City Hall Diary

Many people ask what my biggest surprise has been since becoming a council member. I have shared that my biggest surprise has been closed session meetings. “Closed session” meetings are private meetings which include the mayor, city attorney and city council. The city manager and two other attorneys who record the minutes are also present. Sometimes, depending on the subject material, specific city staff will also join the meeting, but the public is not allowed to be present.

Presumptive Favorite Claims Relationship Not Romantic

A bombshell story yesterday coming out of La Oferta, San Jose’s Hispanic newspaper, linked county supervisor hopeful George Shirakawa, Jr. with former McCain lover/lobbyist Vicki Iseman, in what might be the only thing stopping a Shirakawa coronation in his race to succeed Blanca Alvarado in District 2.

Under the city charter, the city auditor has independent authority to carry out examination of finances, documents and operations of any city department, other than the office of any elected official (too bad about that exception). A well run and honest city auditor’s department, as we have in San Jose, is the citizens’ best guard against corruption and financial malfeasance as well as overspending and misspending of public money by civil servants. To be effective, the auditor must remain separate from political control and be able to “strike at will,” something that is recognized in the mandate of the city charter.

When it comes to the difficult task of reversing the dismal budget record of the city, help from whatever quarter is usually welcome. But lately, I find the deathbed conversions of the editorial board of the Mercury News and tardy concerns of the South Bay Labor Council to be a bit Wednesday-ish. During the dismal decisions of the last fifteen years or so—the conversion of industrial land to housing, the attacks on the Coyote and Almaden Valley urban reserves, the showering of new benefits on public safety employees, and various other moves—there was a notable silence, or at the most, weak concern from both.

I understand that being in the public eye makes you a target, but the news that Sam Liccardo’s former intern, Eric Hernandez, was arrested for hacking into the City Hall e-mail system still caught me by surprise. However, as I read the story, it was clear that something just didn’t add up. Why would an 18-year-old be so angry with his former boss—Liccardo Chief of Staff Jessica Garcia-Kohl—that he would intend to hurt her and expose her relationship with Sam Liccardo? Just because she denied him access to a few rooms? Why would that make Hernandez fly off the handle? That doesn’t seem logical.

City Hall Diary

This week at council we discussed the upcoming 2008-2009 budget process. 
 
The budget for San Jose is a year-round process tracking the revenue that comes into the city, like sales tax and construction and conveyance tax (C and C), and expenditures that come from the General Fund (non-restricted money), or capital expenditures (restricted money) like building new libraries. 

First Step in Becoming Autonomous City

Federal Realty Investment Trust continues to add to its tremendously successful Santana Row and bolster is byline, “700 shops, 200 restaurants, 19 spas, 10 hotels, 1 Little Saigon,” by focusing on ethnic consumers after deciding to incorporate a Vietnamese business district to its mix of uses.

Something being proposed in Florida and Michigan for the Democratic primary selection is often utilized in golf where it’s called a “mulligan.” It is, indeed, a very human reaction and a plausible escape route. But beware the easy route—it’s full of peril. We have seldom seen it in San Jose politics before, but in the battle for “Little Saigon,” we may have another look at the concept of the “do-over” and the results may be anything but satisfactory.

So Super Tuesday came and went, and are we any closer to knowing who might run against John McCain in the presidential election? I have watched the analysts take apart the data and put it back together every which way they can. I have read all the articles and seen interviews with both Obama and Clinton vowing to forge ahead. All signs are pointing to the fact that this election is far from over and, in reality, has only just begun. The real question is: was there really a point to voting in the primary? 

City Hall Diary

As some of you many know via Sal Pizarro of the Mercury News I have grown a beard. I stopped shaving the morning of the mayor’s State of the City speech. I joked with Sal that I was not going to shave until we fixed the structural budget deficit. Getting our city’s finances in order is the number one priority and will take hard work and more community outreach. By that time, my beard will end up competing with Moses or the members of the band ZZ Top.

After Reviewing the Embarrassing to the Boring, Meetings to be Sheltered from Public View

Just a day after San Jose officials demanded the posting of council members’ calendars online, the vacuous and inane entries dictated that they relent and allow them to be kept private.

“After reviewing the meetings these public officials are taking,” said city attorney Rick Doyle, “we have decided it reflects badly on our city’s image. We will therefore quarantine them until further notice, even if that means losing track of Gallo and Strangis.”

Over a year ago, an ABC 7 News I-Team report exposed San José’s failure to protect children from pornography and those who would openly view pornographic material in their presence. The investigation revealed that there have been a number of individuals arrested for viewing child pornography in libraries, and still others have been arrested for performing lewd acts such as masturbating in public while viewing pornographic material. Please take the time to see the reports here and here.

The tumult and the shouting have died. The captains and the kings have departed. The election is over. What happened?

The impressive showing and meteoric rise of Obama across the nation served notice to the entire country and world that a new era has arrived—an era marked by renewed hope and optimism about the future. The old hackneyed tactics are no longer good enough. In fact, this time, fed by the reckless behavior of powerful people, they backfired. It was indeed a historic election.

Today is the presidential primary. Hope is in the air that change can be made and things will be better with a new president. Optimism and inspiration have never been higher for me than with the candidacy of Barack Obama. He has inspired me in a way that most politicians never have, and it seems young people in our country and city have been energized by him as well.

City Hall Diary

At the General Plan Task Force meeting last week, we discussed transportation and how future VTA projects will guide San Jose’s land use. The VTA budget for new projects is funded out of the voter-approved half-cent sales tax. The tax provides partial funding for BART, light rail extension, bus rapid transit improvements, some road paving, trails and bike lanes.

Expiring on Weekdays Will Cost You

As if dying is not bad enough, in the small print of a county plan that assesses a phone fee to cover 911 emergency response services, the supervisors have included a provision that places a tax on people who have the audacity to die on weekdays.