San Jose Inside

UPDATE: Fly has confirmed with Democratic political operative Jeffrey A Cardenas that Rose Herrera did receive an email invitation to be interviewed at the Santa Clara County Democratic Central Committee endorsement hearing. Below is that email, with email addresses and phone numbers redacted.

What’s worse than not getting invited to the party? Getting invited to the party and then being told you can’t come inside. San Jose City Councilmember Rose Herrera found herself in this uncomfortable position Monday night when she was locked out of the Santa Clara County Democratic Central Committee endorsement hearing.

It’s been a while since Mayor Chuck Reed’s opponents won a battle in San Jose’s pension reform war. But a report released Tuesday by the state auditor’s office says that city officials may have played a little too fast and loose when stating the worst-case scenario for San Jose’s unfunded liability for retirement benefits. In the report, State Auditor Elaine Howle writes that a review of the mayor and other councilmembers’ use of the number $650 million, when discussing the city’s potential liability for retiree pensions and health benefits, was “unsupported and likely overstated.”

I have stated consistently and unequivocally when writing this weekly column the last four years that we must end teacher tenure laws as we know them. Ending California’s current tenure laws will be for the sake of the students and the health of the teaching profession as a whole. As a former teacher union leader 30 years ago, I was an advocate for tenure rights after my third successful year of teaching. My views have evolved.

Members of Operating Engineers Local Union No. 3 showed up at 4pm Sunday to close the cement and asphalt plant at Graniterock’s A.R. Wilson Quarry. Aggregate Division Manager Jack Leemaster looked none too happy with the surprise when he drove up in a white pickup truck 45 minutes later. “My understanding is they had a pretty good sized order going out tonight,” said one plant worker, resting his placard’s pine stick on his shoulder. “Three hundred tons for night paving.” Twelve hours later, things would get worse for Graniterock. Before Monday crews punched in to start their weeks, picketers descended upon the company’s recycling plant at Monterey Highway and Capitol Expressway, at the sand and gravel facility in Hollister and at Graniterock operations in San Jose’s Berryessa district, Redwood City and South San Francisco.

The City Council meets Tuesday to discuss the installation of new bike lanes, fees for events at a downtown park and the expansion of corporate office space at Santana Row, amongst other items. Not on the agenda, according to city spokesman David Vossbrink, is a report expected to come out Tuesday morning from the office of State Auditor Elaine Howle, who took a closer look at Mayor Chuck Reed’s use of the number $650 million in regards to the city’s worst-case unfunded liability scenario.

The general public has become more interested in sewers with the connection to keeping our environment clean. I believe individuals may choose a previously overlooked vocation in the sewer system once they understand the salary and job security. However, this will not change in weeks or months; it will most likely take time to garner the skill set for senior positions with the city.

True friends can disagree but still support each other personally. The problem in politics occurs when that personal support is abandoned through betrayal, negligence or perceived self-interest, or for monetary reasons. The most valuable coin of the realm in politics is integrity.

Okay, San Jose Insiders, sharpen your knives. We’re ready for the customary evisceration reserved for those who’ve earned the ire of San Jose’s public employee unions. This week we divine the betting pool for the mayoral prospects of our very own San Jose Inside columnist. Call us crazy, we know, but one shouldn’t count out the dark horse candidate who in 2006 overtook Chamber of Commerce and Labor darlings to clinch the District 6 San Jose City Council seat. Any way you look at it — by vote totals, percentages or being ideologically in sync with voters who overwhelmingly passed Measure B in June — Pierluigi Oliverio is not a force to be dismissed.

Last Wednesday, the SCCOE Board of Trustees postponed a vote on exempting two new Rocketship Education schools from city zoning requirements. The item was continued to Tuesday, Aug, 14. I am not certain how I will vote tomorrow. My decision will be based on what I hear from the speakers and my colleagues. If for one nanosecond I believe this is another move to obstruct the decision in December made by the SCCOE board, I will vote to approve the resolution to exempt the zoning requirements. Rocketship is attempting to do Herculean work on behalf of building a system of 29 charter schools that provides a longer school day, blended learning, home visits by teachers and high academic expectations for all its students. The competition to the traditional public school system should be welcomed by our community, not scorned.

Services will be held for Captain Matthew P. Manoukian Saturday, Aug. 18 at 3pm in the gymnasium at Mountain View’s St. Francis High School. Manoukian was killed Aug. 10 in Afghanistan’s Helmand province by an Afghan police officer with whom Manoukian had just shared a meal, according to an Associated Press report.  The attacker escaped to Taliban protection, a Taliban spokesman said. Manoukian was the son of Santa Clara County Judge Socrates “Pete” Manoukian and state appeals court Associate Justice Patricia Bamattre-Manoukian.

Last week, Mayor Reed and the majority of the City Council attended the opening of the world’s largest material processing facility in San Jose. After the ceremonial acknowledgments, I stayed to tour of the facility, which is located on Dixon Landing Road, an area near Milpitas that was annexed to San Jose. I was amazed at the size and amount of material coming down several lines at the facility. The tour certainly gave me pause on what we collectively throw away and where it is processed.

The waste hits the fan at City Hall on Tuesday, when two of the leading issues going before the City Council involve a pungent landfill that wants to expand and an outsourcing contract for the Water Pollution Control Plant (WPCP).

San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed has a dubious history when it comes to endorsements. In years past, Reed has given his blessing to a number of individuals who went on to lose. Don Gage is hoping to avoid that same fate as he begins his Gilroy mayoral campaign in earnest with Reed’s support.

Paperwork is the worst; unless there isn’t any. A call down to the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters on Thursday turned up some interesting details in the re-election campaigns of county supervisors Dave Cortese and George Shirakawa. Both men ran unopposed to re-election to the board of supervisors in the recent primary, but both raised money. This begs a few questions: Why would a politician need to raise money for a campaign in which they are running unopposed? And why would someone give money to an unopposed candidate? Could there be some amorous backscratching going on here?

San Jose State can’t even claim to be a commuter school anymore. A news release sent out by the university last week announced it won’t accept new students from California for the Spring 2013 semester—but SJSU will allow students to apply from outside the state and country to reel in extra tuition fees.