San Jose Inside

In what felt more like an elaborate editorial meeting than legal proceedings, DA candidate Jeff Rosen emerged from court on Monday morning with a new draft of his candidate’s statement, hammered into shape by the judge, his lawyer James Towery and his opponent DA Dolores Carr’s lawyer, Guyton Jinkerson. “I’m very pleased,” he said. “We won.”

That’s a somewhat subjective interpretation.

The City Manager will release the list of proposed cuts to balance the city budget today (March 29). These cuts are based on no concessions from any of the labor unions nor savings gained through outsourcing of janitorial services (among others) to save money.

Money saved from outsourcing could help pay for library hours or the aquatics program, for example. The question of concessions has been out there for months and could be included in the budget. Agreement would need to be reached in early April since layoff notices would start going out April 19. If concessions are made then some of these cuts could be avoided but in lieu of an agreement in hand here are some of the proposed/likely cuts.

In SJI’s weekly Rants and Raves column, thoughts on any topic are welcome. What’s on your mind?

A statewide labor group sent out a sharply worded letter yesterday indicating that it has blacklisted local Democratic political consultant Jude Barry and his company, Catapult Strategies. In the letter, Art Pulaski of the California Federation of Labor (CFL) attacks Barry for “supporting the efforts of an anti-union committee” seeking to qualify a so-called “paycheck protection” initiative.

Nationally syndicated New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman said that it was the most inspiring evening that he has had in Washington DC for 20 years.  Friedman had attended the awards dinner for the 2010 Intel Science Talent Search.  “It left me thinking, if we can get a few things right—immigration, education standards, bandwidth, fiscal policy—maybe we’ll be OK.”

Friedman’s column contained two stories that reflected well on San Jose.

Rather than lay off workers due to budgetary constraints, the state decided last year to impose mandatory furloughs, which effectively meant a 15 percent pay cut. These furloughs were overturned yesterday by a Superior Court Judge, Frank Roesch, of Alameda County. Some 70,000 workers at 66 agencies will now be going back to work full time. They account for about one-third of state employees who have been subject to compulsory furloughs for the past year.

DA Dolores Carr is pointing an accusatory finger at challenger Deputy DA Jeff Rosen regarding the use of San Jose Mercury News articles on his campaign website. Carr released a statement today charging that Rosen may have violated state campaign finance rules and federal copyright laws. Her campaign also said the use of the articles might be seen as an in-kind contribution that exceeds campaign contribution limits. UPDATED 1:55PM

RESPONSE FROM ROSEN CAMPAIGN POSTED FRIDAY 9AM.

At last night’s City Council meeting, Mayor Chuck Reed asked all city employees to accept a 10 percent cut to their salaries. Without this, he said, either 450 workers will have to be laid off, or hours at the city’s parks, libraries, and community centers would be “cut dramatically.” Though some City Councilmembers countered with a sliding scale proposal, the Mayor’s request received the Council’s support by a vote of 8-3. The proposed cut would affect all city workers, including police officers and firefighters.

In a surprising turn of events, newbie San Jose District 5 candidate Magdalena Carrasco has proven herself a contender by pulling impressive fundraising numbers since February.
Carrasco reported yesterday that she’s raised $20,647 thus far in the race, $3,925 more this quarter than her closest competitor for Nora Campos’ soon-to-be vacant seat on city council.

We now know, based on a large-scale research study by EdSource and Stanford University, why some middle-grade schools do better than others, irrespective of the socioeconomic level of their students. According to the findings, school practices related to instruction mean more than family income in predicting student success.

City Hall Diary
Monday: No Impact Man Film at City Hall
Nearly 300 San Jose residents attended to watch this documentary, which portrays a family that adopts environmentally friendly choices over the course of a year.  For example, they bike instead of driving, buy only locally produced food and give up their television. The main point of the evening was that we do not have to wait for government to mandate behaviors that help the environment but that collectively we as residents can choose to compost, use less electricity, bike vs. drive today, etc..

In San Jose Inside’s weekly open forum, observations and opinions on any topic are welcome. What’s on your mind?

There seems to be no end in site for San Jose’s budget woes. On Wednesday, city officials announced that because of market losses pension costs for city employees will jump up as much as 43 percent—$60 million—in the coming budget year. This year retirement expenses were $138 million.

The Merc’s news columnist, Scott Herhold, reminded his readers in a recent piece that, “It’s no secret I think the DA is outclassed by her opponent.” It’s a disclaimer he has made on several occasions of late, while taking potshots at District Attorney Dolores Carr as she prepares to face-off for her job in June with her subordinate, Deputy DA Jeff Rosen.

While San Jose may not exactly be the Capital of Silicon Valley, it certainly is at the center of many important things. The San Jose area is home to some of the most expensive real estate in the country. A lot of wealthy and smart people live or work in San Jose and its surrounding cities and towns. What happens here matters. I wonder if the citizens of San Jose would take it upon themselves to provide leadership for the rest of the nation by questioning the legitimacy of the 2010 Census in its present form.