Council Unable to Question City Manager in Annual Review
Predicting a haranguing about his role in the Norcal garbage scandal, City Manager Del Borgsdorf was able to fend off any direct questions by filibustering anxious council members during a rare eight-hour, closed-door, annual performance review on Tuesday.
Mr. Borgsdorf began the grueling filibuster immediately after the clerk asked him to state his name, and did not yield the floor, even after the mayor turned off the microphone, until the city cleaning crew shut the chambers down at 9:00 p.m.
“I have to admit I was a bit startled to see Mr. Borgsdorf alone in the darkened council chambers talking to the walls,” said a member of the City Hall cleaning crew. “But from the looks of all the musculus gluteus maximus flapping around on the floor like fish gasping for air, he can talk your ass off.”
Several council members expressed disappointment over the city manager’s behavior Tuesday and vowed to “exile him to Susan Shick’s boat in Florida” if he pulled the stunt again.
“If Mr. Borgsdorf thinks he can read the General Plan, the Municipal Code and the Council Rules of Order for another eight hours…” admonished Councilwoman Nancy Pyle, “…It’s just that we have some tough questions we need answered, and if he is going to stonewall us, the least he can do is read Harry Potter.”
A follow-up session is scheduled for December 13th and as a precautionary measure, Dr. Reed Yearly, the city’s dentist, has been retained to perform a maxillomandibular fixation on the city manager which will keep his jaw from moving by anchoring several pins and wires in his jaw bones. Dr. Yearly assured the council there would be no lasting side effects, although the city manager will have to wear head gear and a retainer for six weeks.
In related news, the FBI was called in to investigate an email originating from Del Borgsdorf’s computer addressed to Saddam Hussein at a U.S. detention center in Iraq requesting information on how to properly vent a spider hole.
I’m glad you addressed this issue…
How many safety lines, how many life boats, how many lives do these people have? It is one thing after another and somehow they seem to escape intact.
And now they get a seemingly early Christmas, er, Holiday present with an investigator that seems to be in collusion…no witnesses? What a shame. Another scandal that we will not get to the bottom of.
Cortese, Reed and LeZotte must keep the pressure on because no one else will. This “annual review” is a joke! He should be on the “stand” in a public forum. Let the public do the questioning and you will see some tough questions – not the softballs he’s probably getting from his colleagues. Prediction: Del Borgsdorf comes out of his annual review with a raise.
Borgsdorf will be ok. He knows too much and the last thing the Mayor and the Council majority want him to do is speak out and reveal the insider deals that have been cooking during Gonzo’s term. Change will take place in the next year or so and the new Mayor will need to clear the deck. The senior staff, and most of the Council, have been trained to do Gonzo’s bidding.
Maybe the Mayor will allow Borgsdorf to submit his own list of questions to be asked like Gonzo did for the NorCal “investigation.” Must be part of the Gonzo form of government to do self-investigations—the only way he will escape this betrayal of public trust.
BTW – it’s not over. Look at the next Council agenda. Another giveaway to NorCal is being recommended to NorCal. What you think the chances are that the Council majority will once again wrap up a package of public money and give to their buddies? After all it is the holiday season.
Many commenters on San Jose Inside have been rightfully critical of Mayor Gonzales and Joe Guerra for their abusive political style and questionable ethics and the City Manager for doing what the Mayor directs him to do or he will lose his job but if you read San Jose City Charter
http://www.sanjoseca.gov/clerk/charter.htm#Art12
You will see that our current city government problems are a direct result of having a WEAK and INEFFECTIVE City Council who as a group ignores their City Charter required duties and does not take any responsibility for acting together in a ethical and responsible manner but goes along with the Mayor
1) ” All powers of the City and the determination of all matters of policy shall be vested in the Council, subject to the provisions of this Charter and the Constitution of the State of California. “
2) “It is the intent of this Article that the Mayor shall be the political leader within the community by providing guidance and leadership to the Council, by expressing and explaining to the community the City’s policies and programs and by assisting the Council in the informed, vigorous and effective exercise of its powers. Political leadership shall be concerned with the general development of the community and the general level of City services and activity programs. “
– City Council has allowed a strong willed Mayor to set budget policy priorities and run an unethical city government by not acting as a group. Yes, he is the political leaders and can set budget priorities but he is only one vote and a City Council majority is required to pass any budget or legislation
3) “Neither the Council nor any of its members nor the Mayor shall interfere with the execution by the City Manager of his or her powers and duties, “
– Routinely ignored by Mayor, his budget staff & some City Council members and staff
4) “The Mayor, on a biennial basis beginning in 1993, shall conduct a review of the City’s Code of Ethics including any ordinances relating to ethic standards. The Mayor shall make any recommendation for amendments or changes to the Code of Ethics and its implementing ordinances to the City Council.
No amendments or changes shall be adopted which in any way lessen the ethical standard in regulations except by a two-thirds vote of the City Council. “
A Mayor’s Ethics review is required by City Charter IN 2005 Has the Mayor done his required Ethics review ? When ? Where is it published ?
– If San Jose is to have an effective and ethical San Jose city government we need to have strong and effective City Council members who clearly understand and will work together as a group to set the city policies for an ethical honest fiscally responsible government and not allow a strong will Mayor with questionable ethics and a highly inflated ego and his staffers to threaten or bully them.
Yes the Mayor is responsible BUT our weak and ineffective group of City Council members is MORE RESPONSIBLE for our ethically challenged San Jose city government
San Jose’s problem is weak and ineffective City Council
Is there any type of moratorium imposed on city officials/staff that prevent them from taking jobs with city vendors after they leave? Or from acting in a lobbyist capacity?
Hey Novice,
Ask Tom McE that question. He works for the Sharks! Sure that wasn’t a sweet payoff!
Steve
Steve – Good question – after I was Mayor, I taught at Santa Clara and Stanford and began a youth foundation, San Jose Tomorrow, that worked with Eastside students. After 4 yrs., I joined the Board of the Sharks and the Shark Foundation and did ‘no’ lobbying of any kind. I put in place the one yr.gap bet. public and private employment when I was Mayor, and agree w. it. Perhaps you should rephrase the question to those today, Gonzales staffers and public officials, who routinely ignore it – it might be more pertinent. TMcE
How is this a Gonzales thing? I think this City Manager is just as culpable as is the city council. They all voted for it didn’t they.
Tell Me-
Are you kidding? Were you born yesterday?
It’s a Gonzales thing because he leads the city; he held the secret meetings with Norcal and made the agreement; he disseminated only the information that he wanted to before the council voted on it.
I guess the war in Iraq is the Democrats fault! Sure they voted for it, but the information they received was wrong, faulty, piecemeal, half-truths, lies, conjured, withheld, manufactured…I think you get the point.
San Jose has a city dentist? What a joke.
We also have a city shrink who makes sure everyone is psychologically fit to participate in the shredding of the city charter. And don’t forget the city dietician who makes sure everyone drinks the kool-aid that is handed out by the mayor’s office.
Why did they fire the city ethicist 6 years ago?
Why did they fire the people who are supposed to clean the sidewalks downtown; such as 1st and Santa Clara.
Dan-
You are half right. San Jose lost downtown for 30 years when Valley Fair was built. But it was on the verge of making a comeback until Susan Hammer & Co. allowed Santana Row to be built. Don’t count on much downtown for another 30 years.
I disagree with Not Again. Although downtown is in a tough situation competitively with other shopping districts, and you’re probably right about not seeing “retail” in downtown for some time, we have to retain downtown as the hub of entertainment and culture – something the shopping malls can’t provide.
That is why we must continue to fight the County’s plan to build a music hall at the fairgrounds. If it happens, it will be another decision that future residents will scratch their heads about and ask “why.” Just like Valley Fair and Santana Row.
Push for BART, a baseball team, a soccer stadium, and anything else we can get our hands on and the rest will follow – people, housing, and then maybe retail.
Clean what sidewalks where? Downtown? Where’s that? San Jose lost downtown when Valley Fair and free parking was built. Now we have nightclub area but no real downtown. I’m thinking of Hale’s, Harts, Springs, Famers Union (Tom), Woolworth, Kresses, Pennys, Roos Bros, The First National Bank, Blums, The Bank of America, O’Briens etc. “Where have all the flowers gone?”
John-
I agree. But I think the first step is finding a leader who “gets it.” The next mayor can’t come fast enough and he or she must clean house. How we can live in the most creative (smartest?) area in the world and not have the type of dynamic candidates we deserve, is beyond me.
All of these entertainment baubles are nice but if the quality of life suffers, a city they do not make.
Our streets are years behind in maintenance (our cars are damaged daily by the unfilled potholes) our parks are slipping and we do not have enough of them, and the list goes on. If a city can’t provide basic city services should it really be looking to spend millions and millions on entertainment venues?
M the M-
Herhold or Purdy had an article the other day about the city suddenly “finding” the money needed to buy the land for a future baseball stadium after they had been crying poor and cutting funding for a variety of programs and services. If something is important enough to those in power, they will find the money to fund it.
The more attractions we have downtown, be it entertainment, cultural, sports or shopping, the more people will want to visit and live in downtown and that’s when potholes will be filled, sidewalks will be cleaned, overall maintenance will improve. The problem right now is that most people leave downtown at 5:00 and head home to the suburbs – we need that elusive “24 hour” city so that we have a large constituency of people voting in district 3 and agitating for improvement.
John,
Why does anything have to be Downtown? Were you to put a measure on the ballot, asking the SJ voters to continue spending money trying to revitalize Downtown, my guess is the measure would overwhelmingly fail. We need to get over it… Downtown is a thing of the past!
Not true Greg. Tried getting a parking spot downtown Saturday night along with hundreds of others. We were lucky to find one, but from the looks of that parking garage and others around it downtown is not a thing of the past.
Unfortunately Greg, you may be right about putting a measure on the ballot – although that’s what the experts said about the arena vote and it passed.
It is my belief that the downtown is our heart and soul – it is in a way, what defines us as a city. Downtown is in its infancy – the future is bright…
John and Tom I know you are great supporters of a revitalized downtown. Us everyday common folks who have not been involved in city politics, who have not been downtown property owners know that free parking is a major attraction to the “Malls’ including Santana Row. There are enough people in the area who would shop downtown if the parking were free. This is a bigger issue than most leaders realize. After hours free parking and free on weekends just doesn’t get it. Public transit is fine but we need the car when we shop to cart home the purchases. Free parking is a key issue. My first shopping trips were in 1937. The parking was free and the stores were crowded. The Farmers Union was a great place to shop, especially for a mechanically minded young man.
Anyone who thinks downtown is over is sick. Downtown has always been the heart of the city and always will. We can keep creating down there and hopefully people will see what it has to offer. Many people have already discovered that and are moving there by the thousands. it is also so easy to get anywhere from downtown, light rail and easy freeway access everywhere.
As for “talking their asses off” thank god it wasn’t the Board of Suporvisors or we would have thought a 10 magnatude quake had hit if some of those asses had hit the ground.
Dan-
Very good point and I agree. In fact I think we should make all parking downtown free, 24 hours a day.
We need to stop calling it “downtown”.
I got into it on this blog a few weeks/maybe months ago with Finfan. Where is “downtown” San Francisco? It ain’t near City Hall, but there is the Davies Center close. Is it Union Saquare—the shopping District? Is it SOMA? Is it South Beach/PacBell (or SBC, or AT& T, or whatever) area?
Dowtown is a concept that died on the West Coast before it began. On the East Coast, quien sabe? So, where is downtown New York? Is it Wall Street, the East 50’s, the theatre district, Herald Square? None of the above.
The McE’s want “dowtown” to thrive for many reasons, I am sure; not the least of which is that they have substantial holdings “downtown” with rents probably based at least in part on revenue.
The Taj Gonzal is outside—though just barely—everyone’s definition of “downtown”. The promise of a 24 hour downtown after the Taj Gonzal is hollow—City employees flee ASAP at the end of their day.
Whatever we want to call the area many of us still call downtown, we need to define what it is we expect. Building offices filled with workers who flee to their own ‘burb @ 5:00 p.m. ain’t gonna cut it. Building hotels and convention centers for transient visitors won’t either.
Retail comes to where customers are, and there ain’t very many downtown after 5 o’clock. These next few weekends will be an exception—like last Saturday when you could run out of gas trying to find aparking space—but that is still an anomoly.
There is still no unified vision of what we expect the area between The Shark Tank, Fourth Street, Julian and 280 to be. The people who will tell us are the people that LIVE within those borders, or within one half mile—MAX—outside those borders. The rest of us can’t make it happen.
I have been reviewing the comments above. For the record, City Manager Del Borgsdorf helped take San Jose to a whole new level. A level of true growth and prosperity for every tax payer. Don’t break one of the greatest leaders and most ethical individuals down to suit your political views. The newspapers spin the story one way, the individuals who wish to get elected another. Del Borgsdorf never was looking to run for political office or get some deal behind closed doors. He brought his 38 years of experience and helped lead a team that made San Jose a better, stronger city; one that will be thankful for his level of service in the future. I just hope that some of you tell him thank you before he leaves.
#28 – You crack me up. Whatever skills and experience Del brought with him, he left most of them at the door. There has been little spin involved when it comes to the Borgsdorfian world of city hall. He chose not to back up his staff when they were right, he chose not to speak up when his 38 years of experience told him the Mayor was wrong (more than once) and he presided over greatest lowering of employee morale this city has ever seen. I could go on, but maybe you see the point.
If you truly believe what you wrote, then imagine if Del had actually done his job. You’d probably think he was the best CM SJ ever had. We’ll never know, because he chose to be a “yes man” and let city staff dangle in the wind and kept the Council in the dark.
Amen to Secret Santa!
Les White, Regina Williams, Deb Figone—they were all smart, competent and highly ethical publlc servants. None of them were “perfect”, but they were all stand-up City Managers and staffers were proud to work for them.
Del hung his staff out to dry. He is the worst of the worst. He had the intellect and experience to be San Jose’s best City Manager. Instead he was the worst in recent memory.