BART: The Sequel

Posted by Tom McEnery on Tuesday, August 05, 2008

I thought that arenas and baseball stadiums brought out the most dramatic, intense, and even incendiary discussions, but I stand corrected—for now. It seems that currently in our valley, the mention of BART is enough to send many normally sane blokes to the ramparts, girded for battle.

CONTINUE READING . . . (24 Comments)

BART Or No BART?

Posted by Tom McEnery on Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Well, we are on the cusp of another big decision about the future of our valley and our region. Are we going to commit to the biggest transportation project in our history and vote to approve a one-eighth-cent sales tax to raise billions of dollars in a push for rail transit?

CONTINUE READING . . . (63 Comments)

North San Jose a Worthy Model for the City’s Future

Posted by Tom McEnery on Wednesday, July 23, 2008

As the city embarks on a very ambitious plan in North San Jose for jobs and housing, and a mini-debate is had on the wisdom of the city owning land, it will be instructive to look at the past. While we may not always learn from our history, it never hurts to look at it and glean a bit of knowledge and perhaps even some insight.

CONTINUE READING . . . (7 Comments)

Campaign Spending and a Modest Proposal

Posted by Tom McEnery on Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Last week there was a very interesting report on spending in the last mayoral election.  In it, consultants to the San Jose Elections Commission reported that independent spending in the election totaled over $3 million. Of the six groups that were mentioned, five were associated with the Democratic Party and organized labor (including the police and fire unions). The fifth, and perhaps most controversial and effective, was the Chamber of Commerce’s PAC that leveled some particularly pointed shots at the Cindy Chavez candidacy.  By far the largest spender was the Santa Clara County Democratic Campaign, who spent over $1.7 million, ostensibly in support of Chavez’s failed campaign.

CONTINUE READING . . . (12 Comments)

The City We Were

Posted by Tom McEnery on Wednesday, July 09, 2008

Looking Back to 1988

It was another time when I first became mayor in 1983. There were no first run movie theatres. The finest hotel was the Holiday Inn. The DeAnza and Sainte Claire were shuttered. No shopping, no sports, no pleasant river walks. The parks were seedy and unused. Needless to say, there was no real reason to come downtown except the noble arts groups, a few hardy pioneers like Camera 3 and Eulipia, and our nascent San Jose Museum of Art, gallantly fighting a Dunkirk-like battle, trying to stay alive to win a war.

CONTINUE READING . . . (18 Comments)