Few classified the pension reform debate in San Jose as partisan. Only one member of the 10-person City Council—Pete Constant—is a registered Republican. But in the lead-up and aftermath of voters decisively passing Measure B, which will cut back public employee retirement benefits if it withstands legal challenges, Mayor Chuck Reed took at least four interviews last week with FOX News and its affiliates, leaving his media calendar a little less than fair and balanced. (And, no, we’re not griping because we got stood up or anything; the mayor took time to talk with us twice.) While the major headline from the primary elections was Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker withstanding a recall effort, thanks in large part to billionaires outspending Walker’s opponents (i.e. public employee unions) by at least 6 to 1, passage of San Jose and San Diego’s pension reform measures was a close second. The question is whether the cable station known to slant coverage on the real and conjured ails of society, coincidentally under Roger Ailes’ direction, is trying to make Reed its new poster boy. Reed’s Republican leanings have come into question in recent weeks after he stood strong in his opposition to marriage equality unlike the mayors of every other major city in America. But Michelle McGurk, Reed’s loquacious communicator in chief, assures Fly that the mayor didn’t seek out FOX or any other national media, and even had to turn down FOX on one occasion, which gave Sam Liccardo the chance to get some face time on the network. McGurk also made every reassurance that Reed still considers himself a Democrat.
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“McGurk also made every reassurance that Reed still considers himself a Democrat.” Well, then! That makes a total of two people who still believe that Reed is anything but a right-wing Republican—not that his party affiliation matters much, as he’ll likely not run for anything after his current term finally ends. There are probably a few sad souls in Reed’s circle who felt uncomfortable with the Walker-Reed comparisons, but they happily take the (quite nice) city salaries to help spread the word. I bet it’s annoying to have to clear press releases with the Chamber of Commerce, but then most of what comes out of the Mayor’s office is drafted at the Chamber anyway, so it doesn’t take too long. And that leaves lots of time to shop online and write gripping tales of falcons! falcons! falcons! for a few hours a day.
Chuck is neither a democrat or a republican.
What is he: A flat out liar when in comes to city money and pension reform!
It’s interesting that when Gonzales was the mayor he was always trying to get into the limelight, but was always overshadowed by the mayors of San Francisco. Now we have Chuck Reed, someone that looks like the farmer in “American Gothic” with a personality to match, and he gets the limelight.
Reed is probably the least known of any mayor of a major American city.
What little “spotlight” he is getting will be short-lived and not remembered.
When this so called pension reform goes down in flames and the public realizes the time and money wasted, he will only be remembered in a negative way.
Just think if he and his colleagues had approached reform in a realistic way—he could have saved money from a wasteful court battle, not destroyed employee morale, and not left our neighborhoods vulnerable to criminals.
I’ll bet FOX will just eat this up if and when they figure out what a mess it is in SJ.
> The question is whether the cable station known to slant coverage on the real and conjured ails of society, coincidentally under Roger Ailes’ direction, is trying to make Reed its new poster boy.
. . .
> But Michelle McGurk, Reed’s loquacious communicator in chief, assures Fly that the mayor didn’t seek out FOX or any other national media, and even had to turn down FOX on one occasion, . . .
Fox news REALLY, REALLY annoys the moonbats.
They yearn for the good old days of the New York Times/CBS/NBC/ABC/CNN media monopoly.
Sorry, moonbats, “the times, they are a-changin’”
If you’re feeling lonely, isolated, unloved, and like no one pays attention to you, just close all the curtains and turn on MSNBC, switch to the “Mr. Ed” Schultz program and fantasize that the entire Obama administration, the United Nations, and the faculty of NYU are watching him with you.
Chuck Reed is slightly more temporary than Joe McCarthy. But what depresses me is that our only local major print news source, a permanent fixture in local politics, has also joined forces with the Mayor with both feet in. I think the average San Jose registered voter is more influenced by the Merc than the Mayor. For those who save their Mercury papers, count in the last few weeks how many times they have editorialized on City Pensions with the same jaded biased simpleton diatribe. Its become an obsession.
They have done so with such fervor that they can no longer afford to present opposing views, as labor viewpoints would often clearly contradict what they have established as gospel. I would think the Mayor would be satisfied that locally we have our own version of Fox News, that is KLIV “news” radio, which never allows opposing commentary to its cheer-leading for the Reed/Chamber manifesto.
The dedication of the Merc to the Reed program has been astounding. It runs so counter to the Merc’s usual left-wing, anti-American, and anti-white political positions that the message to support Reed has to have come from John Paton himself. He’s the chief of the company that owns the company that owns the Merc.
And compare the Merc’s scofflaw attitude toward the cost of the new city hall (editorial 6/22/12). Persons seeking compliance with Measure I which authorized moving the city hall are “curmudgeons” who are “angry,” but should just shut up because the new city hall did not achieve “the savings promised” in Measure I.
I guess that means the Merc has turned its back on its advice to end bullying and name-calling. But it does give us a new clue when we consider taking its advice on how to vote. Civic promises, we learn, have a shelf life and ten years cancels all such promises. Remember that when the Merc validates political promises the next time.
Everyone reading this knows Reed supported Obama in 08 and will do the same in 2012. He also supported Brown for governor. Both Brown and Obama would have supported measure B if they were San Jose residents. Who dares call them anti labor?
Interesting and astute.
I’ve always been told that Reed is an evil awful person.
Are we to suspect that Obama and Brown are also evil awful persons?
Help! I need some emergency values clarification.