San Jose Inside

In society we have chosen to give up some of our liberty or ability to do anything we want for the the trade off of having more opportunity under law. If we do not like the rules of society than we can move away to a remote mountain and have more freedom, but one would give up certain benefits we have in society based on law.

Press reports indicate that San Jose’s old city hall property site, with an assigned value of $10 million, will be transferred to the Santa Clara County Government as part of a debt settlement between the county and the San Jose Redevelopment Agency.  But the old city hall property belonged to the city, not the RDA.  Is the plan to transfer the old city hall complex to the county government a lawful action?

San Jose’s airport looks to be moving one step closer to privatizing its fire and security services, leaving city firefighters and police officers out of the loop in cost-cutting measures.

San Jose City Councilmember Pete Constant is the closest thing that this city has to a Tea Party Republican in local politics. Or at least he was. In a surprising announcement late last night, Constant said that he is abandoning the Republican Party and registering as a Democrat.

The future of professional sports in the nation’s 10th largest city is in limbo. In furious preparations for an opportunity that may never materialize—and to protect the land holdings that may one day house a ballpark—San Jose has taken extraordinary steps.

The civil case against former DeAnza baseball players for a 2007 group sex incident appears to be unraveling. Of the nine original defendants, only two defendants are left and one intends to fight back in court regardless of whether or not he is exonerated in the case. San Jose attorney Bruce Funk, who represents defendant Kenneth Chadwick, would not confirm or deny if the plaintiff’s attorneys have attempted to settle out of court, though we hear that an offer was made and rejected. But Funk did say “we will go back after that plaintiff’s attorneys for financial compensation.”

Is anyone in public education championing progressive reform today? Are local school boards and superintendents working to only improve Academic Performance Index scores and Adequate Yearly Progress goals at the expense of gutting classrooms from meaningful intellectual inquiry? I learned last week that there is still tremendous passion for progressive reform in Santa Clara County for our public schools. For that I am grateful and reinvigorated.

With the firefighters’ union becoming the first labor organization to formally reach a deal on compensation concessions with the city last week, this week’s City Council meeting will feature even more discussions regarding labor negotiations. Other items of note will include the approval of assistance for low-income housing and a proposed rate increase for recycling.

Last week the council took up the firefighters union contract with more than 100 firefighters in attendance. I thought I would share why I voted no. First, I think it is clear that if you have worked in city government over the years that things are drastically changing due to structural budget deficits. Second, if you are new to working in city government, you will most likely not have the same career as those before you.

After the City Council voted 9-2 on Tuesday in support of the agreement reached with San Jose’s Firefighters Union, three more unions, representing city architects and engineers, trade worker supervisors, and mid-level managers, have reached a similar agreement.

Mr. Doug McNea passed away last weekend. One headline read, “San Jose Tax Activist Doug McNea Dies At GOP Convention.” The label, “Tax Activist” doesn’t do the man justice. Doug McNea was a man of principle who stood up for his ideas. He also stood up for others. Doug was active in the fight to save the Tropicana Shopping Center when the city tried to take it over through eminent domain.

Last week, Pat Dando, who announced back in December that she would be leaving her post as Chamber CEO at the end of this month, decided to extend her stay in office. Her stated reason is that she wants to give the Chamber search committee more time to find the perfect candidate. What’s more likely is that she’s keeping the seat warm for Pete Constant.

Thomas Freidman in his column in the NY Times on Sunday summed up my feelings perfectly with respect to the federal budget impasse. He wrote: “So far, the GOP is calling for cuts in the things we need to invest more in—like education and infrastructure—while leaving largely untouched things we need to reduce, like entitlements and defense spending. A country that invests more in its elderly than its youth, more in nursing homes than schools, will neither invent the future nor own it.”

The vote on the convention center has been covered extensively, but a resident I spoke to asked me to please share my view on San Jose Inside. As we know, the Council vote was unanimous in supporting the renovation and expansion.  Although I cannot speak for my colleagues, I would say there were four major constituencies who advocated for the renovation and expansion of the convention center.

By now, the Commissioner of Baseball, Bud Selig, could have, and many say, should have, made a decision as to whether or not the A’s should be permitted to move to San Jose.  The A’s ownership group wants to make the move, and San Jose city officials have been working to assemble the land for a new stadium.  What’s the hang up?