San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed has a dubious history when it comes to endorsements. In years past, Reed has given his blessing to a number of individuals who went on to lose. Don Gage is hoping to avoid that same fate as he begins his Gilroy mayoral campaign in earnest with Reed’s support.

As morale continues to sink and police officers resign or retire from the San Jose Police Department in record numbers, the Police Officers Association‘s board of directors could call for a vote of no confidence in Police Chief Chris Moore. City Manager Debra Figone sent an email in support of Moore on Thursday to the City Council, Mayor Chuck Reed, Independent Police Auditor LaDoris Cordell, City Attorney Rich Doyle and two members Figone’s staff, David Vossbrink and Ed Shikada.

And we’re back! The Rules Committee gets to business Wednesday after a six-week layoff, and among the items on the docket are the city clerk’s library initiative gaffe, a push for less transparency regarding election swag, a review of public officials’ calendars and a City Hall gadfly offering his services to lead a department.

Edesa Bitbadal says she has not decided if she will ask for a recount of the primary results for San Jose’s District 10 City Council seat. However, Bitbadal, a San Jose planning commissioner, did say several community leaders in Almaden have contacted her to do so and she will weigh her options this weekend. The deadline is Tuesday.

In one of the biggest blunders in recent local politics, city officials admitted this week that they provided false information to organizers of the Save San Jose Libraries initiative regarding the number of signatures needed to place a measure on the November ballot. As a result, the initiative—an effort that has been in the works for more than year—is unlikely to make it to voters.

The legal battle everyone expected over Measure B’s passage began Wednesday, as the city filed for a federal judicial review (a.k.a. “declatory relief”) and attorneys representing police and firefighters unions filed two lawsuits in state court. All of this will take months, if not years, to resolve, so we’ll focus on some of the more interesting commentary surrounding the legal battle.

Mayor Chuck Reed released his June Budget Message on Friday, and not much has changed since he first released his budget plan in March. Reed wants to open four libraries and the Bascom Community Center, add additional funds to the gang prevention task force, and tackle some of the city’s biggest infrastructure problems. While the budget will consume next week’s agendas, Tuesday’s City Council meeting will focus on other issues, including an update on Team San Jose’s performance, compensation for outside legal firms and selecting planning commissioners.

Campaign disclosure forms for “San Jose Fiscal Reforms, Yes on Measure B, Mayor Reed, Chamber PAC and Issues Mobilization PAC Proponents” show that while the first few months of the year in fundraising went well, fundraising during the last reporting period was excellent. Between March 18 and May 19, the PAC received $435,664 in contributions, bringing the total for the calendar year to $637,919. In just this latest filing period, the PAC spent $352,592.32. While we’ve already profiled some of the people and companies who have supported Measure B with contributions, here’s a look at the way the PAC has spent its money.

A well attended Rules and Open Government Committee meeting Wednesday dealt with an uncommon topic at City Hall these days: love. Or, to be more precise, love between a couple that doesn’t consist of a man and a woman. After more than an hour of public comments where many people framed marriage as a civil rights issue and others called it a sacred religious institution, Mayor Chuck Reed, Vice Mayor Madison Nguyen and Councilmember Pierluigi Oliverio unanimously agreed to delay any action on a memo from Councilmember Ash Kalra that wanted the City Council to form a resolution in support of gay marriage.

Mayor Chuck Reed and Councilmember Sam Liccardo authored a memo last week that would give high-rise builders in downtown San Jose new incentives to start constructing towers before the end of next year. At its meeting Tuesday, the City Council will discuss the incentives as well as last week’s budget hearings, restricting payday lending offices, targeting parents who let their teenagers throw parties with alcohol, and a potential park expansion that could alter the view from San Jose Inside’s office.

Internal polling numbers show Measure B passing in next month’s election with more than 60 percent of the vote, according to sources at City Hall. For that reason, it seems that unions and labor-oriented Political Action Committees (PAC) plan to fight the “pension modification” measure after it passes in court. But on the flip side, the committee “San Jose Fiscal Reforms, Mayor Reed, Chamber PAC and IMPAC Proponents” shot out of the fundraising gates in the first three months of the year, hauling in more than $200,000 in contributions—$202,275 to be exact.

Less than a month until the June 5 primary, labor unions fired off several accusations Tuesday that Councilmember Rose Herrera lied to voters during her 2008 campaign and may have even committed perjury in the mid-1990s. Herrera responded by calling the unions “bullies” using “misrepresentations and lies.”

Put on your budget caps, because the study sessions start in earnest next week. The first in a series of budget meetings and public hearings takes place Wednesday, with final adoption of budget for the next fiscal year scheduled for Tuesday, June 19. Currently, the city projects a $9 million surplus for 2012-13, about one percent of total expenditures. But some city employees could still lose their jobs as staff continues to look at increasing efficiency. Overall, City Manager Debra Figone said the city will add a net 70 positions.

Norm Mineta, Janet Gray Hayes, Susan Hammer, Ron Gonzales and Reed all took part in Monday night’s installment of the Don Edwards Lecture Series at San Jose State University, and each of the current mayor’s predecessors voiced relief that never in their tenures were they forced to deal with the current mayor’s challenges. A full decade of budget shortfalls, a workforce depleted and demoralized, the loss of the Redevelopment Agency and no certain economic rebound in the future was a tall order in every mayor’s eyes. The never-ending pummeling a mayor experiences—from the press, constituents and colleagues—was reiterated consistently in the talk, which retiring SJSU political science professor Terry Christensen moderated.

The long-awaited work to extend BART from Fremont to Berryessa begins today with a groundbreaking ceremony featuring many of Silicon Valley’s most prominent political officials. The event has been a long time coming, and shovels should enter the ground this afternoon.

The Sixth District Appeals Court sided in favor of labor unions Tuesday, ruling that Measure B must change the term “pension reform” to “pension modification,” and also alter the way the ballot question is worded. Unless the city appeals the ruling to the California Supreme Court, the ballot measure is set to go before voters June 5.