The recent appointment of Larry Esquivel to “interim” San Jose Police Chief, and the “indefinite” time extension given to name a new police chief, is a stark admission of governmental failure for the city of San Jose.
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Rocha Considers Calling it Quits in 2014
While everyone and their mom-in-law weighs a run for mayor of San Jose in 2014, Councilmember Don Rocha is considering calling it quits at the end of his first term. He insists no decision has been made, but the Cambrian councilmember has publicly and privately voiced his displeasure with some of his colleagues and their constant focus on pension reform, as opposed to public safety, libraries, community centers and street paving.
Why I voted for a New School
A neighborhood I grew up in was the focus of a land use discussion raised last week at the City Council meeting. The principal question before the council was whether or not a new school should open up in this neighborhood.
The Lighter Side of Mercury News Emails
Turning the page on 2012, it’s also time to close out the final chapter on emails between politicos and Barbara Marshman, the opinionated opinion editor of the Mercury News.
How to Save the General Fund $10 MIllion
A housing report revealed last week at the oversight board meeting for the Successor Agency to the Redevelopment Agency (SARA) shows that the city has $10 million in funds that have yet to be allocated. While some people would like to direct these funds to affordable housing, which isn’t taxable and doesn’t create revenue, a better plan would be to direct the $10 million toward RDA debt. If this occurs, the exact same amount can then go toward the general fund, which pays for police, libraries and other community services.
Shadow Group Requests All Emails Between City, Mercury News Editorial Board
Fly isn’t the only one captivated by the professional diaries of Mercury News opinion editor Barbara Marshman. Two weeks after Metro revealed that Marshman made a quid pro quo offer of “lavish praise” to Water District candidate Barbara Keegan in exchange for her removal from the race, a shadow group called Political Record Strategies (PRS) made a request for all electronic communications between city of San Jose officials and Marshman, as well as the rest of the paper’s editorial board.
Hawkins Leaving City Clerk’s Office
City Clerk Dennis Hawkins bids San Jose adieu in less than three weeks. According to a press release sent out by Mayor Chuck Reed’s office, Hawkins informed the City Council on Tuesday that his final day will be Dec. 15, after which he will take a position with Santa Clara County. Hawkins will join the county as as administrative services manager for the county counsel, the release states.
City Council Meetings at Night Would Allow Greater Civic Participation
If you are like the majority of San Jose residents, you probably work during the day and/or are involved in a child’s education at school/home. Your ability to attend a daytime San Jose City Council meeting is limited. For this reason, holding council meetings in the evenings for all issues, not just land use items, would increase public awareness and involvement.
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.
Constant Skipped Council Meeting for RNC
The City Clerk plans to retroactively mark Councilmember Pete Constant down as an unexcused absence for last week’s City Council meeting. Unbeknownst to almost anyone, Constant, who was out of the office almost all of August after back surgery, was attending the Repubican National Convention in Tampa, Fla.
Prioritizing Future City Spending
At the upcoming Aug. 7 City Council meeting, the discussion will focus on how to prioritize city spending IF revenues increase. So, in the example below, if revenues increase by $10 million—either by revenue growth or tax increase—this is how I think it should be spent by percentage.
Three up and Three down
August is on the horizon, which means the local political landscape is about to heat up. Campaigns will kick back into gear, ballot initiatives will pit voters against their more indulgent neighbors, and a couple of the more intriguing local elected officials will call it quits.
Q&A with County Assessor Larry Stone
We tried to do a Q&A with Santa Clara County Assessor Larry Stone back in late March. That didn’t happen, but it wasn’t Stone’s fault—there weren’t enough questions at the time. But here we are, three months later, and we’ve got the tax man’s answers to a couple submitted questions, relayed in a telephone conversation, as well as his thoughts on the fight between the county and Redevelopment Agencies, the odds the Oakland A’s will relocate to San Jose and how he views the local housing market five years after the subprime mortgage crisis.
Does Public Transportation Match Community Wishlist of Services?
The topic of government providing transportation to seniors came up during our budget study sessions. Combined, the city and county currently provide a senior lunch program. The discussion was around the cost and value of increasing services like transportation to receive this lunch service.
Council to Appoint Planning Commissioners
Mayor Chuck Reed released his June Budget Message on Friday, and not much has changed since he first released his budget plan in March. Reed wants to open four libraries and the Bascom Community Center, add additional funds to the gang prevention task force, and tackle some of the city’s biggest infrastructure problems. While the budget will consume next week’s agendas, Tuesday’s City Council meeting will focus on other issues, including an update on Team San Jose’s performance, compensation for outside legal firms and selecting planning commissioners.
Got Signatures? Go to the Ballot
An explanation of how the ballot initiative process has affected the local political landscape—including a breakdown of four initiatives created in the last year—and an update on the $1 million check submitted by a developer to the city last week.
