Councilman Anthony Phan said the emails, sent from former Planning Commissioner Rajeev Madnawat, made him “really nervous.”

Milpitas’ former city attorney, whose entire office was outsourced to a private law firm this past summer, plans to sue the city for retaliation.

Failed Milpitas council candidate and patent attorney Rajeev Madnawat freaked people out in October when he threatened to leave an outgoing councilman “lifeless” and embarked on a social media rampage. But it appears Milpitas Mayor Jose Esteves is willing to look past all of that.

A discussion over corporate influence in Milpitas politics took a dark turn last week when Rajeev Madnawat, a candidate for City Council, lobbed a thinly veiled death threat against termed-out Councilman Armando Gomez.

It's election day and with it comes a ballot packed with key decisions for Santa Clara County, though voter turnout is expected to be pretty low.

State Assembly candidate, Milpitas Councilman and San Jose budget director Armando Gomez has found himself the target of an increasing number of union-funded hit pieces. And just about all of them are wildly misleading.

San Jose released its annual list of city salaries late last week, reminding us once again where the bulk of the municipal budget goes. Like most municipalities, payroll accounts for the city’s single highest expense. San Jose shelled out $596 million, or 62 percent of this fiscal year’s budget, on payroll for its 5,500 employees. This year, retired Sgt. John M. Seaman topped the list, receiving total compensation in the amount of $308,345.

A changing of the guard took place this week at San Jose’s City Hall—literally. San Jose police officer Ted Trujillo was sent back to patrol after overseeing City Hall security the last eight years. His duties included watching the backs of Mayor Chuck Reed for six years and former Mayor Ron Gonzales for two, in addition to making sure any threats to the civic concrete jungle were addressed. To send Trujillo out in style, a virtual who’s who of city officials gathered at Mosaic Restaurant and Lounge last week.

The spillover from Milpitas’ toxic political landscape has finally seeped over to San Jose. On Tuesday, Milpitas councilmember Debbie Giordano requested the city’s attorney investigate council colleague Armando Gomez’s fundraising activities for San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed. The direction by Giordano seems to be a direct response to Gomez—a senior budget advisor to Reed—targeting a lobbying loophole that he says Giordano and political consultant Vic Ajlouny have taken advantage of.

Two of San Jose City Hall’s most prominent political figures are causing quite a dustup in Milpitas. The mayor’s budget director, Armando Gomez, also a Milpitas councilmember, has been battling behind the scenes with Chuck Reed’s longtime political consultant, Vic Ajlouny. As recent as four years ago, the two men sat in on Reed’s senior staff meetings. While maintaining decorum in Silicon Valley’s capital, the political paintball has busted loose a couple exits up the freeway.