Clearly, Councilman Sam Liccardo is trying to make nice with Police Chief Rob Davis after blasting him for his “inflexible” leadership style in a recent Metro article. Today, the councilman made a point to give the chief a few little kudos at the afternoon City Council meeting.
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Can Chief Davis Survive?
(POSTED APRIL 7; UPDATED APRIL 8) In the past six months, Rob Davis has lost support, becoming the most controversial San Jose police chief since the department became a modern urban force under Harvard-educated reformer Joseph McNamara three decades ago.
The affable chief is typically comfortable in the public eye, but these days, Davis is discovering that he cannot talk his way out of trouble. His critics include not only traditional police watchdogs like the ACLU, the NAACP and Latino community groups but also city officials, business owners and law enforcement leaders.
A Plan for Policing Downtown
Guest Column
By John Conway
As a founding member of the San Jose Restaurant and Entertainment Association, I want to bring you up to speed on developments regarding the public-private partnership that is evolving to share the fair costs of a new policing model for our downtown Entertainment Zone.
Watch Dog’s Morning Roundup
By Watch Dog Silicon Valley
Sam Liccardo’s downtown compromise; Valley Medical’s day off; and raves for both the federal stimulus package and the state budget.
Welcome to 2009, San Jose
2008 was certainly a roller-coaster ride. From the rise and fall of oil to the housing market collapse and finally the recession. 2009 will be a challenging year for each and every one one of us.
Flex Time
By Erin Sherbert
The Nov. 4 election was about month away, and with a downtrodden economy, it appeared that a transportation tax like the BART measure was going to need all the help it could get. So San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed, a leading proponent of the BART tax, made some back-and-forth calls to the San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce’s president, Pat Dando, requesting some face time with her board.
Dando turned him down.
Chads and Cads
Well, just when you thought it was over. Measure B—BART, has surged into the lead, with over 600,000 votes cast, at the astonishing percent of 66.67: Amazing does not come close to defining it. And remember, there are still 9,800 votes to count. In my grandfather’s day, a report from the Calvary Cemetery precinct would seal the win—ah, for the good old days.
This victory, if such it is, is as remarkable as any in the history of the valley. It sealed in my mind the undying resolution of our citizens to always vote for the future, to reach for the dream of a better city and valley, even in the face of frightening times.
Downtown Association President calls for Police Advisory Board
The president of the San Jose Downtown Association, the group that represents downtown San Jose business and property owners, has called for the establishment of a police advisory commission. Though his position has not been officially endorsed by SJDA’s board, Art Bernstein says it is consistent with the objectives of the group’s advocacy arm.
San Jose needs “a body in between the police and city council so that every time there are issues of concern to the community, it doesn’t take a city council meeting,” Bernstein told Fly. A “citizen’s advisory group” would fill that role best. In an OpEd in Sunday’s Merc, Bernstein cites recent initiatives to charge downtown businesses for policing costs and notes that police have become “more aggressive with permit compliance, code enforcement and the closing down of some of downtown’s bars and clubs.”
On to the Future
Well the consultants and pundits are receding into the background, thankfully. It is now time to check the battlefield for casualties and then look at options for the future.
Paramount to our valley, the path to mass transit is very bumpy in our valley. The excruciating narrowness of the loss of the BART sales tax measure is something that will not soon be forgotten by the losers—Mayor Chuck Reed, Carl Guardino of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, and rising star Sam Liccardo laid it, and all, on the line. And in an incredibly close miss, they saw the hopes of a complete BART system dashed—for now.
Staged Vote
San Jose Councilwoman Nora Campos made a brief appearance at City Hall recently when she parachuted into the middle of a council committee hearing, asking the group to vote a second time on a plan to extend living wages to all airport workers. The vote had already gone her way, mind you, but why shouldn’t city government drop everything to make her feel included?
Eric Hernandez Arrested for Assault
San Jose Police have confirmed that Eric Hernandez, the former Cindy Chavez intern convicted in March of hacking city government emails, was arrested Tuesday for assault and battery. According to police spokesman Sgt. Mike Sullivan, Hernandez allegedly attacked and beat a man at the Alma Community Center.
The Election Aftermath
Usually after elections, there must be the counting (and sometimes recounting), and the obligatory, if not always enlightening, analysis. With the end of last week’s battles, there are two salient facts beyond debate. First, the fight over “Little Saigon” was traumatic for the city and more so for the hopes of Vietnamese-American candidates. And second, the attempts of the Democratic establishment to boost and support candidates that would be solidly in their camp failed miserably with the crushing of Craig Mann in the Evergreen district.
Promoter Ordinance Opposition Group May Change Downtown Vision
On June 3, the San Jose City Council passed the controversial promoter ordinance that will regulate downtown nightlife by imposing fees and mandatory permits on event promoters and organizers. I don’t want to put too much on it, but the day after the ordinance passed, it was like someone had shot live entertainment in the head.
Disneyland Comes to Alviso
City Hall Diary
Disneyland in Alviso? Not quite, but the comparisons are definitely there. Several months back, I accompanied Councilmembers Chu and Liccardo on a tour of the San Jose Water Pollution Control Plant. We rode on electric carts that were linked together like those at an amusement park. Our tour guide spouted off words like, “sewage back-up, micro-organisms, aeration, methane gas”—much different then “Pirates of the Caribbean.”
Old Country for No Men
Long before the Vietnam War, San Jose had its own well-known Italian enclave called Little Italy. And way before the Vietnamese were pushing to call the Vietnamese retail area Little Saigon, the Italian community had already started working on a plan to revive Little Italy and call it just that. But as you can imagine, nobody at City Hall wants to touch that one.
Council Holds the Line—Sort Of
It seems that this council, most of it anyway, means what it says; it held the line against the conversion of five acres of industrial land to housing. Nice job, team. The war will never be won until developers believe that the council will not buckle under the joint pressure of too much money and too little staff backbone. It must be won battle by battle.
