Weighing in on the huge payouts for unused sick leave that the City of San Jose has been paying to some public employees, the Mercury News Editorial Board argued that the expenditures are “a public employee luxury that taxpayers should not have to bankroll.” (The amount for 08-09 is over $8.5 million). And, the editorial board rightly placed the blame where it belongs. “Mayors and council members in the past have approved the union contracts granting this benefit. Today’s elected officials have to do the reality check.”
The Gonzales Administration made commitment after expensive commitment.. I remember a conversation that I once had with a high-level manager of a city department shortly after Gonzales was elected mayor. I asked this person what they thought of Gonzales and his administration. His/Her reply was, “Well, he’s running for Governor.” He/She later added that things were pretty much dictated to staff, with little or no room for discussion.
I believe that the Gonzales Administration cost this city dearly. Decisions and deals were made in the interest of promoting the city (and the mayor) at the expense of the city’s maintenance and the long term interests of the San Jose citizenry.
The people of San Jose should never again allow their city (and the General Fund) to be used as a vehicle for politicians to promote themselves. This is one of the wealthiest areas in the world, yet our city government is unable to deliver even the most basic of city services (ie clean parks, properly maintained streets, and open libraries).
No question the Gonzo years left wreckage behind that will take years to clean-up. That’s what happens when you have a gutless Council, a spineless City Manager, and a Mayor who thought he was King. It was a perfect storm and it left a disaster in its wake.
There are still some Councilmembers left who are responsible for letting this happen—and now they are the ones who are going to fix it? Good luck to all of us.
You got it, Pete.
Ron did everything wrong.
Ron is responsible for all the ill in the world. Ron hid the Iraqi WMDs, and Ron also helped Dick Cheney.
Ron=All Evil.
Ron even uses the term paddy.
Pete,
Could you please give us your credentials? This post like many of your others implies some type of expertise.
You rarely provide any evidence for your claims. It’s not that I disagree with your conclusions about Gonzales, I just don’t think you know what you’re talking about.
Are you any better than someone who reads the paper and has an opinion?
Pete:
Your blog entry left me with several questions:
* Who was running against Gonzales when he was first elected as Mayor in 1998?
* Were San Jose voters at the time aware that he was Mayor of Sunnyvale and was a County Supervisor during the Mayoral campaign? Was there not a lifelong San Jose resident who served on Council (as a independent or third-party candidate) at the time? That candidate, if he or she won, might have had more of a stake in San Jose’s current (poor) quality of life than Gonzales appears to have had.
* Besides his campaign promise to bring BART to San Jose, why did Gonzales win the Mayoral race, and then win reelection 4 years later?
Big kicker question:
* Given #1’s statement on how some of the City Council under Gonzales is still in office, why did voters (re)elect Councilmembers like Nora Campos and Nancy Pyle, to name just two that I know.
This might reveal just who is truly responsible for San Jose’s current poor quality of life belaying its wealth – and who is responsible for its solution.
#3 Don’t feel the need to present credentials to someone who writes, “Are you any better than someone who reads the paper and has an opinion?”
Campbell never believes in dialog, just smirks. Yake him for what he is, a Reed henchman who has no record of service.