Just as Cindy Chavez was fading into the political sunset, the former councilwoman has been brought out of retirement to pinch hit for the South Bay Labor Council’s Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins to group to help sort out labor’s agenda at City Hall. (Someone’s got to count votes and rally the Laborites at City Hall.) Officially, she’ll be working for SBLC’s Working Partnership group, a nonprofit funded by foundation grants. (This according to the Mercury News — Chavez doesn’t talk to The Fly much since the newspaper endorsed her opponent in the last mayoral election.) SBLC executive director Ellis-Lamkins has temporarily decamped to Washington, DC to help the Obama transition team on labor issues. All of this fueled speculation that Chavez is positioning herself to jump back in the mix. A run for Assemblyman Joe Coto’s seat? Another bid for mayor? (Ouch!) Folks on the18th floor dismissed this as not likely (perhaps exhibiting some wishful thinking). “She’s happy now,” one staffer was heard to remark. Chavez’s spouse Mike Potter, who works for Coto, declined comment, saying he doesn’t talk about campaigns while he’s in the office.
Politics
She’s Baaaack!
/ 11
Thats great! Maybe we’ll get a pulse going up on the 18th floor. Pretty stale up on that floor.
Congrats on the new position! We would be much further in progress than the current adminstration if she was Mayor.
The Chavista is back!
OMG, another life-long public trough feeder resurfaces!
We would have been much better off with her. The pale dead guy is starting to smell really bad.
Chavez for Mayor!
Those who think we would be better off with her should look at the grip labor has on the city now. It would be even worse if she were leading the city.
If District Attorney Delores Carr hadn‘t sold her soul to the South Bay Labor Council in the last election, she‘d be prosecuting Chavez for selling favors. Chavez‘s price was double that of Rod Blagojevich‘s 25k per favor. Team Chavez negotiated a 50k donation from Republic Holdings for Chavez‘s mayoral campaign, laundered through the Democratic Party, following Chavez‘s meetings with Barry Swenson. Republic Holdings and Republic‘s lobbyist, Yvonne Ryzak. The corruption that occurred under the watch of Cindy Chavez has never been fully investigated. The public needs answers.
http://www.sv411.com/?p=126
Anyone worried about Victor Ajlouny getting city contracts while conducting campaigns, or working on bringing a prison to North San Jose while on the city payroll?
Hmmm, George Kenney, an Ajlouny client, moves on RG while Reed’s campaign is going nowhere. Oh, well, Reed will survive, as all snake people, do.
Everyone welcome Bitter Uncompromising Partinsanship back to City Hall after its one year sabbatical. Hip hip hooray!
I like Cindy. She means well and has a good heart. I think she will do a great job for the Union. Yes, she’s made some mistakes, but hell who hasn’t? It is time to move on, and see where the future leads us. (May be we just need a County agency to test the water at City Hall because it seems like new Council Members and Mayors become lost in the needs of special interest groups, politics, and lobbyists, rather than serving their constituents needs!)
The Unions on the west coast differ greatly from where I grew up on the east coast. On the east coast, business and labor work together during good and bad times. Union dues are used to help employees that have been laid off, and the Union helps newly laid off workers find new jobs, as well as helping meet the financial needs of their members during strikes or unemployment. Yes they do lobby but Union members are much more involved in keeping the companies they work for profitable. Sadly, it is something west coast Unions don’t seem to do.
Do those glasses make me look fat?
Are there going to be more back room deals?