The mayor’s shoes must be worn out because the Sam (Liccardo) Shuffle has been in overdrive over his defense of the status quo with our police department.
When Liccardo rage types a 1,000 word article loaded with obscure statistical references, misleading charts and his ongoing obsession with everything Cindy Chavez, (apparently one of Sam’s affordable housing goals is to allow Cindy to live rent free in his head) residents know it’s time to strap in for Silicon Valley’s version of Disneyland’s Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride. His Aug. 15 opinion piece in San Jose Inside was quite the ride.
Sam has occupied an office at City Hall for over 15 years. During that time, he championed the disastrous Measure B that caused over 500 police officers to leave, emergency response times have shot through the roof and the city struggles to provide basic police services our residents and crime victims deserve.
As for Cindy Chavez, when she left City Hall at the end of 2006 there were 1,370 officers, the crime rate was below the national and state average and San Jose was designated the safest large city in America. Oh, and when you called 911 a cop responded quickly to your emergency.
During Sam’s City Hall reign, the SJPD went from 1,370 officers to 1151 authorized police positions and today can only field 961 street-ready officers according to Chief Anthony Mata. To make matters worse, the recent San Jose Police Officers Association member survey indicates hundreds more officers are planning on leaving over the next 24-months.
Yet, Sam tells us the SJPD “vacancy” rate is low. The vacancy rate is low because Sam lowered the number of officers the City could hire to 1173 from a much higher number. Think of it this way, if Sam lowered the authorized staffing to 550, he would be telling you that the SJPD is double the size it should be. Only in Liccardoland does this make sense.
During Sam’s time at City Hall, 911 response times to Priority 1 calls (most pressing emergencies) increased 21%. Last year, SJPD didn’t meet its Priority 1 response time goals in 15 of San Jose’s 16 neighborhood police districts. Worse, response times for Priority 2 calls doubled to 22 minutes. To put that into context, if a San Jose resident calls 911, they would have enough time to watch an entire re-run of Seinfeld on Netflix before we get there.
Shuffling Sam spent a lot of time discussing “budgets,” “positions,” and “vacancy” rates in his fact-devoid San Jose Inside diatribe. However, “budgets” don’t answer 911 calls and “positions” do not arrest criminals. Real police officers do.
Sam says that when a police officer leaves San Jose and is replaced by a recruit, it’s the same because the “position” is filled. That’s a lie, and he knows it. The recruit is NOT a police officer. They cannot make arrests and patrol our streets. Worse, Sam knows that 30-40% of those recruits won’t make it out of the training academy and field training program. It’s like saying a tomato and a tomato seed are the same. They’re not. One you can put in a salad, the other you have to wait around to see if it grows.
What’s troubling is Sam chose to lie about the number of officers who left SJPD. Liccardo says 165 officers left between Jan. 1, 2021, to Aug. 6, 2022. That is simply untrue, that was exposed in a Fact Check article in another local publication. The true number, which we used, is 206. According to the mayor, more than 40 officers have gone missing. We would call SJPD’s missing persons unit to try and find them but there is probably no one there to answer our call.
When you see Sam and his apprentice Matt Mahan change the topic from SJPD not being able to catch as many criminals as possible to judges releasing accused criminals, don’t fall for it. It’s the old political misdirection play and Sam and Matt Mahan have worn it out. Sam and his apprentice also say that officers are paid $189,000 dollars per year, not true. Sam deceptively adds higher paid ranks together with officers and all the required overtime it takes to run the department and uses that to misleadingly get to $189K.
SJPD cannot afford to lose more officers and it must be competitive in retaining those officers still here while attracting quality new officers. Because even at the end of Mr. Sam’s Wild Ride, he admits we need to increase the current size of SJPD as soon as possible.
Sean Pritchard, is president of the San Jose Police Officers Association.
Well said.
Agreed! but tell the public what the real “entry level” (rookie) vs a veteran “top step” officer pay is. Don’t be afraid to announce it. Tell the people how long it takes to attain top step pay and how the step increases work (BASIC, INTERMEDIATE, ADVANCED POST Certificates) And tell us in comparison how those salaries match up to neighboring cities like Santa Clara PD (who make far more money than a SJPD cop). Tell the people how these politicians add in your healthcare (benefit package) as income when in reality its not. Tell them how much is left over after they pay FED/STATE income taxes on their paycheck, pay into their retirement plan, pay for healthcare, pay for life insurance plans (in case they don’t make it home from their shift and families need money) not to mention, rent/mortgage, gasoline, food, auto/home insurances, all life expenses that we all pay (cell phone/groceries, cable TV, clothing etc… I’ll bet the actual NET bi-monthly income (pay check) is $2000 clear without overtime. imaging if your rent or mortgage is $2,000 or $3,000 per month. Doesn’t leave a whole lot extra for the other bills. Now you know why these officers are working a ton of overtime and pay jobs. Same goes for the fire department as well. The CSJ is being disingenuous.
The truth of the matter is the San Jose Police Department, even at its highest employment of around 1400, was still the lowest officer per capita of any major city in the United States. Ever since Lying Liccardo entered into San Jose Politics 15 years ago his focus has never been on public safety. Unless, of course, it was to decimate a once nationally renowned agency.
The City of San Jose was known as the safest big city in the entire U.S. for years. Then Chuck Reed and Lyin Liccardo enacted Measure B and drove away over 500 officers from the ranks of the PD. The department has never fully recovered. Now Shufflin Sam wants to name his replacement in junior councilman No Plan Mahan. I say enough of the Reed/Liccardo family tree!!
Say No to No-Plan Mahan and Vote yes for Chavez!!
Do your part to make San Jose the Safest Big City in America once again!!!
Sam Liccardo sucked as an attorney, got worse as a council member, and is now so completely out of touch as mayor. It’s a shame that the residents, business owners, and students of the city have to suffer from his failed leadership and will continue to be victimized at a even greater rate. Lyin Liccardo hides when the data isn’t beneficial to him, he manipulates numbers and claims false successes. Maybe he needs a math tutor to help him figure out simple addition and subtraction when it comes to salary scales and staffing, or lack thereof. The people of this town are tired of his disastrous rule, he can go pal up with Rufus Reed again and gouge folks over land use rules. We are craving a veteran presence that actually cares about people, has the knowledge to develop a plan, and the integrity to follow through even when the results may be ugly. Cindy Chavez has the tools to help pull this ship away from the iceberg and hopefully direct us to smoother sailing than Sham Sam. As for little Matty Mahan, it’s cute when kids want to solve big boy problems, he needs to just stay at the kids table and let the adults face the issues that Lyccardo created. God bless the men and women who still have the courage to pin on a badge to protect the SJ community.
No surprise a union would be asking for more pay & benefits and power – and advocating for a candidate that will pay patronage to that union.
Politicians are quick to unaccountably dole out taxpayers hard earned income to unions for support to get elected and those politicians are usually long gone before the bills come due for future taxpayers.
Back in 2012 there was a dire need for Public Sector Pension reforms and that need still exists today as future debt is built up when Public Officials approve unrealistic union contracts – either due to patronage or union extortion of taxpayers.
CA still has the largest Public Pension Debt of any state – growing larger as the Stock Market falls amid interest rate hikes due to record breaking inflation, recession and stagflation on the horizon.
“Report: At $1.5 Trillion, CA Has Nation’s Largest Public Pension Debt Load” (June 2022, CA Center Square).
Cindy Chavez is the typical tax & spend politician, and will only grow the debt further with handouts to unions and special interests with No Solution for the multitude of problems that have only gotten worse in the 24+ years she has be living large off taxpayer incomes.
SJPD pension is not PERS. The City of San Jose has a separate pension fund from the state of CA and the City of San Jose is not short on money. Capital of Silicon Valley can afford a sufficiently staffed, well paid and trained PD. It just has different priorities.
Amusing but misleading when the spin comments try to claim Cindy Chavez has ‘solutions’ and a ‘track record’ that supports Policing and the Safety of Our Communities – just the opposite is true.
The SJ Spotlight has a record of who Cindy Chavez advocates for, and how her stances will impact our already dangerous, dirty, and crime ridden streets and parks.
Chavez can say she wants to hire more Police but what is in print, over and over again, is her policies & votes that return criminals to the streets over and over again.
Think before you vote, but know that a vote for Cindy Chavez is Not for Safety,
Not for Victims of Crime and Not for Effective Policing –
at most it is more patronage to another union (in this case the Police Union) for some
future ‘return’ to her, on her ‘investment’ of our tax dollars to meet the union’s demands.
Cindy Chavez, along with Susan Ellenberg, have been at the root of the increase in neighborhood crime, robbery, thefts, assaults, drug dealing, looting, shoplifting, vagrancy, public indecency, etc.
They have continually advocated for policies making Police Work more Difficult and Less Productive,
from $0 Bails, Revolving Door Jails and Felons & Criminals released back into Our Communities,
degrading the Quality of Life in Santa Clara County.
(SJS, 22 Sep 2021) : “Ellenberg and Supervisor Cindy CHAVEZ recently asked the county attorney to explore ways to Reduce the Jail Population.”
“Ellenberg, along with Supervisor Cindy Chavez, brought forth a proposal to explore ways to explore the criminal legal system, …. in an effort to reduce jail populations …”
(SJS, 01 Nov 2021): Cindy Chavez prioritizes criminals over Victims.
“Focusing on equity is essential…”
“….priority is to invest in Community-Based Alternatives to the Criminal-Legal System and to continue to Reduce the Population of People who are (In Jail) Incarcerated (ie. $0 No Bail) – which is about 80% of the total population in custody.”
(SJS, 25 Jan 2022): “The Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 to construct a 500-inmate maximum security jail … Supervisors Susan Ellenberg and Cindy CHAVEZ Voted Against the new Jail.”
“Defund the Police” is not only accomplished by cutting dollars from a budget,
as observed nationally by an exodus of experienced Law Enforcement personnel,
but by making the “work” of Policing Not Worth the Pay at Any Level.
We need to go to a PERS pension. And we need to get a bare minimum 8% pensionable raise over the next two years. Also the city wants to buy our comp banks down to 240 hrs from 480 hrs. And then pay us each $5,000. That just a clever way of disguising the fact that we’re gonna get taxed to death on the lump sum and the buy down. So the city wants to take away our time off and work us harder. And we’re very understaffed and underpaid. It makes sense why people are leaving SJPD to go to other places such as Santa Clara PD. I’d be lying if I said I haven’t thought about leaving. I don’t know where Sam gets his numbers but there not correct.
I can tell you were over worked as I see the mandatory overtime growing in number of officers that are required to hold over to the next shift are growing each week. It start with a few mando hold overs to close to 10 to the most I’ve seen is 12 mando holdovers. And working overtime is almost required to support yourself out here. Basic pay check alone gets me a tank of gas and a few of my bills paid. On paper it says we’re gonna make over 6 figures but our net pay isn’t even close to it. We get ABSOLUTELY GAPPED in state and federal taxes as well as have we seen how much it is to rent a house/ apartment here in the South Bay? It’s not realistic to pay $3,600 a month for a studio apartment. I’m not even gonna talk about buying a house as those prices aren’t anything short of criminal. I don’t understand how we could have a mayor who says we want police but behind closed doors he wants us to work harder for less. He doesn’t care about police or fire and he only wants to make it to the next level of his political career and public safety persons are paying for it with the incredibly long hrs. We’re paying for it with our bodies, mental health, time away from families, and most definitely our paychecks. Sam is like a football coach asking “his team” to go out on the field with 7 while the other team has the standard 11. And the other team doesn’t have to play by the rules as we do. And he expects us to win. No way could we ever win in an environment like that.
The city and politicians tend to have this illusion in their heads that everything is fine. However speaking to my own neighbors who don’t know that I am a police officer and hearing their stories is sad. The general San Jose residences are constantly being victimized by residential burglary, vehicle burglary, thefts. They want more officers. But they know that police officers can only do so much. The general public knows how short staffed we are and how the politicians are favoring criminals.
The regular working person gets gasoline stolen from their parked vehicle, gets their vehicle’s window broken and items stolen from inside, feels violated because some person that they don’t know broke into their house while they were at work.
This is not including major violent crimes. Getting robbed at the ATM, getting your purse snatched while walking, jewelry snatched while in the store, stabbed, shot Etc.
When majority of these crimes could be prevented by more police presence. When criminals know that there are a lot of beat officers they are less likely to commit crimes.
Officers feel discouraged because the average rent for an apartment in San Jose is approximately $2,972 (based on research and multiple articles). San Jose has also been voted as the most expensive city in the nation. So why are Officer not getting a pay raise???? Why do politicians get a “bounce” of close to $20,000 to vote and pass a bill through legislation. But yet a person who risks his or her life everyday, still only makes $2,596 bi-weekly.
The bi-weekly of a police officer off probation without any overtime is $2,596. Multiple that number 2 (bi-weekly) = $5,192 (monthly total) multiple $5,192 by 12 (months) = $62,304 YEARLY AFTER TAXES.
I guess Sam Liccardo can’t do math. I don’t know how he thinks officers are making $189,000. That means an officer is making close to $15,000 a month.
If I was making 189,000 dollars I would finally be able to afford a house. I can barely afford an apartment with my salary in San Jose.
This is why so many officers are moving out of San Jose. And since they are moving out of San Jose they don’t want to commute to work in San Jose. Other departments are paying a lot more than San Jose PD. So why work as a San Jose Police Officer if other agency’s are paying a lot more and I don’t have to commute.
I just feel bad for the residents of San Jose. With officers leaving, residents could expect longer wait times and more crime, as crime in San Jose is already at a rise.
It takes a lot to be an officer. See what officers see. Mentally deal with what officers have to deal with. Yet an officer in San Jose can’t take a mental day or has to be waitlisted for vacation because we don’t have enough officers.
Pay officers more and higher more officers.
And when Sam said that there were 200 officers hired. They were “hired” into the academy. A class that starts with about 40 recruits loses about 10 in the academy and then another 5 to 6 in the field training program. At the end only about 34 to 35 officers actually becoming full flesh officers.
Don’t show fake numbers Sam. Some of us actually have seen this because we have actually been through the process.
Officers making $189k a year are getting paid over $15k a month… That’s approximately 20+ hours of overtime a week at the top step pay and has already filled up the 480 hours of required comp time(unpaid overtime)! 60 hour work weeks are not sustainable in the long-term of a 20+ year Career and is not good for retention. Long hours in a high stress job sounds like a recipe for disaster. A majority of officers do not make anything near $189k a year. It would be impossible for a new officer to get even close to that amount of pay.
And when Sam said that there were 200 officers hired. They were “hired” into the academy. A class that starts with about 40 recruits loses about 10 in the academy and then another 5 to 6 in the field training program. At the end only about 34 to 35 officers actually becoming full flesh officers.
There are about 40 officers that retire a year and that’s me being generous. Not including the officers that are hurt, on disability, family leave, military leave, sick.
When I worked midnights there were about 50 officers for the whole city. A city of 179 square miles and a population of over 1 million people, only get 50 officers.
Working dayshift there are about 60 officers for the whole city.
This is why crime is on the rise. There aren’t enough officers on the street. Especially if Sam Liccardo wants two officers outside his residence when individuals tagged his residence.
TRUTHSEEKER, we couldn’t agree with you more on every single thing.
Let’s remember something I will never forget. Before Measure B was voted on by voters, SJPD tried to run a paid opinion ad in the Mercury newspaper, but they REFUSED to run their PAID opinion piece. REFUSED.
Thank you, Inside, for running this opinion piece.
We will NOT be voting for Mahan who is Liccardo’s clone. Liccardo picked Mahan because he knew he could continue to be Mayor by being the puppet master behind the scenes thru Mahan. NO THANK YOU!
We will stand behind our SJPD police officers 100% of the time. Anytime we read or hear from those complaining about SJPD response times, we will give them this article.
RIP Officer Michael Johnson. We miss you.
Well, what stuck me from the article is a response to the defund the police argument.
In private industry if u have more applicants than avaliable positions then u are over paying. (I don’t believe this is the sjpd condition) If u are not meeting response times u are under staffed. Understaffed is also indicated by required overtime.
Did I miss something? Safe community is job no. 1!
“Liccardo picked Mahan because he knew he could continue to be Mayor by being the puppet master behind the scenes thru Mahan.”
What role, if any, does Carl Guardino also play with this possibility, and what other future plans does the mayor have? Will he run for the House of Representatives in Washington, DC, or try to replace Dianne Feinstein eventually? What about a state government position? How will he fit or compete with the likes of Garcetti in L.A.?
Talk about twisted conspiracy theories.
“Liccardo picked Mahan because he knew he could continue to be Mayor by being the puppet master behind the scenes thru Mahan.”
I didn’t know that Liccardo would have the same effect as Donald Trump in some peoples heads, minds and opinions.
But LDS already stands for something else? what can you call it?
SJPD is so clearly understaffed. I am a police officer spouse and he REGULARLY gets put on mandatory overtime. This means that he’s regularly going multiple days a week without seeing his kids and sometimes not even coming home at all due to the long hours + the long commute with only a few hours in-between shifts to sleep. (You may be wondering why the long commute… Because you can barely live in the city you work for with their refusal to increase wages to keep up with inflation) Many are getting sick of it, and if the city can’t adequately compensate, they’re going to be losing a lot more.
@INSIDE_SCOOP, First off, thanks to both your husband (and yourself) for being a first responder and continuing to support law and order through service. With the constant demonization of Law Enforcement, driven by a poorly raised & mostly uneducated class of citizen with a complicit media and weak willed politicians, adding more and more restrictions on law enforcement officers, the work of policing has become more difficult and less satisfying.
But you get what you vote for and elect into office – working conditions (more crime due to prison releases), uncertainty of support from the chain of command if a situation goes bad, promises in contracts that are not and cannot be sustained, and yes, higher costs and inflation.
Inflation is a tax on everyone, it impacts the low income and middleclass the most, but your complaint that the City (or any business) should “increase wages to keep up with inflation” is not economically possible or realistic policy. That is the major problem with unions – a lot of times they advocate and push for unrealistic and unsustainable contracts – until they kill the goose that pays the golden egg to the workers.
Inflation is painful, but that is the policy that unwitting and low information voters put into office – this is time to suck-it-up and take the pain – at least until leadership corrects current policy or is replaced with better leaders. With the passing of another 3/4 Trillion dollars of spending with increased regulation do not expect less inflation anytime soon – even if you were gaslighted with an
“Inflation Reduction Act” title.
Since the Biden-Harris admin started implementing it’s policies, everyone is ‘taxed’ to pay for all the new Government spending, regulations and subsidies (like your Covid checks, Rent and Student Loan deferrals, etc.) even your hard earned savings have been ‘taxed’ by Biden’s policies.
Every dollar you saved for a rainy day is now worth about 14% less on average (inflation was 1.4% in January 2021), you need to spend on average $1.14 for what cost you $1 just 18 months ago, and you know the things you use the most of, cost much more than the average 14% increase.
https://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/cpicalc.pl?cost1=1.00&year1=202012&year2=202206
Causes of Inflation:.
– Raising Wages Cause More Inflation: Wage-push inflation.
Higher wages help increase demand, which supports the continued rise in prices.
If higher wages cause higher prices. Then workers may make more efforts to increase wages in response to rising prices. This can lead to a wage-price spiral. Hyper-inflation may result from this.
Increased wages result in cost-push inflation because of the higher cost to run a business.
– More Currency Available: the Fed adds fiat currency into circulation at a rate that exceeds that of the economy’s growth rate. The Fed released the equivalent of $3.8 Trillion in new liquidity in 2020. That amount was equal to roughly 20% of all the dollars previously in circulation.
– Government Implements Expansionary Fiscal Policies: Fed tries to jumpstart economic growth with new policies. Fed seeks to increase the amount of discretionary income that businesses and consumers have to spend. Those policies may consist of massive infrastructure projects, which can increase the demand for goods and services. The increasing of overall liquidity due to central bank monetary policy is also considered an expansionary policy.
-New Regulations Increase Costs: Biden’s Energy Independence Killing Policies.
While a shortage of an essential commodity, like oil, can cause inflation, so can an increase in costs related to a commodity suddenly becoming more expensive because of government regulations.
New regulations that make a particular commodity or service more expensive or time-consuming to obtain can also increase the costs to consumers, leading to inflation
I believe Mayor Sam Liccardo with his facts checked from the SJ City’s Human Resources Department. Period.
https://www.sanjoseinside.com/opinion/from-san-jose-mayor-sam-liccardo-the-facts-about-police-staffing/
Thank you, CA Patriot. Well said!
I have but one comment. I moved to San Jose as a young man in 1963. It was the safest big city in the country. Sadly, we all know that it is far from that today. I was raised in a family of policemen, layers, one judge, and politicians. None were wealthy before their tenure, none were wealthy after their tenure. Enough said.
When Cindy was city council person we couldn’t get a cop to enter district three. Cindy blighted the place and tried to eminent domain everything. Than she gave away all of our public space to churches and companies. She’s a fraud.
If SJ doubled its police force, we would still be below the national per capita average!
It seems like a lot of rank-and-file officers are on this forum, so my question is what will it take to attract qualified new recruits?
How much are other local jurisdictions actually paying officers?
Do competing jurisdictions have other (not monetary) incentives that SJ does not match?
As a long time city resident I know most ppl want to see more cops on the street. Hiring 100s of new officers (or lateral recruits) will require 100s of millions of dollars in the city budget–that means serious cuts to other spending. I am for it.
What pay levels are required for a serious increase in public safety?
The city can’t really change what it cost to live here (a lot), and it can’t change state and federal taxes that we all pay. What else can the city realistically do?
Consider the source of this article: “Written by Sean Pritchard, president of the San Jose Police Officers Association”
I’m no fan of Liccardo, BUT the SJPD already receives 30% of the city’s budget. Most of that goes toward retirement benefits. The SJPD has been in the news a lot the past year for officers behaving badly… like masturbating in a victim’s home, drug use, etc.
The SJPD has not been doing it’s job purposefully because they are still bitter about the Floyd protests. When we see 10 officers responding to a non injury accident, or a vanilla traffic stop, I ask myself: WHY? Why, when Citizens who have been burglarized wait hours for a response, or are told that the PD doesn’t have time to respond to these issues?
Clearly, the SJPD has enough officers, they just aren’t allocating personnel in an effective or coherent manner.
The PD in SJ is greedy. Do not be fooled.. they have MORE than enough of our tax dollars. Most arrests made by the PD are for non violent offenses… go look at the stats.
Put more money towards the community and education, and less toward the PD!
Ask yourselves what a starting teacher makes in SJUSD. Teachers require much more education and training than a starting pd officer. Further, a solid education has been proven to PREVENT the need for policing.
YET , Starting educators make far less than even a police recruit! And, teachers aren’t payed during internship, which generally lasts a year!
See for yourselves:
Salary
Paid Academy training for Police Recruit of $43.65/hour
Annual base pay range for Police Officer of $105,726 to $164,150 (7 annual steps)
Benefits
Domestic partnership benefits
Paid vacation and paid sick-time accrual
Annual uniform allowance of $675
Four-day work-week; 10-hour shifts
Bilingual pay – 2.5%
Overtime and Secondary Employment assignments
Medical / Dental plans
Retirement Plan: Visit the Offices of Retirement Services for additional information:
https://www.sjpdyou.com/for-applicants/additional-information/salary-benefits-pension
Let us not forget that police officers have been in the news lately:
https://www.ktvu.com/news/san-jose-police-officer-faces-charges-for-masturbating-during-disturbance-call-d-a
https://www.nbcbayarea.com/investigations/san-jose-police-officer-dui/2951053/?amp=1
https://fox40.com/news/california-connection/meth-pipes-and-masturbating-several-san-jose-officers-under-investigation/amp/
Before the SJPD comes around asking for more money, they need to CLEAN UP THEIR ACT.
I agree with James. You have to look who wrote this opinion piece, the heads of the cops’ union. Side note: cops’ unions are not really labor unions at all, they are more like trade associations put in place to protect themselves from ‘everyone else’.
Responding to others here who state unjustifiable things like “SJ residents want more cops on the street”, and “more cops will reduce crime”. I don’t believe any of that. When I see a cop on the street, he’s usually sitting in his parked SUV looking at his phone, like everyone else.
Again, I’m with James, who said “Put more money towards the community and education, and less toward the PD!”
BTW, to Mr Pritchard: I get these mailings from the SJPOA asking for money. You’re kidding, right?
Even-handed article. Not!
Nice job CA Patriot. You told it like it is.
I largely agree with this article. However, I’m still wondering if Jared Yuen will ever be held accountable for his actions after proving he’s not mentally fit to be in the field.
NO PLAN MAHAN, we could not agree with you more on everything you wrote!!
When a Mayor is willing to strap on a gun before leaving their home to protect those whom they don’t know and don’t know if they will ever return home again, then we might pay attention to what they say about policing. Until then, we’ll pay attention to the facts and figures provided by SJPD.
The level of experience between Mahan & Chavez is staggering. Even if we were to go to a dentist or physician, we would choose experience (Chavez) over those who are still learning their job (Mahan) every single time.
If you want Liccardo to stay Mayor behind the scenes, vote Mahan. If you want Liccardo out as Mayor, vote Chavez.
I’m not a fan of Liccardo, but also no fan of the police union, who only really look out for their officers, no matter what goes wrong, and certainly don’t like any oversight. As for shortages, that may be true. But I witnessed an incident a month or two ago, where a man was acting erratic and had threatened someone. The SJPD were called. They came armed to the teeth, with guns drawn. The man was unarmed and was threatening no one when they arrived. He complied peacefully, and nothing happened. But at least seven officers were there with guns drawn from the start. When I asked the Sergeant in charge afterwards why so many officers, she said that she had requested four, but others often show up because they are bored and nearby and have nothing better to do. Or something to that effect. I’ve seen this happen often. 8-10 officers show up for one unarmed homeless person that is acting erratic but not really much of a threat. As it is, it is my understanding that there can be as few as 70 officers out on patrol at any one time. Not sure how that math works with 1100 officers on the force. And one more thing. About $30 million a year is paid in overtime. Seems like a huge pot of money that could be used for more officers, mental health people and more. The highest paid people in the city are mostly police officers, when you count overtime and benefits. Some sargeants and patrol officers are making $400K plus. And it isn’t just a few. Check Transparent California if you don’t believe me. (https://transparentcalifornia.com/salaries/2021/san-jose/) I wouldn’t trust anything the POA says. They will always spin it their way.
The Year was 2019 – Cindy Chavez was at 21 Years “Level of Experience” –
– was she still in ‘learning mode’ or just the usual – playing free, loose and unaccountable with taxpayer dollars?
In June 2019 Cindy Chavez advocated for spending a lot of taxpayer dollars for a $150,000 painting. –
“Santa Clara County is considering buying the painting of an 18 yr old Cassius Clay before the 1960 Olympics to display at Valley Medical Center. ”
“Although the painting is priced at $150,000, the gallery is offering it at a ‘discount’ to Santa Clara County…”
“Chavez compared public spending on art to public libraries making books available to anyone.”
Responsible custodians of our tax dollars?
Three of the worst wanted to go forward with this proposal:
“Chavez and Supervisors Susan Ellenberg and Dave Cortese voted to authorize staff to negotiate with the gallery for the painting…”
“Cindy Chavez – sparks controversy after proposing that county government spend a breathtaking $125,000 in taxpayer money to buy a painting of Muhammad Ali to hang at Valley Medical Center.”
https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/06/16/6126971/
Does San Jose want to ‘Experience’ more Subpar Governance?
Think before you Vote for more Fraud, Waste & Abuse.
Time to Term-Limit Out Cindy Chavez –
Let her get some Real World experience – at her own expense.
LOCAL YOKAL REPRISE, Carl Guardino has endorsed Cindy Chavez.
LDS OR SDS, here you go. This is just 1.
https://sanjosespotlight.com/how-sam-liccardo-plans-to-influence-2022-elections/
An article from the SanJoseSpotlight? The so-called “un-biased” SanJose news source?
The Spotlight is like 97% biased propaganda parroting the opinion of the flavor of the day special interest group and a few quotes or opinions of the dozen protesters or advocates they base the story on. Rarely does Spotlight provide a balance or in-depth investigation to counter the usually pro-labor or marxist flavor or their articles.
But you may have found something in the 3% above, while everyone is sick and tired of Liccardo, all he is doing is SOP for an incumbent or career minded politician – remain relevant and prevent a reversal of some policies like pension reforms and unions or non-profits running the policy.
Now if you can find a video clip of Joy Reid telling us how bad the pro-prosperity, pro-business candidates are and maybe calling them all ra-cists that may sway more votes to Chavez.
Or maybe Donny Lemons can interview Carl Bernstein or John Dean again and get a quote or two telling us how this election “influence plan” is all far “Worse than Watergate” , maybe then it may gain traction.
It’s basically impossible to live in San Jose when you’re only making $300K per year/400K all in with pension. Just ask anyone…
Snippet from Transparent CA (https://transparentcalifornia.com/salaries/search/?a=san-jose&q=police&y=2021&s=-total&page=2):
Name Job title Regular pay Overtime pay Other pay Total pay Benefits Total pay &
benefits
Robert Lalonde Police Sergeant
San Jose, 2021 $158,640.00 $120,138.84 $36,562.54 $315,341.38 $56,693.61 $372,034.99
Miguel Flores Police Officer
San Jose, 2021 $137,062.40 $130,191.71 $35,193.10 $302,447.21 $68,549.06 $370,996.27
Bruce Barthelemy Police Officer
San Jose, 2021 $137,062.40 $133,072.61 $31,766.54 $301,901.55 $68,549.06 $370,450.61
Joe Campagna Police Officer
San Jose, 2021 $116,635.40 $90,753.72 $100,906.61 $308,295.73 $61,472.53 $369,768.26
Jason Ta Police Captain
San Jose, 2021 $150,856.80 $75,098.52 $74,347.84 $300,303.16 $68,594.14 $368,897.30