Pruning Rose

The San Jose Police Officers Association started its attack ad blitz for the June 5 primary election, and the cops aren’t just doing mailers and push polls—they’re also pulling out all the social-media stops. A new Facebook page, “Rose Herrera-Let’s not be fooled again,’ calls the San Jose councilmember a “slumlord’ and “fraud’ on issues dealing with water rates, public safety and giveaways to millionaires (see A’s owner Lew Wolff). Also included on the Facebook page, which as of presstime had more than 330 likes, is a sharply worded letter from former county Supervisor and state Assemblymember Dom Cortese. The retired politico even posed for a picture while reading the newspaper and looking dismayed. It’s worth noting that current county Supervisor Dave Cortese—Dom’s son and a likely candidate to run for mayor of San Jose in 2014—supports Herrera’s main opponent in District 8, East Side school board member Patricia Martinez-Roach. “It’s clearly personal with him,’ says Sam Liccardo, Herrera’s colleague on the council and a potential opponent of Dave’s in the 2014 mayor’s race. The firefighters and nurses unions have their own attack ads, showing that Cindy Chavez, CEO of the South Bay Labor Council—which endorsed Herrera’s candidacy in 2008 but can’t stand her these days—still knows how to circle the wagons to enforce discipline. That became especially true when Sheriff Laurie Smith joined Herrera’s opponents by retracting her endorsement. Herrera found out via text message from Fly. Conservative estimates peg at least a $50K tab on the attacks against Herrera.

The Fly is the valley’s longest running political column, written by Metro Silicon Valley staff, to provide a behind-the-scenes look at local politics. Fly accepts anonymous tips.

8 Comments

  1. So let me get this straight….when someone disagrees with a Council members’ business ethics, moral makeup, and inability to think for themselves….its an attack?  But when this same Council member endorses breaching a Union Contract, Flip-flopping on her alliances and shafting the very people who got her elected its Ok?  She is given a pass?  No, and Liccardo as a spokesperson for her says it all
      Laurie smith has been re-elected time after time as Sheriff because of her honesty, clarity of vision, moral character and the ability to get the job done.  She is the anti-herrera, and a trusted voice of reason.  If she pulled her endorsement, it is for good reason.

  2. Liccardo really???? Of course its personal ! You (sam) rose, pierre,pete,and Reed have destroyed this once promising City. you truely crack me up , you gut decimate public safety, you blame city workers for Councils past and present mistakes, you’re out to destroy the pension systems. Get it thru your head , YES ………….it is personal.

  3. Oh Uncle Dom…

    I have to debate you on some of the points you made on the hit piece.

    – Water rates going up.

    This was done to avoid privatization of the CSJ water company.  Water is cheap, dirt cheap.  The cheapest service you can get from the city (what, $0.025 @ gallon or so?)What’s 19% of nothing?

      1.  I don’t like the idea of my water’s quality becoming beholden to stockholder interests, instead of the community.
      2. The idea that it becomes private also excludes public input on policy
      3. Water could potentially be sold to the highest bidders, causing water shortages, the same way Enron sold off California’s energy.

    – Stadium Land
      1. This was a unanimous vote by the council.  Got something against the other councilmembers/mayor?
      2. It’s a fairly labor intensive project, and part of the lobbying has come from unions.  Suddenly we’re against labor?
      3.  I thought our family was huge on baseball?

    The other issues you brought up, I’d love to debate you on.  Just not here in public forums.  There’s a lot of personal things you should really know about.  Please get in touch.

    Yours Truly,
    Robert

    • Figured I’d throw some campaign ethics in here too.. Well, not ethics, but the rule breaking the folks supporting Roach are doing.

      #1.  Not a single roach sign (all 4 of them, not many people want them) have the FPPC # or campaign name on them.

      #2. On the hit piece Uncle Dom is standing in front of a CSJ firetruck, with the CSJ logo clearly visible on it. Yet another campaign violation.

      And you want to call Rose on her political ethics?

  4. And now, for the electorate’s next media brainwash? Scott Herhold’s absolutely biased one sided touchy feely piece on Herrera. Note no inclusion of the accusers position. Likely just afraid that the information presented is actually factual.

    Upon taking office Liccardo’s note to his neighborhood association identified the single source of the City’s budget woes as imbalanced land use, with housing increases sucking up City resources without commensurate commercial development. Now presented with an unanticipated crisis, choosing to scapegoat the Unions while with the other hypocrites continuing the entitlements including a new campaign for more high density housing downtown.

    Remember Joseph McCarthy? My prayer is the fate will be the same.

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