Santa Clara County’s Democratic Central Committee held a meeting last week to sign off on its endorsements for this June’s election, and things got weird. Factions formed when it came time voice support for candidates in each district of the San Jose City Council, and the choices showed a surprising split in the house of labor. No one got the nod over incumbent Rose Herrera in District 8, despite her support for Mayor Chuck Reed’s Measure B pension reform ballot measure. DCC’s Endorsement Director Jon Kessler, DCC Chair Steve Preminger and South Bay Labor head Cindy Chavez all made a hard sell for East Side school boarder Patricia Martinez-Roach, but that effort failed. Why? Because “people literally stood up and said they think she is crazy,” one political consultant chuckled. Steve Kline rode to victory in his endorsement bid over District 6 Councilmember Pierluigi Oliverio, who was the only person in the entire room to raise his hand when the question “Who here supports Measure B?” was asked. Chavez acted like she was going to strangle him, showing remarkable restraint. The most contentious debate of all the endorsements handed out went to District 10 candidate Brian O’Neill. Planning commissioner Edesa Bitbadal turned heads with her strong fundraising efforts to start this year, but when it came time for people to make their case for her, many were stunned to learn Bitbadal supports Measure B. Whaa?! That’s right, the person who got labor’s secondary endorsement behind O’Neill favors pension reform. To add to the ridiculousness, fire and police unions went ahead and supported Bitbadal anyway.
San Jose Inside
San Jose Inside (https://www.sanjoseinside.com)
> Santa Clara County’s Democratic Central Committee held a meeting last week to sign off on its endorsements for this June’s election, and things got weird.
Yes. Weird.
Any hard looks?
Name-calling?
Fist fights?
Flying furniture?
Any gathering of ten or more Democrats should, by law, be held inside a steel cage or in a FEMA outdoor detention facility.
These are dangerous people.
Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you find the play?
San Jose Inside should be congratualted to excellent reporting on this endorsement meeting. Now we understand that this fellow does not think well of Democrats. Permit me to point out the Republican Central Committee, all four of them, have no relevance in local politics. Ed Riffle, the Secretary is coordinating a recall in Milpitas which is a symbol of Riffle’s effectiveness, aking to a one legged fellow at a butt kicking contest. As for Herrera, why should she be endorsed? What has she done for Democrats? Just because Robert Cortese, San Jose’s answer to Tennesee Earnie Ford supports Herrera, is no great testament to biggest empty chair in San Jose politics. She was voted off a county commission for non attendance. As for Oliverio, a cheap version of Caligula, the fact that he is a member of the county committee, and cannot get endorsed says a lot.
Ever see a crew of Mipitas Republicans, they are the ones underneath the worms.
> Ever see a crew of Mipitas Republicans, they are the ones underneath the worms.
Nope. Never seen a Mipitas Republican.
Republican sightings in California are extremely rare.
California is a one party monopoly: Democrat.
Republicans have ZERO power in California politics.
ZERO. ZILCH. NIL. NADA.
ZERO.
Any political calamity in California can safely be blamed on Democrats. They own the whole enchilada.
High unemployment. Permanent rececession. Mammoth, unsustainable budget deficits. Illegal immigration. Crumbling education. Crumbling highways. High energy prices. Political corruption. Rigged elections. Exploding crime. Gang shootings.
Blame the Democrats. There’s no one else to blame.
Measure B is only one very extreme (and illegal) iteration of pension reform. To be against Measure B is not necessarily to be against pension reform. Voters should take a look at ALL the viable, quite generous, and legal pension reform proposals put forward.