Lost in the exaggerated numbers of Tuesday’s primary election vote totals is this very frightening reality: Less than 8 percent of the electorate is all it takes to amass political power in our county. And if there is money to push an issue, it’s becoming almost impossible to stop millionaires and multinational corporations from getting what they want.

It’s OK to pity Oakland, a beleaguered and maligned city whose greatest achievements were earned on the field by its World Championship sports teams. But now those storied franchises are fleeing like refugees from a war-torn nation.

Linda Toeniskoetter is a yoga instructor, Kelley Rubino is a hair stylist, Kristina Campisi is a homemaker, and Lee Brandenburg is retired; but they’re all major contributors to local campaigns. Make no mistake, the contributions are legal and the contributors have every right to engage in the political system. But their listed occupations fail to connect them to interests that normally cause people to become major players in local politics.

What if someone held an election and one side didn’t show up? Well, that is happening in the ill-advised pension reform campaign called Measure B. While proponents are raising money to pay for the Mayor’s under-employed—yet now overpaid—political consultant, organized opposition to the measure has evaporated. The reason is simple and economical.

Sheriff Laurie Smith withdrew her endorsement of Rose Herrera this week. It was not an easy decision, but it was made as a result of evidence presented to Smith of substantive fraud perpetrated by Herrera in the past. As the chief law enforcement officer of Santa Clara County, Smith believes it would set a bad precedent to support anybody who committed a felony, even if they were not convicted.

The San Francisco 49ers broke ground Thursday on their new stadium in Santa Clara and threw a tremendous party replete with football royalty, current players, politicians and, most importantly, volunteers from the Measure J campaign that made the day possible. The model used by Santa Clara and the Niners should be replicated in San Jose for the new A’s stadium.

The Secret Service agents implicated in the prostitution scandal last week in Columbia probably never saw Mike Wallace’s 60 minutes interview with agent Clint Hill. If the agents had, there wouldn’t be a scandal.

The much anticipated San Jose Rotary Club debate between Councilmembers Pete Constant and Ash Kalra did not disappoint. Both Constant and Kalra were spirited advocates for their positions: Constant defending Measure B, the pension “modification” measure; Kalra, a lawyer, presenting the views in opposition. By the end of the debate, to the disappointment of many, it was Kalra who gained the most.

Nothing stings as much as a politician you helped gain public office betraying you. It’s not uncommon, but it doesn’t make the pain any less real. The result, of course, is predictable. The aggrieved party works doubly hard for the next opponent; which brings us to the sad case of Councilmember Rose Herrera. Herrera would not be a San Jose Councilmember if not for the support of progressives, local democrats and the South Bay Labor Council. Her first campaign was literally run out of Labor’s headquarters.

Mayor Susan Hammer is among the best leaders San Jose has ever produced, and I have tremendous empathy for her and those who are frustrated with the decisionsCity Hall has made to shortchange our libraries. But the answer is a change of personnel at City Hall, not a charter amendment which, admittedly, will be popular with voters—especially with her leadership. But the policy puts the city on a slippery slope of percentage-based spending. It may sound good, but it is this same type of policy that got us into trouble on the state level.

Since the implementation of district elections and term limits, competitive elections for incumbent San Jose City Council members have been previously nonexistent. But this year is different. Scorn and division have replaced civility and respect as the local body politic descends into the kind of morass usually associated with cities such as Sunnyvale and Milpitas.

Mayor Chuck Reed called an audit requested by local state legislators “politically motivated.” He is correct. But calling a fake “fiscal emergency,” exaggerating the size of the problem and calling on voters to pass a pension reform ballot measure that most attorneys, including myself, believe won’t stand a court challenge is also “politically motivated.”

Why are there so few John Sobratos? In one of the richest areas of the world, there is a dearth of giving among the wealthiest in our midst. Many of the social problems we currently suffer could be alleviated by smart programs and a relatively small commitment from the people who have benefited the most from American opportunity.

Recently, a SJI columnist who also is a city councilmember suggested that libraries should be staffed with volunteers to avoid closure and increase hours of operation. I applaud this outside the box type of thinking, but why stop at libraries?

It has been a tough week for Mayor Chuck Reed. An enterprising investigative reporter, Jenna Susko, from KNTV News challenged the mayor’s veracity of the “fiscal crisis” and exposed his administration’s exaggeration of the unfunded liability facing San Jose. The mayor’s opponents were quick to jump on the news and quickly filed an ethics complaint. A complaint which, ironically, is justified under Reed’s own ethic reforms, which state that public officials shouldn’t lie. But the regulation—like many Reed Reforms—is unenforceable. A lawyer for the ethics commission advised the body not to investigate as they have no jurisdiction over the matter. That is lawyer-speak for you can’t do anything even if he did lie.

The recent incendiary headlines regarding the California High Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) employing “lobbyists” was another attempt by opponents to avoid substance and attack the process of building our nation’s first high speed rail system. Make no mistake, this isn’t an abuse of taxpayer money and the holier than thou statements of some pundits are simply cowardly political attacks on very good people.