In polarized San Jose, where unionistas have been battling pension reformers, both camps racked up victories and defeats, and neither was fully vanquished. As of early Wednesday morning, with two-thirds of the precincts in District 8 reporting results, Councilmember Rose Herrera was gliding to a ten-point triumph over Jimmy Nguyen.
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Election Night Coverage
Tonight’s election night, which means San Jose Inside will attend whatever parties we don’t get thrown out of. Throughout the evening, we’ll post updates on the the minimum wage fight, the success of the police union’s campaign to punish Rose Herrera for her support of pension reform, the hotly contested Almaden Valley council race and Jerry Brown and Molly Munger’s sales tax slugfest, as well as other less important contests, like the President of Ohio. Also follow San Jose Inside’s Facebook and Twitter pages for results, snap judgments and documented meltdowns. If you’re out and about, please send your photos and reports to
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Shirakawa Aide Leaves Behind Free Meals
The Mercury News reported over the weekend that Andrea Flores Shelton, county Supervisor George Shirakawa’s deputy chief of staff, is changing positions to become a coordinator for the county Public Health Department. The newspaper said that Shelton insisted her “departure has nothing to do with Shirakawa’s more recently publicized troubles,” which we can only assume is a euphemism for the fraudulent expense reports Shirakawa has filed, wasting thousands of taxpayer dollars on lavish dinners, alcohol for friends, golf trips, casinos, and … the list continues.
Council Election Night Preview, Review
The day you’ve all been waiting for is almost here. No, not Election Day. We’re talking about the day after tomorrow, when people can put partisan politics to bed and go back to calling each other $%&#! at the dinner table based solely on the content of one’s character. For now, here’s en election night preview of the two City Council races.
Changing of the Guard at City Hall
A changing of the guard took place this week at San Jose’s City Hall—literally. San Jose police officer Ted Trujillo was sent back to patrol after overseeing City Hall security the last eight years. His duties included watching the backs of Mayor Chuck Reed for six years and former Mayor Ron Gonzales for two, in addition to making sure any threats to the civic concrete jungle were addressed. To send Trujillo out in style, a virtual who’s who of city officials gathered at Mosaic Restaurant and Lounge last week.
Hey, Big Spender: The Shirakawa Receipts
While many Santa Clara County homeowners sweated to pay their semiannual property tax payments in the recession that followed 2008’s economic collapse, and businesses cut back on expenses, Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors president George Shirakawa Jr. spent $36,830 of their money on plane tickets, hotels, rental cars, dining and other items—like a television and a $627 glass door mini-fridge that he claims were related to county business—since January 2009. The county’s top elected official broke the $30 dinner spending limit with steaks that cost as much as $102 each (including tax and tip), violated the ban on alcohol purchases and claimed that his meetings with lobbyists, political consultants and friends were official county business. A regular at taquerias, Chinese restaurants, Italian bistros and rib joints, the board’s runaway frequent diner avoided detection by filing a “missing receipt” declaration more than 180 times. Amazingly, Shirakawa never lost the top copy of the receipt—the one with the tip and total—only the slip that details the number of guests and the items consumed.
Herrera, Nguyen Council Race Gets Uglier
And to think there’s still six more days of crazy before District 8 voters go to the polls. The expensive race between Rose Herrera, Evergreen’s City Council incumbent, and Jimmy Nguyen has had it share of distractions, but now come conflicting allegations over Herrera’s husband attempting to put Nguyen’s campaign signs in a park trash can late Monday night.
Story of the Week: District 8 City Council Race Approaches $1 Million in Spending
Thursday marked the last filing deadline for campaign disclosure forms and independent committee expenditures before the Nov. 6 election. This means the next 11 days will feature a flurry of campaign spending, the details of which won’t be known until after people go to the polls. One thing that can be said for certain, though, is that the District 8 City Council race between Rose Herrera and Jimmy Nguyen is costing major money. How much? More than $700,000 so far, and it could approach $1 million by the time the election is held.
How to Buy Public Safety Support
The saying goes: If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. But in politics, if you can’t join ‘em, buy ‘em. That’s exactly what San Jose City Council candidates Rose Herrera and Johnny Khamis did in a recent slate mailer to boost their public safety cred. But it seems the smartest men in the room are the voter guides’ organizers, who are making a killing selling endorsements up and down the state.
PTSD Forum at City Hall Wednesday Night
A free community forum on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), sponsored by the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Association of Santa Clara Valley and Councilmember Kansen Chu, will take place at 6:30pm Wednesday at City Hall.
FPPC Letter Says Mayor Can’t Give $100K to PAC Supporting Herrera
The San Jose City Council race between Rose Herrera and Jimmy Nguyen just got a little crazier. The Police Officers Association announced late Friday that a political action committee (PAC) supporting Herrera will need to return $100,000 to a PAC controlled by Mayor Chuck Reed. But the mayor says that has yet to be decided.
SJPD Officer Allegedly Lied on Time Sheet
San Jose police officers have been working around the clock to combat an uptick in crime as the numbers of officers diminish. But one officer worked enough that the hours just didn’t seem to add up. Officer Jeffery Enslen, 45, was booked for one count of felony grand theft Thursday.
Evan Low Accosted for Sexual Orientation
Oktoberfest traditionally serves as Campbell’s annual reminder that people love an excuse to get wasted. But this year, Campbell Vice Mayor Evan Low experienced a whole new level of belligerence, and it’s not clear if alcohol had anything to with an incident that borders on being a hate crime.
Herrera Pulls Page from Wrong Playbook
Two rules in this political life: 1. Never fight a land war in Asia; and 2. Never send out an attack ad saying police aren’t doing their jobs. San Jose Councilmember Rose Herrera apparently missed the memo on the latter maxim.
How the Council Set Its Priorities
The San Jose City Council met last week to discuss and prioritize certain ordinances the city should pursue in the coming year. Creating an ordinance requires staff time from the department that the ordinance will affect and, as always, time from the City Attorney’s office. In many cases, outreach for ordinances must be done to garner resident and stakeholder input which takes time and staff facilitating the public meetings.
Story of the Week: Campos, Constant Collect Campaign Money for Family
An examination of DFR forms, or Disclosure of Fundraising Reports, filed in the last two years by San Jose city councilmembers shows that many not only spend their time soliciting contributions for community events, but also partisan organizations and even family members in two particular cases.
