserves a little credit for trying to get something while knowing he’d probably get nothing. Last week, the president of the county Board of Supervisors sent a letter to San Jose Mayor, Vice Mayor Madison Nguyen and the City Council proposing a deal on how to continue funding the Santa Clara Healthy Kids Program. There’s just one problem. San Jose is broke and has no interest in giving another dime now that the county got Measure A passed.
Who Wasted the Most Campaign Money in 2012? Well, a Lot of People
Feb 08, 2013, by Josh Koehn Politics, Business, Culture Comments (9)
Rose Herrera spent $254,943.23 to keep her seat in the face of heavy spending opposition.
The deadline for semi-annual campaign disclosure forms covering the last half of 2012 came due last week. The documents provide a clearer picture of how winning and losing candidates raised money and how they spent it—or misspent it—in the final weeks of the campaign. We also tracked a number of political action committees (PACs). The most interesting findings: How much money was wasted in trying to defeat Councilmember Rose Herrera, a potential quid pro quo between the ChamberPAC and a person quoted in its ballot statement against minimum wage, and hangover debt for losing candidates Jimmy Nguyen and Robert Braunstein.
San Jose State of the City 2013: Things are Getting Better, Kind of
Feb 07, 2013, by Josh Koehn Politics, Business, Culture Comments (18)
Chuck Reed and others on stage were surprised by the appearance of several mascots, including Q of the San Jose Earthquakes, during the State of the City address Thursday night at the San Jose Civic Auditorium.
Mayor Chuck Reed noted Thursday night that he was delivering his seventh State of the City speech. Next year he’ll have one final opportunity to get it right.
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