San Jose Inside

There has been a good deal of discussion and debate in the community and on this site concerning the relative powers of the mayor and the meaning of the City Charter in the specific areas of Mayoral power.  Being intimately involved in the Measure J changes that the citizens adopted in 1986, two things are clear: people wanted a strong, effective leader in the mayor and, secondly, imperative in the proper functioning of the city was a strong and independent city manager.

A long, long time ago, the Mayor, City Council, and top city staff spent a day together discussing ethics.  It was January 27, 2005 – the neo Grand Jury Report era.

Question:  The recent Gonzales administration scandal is serious because at its root is a felonious desire for:

A)  money
B)  sex
C)  power

It’s new! It’s here! It’s ours.  The new City Hall is ready to take its place in the heart of the city.  Credit Frank Taylor first, who envisioned it, and Frank Fiscalini and David Pandori who got it on the ballot when everyone else was afraid.  Joe Guerra was also critical to the effort. Ron Gonzales stayed the course, for better and worse.  Jude Barry also deserves credit along with Rob and Goodie Steinberg, our local architects who gave Richard Meier the level of support a world-class architect demands and deserves. Thank them for the dome.

San Jose is great because you don’t have to drive far to see or do interesting things.  I don’t feel badly saying this on a site devoted to San Jose because of two reasons:  first, our convention and visitors bureau touts it (link); and second, it’s true.

Before we go too far in looking at the many problems that San Jose is suffering from, let’s look back a mere twenty years or so.  There was a downtown in the making, but it was only on paper and in studies and reports, and, of course, in the hopes and dreams of many in the neighborhoods. 

There was no battle between the suburbs and downtown – quite the contrary, people in Evergreen and Willow Glen and Berryessa wanted our city to have museums, sports venues, parks, and historical assets.  They had faith that sooner or later we might get them, and voted for downtown development time and time again – up to and including the watershed win for the Arena in 1988. Some may whine or try and rewrite history, but the facts are simple.  There was no there, here.  We were embarrassed to host the few notables and events we had at that time in the Holiday Inn. This is not an insult to that establishment, but a criticism of the leaders of San Jose, political and business, who allowed us to become a laughing stock.

By the intensity of the attacks on me from certain quarters, I am happy to note that the cult of lobbyists and yes men and women that inhabit the political basement of our City are feeling a bit of heat.  The insiders that so enjoy the Monday Night Live frolic are scheming for ways to deflect some of the attention. Not a chance.  Imagine selling mentions in the show, from Calpine to Coyote, Divco to DeRollo, for contributions.  Perhaps next will be a sponsorship of the City Council meetings - a sad sight.

When Oscar Wilde wrote of foxhunting and called it “the pursuit of the uneatable by the unthinkable,” he might have had a glimpse into San Jose’s future.  There is a showcasing of local politicians tonight called Monday Night Live and it is an interesting spectacle.  It has an honorable pedigree – the local media, spearheaded by the Mercury scribes, had for years skewered and parodied politicians, aping the Washington Gridiron Dinner with a version of their own. They were brutal, cutting and, quite often, very funny.  I often commented that if that was the level of their everyday writing, the Mercury would have a shelf of Pulitzers. The edict to afflict the powerful was fully met year after year.

There are some at City Hall that seem to think that not getting caught in a lie is the same as telling the truth. Such fine distinctions seem to be very much in vogue these days - from top management to the Council Chambers - from Cisco to Norcal to the Coyote Valley, there is much sophistry. Special investigators and grand juries and DA’s are now the staple of almost every story out of City Hall.

Some people are calling it garbage-gate.  Others say it’s Gonzales-gate.  I’ve even heard a few call it Guerra-gate.  Investigations and alliteration are popular at City Hall these days.

Some years ago in the mid-eighties, the Mercury News and associated media types used to put on a local Gridiron show poking fun at the local politicians, exhibiting some good writing, and punishing us with some bad singing and horrible acting.  Many of us wondered why they saved all their excellence in writing for this show and seldom flashed it in the paper.

The campaign for mayor is getting into full swing with several crises and a set of pronouncements from the aspirants for the job.  The main topic is one that has preoccupied the press and alternately paralyzed, polarized, and pushed the City Council into action – lobbyists.  The questions have revolved around who they are and what influence and ties they have to the Mayor and Council. This crisis can be easily avoided.