The ‘Pension Reform in Name Only’ Awards

It is time to announce the awards for best actor and best actress in local government for the “Pension Reform in Name Only” category.

Best Actress Award: Nancy Pyle
I have watched Nancy Pyle read from a prepared script time and time again, speaking for and against pension reform. But, from my perspective, she supported any roadblock in the way of pension reform the last four years. On Aug. 3, 2010, she voted against putting Measure W on the November 2010 ballot and voted against implementing Measure W on May 1, 2012. On the dais, Councilmember Pyle said she voted in favor of putting Measure B on the ballot because so many of her constituents contacted her office demanding the right to vote again on pension reform.

When asked to list her name on the argument in favor of Measure B on the sample ballot—since she voted to put it on the ballot as residents demanded—she declined. Nancy Pyle, in my view, did not lift a finger to help the passage of Measure B, as she was absent on the Measure B mailers. Instead, the campaign called upon the former, and perhaps more popular, District 10 Councilmember Pat Dando.

Best Actor Award: Donald Rocha
Donald Rocha campaigned for City Council in 2010 as a supporter of Measure W, both verbally and on his campaign material. However, when it came to implementing Measure W, Donald Rocha joined Nancy Pyle in voting “no” on May 1, 2012.  Donald Rocha, like Nancy Pyle, as told to me by District 9 residents and his comments on the dais, voted to put Measure B on the ballot based on pressure from District 9 residents who strongly favor pension reform. Donald Rocha, like Nancy Pyle, refused to have his name listed on the sample ballot as being in favor of Measure B. He was also missing from the Measure B campaign material. 

Two good people but also two very good actors.

There are other characters in this screenplay, both in San Jose and Sacramento, like Assemblyman Paul Fong. Several of them are not acting in my view; they’re simply just opposed to pension reform. I respect these viewpoints, although different than mine, because you know where these people stand and their views do not blow in the wind.

The City Council will vote tomorrow on implementing Measure W. Will a second time be the charm?

61 Comments

  1. The editorial in the Merc about Paul Fong voting for AB 1692 isn’t going to help Paul Fong.

    http://www.mercurynews.com/opinion/ci_20817705/mercury-news-editorial-senate-must-reject-bankruptcy-bill

    The west side of Assembly District 28 is probably more conservative than San Jose as a whole, and includes Pete Constant’s district, San Jose District 1.  We know how San Jose voted on Measure B.

    Chad Walsh, Paul Fong’s opponent, has an issue that will clearly define the candidates.

  2. PO are trying to up Chuck on your attacks of fellow council members that do not agree with the lying, greedy six of you.  Hopefully 5 when Rose gets defeated in the runoff.  Boy crap will rain down when that happens.  You have sunk to a new low or this is because you think you are above everyone because you got another limit on a corrupt city council.

    Seems our posts get monitored but there is no sensor on your worthless opnions.

    Very nice to see Chuck lost anonther 8+ million in the lawsuit by developers.  Seems the council likes to take money (sounds like pension funds) spend the money on pet projects then claim we don’t have that money anymore.  County is in line next, then who?  Can’t wait to see what Measure B is going to cost the taxpayers as well.

  3. Perhaps they realize that there is a very good chance Measure B is illegal, and will cost the city millions in legal fees, only to be left with no reform at all. Perhaps they were willing to negotiate with the San Jose Police Officer’s Association, as the POA put forth many ideas for pension reform, only to be ignored by a majority of the council, mayor, and city manager. Perhaps they could read the writing on the wall, and see that hundreds of our best police officers are fleeing this city and Measure B will only hasten this.

    Pier, I think your attack on your fellow council members is very tacky, but I would expect no more from you.

  4. As a council member, I would think you would have gotten the word that it is not “reform” but rather it is complete modification of promised benefits.  I would think that the city would ask its employees and representatives to be consistent and to not use words that the court has found misleading. But I guess continuing to mislead is a priority and not misleading is not very important.

    Shame on the councilmembers—they are elected to make hard decisions.  if they did not think the measures were good for the city for whatever reason they should have stood their ground and explained to their constituents why the proposed measures would not be good for them.

  5. We can add a few more “best actor” awards to your short list.

    Let’s start with Mayor Greed and Rick Duh-Doyle, who couldn’t manage to win a $6 million dollar lawsuit filed by a gang of money-grubbing developers regarding zoning conversion from industrial to residential in the Evergreen area.  Mayor Greed is a land-use attorney and Duh-Doyle is our City Attorney so the best actor awards are for pretending to be competent attorneys.

    In accord with the above, ex-Council Member Dave Cortese wins the “I’m owned by the developers” award for being on the leading edge of helping the greasy developers and lobbyists in their quest for the zoning conversion.

    Pierluigi Olivero wins the “pretending to be on the side of the people” award.  Whenever it looks like the Council is going do something stupid, Pier takes his lone voting stance, trying to make his constituents believe that he really is on the side of what’s ethical and just.  In truth, he often wants to vote in line with the Council majority but knows that the measure will easily pass without his affirmative vote.

    And let’s not forget about City Manager Deb Fig-One.  Can someone list the awards to which she’s entitled?

  6. Now for a real post…

    Don isn’t just the “Best Actor in Pension Reform”, he’s also the “Best Actor in Labor Support”.   He’s rolled out the red carpet for Walmart, including ridding my neighborhood of its once convenient dedicated turn lane.

    He’s also the “Best actor in open space”  having promised our district at the Cambrian forums, “I’ll work to preserve the Almaden Ranch as a park, sports field”.   Nope, now it’s going to become a shopping center who’s size will rival that of Oakridge mall.

    There is not a single neighbor on my street in support of anything that’s happened.  I know, I knocked on every door and talked to them. We lost safety in the form of pedestrian islands (although one turn island put in so folks can turn either left or right has become a new hotspot for sign beggars)

    One councilmember who’s name shall remain nameless told me, “It’s like a giant parking lot over there now”.

    Wife and I have a new saying anytime we’re inconvinienced by any of this while driving around.  We let out a deep sigh, and say, “Thanks Don.”

    I want a preview button SJI… Just in case I make html mistakes.

    • Hi Robert,

      If you write your post in Microsoft Word you can save it as a web page, then click “view source,” and get all the HTML.  It’s an easy work-around until SJI changes things.

  7. I find this a bizarre way to get a commitment for a vote from one’s colleagues. Perhaps Council member Oliverio might have better luck actually talking to his fellow council members rather than calling them names (actor=liar) in public the day before a vote.

  8. P.O.
    Are you going to continue to bite the hand that feeds you? They voted the way you wanted them too and you are still complaining!

    First you attack and blame City employees for the City’s overspending and budget problems, you outsource their jobs, you support a measure on the ballot that will cost millions of tax payer dollars to defend in court, you use tax payer money to put this measure on the ballot, and now you slam two very decent Council Members who voted the will of their constituents, and followed their own personal convictions?

    Wow! Talk about an Academy Award winning performance! I think you should get an Oscar for this one P.O.!

    • <h5 class=“commentTitle clearfix”>
        <span class=“name”>>>Kathleen</span> <span class=“date”>Mon, Jun 11, 2012 – 1:49 pm</span> “Are you going to continue to bite the hand that feeds you?”</h5>

        I wasn’t aware Don and Nancy spoon fed PO. 

       

        Kathleen, you live down the street from me.  Are you so enamored with His Royal Handsomeness that you don’t see the “Parking Lot” that’s here at Almaden and Cherry?At least PO has the balls to call them out on something.

       

        +1 respect to you sir.

         

      • Hi Robert,

        I have a lot of respect for Don, but I don’t have respect for P.O. Many of P.O’s constituents have complained about how he and his staff have treated them when they called to get his assistance on vital issues in their area. He has also shown a great lack of respect for those who differ with his opinion of things, and a lot of disdain for City employees.

        Don on the other hand has done a lot for D9 in his short time on the Council, and has never bashed anyone on the Council.

        Upon my request, Don met with myself, and members of the SJPD to discuss the increase in graffiti, increased drug use of teenagers around Farnham School, and at Houge Park after dusk. He immediately held a community meeting, this past Monday night to address the increase in home and car burglaries, the increase in graffiti, and speeding.

        I know his office invited your area, where were you? I know that graffiti is of great concern to you, so I would have thought you would have attended.

        BTW- Just so you have your information correct, Don had nothing to do with the “parking lot” you are angry about. That “parking lot” you are referring to was approved by former Council Member Diquisto, and the Council, long before Don took office.

  9. Note to Pierlugi.

    When setting up your Roman Triumph, be sure to have a legion of Measure B supporters dressed in white and purple robes.  A flock of falcons nesting at City Hall should be released while hundreds of freedman from the districts are all throwing garlands and roses in the path of your chariot.  Behind you, make sure Donald Rocha is holding the laurel leaves a little above your head and continues to whisper, “Remember thou art mortal.”

  10. Shame shame shame more insults because of people who do not agree with you.  These city employees should file a complaint against you. The city law clearly says to treat other city workers with respect.  Something you know nothing about. Public ridicule of fellow council people. Our city government is in trouble. . Ms. Pyle has done more in her district then you will ever accomplish. And both candidates still have respect from all the city workers. Something you do not. Maybe just jealous?  Pyle and Rocha can sit down and negotiate, something you cannot do. To put out this kind of hate, and disrespect is terrible.  I guess you want to teach our young people how to bully and make it look as a joke.  It’s a shame the editor will not let us people post on your transgressions, maybe this is why you are allowed to throw stones.

  11. If my memory serves me, Pyle and Rocha only voted to put the latest iteration of B on the ballot.  If that had been voted down, the earlier, more draconian version would have gone forward.

    And being against B is not being against pension reform.  It’s being more concerned with the residents of the City of San Jose than with one’s own political career.

  12. So much for the concept of “grace in victory.”  And the Merc will probably applaud this churlish, nasty screed from PLO (if they get the OK to notice it at all) as “another example of Oliverio’s penchant for saying what’s on his mind.” Don’t you have to have something there first, though? This is just childishly tacky, and another embarrassment for us in district 6.

  13. Maybe those members actually thought it through?  Cops are leaving the City at an alarming rate for places where those governments understand that public safety is the most important thing government provides.  Who is going to help you in the middle of the night when you call 911?  Unfortunately, San Jose leaders think buildings and stadiums are the most important.  Let’s see where you are after years of court battles and millions upon millions of dollars wasted in lawyers’ fees for a measure that is likely never implemented.

  14. PO,

    Can’t understand why you have so much resentment for your fellow council member just because they actually studying the measures and just don’t vote with the other five of you.

    Interesting today that the Mercury news would come out in an editorial stating their weren’t sure Measure B was worded exactly right.  Then go on to suggest you (the council) could go back to the voters to tweak both Measure B & W.

    Of course we both know this will never happen.  Interesting MN never comments on your posts.

    Too bad you could not just vote from home because everyone already knows what it will be.

  15. > Best Actress Award: Nancy Pyle

    Nancy Pyle has always seemed to be the stereotype of the oily, insincere, grandstanding politician.

    I attended a “cultural” event where Nancy acted as the de facto MC.  Throughout the event, Nancy kept a close eye on the clock and when HER time became an issue, she jumped up on the stage, thanked the entertainment group for coming even though the audience was looking forward to an encore, and then launched into her personal campaign “commercial”.

    I think Nancy has earned a certain measure of disdain in the district, and I ascribe Edesa Bitbadal’s lame showing in the council race as a result of her association with Pyle.

  16. They chose Pat Dando because of her popularity with voters? It couldn’t possibly be because she directed the anti-worker Chamber could it?  The driving force behind the Mayor’s attack on public service, seen as a nationwide watershed by the Merc. Look no further than the US Chamber for their war on the middle class and propaganda campaigns to fool this Country into the Tea Party claim that government is behind all of our ills, not the corporate and financial industry who sent this country into financial crisis.

    Calling them “actors” means they are deceptive. Hmm, lets look at PLO’s campaign flyer which states regarding Measure B: “Fair: requires both city and employees to contribute to the system”, implying to a gullible constituency that workers do not currently pay at all! It’s these kind of simple sound bites we see from PAC driven propaganda that is driving the National trend of scapegoating public service compensation for all of their financial ills.

    Remember, it was the incompetence of government regulators behind the mortgage investment meltdown and the Gulf spill. And that ineffective government performance is just what the Chamber is looking for so they can continue to get what they want, whatever the negative public impact, and to continue huge taxation discounts responsible for underfunding their share passing it on to the individual taxpayer.
    Ironic in my view that the super wealthy residents of District 6 with huge nest eggs for their later years would continue to support a man who has proven to support the caste system of the deserving 1% versus the rest of us worker peons (Federated employees who have lost 25% of their purchasing power over the last 8 years, prior to the 2 Measures do to frozen COLAs, wage reductions, and increased deductions from their paychecks).

    San Jose has established Council Chambers as our Country’s current version of the former House Un-American Activities Committee enjoying the same prestige during its 1945-1975 reign of terror. I just hope its final fate will someday meet the same end.

  17. Lou Scannon, Troglodyte Flat Earther

    Please crawl back into you hole and wait for another ground hog day to see which way the earth is turning!

    Nancy has been a great council person.

    • > Please crawl back into you hole and wait for another ground hog day to see which way the earth is turning!

      Rick:

      Thank you for your thoughtful insights into District 10 issues and personalities.

      Do you have a shrine somewhere in the district where pilgrims can go to seek your wisdom?

      Do petitioners need to sacrifice a goat or anything, or will you provide you soothe saying withou compensation?

  18. PO,

    Please try and stay awake and look interested tonight as speakers way in on Measurew W.  The world knows the council will vote yes tomorrow but give them the cautiously.

    Then I suggest you look to the county jail for new city employees after you pass the 2nd teir pension reform

    • The gang of 5 have proven their disregard for a quality workforce, thinking that the City will run itself with fancy buildings under the direction of Senior Managers and wise Council, who know so much about corporate management. They need look no further than the Home Depot parking lots for workers who are nothing but their fodder for their programs.

      Jail and Day-workers will be just fine to work as outsourced laborers accepting the same as CSJ custodians, no benefits, no holidays. I guess City voters feel good that municipal workers get trashed, that is until they start fussing when it is found there is a relationship between compensation and the performance of front line staff who dispense services.

  19. When all is said and done and Measure B is tossed by the courts, will you then admit your desire to punish your political enemies superceded your policy judgement?  Or will you stick to the old refrain. I, for one, will be very contrite if the courts uphold the law against all precedent.

    Besides both of your collegues voted to put it on the ballot.  What’s the point?

    While I congratulate you on your reelection.  And It was a shockingly impressive victory.  Your diatribe against the two Councilmembers who publically opposed you is not worthy of your new stature.

    Don will be up in two years and you will have your chance to “get even”.  But, as a person who opposed your election but now recognizes the will of the voters, the key to victory or defeat in politics is humility or, at least, civility.

    Pension reform is not over, it is simply round 5 and it could go all 15 rounds. 

    So, in the words of George Patton who warned of gloating too much in success on the battlefield, remember “all glory is fleeting”.

    •   >>Rich Robinson Tue, Jun 12, 2012 – 9:30 pm “But, as a person who opposed your election but now recognizes the will of the voters, the key to victory or defeat in politics is humility or, at least, civility”

        Rich, you seem to side with labor, and you want to talk civility?

       

        Where was the civility towards Rose?  Can I ask you that?  $200,000 in hit pieces is not civil.

        Your people are no less civil than PO, in fact I’d say they’re less civil.  Calling people out on a blog is one thing, but paying $5000 to design “THE REAL ROSE DOT COM” is civil?  Following me around to steal campaign signs is civil? (Actually had it happen, chased them off when I pulled out my camera)

       

        The irony is strong in this one…  Ye pot, thy kettle, black.  BTW how much do you charge?  Just wondering, you’re effective and worth the money, I’ll give you that much.

      • What is inaccurate on the website http://www.therealroseherrera.com ?

        Anything?

        The majority of voters in D8 said no to the conniving and phony Herrera.  She sneaks behind closed doors and saves her pension, a more lucrative pension than what she voted on yesterday for new city employees, and you defend her.

        It’s no wonder your still at the kids table at Thanksgiving, it’s time to grow up and realize that you were also fooled by Rose.  Two bankruptcies not one, salesperson not ceo of her company, code violations galore, fraud lawsuits that she lost, and flip/flops too numerous to list here.

        And let’s not forget about voting on projects for a company she owns stock in….

        Herrera is a walking conflict of interest and an ethical nightmare…facts are facts.

        • Well for starters…

          It’s old info.  97?  The unions knew about it the first time they backed her, why didn’t they make an issue out of it then? (Oh ya, they thought they had a pawn who would do EXACTLY what they told her to)

          The house they refer to as a “slum” wasn’t.  She had a jerk renter living there that trashed the place, then filed complaints after they trashed the place.

          She converted company stock to a loan for one investor, since they technically could not pay dividends to one person, and not another. (which btw, if you’re *just* a salesperson, then how could you authorize that?)

          No wonder you have to use an anonymous name.  God forbid someone with some accuracy and real facts calls you on your BS.  I certainly wouldn’t want to be schilling 1/2 baked facts with my real name.

          Cool story bro.

        •   Truth Patrol Thu, Jun 14, 2012 – 5:48 pm

             “Must be horrible being the black sheep….”

            It’s very easy to attack someone when you think they have no way to defend themselves isn’t it?   It’s even easier when you can hide behind anonymity.  Cowardice.

            No, your attack doesn’t phase me in the slightest.  Tomorrow (probably by the time you read this) my father and I will be at my grandmothers, grinding  stumps, because there’s SOB’s sending their “friends” over to milk her silly on easy subcontracting jobs.   Not charging her a dime, other than she’s paying for the equipment rental, watching my kids, and making me lunch.

           

            Your truth is not as absolute as you would like it to be.

           

            As far as the rest of your post…

           

            It’s a pivot, and doesn’t deal with the question I brought up which is, “Was Rose the only benefactor of this spike?”  If you are to hold someone in contempt, at least have the decency to apply the same contempt towards all those that have done the same misdeed, otherwise.

            Cool story bro.

             

        • After all the trash talking you have done on this blog and others you should not take posts so personal besides one of my favorite TV shows is Bah Bah Black Sheep…so lighten up a little Bob.

          The answer to your question is Yes.  Rose Herrera is the only one who was in a city sponsored 401k plan for close to two years that then wanted a retirement do-over and signed up for a CalPERS 2%@55 plan.  This was one month, as the memo on http://www.therealroseherrera.com shows, before Rose signed the fiscal emergency memo calling for drastic cuts to pensions, benefits, and retiree’s COLA’s.

          She used her inside knowledge of what was coming down the pike and chose to save her own lifetime defined benefit pension with automatic cost of living raises.  You may be OK with that but not I and apparently not the voters of D8.

          I would say to call the cops on those defrauding your family but Rose has cut the cops that would respond to those types of crimes, shame isn’t it.

        • She was the only benefactor?  What of the other council/Mayor?

          If you’re going to make a martyr, include the entire group.  Do you guys get it yet? You spent over $200,000 to smear Rose, when you should have spent $200,000 to get Ash on TV to give sensible points on why B was a bad idea.

        • No one knew that she filed two bankruptcies when she ran in 2008 except for Rose and her second husband.

          She started receiving code violations in 1994, well before her tenant “trashed” the place.  She was cited for illegally converting her garage and she has yet to fix the problems, long after the tenant that “trashed” the place moved.

          What about voting on projects for a company she owns stock in?

          What about defrauding her “friends”, you know about that one right?  She begs for a loan, gets it, promises to pay it back and does not.  In fact she bounces a check one time and it took a court order, outside of bankruptcy court, to make her pay up.  And Robert, or AKA Herrera Apologist, she tried to get the couple that loaned her the money to convert it into stock in the months leading up to her first bankruptcy, who does this?

          And of course let’s not forget signing up for her lifetime defined benefit pension with an automatic COLA for life starting at age 55 one month before signing a memo calling for cuts below what she just signed up for…I smell a rat.

          And Mr. Apologist, she transferred property right before her first bankruptcy as a married women and 11 days later as a single woman….can you say bankruptcy fraud, probably not because you are too worried about who I am…BTW, I am the Truth Patrol!!!

          Must be horrible being the black sheep….

        • So Rose is the only one on the CALPERS 2%@55 plan? 

          Also, switching plans is not the same thing as a spike. Definition of a spike is a pay increase (or massive overtime) before an employee goes out on retirement.

          Nice of you to clear that up for us.

        • Bob,
          Rose was the only one who changed from a 401K plan to a defined benefit CalPERS plan, thus giving herself a lifetime defined benefit pension, in the month before calling for drastic cuts to workers pensions.

          Switching from a 401K to a defined benefit plan that starts paying a set amount beginning at age 55 with automatic COLA’s is a SPIKE.  Come on Bob, a SPIKE is a SPIKE.  But hey, you have taken the self appointed role of defending Rose’s behavior and ethics so all it what you will.

        • So this is the logical conclusion I’ve garnered from your statements Truth Patrol..

          1.  Rose knew the outcome of measure B, which is why she changed her pension plan.  She KNEW the voters would pass it, because she’s a witch, and all witches can tell the future.

          2. Anyone on the Calpers 2%@55 is a pension spiker. Not sure what the actual number of public employees is on the plan, but I’m sure it wasn’t *just* created for Rose.

          I guess you learned your logic and science from Monty Python?

          http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrzMhU_4m-g

          Sir Bedevere: There are ways of telling whether she is a witch.
          Peasant 1: Are there? Oh well, tell us.
          Sir Bedevere: Tell me. What do you do with witches?
          Peasant 1: Burn them.
          Sir Bedevere: And what do you burn, apart from witches?
          Peasant 1: More witches.
          Peasant 2: Wood.
          Sir Bedevere: Good. Now, why do witches burn?
          Peasant 3: …because they’re made of… wood?
          Sir Bedevere: Good. So how do you tell whether she is made of wood?
          Peasant 1: Build a bridge out of her.
          Sir Bedevere: But can you not also build bridges out of stone?
          Peasant 1: Oh yeah.
          Sir Bedevere: Does wood sink in water?
          Peasant 1: No, no, it floats!… It floats! Throw her into the pond!
          Sir Bedevere: No, no. What else floats in water?
          Peasant 1: Bread.
          Peasant 2: Apples.
          Peasant 3: Very small rocks.
          Peasant 1: Cider.
          Peasant 2: Gravy.
          Peasant 3: Cherries.
          Peasant 1: Mud.
          Peasant 2: Churches.
          Peasant 3: Lead! Lead!
          King Arthur: A Duck.
          Sir Bedevere: …Exactly. So, logically…
          Peasant 1: If she weighed the same as a duck… she’s made of wood.
          Sir Bedevere: And therefore…
          Peasant 2: …A witch!

        • Bob,
          Are you OK? 

          Rose called for a ballot measure with pension cuts below what she signed up for herself one month before calling for the ballot measure.  It is called saving your own skin and not a profile in courage.

          She was in a 401K, by definition a plan that is not a lifetime guaranteed pension….she then signed up for a lifetime guaranteed pension using inside knowledge, not of the vote outcome, you silly little rascal, but inside knowledge that the Mayor and his minions were planning on placing a measure on the ballot to cut workers pensions below the level she signed up for.

          Since you want to use movie quotes try this one from A Few Good Men: “You can’t handle the truth”

          Moving from a 401k to a defined benefit plan is SPIKING: Pension spiking is the process whereby public sector employees grant themselves large raises or otherwise artificially inflate their compensation in the years immediately preceding retirement in order to receive larger pensions than they otherwise would be entitled to receive. This inflates the pension payments to the retirees and, upon retirement of the “spikee”, transfers the burden of making payments from the employee’s employer to a public pension fund.

          So let’s add it up for you one last time:
          Rose was in a 401K…
          She then signs up for a lifetime pension worth thousands more than her 401K…(secretly)
          Thus she just SPIKED her pension…

          Did others do it, who cares, Rose did it and it’s not right.  It is called hypocrisy and it is shady.

          Any insight how she was able to vote on a project for a company she owns stock in?  Come to find out she then recused herself on a later vote for the very same company…hmmmm.

        • Here’s a timeline.

          1. Rose Changed to calpers
          2. June Election
          3. Rose changes everyone 401k’s after the voters give her the OK to do so.

          She can’t predict the future, but you seem to think so.  Witches and evil queens with magical powers are the work of Disney.. 

          If you knew measure B might pass, why didn’t you switch over to mitigate your own risk?

          Any insight how she was able to vote on a project for a company she owns stock in?

          Yup, easy.  She asked city attorney Rick Doyle if she should sit out the vote. He checked if she owned enough stock to see if it was against city charter, it wasn’t, and gave her the green light to vote.

          Pierluigi voted to renew an Oracle support contract, and he was pretty up front here on SJI about owning Oracle stock, but he never made any mention if he consulted the city attorney.  I’m guessing he did.

          If you think they followed bad advice from Rick Doyle, maybe you should be attacking him for giving council/mayor bad advice?

          Your attacks on Rose just seem so misguided/misdirected 48% of district 8.  Math dictates had it only been a 2 man race, Rose would have won by a landslide.

          You need to consider your demographic has changed.  While scare tactics, slam pieces used to work because of the labor strong constituency, it is no longer the case in San Jose.  Labor is still a strong player, but there’s something else now.

          Walking through district 8, a lot has changed since I was a kid.  There’s still the shady areas (which have gotten worse) but now there’s hillsides filled with CEO’s and engineers.  People that will be turned off by the type of tactics that have nothing to do with actual civil, politics.  They are the majority population in the east hills now.

          They are the thinkers.  They don’t see a snake and scream, “OMG IT’S A SNAKE”  No.. They evaluate the situation for what it is. “I’m a rather large human who can grab a stick, and beat this thing to death”  Your tactics show what you think of them.  They’re not the kind to knee jerk response like those that would fall for slam pieces. In other words, it’s insulting to their intelligence.

          You’re better off properly planning for 2015.  Like I said in another thread,

          “You can fire employee’s, but not debt”

          Debt is your real enemy here, and those with a proven track record of leading this city down the path of $4bn in RDA debt, a near $1bn city hall are what brought this city down.  The fact that you let these same people lead your efforts is a hypocrisy in itself.

        • Conventional wisdom dictates incumbents should win and win handily. 

          Yup, it sure does.  48% despite $200k + being wasted on a slam campaign is good evidence of that.  We’ll get 52% in the fall.  Not an extra 3%, but an extra 52%.

          Funny how I can throw back facts, and the best you can do is resort to name calling.  Guess that’s the best you have when you run out of facts yourself.

          Again.  Timeline.

          1. Rose changed to calpers before the vote
          2. Vote was passed, of which Rose couldn’t possibly have known that outcome.
          3. Post vote, Rose changed employee pensions, which 78% of the constituents passed.

          Anyways, I’m done responding.

          Mark Twain: ‘Do not argue with an idiot they drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.’

          Feel free to respond, but I’m done here.  Have a nice day.

        • Bobby,
          Facts are beyond your grasp so you make things up.  Fair enough, you should see if you can manage Rose’s fall election since she also lives in a world where make believe prevails. 

          Conventional wisdom dictates incumbents should win and win handily.  She did not which means that there was plenty of discontent prior to any comparative pieces of mail disseminated in D8.  The returns are in and she is in a runoff when all other incumbents in SJ won, why is that?

          Here is why: Facts trump lies, period.

      • No question campaigns can be tough.  My standard of fairness is the substance of the mailers.  If they are truthful, I have no problem.  If they are not—or are misleading—then your have an argument.

        As for campaign sign stealing; it happens in all elections.  Doesn’t make it right, but not a subject PLO would like you to bring up.  In his case, there were cameras.

        That said, once the campaign is over—the disagreements don’t go away—but civility and professionalism is what we should expect from our public officials.  In the final analysis, we agree on far more than we disagree—it is just that the disagreements get the news.

        I do not question PLO’s commitment to San Jose and I personally like him.  I disagree with Rose on many levels, don’t know her well—but don’t dislike her personally.

        That said, a campaign is about giving the public the information to make a thoughtful decision.  Somethimes they agree, sometimes they don’t—but I think it imperative to accpet their final decision.

        With one exception this round, the tobacco industry is simply dishonest and their win is not a reflection of the will of the people, but a carefully crafted fraud upon the public.  As Lincoln said, you can fool all of the people, some of the time.

        • Rich I’m starting to appreciate your thoughtful responses (albeit a bit misguided though, then again from your side of the fence I must appear terribly misguided)

          Re: Tobacco

          I quit for 2 years, a year ago (to this month) I started up again.  Even before I quit, I had no problem with other smokers.

          The tobacco industry is a tiger without teeth these days.  80% of the cost of cigarettes is the taxes.

          My entire issue with prop 29 was it does nothing for people currently addicted to nicotine.  Smoking is a poor persons habit.  In my case, I had a customer that would always come out back and blow smoke in my face (which made me salivate for a cigarette) Wealthy people don’t work jobs like doorman, they can just stay home and stay away from the smoke.

          Fleecing the poor a little more?  No bueno.

          Now if prop 29 had promised “For every dollar we bring in, we’ll subsidize nicotine gum $0.75 per pack”  I would have been cool with it.  Truth is, they want the poor to stay addicted, poor, and dying.  They want to do nothing to help them kick the habit.

          You should ask Rose to lunch.  Nice lady.  Nice thing she did for Atul Lall and the Sikh community in general before she was a councilwoman.

        •   When the prognosis hits you or a member of your family—you may want to rethink that vote.

            It has, it claimed 2 of my relatives.  My great aunt/godmother and my grandfather, but it was their choice as adults.  It also claimed a man I considered my foster grandfather.

           

            As many people die from cancer, it is beyond me how they would see the money going to cancer research as “flawed”.

            One relative died from emphysemia, the other from a ruptured aorta brought on by weight and poor cardio exercise.  The third died from complications related to stroke.

           

            Marijuana has the same tarring effects on lung cilia that cigarettes do, yet you lobbied to make laws less strict on the basis of “medicinal use.”

            Cigarettes are a proven appetite suppressant, so medicinal use can be construed from that fact.

           

            100% of smokers do not get cancer 100% of the time.  If the goal is to get people off cigarettes, then why put money into something that is not even related to that?

        • It is a Republican axiom that the fastest way to put someone or something out of business is to tax it.  Cancer research has a nexus with tobacco, but I don’t care how they spend the money.  Tax tobacco out of existance.

          You are right, tobacco—until recently—has seen a sharp decline.  But the purveyors of the poison still make a ton of dough.  It costs very little to make a cigarette.

          The bigger profits are in less developed nations where the product is cheap.  The Chinese actually had a pro-tobacco policy for a while—part of their population reduction policy.  However, the plan has backfired because they have socialized medicine and before people die—they get sick.  Hence the new crackdown in that country.

          Everytime we vote against a tobacco tax, we empower the killers.  There was nothing wrong with the tax or how it would be spent.  The “flaw” was a contrived message made up from focus groups and polling. 

          It had everything to do with persuading people to vote against their own interest.  As many people die from cancer, it is beyond me how they would see the money going to cancer research as “flawed”. 

          When the prognosis hits you or a member of your family—you may want to rethink that vote.

        • The key is the tax, not where the revenue goes.

          I support Medical Marijuana because the science is irrefutable.  Many medicines have side-effects.  I support the legalization and taxation of all drugs.

          I do not support second-hand smoke.  I do not support allowing marijuana to be smoked in public places or in places where it can affect the unwilling.

          Those are two different issues.  But in Marijuana can reilieve pain—as it can for cancer patients—some of the money may have gone to research MJ.

          That is an issue close to your heart and lunge too, I believe.

        • Lung Rich, Lung…

          No, my stance is pretty clear on it.  There isn’t enough regulation.  AB2312 from Tom Ammiano might take care of some of it. 

          Funny that the little mermaid is NOT supporting the bill.  Harborside and the rest of the big clubs are supporting it.

          There is a huge difference though between Marijuana and other “prescription” drugs and that’s, the rampant abuse/classification of it as “medicinal” is a load of crock.  There’s not a single doctor doing prescriptions that has ever done a real physical on a patient.

          How many drugs are prescribed without giving a physical?

          One of my friends bought into a club in the last 5 months, and brought me in to do the business consulting side of things.  It was a pretty failing club, lucky to earn $9000 @ month.  After straightening out their IT issues, getting them on a POS system (mmjfreeway) and trimming the fat, the club is now grossing $50,000@mo in gross sales. (info gleaned from the mmjfreeway reports)  It’s a completely for-profit business.

          I’m all for taxing recreational drug use, but not “medicine”  It’s one of the things Dave Hodges of A2C2 is fighting for now, and he brings up a very valid point.  If other “medicine” isn’t taxed, what gives us the right to single out marijuana?

          I support the legalization and taxation of all drugs.

          Even Methamphetamine? Outside of its other medicinal forms (aderal, phenadrine, and ritilin) there is no social benefit to it being legal as a recreation drug. 

          I guess it’s OK as long as we’re making a buck, right Rich?  To use your own words, “When the prognosis hits you or a member of your family—you may want to rethink that vote.

          Or god forbid, some pot club owner should beat up one of your family members over a karaoke song.

        • Maybe we just enjoy civil discourse using written word Rick.  Look at the mission statement for the site before saying that again.

          Mission Statement: This site is designed to encourage political debate, discussion and change in our city, started by people who value San Jose and are interested in her future and in this valley’s place in the state and nation.

          Despite Rich and I being on opposite sides of the fence politically at times, we do keep it civil.

        • political debate yes, but you two sound like a cat fight with no winner.  Move on your starting to sound like PO.

          And do not give me a mission statement, SJI amd metro (one in the same do no even follow “the mission statement”, just like the city council does not follow it’s “sunshine policy”.

        • CRAYONS!

          You sir have cracked this case…

          The crayons are nice, my kids draw pictures for their grandparents with them.  There is nothing that makes a man appreciate the circle of life more than watching his for-bearers be proud that he’s done such a great job with the progeny of the family line.

          I’ll have you know I have just as much comic book educated as yourself sir..  Perhaps more with my journey into Manga, Cartoons. Between my reading of Hardy Boys, watching the Green Hornet (original, with Bruce Lee) and Scooby Doo, I had the expertise to crack this case.

          http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._Jonah_Jameson

          That’s your facebook profile picture, your username here, and you make a ton of links back to your blog.

          You are none other than..
          (DRAMATIC GROUNDHOG)
          http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8of00uEVRRA

          JAMES ROWAN!

          Isn’t your house up for foreclosure?  Shouldn’t you be more worried about THAT than BobbySan’s crayons?

  20. Speaking of actors, I think Pete Constant should be right up there. I see and hear him constantly on national news shows, trashing his former coworkers who now finance his ‘disability’ pension, while NEVER mentioning that he himself is a recipient of the very pensions he vilifies. I watch the online meetings of the San Jose City Council, and watch Constant pontificate on pension reform and the evil greedy city workers, yet he never mentions that he is double dipping, and I have never heard him offer to suspend his current ‘disability’ pension while he collects another paycheck from the San Jose taxpayers, whose cause he champions at every sound bite opportunity. Can someone PLEASE explain why he gets a free pass. Also, thank you council members Rocha and Pyle, who had the dignity at yesterday’s meeting to publicly ask that their fellow council members remain professional, and not use the media or blogs to trash one another. Can’t imagine to what they were referring.

    • Come on for Pete’s sake. Can’t one of Pete’s supporters answer the question why everyone turns a blind eye to his unbelievable, even immoral, hypocrisy on the pension issue and how he bleeds the very system he decries?

  21. want some facts:

    nearly 100 officers who voluntarily resigned as the City of San Jose began their pay cuts and pension reform measures in January of 2011.  As of today, internal SJPD estimates show that at least an 40 additional officers may resign in the coming months rather than live through years of Measure B related litigation and continued benefit cuts. 

    Thank you Measure B voters, I suggust you log on the protrctsanjose.com

    Check out the numbers, you will be surprised how few protect you!

  22. Was Councilmember Pete Constant a nominee? Seems hard for Don to surpass someone who is actually causing the problem. Or, was beating the kid in the wrestling match victory enough?

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