The Fourth of July has passed and I have given my feelings about the “greatness” of San Jose some additional perspective. I really like the definition of “great” that includes the mention of “skill” as well as importance. It speaks more precisely to what matters in people as well as places.
For many years, when the predictably annoying discussion of San Jose and San Francisco raised its ugly head (usually led by crazed media hounds and semi-literate political minions), it took the too easy route of comparisons of our valley with that unique place to our north. And guess what? There is the Golden Gate and the park of the same name (quiz of the day is: what controversial political figure gave the entrance to our bay that beautiful name?); there are cable cars and Tony Bennett; there are rich and historic neighborhoods and mountain peaks; there is a fantastic skyline. In short, San Francisco has everything and more that a remarkable and storied city of a century and a half can muster – and much more. It is truly one of the great cities of the world, to compare with London, Paris, Rome and, closer to home, New York and Boston. The defense rests, hopefully and finally.
What we have in our hometown is the confidence of youth. It is a place built of hopes and dreams, the most powerful of building blocks. And it was done not by legendary builders like the Silver Barons, Sunny Jim Rolph or A.P. Giannini, but by many that we knew well and who lived among us. Let me name some of those who took an agricultural hub of less than ninty thousand people and made it a center of commerce, industry, culture and innovation.
The litany of honor includes Hewlett and Packard; Jobs and the Woz; Noyce and Moore, Ruffo and Ridder; Terman and Taylor; McKay and Near; Hastings and Hamann, Gund and Giles; and many more who came to a valley and built a city. Few, if any of them, were born here; more significantly, they wanted to be here to create and invent a better world. They succeeded. The true greatness of our city and this valley is the ability to attract the dreamers and doers and seers. No other place has such a cast of honor; no place could ask for a better one.
Tom, I’d say your fathers name should be on that list of people. He was instrumental in a number of things in San Jose that I won’t go into and as you know fought for the downtown through it’s demise. Thankfully, you brought it back to some sort of pressence, although it is still lacking a number of things because of the mayors that followed you. Hopefully, the next one will be somone who will help create a better and more viable downtown. As you said, it’s a joke to try and compare San Jose and the City or any other city with San Francisco.
“What we have in our hometown is the confidence of youth.”
Nicely said. In contrast..
“San Francisco has the lowest proportion of children, 15 percent, of any city in the nation.”
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/05/08/INGFACJGS51.DTL
During my lifetime, I have lived in San Francisco, Berkeley, Walnut Creek, Morgan Hill, Cupertino, Menlo Park and Palo Alto. I have spent much of my adult life working in San Francisco and San Jose. I know of no metropolitan area on the face of the earth that is blessed with the abundance of natural and man made assets that we find in the Bay Area. We are citzens of the Bay Area, which is to say that the boundaries that separate cities in the metropolis we call home are for the most part meaningless when we reflect on all of the things that impact and define our collective quality of life. Think regionally. The Bay Area, more than any one of the many contiguous cities in our region, sets an unrivaled standard. It’s numero uno.
Thinking regionally makes a lot of sense. Thinking globally makes even more sense. Too bad our Mayor doesn’t get that—look at his refusal to endorse the U.N. Urban Environmental Accords. Narrow minded thinking like that does not bode well for thinking regionally as long as he is around.
Adam above misrepresents Mayor Gonzalez in his statement, “look at his refusal to endorse the U.N. Urban Environmental Accords.”
The issue was reported in depth in The SJ Mercury News from 2 July to the effect that, citing the Mayor’s spokesman, David Vossbrink,
“Vossbrink said a staff member for San Jose’s Environmental Services Department reviewed the U.N. accords. The city already is doing at least eight of the goals, Vossbrink said, including encouraging “green building’’ standards, promoting high-density growth and taking steps to protect its drinking water.
But other items are not realistic, he said. He cited one goal urging cities to provide a park within half a kilometer—or about a quarter-mile—of every resident by 2015.
“We’d have to raze large numbers of buildings,’’ he said.
Other goals that Vossbrink said are not achievable for San Jose include reducing waste going to landfills to zero by 2040, or offering menus with 20 percent organic food at city-run cafeterias and snack bars in seven years, he said.”
Already implementing a number of the said UN goals is a far cry from refusal to endorse the accords as was stated. When I read that report I, in fact, felt somewhat shaken as for the very first time I was very proud of the sitting mayor for his judicious leadership in an area where hypocritical and self-serving bully pulpit pounding usually rules.
Furthermore, I would hate to see even 1% organic food at city-run cafeterias and snack bars for they are currently among the best low priced eating establishments in town.
Note to Former Mayor McEnery – I would add I do believe the still living Ernie Renzel to your list!
The rumor-mill is swirling on the 6th floor at City Hall…
Cindy is set to announce her Mayoral campaign today…
One has to wonder why one would announce the week of July 4th when half the world is still on vacation.
Perhaps it is because the Mayor is out of town?
Arturo is right. When I travel, even just to LA, when I’m asked I tell people I’m from the Bay Area. The fact is, there are people all over the planet that know of the Bay Area and wish they could live here. Any part of it—even the East Bay. Just to be here and enjoy everything this region has to offer, in particular it’s climate, political and otherwise.
Was it Mr. Herhold who suggested in his column on 10th largest that when we travel, we should tell people we’re from San Jose and not the Bay Area? Just the fact that people all over the world know exactly which “bay” area we are talking about indicates that we are identified as a region more than we are by individual cities. Of course if someone is from San Francisco, they’re going to say so and that makes sense. It’s a destination. Other than the wine country, the rest of this region’s cities and towns aren’t well known or popular destinations. And for those of us who don’t live in SF, it makes sense to say “Bay Area” which as a whole is considered a destination the world over. We are the envy of other people everywhere else on earth because we live where we do. So I’ll continue to say “Bay Area” and will offer “San Jose” only when asked for specifics.
Mr Hickey,
Gonzo didn’t sign the accord because he doesn’t agree with it. He didn’t sign because he’s at best and elitist snob who thinks everything he does is above everyone else. He feels our way of doing environmental programs is so much better then other cities; so why should he stoop to thier level.
That’s also why he has such a closed door mentality of leadership.
I think it is great that Cindy is announcing right after a holiday when most people are on vacation and her colleagues on the City Council are in the midst of moving. What is better is that she is suppossed to announce at Horace Mann School…corect me if I am wrong, but school is out for summer & the whole point of doing something like this at a school is the visual of kids, parents, family who wont be there unless the union busses their members in to the place so it looks like there are kids & families there who are actually just paid stooges of Working Partnerships.
This Mayor’s Race is going to be a doozy. We need someone like Dando to liven things up…put her against Cindy and that would be a great race. OR Put Chief Davis in the mix so that at least one candidate would have personality
There’s your answer. San Jose is a lunatic loser with nothing to show for, no downtown, no decent neighborhood, no landmark and no nothing. I just came from Detroit, Mich.. Detroit is much more of a respectable than SJ by far. They got a huge downtown, way more vital and bigger than San Jose’s, and it’s improving. I was appalled and dismayed that San Jose eclipsed Detroit as 10 largest city in the country when I turned the on 5 oclock news in Detroit at my relative’s house because SJ has absolutely nothing to show for. It’s a horrific embarrassment, and the city needs to de-annex itself to about 100,000. That’s the infrastructure and downtown San Jose has unfortunately. Until we have the downtown and the clout to speak volume for the size, we need to shrink big time by downsizing, de-annexing.
I did not realize I stole someone else’s alias..I used HJ to post #8 but did not know that somenoe else already used it (post #1).
Sorry!
You can spin it any way you want, but the bottom line is the Mayor refused to endorse the goals. Mayors from 53 cities—some even bigger than SJ, saw the wisdom to endorsing the goals. But our Mayor, who has no problem tearing down buildings when it suits his purposes, refused to support the goals.
Who does Cindy Chavez really think that she is fooling? If you look at our downtown businesses it is a shame that she has left downtown worst then when she took office.Take a good look at our streets and schools..ect.. I will not support a loser! We that have businesses in down town, got the shaft from her. I will not support anyone that does not belong to this administration! I’m sick of politians that don’t understand what really makes San Jose work, don’t they understand it’s the hard working people that try to make San Jose a better place to live.
My vote is for the other guy!!!
I’ll need some space here if you want to read first (a little) about how we will transform SJ—and by extension the county—into a model city, a 21st. Century City. Frankly, I don’t care about Cindy, Chuck, or Dave (or Pat); I’ve seen their work and I’m not impressed. More importantly though we don’t have time to waste debating these people when we will building the greastest city (and county) in the country. Later, I’ll be taking my case to the good people of San Jose. But you can preview here some of my ideas only if the powers that be stop playing games.
San Jose is worse than Detroit? Have you ever walked around downtown Detroit anytime after dark? What are you smokin’ fella?
SJDowntownGal, I was just drinking Strawberry-banana smoothie when I was walking around Dnt. Detroit. Downtown Detroit is perfectly safe camparing to downtown SJ because there is no gang or hoodlum roaming the streets as they do in Dnt. San Jose. Check out Greektown and the bar district, and it’s packed with nice folks. By the way, they have casinos there. If San Jose wants to be a big city, then they need to build and build up the downtown area like Downtown Detroit. Since San Jose is dreadfully the 10 largest city in the U.S., San Jose must successfully run to bring 2016 olympics to the city to get my respect as a big city; also, the city should try to get a democratic convention in the near future. Otherwise, San Jose is a loser with a decrepet downtown worst than Gary, Indiana.