New Laborcratic Entity Delivers Fatwa: Buy All Elections
After raising several million dollars to cover independent expenditures for the Chavez for Mayor campaign, the Santa Clara County Democratic Party and the South Bay Labor Council have decided to unite, forming a venture capital leviathan known as the Laborcratic Superfund.
“We have found that raising funds is fairly simple,” said Democratic Party chair Steve Preminger. “We just mention ‘smart planning in Coyote’ and it pours in.”
Once the two entities get merger approval from the Justice Department it will rank just behind Citigroup, BP Amoco and Peru as the 71st largest economy in the world. Their goliath cash reserves will be used to purchase the remaining independent politicians in the county.
“We’re issuing a strong ‘buy’ recommendation on Reed and Liccardo,” said new Laborcratic CEO Ash Pirayou. “They’re always a bargain before they get elected.”
But dealing in human cargo has its risks, warns John Doerr, partner in venture firm Kleiner Perkins. “What if some of the politicians they fund are elected and then find their backbones?”
Those risks don’t seem to bother the leaders of the Laborcratic fund, which include veterans of many political battles in the valley. “If Cindy Chavez is elected, we assume absolute control of San Jose which is a very big upside,” said Labor boss Phaedra Ellis-Lamkin, “If she loses, it’s not like we don’t have a council majority already. Suck on that.”
I was so glad to see Sam Liccardo basicly tell the lobbyist Ash Pirayou to shove it. That’s the kind of council people we need. Hated to see Clinton get involved when he doesn’t have clue about San Jose or it’s leaders. Shows where the Democratic party has fallen too. All they care about , along with the unions, is who will follow their lead blindly without thought. Keep San Jose for it’s citizens and not outside influences especially those who want to develop Coyote Valley. The lobbyists and developers would own city hall with Cindy Chavez as mayor.
Hard to tell if this is satire or true, given the depths to which we have sunken here in San Jose.
Interesting that the merger would be called “Superfund.” How appropriate to name after the most toxic and polluted sites in the country. Certainly explains politics in San Jose.
As a longtime Clinton supporter I was dismayed that he would enter into a campaign which he knows nothing about. Are there really people here who will pay any attention to Clinton on this issue? From the folks I have talked with it appears the Chavezinistas may be putting too much hope on Clinton. Everyone I have talked to, all of whom are Dems, simply chuckle at Clinton’s involvement and continue to support Reed.
But, if we have a new superfund, the only thing left to do is clean it up and get rid of Chavez now.
Cigar, anyone?
Little tidbit:
Justin Schall, Chavez’s Campaign Manager, once was worked for the Clinton White House as one of Hillary’s on-site press contacts for two off-site events.
Let’s use the superfund to clean up his beltway style campaign tactics too!
San Jose Mayor’s election is part of Nancy Pelosi and Bill Clinton’s national Democratic strategy to groom and elect attractive future state and national democratic politicians who owe them like Pelosi did with San Francisco’s Mayor Gavin Newsom who defeated local democrat Matt Gonzalez with state and national democratic money and endorsements
Newsom after supporting gay marriage is now nationally politically damaged and limited to California politics and may withdraw from politics back to his businesses
Pelosi and Chavez have been working together and Chavez’s senior campaign staff are Pelosi and Clintion staff people since local San Jose people are not trusted to advance non San Jose political issues
Chevez as an ambitious career politician like Ron Gonzales willing to use San Jose Mayor’s office to advance her own career and regional, state and national democratic party ambitions while spending millions San Jose taxes on regional projects since she will owe her non San Jose campaign contributors and political supporters for her come from behind election victory
Thank Pat Dando for more political bumbling and opening up unlimited independent campaign expenditures floodgates which gives Chavez a fund raising advantage
Chuck Reed is not being supported by state and national democrats since he has limited state and national prospects, will not support regional projects and issues over San Jose’s best interests and he is has no political interest except what is good for San Jose
Don’t be tricked by what is behind Chavez campaign supported by regional and national political machine endorsements and money who sees San Jose Mayor Chavez as a ambitious career politician will willingly be used to advance her career, national and regional democratic party issues using our taxes which many times will not be good for San Jose
As a Clinton supporter, I was disappointed to hear of his Chavez endorsement. Does he know her personally? Cindy’s quote from the Merc this morning:
“I have been actively involved in the party,’’ she said. “It’s personal relationships with 99.9 percent of the people who endorsed me.’‘
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/15918994.htm
Is the .01% Clinton? I think half the problem with Chavez is her personal relationships are a little too personal, leading to bad decisions that have cost San Jose big bucks.
The behavior of the Democratic Party led me to vote in protest on my absentee ballot. I now see first hand how mindless their endorsements are and have lost what little faith I had.
#1 is right on. The San Jose Democratic Party has stooped so low that I’m changing my voter registration to Independent. I can expect this from the Central Labor Council since Phaedra Ellis-Lamkin cares about one thing only and that’s his agenda, but I didn’t expect this from the Democratic Party. I will also be looking at everyone supporting Cindy Chavez when they come up for election for any public office. Clinton should have known better than to get involved in local politics but that’s the nature of politics. If everyone disguted with the way this race is being handled changed their registration to Independent, I believe that it would send a strong message that we will not follow blindly behind the San Jose Democrfatic Party machine.
Just when I thought that John Kerry was the most arrogant person in the U.S. Along came
Bill Clinton. Who is He to tell us who to vote for in our city? In friday’s Mercury pp B1 “She’s (Cindy Chavez) the kind of mayor San Jose
needs”.
NAPPER
NAPPER
Phaedra is a young woman in her 20’s.
I am changing my party affiliation as well and have written to the Democratic Party telling them so.
5 – Good analysis. Scary, too. All you have to do is substitute Chavez’ name with Gonzales and you have the recipe for 4 more years of disaster. Chavez can huff and puff all she wants that she is not Gonzales, but her actions and her campaign say otherwise.
As a life-long Dem I have become disillusioned—the party, just like Chavez, has lost their footing and they just don’t know what they stand for anymore.
Chavez, like most of her council supporters, have lost sight of what is good for San Jose and focused more on what is good for themselves personally.
We need a mayor who will finally put San Jose first, again—Chavez has not shown she is willing to do that. Reed has.
What Big Money Buys In Sacramento
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98crvm2TtlI&mode=related&search;=
What Big Money Buys In San Jose
http://www.monopolyinthepark.com/glarge/MONOmayorchavez6-25-02.jpg
#5
You absolutely can’t blame Pat Dando for opening up independent expenditures. The Democratic party was never covered by these expenditure limits as they are called “newsletters” or “member communications”.
Additionally, all other IE’s (South bay labor, planned parenthood, etc.) would have been funding as they have in the past. How is this election ANY different than other elections? Same amount of mailers in my box.
I give blame to the bad advice provided by the city attorney to the volunteer laypeople on the elections commission that they did not have to look at prior case law when they made their decision and forced COMPAC’s hand. I’ve read the transcript of the hearing, it’s quite unbelievable. How can you possibly blame this on her?
What would you have done differently?
Whether you are Democratic or Republican, this election is the time to clean house.
Do you think Bill asked Cindy how she felt about Coyote Valley Development before making the endorsement? How about keeping the Grand Prix subsidy a secret or the cost of the new City Hall or the Mayor’s garbage deal.
Hopefully most of San Jose will see through this endorsement and vote to change the culture and put San Jose back on the right track.
Law Student
Get your facts right – knowledgable experts clearly blame Dando’s lawsuit and poltitical bumbling since her COMPAC lawsuit took San Jose campaign contibution limits off and allowed unlimited contributions mostly from regional, state and national groups wantig to influence San Jose Mayor race
You need to study your law better or at least read newsspapers
Big political donations expected after ruling
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/politics/elections/15602823.htm
So do you agree that regional, state and national endorsemetns and campaign money are part of Pelosi and Clinton nation democratic agenda ?
This just in CBS has Reed ahead 55% to 41% with 4% undecided
Clinton’s in the game now?
Did Cindy alert all the interns at CH?
Or did she alert only those that were attending schools that passed her secular litmus test?
Anyhoo – let’s fast forward a few days and say the election is decided by a 100 votes in favor of Reed.
Then picture the leftist ACLU gargoyles and democrat apparatchik parachuting into SJ with their bullhorns and accusations of disenfranchisement and racism.
This one has all the ingredients.
No need to alert the interns—we’ve had Gonzo roaming the halls all these years and nobody did anything about it. Don’t forget, how Cindy stood up for women when Gonzo violated every city and professional policy by “dating” a subordinate in his office. He should have been tossed then—as any other department head would have been—but Cindy and her supporters on the council sang their usual tune of “What, Me Worry?”
Expect business as usual if Cindy is allowed to continue the reign of Gonzales. Wake up, folks or you ain’t seen nothing yet.
But can someone please tell me: whom is John Kerry endorsing?!
#15
You missed my point. We all knew big donations were going to roll in, just as they have in all elections and I’ve seen no difference in this one, and of course you have to have a catchy headline. Haven’t we read that one before? Big money in elections? At least we know where it is coming from in this one.
And which of these mail campaigns would have violated the ordinance had it stood? None that I could tell, and most are member communications and issue advocacy pieces, not covered by the previous ordinance, which was ruled unconstitutional.
There really has been no change. It would have been the same.
Google Rumored To Be Eyeing Laborcratic
Mt. View, Ca.—The scenario is a familiar one: adventurous start-up creates stir, analysts predict robust growth, anxious investors await public offering, Google sweeps in with its mega-money and captures the prize. The question today is, will Google do it again?
But shouldn’t the question really be, “is Laborcratic a Google kind of company?” Well, no—because no one really seems to agree on the definition of a “Google kind of company.”
“Trying to decipher exactly what those boys at Google are doing is a task for Bletchley Park,” quipped one British analyst, referring to the estate made famous by WWII code breakers.
Laborcratic, or, as it has quickly become known, The Fund, operates in great secrecy using a business model first introduced by Karl Marx. By blurring the lines between politics and private enterprise, government and personal responsibility, action and thought, The Fund’s political bosses promise to transform the each citizen into an asset—an asset completely within their control. Offering full employment and universal medical care, Laborcratic has already entered agreements with China and Bangladesh that will transfer to America the millions of menial production jobs it will need to achieve its employment goals. The Fund is expected to take Blue States by storm, although it has had considerable trouble expanding into the Red State market.
Should Google acquire Laborcratic, it is likely the The Fund’s headquarters will remain here, and not follow Google next year when the search engine giant relocates to New Zealand.
Watching Cindy on the news clip telling the reporter how thrilled and excited she was about President Clinton’s support was quite telling.
From the look on her face it’s hard to tell which she enjoyed more…. Clinton’s support or outing that poor girl for her school reimbursements.
I did read the op/ed piece in the merc by hammer/hayes/honda and I do have to say that I agree with one criteria they brought up: past performance. They say ” that past performance, ………. is usually the best predictor of future success.” And funny how they didn’t bring up norcal, suit against santa clara county, tropicana, etc.
My conclusion is different from theirs too. Based on past performance, the city of San Jose will probably have to declare bankrutpcy in a few years under mayor Cindy Chavez. But why does that matter when you can have a mayor with “charisma and sparkling vision”.
I also looked up the map of the 15th district which Honda represents. Looks like most of SJ does not fall within the 15th district. But again, why does that matter when most of the chavez endorsers don’t even live in SJ.
#19 I just received an e-mail saying that John Kerry is endorsing Cindy. More important she also has the support of Terry Gregory. Does anyone remember Terry?
Remember the Seinfeld Show? Is it just me, or does anyone else think that Cindy Chavez so closely resembles George Costanza that they could have been separated at birth?
#25 I don’t see the physical resemblence to George Costanza.
But I can sure as heck visualize Rich Robinson advising Cindy “It’s not really a lie if you believe it”.
Come on RR where are you today when Cindy needs You? If you work it WRITE
You’ll make money next year. For Sure!
Read this article from the Gilroy Dispatch about the Mayor’s race and Coyote Valley. A few paragraphs I thought were telling:
“This week, I contacted the offices of the two candidates to see how willing they were to reverse the damage Ron Gonzales did. I wanted to see if either candidate is willing to have open and honest dialogue about San Jose’s relationship with South Valley.
Reed promptly returned my call. He explained to me he takes a “cautious view” on Coyote Valley. He’ll only support development if it provides a proven and positive benefit to the entire South Bay region. “I think the next mayor has to be more engaged with all the surrounding towns and cities,” he added.
Despite several phone calls and an e-mail, Chavez and her staff failed to respond to my request to see how open she is to discussing the Coyote Valley question with South Valley locals. I hope this isn’t a bad sign that, if elected, she’ll be like Gonzales and simply snub us. I also hope the $95,000 Chavez has received from housing development businesses isn’t another bad sign. No doubt they’re hoping their generous campaign donations might swing her to approve development in Coyote Valley.”
http://www.gilroydispatch.com/lifestyles/contentview.asp?c=198491
#27. RR is busy today. He’s trying to figure out how to turn SF endorsements into SJ votes.
Meanwhile: Gonzo was supposed to fly in KGO’s traffic helicopter this morning to report traffic over San Jose while pointing out various improvements in downtown that happened while he was Mayor. Turns out the helicopter was grounded due to fog. (And some people claim there is no God.)
29 – It is a bad sign. And, it’s part of a growing list of bad signs when it comes to Chavez and Coyote Valley. You cannot count on her to preserve Coyote Valley—she will move forward to develop it to please her big money donors. Her lack of reponse (not the first time) speaks volumes. Beware. If you’d like common sense to prevail, if and when Coyote Valley is developed, Chavez is not your person.
And the hits just keep on coming. Now Gavin Newsom is butting into SJ politics. The boy wonder will be coming to SJ to support—guess who—Lady Chavez. If only she spent as much time on telling people the truth as she does on gathering out of town endorsements.
Rumor has it that Tony Blair will be in town on Monday to offer Chavez his support, and Hugo Chavez will be here the same day to offer support because he thinks they are related.
Perhaps Chavez could win this thing if she gathered support from people who actually live in San Jose. Hopefully all of these outsiders will also come back to attend her farewell gathering when she moves onto other things in January.
Scott Herhold has a good article/commentary in the Merc today on Coyote development and its potential impact on San Jose. At the end of the article, he gives his opinion of each candidate’s position on the issue although it is too brief.
I would like to see the merc ask each candidate the hard questions on this issue to see where they officially stand on coyote development.
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/15935536.htm
I can see it now Come Wednesday morning both the House and Senate have not been clearly decided.
Lawyers from both parties pouring into five states across the country… reviewing election video… taking testimony… inspecting voting machines and picking at chad… overseeing the count and recounts. I can’t wait.
Just think, 5 more Florida-like brew-ha-has all running at the same time. The media would be in heaven. FNN vs. MSNBC… soap operas and big games interrupted or cancelled… crawlers across the bottom of your screen 24/7… U-tube clips all over the net. Iran could detonate a nuclear device and we’d never know it.
And in San Jose, Manny Diaz is telling every paper and radio station he can find that he harbors no hard feelings toward his opponent and looks forward to being Cindy Chavez’s first Vice Mayor.
Democracy at work; don’t ya just love it… that is until you can’t find a Starbucks in town.
Willow glen times had an interview with each candidate on 11-1-06. Coyote development was one of the questions:
Cindy’s partial response:
“In Coyote Valley, it does have to be job-driven. The triggers that would be considered for Coyote Valley need to be considered as part of the general planning process. The importance of that is that even Evergreen, North San Jose, Coyote Valley, everything will be reconsidered as part of the general plan, because then you’ll have a more complete picture of what you’re doing relating to housing, and jobs, and all of those things citywide.”
For full interview http://willowglentimes.com/current/countdown.htm
Chuck’s partial response:
“Let me start with Coyote. I’ve tried to be very clear on Coyote, I helped write the general plan back in 1992. It says that we will not consider changing the triggers except in a citywide general plan task force because it will affect the entire city in a lot of ways.
The Coyote Valley Specific Plan group comes back with recommendations to change the triggers. I would not support that. I think it would be a huge mistake to get the housing down there before the jobs, putting 25,000 units and 50,000 cars headed north on 101 or up through Almaden. It’s just not a good thing.
Housing cannot drive the decision-making. My position is about jobs and industrial reserve; it’s part of our economic future and maintaining Silicon Valley as the innovation center of the world. I don’t just want to give it up to housing. It’s about the phasing [in of jobs] and the timing. That’s why I’ve drawn the line about changing the triggers.”
For full interview http://willowglentimes.com/current/countdown2.htm
I heard Fidel Castro will endorse Cindy if she agrees to turn Guantanamo Bay into a tourist attraction…How bizarre is that?
Cindy announced this morning that her internal polling showed her surging to a decisive second place finish on Tuesday. She also said she was thrilled to announce that former President Jimmy Carter will be endorsing her on Wednesday. She also announced a list of other big name non-San Joseans who will announce their endorsement of her in the coming weeks, including: Alec Baldwin, Parker Posey, Ry Cooder, Joe Lieberman, and the governor’s of several to be named states. Chavez also said she was excited that negotiations with several foreign leaders are going well and she hopes to announce their support before Christmas. She wouldn’t give any names but said several are democratically elected and at least one is a dictator but is supported by the United States.
Chavez said she hopes to have her entire list of endorsers completed shortly after the New Year.
The Labor Council and the Democratic Party are merging? Why? I thought that The Democratic Party was already a wholly owned subsidiary of The Labor Council.
When her ardent prayers failed to secure His endorsement, Cindy, ever the politician, chalked it up to her inability to offer His name on a public building.
I heard they would change the name of Coyote Valley to “Chavez Sprawl”
#41 CA Dem
You are right. There is no conspiracy and Cindy is probably the hardest working, loyal and experienced Democrat in the county; and as such well deserves the support of the SCC Central Democratic Committee and all the weight and money it can give her.
It’s just that her drive and tactics to control her agenda and City Council votes has left deep heal marks in the backs of people around City Hall and this town. And if she looses the election, she may want to rethink the standards and methods by which she does the people’s business in the future.
Look on the bright side. After Reed or Chavez get elected ( that is unless Pandori gets the write-in vote) we won’t have to spend a lot of money naming something after them. We already have Reed St., Reed Hillview Airport, and Chavez Park.
The greatest argument for a vote for Chuck Reed is that all of the councilmembers are supporting Cindy…Ouch!
My such an uproar over this Clinton endorsement. Ok let’s shove aside 42nd President for a second. Let’s look at Zoe Lofgren, Mike Honda, Barbara Boxer, and Cindy’s other prominent endorsements. Have all of you “Democrats” who are crying about changing your party affiliation trusted the likes of Mike Honda and Zoe Lofgren in the past? Maybe you’re not for Cindy and that’s fine, but can’t you just open your mind for a second, forget about what you hear in the Mercury about the Grand Prix and Nor Cal and just CONSIDER the possibility that these Democratic elected officials know Cindy Chavez to be a public servant of the utmost integrity? Don’t you think it’s possible they’re being truthful?
You may all be for Reed, but at least be open to the possibility that we have two honorable candidates running for mayor. All of this talk of Cindy being part of some massive San Francisco based Democratic machine is just crazy talk. Give the conspiracy theories a rest.
41 – The answer to your question is “No.” I don’t believe these elected officials know what is best for San Jose—they all stick together and that is why the Democratic party has been out of power all these years. Just like Cindy, they keep changing their views on issues and don’t take a stand on anything.
And, what I hear about the Grand Prix, Nor Cal, etc. is not from the Mercury—it is from firsthand knowledge. Cindy has been on the wrong side of issue after issue and her votes have cost the city millions and millions of dollars.
I don’t think there is a conspiracy, but I do think there is a massive amount of poor judgment on Cindy’s part and on the part of many of the elected officials who have endorsed her. These “leaders” know nothing of the disaster that has befallen our city over the past 7 years and how involved Cindy has been in allowing it to happen.
How many political paybacks does Cindy owe for all the endorsements and how much of San Jose taxes will be spent on them?
#45—Thankfully, Cindy has nothing to pay back with. Will Phaedra hire her back?
#41 & #43 you are incorrect in the worst way.
If Cindy was so honest and hardworking then she wouldn’t have allowed so many lies on her behalf. I thought OK of her until they started calling Chuck Reed a liar – what a joke.
He not be a charismatic leader, but he is honest and trustworthy to a fault.
Open your eyes and look at what the labor council and democratic party are doing – trying to sell out our whole city and make it a mess like LA.
None of us longtime residents will stand for it and that is why people like Reed, Liccardo, etc. got elected.
Wake up!