Paul Fong may not be breaking any rules by letting a lobbyist hold a $100,000 debt over his head during his entire time in the State Assembly, but his latest campaign transgression could be seen as a violation of state law and local police policies.

San Jose mustered up at least some of the money it needs to buy body cameras for police officers, so they can record their interactions with the public.

Just when this story couldn’t get any stranger, Councilmember Johnny Khamis offered a new timeline of events regarding his decision last week to abstain from voting on his own memo. And some of those new events don't add up.

A bizarre occurrence flew under the radar at last week’s City Council meeting, as Councilmember Johnny Khamis abstained from a vote on his own memo. Why he did so just might make your head spin.

San Jose’s homeless residents could soon have the option of using their housing vouchers to stay in underutilized hotels and motels.

To help car-sharing take off in San Jose, the city plans to donate free parking to Zipcar for a year-and-a-half. The City Council will discuss the plan when it meets this week, along with a proposal to expand wireless Internet service in downtown.

Chuck Reed spent much of his eighth and final State of the City speech thanking his predecessors while noting that a mayor’s work goes on long after he or she leaves office. Noting that he and past elected officials in San Jose have stood “on the shoulders of giants,” Reed said the work he and the council have carried out in recent years must be viewed outside the prism of four-year term limits. “We have to think in much longer timeframes,” he said.

For most holidays, the meaning is pretty straightforward. On the Fourth of July, the nation celebrates the 1776 signing of the Declaration of Independence. On Memorial Day we remember the military’s men and women who died in active service. Presidents Day is a little more ambiguous—and that’s not even its real name.

Assemblymember Nora Campos is apparently that rare politician who just knows what the people want without asking. So, when she relinquishes half a million dollars to the state, rather than having a properly staffed office or conducting outreach services to her constituents, she’s bucking her budget allotments out of a noble sense of duty. That’s the message Campos’ communications director, Steve Harmon, trotted out during an interview with local radio station KLIV 1590 in response to a report Metro/San Jose Inside published last week. A closer inspection of Harmon’s comments, however, show that they don’t pass the smell test.

The City Council on Tuesday will consider a one-year, $650,000 contract with the San Jose Streets Team, an organization that finds work and housing for homeless people who can and want to work.

As if San Jose Councilman Xavier Campos needed any more inquiries into his shoddy past campaign filings—the guy’s already being investigated by the District Attorney’s office and the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC).

The staff churn in Speaker pro Tem Nora Campos’ office is the talk of Sacramento, raising questions about the assemblymember’s ability to advocate for constituents who’ve been shortchanged by ineffective leadership.

In a press conference that probably wouldn’t have happened if he wasn’t running for mayor, county Supervisor Dave Cortese on Monday lambasted San Jose for cutting fire department staff to the point that paramedics can no longer respond to medical emergencies in time.

Today was the deadline to file the first round of campaign finance forms for San Jose City Council and mayoral campaigns. Not all were uploaded online by the 5pm deadline, but here’s a look at the four mayoral candidates whose reports were available.

San Jose’s Election Code is, like all laws in our democracy, a work in progress. So while the intent of each and every provision may be benevolently intended to lead us toward a more perfect political paradigm, it’s not a stretch to say revisions are in order. With the first campaign finance reports for Mayoral and Council elections due today, it’s appropriate to start by following the money. Regulations governing limits on individual donations and campaign spending are both worthy topics. But there’s enough grist there to write a novel. Instead, I’d prefer to look at a policy that is relatively unique to San Jose: the 180-day fundraising window for council and mayoral candidates.

The Santa Clara County Democratic Central Committee is on the fast track to endorse its preferred mayoral hopeful, Dave Cortese. But there are growing concerns that the group’s backing will give that candidate the unfair advantage of bypassing campaign finance laws that apply to individual candidates. Campaign staff of Councilman Sam Liccardo, the fundraising frontrunner in the mayor’s race, challenged the DCC in emails to abide by the same rules governing candidates that prevent unlimited spending in an election.