In what may turn out to be one of the most expensive races ever for a local county office, Cindy Chavez has captured the District 2 Supervisor seat held by her disgraced former ally, George Shirakawa, Jr. The victory places the largest county government in the global home of leading edge technology—from Teslas to Google Glass—firmly in the hands of an old-fashioned political machine; a classic one that delivers votes, wins elections, rewards its followers and dispenses benefits. Over the next two years, the board will vote on billions of dollars in employee compensation contracts—the county spends $3 billion a year on salaries, benefits and pensions—for the members of the unions who returned the former San Jose city official to public office.

Mayor Chuck Reed’s pension reform plan went to trial Monday in a Santa Clara County court room. The outcome of the case is expected to influence other cities considering ways to cut down on the cost of retirement benefits. The lawsuit, brought against the city by its employee unions in response to Reed’s Measure B reforms, demonstrates the challenge of reforming pension plans despite having to cut public services to pay for them.

Every two years, Santa Clara County does a Homeless Census and Survey to receive federal homeless funding. The most recent survey, conducted in January 2013, shows an increase in homelessness, as more and more people are setting up encampments in San Jose. Here are some possible steps San Jose and Santa Clara County can take to address the issue in a more humane way.

Each fiscal year, San Jose’s councilmembers are allocated $20,000 in “HP grants” that can be utilized to provide grants to cultural, educational or recreational groups. These funds are allocated solely at the discretion of the elected official. My allocations, listed in this column, represent my personal priorities and values not only as an elected official, but also as a proud citizen of San Jose.

The District 2 county supervisor’s race is one of the most important in this region’s history. Two-thirds of the county budget—about $3 billion annually—goes to compensation and retirement benefits. Virtually all of the public employee union contracts are up for negotiation in the next two years, and there’s an unfunded $1.7 billion liability for retiree health care. The election will determine whether those issues are tackled by a board majority firmly in the pocket of the South Bay Labor Council—or one that might be a little more independent. For this and many other reasons, Metro and San Jose Inside endorse Teresa Alvarado for county supervisor.

City manager Debra Figone made the correct decision in turning down a raise. What was astounding was that it was ever offered in the first place. Her current compensation is a whopping $227,975 a year. Just the offer of this raise is cause for voters to become irate. It reduces the credibility of public service and confirms taxpayers belief their money is being wasted.

The city expects to clear up 40 to 60 homeless encampments a year—indefinitely. Annual cost for the cleanups will range around $550,000, and possibly more, if the city approves a contract with Tucker Construction, Inc., at Tuesday’s City Council meeting. Other agenda items for the last council meeting of the fiscal year include a settlement for a man struck by a police car, a renewal agreement with the city’s Sacramento lobbying firm and a potential shift to store city data through cloud computing.

After 11 years of shortfalls and $2 billion of gap-closing, Santa Clara County plans to adopt a budget that maintains services and even restores some debilitating cuts. The Board of Supervisors will spend four days this week hammering out last-minute details of the $4.6 billion 2013-14 budget, which must balance a $67 million shortfall.

The Government Attorneys Association (GAA) held a special meeting Friday, and sources tells San Jose Inside that if the county attorneys agreed upon anything, it’s that a “deep division” exists amongst the membership. The big question is how can this be resolved when the union’s leadership continues to focus on scoring fleeting political points.

San Jose Fire Chief William McDonald will step down from his position after he was selected to serve as the head of Las Vegas’ fire department. His appointment is expected to be approved by the Las Vegas City Council in July.

Every year around this time, San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed and the City Council hold a series of public meetings regarding our city’s budget, which the council must pass it before the summer “recess” in July. This year, the city should needs to make libraries one of its top priorities.

I have mentioned before that we are now all part of a new paradigm in civic life, especially as it relates to our parks, trails and recreation programs. The new paradigm is not a great distance from this traditional view. It is merely a small step forward by the citizenry toward a closer level of ownership and participation than we have generally assumed. That one step is active care. A recent example relates to bags supplied at our local dog parks.

The Great Recession devastated shelters for battered women. And while government funding has declined, the need for such services has drastically increased. This issue will be one of many discussed at Tuesday’s county Board of Supervisors meeting, including a federal grant to develop news strategies to find long-term homes for foster children.

There is finally some good news on the San Jose Park Ranger front. Current plans are for the force to be increased next year. In addition to completing basic law enforcement training, park rangers have a unique set of skills and serve as ambassadors for our parks and trails.

A form of fiscal democracy called “participatory budgeting” that started in Brazil and is slowly gaining traction in the U.S. may soon take hold in San Jose. Councilman Sam Liccardo submitted a proposal to the city Wednesday that asks to set aside $1.05 million from the Essential Services Reserve to fund a pilot program, which would give each of the 10 council districts $100,000 for residents to decide how to spend.

A Sacramento lobbying firm appears to be playing a game of snooker when it comes to misleading San Jose residents about crime and casinos. The “Consumer Alliance for a Strong Economy” has been scaring residents into believing the city wants to deregulate card club oversight through robocalls, provocative mailers and even a Mercury News op-ed.