San Jose Inside

The latest report from the U.S. Census Bureau places San Jose at the top of the list of the nation’s richest cities with a population greater than 500,000 with our median income of $73,804. Santa Clara County was second (to Marin County) in the nation in its category, showing a median income of $80,838. (Since there are a lot of gazillionaires in the city and county it means that in order to achieve the median, there must be a hell of a lot of people living on much less than the winning figures.) The average rise in income over the past year was around $1,300.

It’s my turn to complain about traffic. Traffic: another reason to keep jobs in San Jose.

I join over 50 percent of San Jose residents who leave their homes every day to travel to their jobs to earn a living outside of San Jose. Those of us who commute, trek highways 101, 880, 85, 87 and 280 mostly north to the “land of jobs.” I am getting back on the road and joining my fellow residents on our neighborhood streets as we try to snake our way to the freeway entrance—a feat in and of itself.  I hesitate to say this, but now I am reminded why people cut through neighborhoods. Saving a few minutes commuting is a big deal to many with all the traffic congestion to slow us down.

Advance Copy of Series Finale Critical For Competitiveness

When Dan Fenton took his job as CEO of Team San Jose, the prospect of running another organization along with his current duties as leader of the Convention and Visitors Bureau seemed a daunting and overwhelming task until the city made him an offer he couldn’t refuse: an advanced copy of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.”

“Part of being a leader is to figure out how to get those six votes,” Chuck Reed said recently. What he did not say was that being a leader also entails being worthy enough to be followed. Reed is figuring out the leadership issues and he is doing very well getting the votes when he needs them. He is admired—not feared—and respected.

City Hall Diary

I survived another late night city council meeting. This one was the last of the 2006-2007 fiscal year. The meeting began at 1:30 p.m. but did not end until 11:30 p.m.  I am not quite sure if having a ten hour meeting allows for the time needed to go over important items like Coyote Valley, a hazardous waste facility, and Evergreen, among others.  Members of the community come to the city council meetings and have to wait for hours just to be heard for one or two minutes regarding their particular issue.  And, of course, we had a smorgasbord of last-minute issues that either couldn’t wait until August, or were not planned appropriately to come up at an earlier meeting date.

Here are a few important issues with my opinions.

The Freddy Krueger of land use issues is again the talk of the town as the Coyote Valley über-city of Xanadu is once more before the city council. Growth has alternately made, destroyed, bedeviled, bewitched and dazzled councils for forty years. It has made a few people mayor and destroyed the candidacies of others.  It has been the Holy Grail to some and the third rail for the careless. It never seems to leave us. It is the constant specter that haunts our sleep in this city. It is the stuff that dreams are made of.

The long lost question has been answered, finally!  How do we get more families and women into our downtown to make it a place for everyone?  The answer is clear:  MORE COUNTRY CONCERTS.  Who knew the answer was so simple?

City Hall Diary

Whew—just before midnight, we passed the budget! 

After many long budget hearings, staff presentations, public testimony and robbing Peter to pay Paul, we have a “balanced” budget.

Furious Over Stunt To Steal Daughter’s Headlines

The Hilton family has filed a lawsuit with the Santa Clara County Superior Court alleging that ex-Mayor Gonzales and former aide Joe Guerra have used unfair tactics in order to wrest headlines away from their daughter, infamous socialite Paris Hilton.

The city council’s new plan for “soft” closings has stirred up debate about our downtown—what it has become and what it could be. Wrongfully or rightfully, some people are on one side of the fence, saying that downtown is a place of murders and thugs, while others wonder if it is really that bad.

If you thought the downtown problems I described in last week’s column are bad, wait until you see what the Downtown Association and nightclub lobby have in store for the very near future. They call it “soft closing,” which is really just a euphemism for extending opening hours for nightclubs from 2 a.m. until 3 a.m. The city planning department will hold a hearing on the matter of a proposed pilot program for a large designated area of downtown on June 11 at 6:30 p.m., followed by a city council hearing on June 19 at 1:30 p.m., both at City Hall.

My first post on San Jose Inside spoke about the lack of maintenance the San Jose parks were receiving, particularly the historic Municipal Rose Garden Park.

As I mentioned then, I met with city staff and residents to do an initial walkthrough of the park and I saw firsthand the disarray of the park. Shortly thereafter, I submitted a memo asking the council to consider a “pilot program” for outsourcing maintenance at the park.  My pilot proposal was heard on May 15 during the evening meeting. 

City Hall Diary

It is 11:00 p.m. on Tuesday May 8. I just finished attending my second community meeting of the night. The day has flown by!

My day began at 9:30 a.m. with a long closed-session meeting followed by a “Good Government” event at Adobe. I then went to the 1:30 p.m. Tuesday afternoon city council meeting. The garbage rate increase was on the agenda today. Although many people attended the meeting, I felt that this item should have been heard at night.

Are the People of San Jose Ready to Change the
Rules?

The “Golden Rule” in politics is simple: “He (or she)who has the gold, makes the rules.”  San Jose’s gold does not belong to its people. And the people certainly don’t make the rules.

City Hall Diary

During my first month in office, I have attended various community meetings. The residents at these meetings continue to share that they want their parks maintained, swimming pools opened, traffic calming measures funded, historic neighborhoods preserved, bike lanes installed, trails completed and the list goes on.  Most, if not all, of these needs require money. Streets don’t pave themselves and speed bumps to calm traffic don’t just bubble up from the street.

Close to the hearts of every government watcher from Tom Paine to Howard Jarvis is the inability of government to treat our money as if it were their money. Santa Clara County contracts with the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), which invests county contributions and makes pension payments to retirees. To be fully funded, CalPERS needs a rate of return of 7.75 percent. When they do not get that, the county—we, the taxpayers—are responsible; and there, my friends, is the rub.