San Jose Inside

Starbucks and Prolific Oven Fall to Labor Peace Agreements

On the heels of a vote that supported labor peace agreements over caffeine, the San Jose City Council made the controversial decision to allow themselves to be replaced by labor council bosses in all future votes pertaining to labor issues.

It is clear from yesterday’s special meeting that the only thing the city council can do to the mayor in the wake of his indictment is whack him with a wet noodle, take away his gas allowance, and allow him only bread and water. There is no provision or process in the Charter to remove the mayor from office, and the council apparently cannot now pass an ordinance addressing impeachment and apply it retroactively without violating the mayor’s civil rights. What is also clear is that, if there was such an impeachment procedure in place, the council would now invoke it in light of the mayor’s refusal to resign, and he would be history.

Well, the time we have all been waiting for has arrived—a wait of nearly eight years on some of our calendars.  The long, dark reign of Ron Gonzales is over. It has been a dismal period for our community. Yet, the pivotal questions are: will the damage and offense against San Jose’s reputation of good government and good planning persist? Or, is the nightmare over?

In life, many events occur simply to maintain the balance of nature. No matter what disturbances may influence nature, nature always seeks to return to equilibrium. In physics, balance is possible only when a body is stable, that is, with equal forces influencing it from opposing sides. In economics, financial markets work best when they have achieved equilibrium.

$4 Million Subsidy Approved for Bare-Breasted Bacchanalia

The City of San Jose has chosen Team San Jose, a California non-profit public benefit corporation led by Con-Vis Chief Dan Fenton, to organize and run a Girls Gone Wild Silicon Valley Edition that will take place in downtown San Jose in mid-August.

Proof of Nuclear Program Has City Imposing Sanctions

Immediately after city inspectors stumbled upon uranium enrichment equipment in an underground bunker at the county fairgrounds, the city accused county supervisors of trying to produce weapons of mass destruction, which they say would be used as a threat to influence future negotiations.

San Jose Positioning Itself For New Draft Pick

In an eerie coincidence with 49er quarterback Alex Smith, City Manager Del Borgsdorf has cited “small hands” as the reason for his resignation as the city’s top executive.

With the mayor fighting for his political life, three candidates separating themselves over what the next steps should be for the City, and the Mercury News releasing a poll that shows 85% of the participants favor the mayor stepping down, we thought we would take our own, primitive poll…

Says Mercury News Editorial Board Next

Mayor Gonzales took time out of his busy schedule in Charlotte, North Carolina this week, where he delivered the keynote address on “good government” at the annual National League of Cities (NLC) conference, to respond to the latest round of Scud missiles launched at him with intent to inflict bodily harm.

I do like give and take; it’s healthy, it’s in my nature, and I believe that is the tradition of San Jose—a hallowed one. But if our next mayor’s race becomes the traditional American election, one full of personalities but short of vision, replete with attacks, more thunder than light, then we all lose.  Our city needs the next campaign to be about ideas and issues rather than platitudes and endorsements and who is the “nicest.” With that goal in mind, I’d like to speak about issues and an idea or two—those things that we need to be the focal points of the next mayoral election, namely growth, a big park, safety and ethics.

Move Seen as First Step in Winning Back City Hall
Following the successful city council vote in Oakland limiting the amount of dogs allowed in a household, the San Jose City Council sent a strong signal on Tuesday night when they voted unanimously to limit the number of elected officials that individual lobbyists could own.

Councilman Wanders Aimlessly Around City Hall Plaza Encouraging Visitors to Kick His Ass
In a rare show of solidarity, and just moments after a heated debate over the mayor’s official grand jury response regarding Garbagegate, the council voted overwhelmingly to place a “Kick Me” sign on Councilman Forrest Williams for his refusal to abandon the Titanic of local government that is Mayor Gonzales’ administration.

The actions of the City Council are moving from mysterious to indecipherable.  A majority refused to send the Ron Gonzales-backed response on the garbage scandal to the Grand Jury; they opted to wait.  This is, of course, the Council who according to the Grand Jury report of early summer was “duped” by Gonzales while he made a side agreement with Norcal, the garbage service provider.  Cindy Chavez, Judy Chirco and Nancy Pyle joined the early critics Dave Cortese, Chuck Reed and Linda Lezotte in refusing to rubber stamp the document authored by Gonzales with the city’s Manager and Attorney. Also, the ethically tardy Ken Yeager has refused to sign on to the report while telling confidants that he is fearful of the Gonzales’ reaction to his late blossoming of concern on this issue.  Of such stuff is San Jose’s “Profiles in Courage” made.

Here’s the candid situation:  if you talk to local business leaders, they will tell you they’re concerned that the scandals will hurt the city’s ability to attract business.  Many civic leaders wonder how quickly the city’s once outstanding national reputation for good government will be regained, if at all.  Everyone it seems is counting on a new mayor to put the city on the road to recovery.