It is often said that with people, their true measure is not so much how they deal with success, but how they deal with failure and adversity. Most of us have had plenty of both in our lives and had to learn to absorb and work through it by trying to make failure, either meaningful or productive. So it is with our city.
Now is a very traumatizing time for all involved. No one can be sanguine or happy about the tragic turn of events surrounding the ongoing dysfunction of our city government and the failure of that government to conduct itself in an honorable and responsible manner. No one can be pleased; all should be concerned.
We have seen this before in the upheavals that removed the boss government of the early twentieth century; the post-World War II reforms led by Al Ruffo and others; and the end to sprawl in the late seventies and eighties that paved the way for a new San Jose that reflected what citizens, not what special interests, wanted. It is time for such a reflection and such a movement again.
Who is responsible for the lack of trust and the current crisis? Well, as Jay Leno said about Bush’s repeated cries that “he” is “responsible” for the invasion of Iraq – “Yeah, well, I don’t think he has to worry about other people trying to take credit for that one.” So too in San Jose, there will not be many taking credit for Norcal, Cisco and the proliferation of blows that the body politic has absorbed. It is important to learn. It is imperative to have accountability.
Look beyond the obvious culprits to the dysfunction and lack of integrity in the person and operation of the City Managers’ office. Remember what our form of government is and why we have checks and balances. Recall that past scandals involved a weak administration and an aggressive staff, greedy special interests and lobbyists. Recall, too, that careers were ruined and people disgraced and sent to jail.
As I write this story, the resignation of the City Manager is circulating – it has been a long time in coming and will hopefully be the beginning of a return to principled and competent leadership in that office.
“There is no future or present,” said Eugene O’Neill, “only the past, happening over and over again.”
We will be looking at ways and ideas for the New Year to avoid and reform our city. Please join in
Regarding Borgsdorf’s retirement, I don’t think he’ll be greatly missed. The crack City Manager’s office has repeatedly exhibited incompetence… City Hall furnishings, the Cisco IT contract, Norcal Gate, etc. Why do we need $250,000 bureaucrats on the payroll if they add no value. I suggest we dissolve the office in its entirety and save a bundle on City overhead.
To parapharase the citizens of another small town with an oppressive government, “(One) of the wicked witches is dead. Hail, Dorothy.”
Lets hope that the others who need to go will be gone soon and then those of us who really care about this city and good government can begin rebuilding the wreckage that has been left behind.
We no longer have to pay attention to that man behind the curtain.
Dissolving the CM’s office is not the answer. Cleaning house of the current crew and replacing it with a true city manager who does not withhold information from the council is the answer.
Wizard, you must know something I don’t. What exactly does the CM’s office do? Do you believe they add value to our government processes and warrant millions of dollars in operating costs?
I agree with Wizard. Borgsdorg was simply a delivery man, who was put in the untenable position of having to answer for the the price and quality of the product. He did not control the design or manufacturing process, yet was placed in a position of keeping the customers happy and increasing sales. It was in an impossible situation because he was simply a highly paid and very visible delivery man. San Jose need to reinvent it’s local government by letting let the voters decide whether or not the current “hybrid” form of government works. How about some Charter ideas from the group?
I agree totally with Eugene O’neil. We will again repeat these same mistakes. Every coucil basically, is beholden to those who get them into office. That is why there has to be a way to run political canpaigns without money. We must figure a way either by TV debates weekly and live debates at schools around the city to campaign. The money, the unions, the special interests own coucil and the city right now. Look at what lobbyists make in this city. Millions! Why because they can deliver council votes on projects and do you really think it is because these lobbyists are great orators and convince council members and mayor of the benefits of their projects or is it because they deliver money and votes and workers.
The unions are able to promise thousands of campaign volunteers to pound the pavement for council candidates. What is that worth? Why do you think they get whatever they ask for? The unions, the developers own the council or at least the mayor and a majority of it.
A real, functioning City Manager’s office is worth the money. In a normal city, one that follows its charter and one where the council wants to be fully informed, the manager’s office is an invaluable asset. The CMs office should provide the professional balance to the Council’s political side. The past 7 years have shown the damage a council can cause when they make decisions primarily for political reasons rather than good government reasons. Had the CMs office stood up to the Mayor and provided the Council with full and complete information based on the collective professional judgement of his staff, we would not be in the mess we are in today. Of course, the mess we have is not just the city manager’s fault. The mayor and his gang were the instigators of this, and the bumbling council were the enablers. We would be better off without the mayor and council than not having a real, functioning city manager’s office.
I would love to know what is the purpose of Gonzo being in Mississippi ( did I spell that right?) Did the city pay for that trip and why if they did? Who sent him or asked him to go? How much did it cost and who went with him. I want to know who knew what and when and who they told. I wish he would stay there. Maybe he is looking for a place to run for office where they don’t know him.
Lesson learned: The City Manager needs to assert a strong degree of independence from the Mayor and Council.
It was bad enough that the Council was under the Mayor’s thumb for so long. But when he also controlled the city administration the game was over.
Tom,
You have set the correct tone for the current situation. It is not a happy time and those who are gleefully dancing on the corpse of the City Manager should be more circumspect.
Certainly, this administration has made its share of mistakes. Trust has become an issue, but not through intentional acts—but by a series of mistakes and negligence fueled by arrogance.
It’s time to take stock into what kind of City we have and what kind of City we want. A new Mayor, very shortly, will have a new opportunity to change the direction and, more importantly, the style of leadership that currently exists.
But in destroying the current regime, we continue to divert attention away from the real issues facing San Jose.
Our neighborhoods, BART to San Jose, a new ballpark, the future of Coyote, economic development, all get put on a back burner while everybody hires defense lawyers and we continue an investigation that has resulted in the same conclusion thrice.
The City of San Jose, on a whole, is still running very well. But the current dragging out of the NorCal situation is hurting the City’s ability to move forward on real issues.
In the final analysis, it is politics as usual. But it is time for those of us who work in this arena to speak out against the mindless attempts to simply destroy political opponents.
Because as we are successful in destroying our enemies, we are also destroying our governmental systems.
But on with the investigation. . .again.
The reports I hear say Del is “retiring” for “personal reasons”. Yeah, because he was shown to personally be an ineffective yes-man who by his sloth or fear corrupted an important check in our system.
But isn’t he really “resigning”? And why should we let him go away in this charade-like fashion?
Face-saving euphemisms for a one-time failure are fine; but not for someone who has allowed our system to be so eroded that no-one has confidence in it any more.
So now we have no city manager—as if we did before—and a mayor stripped of virtually all responsibility, and they’re still drawing pay. Outrageous!
Rich’s whining is getting tiresome. No one is trying to destroy political opponents. Ron and Del destroyed themselves with assistance from the Council. The NorCal situation is not what is destroying our government systems—it is the mayor, the manager, and the council, who think they can operate outside the rules and the Charter. It is people who call incompetence and arrogance “mistakes.”
If I held Rich’s views I wouldn’t want any investigation either—because it will be difficult for the Del and the Cindy and Ron, etc. to escape the fallout from the crisis they have created. Apparently Rich would prefer we just ignore the wrongdoing and move on to the next disaster.
Tom:
I was wondering what you learned from you congressional defeat to Zoe Lofgren back in the 90s?
Great comment, Gus. What does it have to do with anything???
The need for professional management in city government is real and we should require no better evidence of that than what we’ve experienced here during these years spent with our interests “protected” by a lapdog city manager. When one examines the most important functions of a city manager, the moments when he must stand up to political contrivance and fiscal recklessness—risking his job and earning his big salary, it becomes quite apparent that San Jose has been without a city manager for years. As a result, a number of decisions with significant, lasting impact—contracts, procedures, and plans—were subjected to the unchecked machinations of a politician with little regard for the bottom-line reality of contracts, obvious disdain for policy and procedure, and a “what’s in it for me” approach to planning.
It is the city manager’s job to counter-balance the shortcomings of elected officials, something that, when not done, does a disservice to both the public and the politician. Who knows what kind of mayor RG might have been had he had a formidable city manager with which to contend? Who can say that the council might not have developed some backbone had they witnessed the manager regularly standing up to the mayor? The city manager’s failure to lead, a strategy he chose to secure a steady paycheck, has left this city severely wounded. His cowardice should not go unpunished.
Gus – I learned that sometimes things work out for the best. Merry Christmas. TMcE
Why were some members of council so anxious to stop the investigation? I’m guessing that their is more involvement by some of these individuals that we know. Since Cindy was hand picked by Gonzo to be vice mayor, it would be interesting to find out what se really knew about this scandal. Forget Williams, I don’t believe he knows much about anything at all. He’s seems like a lost soul on this council.
Arrrgh… regarding Rich’s comment about facing issues here in San Jose, who believes in the BART fairy tale? Bringing BART to San Jose and other locales within the Santa Clara Valley via an additional 1/4 cent sales tax for 30 years is criminal. I say that because the beneficiaries are: 1) those who live in Alameda County and beyond; and 2) SC Valley big businesses as they will benefit from the expanded labor pool. It makes all the sense in the world, therefore, to levy BART costs against those who benefit.
wait and see. D.A. is a pitbull, not like yanker who conducted bs investigation, pointing out the obvious
The DA has an opportunity to clear the deck at San Jose City Hall. Gonzo’s style and demeanor is mirrored on a smaller scale by other Council members and staff. They have run this organization into the ground. Expect the DA to reveal some pretty astonishing stuff. The City of San Jose has been run like somebody’s private playground. It’s time they learned that there is such a thing as a “public trust.”
We need new ideas, not the same old rhetoric.
Easy to say, isn’t it?
We all want vision and leadership, but who among us takes the time to actually give their council member feedback? And among those who do take the time, who believes that their feedback is genuinely taken into consideration?
Our elected officials are able to get away with such injustices as we are currently experiencing because there exists no qualaitative way to make the public opinion heard, and to keep them accountable. Not that we want a reactionary Gov. that blows with the ever changing wind of public opinion; but we do need a way to galvanize public opinion and make it tangible.
So much of our political ‘dialogue’ is one way and behind the curve. That is, we only read about issues in the paper AFTER the council has voted on them or AFTER the issue has passed, not before or during. People aren’t encouraged to participate in the process. What kind of dialogue doesn’t take the opinion of the public into consideration?
You may say that it’s up to the citizen to make themselves be involved, but it is obviously not an easy or inviting process. So, the idea that I am offering here is to use technology to encourage public participation in the governing process at the local level. It would include all the information that is now incomplete and scattered accross so many places and consolidate it in such a way that a person can find any San Jose Gov. office/ official/ resource and learn about it. IT would educate the citizen about the City Charter and the Municipal Code, instead of just displaying it. It would also be a forum for Neighborhood Associations, PACs, and others…
Not to give it all away, but there are so many things we can do. IN my mind, however, it all starts with increasing the number of people actively participating in the local government. In a state where a high turnout is 40% of all registered voters, what can the health of our democracy be sait to be?
This is why I recently founded The Center for Applied Democracy- a Non-Profit Corporation whose mission is to use technology to facilitate and encourage public participation in government at the local level. I do believe that we can affect a positive change if more people become involved- districy by district. And being as I was born and raised here, San Jose will be the testing ground. The roadblock is making it easy for the citizen to interpret what is going on and organize themselves in action.
We can revolutionize the way that people participate in a democracy, but it’s going to take a lot of great people offering their ideas on how to make this a reality. The readers of this blog obviously care and are involved citizens in our community. Afterall, you take the time every day to read and make your opinions heard. The diversity of opinions I find here make me believe such a mission as The Center for Applied Democracy’s can be accomplished. If any of you are interested in helping create such a place here in San Jose, please contact me. Together we can elect responsible officials and put an end to the political hegemony that exists today!
http://www.democracyhappens.org is comming soon to San Jose!
Is “retiring” Del’s way of never having to say he’s sorry?
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?)
Written by a true leader! One of our best. Thanks for the words Tom.
Flavan #13: RIGHT ON!! Rich Robinson is well-versed in politics and has some good points now and then, but he is first and foremost a shill (ah, excuse me, political consultant/lobbyist/whatever)who should disclose on every post who he works for (consults for) and who his past clients are for at least the last four years, so that all readers/contributors may put his comments in a proper context.
FinFan #16: WOW, what a great exposition. How is it that you’re not so proud of this that you won’t tell us your real name? I’m not kidding—I think you synthesized the situation excellently…so come out of the closet already. Be proud of what you believe.
#20—George may be a pitbull, but he is soon gone. Do you live here? Do you vote here? If so, get current.
The real deal is that Julius Finkelstein is running the investigation, and he’s got the savvy and tenacity needed to get to the bottom of this scandal. He has stayed the course @ the D.A.‘s office despite being shafted for a few years by being sent out to menial jobs well below his abilities after he ran unsuccessfully for the top job.
Tallman #22: OK, you have an organization. First task for your group in San Hozay—change the way the “public comment” portion of S-Jay council meetings is held. By the time the matter comes to public hearing, the vote has been established, it’s already known. Public comment at council meetings is a total sham, sinced the decision has already been made before the hearing at which public comment is taken. Public comment should be made—AND CONSIDERED BY THE COUNCIL BEFORE IT VOTES—at least two weeks before the council votes on an issue.
I don’t know if that’s a charter amendement issue (help us out here, Tom, McE, since I’m sure you know) or simply a council procedure. But it must be changed.
He has nothing to be sorry about. He left San Jose with a true record of success. Sad when you all keep falling into the same political games played out by people trying to get your vote or newspapers trying to get you to buy the lastest spin, or what I would call gossip. But I guess that’s only for those individuals who take the time to find the facts.
San Jose should be thankful to have a had a leader who pushed the city forward even when the politics made it almost impossible.
I will say this to you all, he deserves a big thank you before he leaves, and many of you might want to think about saying “sorry”.
John Michael – I’ll make sure that I research the Charter issues, but nothing substitutes for good people trying to keep the spirit, if not the letter, of the “open meetings” laws. We’ll put our crack research staff on it. TMcE
Fed up #28 tells us the charter allows for two ways to replace Gonzo if he resigns (as he should)—council appointment or election. I have seen that recently in Murky News stories.
However, earlier Murky News stories and bloggers here said Cindy gets an automatic appointment, presumably as Vice-Mayor.
Tom McE, while you’re leafing through the charter, please find out which is accurate. Thanks.
We certainly don’t need another special election, but can you imagine the machinations if it’s a council appointment, with three of the councilmembers running for mayor.
That would be fun to watch as the gloves came off and the city drifted in disarray. We could have an old Roman form—a triumvirate of mayors—all three candidates could run as an incumbent!
John Michael – yes, I’ll leaf throught the Charter and now I know what to give you for Christmas – a personally autographed copy of the City Charter. It’s the all purpose gift! A few at City Hall could use a copy also. TMcE
I guess that’s what the major was doing in Mississippi…
Per section 410 of the City Charter, if the Mayor were to resign (as stated in Section 409 (c)) the City Council has the responsibility to either appoint a new Mayor to serve out the rest of the term or to cause a special election to be held. The Vice-Mayor clearly does not have the authority to step in upon the resignation of the Mayor.
As far as the Rules and Procedure of the Council, they are covered under Section 415 of the City Charter. Ironically enough, the Charter gives the Council the authority to establish its own rules for the conduct of proceedings. So, the only thing stopping us from having genuine public input, to be truly considered by the council weeks before any vote on the issue IS THE COUNCIL ITSELF! Funny, since they probably prefer how it works now…
Thank you for your comments JohnMichael. Getting the Council to change this aspect of their Rules and Procedures will be top on the list of priorities for The Center for Applied Democracy. Then we’ll have to figure out a way to make it easy for citizens to actually participate in these meetings, so democracy can truly take place.
This is how democracy happens! People getting involved!!
http://www.democracyhappens.org comming soon to San Jose!
P.S. – The Vice-Mayor only serves as Mayor UNTIL a replacement is either appointed or elected (per Section 503 of the City Charter).
Thanks #34. Let’s start our list of favorites to assume the Acting Mayor’s role. This person would clearly serve as a temporary Mayor and not run for election in 2006. My three choices:
1. Susan Hammer
2. Tom McEnery
3. Tom Campbell
#26 – You continue to paint a nice picture of a guy who did terrible things. You ignore the facts and try to package this guy as being responbile only for good. Talk to people who work(ed) for the City. You will find a very different picture than the distorted one you paint.
As has been said over and over here, Del sat on his hands while the city government burned. Had he stood up and spoken and backed his employees, perhaps he would be remembered for being something other than the worst City Manager in recent memory. It’s too bad but that’s the way it is.
true observer,
Watch the SCCDA find something that is chargeable.
or (both)
The Civil Grand Jury will approve the official accusation of misconduct against Ron G from Councilman Cortese that could remove the mayor from office.
Ron G will have no other choice but to resign. He will probably try to give some heart felt speech about the things he has done for San Jose, and cry on cue for the cameras and media. So touching, that the San Jose performing arts could do a play on it. “Garbage-gate and the Mayor of no shame”
According to the city charter of San Jose, a vacancy in the mayor’s office can be filled by an appointment by the council or by an election. If an appointment is made, the council can select a person who is not one of its members, so they could select a past Mayor of San Jose.
I could never be sorry for the sad state of affairs Ron G has left us in. He should be a man and resign.
Thanks Tom McE, I can hardly wait to open it up and start memorizing it.
Thanks, too, B. Tallman.
Merry Christmas to those who celebrate it, Happy Chanukah to those that celebrate it.
My thanks to those of you who identified yourselves in your blogs.
Mercury News Editorial Board had two suggestions for a city manager appointment. Both are valid. Before retirement I worked for nearly 15 years in the editorial department of the paper. This ID’s myself. I know most members of the present Editorial Board. They are astute, well-informed journalists who want the best for the city of San Jose. As one blogger put it: their ideas would be “DOA” at City Hall, but perhaps a second look might be in order. Best to all for ‘06. See you out in the precincts next year. /Ellie Molloy
Ellie – second looks are always in order. Thanks for reminding us of that simple fact. Hope you continue to participate on our blog in the new yr. And, yes, we’ll all meet in the precincts next yr. TMcE
Ellie,
How many of the members of the Mercury News Editorial Board live in San Jose? It seems to me that when I read the murky, everybody lives in Palo Alto or somewhere else on the Peninsula.
When I worked with a reporter on a neighborhood story in SJ, she was so clueless it was scary.
Most of us here, to tell you the truth, were not at all surprised by Del’s resignation. He bought a house out of the area some time ago, and this was reported by several local media outlets.
The timing, however, is disturbing.