Mark Twain once said that when people start talking about religion, he always grabbed a firm hold on his wallet. So, too, it is with some discussions of “constitutionality.” I was very sorry to see that a federal judge threw out San Jose’s law concerning limits on independent expenditures. It can only mean more money and more sleaze in local campaigns. The Chamber of Commerce should feel more than a hint of shame at its disingenuous primary assault on Cindy Chavez and the subsequent censure by the Ethics Board, San Jose Mercury, just about every other politician running for office, and many of the Democratic establishment lemmings who are so fearful of Chuck Reed and any other independent voice that might crack their hold on power. Why didn’t the chamber just fall back on the truth and call it what it was? For the time being, the chamber avoided being indicted by the Hague War Crimes Tribunal. Of such small victories, are our municipal values formed.

When I checked my mail the other day, amidst the Pennysaver and Victoria Secret catalogs I found a personal letter from the one and only Cindy Chavez in my mailbox!  Imagine my surprise and delight when I thought of how important I must be to the Chavez campaign that she would take the time to write me to tell “her side of the story.”

SuperBlogger Demands New Contract

As internet blog sensation SanJoseInside.com (SJI) gears up for the fast approaching mayoral runoff election, a conspicuous, if not gaping, hole has opened up in their writing stable over the past two weeks as marquee blogger and star of the site, John McEnery IV, continues to hold out over a contract dispute.

The denizens of San Jose are already known to be among the wealthiest, on average, in the nation. Now, an article in this month’s Atlantic Monthly identifies us as the most highly educated large city in the country, based on the number of college graduates per capita. This is very good news for all of us. I would expect that such statistics would translate into a population that is the most supportive of arts and culture in America, financially and intellectually. However, I am not so sure when I look at the continuing problems of the Rep Theater.

One of the hallmarks of fair and responsible campaigns in our city has always been the limits on the amount of dollars that could be contributed to a candidate for mayor. Many times, the special interests and mendacious politicians (not always a given) tried to get the limits raised above the five hundred dollars per person cap and were consistently rebuffed. Raising campaign money should be hard. There should be no bundling or bag men in the guise of lobbyists doing the dirty work.  These forces tried it twenty years ago when I was mayor and more recently with little success; the limits held.

I want to take this time to salute a brave soul, the owner of Chic Chateau, one of the only retail clothing stores in all of downtown.  So much has been said about how retail cannot survive downtown—because there aren’t enough people or there isn’t enough money or enough parking—that we need to keep an eye on how Chic Chateau is doing to see if they can prove the naysayers wrong.  Geared toward the 20- to 30-something woman, the boutique will be a barometer of how retail will do in our downtown now and in the future. 

The way the major corporations have been acting the past few years, you would think that they believe themselves to be above the Constitution. Right here in Silicon Valley, the latest corporate scandal—where members of the HP board and Chairwoman Patricia Dunn have apparently been caught red-handed spying on their employees and on journalists—adds a nice new euphemism, “pretexting,” for a couple of common crimes, endemic in American corporate culture, to the list of white-collar conspiratorial activities. Dunn excuses her decision to order the spying by saying she did not know that pretexting (an Orwellian construct if there ever was one) meant any laws would be broken when she hired a firm of investigators to obtain the personal information of the company’s targets. That’s hilarious, given that the defined action of pretexting combines the crimes of fraud and identity theft in a very creative manner. Call it what you want, it’s still a felony and Dunn and anyone else involved should be accorded the prescribed punishment under the law if they are found guilty. As we all know from high school civics, “ignorance of the law is no excuse.”

It is an axiom that some things that sound so very good can sometimes be so horribly bad. So it is with the current vision of our twenty-four–hour downtown; the result of the so-called “wonderful” activity of nightclubs and revelers often comes closer to a nightmare.  Someone attending an event at HP Pavilion and wanting to have a post game drink at the Tied House or a bowl of pasta at Original Joe’s, faces the equivalent of a trip from the UN Green Zone to the Baghdad airport. Few would have the temerity to attempt the short drive to either.  They just go home. The same goes for anyone getting off the freeway at Santa Clara Street on a weekend.  And those who live in our downtown, either in the new housing in the core or in the immediate neighborhoods, are unable to enjoy the peace and tranquility that we all need when we come home after a long day of work or play.  Cruisers, youth in full-party mode, and an annoying array of troublemakers from other cities are filling up our downtown in the late-night and early-morning hours.

What’s the solution?  Blame the police.

Have you ever heard the expression that someone “looks good on paper?”  When it comes to our current, soon-to-be-official lame-duck mayor, Ron Gonzales, he looked quite good on paper when he first started his career as a politician.  He served in the private sector working with schools; he was a smart businessman, a devoted husband, well-educated and the first Hispanic mayor in San Jose since 1850.  But, after years in office, his career and life have taken a turn and he is now one of those politicians that look very bad on paper. Hmmm, let’s see—censured by the city council, arrested and charged with felonies, an affair with his 25-year-old intern and, now, a laughing stock.  Need I kick the guy more while he’s down?

While John McEnery IV is vacationing on the beaches of Tahiti this week with his harem and entourage of personal attendants, we thought we would give our bloggers an opportunity to sound off about the San Jose Mercury News. Has anyone noticed anything different as the paper has gone through the changes of ownership? How are they doing covering local issues? Does the paper seem biased in any way in how they present stories or write headlines? What about the quality of the writing? Is there anything you would like to see them do that they are not doing? And what about the ownership’s performance so far in supporting community arts and events, especially in comparison to Knight Ridder?

When I was a kid growing up in the mountains of southern California in the 1960s, one of the most magnificent sights, then common, was to see a full-grown California condor soaring overhead. My father, a professional pilot, and I used to fly alongside the giant birds at 8,000 feet where they would soar in thermals for hours without flapping their wings once. We wondered how they learned to do that. Then, all of a sudden, the condors disappeared—victims of the huge influx of humans greedy for space and resources. It happened so fast. Now, forty years later, these amazing birds are making a very slow return and our state is all the better for it. The unfortunate thing is that the condor’s long-term trip to the nearly-extinct species list didn’t have to happen.

Well, the glass seems half empty—way empty. Lew Wolff will not bring the A’s to downtown (hey, Rick, gambling here in Casablanca!).  The Rep is in perilous condition and other groups are crying “help” and lining up to get a bit of succor.  The city leadership is looking like the interim government in Baghdad.  Our grand prix took a beating on the P.R. front not seen since Nixon’s final days.  Phew—what a few months! Look for a plague of locusts on the horizon.

Just as our discussion about the possible public bailout of the Rep Theater was catching steam, it appears other arts groups in the city realized that this may be their chance to catch a break and get some help themselves.  The discussion about what organizations and businesses are eligible for public funds each year, and which ones are not, needs to continue here and at City Hall.  If the city continues to pour money into arts groups and public events that they feel add to our quality of life, but who don’t have solid business plans and only hope to be successful on their own some day, we could repeat the fate of the San Jose Symphony.

Supervisors Welcome the Challenge to Revitalize the Theater

In an attempt to put a positive spin on the County’s defeated music hall proposal, the supervisors lauded the city after a unanimous council vote effectively turned the management of the beleaguered San Jose Repertory Theater over to the county.

If the above title sounds like one of Juan Miro’s paintings, you get my drift. Surrealism became tangible in San Jose this week with multiple manifestations. At least the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors came to their senses and stopped the concert hall project for the fairgrounds. I guess they finally realized that Kevin Costner’s “if you build it, they will come” rationale to spend himself into bankruptcy in the movie wasn’t a good idea in (sur)real life. The intentions may have been good, but the pie-in-the-sky entertainment-center vision and financial plan were fatally flawed. The unfortunate results, had the concert venue gone ahead per the county’s plans, would have made the problems at the Rep Theater seem like a piece of cake by comparison.

It is said that in war, truth is the first casualty. I have often felt that it is the same in political campaigns—where the stakes are lower and the attention slimmer.  We will see how much this axiom holds true in the currently forming battle for mayor of San Jose.  The result will determine a lot: most everything about our evolution as a city and region, our national reputation, our ethics, and the wellbeing of future generations yet unborn.  Now, that is raising the stakes a trifle.