What the storied history—and now closure—of the Watergarden bathhouse means for Silicon Valley’s LGBTQ community.

Silicon Valley was once the female capital of the world for political power, but times have changed. In order to make progress, we need to not only elect more women leaders but also change the culture in which they are forced to compete.

The November election will either shift the body politic in San Jose toward change or provide a continuation of the status quo. With the problems facing the city, change should be in the air.

I am going to deviate from my usual writing to pay tribute to two people whose lives had a positive impact on our community: Janet Gray Hayes and Carl Cookson. Their accomplishments are many and great.

Janet Gray Hayes, San Jose’s first female mayor and the first woman to lead a major US city, died Monday in the Saratoga home she shared with her daughter.

Santa Clara County was once the nation's capital for electing women into office. But a look at our current political landscape shows successful female candidates have become scarcer.

The number of high-powered women in elected office in Santa Clara County has seriously diminished in what once was the Feminist Capital of the World. This dearth of women holding office has led to a decline in the quality of our policies and the ability to provide consensus that leads to progress.

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.