Well, it’s here in all its full-blown glory. The election is upon us, bringing the arrival of the hair-brained, the half-baked, the unethical, and the mendacious—the time of full employment for the consultants, pundits, and hangers-on. Hail the beginning of “Silly Season.”
As if we need any more evidence, the absurd and politically transparent attacks on Dave Cortese are Exhibit One, emphasizing the singular fact that such obvious attacks on a person of reformist proclivities debases and further cheapens legitimate attempts at reform. And neither of the two accusers has been known to utter a peep on the proven bribery of Terry Gregory and the numerous ethical shortcomings of Ron Gonzales. Never having taken a stand on any lapses on the part of one of their “team,” they now seem to be consumed with some obscure meeting on planning of a year ago. Of such stern stuff are the current members of the council made.
And while we speak of transgressions, look at Exhibit Two of Silly Season. The Chamber of Commerce, according to the Business Journal, is poised to do an independent expenditure attacking Cindy Chavez. Let’s hope not! Pat Dando knows well the battle we fought to keep these independent expenditures out of local campaigns. Rumor has it that the Chamber is panicked because of the poor showing of Michael Mulcahy and wants to whack someone—the putative front runner: Chavez. I cannot believe that Dando would sanction such an obvious circumvention of the spirit and the letter of our campaign ordinance.
Others may not be as wise, and should suffer the full weight of our laws. The labor boss, Phaedra Ellis-Lampkins, takes great pride in discussing her hundreds of “volunteers.” As long as they are really volunteers, no problem and I commend them once again for outworking the tortoise Chamber. Ellis-Lampkins also emphasizes that they do not do “negative campaigning.” Well, she endorses and indirectly sanctions the ethically challenged, like Manny Diaz, to do just that. No Pontius Pilate, please Ms. Ellis-Lampkins. If you want to help clean up San Jose government, always a progressive and Democratic stable, try putting some concrete in that glass house of “get along, go along” that you helped create. Demand that your endorsed candidates abide by a code. While you are at it, don’t make such accommodations with the half dozen developers that will be enriched if Coyote Valley proceeds as unplanned; try taking a position that helps those in San Jose’s neighborhoods, not ruining them to serve some unknown agenda. The kitchen is getting quite hot, and we’ll all see if the labor movement is interested in good government or just the power elites verses the reform advocates, all disguised as “jobs” or “empowerment.”
When I think of the Chamber’s rumored activities and big labor’s hierocracy, I am reminded of the philosopher who said of two great men: “When I think of one, I prefer the other!”
It is sad that even though these attacks and claims are so transparent to me and some others, they fool those who don’t follow any politics at all. I think that someone wrote that the victims of this “silly season” are not the policitians but the people of San Jose. Let’s hope on election day that they are not right.
Mr. McEnery, Glad to see you acknowledge the wrongdoing of Coucil member Campos (and Pyle to a lesser extent…funny she admitted she wasn’t even present for the meeting that led to these allegations against Council member Cortese…I guess she just took Campos’ word). I know you have complimented her in the past.
We continue through a disgusting period of time of “politics” in San Jose. I have interacted with Council member Cortese for five years now, while I have fought to gain some amenities (versus just MORE HOUSES) in the Evergreen community. He has ALWAYS proven to be a stand-up individual, who values what the members of the community (and the city) are saying and concerned with.
Council member’s Campos and Yeager were Mayor Gonzales’ “yes-men” when it came to creating unrest with regards to the Evergreen Visioning Process (EVP). This was done to punish Council member Cortese for being a critic of Gonzales. The entire council then bought-in that this was the “right thing to do” and in doing so tossed aside the GOOD WORK that had been done by the initial Task Force members.
So now we move to a new (City Council approved) Task Force. The new group, including Council member Campos, has been working to agree on a proposal to send to the full City Council for almost a year now. Once again Council member Campos decides to try and discredit Council member Cortese with half baked allegations (and on top of that, if you saw the council meeting yesterday afternoon she didn’t even go about moving an issue of this nature forward in the proper manner…WHERE is the ACCOUNTABILITY!!!!). Bad enough for Council member Cortese and his reputation, but her actions have worked to undermine the efforts of every day citizens who have been working to try and make the Evergreen community (and the City of San Jose) a BETTER PLACE (I know, she wishes she could say the same, but she CAN’T!).
Now, I’m not a Councilmember Chavez fan (too much alliance with Gonzales), but until now I haven’t really felt she was responsible for the HARM that has been done, not once but twice, to the citizens of Evergreen (District 8). But since she is in a leadership role on the same rules committee as Campos I have to question whether this was initially brought to her attention and she then she allowed it to be brought to the press (e.g. “all’s fair in love and war and POLITICS”, I guess).
Last but now least, “the smoking gun”. I give Council member Cortese credit he never provided any specifics regarding what lead to the changes the City Council wanted to make to the Task Force. Even though many of us felt there was an “end around” move by the developers (lobbyists) that led to the undoing of the first Task Force it was all speculation until yesterday’s City Council meeting. That was the first time we’ve officially heard that a developer / lobbyist called Cortese to tell him the Mayor’s right hand man, Joe Guerra, had informed him that the Task Force was going to be scrapped. THANKS for letting the truth finally be known, Council member Cortese.
Oh, by the way, if you did see the City Council meeting yesterday you no doubt heard Mayor Gonzales say he “came to the meeting with an open mind”, PLEASE Mr. Mayor, whenever something comes up regarding Council member Cortese you DO NOT have an “open mind”! Quit lying to us, we are not stupid!!!!
#3 (Jay Rosenthal): Kudos to the Mercury News on its endorsement of Sam Liccardo for the downtown city council seat. The Merc definitely got this one right.
Politics has become not. winning an election of ideas, but a quest to put your political opponents in jail.
The system and the ‘full weight of our laws’ dictates this is how to best win an election.
Five ethical candidates are running for Mayor. Yet each trips over themselves trying to show the others are not.
The public and many on this board believe that corruption has infested the very core of government and politics in San Jose. Such is not the case, yet we are preoccupied with such myths.
In the meantime, real issues affecting San Jose get lost in the noise of self-rightious candidates pandering to an angry mob.
But it is not the fault of politicians, pundits or even consultants that we find ourselves so mired in uncivil disccourse.
It is the electorate that feeds on entertainment, titillation and presupposes politics is simply an exercise of self interest pursued at public expense.
As P.S. O’Rouke once noted, “Every government is a parliament of whores. The trouble is, in a democracy the whores are us.”
If we throw all the whores in jail, who will be left to govern?
Mr. McEnery, Glad to see you acknowledge the wrongdoing of Coucilmember Campos (and Pyle to a lesser extent…funny she admitted she wasn’t even present for the meeting that led to these allegations against Council member Cortese…I guess she just took Campos’ word). I know you have complimented her in the past.
We continue through a disgusting period of time of “politics” in San Jose. I have interacted with Council member Cortese for five years now, while I have fought to gain some amenities (versus just MORE HOUSES) in the Evergreen community. He has ALWAYS proven to be a stand-up individual, who values what the members of the community (and the city) are saying and concerned with.
Council member’s Campos and Yeager were Mayor Gonzales’ “yes-men” when it came to creating unrest with regards to the Evergreen Visioning Process (EVP). This was done to punish Council member Cortese for being a critic of Gonzales. The entire council then bought-in that this was the “right thing to do” and in doing so tossed aside the GOOD WORK that had been done by the initial Task Force members.
So now we move to a new (City Council approved) Task Force. The new group, including Council member Campos, has been working to agree on a proposal to send to the full City Council for almost a year now. Once again Council member Campos decides to try and discredit Council member Cortese with half baked allegations (and on top of that if you saw the council meeting yesterday afternoon she didn’t even go about moving an issue of this nature forward in the proper manner…WHERE is the ACCOUNTABILITY!!!!). Bad enough for Council member Cortese and his reputation, but her actions have worked to undermine the efforts of every day citizens who have been working to try and make the Evergreen community (and city) a BETTER PLACE (I know, she wishes she could say the same, but she CAN’T!).
Now, I’m not a Councilmember Chavez fan (too much alliance with Gonzales), but until now I haven’t really felt she was responsible for the HARM that has been done, not once but twice, to the citizens of Evergreen (District 8). But since she is in a leadership role on the same rules committee as Campos I have to question whether this was initially brought to her attention and she then she allowed it to be brought to the press (e.g. “all’s fair in love and war and POLITICS”, I guess).
Last but not least, “the smoking gun”. I give Council member Cortese credit, even though many of us felt there was an “end around” move by the developers (lobbyists) that led to the undoing of the first Task Force it was all speculation until yesterday’s City Council meeting. That was the first time we’ve officially heard that a developer / lobbyist called Cortese to tell him the Mayor’s right hand man, Joe Guerra, had informed him that the Task Force was going to be scrapped. Thanks for letting the truth finally be known.
Oh, by the way, if you did see the City Council meeting yesterday you no doubt heard Mayor Gonzales say he “came to the meeting with an open mind”, PLEASE Mr. Mayor, whenever something comes up regarding Council member Cortese you DO NOT have an “open mind”! Quit lying to us, we are not stupid!!!!
No, Jay, the “Sam” endorsement was one of the strongest that I have ever read from the paper – and well deserved! It was right ON TOPIC. We need altruistic/idealistic/tough pubic officials to return San Jose to the type of leadership that it deserves.
TMcE
Somehow, the message that is being repeated here on SJI over and over, that there is a need to clean house at City Hall, needs to be communicated and drilled into the electorate. We are just a tiny few concerned citizens here and trust me, the rest of this town’s population is apathetic and disinterested. If they vote at all, it won’t be based on issues or records, it will be based on catch phrases and buzz words. Sad.
Is there anybody out there at this point that doesn’t know SBC bought AT&T? You can’t avoid the ads and their hippie dippie “all around the world” ditty on TV. A way must be found to saturate the electorate with what’s wrong at City Hall and drill it into everybody that the last thing they should be doing is voting for any incumbents or any current Council member that’s running for mayor, in particular Cindy.
Tom: Please submit this post as a letter to the editor of the Murky News so that more than just the bloggers here can read the wisdom.
I’m amazed the Chamber and Dando support Mulcahy when he wants to raise taxes on small businesses. Reading his web site he says…
One smart initiative we can push right now is to promote the creation of more “Business Improvement Districts.”
Sure… BID money can used for security, banners, festivals, but really a BID is just another name for a BUSINESS TAX. It is obvious why Mulcahy likes this idea, he is not a business owner, he is a landlord. A BID will enhance his property values on the back of our revenues. Mulcahy has no clue what it takes to run a small business in downtown where the BID tax is getting out of hand. No I didnt benefit from the grand prix race either. I wonder if anyone has any old pictures from the Bellarmine keg parties the Mulcahy brothers threw. Like today, there wasn’t much pencilling going on then either.
It was amusing to watch last nights council meeting. After much debate and public comment, it was interesting to see Campos trying to explain her memu to her fellow council members. She stated that her memo didn’t ask for an investigation just “TO LOOK AT”. Maybe an investigation should be done on the meaning of council member Campos “TO LOOK AT” since everyone else took it to mean an investigation. Isn’t this what she’s doing to council member Cortese’s memo. Since vice-mayor Chavez is the chair and Campos is a member of the rules committee it will be interesting to see where this goes. If either of them knew anything about ethics they would distance themselves from these type’s of political attacks.
On council member Pyle, what else can we expect of her? She sits in the council meetings speechless and only voices her support for any issue that the Gonzales cronies bring forth. Either way, the voters put these clowns in office so we deserve what we have.
Maybe the Chamber of Commerce should buy Mulcahy new radio ads that don’t mispronounce Silicon Valley as “SiliCON Valley.”
If Chuck was mayor, yesterday would not have happened. See Reed Reform #5
Prohibit late staff memos so that the public can have a greater opportunity to respond to proposals and fully participate in the debate.
But wait, isn’t that already city policy?
And why is the Rules Committee called the Rules committee if the committee can’t follow existing rules?
Campos and Pyle may have selected interesting timing on raising the issues about Cortese’s problems. More to the point, while he is slamming other Mayoral candidates on their ethics he has deliberately mis-stated facts in evidence and violated the city charter by directing staff – regardless of whether staff paid any attention to his direction.
Per Bo Radanovich, the project spokesperson for the Yerba Buena OPCO, the Evergreen Hills Visioning Strategy project sponsor their team members have reported the following meetings with Mr. Cortese prior to the May 17, 2005 council meeting to discuss creation of the new task force. Mr. Radanovich submitted a memo to each council member and the media on Friday 5 May outlining the following information.
San Jose Lobbyist Tom Armstrong, a member of the YB OPCO development team, had several conversations with Mr. Cortese prior to the council meeting. This includes a private meeting and several phone calls outside the formal task force meetings. The conversations were to protect the work done by the EVP task force and keep the project on time.
San Jose Lobbyist Gerry DeYoung, a member of the YB OPCO development team, had met with Mr. Cortese, city staff and selected EVP Task force members to negotiate the unit counts to be studied in the environmental impact report.
San Jose Lobbyist Ash Pirayou, a member of the YB OPCO development team, had met with Mr. Cortese and disclosed he would be working on the EVP project on behalf of YB OPCO.
Robert Freed, the Regional Manager, Northern California, for KB Homes had several conversations with Mr. Cortese in regard to the Task Force and the YB OPCO development proposal. Some of these conversations dealt specifically with the creation of the new task force.
Cindy Chavez, Chair – Rules Committee. After yesterday’s fiasco, what more can be said?
R.R.
Your QUESTION #7 “If we throw all the whores in jail, who will be left to govern?
The ANSWER….David Pandori
#9 Tom
With the “Sam” endorsement, all the Merc needs to do next is to endorse David Pandori and they will be batting 1,000.
#9, #19…
And for district 1 they need to endorse Pete Constant – THAT WOULD MAKE IT A TRIPLE PLAY – and make a clear statement that change is coming to city hall.
There are good people ready and willing to lead us – LET’S GET THEM ELECTED!!!!!
Dear San Jose:
I saw a little bit of the city council meeting on cable yesterday. It was a “pathetic display” as someone characterized it. Dave Cortese is one of the few members of the council with both brains and integrity. I would be shocked if he did something even slightly irregular. I’m convinced he’s clean.
If our city were to return to elections at large, we could have a Rich DeLaRosa or a Linda Nguyem instead of a Nora Campos, a Judy Chirco, or a Nancy Pyle. (I know, Rich lost to Nancy, but I don’t think that he would lose a rematch).
The best part about yesterday’s theatre was at the end when the mayor professed to having an open mind on the subject. Shouldn’t the mayor excuse himself from any agenda item that involves questions of ethics? After all, he was censured for the Nor Cal scandal. Listening to the mayor of San Jose speak about ethics is a little like listening to the captain of the Titanic talk about boat safety!
Pete Campbell
#21
Rich DeLaRosa is one of the individuals responsible for the rundown, dump, crime-infested shopping center known as Tropicana, which is located at Story and King. Naturally, he does not live in the area, but he has no problem helping keep East San Jose a dump.
When he cleans up that mess then he might be able to redeem himself enough to run for election.
“The public and many on this board believe that corruption has infested the very core of government and politics in San Jose. Such is not the case, yet we are preoccupied with such myths.”
Corruption:
1 a : impairment of integrity, virtue, or moral principle : DEPRAVITY b : DECAY, DECOMPOSITION c : inducement to wrong by improper or unlawful means (as bribery) d : a departure from the original or from what is pure or correct
Merriam-Webster Online
Though there may be wiggle-room aplenty when the word “corruption” is used to describe behavior that doesn’t include a cash-stuffed envelope, what objective person would deny that the Gonzales-Chavez regime has set its integrity aside on an as-needed basis? To conceal from the public an addendum to an agreement for selfish, political reasons is the very antithesis of integrity. How many years did we as a city fund our responsibilities, plot our priorities, and plan for the future completely unaware that an eleven million dollar obligation hung over our collective heads? And just where might that money have otherwise gone? An upgrade to a fire house, perhaps? A new class of police recruits? Or maybe just to the smoothing out of our many pock-marked streets.
And just how are we, or the city council, for that matter, to know for sure that there aren’t other surprises a-coming?
A mayor who abandons his loyal wife for the charms of a young aide, emasculates his city staff, cows the council, forges secret deals, lies to the citizenry, and then insults and slanders the Grand Jury for reporting the truth is a mayor who inserts decay into every level of city government—beginning with the office of the Vice-mayor. Coupled with her popularity and bright political future, Cindy Chavez’s very public confidante/supporter status with our megalomaniacal mayor did everything to validate his behavior—his CORRUPTION—as City Hall’s new local order.
This city once had a city manager—a trained professional—who could be relied upon to rein in a mayor who stepped out of bounds. The Gonzales-Chavez regime engineered a “departure” from that tradition—just as they did with the city attorney’s office. The checks and balances that serve as the foundation of our representative form of government were effectively eliminated by this dynamic duo. In fact, they all but killed representative government. They knew better than the rest of the council, the city manager, the city attorney, and, most arrogantly, our founding fathers.
Our new city hall—itself a bloated monument to hidden costs, favors repaid, half-truths, and gargantuan egos—stinks of corruption. And fittingly so—like an outhouse built out of dried dung. All it needs now are a few street parking spots reserved for investigators and subpoena servers.
Pete #21, I think you’re wrong. The best part of yesterday’s council meting was when Nancy Pyle actually spoke! Then again, sometimes it’s the quiet ones you have to watch out for.
Think back to the November election of 2004. Rich De La Rosa had the lead in a tight race. Then just before the election Pyle’s campaign unleashed what is now generally conceded to have been an unethical last-minute hit piece. The end result, Pyle won by a razor-thin, slimy margin.
Now, weeks before another election Pyle is making similar unfounded but potentially damaging charges against the opponent of a political ally.
This is starting to stink more than Norcal and it’s more than the innocent game of political “gotcha” that Rich Robinson has suggested. This is an orchestrated campaign of dirty politics designed to damage Cortese’s reputation for integrity.
Chamber of Commerce is right to oppose the puppet master pulling the strings on this sad affair.
Great. Another uplifting, positive political thought demonstrating the “Silly Season”. It is apparent that the current political process is broken. What can/will replace this mess is beyond me.
It’s more like Sad Season. Yesterday’s pathetic display at the Council meeting speaks volumes to the level we have sunk as a city. It is getting more and more difficult to find anything positive about the actions of bush-league group. No one looking in from the outside could believe these are the leaders of a large US city. If we don’t make big changes this June it will just keep getting worse and we will continue to be a laughing stock around the Bay Area and beyond.
It is no longer up to the “leaders”, it is time for the people to act. Remove these jokers and bring respect back to City Hall.
Off topic, but in case you didn’t read it today in the Mercury News—here is their endorsement of Sam Liccardo for District 3:
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/opinion/14543671.htm
It strikes me that Reality Check seriously needs one.
Reality Check do you really think that you are winning votes for Ms. Chavez by using the words “Stupid” and “crybabies?”
If you are on her staff paid or not, you are not doing your job with this type of retoric.
Approval of the Council-Staff Interaction Policy (Council Policy 0-31), which would replace the Independent Judgment Policy (Council Policy 0-26) and the Interaction Policy (Council Policy 0-27) Memo –
http://www.sanjoseca.gov/clerk/Agenda/040406/040406_03.05b.pdf
gives some context to the current Council discussion of Dave Cortese actions concerning Evergreen
Also see Scott Herhold’s column today
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/columnists/scott_herhold/14552523.htm
Reality, keep calling and ignoring the voters’s wishes. We as a nation decided we did not want unsolicited calls when we created the national DNC registry, but a few too many selfish politicians had to leave loopholes in the laws so they could raise money. Get a clue and respect the voters.
#28
Yes. Now set your rattle down and take a nap. As James Carville said, “It’s the Economy Stupid”, Reality Check says “It’s the neighborhoods Stupid”. Any chance of you getting your Mayoral choice to take up your idea of reinstituting the draft, sure sounds like a winner to me.
http://carouselstore.com/music/BoppCircus.mp3
http://www.community-newspapers.com/almaden/images/decinzoar.gif
Seems vaguely familiar. Wonder if Cindy’s cats are named Rich and Don?
I’ll bet if Cindy knew that RC is turning people off to her here, she would be issuing some kind of directive to whomever is placing the arrogant and abrasive posts on her behalf to cease and desist immediately.
Keep it up with the caustic and condescending entries here, RC. It can only help Cindy’s opponents.
Cindy does know. In fact, she is establishing a task force to look into the matter. The findings of the task force will be distributed in a memo that she will release during the Council meeting that is discussing it. She will indicate how important it is to have an open government. She will also agree with the task force’s findings. Then, a short time later she will issue a last-minute memo proposing a program that is opposite of what the task force proposed and that she previously agreed to support. Just another day at Silly Hall.
Mark: Are you kidding. Cindy and her cheer leading squad are on the attack, speading lies and name calling. They don’t give a rat’s a** about evergreen neighbors or neighborhood process anywhere in this city. Frankly I’m sure the whole labor and developer backed gang are running scared knowing there is about to be a huge power shift in this town. It is the slime season. Go get em Pete.
With mail hitting the boxes and an opponent who may be under investigation for lying it was another great day to be on the phones talking to voters as opposed to blogging. Cindy wins this race because she tells you what is possible and what can happen if neighborhoods organize and get involved in directing the city as to what their priorities are—republican as that may seem that is what she does best—keep blogging all you crybabies and we will keep walking and talking to voters—its the neighborhoods stupid
Chris, I wish I could be as confident as you are, but Cindy is well positioned to buy her way into the mayor’s chair. If only the rest of the electorate held the same views as most on this blog, Cindy would be toast—badly burnt toast. Unfortunately, she and her backers and supporters, like the smug Reality Checker, know that SJ is populated by the most apathetic of voters and that they’ll be pursuaded by facades and lies and hollow promises about what Cindy will do for them. I’m sure we’ll see a very nasty hit piece from Cindy’s camp in our mailboxes just prior to June 6th. She may come off as sweet as pie and interested in what’s best for SJ, but she is a wolf in a little lamb’s clothing and the worst possible person of the 5 for the job.
#26 RC, don’t lower yourself to the levels of most of the people here. You don’t need to call the bloggers out – everyone can figure that out for themselves. Congratulations on a good day of phone banking for the best candidate out there. Keep up the good work, try throat lozenges.
#34 Chris, the Herhold column posted by Ed Rast closes with this tidbit:
“All this back-and-forth, however, misses what’s really happened in Evergreen, which follows no good planning model I know. Lured by Cortese’s promise of shepherding a task force, developers have already poured millions of dollars into detailed planning studies for new homes on 300 acres of previously industrial land.
This has happened before the council has had an open debate about whether that valuable land should be converted from jobs to housing, a decision that could place new demands on the city’s treasury for decades. “
Sounds like collaboration between Cortese and the developers are leading to more damage and less infrastructure. As I recall, Cortese said at the first forum hosted by the business community that he’d met privately, in his office in City Hall, with developers to iron out issues. It’s nice to know which part of his constituent base he’s interested in supporting.
The complaints filed by members of the task force who got removed are part of the public record.
Get a Grip,
Looks like you left off the last sentence of the closing tidbit:
This has happened before the council has had an open debate about whether that valuable land should be converted from jobs to housing, a decision that could place new demands on the city’s treasury for decades. For letting that happen, the whole council, with the exception of Madison Nguyen, bears blame.
I believe Herhold was also referring to your candidate. Coincidently or not, this style of smear, selectively leaving out sentences, is identical to the late breaking Campos-Pyle memo your candidate approved in her committee.
37 – Thanks for trying to keep accuracy and integrity on this Board. If Get-a-Grip prevails we will have to work full time on accuracy and integrity because his/her candidate leaves much to be desired in that cagegory.
One of my accomplishments on Wednesday evening in Willow Glen was that I was able to speak with Ms Chavez about the San Jose Inside Blog. She said she doesn’t have much time to read it. I explained that a blogger named Reality Check was really hurting her campaign with the contributors to the blog and when he calls on the telephone on her behalf.
Has anyone been paying attention to the budget hearings before council this week? You may have noticed that Councilmember Cortese hasn’t bothered to show up the past couple of days.
His staff sends nice little excused absence notes indicating he has some city business to attend to, apparently something more important that a Mayoral wannabe paying attention to the budget.
This has been fairly standard practice for him, not bothering to do his job and sending “excused absence” notes from his staff. Gosh, one wonders what he might be doing if not reviewing the budget.
The other two Mayoral candidates, Reed and Chavez continue working.
#41—It was a murder-suicide. A tragedy for sure but to attack Cindy over this unfortunate incident is childish and in poor taste.
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/14564491.htm
42 – You’re correct, but that’s what happens when somebody like Cindy wraps themselves in the “safest big city” slogan like they actually had something to do with it. You can’t have it both ways.
#42:
Yes it was an unfortunate tragedy as we now know. My bad. Chalk it up to Merc style journalism; like the Campos-Pyle story, we ran with the facts we had at the time. Still, excluding the Cortese attack, this has been an above average for week for violent crimes. Other than a focus on Megan’s law, I’m not sure how your candidate is planning on keeping us safe. Don’t get me wrong, Chavez should be concerned about sex offenders. District 3 has the highest concentration of sex offenders in the County: http://www.meganslaw.ca.gov/search_main.aspx. And downtown was not exactly a family friendly venue last weekend.
Who in Gods name is Michael C. Maccarelli. It says VTA Rail operator. Where has he been?
Someone said he showed up at the Northside Forum answering questions in a couple of words. Is he for real or a shill?? It seems really suspicious that his name is so close to Michael Mulcahy. Its certainly a shame that Michaels name ends up at the bottom names right next to Maccarelli. Someone had to put this guy up to it. I will bet he is a dues paying union member that wants to give something back to his city. Or maybe there are other forces at work here. Here’s a guy that has worked so hard on his campaign and then finds this obstacle to deal with. What a shame.
Cindy says:
<i>San Jose is the safest big city in America. As Mayor, I will work to ensure that San Jose remains the safest big city in the country and that every one of our neighborhoods, regardless of socio-economical status will have clean and safe streets.<i>
Two shot dead in San Jose this morning
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/14563867.htm
3 shootings in 3 days, sure that is safe! How will you work to ensure we are safe, new union contracts?
#46 At first I was ready to attack but on second thought thats the kind of Cindy I can handle.
#45 – There’s only one way to fight back.
And that’s to get Cindy Chavez on the ballot.
http://www.cindychavez.com
#39 – Dan – what makes you think that Reality Check is a man? I have my bets on who it is but it is not a man, baby!
You guys realize that if Pandori wins, this blog is dead. You wont have a mayor to whine about any more. What will you do with all your free time?
49 Work to clean up the mess Gonzo and Chavez made.
Free Time? Write the great American novel or start an Internet company or travel the world in my own library. TMcE
Tom disappear from public view?? Unlikely.