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If Stupidity Were a Felony

If stupidity were a felony, ex-county Supervisor George Shirakawa would be spending a lot more time in jail. The new charges filed by District Attorney Jeff Rosen against Shirakawa, resulting from DNA samples found on a political dirty trick mailer, is the latest example. But this brings us to a new problem: Shirakawa didn’t act alone. The pieces were written, designed and printed by others. There must be more DNA out there that identifies those who helped. These folks should be lawyering up right now.

DNA Links Shirakawa to Fraudulent Mailer that Helped Campos in 2010 Council Race

A cloud has been cast over the 2010 election of San Jose Councilman Xavier Campos with this morning’s announcement that George Shirakawa Jr. participated in a covert effort to change the election’s outcome, according to the Santa Clara County District Attorney. Shirakawa, the disgraced former county supervisor who will be sentenced for unrelated crimes Friday, allegedly licked stamps affixed to fraudulent campaign mailers that were designed to discredit council candidate Magdalena Carrasco, who lost two close elections to Campos, a friend and staffer of Shirakawa’s at the time of the crime.

Campaign Coordination: A (Legally Interpretive) Labor of Love

The Fair Political Practices Commission awarded a cookie last week to Cindy Chavez, champ of Tuesday’s county supervisor primary. FPPC Chief Enforcement Officer Gary Winuk ruled that mass mailers shared between Chavez, the county Democratic party and the South Bay Labor Council followed the Political Reform Act to the letter, which must mean it was written in some kind of Cyrillic and Arabic scramble. Part of the ruling stated that anyone who registers with a party is considered a member, even if they don’t pay dues, which means a party’s candidate of choice basically has an unlimited amount of coordinated funds at their disposal.

Alvarado, Chavez to Meet in Runoff; SBLC Flack Denies Media Access

Tuesday night’s special election ended with Cindy Chavez and Teresa Alvarado placing first and second, respectively, in the primary for the county supervisor seat formerly held by George Shirakawa Jr. But while each candidate hosted parties to celebrate making it to the runoff, one of Chavez’s handlers was less than thrilled to allow media access.

Cindy’s Hendler: South Bay Labor Council PR Flack Flips Out

Stacey Hendler Ross used to be KNTV’s late night anchor, and later worked as a globetrotting KGO journalist, covering everything from the Columbine massacre to Princess Diana’s funeral. But now her life is less exciting and she’s on the other side of the First Amendment, plying her trade as the spin manager for the South Bay Labor Council. Apparently since she no longer has a captive TV audience—her March 2012 Democratic TV video got a whopping 131 views on YouTube in the past 13 months—she doesn’t think others should be able to inform the public either. At least if it involves sullying the pristine reputation of former SBLC head Cindy Chavez, who’s running for her good buddy George Shirakawa Jr.’s supervisor seat.

County Supervisors to Hear Sexual Assault Report on Incarcerated Youth

The number of sexual abuse cases involving kids behind bars nearly doubled last year when compared to 2011. The disturbing increase occurred in spite of declining populations at Santa Clara County Juvenile Hall and William F. James Ranch. A report on sexual assaults involving incarcerated youth will go before the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday. Also on the agenda are a number of health and public safety contracts up for renewal.

Shirakawa Learns It’s Lonely at the Bottom

It was striking that George Shirakawa Jr. pleaded guilty Monday in Superior Court with nary a friend or family member there to support him. You never know who your friends are in politics until you are down. The absence of so many spoke volumes.

Shirakawa Pleads Guilty to All Charges

Hands loosely clenched, the thumb on George Shirakawa, Jr.’s right hand nervously rubbed back and forth across the inside of his index finger, as Judge Philip H. Pennypacker read the charges against the disgraced former county supervisor. “Guilty, your honor,” Shirakawa said Monday, announcing the same plea after each of the 12 criminal charges against him, which include five felonies—four for perjury and one for misappropriation of public funds—and seven misdemeanors.

The Unraveling of George Shirakawa Jr.

It’s always a shame to let facts interfere with a good story, but county Supervisor George Shirakawa Jr.‘s downfall didn’t start with a hushed voice from a trench coat in the dark corners of a parking garage. Here’s how Metro/San Jose Inside uncovered some of the disgraced politician’s illegal activity.

The Super County Supervisor Race

The county’s four remaining supervisors voted Tuesday to hold a million dollar special election on June 4 to fill the seat of soon-to-be-jailbird George Shirakawa Jr. If only there was an app for that. Considering the job pays six figures, provides a CalPERS pension, comes with all kinds of perks—assuming you don’t exceed a $3,000-a-year local meal allowance with your P-Card (really?!)—and could last 12 years if all three terms are completed, there should be no shortage of entrants.

Integrity Must Supersede Political Loyalty

Integrity is the single most important ethos the public has a right to expect from anyone who participates in the political arena. Beyond party and philosophy, it is the one essential element of governance that each of us must insist upon when doing the people’s business.

DA: Shirakawa Will Plead Guilty

District Attorney Jeff Rosen said at a press conference this afternoon that George Shirakawa has agreed to plead guilty to all 12 felony and misdemeanor charges, and that his resignation as county supervisor was in response to the discussions between his office and Shirakawa’s attorney. The prosecutor will seek jail time of up to one year. “Jail. I don’t mean picking up trash or weekend work,” Rosen clarified.

Shirakawa Faces Felony Counts

Santa Clara County Supervisor George Shirakawa will face felony charges for actions committed while in public office. The five-month investigation by the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office was triggered by reports in Metro and San Jose Inside that Shirakawa had used campaign funds and public monies for personal use, including payments to family members, casino trips, alcohol purchases and expensive meals. The investigation culminated Friday with the elected official being charged with four felony counts of perjury, one felony count of misappropriation of public funds and six misdemeanors for failure to file campaign forms.

A Review of Santa Clara County’s Grand Jury, Which is Accepting Applications

Santa Clara County’s Civil Grand Jury—a watchdog of local government—needs 19 new jurors to serve during the coming fiscal year. Every year, the grand jury fields citizen complaints and chooses which to pursue as investigations. Reports from the past two years have included a look at funds used for the construction of San Jose’s City Hall, the treatment of female inmates at a county jail and wasteful spending at Valley Medical Center. The deadline to apply is March 8.

On Gangs and Doing the Right Thing

The Mayor’s Gang Prevention Task Force held its fifth annual community summit Saturday, and more than a hundred San Jose residents were in attendance. For me, much of the information presented at the meeting served as an unfortunate reminder of the havoc gangs create in our communities.