Madison Nguyen’s plan to run for mayor of San Jose appears to be the worst kept secret at City Hall these days—mainly because she keeps telling everyone before adding that it’s “a secret.” Three of Nguyen’s colleagues confirmed that the District 7 councilmember started spreading word of her plan to run before the June 5 primaries.
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Councilmembers Don’t Want to Play Ball
The territory war between San Jose and the San Francisco Giants got a bit more heated Thursday, with the minor league Giants caught in the fray. San Jose councilmembers Sam Liccardo and Pete Constant said in a memo that before the city spends $85,000 on maintenance for the San Jose Giants’ stadium, they would like to know how much Giants owners are spending to sue the city over land being saved for a potential move to San Jose by the Oakland A’s.
Mayor Reed Gets FOXy
Few classified the pension reform debate in San Jose as partisan. Only one member of the 10-person City Council—Pete Constant—is a registered Republican. But in the lead-up and aftermath of voters decisively passing Measure B, which will cut back public employee retirement benefits if it withstands legal challenges, Mayor Chuck Reed took at least four interviews last week with FOX News and its affiliates, leaving his media calendar a little less than fair and balanced.
Committee Delays on Gay Marriage Memo
A well attended Rules and Open Government Committee meeting Wednesday dealt with an uncommon topic at City Hall these days: love. Or, to be more precise, love between a couple that doesn’t consist of a man and a woman. After more than an hour of public comments where many people framed marriage as a civil rights issue and others called it a sacred religious institution, Mayor Chuck Reed, Vice Mayor Madison Nguyen and Councilmember Pierluigi Oliverio unanimously agreed to delay any action on a memo from Councilmember Ash Kalra that wanted the City Council to form a resolution in support of gay marriage.
What’s Cooking, Good Looking?
The June 5 primary slugfest wages on for two more weeks, but that hasn’t stopped some people from putting out feelers for the 2014 election. Pete Furman, chief of staff for San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed, was the first person we heard might be interested in running for the District 3 City Council seat, which will be left vacant by a termed-out Sam Liccardo. Many believe Liccardo plans to continue up the City Hall ladder in a bid for mayor. Furman isn’t alone in weighing a run for the downtown council seat.
The Non-Campaign Against Measure B
What if someone held an election and one side didn’t show up? Well, that is happening in the ill-advised pension reform campaign called Measure B. While proponents are raising money to pay for the Mayor’s under-employed—yet now overpaid—political consultant, organized opposition to the measure has evaporated. The reason is simple and economical.
City Concealed Street Closure Docs
Despite the city’s stated commitment to sunshine and open government, city officials and proponents of a proposal to permanently close a block of South First Street concealed critical documents from affected parties for a year—until the eve of a council vote. Promoters of the “pavement to plaza” conversion say a $500,000 grant from ArtPlace requires the street’s full closure. San Jose will contribute $98,000 in park and economic development funds, under the plan, which goes to the City Council at today’s 1:30pm meeting.
Unions, Rose Herrera Declare War
Less than a month until the June 5 primary, labor unions fired off several accusations Tuesday that Councilmember Rose Herrera lied to voters during her 2008 campaign and may have even committed perjury in the mid-1990s. Herrera responded by calling the unions “bullies” using “misrepresentations and lies.”
Pruning Rose
The San Jose Police Officers Association started its attack ad blitz for the June 5 primary election, and the cops aren’t just doing mailers and push polls—they’re also pulling out all the social-media stops.
Cortese is Labor’s Best Bet for Mayor
Metro Silicon Valley’s issue this week looks at possible candidates to succeed Mayor Chuck Reed when he terms out in less than two years. Invariably, in every discussion, two names pop up: San Jose Councilmember Sam Liccardo and Santa Clara County Supervisor Dave Cortese. Below is an excerpt focusing on Cortese’s roots, how he got into office, and who he aligns himself with.—Editor
A Condensed Play-by-Play of the City Council Ballot Measure Vote
“Love is in the air,” Rev. Nancy Palmer Jones declared in her opening remarks for the invocation of Tuesday’s City Council meeting. Not long after that, everyone proceeded to attack one another. The public comments portion of the council meeting featured a passionate cast of characters speaking for or against the June retirement benefits reform ballot, which passed by an 8-3 vote.
Chu, Nguyen Trade Accusations via Email
It’s officially election season—two San Jose city councilmembers sparred via email this week following a Vietnamese New Year flag raising ceremony held Monday at City Hall. Kansen Chu sent the first email to Madison Nguyen, accusing the vice mayor of sponsoring an event that featured “campaign activity” by his challenger, Tam Truong, in this June’s election. Nguyen disputed this in her own email and concluded that Chu is grandstanding.
People Speak Out Against Citizens United
A day before the two-year anniversary of the Citizens United v. the Federal Election Commission Supreme Court ruling, more than 200 protesters gathered Friday at St. James Park in San Jose. The rally was held in support of the Move to Amend demonstration, a proposed constitutional amendment that would reverse Citizen’s United, which paved the way for corporations and unions to spend an unlimited amount of money on political campaigns.
Behind the Plastic Bag Ban Fight
San Jose’s plastic bag ordinance will save local creek bed ecosystems, bankrupt mom-and-pop shops, drastically alter consumer habits, spark grocery store riots on Thanksgiving, bring down the plastics industry and destabilize the global economy—all at the same time. Or it could just force shoppers to bring their own bags to avoid a 10-cent fee per paper sack. The reality is the bag ban was designed to nudge other cities into action. San Jose wants to set a local trend that already is spreading across the country.
Pot Club Compromise on the Way?
A day before New Year’s Eve, the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters validated the necessary amount of signatures for a referendum to go forward on the City Council’s medical marijuana ordinance. While some city officials were offering tough talk in the final months of the year, statements by Mayor Chuck Reed on Tuesday seem to suggest a softened stance that would allow for a compromise rather than the referendum going to voters.
Why Rocketship Will, Must Work
In my 38 years in public education, I never witnessed as consequential a vote as was taken on Dec. 14 and the early morning hours of Dec. 15. The Santa Clara County Office of Education Board, on a very controversial 5-2 and 4-3 vote, approved 20 new Rocketship Education charter schools in Silicon Valley.
