Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law a trio of bills sponsored by the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC), the state’s political watchdog group, making it easier for the rest of us to police our politicians.
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County Meeting with Restaurants Owners for New Health, Safety Grading System
A new policy is expected to require Santa Clara County restaurants to post grades from their latest health inspection report on the front window of the establishment. No more hiding that cockroach problem.
Meet the Gloriously Awkward State Assembly Candidate Michael Hunsweck
Michael Hunsweck won’t apologize for his politics, which is great, because the neoconservative could be a YouTube celebrity if he keeps it up. A candidate in next year’s race for State Assembly District 28—which includes west San Jose, Cupertino, Campbell, Saratoga, Los Gatos and Monte Sereno—Hunsweck will face off with Campbell Mayor Evan Low and Cupertino Councilman Barry Chang. It’s unclear if the field to replace Assemblyman Paul Fong will grow more crowded—Ken Yeager, president of the county Board of Supervisors, already pulled out of the race earlier this year—but one thing is certain: Hunsweck has a deliciously awkward style all his own.
How Candidates Act after the Campaign
In 1988, while working for the late Sen. Ted Kennedy in Minneapolis—he was stumping for Hubert “Skip” Humphrey for the U.S. Senate—a revelation occurred out of the public sphere. As a witness to the event, it resonates today in the era of partisanship. It was an example of how politics really work when not viewed solely through the jaded lens of the media.
Erratic Behavior by Local Elected Officials a Mental Health Issue?
A number of local elected officials have recently shown signs of unstable and unacceptable behavior in public life. All of these extreme actions indicate people dealing with mental-health related issues. That does not mean they are all mentally ill. Then again, the absence of a diagnosis is not the same as being “not sick.”
Constant, Campos Defend McDonald’s
McDonald’s doesn’t make you fat or cause ridiculous amounts of traffic, Pete Constant want people to know. Constant and fellow councilman Xavier Campos signed a memo Friday arguing that a proposed McDonald’s in Constant’s district should be approved on appeal.
Residents Not Lovin’ Proposed McDonald’s
McDonald’s wants to build one of its fine dining drive-throughs across the street from a middle school, but San Jose residents who spoke up at a recent public hearing aren’t lovin’ it. A public hearing will be held over the fast-food joint at Tuesday’s City Council meeting. Other items on the agenda include the proposal to turn Agnews Development Center into a high school and the San Jose Water Company’s $2 million bid for pipe repairs.
County Supervisors Look at Property Options
Santa Clara County has collected some valuable parcels of land near downtown San Jose in recent years. San Jose relinquished its old City Hall site in 2011 instead of paying cash for some outstanding debt. The county’s also about to acquire the old Private George L. Richey U.S. Army Reserve to turn into a first-responder training site, adjacent to the existing County Government Center at San Pedro and Hedding streets. Other items also on the county Board of Supervisor’s agenda include harmful prescription drugs in our water supply and funding for programs run by the District Attorney’s Office.
Water District Pays $70,000 in Annual Chamber of Commerce Dues
The Santa Clara Valley Water District paid nearly $70,000 in membership fees last fiscal year to a long list of chambers of commerce and other networking associations. Not surprising, almost every single chamber of commerce on the list endorsed the Measure B water tax.
Cindy Chavez’s Conflicts of Interest
While on its executive committee, prospective county supervisor candidate Cindy Chavez helped move hundreds of thousands of dollars out of a local health nonprofit, according to copies of board minutes obtained by San Jose Inside. At a pivotal meeting last June, Chavez voted to approve a budget that included a line item in which one of her employers, Working Partnerships USA, had a financial interest—and to fund a political campaign that was largely run by her other employer, the South Bay Labor Council. The two transactions totaled $400,000, more than a quarter of the Santa Clara Family Health Foundation’s budget.
Six Degrees of Separation from Steve Jobs or the Shoulders of San Pedro Square
We all stand on the shoulders of others in the building of a city or a nation. Nowhere is that more true of our valley than in one strip of San Jose called San Pedro Square. A boy named Luis Peralta traveled north from Tubac, in Old Mexico, fully 1,000 miles, and he settled in this area; the DeAnza Party followed. We move from Peralta to Fallon, Masson, Giannini, Disney, Hewlett and Packard, and on to Jobs in a few short steps and some 200 years of San Jose history.
Councilmembers Constant, Khamis Call for Investigation of Health Care Nonprofits
Two members of the San Jose City Council are calling for an investigation into whether city funds were illegally used in local campaigns. Councilmembers Pete Constant and Johnny Khamis are asking the city manager and city attorney to “investigate whether any city funds that were provided to either Santa Clara Family Health Foundation or VMC Foundation were used to fund any campaign activities in any manner,” according to a memo released Thursday. The memo notes that the city has given the foundations more than $6 million in the last three years.
Nonprofits Funded Labor Council Political Campaigns
Funds from two local non-profit health care foundations made their way to phone banks and mail campaigns of the South Bay Labor Council in 2012 after routing the money through a Measure A’s campaign committee. Both the VMC Foundation and the Santa Clara Family Health Foundation gave more than a quarter-million dollars each—a total of $539,000—to support an 1/8th cent county sales tax measure, Measure A. At least $90,000 of those monies were transferred to the South Bay Labor Council. An incestuous tangle of organizations, directors and consultants characterized the transactions, with common decision-makers on both the giving and receiving ends. None of the organization are willing to discuss how the funds were used and how decisions were made. Former San Jose vice mayor and South Bay Labor Council CEO Cindy Chavez currently heads up the nonprofit SBLC-linked Working Partnerships USA (WPUSA) and sits on the board for the Health Trust and Santa Clara Family Health Foundation.
Is Ro Khanna the Valley’s Next Big Thing?
Is Ro Khanna the Next Big Thing in valley politics? The 36-year-old Yale-educated Wilson Sonsini lawyer now sits on one of the Bay Area’s largest political war chests. Khanna won’t say definitively whether he’ll run for Mike Honda’s congressional seat — only that he’s “considering where I can best serve and make an impact.” He doesn’t discourage speculation either and keeps a busy schedule meeting with people who could help him with a run. Khanna admits his interest in Honda’s seat is “not a secret,”
Ro Khanna Makes Another Strategic Mistake in Challenging Mike Honda
As a U.S. Congressman, Mike Honda has promoted the rise of the under-represented, so it is the height of irony that he would be challenged by Ro Khanna, an Indo-American from his own party.
Breaking Down Local Legislators’ 2012 Work
When the calendar ticked over to 2013, a slew of bills authored last year by our local state senators and assembly members became actual law. Moving forward, those lawmakers have until late February to introduce bills, which means they’re in the middle of planning a legislative agenda for the coming year. We compiled a list of their just-enacted bills and called up those same representatives to ask them what they have planned for the upcoming year.
