It’s all over, apparently, without a bang or a whimper. Nary a shot was heard. The Sopranos has concluded and the charges against the former mayor have been dropped. The penultimate episodes of both have been seen. The stories of Ron Gonzales and Tony Soprano are both inconclusive. Many, thinking they are over, are dissatisfied.
Maureen Dowd wrote, and I paraphrase, that Tony was bitter, paranoid and worn down by enemies. He lived in a bleak universe of ambiguous morality, half-truths, compromises and betrayals—a world changed by things that “he” set in motion. Which one is she referring to?
I enjoyed the HBO series. I did not like the rule of the former mayor, but I bear him no rancor. If he disappeared and I never heard of him again, that would be fine with me. He has suffered greatly. So have we. His deeds live on in infamy. There is no closure for our community and no suitable end for either series.
Soprano and Gonzales have much in common. Both had gifts and both were given power. One controlled garbage in Jersey, the other longed to control garbage in Silicon Valley. Government prosecutors nipped at the heels of each, but neither proved to be a stationary target. The jackals of the media and blogoshere hounded both. One’s aid was obsessed with a cat and jabbered too much, while the other’s was happy to call himself “an old world Italian” and emailed incessantly. Red flags were everywhere. The bodies of old friends and loyal employees dotted their trails like the baptism scene in the iconic Godfather.
However, this was no fabled movie. One ended with nothing decided and the other was decided with nothing learned. Even Dr. Melfi could not explain the vagaries of either man. Clean endings are what we prefer.
Tony Soprano will likely return on the silver screen—flawed and tortured, with warts and all. Gonzales may exist only in a netherworld, knowing neither exoneration nor summary execution. His venality, incompetence and corruption will live on in the minds and memory of the people he sought to lead. It should not be so.
Certainly, a clear and understandable “whacking” would be preferred by all, but the Sopranos’ creator, David Chase, and the Santa Clara County District Attorney have control of those matters. The blackout of the Sopranos and the ruling of a judge have cheated us of clear endings. Life does go on. Fortunately in one case and sadly in the other, we will see their like again.
Stay tuned. The black screen is lightening.
I think even worse than Gonzo was the revelation that our congresswoman Zoe Lofgren has been paying her husbanc John Collins over 300,000 in campaign money. Does this bother anyone or have we gotten so used to seeing unethical behavior that we just let it slide. May not be illigal but it sure is unethical. I don’t care what they say about he is an expert at doing the books for her. It is just as if the lobbyists gave the money to her personal account. Have we become to callous to these what seem to be minor infractions or unethical behavior. Someone must do something about what is happening in our country. She wasn’t the only one doing it. It is an epedemic in our country. Everyone just out for themselves. Gonzo and maybe even Tony Soprano couldn’t match this move by Zoe. Legal bribery!
Anyone interested about the FPPC complaint still outstanding on Reed.
Not really, Tom already has said if Chuck robs a bank, it was for a good cause.
Oh, we want Zoe Lofgren, do we?
Well, she did clean Tommy’s clock to get to Congress.
We believe Mayor Gonzales was a fine leader who renovated and built libraries, built a beautiful city hall, helped Ebay stay in San Jose and built 5,000 affordable housing units.
We believe Mayor Gonzales was a terrible leader who caused higher garbage rates, built an expensive and un-needed city hall and pushed the envelope of ethical behavior.
Todd and Dennis
#2 Mr. Beef
Hold on to your hindquarters. My column tomorrow hashes the Mercury News.
Tom never mentions Kansen Chu.
It isn’t something a Reedite does.
#6 Hash away at the Mercury ; ) The more they cut the more they create a bigger problem, and given their lack of in depth coverage on local issues lately, they are going to continue in their downward spiral.
HJ#3: I will begin by stating that I can think of no-one in Congress whose views on any subject are as diametrically opposed to mine as Zoe Lofgren’s. She is a Queen of the Entitlement Wing of Congress. I am opposed to much of what she stands for.
That said, I see no inherent evil in utilizing one’s spouse or other relatives to perform vital professional services, as long as real, valuable services are performed. I have heard or read nothing that alleges that what services her husband performed were not real/substantial/effective. In other words, I have heard nothing to suggest that this was an improper transfer of money to a family member for no value received in return.
If someone presents credible evidence that this was a mere nepotistic transfer of funds, then I guess her campaign contributors should be upset. And if there was no equivalent value recieved, then there is a huge ethical lapse. But I haven’t heard any of that as yet.
I never have nor will I ever even consider giving Ms. Lofgren a red cent, so my ox is not gored in any event. But if she received true value for the $$ she pushed her husband’s way, so what if the bucks went to her husband?
Tom:
You’re right, “his deeds live on in infamy.” The guy was a bully, and it always amazed me why so few people stood up to him. It’s very unsettling to think that in this modern age, it is still possible for one person to manipulate the political process. Policy was made not by consensus, but by decree. And, as some characterized it, “you had to pay to play!”
I think it’s important for people to remember that the special investigator hired by the city council made numerous recommendations relative to the Nor Cal investigation. Many of his findings were incomplete. More information was needed, but the council chose not to extend the investigation. the people of San Jose will never get to know the whole truth.
Pete campbell
print media can’t last much longer, given internet news availability.
#2 Didn’t Tom mention Kansen Chu is his blog when he won the election?
The cut of the Perspective is a good topic but that seems to fall more into what Jack writes about.
What kind of blog is a “real” blog? San Jose Revealed?
Pete # 10: Yeah, the entire council fell over itself stopping that investigation before more names came out.
I keep remembering that quote from Guerra about how he was old world Italian and that whomever he was talking to should be worried if she crossed him. Like he’s some Tony Soprano or something. Gimme a break!
I was never able to fathom how anyone could be scared of Guerra or Gonzo. Where I grew up they’d be slapped off the playground. But somehow they managed to cow and terrorize the rest of the council. What does that say for its collective spine? And many of them remain to this day. No wonder we get no respect.
I understand better how staff was affected—their boss was a complete wimp doing Gonzo’s bidding like some lap dog. So they had nowhere to go for cover/protection.
Tom,
A great analogy! Gonzo’s legacy lives on… higher garbage fees into eternity.
Instead of “fluff,” how about some beef folks? Where is the post on the current problems with the Mercury News? Not one mention of either the elimination of the Sunday section “Perspective,” nor anything about the layoff of 40 Mercury employees?
San Jose is the 10th largest city in the nation and the one daily newspaper we have is struggling to survive, an issue that is clearly more relevant then your post today.
Your blog claims it looks inside the politics and culture of San Jose, and yet one is hard pressed to find much substance by the writers here. No mention of yesterday’s swearing in of Kansen Chu? No mention of the decision by the retired employees to withdraw their request for an increase in benefits? How about the new rules for lobbyists (which was passed unanimously, meaning that Chu supported this reform, contrary to what Reed had suggested during the campaign for his council seat).
The real tragedy is the state of our local media, which increasingly is unable to do even the most basic of coverage.
There is news, there are blogs and there is SanJoseInside which doesn’t seem to know what it is or wants to be if it ever grows up.
JMO – Here’s a great lead for curious minds to follow regarding Madame Zoe.
A certain 3-letter non-profit developer that has a link to Madame Zoe and some very well connected labor apparatchiks has some real estate and property management activities that may make HUD or certain enforcement/watch dog groups take notice.
Tom,
I think that Mayor Reed is going to have a very difficult time for the next 3 ½ years. The Council has changed very little from Ron’s time. The Reed Reforms are passing only because Gonzales’s remaining cronies know the public is watching. Otherwise, it’s business as usual. Labor business, that is.
I think Chuck will have a tough time winning his next race for Mayor too. Labor has started strategy to replace him, and is presently planning Oliverio’s ousting, in an effort to put in candidates they want to keep the majority.
Pete Constant who claimed, while running for Council, that he would support Chuck has fallen light years short. He goes against Chuck more than with him. Constant has turned out to be a great big disappointment! Who is this guy, and why did Chuck endorse him any way? He is a big supporter of breeders. I guess as long as he doesn’t have to see the result of animal over population breeding causesm he doesn’t have to concern himself with the high kill rate in the animal shelters.
Liccardo is in that office only as long as it takes to bump up to a higher place of power and money. He’s young, good looking, and is going to learn some very tough lessons if he doesn’t stop being so dam arrogant. He sits up on the dais with a big smirk on his face, and when he’s not doing that he’s cracking jokes with Oliverio.
I am sure members of the public want to take their vote back on a lot of these guys! Ron was a lot of things, and free of charges, and punishment is one of them. We all know he didn’t act alone, and there are many of us who feel saddened by the lack of justice here. But I must say, I often wonder how desensitized we’ve become to unethical and corrupt behavior. We seem to put up with a lot of bad behavior from our leaders, our bosses, our family, our friends, and ourselves. Its really sad to think about what were teaching our next generation.
#14 Asian Voter
By chance could that non-profit developer be…
Very Truly Anonymous ?
I attended the Independent Police Auditor (IPA) special Council Meeting last night. It was pretty bad. The angry crowd shouted through out the meeting, one guy was escorted out by security, and more than 50 people yelled and screamed about how bad the Police were. It was pretty unsettling. One guy really frightened me. He walked up with sunglasses on, with a big green bag hanging from his side, didn’t say a word, just turned on a tape recorder with a 911 call on it. It was hard to hear exactly what was recorded.
I saw members of groups moving from one group to another getting people in the audience angrier and angrier. They were being encouraged to speak out, get angry, and be heard. At one point I even saw the IPA walking around passing out speaker cards.
I’ve attended about 10 public forums on the Police put together by various groups, and I’ve noticed the Independent Police Auditor’s staff really trying to escalate people’s fear and anger toward the Police over small issues, and watched them push hard to get people to file complaints. I didn’t know they were allowed to lobby the public like that. I thought they were supposed to take complaints but not pressure people into it! Their stats are skewed because the same people and groups attend these meetings, and no sign up sheet is ever done at these forums. So numbers of people’s attendance, and who came is double, triple, and quadrupled when a report is given to the Council.
Call me naïve but, I could swear the Council had been lobbied behind closed doors, made a decision long before last night, and that the angry fearful crowd should have just stayed home. I got the feeling that instead of bothering to sit there 3 hours, to speak for 1 minute, they might as well stayed home and watched it on TV, for all the good their speeches where to the Council. It seemed to me that everything they said feel on deaf ears, and if the IPA didn’t have some kind of pull in the community, no such report, or meeting would have even been held.
It seems sad to me that the men and women of the Police department, who put their lives on the line for us every single day, are being held to such bogus high standards of behavior and ethics, when our own leaders could care less what the tax paying voting segment of our society has to say. I guess I’m sitting here wondering exactly who really needs lessons in professionalism, who needs to stop abusing their power, and who really needs training in proper procedure, open and honest communication with the public. I surely don’t think it’s just a few bad cops, I’ll tell you that!