Tom Williams, city manager for Milpitas, sent out a navel-gazing press release Monday praising his work following a personnel investigation.

An age discrimination lawsuit filed last month in federal court claims Milpitas City Manager Tom Williams hired a younger, less qualified secretary over several more experienced candidates.

Milpitas fast-tracked the firing of City Attorney Mike Ogaz, laying the groundwork to completely outsource legal counsel.

In a 3-2 vote last week, Milpitas City Council ousted longtime City Attorney Mike Ogaz and his entire staff in a move to outsource his replacement.

A dozen current and former city of Milpitas employees say that City Manager Tom Williams has created a hostile work environment that's led to unprecedented turnover of department heads. The long-simmering tension could now lead to the removal of the city attorney.

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.

Bay 101 owners are hedging their bets, pouring $200,000 into Measure E, which would allow them to take their $8.4 million in yearly tax revenue to Milpitas.

Joseph D. McNamara served as San Jose's police chief from 1976-91. He was a smart and courageous leader who brought national and international prominence to San Jose, introducing the city to the best practices in law enforcement.

As Bay 101 floats plans to build a new casino with adjoining hotels closer to competitor Casino M8trix, our selfless public servants in Sacramento are trying to do the right thing by green-lighting the San Jose card club’s exit to Milpitas. At least that's one version of the story.

A number of local elected officials have recently shown signs of unstable and unacceptable behavior in public life. All of these extreme actions indicate people dealing with mental-health related issues. That does not mean they are all mentally ill. Then again, the absence of a diagnosis is not the same as being “not sick.”

Over the weekend, Milpitas Councilmember Debbie Giordano sent out a mass email to address the accusation that she stole her ex-husband’s mailbox. A report was taken by the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office, but Giordano asserts that it was all a misunderstanding that is now being used for political purposes.

Gadfly
noun ˈgad-ˌflī
1: any of various flies (as a horsefly, botfly, or warble fly) that bite or annoy livestock
2: a person who stimulates or annoys especially by persistent criticism

This story involves definition No. 2, but we’re not here to make fun of a strident citizen in the snarky manner you might expect. No, this Story of the Week focuses on a gadfly getting the best of an elected official. The whole deal is pretty absurd, so, of course, it happened in Milpitas.

Iowa just held its Republican Primary to ring in the New Year, which means two things: It’s officially election season from now through Nov. 6, and the opinions of Iowans no longer matter. Much was made about the 2010 Supreme Court decision Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, which, according to the court’s interpretation of the First Amendment, means the government can’t limit spending on elections by companies and nonprofits. A battle is now being fought at the local level in Milpitas, where community activist Ed Riffle is challenging the constitutionality of a new ordinance passed by the City Council that limits campaign contributions to $500 per election.

The winter of discontent continues unabated for the Milpitas Monarch, Jose Esteves, who complained at last week’s City Council meeting of feeling harassed by Public Records Act requests. (Message to Mayor Esteves: If you already feel harassed, stop reading here.) It would be one thing if the PRA requests were coming from an angry citizen, but almost half of the 66 requests—which ask for phone records, emails, video surveillance, and dates and times the mayor used a key card to enter City Hall—came from Councilmember Debbie Giordano. It turns out the mayor, whom critics accuse of holding an unauthorized wedding on City Hall property earlier this year, may be up to more than just connubial biz.

Back in August, Fly detailed the sordid tale of fear and loathing taking place within the Milpitas Planning Commission. Mark Tiernan, a veteran in organizing local campaigns, felt he was kicked out of his commission chair position in a coup partly orchestrated by fellow commissioner Noella Tabladillo. Tiernan said loudly in a commission meeting that Tabladillo couldn’t be trusted, and she in turn called him an asshole. Tiernan then made a bold claim to Fly that he thought Mayor Jose Esteves was behind the whole thing. Esteves is now having Tiernan removed from the commission, but there could be an even bigger things happening behind the scenes.