San Jose Inside

At the recent televised priority session, the city council and senior staff discussed the priorities for San Jose which included the Redevelopment Agency (RDA) and the dollars spent on the Strong Neighborhood Initiative (SNI).

When it comes to the difficult task of reversing the dismal budget record of the city, help from whatever quarter is usually welcome. But lately, I find the deathbed conversions of the editorial board of the Mercury News and tardy concerns of the South Bay Labor Council to be a bit Wednesday-ish. During the dismal decisions of the last fifteen years or so—the conversion of industrial land to housing, the attacks on the Coyote and Almaden Valley urban reserves, the showering of new benefits on public safety employees, and various other moves—there was a notable silence, or at the most, weak concern from both.

There is the fundamental question that often comes to the fore in the political life of a representative: Do you vote what you think is right or do you vote the will of your constituents? Madison Nguyen is caught in this situation. According to news reports this week, 2,000 people attended a meeting and rally on the naming of the Little Saigon/Saigon Business District. 

City Hall Diary

The San Jose City Council received a North San Jose Task Force update last week.  North San Jose is a grand opportunity for the city. The prospects are endless: industrial land which adds revenue to the city budget, residential properties to allow people to live close to where they work and an abundance of land which can be used for open space and parks.

Harmony in the South Bay Priority For Bush Administration

The United States and Russia have been working quietly on scheduling a follow-up to the Annapolis Middle East Peace Conference that ended Tuesday which is rumored to include talks on a very complex and vexing problem to the world: Coyote Valley.

According to a very good and informative article by Vrinda Normand in the Metro last week, San Jose is the only city in Santa Clara County that allows developers to contract directly with consultants to write environmental impact reports for their proposed projects. The problem with this policy was made evident recently in the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) for the Coyote Valley Specific Plan.

With the approaching Thanksgiving holiday, it is always a good use of time to reflect on what is important to you and those you care about.  In addition to the obvious, friends and family, here are some things that I’m thankful for this year:

Stop the presses! City Hall is giving up bottled water. There is no telling what can happen from this. The money they could save makes me salivate. Could we raise enough money to build an A’s stadium? Or build a second Santana Row downtown? How about more high-density housing or connect the light rail across the city? If they plan on saving upwards of millions of dollars from simply deciding to drink cloudy tap water, there is no stopping this city!

I had hoped it would happen and it did last night. After a dark decade of flawed land-use decisions and “pay to play” mentality at City Hall, Mayor Chuck Reed, aided by two or three thinking council members, got the San Jose City Council to finally jettison the shortsighted and ruinous policy of converting our job-rich tax base lands to housing. Perhaps, just perhaps, the rump members of the “old” discredited group of Gonzales holdovers will get the “halo” effect of sound planning and begin to live up to their fiduciary responsibilities to the people of San Jose. But, as was once said of second marriages, I am, perhaps, letting hope triumph over experience. There is much left to do.

In the news and in the city council chambers, the debate continues about housing vs. jobs in San Jose. Some argue that creating housing before jobs is a little like the cart coming before the horse, while others argue that there needs to be housing here to attract and keep new workers. Is there one that should be in place before the other can follow? I think it is an interesting debate that deserves more airtime.

City Hall Diary

This past Tuesday, the City of San Jose discussed its midyear point, which is where we consider how we should spend or not spend any “extra” money that was not part of the regular budget proposal.  This year approximately $13 million is up for discussion. 

City Hall Diary

Early Saturday morning, October 6, I hosted a community meeting titled “Preserving Our Historic Neighborhoods: How to make your Neighborhood a Conservation Area.”

Many residents have been vocal about preserving not just their individual homes, but their entire neighborhoods as historic structures and/or areas.  Therefore, the purpose of the forum was to empower and inform residents by giving them options for maintaining their neighborhoods’ character and ambiance.

On Saturday morning, a public workshop will be held at City Hall to help determine what revisions need to be made to the city’s general plan for growth. An Envision San Jose 2040 Task Force has been assembled to review the plan and they are seeking public input to assist them in setting the agenda. Since many of us will find it difficult to attend the meeting on Saturday, I thought we might give our bloggers an opportunity to express their views on the matter here on San Jose Inside where they can be seen by the denizens of City Hall.

As mayor, you have the responsibility to make changes, provide vision and get things done. Rarely have we had a mayor of this city who could claim to have all three of those qualities. And, yes, the small things like fixing potholes, listening to the neighborhood associations, and being an accessible mayor are all important too. However, at the end of the day, it’s the “big things” that you will be remembered for.

A fact that I wouldn’t normally like to admit I am willing to admit to you for the sake of an article. I actually planned on attending tomorrow night’s Justin Timberlake concert at the Shark Tank. I was excited as I (another humdinger) watched him perform on the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday night and was actually looking forward to a night out of dancing and being entertained. Regardless of what you think of him, his music, or his taste, he is an entertainer, and they are a dying breed in this world.