As many know, the number one spectator sport in America is not a sport at all—it’s politics. The year ahead should prove most interesting for such aficionados. There has been so much focus on Ron Gonzales that it is time to take a break and comment on the general, instead of any specific problems in this area; the others are now with the grand jury, the DA, and the most important court of all, the court of public opinion.
Yesterday in the Mercury, Chuck Reed had a thought provoking set of ideas—a rarity at city hall—on the way the city should be run, the operation of the charter, and the checks and balances that must be maintained. We assume that in a Reed administration all these would occur. Reed has been very diligent and consistent on these matters and rightly points out that the citizens only altered the council/manager form of government to shift power to the mayor and elected officials in 1986; they did not fully dismantle it. He is correct. I have primary knowledge on this one, being mayor at the time. My grandfather was a member of the council that adopted the first charter in 1917 and hired the first manager. This form has served our city well, but not perfectly.
Reed and two others, Linda Lezotte and Dave Cortese, have again and again pointed out problems, illegalities and, in their opinion, outright crimes. Ken Yeager and Cindy Chavez have expressed a warranted if belated outrage. Now let us look at the vital middle.
The limbo of city hall—that strange, esoteric, no-man’s land that lies in Catholic theology somewhere between heaven and hell, and in San Jose between blind adherence to the status quo or a lurch into the realm of political reality and common sense—is that middle. It is populated by Nora Campos, Nancy Pyle, Madisen Nguyen, and Judy Chirco. All of these council members possess qualities of fine leaders for their district and for the city as a whole. Madison is very new to City Hall, but a breath of fresh air.
It is a mystery why the others have for so long failed to ask “the reason why” and have given blind support to a manager and mayor so clearly devoid of the proper compass. In the coming year it will be seen if this rather odd place for the unbaptized in ethical and management matters will be abolished or maintained until the next mayor takes office and rules it “non-existent,” just as the Catholic bishops did. There were some signs that Chirco, steeped in community organizing and the many good efforts of the PACT organization, will rise to the occasion and set such a clear direction. It is surely time for the middle of this council to speak up and stand up. I am anxiously waiting to see who turns out to be such a leader.
Tom, you’re right on about Chuck Reed. I truly think he should be our next mayor, hands down.
I am interested to see who comes out of the pack for mayor too. I personally think Cyndi has lost her credibility but that’s just me…
Sadly, the people elected to office whether at the national, state or local level are
beholden to the men who got them there, such as, Abramodd the lobbyist who just pleaded guilty in a corruption case. These same people are at all levels of politics, some honest, some dishonest. But the fact remains that they can alter decisions made at all these levels of government. It seems money runs everything now a days and there isn’t much ethics in this country anymore. It is time for the people to rise up and stop this menace to our democracy. It is easy to see on local level but no many watch the goings on of their congressman or state legislators. How many know who is getting work because their spouse is in congress or in the state legislature. All you have to do is look at congress and see what happened with Tom Delay of Texas. It is happening all over the country. What has to happen is the money has to be taken out of elections. Sounds silly but it is doable if there is the will. We can run campaigns threw the press and TV and with debates every week in different parts of the country or city, depending on the election. Wouldn’t you like to know exactly who and what kind of character you are voting for in elections? The only way to find out is by hearing them talk and answer unscripted questions from press and public. Let start it here in San Jose and see if it can spread throughout the country. It can be done. No candidate can spend money on elections. The new law. This would rid us of corruption in politics.
You are too kind to those in the “middle.” Their silence has allowed the breakdown of San Jose government. They sat on their hands for too long, apparently too blind or just not smart enough to see what was going on. None of this could have happened if the majority of the Council had not buried their heads in the sand.
It will be very telling who they appoint as the interim City Manager. If someone from the current manager’s office is selected then we will know that the Council really don’t want things to change. Unless they go outside and bring in a real manager, they are only giving lip service to the public and pretending they want to clean things up. Watch who votes which way on this one.
#2 – It’s not just you. Many, many people believe Cindy has lost what minimal credibility she had. She is in so deep on this she should no longer be considerred a serious candidate for mayor.
I don’t think there will ever come a day when we are able to remove money from the game of politics. But I do, however, think that HJ is correct in having community groups promote candidate forums where the true positions of the candidates can be seen. For these events to be of any true value, they must remain unscripted and devoid of pre-planned questions. It is important that the general public be allowed to ask questions that will truely probe the candidate’s moral and ethical compass, as well as examining the candidate’s ‘alignment’ with the true needs and wants of the residents.
These forums, or debates, should be well documented by the media (sjinside included) so that those elected can have their performance in office measured to their campaign performances. Remember, measurable performance will produce results.
Of the 6 city elections this June, only 3 races are truly competitive: the mayor, district 1, and district 3. In the mayor’s race, so far, we are dealing with 3 known quantities. Each candidate has been in office several years. We can look back at their performance (as TMcE did in regards to Reed above) and ask ourselves, “did they allow the current situation to develop, or di they standby and watch it happen? If so, what makes anyone think they possess the leadership to return the city to where it needs to be. Do we not expect our council members to be strong leaders and be the important checks in the system?”
In district 1 there is an interesting race emerging. We have 2 candidates that are, for the most part, from outside of city hall – with the exception that they are both chairs, or former chairs, of 2 of the top city commissions. One candidate, Jay James, is from the labor camp, the other, Pete Constant, is from the business and public safety camps. Aside from those supporters who are blindly either pro or anti labor (and there is usually nothing anyone can do to change either’s minds), what do the residents really know about either? Candidate forums/debates would be the only way that the voters can really see who aligns with their values.
In district 3, the race is a little different. We have Manny Diaz trying to return for a sequel. And we all know that the sequel rarely is better than the original (in this case the original movie was poor, so what does that say about the sequel?). Let’s give the voters to ask Manny why he left his council seat early the last time around. Are we about to be a short stepping stone again? District 3 also has Joel Wyrick in play. Aside from his work in the Black Chamber, does the general public know much about him? From what I’ve seen, he’s a fairly good guy – but should anyone run, to steal a phrase from The Fly, on an ‘anyone but Manny’ platform?
This is a good chance for sanjoseinside to help shape public opinion on a much broader scale. Has SJI considered a blog debate, or a podcast audio debate? This might also be an opportunity for SJI to host a brick and mortar (is that blasphemous to suggest in a digital age?) series of debates. I think that it would a great way to inform the public and get some image branding for sanjoseinside. After all, this would be a great way of attracting many new bloggers.
HJ has a well intended thought, but ultimately KJ (#5) is right. There is no way to take all the money out of politics or political campaigns. And yet, we the people deserve to know exactly who/what we are electing into office as our representatives. How can a person whose values/qualities we don’t even know be said to ‘represent’ us?
The format of elections needs to be changed. But how do we effect such a change when the people who would legislate it were elected by and are depending on their re-election from such a system as currently exists?
It’s supposed to be ‘one person, one vote’ but it has become ‘one dollar, one vote’. The more dollars you can throw at something, the more votes you will get. It is the capitalization of politics and it has taken our democracy over.
Here’s one idea to level the playing field: Media reform. So much of political campaigns are made or broken by TV ads. A person’s propensity to believe any assertion is directly related to how many times they hear it. Their motto is “make them hear it till they believe it”; and it works.
Currently, we literally GIVE the media giants access to our airwaves basically for free. We allow them to broadcast to us over America’s air waves making billions, and yet we get nothing. Let’s make them ‘rent’ the right to broadcast to us; and with this revenue we can fund a truly robust public media. The mandate of this public media will to be THE forum through which canidates make their campaings. This public media will be THE place where debates are held and campaign ads played. We’ll have no more of those corporately devised political schemes that only reflect the political leanings of the owners (Rupert Murdoch et al.).
If anything can get politics honest, it is by forcing canidates truly into the public sphere. If ALL campaign related material HAD to take place through a robust, well funded public media, we would be able to control the format in such a way as to achieve a true informed democracy. And big media can make it happen.
Do we deserve any less?
The possible insider to be appointed “interim” City Manager is the current #2, Assistant City Manager Mark Linder. He has the reputation of being the ultimate “yes” man. He will not make any commitments or hold an opinion that differs from the Mayor’s Office. He is known to be always “in a meeting” whenever you need to reach him. If you want a bland, compliant, hear, speak and see no evil type of manager, he’s the one. Don’t be too disappointed if he gets selected….
Mole – I fear your information is correct. Welcome to Borgsdorf 2 – the sequel. Any councilmember who supports this effort should be soundly defeated at election time!
You know what? The real problem is the Mercury News. It’s a gunk because they wrote better things about Detroit’s downtown revival than San Jose’s. In San Jose, they wrote that downtown still struggles and devoid of life during the last few years- always needing more everything to improve it. In downtown Detroit, they mention things are looking up, and it looking good. Well, I’ve been to Detroit, and it’s better in the last few years. Still, it’s not as attractive as downtown San Jose or lively as downtown San Jose, but they point out that it (San Jose) has a long way to go before it becomes a city. The Merc. is a moran! Read the Houston Chronicle: it states that downtown Houston is revilized and thriving. The same thing for Houston, it’s not any better than downtown San Jose. C’on, man! When other cities have only half the progress San Jose has seen, their papers say, ” it’s revitalized and on the upswing.” You see, Mercury News is a dump.
Yeah, right. The Mercury News is the real problem. If only the Merc didn’t publish stories, then we’d have an ethcial Mayor, a City Manager who actually managed, and a Council that had a clue. Darn that Mercury News.
I’ve got to agree with OhNo. It was the Merc that brought the Norcal issue to light, along with the Cisco fiasco, Terry Gregory, etc. They’ve pissed a lot of people off both inside and outside of City Hall but is anyone seriously prepared to argue that the Merc should not have reported on these issues?
A newspaper is not a chamber of commerce brochure. If the writers at the Merc raise issues about needed improvements in downtown San Jose they are hardly alone. It seems to be a frequent topic of discussion here at SJI. (It’s also a frequent topic of discussion among downtown residents and business owners!)
Why shoot the messenger?
HJ#3 is right—the money is in the way. Look at Abramoff’s plea. Jeez, Congresional WIVES are implicated!
But there remains that pesky First Amendment free speech thing. The genius that gets around that roadblock should win a Nobel Prize of some sort.
OhNo # 4 has it right, as well—the silence of the sheep on the city council is truly troubling.
Tom McE talks about the middle—the Chircos and Pyles, who have been as silent as a night in the middle of the ocean for a couple of years or more of corruption and bullying by Gonzo/Guerra. Councilmembers should be leaders. Ours don’t even follow well. That’s what happens when you get one trick ponies who can carry a small geographical area to get elected in a district, rather than citwide elections that just might generate a candidate or two with a vision larger than his/her neighborhood. Neighborhood activists with no real sense of governance make up our city council; just folks who work hard on a single issue that rings true for a neighborhood or two. BOOM, they’re on the city clowncil (not a typo).
They should have been able to rely upon the professionals—Del’s crew; but he just caved in so fast nobody even noticed. I don’t care how nice a guy he might be—he completely blew it, and his resignation was the only right thing to do. Ron should take note.
San Jose is a billion dollar a year business being run by soccer moms. How many people on the council can you imagine being on the Board of Directors of Cisco, or Adobe, or Ebay?
KJ#5—well said.
BT#6—yeah, we deserve better, however, there’s a lot of apathy out there. Most of us have given up believeing that we really have a voice in how we are governed. How do we get people to vote. Jeez, the Iraqis have a much higher turnout than we have.
PUBLIC media—like NPR?? Truth in advertising requires that National PUBLIC Radio change its name. They have a clear bias. Same for their TV outlets. They all have an agenda, just like Hannerty & Limbaugh. Journalism died with Edgar R. Murrow. You can never rely on the media—the line between reporting and editorial was erased a copuple of decades ago.
Mole#7—so, is this Linder guy a Del clone—lips firmly placed on the mayor’s tush? But since the mayor has no power anymore, except to draw his salary, to whom will Linder look?
“None of the Above” remains the most viable candidate I can think of right now. Sad.
John #12,
Hallway intel has it that Linder will just connect to the new leader of the Gonzo majority, Cindy. An appointment out of the current City Manager’s Office is just a continuation of the Borgsdorf style of “management.” We need an outsider to run this place. Don’t expect real management improvements until 2007.
Though it might seem as if every angle of the Norcal fiasco has been examined, Tom McEnery is right: a more thorough analysis is required. Our city government has run off the road and crashed, and to simply haul away the casualties, hose down the debris, and point a finger at the driver is not enough. We must reconstruct the accident, tear down the vehicle, and inspect the condition of each part.
From confidential sources, these are some of the investigation team’s first observations and findings:
The driver (Ron Gonzales) was driving too fast and, at the urging of his passenger (Joe Guerra), ignored every road sign and control device. This was the primary cause of the collision although it is unclear if the accident would have occurred had the vehicle’s legal owner (Rick Doyle) taken the necessary steps to get the faulty brake system (Del Borgsdorf) repaired.
An after-crash inspection of the vehicle revealed:
A brightly flashing “needs service” indicator (Chuck Reed), although the precise moment it activated has yet to be determined.
Significant damage (staining) to the driver’s side floor mat (Cindy Chavez). This part may be unsalvageable.
A brand new air freshener (Madison Nguyen) was found dangling, undamaged and directionless, from the rear-view mirror.
A dome light (Forrest Williams) was found to be malfunctioning. In the on-position the bulb was determined too dim to illuminate anything.
The upholstery, fine Corinthian leather (Nora Campos), remains smooth and lustrous. Remarkably, it appears to have been unscathed by the disaster.
The sound system (Dave Cortese) is defective. The tuner drifts on all but a few frequencies, and the volume is, annoyingly, stuck on high.
The visor/vanity mirror (Ken Yeager) was in the down position and illuminated. This certainly obstructed a clear view of the danger ahead.
The emergency flashers (Judy Chirco) did not properly activate, even after the crash. The system did not perform as promised and may require rewiring or additional current.
The climate control system (Nancy Pyle) performed admirably. It blew cool, refreshing air throughout the entire ordeal, as if nothing unusual had even happened.
Efforts are under way at this time to suspend the license of the driver, however even at this premature point in the investigation it is obvious that a number of the vehicle’s components should have been recalled by the factory.
Debate ideas ! Very good thoughts by the blogoshere on debates. SJI is in favor, and will sponsor, both digital AND brick and mortar ones – think a big caverous hall and an unscripted free-for-all donnybrook. I like it and thanks for the idea! TMcE
#14 – Funny frustrated finfan, apt and very funny.
#12 JMO’C – I believe tha apathy comes from not feeling like your opinion counts. If I don’t feel like the system represents me, and I don’t feel like I can do anything to change the situation, I am less likely to participate. In a system of government where the Abermoff’s of society can buy and sell powerful political influence, I don’t see much of a bright future.
However, if we could somehow engage the citizen in some kind of dialogue; if we could somehow find a way to let every citizen easily participate in a democratic fasion- then we would see the kind of voter turnout that marks a healthy democracy.
The ‘democracy’ in Iraq is fresh and young, and it is hard to look accross the ocean to see a people enjoying and exercising their democratic responsibility as they do. I believe that we can use technology to revitalize ours.
As far as the media is concerned, you are completely right. The bias and replacement of commentary for news is disgusting. In the race for breaking news, ratings, and the advertising dollars that follow the media has become the mouthpiece of government instead of the fourth estate it so proudly has been.
If the major media corporations were forced to pay the american public money for RENTING our airwaves, we could fund such a public broadcasting as has never been seen on the local level.
In effect, we would take the money out of political advertising as all campaign dialogue would occur in this forum. The only money spent on political ads would be on making them, as every canidate would get equal air time on this new media.
Also, the increased exposure availability at no cost to the canidate would be equivalent to shining a spotlight on them. They’ll either shrivel up or stand tall, allowing the public to truly know their canidate or rep. Who knows, in a system like this we may even promote quality canidates since money is no longer a barrier to entry?
I know it probably sounds too good to be true, but hey- stranger things have happened!
Dare to dream?
http://www.cindychavez4mayor.com/
Cindy Chavez for mayor website: http://www.cindychavez4mayor.com/
Tom,
Have you seen what slashdot.org (a site focused on computers and technology) does with their interviews?
After the website editor makes arrangements with the interview subject, an announcement is made to the slashdot community to submit questions they would like the interviewee to answer. The editor then picks the ten most popular questions and submits them to the interviewee. The interviewee’s answers are then posted a few days later spurring more discussion.
As we move into the election season this approach could help the SJI community learn more about the candidates.
Mole#13: Oh, great! Another 18months of a rudderless ship.
finfan#14: If a vehicle had that many defects, there would be a mandatory recall by the DOT or CPSC, wouldn’t there? Or a class action lawsuit.
Good idea, Steve. Our “crack” staff is on and will try and incorporate it into the debate. Thanks, TMcE
Ok, guys, it’s time to move to Detroit since Detroit has a better downtown and urban experience than San jose.
Detroit is a hell hole with murders everyday.. San Jose’s worst problem is its cruising and it’s boring. Yeah that is the same thing.
Dear San Jose:
Anyone who voted to end the independent investigation has lost my trust forever!
There’s not a lot of intellectual fire power on our present council and even less intestinal fortitude. When it comes to corruption, you either stand up against it, or you become a part of it.
Pete Campbell
I couldn’t agree more with #5. Ditto on Mayors, Ditto on D3, Ditto on D1 – just what we need, another labor backed mindless lapdog!
Well Tom, what do you think about the digital debate idea KJ posed?
Hey does anyone know if Cindy Chavez has a campaign website? I’ve found Reed’s and Cortese’s but can’t seem to locate hers.
Also, any comments about the possibility of Michael Mulcahey (not sure on spelling) might run for mayor? anyone know much about him?