OH MY WORD!  Those are the only words to describe how surreal it was to hear that Ron Gonzales and Joe Guerra were actually arrested for their roles in the Norcal scandal.  I knew that things were corrupt at City Hall, as we have been hearing on this site and throughout the mayoral campaign, but I guess I never really thought that it would catch up to them this way. 

Although I wrote two satirical pieces for publication today, one before the indictment that dealt with moonlighting, and one after, which dealt with the arrests, neither of them felt right, nor appropriate, on this sad but inevitable day for San Jose.  Therefore, we will continue with this open thread throughout today and the weekend.

When you come right down to it, $2.6 billion is a lot of money no matter how you cut it (except in Bush’s illegal Iraq war where it would last a mere 10 days). That’s the amount of the new fiscal year’s budget approved by the city council on Tuesday, not without disagreement from some members. LeZotte and Reed voted against accepting the mayor’s budget message, LeZotte and Cortese voted against the overall budget, and LeZotte, Reed and Cortese voted against extending the telephone line charges to fund 911 responders.

As I wrote last week, in an enjoyable foray into Civil War analogies (politics is a bit like war, you know), Chuck Reed has the high ground, forging a campaign of principles and clarity and fiscal responsibility. Yet, the ground can shift treacherously, increasing uncertainty from a primary to a general election. The bones of many contenders and future winners lie bleaching in the suns of an expanded electorate’s changing views between June and November.

Reading about the Hayes Mansion brought to light the issue of city subsidies and the way San Jose has handled this important matter.  The city now spends $4.2 million per year to keep the Hayes Mansion in business. No, that is not a misprint—$4.2 million a year.  I understand that the Hayes is a historical building and in this “new” city with new buildings popping up each day (with no historical significance whatsoever) we need to protect and keep those buildings both beautiful and a part of our city’s culture. But that is not what is happening in this case; in running this hotel and conference center, we are paying for what seems to be a bottomless money pit.

New Flights Established After Defeat of Measure A

In hopes of increasing the number of passengers traveling by air, the newly-christened Mineta San Jose Inter-County Airport has added several routes to the most heavily commuted areas in the valley.

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.