Today we brought change to this county.  By a margin of 2,854 votes and 1.14%, we won!

I am incredibly humbled to announce that, on January 3, 2011, I will be inaugurated as the Santa Clara County District Attorney.  This change will happen because you spoke out.  In this election, we spoke with the people of this county, and together, loudly and clearly, we said one word: justice.

San Jose Inside’s mad dash through Santa Clara County’s primary night parties. VIDEO

At last April’s State Democratic convention in Los Angeles, the head of the powerful South Bay Labor Council, Cindy Chavez, called a face-to-face meeting with state Assemblymember Kevin de Leon of Los Angeles and labor leader Maria Elena Durazo. Chavez wanted to discuss de Leon’s fundraising activity for a San Jose City Council campaign.

De Leon had contributed $250 and helped bring in campaign funding for Magdalena Carrasco, his ex-wife, who was running against the SBLC-backed candidate for the District 5 council seat, Xavier Campos.

In an unannounced but unsurprising appearance before the Hall of Justice in San Jose today, Deputy District Attorney Jeff Rosen stood with Lauren Chief Elk to denounce what they said was a bad decision by the DA’s office not to test evidence recovered in the 2007 De Anza rape case.

Chief Elk was one of three female soccer players who reportedly pulled an intoxicated 17-year-old “Jane Doe” from a room at a party attended by members of the De Anza College baseball team, where she was allegedly being gang raped. They were joined today by other rape victims.

The BP Gulf Coast oil disaster continues unabated. The gushing oil and gas are poisoning the gulf waters and polluting Louisiana’s coastal beaches in the most horrendous environmental catastrophe of the 21st century. This appears to be America’s Chernobyl. However, this incredible fouling of our nation’s waters and beaches pales in comparison to the degradation of our nation through the declining American educational system.

The 2009-2010 Santa Clara County Civil Grand Jury today released a 33-page report titled Cities Must Rein in Unsustainable Employee Costs that says, “Employee costs are escalating in the cities of Santa Clara County, revenues are not keeping pace with these increases and cities are cutting services.” The Grand Jury looked at rising wages, health insurance, pensions, and vacation, holiday, and sick leave and made recommendations to control costs.

With the June election right around the corner, it seems overwhelming to be thinking about November’s election. Not so for the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, who just this morning approved a measure for the November ballot designed to save the county’s Healthy Kids insurance program.

“That passes unanimously, and the campaign has begun,” said President Ken Yeager after the votes came in.

The measure will require two-thirds voter approval to pass a $29 parcel tax.

District 5 city council candidate Aaron Resendez has just released an open letter to Nora Campos, demanding a public apology from the councilmember and her Chief of Staff Ryan Ford.

Last Friday, following a press conference at City Hall denouncing the malicious mailers sent out against fellow candidate Magdalena Carrasco, Resendez says Ford approached him for what can only be described as a public badmouthing. Campos’ brother, Xavier Campos, is also running against Resendez for the East Side seat.

“I am writing this open letter to you and the community to bring attention to Mr. Ford’s insulting and disrespectful behavior,” the letter reads.

In a rare move, Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren announced this morning that she is throwing her support to Deputy District Attorney Jeff Rosen in his bid to defeat sitting DA Dolores Carr. “It’s true, I don’t get involved in local races very often,” she said after making a statement in front of the Santa Clara County Hall of Justice.

UPDATE—Friday 6pm: Mayor Chuck Reed endorses Carrasco.

Former District Attorney George Kennedy says that he has mellowed out in retirement. Sitting beachside in Santa Cruz where he now lives, a strong breeze tossing his newly longish hair, he looks very much the part of the retiree, not so much the fearsome four-term district attorney.

Kennedy was the first person outside of his family that Assistant DA Jeff Rosen consulted with over his decision to run against his boss, District Attorney Dolores Carr. And though Kennedy has traded his wing-tips for flip-flops, he agreed to jump into the fray on Rosen’s behalf.

Former Assembly member John Laird and current Assembly member Sam Blakeslee may have officially announced their candidacies and are preparing for a shotgun wedding-style campaign for recently confirmed Lieutenant Governor Abel Maldonado’s 15th district senate seat – but hooold your horses, cowboys! A lawsuit filed this morning is trying to delay the June 22 special election and names one of the counties in the district, Monterey, as a defendant. The document says the special election ordered by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger last month would put Monterey County in violation of the Voting Rights Act.

Minh Duong, a 31-year-old furniture store owner vying to oust City Councilmember Madison Nguyen from her seat representing District 7, got a huge boost last month when the San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce gave him its endorsement.

Duong says that winning the ChamberPAC’s support was a huge shock, even to him. Before this election season, the ChamberPAC consistently supported Nguyen, even backing her in her 2009 recall campaign.

The campaign to hold a statewide constitutional convention fizzled out last February. That’s when Repair California, the bi-partisan organization behind the bid, ran out of funds and announced their efforts would have to be put on hold.

This Saturday, statewide leaders from both sides of the aisle will be coming together at San Jose State University to discuss fixing California’s broken government. Titled “Reviving California Community Summit,” the public event will focus on re-building momentum for comprehensive reform.

Both the Police Department and the Fire Department have an uphill battle ahead of them as they prepare to fight the City Council’s decision that they either take an across-the-board 10 percent pay cut or lose jobs. Cooperation between them might strengthen their position, but that’s not likely to happen soon. The bone of contention is Proposition K, which would expand gambling within San Jose