San Jose Inside

Two stories—one local and one national—do much to define the political money chase in the electoral process nowadays. Nationally, the proliferation of “independent committees” is about to sink the process in a sea of dollars and special interest “juice.” The so-called “Swift Boat” attacks on John Kerry in 2004 that came from such a committee that raised $25 million from many dubious sources, was fatal to his chances. They managed to turn a decorated war hero into a wimp and shirker. After the election, the Federal Elections Commission fined this committee $300,000. Big deal! The dirty job was done; the election was won.

Knowing San Jose as well as I do, I sometimes forget how people who move here view this town. My friend just moved back to San Jose after living in Hawaii for eight years, started working at a restaurant downtown, and really is starting to get to know the area well. So it was interesting when she started commenting on and questioning the status of downtown San Jose.

City Hall Diary

One issue that everyone who is paying attention to San Jose politics agrees with is that the City of San Jose’s General Plan is outdated and is in need of revamping. 

At the August 7 city council meeting, all of Mayor Reed’s recommendations for the General Plan Update Task Force (which included Councilmembers Liccardo and Chirco and me) were supported by the council. The task force is a diverse group of people representing environmentalists, developers, unions and community members, among others.

Feared to Be in the Hands of Gadflies and Former Politicians and in Denny’s Chili

According to a scathing report from San Jose’s Government Accountability Office (GAO), the city has lost track of approximately 190,000 Keys to the City.

The Key to the City is an award used by municipalities in which an ornamental key is given to honor esteemed visitors, local residents, or organizations of note in a ceremonial presentation. The award carries no formal privileges or distinctions but symbolizes honor, power and the ability to break certain rules without fear of humiliation or prosecution. Former Mayor Gonzales is rumored to have hundreds of them.

California Secretary of State Debra Bowen’s decision to decertify electronic voting machines manufactured by Sequoia and Diebold is a welcome one. There are serious security concerns associated with these machines that the manufacturers have not addressed, forcing Bowen to take this action. Among other things, it has been demonstrated that the machines can easily be hacked, employees of the manufacturers can gain access to the machines, and they provide no paper trail for each voter for a hand count in case of breakdown.

The tumult and the shouting have ceased, the fools and conmen have departed (well, at least some of them), and now it is time to do the people’s work.  A new General Plan Committee has been established, consisting of 37 good and true citizens. Unlike the Coyote Planning group which had all the independent thought of the shills at Bay 101, this one has hope. Although there are very many development interests on it, and few genuine neighborhood advocates in the tradition of former Councilmember Nancy Ianni, I have high hopes for it. The development advocates will not have the mayor’s thumb on the scale; they will not have the unbridled arrogance of the past regime. This will be a fair, “let the facts determine the outcome” group.

I spent the weekend at Lake Tahoe, enjoying the life that lake people lead, and it got me thinking: Where is our waterfront?

There is something about a body of water that makes it a relaxing and social meeting place; a place where things happen and people want to be. Though we are a city nestled in a valley and we have bodies of water that could serve as destinations, it seems no one has thought to do so.

I took advantage of the great Bay Area weather that San Jose benefits from and attended two night time events that were held outdoors in downtown.

I went to the Christmas in the Park fundraiser at the Circle of Palms two weeks ago.  The night was filled with great company, a silent auction, wine and opportunities to win trips. All of this was outside in the heart of San Jose.

AARP Outraged Over Plans for Hunting Club

Just days after angry protests stopped a controversial plan to hire archers to kill a growing and bothersome deer population at The Villages adult community, the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG) fought back by announcing plans to “thin” the elderly residents of the popular upscale retirement enclave.

Now that public attention has been focused on the free-for-all at the Santa Clara Valley Water District (SCVWD) with their hitherto bottomless reservoir of cash quietly lifted from the wallets of resident taxpayers, the board is slowly starting to respond—begrudgingly. While the board has decided that three executive officers who formerly reported to spend-happy CEO Stan Williams will now answer directly to them, and they have further limited Williams’s ability to hire top aides, this is merely using their finger to plug a hole in the dam holding back public opinion that is about to burst. It’s going to take more to satisfy a riled citizenry who are rightly outraged by what has been going on behind our backs at the SCVWD, and getting more so every day.

Two men who left a mighty imprint have died within a short period of time. I knew them both and admired them greatly. Perhaps you would not think of Emo Biagini and Bill Walsh in the same context, but I do. Each man came from modest beginnings and achieved a great deal. The biggest thing that they had in common was the simple fact that they never forgot where they came from. Both came to San Jose to build a future. They both stayed and neither forgot their debt.

So Barry Bonds hit another home run! Run to the TV! Turn up the car radio! He’s getting closer! He’s gonna do it! 

This is the scene for many Bay Area baseball fans, or just Bay Area residents, but the excitement they feel over this athlete is just something I cannot get behind. Call me a downer if you like, but I feel that rooting for Barry Bonds to break this historic home run record is like rooting for Lindsay Lohan to get another DUI by the end of 2007.

Four people died in Almaden Valley on July 24th, 2007—two teenage boys just beginning their lives as young adults and a married couple walking together for a stroll.

One teenage boy was driving his car with a friend as a passenger. He lost control of his car on Graystone Lane as he was traveling faster than the posted speed limit. He hit and killed a married couple walking on the side of the road before slamming into a tree, only to have his car explode into a fire. Everyone was dead at the scene. This was so tragic that I was despondent when I read the story.

Complaints of Monopoly Flood in After Latest City Hall Retail Debacle

The U.S. Justice Department is looking into practices by the South Bay Labor Council to determine whether their control of San Jose has violated any antitrust laws in the wake of a failed City Hall retail leasing effort.

“Greed is good” is the line most people remember from Oliver Stone’s film, “Wall Street.” Of course, the moral of the story is that greed isn’t good and it can put you in prison and leave you penniless. Unfortunately, this lesson has been lost on corporate America, Wall Street and the interdependent real estate and mortgage industries. (Just look at the ridiculous level of CEO pay and the soaking we are getting from everybody from the oil companies and food importers to drug manufacturers and the health insurance companies.)