San Jose Inside

I like San Jose City Manager Del Borgsdorf.  I really do.  He was pleasant and cooperative during the year we worked together at City Hall.

Yeah, I know, most people treat you nicely when you work at a high level in the mayor’s office:  department heads return calls promptly, the janitor puts double ply toilet paper in the staff bathrooms, and cases of expensive wine mysteriously appear in your car trunk.  Okay, I’m only kidding about the wine—but not about the toilet paper or return calls or Del.

Throughout its history, San Jose has maintained a distinguished and courageous business community.  In times of crises, our business men and women have risen to the task when elected leaders were too craven or too corrupt to do the right thing.

One can only feel nauseous and disgusted learning that when a member of one of our most prominent business families is solicited for a bribe, what action is taken?  He calls Ticketmaster instead of the DA!

An unnamed source from City Hall leaked the news of what would appear to be a controversial new program that Mayor Gonzales intends to unveil in his State of the City speech in early February.

The No Lobbyist Left Behind Act would seem to fly in the face of the current call for ethics reform and the curtailing of veiled access by special interest groups.

Guest Blog by Jim Cunneen

This week, I’m turning my column over to a guest blogger, Jim Cunneen, President and CEO of the San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce.  Jim has asked that we use this blog to share his concerns, and the chamber’s, for the handling of Terry Gregory’s alleged misdeeds by the City Council.

-Kevin

Events are now in the saddle in our City. Each new day brings different and corroborated charges against members of the professional staff, one beleaguered Council Member, and the chips are falling: loudly. The sad story continues to unfold before the horrified eyes of all but a few too involved or too blind to see.

Imagine this: our County Assessor Larry Stone is standing on the mound at Candlestick Park.  It’s 1989. He’s a Sunnyvale City Councilmember and it’s Sunnyvale Day at the ballpark. Larry’s wearing a Giants cap and gets to throw out the first pitch.

The stadium is full and the fans are cheering. His name gets announced.  He rocks back.  His long arm reaches skyward and he throws the ball in the dirt – not the dirt at home plate where the catcher is patiently waiting.  No way.

The events of the last few years in municipal affairs have caused me great unease. It is now time for me and those who care about the direction of our city to speak out, for we have held our peace too long.

It is a common cliché that a city’s downtown is its heart and soul.  Having lived and worked in downtown San Jose all of my life, it is also my belief.  Our downtown, like all others, is the cultural, social, and entertainment hub for a larger region and serves its neighborhoods as the city’s largest park.

Within a five to ten minute drive (sometimes even just a walk) of where I work in downtown San Jose, there are a wealth of choices.  Choices for places to live or work?  Well, maybe, although not as many as there could be, but that’s John’s beat.

I was thinking of the diversity of restaurants.

You see the trees better when you’re not in the forest.  I don’t know if someone said that, but someone should have.

Anyway, that’s the way I feel about San Jose City Hall.  I left four years ago - close enough to have understanding, but far enough to have perspective.