“Holdouts and Scoundrels” Delaying Complete Pullout
As the city of San Jose celebrates a smooth withdrawal of her bureaucratic settlements from the old First Street homeland, certain officials were warning of the potential for a violent finale with holdouts made up of zealous civil servants encamped in makeshift cubicles.
Several Les Miserables-type barricades were scattered throughout the old city hall, constructed from old lumbar-friendly swivel chairs, overturned file cabinets, mothballed document folders and staplers. The rogues were said to be armed with straws and spit wads and Russian made paper clips that were being launched at high velocity with city issued rubber bands.
“Jesus, they could poke an eye out,” screamed one nonviolent protestor caught in the crossfire as he tore-ass out of the lobby and scampered for cover in the bushes along the plaza.
But out in the streets it was a different story. Among the tears and file purging parties, most of the entrenched bureaucrats evacuated smoothly and without incident, more excited by the prospect of beginning anew in the Richard Meier designed government-on-‘roids building, then leaving the dated, asbestos filled, sawed-off, suburban sprawl of a dinosaur on North First Street.
But for some settlers, the old cubicles represented their homes, and many considered the vertical self-standing, cloth covered metal frames their birthright. Most have been there for decades, working an average of 5.1 hours per day during their 8-hour shifts, and have survived empty water coolers, experimental “healthy snack” vending machines, and bi-annual fire drills. They have also lived through countless administration changes, policy directives, and colleague romances. And all have digested more than 72 pounds of day-old employee birthday cake during their public careers.
“This is all I have known since I graduated from San Jose State,” said one civil servant intent on staying to the bitter end. “My family crossed the Guadalupe River and pushed into this bureaucratic homeland in the late 50’s. This is the historic heartland of the Diquisto vegetable garden, and if they think we will let them uproot these heirloom tomatoes, leeks and rhubarb, they have grossly underestimated our determination!”
Several interns from the planning department, left behind to help as peacekeeping forces during the transition, were taken hostage as they attempted to dismantle the last deep fryer accidentally left behind in the cafeteria. The captors from the cubicle brigade demanded vacation hours and telecommuting rights from their old stations in return for the kids.
After expressing concern, mayoral spokesman David Vossbrink said, “it is not our policy to reward this type of roguery by negotiating with lunatics, but we will address the issue sometime after our Labor Day recess.”
In related news, County Government Officials, who have still not been officially recognized by the City of San Jose, announced they we happy with San Jose’s withdrawl and planned to utilize the old building for their purposes.
“They should have been out of here years ago,” stated County Exec Pete Kutras. “We’ve already begun to take their names off the parking spaces that were reserved for their leadership.”
To further the peace process, Kutras said the City should now drop the lawsuits preventing the County from building a venue at the Fairgrounds and be more forthcoming with redevelopment funds that are owed to the County.
“For years we have lived with their oppressive behavior,” Kutras said. “Now that they have moved into a bigger building, we expect them to act in a more responsible manner.”
The spokesman for the Mayor’s Office refused to comment except to ask, “Who is Pete Kutras?”
Whoa … Holy Cow … if you haven’t read Dale Warner’s accusation of Ron Gonzales, do it now.
Can someone with legal background tell us how legit this is. Looks like Mr. Warner had some legal help with this and the accusations are solid. Will it go anywhere?
What will be done to clean up the trail of slime that will lead from Ronny’s old office to his new one?
Nicely done Dale.
I’ve been wondering for the longest time:
– has an SJ mayor ever been impeached?
– what are the mechanics for doing so?
Please point me to the nearest “Impeach Gonzalez” petition or where I can send a check to the “Impeach Gonzalez” fund.
#3 – Nicely done, Rich.
Hello Novice, there are two ways to remove a sitting mayor. One is to follow the procedures outlined in the city charter & state law to recall him in an election, much like the recall of the former governor. (By the way, the same procedure applies to recalling the city manager.)
The second way is to seek an “accusation” by the civil grand jury which leads to a hearing, and this process did result in the ousting of the mayor of Mountain View in 2001.
From an old cot-cutter, prune-picker native San Josean who has been watching this corruption for many years just hoping for a deliverer…….
THANK YOU MR. WARNER !!
I don
Even more important than ridding ourselves of our deceitful mayor is making our city government as inhospitable as possible to such types. Ronny has done his damage here, and though I wouldn’t shed a tear should he depart (his office) prematurely, I cringe at the prospect of a providing a Gonzoclone-in-waiting with a full term and a fresh opportunity to inflict upon us new wounds. If we are offered anything less than a cleansing dunk in a baptismal tub, we voters should demand a fresh face.
While on the subject: based on the early reports, if the conduct of the candidates in the District 7 race is indicative of the ethics we can expect from the winner, the Nguyen-Nguyen contest looks like it might be lose-lose for us. I wonder who these young ladies have been watching?
Dale-
Citing a Mercury editorial as part of your evidence does not seem to be a very strong way to build a case IMHO.
A bit of trivia…
There will be some City staff still in the Old City Hall until possibly November.
And…
The mailroom at New City Hall will not be finished for some time, so the mailroom remains at OCH.
On a considerably more serious note, but touching the same subject, ousting the mayor is the goal of a document filed with the civil grand jury last Friday.
You may read the five-page cover memo (“Application for Accusation”) at the Internet address below. Submit your own sworn statements to the civil grand jury showing that the mayor has a pattern and practice of willful and/or corrupt misconduct.
http://www.dalewarner.com/new/accusation.htm
This is the same process used to oust the mayor of Mountain View in 2001.
The word “accusation” is the statutory name for a document issued by the civil grand jury to the presiding Superior Court judge asking for a hearing on the fitness of the municipal officer to hold the position.
Great saga, bring back John Diquisto to negotiate this cunundrum…..
Clean sweep…new building, new location, new mayor & staff!
Dear San Jose:
I applaud Dale Warner for submitting his application to the Grand Jury and hope that he is successful. Forcing Mayor Corruptus to resign would be the best thing that happened to San Jose, well…since before he took office.
The mayor is a bully, he could care less about the will of the people, and he has effectively run the city into the ground with a heap of debt that will only begun to be felt over the next few years.
While I applaud Mr. Warner’s efforts, I believe that it was wrong of him to include the mayor’s personal life into his arguments. While I’m no fan of the mayor’s, I believe that his private life should be off limits.
Pete Campbell
Pete,
I also agree that Dale is doing a great public service.
However, sexual harrasement is not aprivate matter. Gonzo’s actions set a negative tone that could result in expensive litigation and costly settlements should other City staff follow the Mayor’s lead. Unfortunately, the taxpayers would ultimately pay the bill for this type of behavior.
Hey Pete,
Do you know that the grand jury actually issued a report in 2001 after the Gonzales affair. Many people don’t because the Merc never reported it.
At the time of the Gonzales affair, the city had no prohibition against supervisors having sexual relations with their subordinates.
After the grand jury report the city established a prohibition.
If his actions resulted in new city regulations, I don’t see why you think it’s a private matter.
Sincerely,
WHO
Did anyone hear the short interview of Gonzo broadcast live by KLIV from the COMPAC BBQ last Thursday? HizRonner actualy left open the question of whether he’d continue his “24 years of public service” by running for statewide office. This bolsters the view I have heard recently that he really thinks all the smelly stuff around him wil just blow over.
This guy is really divorced from reality, and his psycophant (excuse me, sycophant)/cowed staff continues to praise the emperor’s new clothes.
Gonzo needs treatment. He must be deluded to think he has a political future in the region/state. The voters can be get pretty caught up with a busy life; work and family. They may ignore the “inside baseball” stuff of community issues and our politicians. In the case of Gonzo, he has outlasted his welcome in public life. He better learn a trade real soon …..
If Manny Diaz could do it, Gonzo certainly can. It’s sickening…