California may be on the precipice of an end-of-days drought, but our local water watchers’ money faucet remains tapped like the last call of happy hour.

The special election to succeed former San Jose Councilman Kansen Chu—and by extension his temporarily appointed fill-in Margie Matthews—takes greater shape next week, when candidates must file their first campaign disclosure forms for 2015. But what have they been doing in the meantime?

Last month ex-San Jose Councilman Xavier Campos joined a lobbyist and consulting firm. Less than two weeks later he took a meeting with a council member's chief of staff. City Attorney Rick Doyle says that's concerning when it comes to San Jose's revolving door policy.

A new twist has transpired in the city of San Jose’s executive purge, as interim City Manager Norberto Dueñas signed off on an unprecedented buyout late last month.

Political gamesmanship remains strong in the East Side Union High School District, which had an opening after Magdalena Carrasco vacated her seat with a San Jose City Council victory.

Four months ago Fly detailed the swift decline in power of the Campos Clan. The process now appears near completion and Assemblymember Nora Campos (D-San Jose) is understandably desperate.

Ten names will grace the ballot for San Jose’s special election in April, but only nine plan to actively campaign for the District 4 City Council seat.

Inaugurations have a way of oscillating between solemn occasions and celebrations. And then there’s the slightly absurd—a San Jose specialty.

Failed Milpitas council candidate and patent attorney Rajeev Madnawat freaked people out in October when he threatened to leave an outgoing councilman “lifeless” and embarked on a social media rampage. But it appears Milpitas Mayor Jose Esteves is willing to look past all of that.

Definitely makes for a wild week when the dullest thing to go down at San Jose’s City Hall was a bomb threat.

In a stunning gesture, County Supervisor Cindy Chavez this week recommended East Side’s favorite punch line, Xavier Campos, for a commendation for his one and only term on the San Jose City Council.

San Jose Mayor-elect Sam Liccardo announced that an eight-person transition team will help him “identify key initiatives to focus on” during his first term. It appears Carl Guardino, his close friend and CEO of Silicon Valley Leadership Group, will have the loudest voice in the room.

Kansen Chu’s decampment from the San Jose City Council for the State Assembly has spun off a crowded race to replace him. So far, 10 people have expressed an interest in running for North San Jose’s District 4 seat. But a source tells Fly that an interim appointment could be coming.

It’s been called an attempted “coup,” a “hostile takeover” and an effort to “reshape the face of the organization.” What you ask? A democratic election, of course!

Magdalena Carrasco has yet to be sworn in as East Side’s next council member, but she’s already positioning herself to be San Jose’s most enigmatic elected official.

San Jose’s three council races couldn’t have been more lopsided by bedtime, with Tam Nguyen, Charles "Chappie" Jones, and Raul Peralez all holding commanding leads in the early hours of Wednesday morning.