Pierluigi Oliverio has come under fire recently for his campaign fliers that show him posing with kids and what some people believe is his “pseudo family.” I just have to come to the defense of Oliverio. Being single is tough no matter where you are or where you live, and even tougher, apparently, if you are running for a council seat in the ultra family-oriented Rose Garden and Willow Glen neighborhoods.

A few weeks ago, I attended MacWorld for my company.  As I was driving to San Francisco, fighting traffic every step of the way, I had a thought: Why am I driving to San Francisco for this show? 

After I paid my $23 for parking (and we think we have issues here) near the Moscone Center and got inside the convention center, I was awed by the size and scale of this show and the sheer volume of people attending.  I know, our rinky-dink convention center does not have the capability of hosting a show anywhere near that size; but why should that be?  Why can’t we get it together as a city to make our convention center a place where these world-class shows can come? 

OK, so I have to admit, when I heard the news last week that David Beckham—footballer and purely perfect human being to boot—was joining Major League Soccer to play for the LA Galaxy, one thought immediately popped into my head:

WHY DON’T WE HAVE A TEAM HERE ANYMORE?

Yesterday’s excellent guest column by Andrew Bales reminded me of when I was having lunch with my uncle the other day and how we got onto the topic of culture in San Jose.  We talked about the theatre, opera, symphony and ballet, and how all of these various local arts groups have had a difficult time sustaining themselves in San Jose.

In honor of the New Year, I thought I would come up with New Year’s resolutions for other people since setting them for myself has proven to be as successful as the Pavilion Shops. So, here is what I envision that a few select people should vow to change in 2007.

As I was watching highlights of Ron Gonzales and Cindy Chavez at the last San Jose City Council meeting, I was wondering if anyone else felt the same way I did—that the sentiments shown in that meeting were just about as fake as a set of Lee Press-On Nails.

Since we all spend enough time finding what’s wrong with our city and talking about it on this site, I thought that in the spirit of the season, I would sprinkle a little sugar instead of lumps of coal.  In sharing my weekend experience, I hope to show you that San Jose has a lot to offer—if you look closely enough.

Saturday night I took in a Sharks game at “The Tank”—still one of the best things you can do on a Saturday night in this town. For those who have never been to a game, especially a weekend game, it is a must.  The game is action-packed (and, seriously, what’s not to love about hockey men?). The people-watching is incredible and it’s just one of the best experiences you can have in San Jose, bar none. 

I spent the weekend running around doing errands, Christmas shopping and trying to get in the spirit of the season, and found myself driving up and down Santa Clara Street and The Alameda quite frequently.  I was struck by the potential of this area of town, and wondered if there might be any “master plan” to make this more of a destination than just an area to drive through. 

I know I have visited this topic before, but I think it merits more discussion.  Those that have traveled down Santa Clara Street from the Arena and made that right turn on the bend to The Alameda, probably don’t even notice what is to the right and left of them—but I do.

You can’t turn a page in the paper without the subject of stadiums dominating the news.  The Oakland A’s to Fremont, the 49ers to Santa Clara—it doesn’t stop!  Not that I don’t like hearing of sports teams coming closer to San Jose.  I mean, we did pass Detroit in size, didn’t we?  So by default we deserve more sports teams! 

I thought I would run a list of things I am thankful for before Thanksgiving.  Beside the obvious—family, friends, etc.—here are some San Jose items.

I am thankful for:

So many things made me glad when our city’s election results started rolling in last Tuesday.  I am glad that I don’t have to pack up my things in disgust and move out of the country.  I am glad that honesty and independent thinking won out over sleaze and dishonesty.  I am glad that people rose to the occasion and voted for change in City Hall. I am glad the people didn’t listen to Bill Clinton’s phone message (even those who were called in Los Gatos and Monte Sereno). I am glad that people saw through the endorsements of the Democratic Party and voted based on who was best for the city, not the special interest labor unions. 

On this Election Day 2006, as I sit here with my fingers crossed, I hope that things will turn out for the best for San Jose today.  When I cast my vote this morning, I tried not to think of all that is wrong with politics today and tried to be proud of my own decisions and support other voters who have their own convictions about who they were supporting today.  I tried to look at all candidates as worthy, competent and honorable because they were giving of themselves to serve others.  I tried to see all the candidates’ good qualities and commendable campaigning strategies.

Without wanting to beat a dead horse, I just cannot seem to fathom some of the tactics that Manny Diaz uses in order to get elected to the city council.  His latest doozy is to actually have a press conference, in front of an elementary school no less, promoting supposed links of Sam Liccardo’s MySpace page to pornography.  He was handing out nude photos to passersby and claiming that Liccardo was linked to these photos.  There are so many things wrong with that, I really don’t even know where to start.  Yeah, Manny, it makes perfect sense that a district attorney who spends his time prosecuting child molesters and pedophiles would be linked to porn sites.  It would almost make me sick if it wasn’t so laughable.

With the beautiful weather this weekend, I decided to take some friends and head down to Campbell for their annual Oktoberfest Street Fair. I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised by what I saw there. The entire downtown stretch of East Campbell Blvd. was shut down to traffic and booths lined the streets with people of all ages walking around enjoying the day.  It made me have faith that events geared towards the younger crowd in this area can be fun without turning into something undesirable.

This week I wanted to get a pulse from our readers and bloggers about what they are seeing around town as the election gets closer.  I know that Chavez seems to be bridging the gap—but how?  Is it based on the money that is being pumped into her campaign by labor and the Democratic Party, or is she starting to connect with the Pandori and Mulcahy voters?  Are people who didn’t vote in the primary coming out of the woodwork to voice their opinions?  As the election gets closer, we will begin to see the power of the television ad, and how little people really read about the candidates.

Sunday was the start of what I hope is a great tradition in San Jose: the Rock and Roll Half Marathon. For a day, San Jose was a place you could find cool bands, and people cheering on local and foreign runners not only downtown, but through neighborhood streets.  This is exactly the type of event we need here in San Jose—one lasting not just for a year or two, but strong enough to be sustained over the years until it becomes a staple in the culture of the city.