Last Thursday, the council had a study session for San Jose’s 2010-2011 budget. The public meeting received little media attention. Perhaps, since the holidays are near, we only want to hear the good news…and next years budget is far from good. There is no dispute on the data—just the direction we shall choose to balance the budget. 

Every now and again the Mercury News editorial board hits a home run. Shortly after the election, the Merc issued a strong and thorough editorial about the city’s problems as they relate to city employees and their unions. “It’s time for San Jose city employees and union leaders to drop the ‘scapegoat’ label. It’s wearing thin, and nobody outside of union circles is buying it.”

Educational policy at times ticks like a metronome, however today the stakes are so vitally high for the efficacy of our country and its people that the pendulum can never swing back. We must be on a collective mission to increase rigor and relevance into the curriculum for each and every child, irrespective of the color of their skin.

As city revenues have continued to decline, more money has been allocated to public safety both in real dollars and as a percentage of the general fund budget. Sixty percent of our general fund is allocated to public safety versus 40 percent 20 years ago. That 60 percent includes public safety pension costs and consumes our top four revenue sources combined: property tax, sales tax, utility tax and phone tax revenues.

In real dollars, San Jose spends $115 million more on public safety then we did 10 years ago, yet we have less personnel—while our population has grown from 950,000 to one million.

Forget Meg Whitman…San Jose’s police and fire unions were the biggest losers in this past election.  Meg Whitman can take another $140 million out of petty cash, but San Jose’s police and fire departments may not soon be able to recover from the damage that they have done to their reputations. Frankly, I’m not sure that the rank and file have any idea how much damage they have done to their trust relationship with the San Jose public. The rhetoric employed to try and defeat Measures V and W will likely not be forgotten for quite some time.

In the classic Network, released 34 years ago, Howard Beale (played by Peter Finch) is at his anchor desk as the cameras go live and he eloquently unleashes his famous neurotic break with reality: “I don’t want you to protest. I don’t want you to riot. I don’t want you to write to your congressman… All I know is that first you’ve got to get mad…I want you to get up right now and go to your window, open it, and stick your head out and yell, ‘I’m mad as hell, and I’m not going to take this anymore!!’

Today I feel the same as Beale, not related to his abject disgust with the trajectory of the nation, crime in the streets, depression, dirty air, banks, guns and unemployment, although those complaints still exist today. No; for me it is about the state of affairs with public education

Unfortunately, not all housing developments create the same economic value in areas assigned to the Redevelopment Authority (RDA). Last week, the council approved financing for an affordable housing development on North 4th Street in a RDA area. Since the housing developer is a non-profit, the development is exempt from paying property tax

By Greg Larson

It appears that Democrats won all nine statewide races and retain significant majorities in the California legislative and congressional delegations. But as evidenced below, the statewide ballot measures paint a completely different picture, one that suggests the Democratic Party itself is increasingly out of touch with the policy preferences of the California electorate.

The odds that San Francisco Giants would become World Champions were about as good as those of Jerry Brown being once again elected Governor, Gavin Newsom as Lieutenant Governor, and Larry Aceves as Superintendent of Public Instruction. I proudly advocated through money and mouth in all four of these potentially historic events.

Now I want to turn my attention to building support for an anti-gay bullying policy, while strengthening all anti-bullying efforts in Santa Clara County.

Next week, voters will have the opportunity to create real change in San Jose and in Sacramento. In addition to choosing a new governor, we must decide on eight state initiatives and referenda, all of which will have a deep impact on California politics and culture. Locally, two measures could rescue the city from a crippling budget deficit, and deal with an imbalance of power that helped create it. At the same time, two tight races could put a couple of candidates on the San Jose City Council who promise to bring some much-needed independence to that body.

In the months leading up to today’s vote, the editorial team at Metro/SJI has been interviewing candidates and studying the issues. Posted here are our suggestions.

San Jose voters face several difficult and contentious decisions tomorrow—this is not one of them. Measure B will create a $10-per-vehicle annual fee to repair San Jose’s neighborhood streets and thoroughfares. The countywide initiative would provide $14 million per year, every year, to transportation Authority—more than $5 million to San Jose. It’s necessary because San Jose has the worst roads of any big city in the nation.

During the past few years, the City of San Jose has annexed 42 county pockets. These annexations came about in two ways. First, the State of California changed the law that made county pockets that are under 150 acres unable to vote on whether not they wanted to be annexed. Second, the County of Santa Clara had wanted San Jose to annex county pockets for years. San Jose avoided the topic until there was a court settlement with the County where the City agreed to annex a portfolio of county pockets from west to east based on the “sphere of influence”—lines that have been drawn for decades that indicate which cities county pockets would be annexed into.

Alum Rock Union School District Board of Trustees
Aaron Resendez
During his unsuccessful run for a District 5 council seat in June, Aaron Resendez went to the hospital to visit the ill father of his opponent, Magdalena Carrasco, just to say “Hi” and offer support. That would not surprise anyone who knows Resendez—he is the epitome of old-fashioned honor and integrity.

Measure U would do three good and important things. First, while it would not explicitly legalize San Jose’s medical marijuana dispensaries, it would no doubt offer them a powerful degree of legitimacy, and make it easier for them to provide services to their patients, it would protect. Second, it would begin the process of creating a regulatory framework under which medi-pot clubs and collectives operate. Third, it would create a potentially significant new revenue stream for the city.

Back in March, when he first launched his campaign, Donald Rocha was careful to a fault. He declined to take positions on controversial issues, saying he needed to first get familiar with the issues, and then to go out into the community and find out what his constituents were thinking.

Seven months later, Rocha has evolved as a political actor. Having studied the policy papers, pounded the pavement and knocked on a few thousand doors, he says he now knows what his district wants and how to get it.

More and more I believe that public education is in grave peril. My seat on the County Board Of Education gives me a perch to view the educational world like no other. I so badly want to feel hope that we can work together to turn the system around so all students can thrive with the skills and knowledge needed for success in the 21st century. However, I am running out of hope and I am not sure enough leaders are paying attention to the game-changing drama for which we are immersed.