NBC11 is reporting that he is “retiring.” Short of the fall of Gonzales, this is the best news San Jose could receive. The sooner he is gone the better.
Yes, Del will be just fine. He has a City pension, and depending on his deal with Gonzo, he’ll probably have several months of severance pay. Appropriate compensation for a job well done…
Rich, you still don’t get it. The point is once the bad seeds are out of the City Hall, hopefully good people will rise to the top who truly have San Jose’s best interests at heart. That has not been the case with Del or Ron. I know you think it was the process that caused the problems and maybe a “mistake” was made. You don’t seem to understand the terrible beating that morale has taken, the atmosphere of vindictiveness and retribution, the micromanaging by this mayor and lack of managing by this manager, and the list goes on.
Many of us who have been critical see Del’s departure as a very good thing and the beginning of an opportunity to return San Jose city government to an open, responsive, and positive force for the employees and the citizens of SJ. Perhaps you should try to look at how things can be improved instead of preaching the old party line and blaming the critics instead of the real culprits.
Del will not be missed by many. He fed at the public trough for too long, dragging down $250K/year plus benefits. I’ll hazard a guess that he’ll get a fat pension, fully indexed for inflation, for the rest of his life. Not atypical of high level bureaucrats… big pay, very little work. The City Manager’s office has, time and time again, exhibited the highest level of incompetence, and inefficacy. Let’s do away with the office and save millions of taxpayer dollars every year.
Did Del deserve to “retire” (quit or get pushed out)? He was simply a pawn in the hands of the Mayor and some Council members. He never really allowed to exercise any independent judgement or action. You asked him for a position on any major issue and he simply danced around the answer. He needed to check upstairs for the Mayor’s view.
He now leaves a demoralized staff in the various City agencies, a paranoid City Manager’s Office, unions cued up to push on the Council for the same deal as the Police Department, a public perception that staff is crooked or inept at best and outside investors/partners of the City waiting for the next Mayor before they can commit to doing business with San Jose.
As the Merc reported when he was hired in 1999, Borgsdorf was attracted to the Mayor “because he could follow orders.” Ron never expected the City Manager to give advice or share his ideas despite Borgsdorf’s many years of experience working in other communities.
Del is the first to go, but once the DA completes his investigation, it is expected that several high ranking elected and appointed members of the City will soon follow.
A competent and properly function City Manager’s office would be a valuable asset to the city. Doing away with the office is not the answer. Replacing the current occupants with a true city manager and a professional staff that do not withhold information from the Council is what’s needed. Also, a Council that is bright enough to ask questions and know when they are not being provided all the information would be nice.
It’s taken almost 8 years for everyone to realize what I knew from the beginning—Gonzo is an insecure arse and Guerra is a jerk. I can’t believe that Gonzo got re-elected. I used to think something was wrong with me since I was a nice, diplomatic type. The “gloves on” confrontational approach of the Mayor’s Office, with their wannabe “West Wing” types got to be too much. These folks acted like they were going to eventually make it to the big top—and now Gonzo and his crew are tainted goods. I’m glad that these two finally are being held accountable, and I’m glad that I got out of city politics when I did.
As for Borgsdorf—he knew what he was getting himself into. It’s disgusting that the Mayor’s office would purposely find someone without a spine. That just goes to show you what type of people they are.
As for the City of San Jose: Hopefully the leadership can get back to the task of representing their consituents, supporting the city’s good programs, and just move forward. There’s still a lot of work to be done.
I say tell all city employees that there will be no pensions at 70 , 80 or 90 percent of their pay. That we no longer have pensions they have to do their own retirements like almost everother person in life has to do. See how many leave. I’d say none. it would be terrible for the citizens to have to pay Del for the rest of his life. How can San Jose afford to pay people their whole lives 90% of their salaries for the next 30 years while still trying to pay present employees. Someone explain this to me.
What are the retirement salary percentages and benefit plans for non publc safety City employees – 60% ? 70 % ? , ? full family health plans with low deducablele or co pays etc
What years of service are required to qualify ?
How do public service plans compare to private pension plans and benefits plans especially when city government employment has very few or no layoffs which many city residents have seen or experience numerous times ?
Do you consider the city retirement plans and benefit plans are fair and will not impact city services or require future tax increases to pay for ?
It is the belief of many hard working and well qualified or educated residents that they will have to work into their late 60’s or 70’s paying taxes to support the city government pension plans when city employees can retire in their early or mid 50’s – Is this true ?
Have you seen the calculations that the easiest way to become a millionaire in California is to work for state, county or city government ( but not as a teacher ) due to the substantially higher than average pension / health / benefits plans and almost no layofffs ?
Greg and others who want a Strong Mayor form of city governement –
Do you REALLY understand what you are asking for and the well documented decades of scandal ridden Strong Mayor ( one person ) city governments that is widely recognized as resulting in special interest / campaign contributor control, poor government and lack of elected officals accountability to the voters?
WHICH Strong Mayor large city governments do you like and admire that do not have a long history of scandals and accountability problems ? New York, Chicago, Philadelphia etc – NOT
Government responsibility and accountibility groups and experts who look at Strong Mayor governemtns can not find any
If you LIKED the last 7 years of Ron-Joe-Del’s City government you will LOVE Strong Mayor governement since it more of the same or worst
ANY POLITICIAN WHO WANTS STRONG MAYOR city government IS a PROFESSIONAL POLITICIAN WITH SPECIAL INTEREST SUPPORTERS WHO WANT ABSOLUTE CONTROL and should NOT be elected in San Jose
DO YOUR HOMEWORK and WAKE UP before you advocate for a WORST Strong Mayor form of San Jose city government
What better example of the damage a strong mayor form of government can do than the last 7 years. And that’s just be ignoring the City Charter. Can you imagine how bad it would be if the Charter actually sanctioned this kind of political thuggery?
The sooner we have elected and appointed city leaders who follow the City Charter, the better off we will all be.
I am a City employee and I am thrilled that the city manager is finally gone. Our city employees can’t speak out on how much damage he has done or we will get into trouble. But we want to let the people in the community know that city employees are thrilled that he is gone! He was so out of integrity!!!!!!! Ok, the Mayor is next, we have been holding our breath and can’t wait for the announcement that he is finally Gone too!!
To “Strong Mayor,” gee whiz, seems like we’ve had a strong mayor form of government all along… Gonzo cracks the whip and the City Manager and City Attorney lick his boots. All I’m saying is, why pay for a City Manager’s office if we get nothing for it.
We can make it a blogger’s free for all, or you guys can shape a poll. Here are my first set of options for a form of government for San Jose:
Proposition A – Keep the current “hybrid” system.
Proposition B – Strong Mayor, hires and fires City Manager and Department Heads. The Council appoints a “Chair” or “President of the Council”.
Proposition C – Council/Manager, with the Mayor and Council part time, paid a nominal fee for attending Council meetings. The Council selects the Mayor for a two year “term” to Chair meetings, cut ribbons, etc. The City Manager is required to produce results and concrete information to the City Council and the community at large.
Would have rather seen Guerrra go. Maybe he can still exit during the holiday festivities, while everyone is preoccupied, before the pendulum swings back. I want a refund of my garbage rate overcharges.
ONE loser among many
So does “Anonymous” once again scoop CNN?
NBC11 is reporting that he is “retiring.” Short of the fall of Gonzales, this is the best news San Jose could receive. The sooner he is gone the better.
Don’t tell me that after 7 years the council finally found a spine someplace? Probably not.
Ronny, YOU”RE NEXT!
Hey, Rich. See what a DA’s investigation can do?
If he is retiring. Does he get a city pension? This should be stopped!
Dear #7,
Yes, Del will be just fine. He has a City pension, and depending on his deal with Gonzo, he’ll probably have several months of severance pay. Appropriate compensation for a job well done…
Rich, you still don’t get it. The point is once the bad seeds are out of the City Hall, hopefully good people will rise to the top who truly have San Jose’s best interests at heart. That has not been the case with Del or Ron. I know you think it was the process that caused the problems and maybe a “mistake” was made. You don’t seem to understand the terrible beating that morale has taken, the atmosphere of vindictiveness and retribution, the micromanaging by this mayor and lack of managing by this manager, and the list goes on.
Many of us who have been critical see Del’s departure as a very good thing and the beginning of an opportunity to return San Jose city government to an open, responsive, and positive force for the employees and the citizens of SJ. Perhaps you should try to look at how things can be improved instead of preaching the old party line and blaming the critics instead of the real culprits.
The attitude expressed in post #8 brings to mind this gem from the past:
“You won’t have Dick Nixon to kick around anymore.”
Concession statement of California gubernatorial candidate Richard Nixon, 1962.
Del will not be missed by many. He fed at the public trough for too long, dragging down $250K/year plus benefits. I’ll hazard a guess that he’ll get a fat pension, fully indexed for inflation, for the rest of his life. Not atypical of high level bureaucrats… big pay, very little work. The City Manager’s office has, time and time again, exhibited the highest level of incompetence, and inefficacy. Let’s do away with the office and save millions of taxpayer dollars every year.
Did Del deserve to “retire” (quit or get pushed out)? He was simply a pawn in the hands of the Mayor and some Council members. He never really allowed to exercise any independent judgement or action. You asked him for a position on any major issue and he simply danced around the answer. He needed to check upstairs for the Mayor’s view.
He now leaves a demoralized staff in the various City agencies, a paranoid City Manager’s Office, unions cued up to push on the Council for the same deal as the Police Department, a public perception that staff is crooked or inept at best and outside investors/partners of the City waiting for the next Mayor before they can commit to doing business with San Jose.
As the Merc reported when he was hired in 1999, Borgsdorf was attracted to the Mayor “because he could follow orders.” Ron never expected the City Manager to give advice or share his ideas despite Borgsdorf’s many years of experience working in other communities.
Del is the first to go, but once the DA completes his investigation, it is expected that several high ranking elected and appointed members of the City will soon follow.
A competent and properly function City Manager’s office would be a valuable asset to the city. Doing away with the office is not the answer. Replacing the current occupants with a true city manager and a professional staff that do not withhold information from the Council is what’s needed. Also, a Council that is bright enough to ask questions and know when they are not being provided all the information would be nice.
It’s taken almost 8 years for everyone to realize what I knew from the beginning—Gonzo is an insecure arse and Guerra is a jerk. I can’t believe that Gonzo got re-elected. I used to think something was wrong with me since I was a nice, diplomatic type. The “gloves on” confrontational approach of the Mayor’s Office, with their wannabe “West Wing” types got to be too much. These folks acted like they were going to eventually make it to the big top—and now Gonzo and his crew are tainted goods. I’m glad that these two finally are being held accountable, and I’m glad that I got out of city politics when I did.
As for Borgsdorf—he knew what he was getting himself into. It’s disgusting that the Mayor’s office would purposely find someone without a spine. That just goes to show you what type of people they are.
As for the City of San Jose: Hopefully the leadership can get back to the task of representing their consituents, supporting the city’s good programs, and just move forward. There’s still a lot of work to be done.
I say tell all city employees that there will be no pensions at 70 , 80 or 90 percent of their pay. That we no longer have pensions they have to do their own retirements like almost everother person in life has to do. See how many leave. I’d say none. it would be terrible for the citizens to have to pay Del for the rest of his life. How can San Jose afford to pay people their whole lives 90% of their salaries for the next 30 years while still trying to pay present employees. Someone explain this to me.
Hj – The figures you cite apply only to police and fire. Regular city employees retire at nowhere near 80 or 90%.
InsideTheHall
What are the retirement salary percentages and benefit plans for non publc safety City employees – 60% ? 70 % ? , ? full family health plans with low deducablele or co pays etc
What years of service are required to qualify ?
How do public service plans compare to private pension plans and benefits plans especially when city government employment has very few or no layoffs which many city residents have seen or experience numerous times ?
Do you consider the city retirement plans and benefit plans are fair and will not impact city services or require future tax increases to pay for ?
It is the belief of many hard working and well qualified or educated residents that they will have to work into their late 60’s or 70’s paying taxes to support the city government pension plans when city employees can retire in their early or mid 50’s – Is this true ?
Have you seen the calculations that the easiest way to become a millionaire in California is to work for state, county or city government ( but not as a teacher ) due to the substantially higher than average pension / health / benefits plans and almost no layofffs ?
Greg and others who want a Strong Mayor form of city governement –
Do you REALLY understand what you are asking for and the well documented decades of scandal ridden Strong Mayor ( one person ) city governments that is widely recognized as resulting in special interest / campaign contributor control, poor government and lack of elected officals accountability to the voters?
WHICH Strong Mayor large city governments do you like and admire that do not have a long history of scandals and accountability problems ? New York, Chicago, Philadelphia etc – NOT
Government responsibility and accountibility groups and experts who look at Strong Mayor governemtns can not find any
If you LIKED the last 7 years of Ron-Joe-Del’s City government you will LOVE Strong Mayor governement since it more of the same or worst
ANY POLITICIAN WHO WANTS STRONG MAYOR city government IS a PROFESSIONAL POLITICIAN WITH SPECIAL INTEREST SUPPORTERS WHO WANT ABSOLUTE CONTROL and should NOT be elected in San Jose
DO YOUR HOMEWORK and WAKE UP before you advocate for a WORST Strong Mayor form of San Jose city government
What better example of the damage a strong mayor form of government can do than the last 7 years. And that’s just be ignoring the City Charter. Can you imagine how bad it would be if the Charter actually sanctioned this kind of political thuggery?
The sooner we have elected and appointed city leaders who follow the City Charter, the better off we will all be.
I am a City employee and I am thrilled that the city manager is finally gone. Our city employees can’t speak out on how much damage he has done or we will get into trouble. But we want to let the people in the community know that city employees are thrilled that he is gone! He was so out of integrity!!!!!!! Ok, the Mayor is next, we have been holding our breath and can’t wait for the announcement that he is finally Gone too!!
To “Strong Mayor,” gee whiz, seems like we’ve had a strong mayor form of government all along… Gonzo cracks the whip and the City Manager and City Attorney lick his boots. All I’m saying is, why pay for a City Manager’s office if we get nothing for it.
Tom/Jude,
How about a Charter Review Commission @ SJI?
We can make it a blogger’s free for all, or you guys can shape a poll. Here are my first set of options for a form of government for San Jose:
Proposition A – Keep the current “hybrid” system.
Proposition B – Strong Mayor, hires and fires City Manager and Department Heads. The Council appoints a “Chair” or “President of the Council”.
Proposition C – Council/Manager, with the Mayor and Council part time, paid a nominal fee for attending Council meetings. The Council selects the Mayor for a two year “term” to Chair meetings, cut ribbons, etc. The City Manager is required to produce results and concrete information to the City Council and the community at large.
Proposition D – (Other ideas?)
Congrats to all those who called for Del’s head.
Now that you don’t have Del waking up every morning trying to ruin your day—you can concentrate on someone else who makes your lives miserable.
The list seems long enough to keep many of you busy through next Christmas.
Does this mean we don’t get our apology?
Would have rather seen Guerrra go. Maybe he can still exit during the holiday festivities, while everyone is preoccupied, before the pendulum swings back. I want a refund of my garbage rate overcharges.
Rich #8—there’s always you.
YOU GO, Flavan #12!!!