So all the hubbub lately is about how good ol’ Ronny G is trying to make his mark on San Jose before he goes out of office by sitting on committees he has been expressly told not to sit on and attempting to have an impact AFTER his censure. Wouldn’t we have been better off if the council had just removed the guy from office? Why leave someone in office with just enough power to hold up every major decision facing the city right now?
Now what we have is a bitter mayor who wants to cause trouble and make those council members who censured him look bad. Everyone talks about this “historic” censure but I still feel like it’s just a tap, not a slap, on his wrist, and one that has come back to bite those that dealt it. Maybe Ronny is thinking that attempting SOMETHING is better than sitting there powerless and doing nothing. So why should we be surprised that he is trying to shake things up now?
Ronny was already ineffective as a mayor when he had no restrictions; now it’s like having an empty suit occupy his office on the 18th floor. We have a lot of making up to do and there is so much to catch up on from his term as mayor that we really cannot afford to wait until a new mayor goes into office in 2007. But we are stuck in neutral.
The mayor has been so erratic that we need to do something drastic, like put a “Ronny G”-cam on his head so we know where he is at all times, or maybe just implant a microchip in his neck like a new puppy. Then we can document his every insignificant move. Chances are, even with the hubbub, we will still locate him at the golf course. Or are lobbyists not paying for his rounds of golf anymore?
I’m one depressed person when I actually count how many days remain in his term. A new mayor, ANY MAYOR, cannot come soon enough.
Let it go single gal. It’s time to move on and start thinking seriously about the future of San Jose. What are the issues? what candidate will lead us in the best direction? If you have a favorite candidate, let’s us know. I would like to know as much as possible about all the candidates; and not just from a glossy mailer.
SG, were you really expecting anything more than a “tap” from this 100% spineless Council?
We don’t just need the mayor gone, we need the rest of those losers on the Council to get bootted too.
Gotta say David Pandori is looking better all the time.
YOU GO GIRL. I AGREE WITH EVERYTHING YOU SAID. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK,,,,
While it is important to move on and take a long, serious look at the mayoral candidates, it is also important to stay on this mayor and make his life as miserable as he has made ours. Nothing will curtail his arrogance, although his vindictiveness might be slightly diminished simply because he becomes more irrevelant with each passing day. He can try to polish up his “legacy” but nothing will erase the permanent stain he has brought upon himself. And the fact that he still employs Joe Guerra speaks volumes about his F-you attitude towards the rest of us.
Single Gal is right that this is depressing, but I would say almost anybody else for mayor. Unfortunately a Chavez administration will be little improvement over the current disaster.
How unfortunate, that your own distaste for politics is now wrapped in the political advertisements of Pete Constant that now dance with you on SanJoseInside.com. To some it’s just business – as of course Google is paying someone (perhaps AbbeyDorney, LLC, who owns this domain) to place advertising in this quasi-political forum. But since so many of the commentators who speak here advocate for transparency in the political realm, perhaps SanJoseInside.com should enumerate the deal with Google. Is Google blindly inserting advertisements? Can we also expect to see District 1 candidates Jay James and Ross Signorino advertising here? And how about for Mayor?
SG: Cindy remains the prohibitive favorite to take over for Gonzo. Phaedra and the laborites will put lot’s of “independent” money into her campaign, vs. the pittance the Chamber of Commerce gives to its annointed candidates. But of greater importance, Phaedra will put thousands of feet on the ground canvassing the entire city mwith minions campaigning for Cindy. Cof C won’t do squat for the candidates it endorses when it comes to getting people knocking on doors. We’re doomed.
#8 correctly points out the potential doom we face. In addition to the local labor army, the national labor machine is funneling money into Cindy’s race. Labor thinks SJ is ripe for the taking. Are we going to let that happen?
Be careful what you wish for
JMOC –
What other organizations are big into volunteering for “ground canvassing”? I assume the other candidates would do more than get family and friends to work the neighborhoods. Just curious.
It’s amazing that acoording to our correspondents here, the City of San Jose Government is totally falling apart. We are looking forward to making great changes. A Mayor who knows how to mayor, a City Manager who knows how to manage and City Council Members who know how to make policy and intelligent, well-thought-out decisions to steer the course of City Government in a responsible way. Lots of utopia involved. Some achievable some not. But somehow San Jose will continue along as being great place to live in a great location with great weather in the shadow of that smaller great city to the north, San Francisco. San Jose will always be great.
Our elected officials come and go. We give them permanent judgement after they have gone. We know that there are many problems with the present Government but itsn’t it great to know that we will be able to change all that for the better in June and November. Get these elections behind us and we won’t have anymore gripes right? We won’t even need anyone to count salamanders, tree-huggers, hoot owls and greenies in Coyote Valley.
C’mon JohnMichael smile it ain’t that bad. There will always be a place for a good barrister.
The people of California spoke loud and clear when it came to Arnold’s pet initiatives even though they were funded generously and Arnold felt confident they’d all pass.
The people of San Jose can do the same thing with Cindy. Blow her out of the competition in the primary before she has a chance to accumulate even more money for November.
Single gal,
Do you kick sick puppies, spit on the graves of the dead or did you just get up in a bad mood?
If Ron is so irrelevant, why talk about him? Who cares if he shows up to a meeting? Should we exile him to Siberia?
Again, this is much ado about nothing. But it is good fodder for the mob mentality that drives political discussion.
As for the fear and loathing of Phaedra, she has the temerity to utilize resources on behalf of candidates labor supports. What kind of democracy is this?
Those of you who are used to having just business interests controlling power will be happy to know, Phaedra (unlike some business folks) will not try to exclude you from the process.
She actually believes in inclusive decision making. What a concept?
Dear San Jose:
Single Gal is of course right to call for the mayor’s ouster. My theory on the mayor’s odd, recent behaviour is that the pressure of knowing that the District Attorney’s office investigation might end any day now is interfering with his ability to think.
~another issue~ Re: the immigration reform issue, can one call for the enforcement of existing laws without being called a racist or a xenophobe? How about if I object to the Prime Minister of Ireland coming over here and telling us to look the other way regarding the thousands of Irish who are in this country illegally? Is it proper for the city council of San Jose to take a position on this issue without first getting the expressed opinion of the people that they represent?
Laws should matter.
Pete Campbell
Once again RIch weighs in to provide comic relief. Thanks for the chuckle, Rich.
As for sending the mayor to Siberia, not a bad idea, but then what did the Siberians ever do to us to deserve him?
Here is something random.
Go to http://www.sjmayor.com
The menu on the left says
Major Medical
Foods
Base Ball
Majorleaguebaseball
Teaching
Schools
Major Depression
Education
Mlb
Beverage
Manufacturing Services
Is this our Mayor’s priorities?
#15 – Are you saying that you’re unhappy with the recent turn of events? That 100’s of thousands of illegal foreign nationals taking to your streets demanding concessions from your elected officials – this bothers you?
I don’t think you have a handle on the big picture here.
Don’t you care that JMO is busy and needs his yard mowed cheaply?
Don’t you care that Rich longs to eat a Caesar salad without feeling guilty about who picked the lettuce?
But back to the city council…
There is hardly anything more nauseating than watching 11 spineless, wet noodles (aka city council) attempt to “out PC” the other invertabrate noodles by passing meaningless ceremonial measures that signify nothing except for their uber-compassionate feelings for whatever happens to be the weepy, hand wringing, liberal position on the issue of the day.
Pete, re: your 2nd item in #15, remember this is the same Council that wasted no time in recognizing same sex marriages after they started allowing them in SF. No waiting to see if they’d be deemed legal or anything, they just had to follow SF’s lead and come off as just as progressive as SF. We all know what happened to all of those same-sex marriages that were performed, so what our Council did was a complete waste of time, and as they are prone to do, they embarrassed themselves and our town. They don’t seem to have learned their lesson from that, but there’s nothing new about that.
As for the current immigration issue. Is it just me? If I was looking to be included and recognized by the country I work in, wouldn’t I be marching and waving the American flag to drive home my point, and not a Mexican flag?
I checked today’s council agenda to see what our council was going to do about immigration reform. Of all the items to be heard, it is one of the few that has no supporting documentation such as the actual resolution. The councilmembers listed on the agenda item are Chavez/LeZotte/Cortese/Nguyen.
Hey, Novice #18: You don ‘t know me, so until you do, don’t attribute something to me that I am not and never was. I always mowed my own lawn when I had one.
So, until you have facts to back up your accusations, take a double shot of shut the f**k up before you speak!
I have not seen the movie “A Day Without A Mexican”. However, I have been convinced for years that without the Mexican labor force, California as we know it would shut down in something between four and six weeks. In New England, it’s Puerto Ricans. The issue is the same.
To the white folks that claim that there are other white folks who would take the jobs the Mexican workers do in California, I simply ask: What are you smokin’?
Next time you go to any restaurant, listen to what language is spoken in the kitchen. Cehck out the bussers, diswashers. Yo, who cleans your house if you don’t? Who mows the lawns if you don’t?
I set forth my immigration policy when I ran for city council in 1988—if you want to come here to work, you’re welcome. If you want to come here with your problem pregnancy and burden the citizens of San Diego County with it, fuggetaboutit! If you want to come here and sell drugs, I’d be happy to drop the pellet on you (well now, courtesy of Judge Fogel, it’s a pain-free, medically supervised execution). If you are born here and don’t want to work, I’ll be happy to send you elsewhere.
I don’t know much about conditions in the rest of the US of A, but I’d bet the farm that without foreign workers—legal or illegal—a lot of stuff we depend on would not get done.
If people want to come here to work, be self-supporting, and even send money back home to Mexico, I got no problem. If they want to come here and instantly qualify for welfare, help with their problem pregnancies, to sell drugs, to rip people off, I got a big problem with that.
So at the end of the day, we’re stuck with trying to figure who wants to contribute and who wants to suck off the rest of us. That’s why we have a system for workers; but it needs to be expanded. So, for instance, if you want to come here as a “guest worker” (a system in place all over the world) you gotta work. If you are laid off, you get unemployment based on the same criteria as everyone else—based on your earnings. But you never get a freebie; i.e. “welfare”. If you end up without a place to stay and no way to buy food, go back from whence you came and let that government take care of you.
The same needs to apply to naturalized citizens. The law(which is never enforced any longer) says that if you get a visa to come here, someone must stand up for you financially, so you don’t start sucking off the public tit. That law needs to be enforced rithlesly.
To vote, you must be a citizen. To be a citizen, the law says you must speak English. That law needs to be enforced, and we need to get rid of election ballots in a gazillion languages and dialects.
This is the greatest country in the history of the world. It was built upon inclusion, the melting pot. Diversity is fine, as long as it is understood that we are a people with a common goal. Do we want to become Quebec, in the name of diversity? My first wife’s family was Russian. They maintained their language at home, went to Russian Orthodox churches, sent their kids to Russian School on weekends. But the first thing they did was to learn English, and never asked for a ballot in Russian. There’s a lesson to be learned there.
Sorry, Steve # 20, but the San Joise City Council has no authority over immigration reform, just as Santa Cruz declaring a prostate cancer free zone is inappropriate.
BUSH APPOINTS GONZALES TO U.N. POST
In another surprising White House staff change, President Bush sidestepped the Senate and installed the embattled Mayor of San Jose, Ron Gonzales as ambassador to the United Nations on Monday. Despite accusation of ethical, legal and political controversies, Mayor Gonzales replaced previously appointed John Bolton who was accused by Democrats of abusing subordinates and twisting intelligence to fit his conservative ideology.
“This post is too important to leave to a person whose high profile controversies detract from major issues, such as the war on terrorism and a vital debate about U.N. reform,” Bush said. “Ron is a people person, who is able to generate enthusiasm and commitment from peers and subordinates about complex and sensitive political issues,” continued Bush. He said Gonzales had his complete confidence.
Bush put Gonzales on the job in a recess appointment — an avenue available to the president when the Congress is in recess. Under the Constitution, a recess appointment during the lawmakers’ Spring Break would last until a newly elected Congress takes office in January 2007.
Within five hours of his appointment, Gonzales arrived at the U.S. mission in New York to begin work. He refused to speak with reporters, other than to state that he would not be able to attend future San Jose City Council meetings.
Why not put a countdown to election day or countdown to inauguration day on the website?
Single Gal,
Be careful what you wish for… you just may get it. When you say “a new mayor, any mayor cannot come soon enough,” I hope you’re not including RonGon’s clone, Cindy Chavez!
Richard –
Not exiled to Siberia just……Sunnyvale.
After reading Single Gal and 25 postings, The thought occurred to me that if there is a Sunshine ordenance at city hall, should not the same apply to this web site.
SO, All of you folks that are shooting from the hip in the dark, let get you out of the closet.
Sure the gang at the Hall are tasteless, but that we’ve known all along. What we want to know is who created this dilema.
As long as folks are bent on keeping their names hidden, the next administration will follow with more of the same.
Ron, do you have the Cahones to give back what you took from all of us. Was it worth it?
The Village Black Smith
JMOC-Of course we need foreign workers. They’re the ones who answer the phones when we call Dell tech support.
Rich-For once we agree. You are quite right that the Mayor of San Jose is a “sick puppy,” “irrelevant” and deserving of Siberian exile. I also agree with your wonderful phrase that Phaedra “utilizes resources on behalf of candidates labor supports.” That’s much more pleasant than they way it’s usually described!
The short sightedness of the people in this country who don’t see the harm in letting millions of uneducated, non-english speaking foreign nationals into the US by simply passing it off that they’re doing jobs that others won’t is breathtaking.
There was another time in US history when it was thought that importing cheap (as in slave labor) was thought of as a good idea.
It practically destroyed this nation.
There is and never has been any such thing as a free lunch – ever.
It’s kind of like selling your soul a little bit at a time.
But don’t sweat it. Just kick back and think about all the cheap vegetables we get.
It started out innocently enough. I began to think at parties
now and then—just to loosen up.
Inevitably, though, one thought led to another, and soon
I was more than just a social thinker.
I began to think alone—“to relax,” I told myself—
but I knew it wasn’t true. Thinking became more and more
important to me, and finally I was thinking all the time.
That was when things began to sour at home. One evening I
had turned off the TV and asked my wife about the meaning of life.
She spent that night at her mother’s.
I began to think on the job. I knew that thinking and employment
don’t mix, but I couldn’t stop myself.
I began to avoid friends at lunchtime so I could read Thoreau
and Kafka. I would return to the office dizzied and confused, asking,
“What is it exactly we are doing here?”
One day the boss called me in. He said, “Listen, I like you, and it
hurts me to say this, but your thinking has become a real problem.
If you don’t stop thinking on the job, you’ll have to find another job.”
This gave me a lot to think about. I came home early after my
conversation with the boss. “Honey,” I confess, “I’ve been thinking…”
“I know you’ve been thinking,” she said, “and I want a divorce!”
“But Honey, surely it’s not that serious.”
“It is serious,” she said, lower lip aquiver. “You think as much as
college professors, and college professors don’t make any money,
so if you keep on thinking, we won’t have any money!”
“That’s a faulty syllogism,” I said impatiently. She exploded in tears
of rage and frustration, but I was in no mood to deal with the emotional drama.
“I’m going to the library,” I snarled as I stomped out the door.
I headed for the library, in the mood for some Nietzsche. I roared into
the parking lot with NPR on the radio and ran up to the big glass
doors…They didn’t open. The library was closed.
To this day, I believe that a Higher Power was looking out for me that night.
Leaning on the unfeeling glass, whimpering for Zarathustra, a Poster caught
my eye, “Friend, is heavy thinking ruining your life?” it asked.
You probably recognize that line. It comes from the standard Thinkers
Anonymous poster. Which is why I am what I am today: a recovering
thinker.
I never miss a TA meeting. At each meeting we watch a non-educational
video; last week it was “Porky’s.”
Then we share experiences about how we avoided thinking since the last
meeting. I still have my job, and things are a lot better at home. Life just
seemed…easier, somehow, as soon as I stopped thinking.
I think the road to recovery is nearly complete for me.
Today I made the final step, I registered as a Republican
Gil –
I trust that for certain reasons some people would rather be anonymous. (Jobs, etc.) I have my reasons for being Single Gal and I think people should be free to keep their anonymity. That being said, I do appreciate those that use their real names too because that takes courage.
Novice—Terrific comment about hordes of uneducated folks pouring into the country. Way back when, T. Jefferson was concerned about this issue, and the tie-in to slavery is astute. BUT, what about the uneducated hordes in this country? More than 40% of certified Americans think Genesis is an accurate account of the origin of man. Could that explain how our political system has become the best democracy money can buy?
Even someone as bright as Single Gal thinks that “political experience” is something more than working 24/7/365 on raising money for the next election, the day after they’ve won.
Career politicians are the problem. Washington, Jefferson, et al couldn’t wait to finish their term to get back to their lives. The “Careers” have no life but to stay in office til they die or rot. They’ve never had a real job, they are so partisan they stink, because the party, like the gang, gives them
“power”, tho they lick the boots of their patrons, and tread upon anyone they have an advantage over. And the American Voter returns them to office endlessly—merely because they recognize their name, and got an expensive flyer in the mail. But, I guess, the uneducated hordes certainly don’t see the possibilities of democracy (just the weaknesses to exploit) and I guess even mediocre Americans do have some sense of the possibilities the country inches towards.
While #32 makes some valid points, he falls victim to what so many on this blog do—paint with a very broad brush. Many “career” politicians have had “real” jobs outside of politics. There are certainly many things that need fixing in our system, but I am always surprised that when it comes to politics many look at experience as a negative. Some our better elected officials (not just at the city level) are very bright, ethical, and dedicated. Certainly we have many who do not fit that category but they should be voted out of office. The electorate must wise up and demand better quality people in office.
Single Girl,
The thought that one could lose his or her job for speaking out against wrong in this day and age is totally repulsive.
That has happened to me yet when the Good ole boys at the Mexican Heritage Corp, whacked me, They sent out a message that I was not like them and that was great for my community profile. But I got it built in one phase, rather then in 3 phases that would have taken ten years.
Fear is real, that is the power they have over you. When you deny your self, they win!
I appreciate this web site with all the rants, good bad and evil. Every one has a voice, every one has a place. I like to read John Michael Oconnor’s great stuff. He lays it out there. The other guys that just like to kick people, well that’s just who they are. This web site is a hugh mirror of who we are as a village. It’s agreat place to vent one’s frustrations, and be read by many that perhaps feel many of the same thing you do.
The Village Black Smith
Easy does it JMO – just taking a cue from a previous post of yours.
http://sanjoseinside.com/sji/blog/entries/off_again_on_again
Post #40
“There are way too many people here whose time is far to valuable to them and to others for them too clean their own houses, mow their own lawns, or even to cook for themselves, for that matter. Thus the need for a steady supply of cheap labor.”
How I managed to mistakenly assume and lump your big-mouthed self into the group who think their time is way too valuable.. I’m still trying to figure.
But my bad nonetheless.
Under the Dome Guy—Thanks for your lukewarm support! Career politicians can be smoked out by one test—are they absolutely partisan. They contend that anyone not in their party is evil. Talking across the aisle is forbidden. Support one’s club members absolutely, always. Tho there’s no real diff between Republicrats, each camp despises the other. The legions of mediocre Americans don’t like this at all, but they keep it going. Cindy is a good current example of career politician: supported Gregory way past his end, and Hiz Ronner—because as a local labor Demo she HAD to. What would Zoe have said if she didn’t. A Demo or a Repub would eagerly vote for an animated dog turd running for office as a party member, thinking it would make a BIG difference to the world and the country. The only non partisan office holders present, or ex, that I am aware of are Joeand Tom McEnery—and the Governator. George Green