While we wait to see what changes are in store for the Mercury News—recently sold to Denver-based Media News, who take over this summer—we should also be concerned about the impact on local arts and culture in the wake of parent company Knight Ridder’s departure from San Jose. The absence of its $2 million annual expenditure, $750,000 of which is earmarked for arts and culture, will create a huge financial hole in the valley and bring hard times for some who have depended on its support. Unless others step in to help fill this philanthropic hole, the city-logo proclaimed “10th Largest U.S. City” has a big problem.

A little-known Union hero of the Battle of Gettysburg was Brig. Gen. John Buford. On the first day of that epic struggle to determine the fate of the United States, he had the judgment to seize the high ground outside of the town and, with it, the victory was all but assured—only the deadly bloodletting was to follow for three horrible, tragic days. Well, it’s only June, but never too soon to begin the speculation on who will have the high ground in the election for mayor next November. In this campaign, the key issues will be ethics, growth and vision. Chavez is attempting to make it a schools and neighborhoods choice, but she has a daunting task.

So now that we’ve all had a week to digest the events of last Tuesday, my question is: “Where do we go from here?”  As you know, I strongly supported David Pandori and his ideas of change and reform.  I thought (and still think) he would have been great for our city.  And many other citizens (those who actually took the time to vote) did too— unfortunately, just not enough of them.  But it’s all playing the game of “coulda-woulda-shoulda” at this point. 

Smear Tactics Try to Brand the Decline-to-State as “Unfit to Serve as Mayor”

A last minute smear campaign by a group of adolescents calling themselves the Children’s Musical Theater Veterans for Truth, has proven to be the deciding factor in Michael Mulcahy’s failed bid to become Mayor of San Jose.

I can’t resist bringing up a few items in light of Election Day’s results. First and foremost: Where were you missing voters? I went to my downtown polling station at 3:30 p.m., where there are nearly 1300 voters registered, and I was voter number 88 for the day. The poll workers were bored stiff. Is there no sense of civic responsibility any more? I know that many voted “absentee,” but still—88 voters in more than eight hours of polling! According to the official Santa Clara County website, 229,172 voted out of 747,644 registered, including absentee. That’s a little higher than a 30 percent turnout throughout the county. 106,436 ballots were cast for mayor, somewhat less than 30 percent in the city. This is pathetic. Under the circumstances, do we get what we deserve?

Well, the votes are all in and the winners and loser are clear.  To the extent that people did not participate, they and we lost; to those who did, and read San Jose Inside, thanks for what you do and the diligence you apply to it.  Adlai Stevenson once said that, after a loss, it was like stubbing your toe—it hurts too much to laugh and you’re too old to cry. We should all cry for the depths that our city has fallen; we should decry the timid and dishonest campaigning for the top spot in the city.  Current council members should have the sense to understand repudiation and be ashamed for their active or tacit part in the past disgraceful performance of this council.

There have been several instances of a distinct lack of ethics shown by some candidates and interest groups in this election.  Some glaring examples of “lapses” in ethical conduct are the unscrupulous actions of Manny Diaz, an ethically-challenged candidate for the District 3 San Jose City Council seat. (This is also the opinion of the Mercury News.) Diaz has used the names of neighborhood leader Elizabeth Mattson and respected politician Mike Honda for his campaign pieces, falsely saying they were endorsing him for the election.  This has become carpetbagger Diaz’s method of operation. So where has this unethical behavior gotten him?  In the past, it seems it got him elected. 

Decision day has arrived. It’s time for a radical change at City Hall. We need new blood in the office of mayor and on the council so that we can begin to come to terms with the mess left by the Gonzales years and look to a better future. We need leaders with a strong, clear vision based on wide experiences in life that are honest, wise, trustworthy and steady, and open to innovation and new ideas in our rapidly changing world.

Says He Has Spunk AND Memorized Pandori’s Book

City Councilman and mayoral candidate David Cortese filed an official complaint with Mercury News Publisher George Riggs on Wednesday in an effort to force columnist Scott Herhold to print a retraction to his column supporting Michael Mulcahy for mayor.

With public dissatisfaction of local, state and national leadership running at levels of 60 percent (Schwarzenegger), 75 percent (Bush), 90 percent (Congress), and nearly 100 percent (Gonzales), this election brings voters a chance to effect real change in all aspects of government. We could hardly do worse, unless we enable more of the same. We must ensure that we eliminate those agents of our dissatisfaction from contention. This may be the overriding factor in making choices on Election Day.

Well, the time we have all been waiting for has arrived—a wait of nearly eight years on some of our calendars.  The long, dark reign of Ron Gonzales is over. It has been a dismal period for our community. Yet, the pivotal questions are: will the damage and offense against San Jose’s reputation of good government and good planning persist? Or, is the nightmare over?

We are sitting exactly one week from the mayoral primary and now it’s time to start making some decisions on your vote.  Whether you want to know or not, my vote next week for mayor is going to David Pandori.  I have come to this decision because I feel we need a tough, yet principled leader who will take San Jose where it should have been years ago, and restore pride and trust in our city government.  This will not be an easy task—being that the Gonzales regime probably stripped most of the honor and trust out of the mayor’s office—but I feel that Pandori can restore that pride and trust for us, while also getting things done. 

“Superhero” Commercials Challenged

Just days after the Chavez for Mayor campaign released a commercial depicting their candidate leaping from a squad car into the melee of the downtown Mardi Gras to save lives, the San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce, has asked that the last two commercials in the so-called “superhero” series be pulled.

Like other voters, I have received the Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce hit piece on Cindy Chavez as well as the “Cindy Chavez stole my home” phone calls from the same Chamber political action committee, COMPAC. Unlike others, perhaps, I am not surprised by their tactics. After all, the Chamber is an organization of, by and for the local business community. They are empowered to look after the special interests of their members, representing a very small but vocal portion of the population of our city who seek a large influence at City Hall. It just so happens that these may not be the same interests of the vast majority of our citizens.

There is never a shortage of cynicism and hypocrisy during election season.  Yet, this year there seems to be an abundance of disquieting events not seen for some time.  While the disgraceful nadir of ethics at City Hall is setting the bar quite low, in this election we may be taking the bar to the ground—there will hardly be room for a slug to go beneath it. 

I have not seen any TV commercials for any candidate for mayor.  Maybe it’s because I choose to get my information from the Mercury News or, more likely, because I have TiVo and hate commercials more than most anything in the world, I fast-forward through every TV program I watch. So this week I am asking for help from our readers in filling me in on what I might be missing.