Any day now, the 2014 San Jose mayoral race is expected to start, with two Sicilian-Americans from wealthy families and a Vietnamese immigrant vice mayor formally declaring their intent to run. But in the coming months, several unexpected candidates could join Sam Liccardo, Dave Cortese and Madison Nguyen.

Count Barbara Keegan among those most flabbergasted with her landslide victory last week for a seat on the Santa Clara Valley Water District board. But if it were up to the opinion editor at our local daily, Keegan would have pulled out of the race months ago. That would have allowed David Ginsborg, deputy to the county’s tax assessor, to easily claim retiring Joe Judge’s board seat. Barbara Marshman, the Mercury News’ editorial writer and decider of all things good and natural emailed Keegan in early August to try and cajole her into dropping out of the race.

A U.S. patent office will open in San Jose. This is the result of diverse political interests uniting in a shared goal. It is a victory for San Jose and the region, and it will help Silicon Valley businesses, which are the heart of our nation’s economic engine. But considering California accounts for 25 percent of all new patents—with half of those coming from Silicon Valley—why wouldn’t San Jose be chosen? Let’s do the political math.

U.S. Reps Zoe Lofgren and Mike Honda, as well as a myriad of political and civic leaders, must be congratulated on securing the regional site for one of four patent offices in the country. This is a huge win for Silicon Valley. However, the accomplishment will be less meaningful if we don’t create a public education system that represents the ideals of the area and ranks first in the nation.

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.

U.S. Rep. Zoe Lofgren led the effort to create the Department of Corrections when she was a county supervisor in 1988. The move took the jails away from a sheriff who didn’t manage his budget well and saved the county millions by replacing expensive sworn sheriff’s deputies with correctional officers. Two years ago, the County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 to return to greater oversight by the office of Sheriff Laurie Smith. She’s better at managing a budget and the move eliminated redundant management overhead. An influx in inmates created greater security threats as well, requiring trained law enforcement officers. Unfortunately, the cost-saving measure—estimated at $5 million already by County Executive Jeff Smith—might not have been legal, according to a lawsuit filed by San Jose attorney James McManis. A “yes” vote on Measure A is the equivalent of approving something everyone already agreed is a good idea.

One of the shockers to come out of the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors’ budget hearings last week was the decision to return control of the county jails to the Sheriff’s Department. The two were separated like bad children back in 1987, after then-Sheriff Robert E. Winter was brought to court by inmates and accused of overcrowding in the jails while the jails hemorrhaged money. In a deal orchestrated by the then-Supes’ chairwoman, now-Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren, the county wrested control from the sheriff and created the Department of Corrections.

In a rare move, Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren announced this morning that she is throwing her support to Deputy District Attorney Jeff Rosen in his bid to defeat sitting DA Dolores Carr. “It’s true, I don’t get involved in local races very often,” she said after making a statement in front of the Santa Clara County Hall of Justice.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi covered a lot of territory in a brief visit to the San Jose Rotary’s weekly lunch meeting today—from the death of Sen. Edward Kennedy to the empowerment of young women (the subject of her book, “Know Your Power,” which she signed at the event). But she clearly wanted the audience to take home one message: “We must have health care reform.”