Etiquette Lessons From City Hall

Keen-eyed Council watchers may have noticed a new addition to the online Council calendars as of September 25th - rules and regulations about what you can, and can't, do at City meetings. Ladies and gentlemen, Chuck Reed.

You can peruse the full set of rules or simply enjoy this "best of" compilation.

• 1(a): Persons in the audience will refrain from ... making loud noises, clapping, shouting, booing, hissing ...
  
• 1(d): Appropriate attire, including shoes and shirts are required in the Council Chambers and Committee Rooms at all times.
• 1(f): No chewing gum.
• 1(g): All persons..., including their bags, purses, briefcases and similar belongings, may be subject to search...
• 2(c): Objects that are deemed a threat to persons at the meeting or the facility infrastructure are not allowed. Prohibited items include ... letter openers, corkscrews, can openers with points, knitting needles, and hooks; hairspray, pepper spray, and aerosol containers; tools; glass containers; and large backpacks and suitcases that contain items unrelated to the meeting.

Apparently, the City couldn't decide which was a better role model, airport security or high school homeroom. Either way, leave your antique firearms at home, people. They're not welcome here anymore.

CONFIRMED: Ajlouny Not Under City Contract

A few weeks ago, we received from a tipster a city staff roster that appeared to list Vic Ajlouny as a City employee. Subsequently, I received an anonymous tip purporting to be from the City Clerk, indicating that the list was doctored and that:

Vic Ajlouny is not an employee of the city nor he is a current contract employee/consultant.

In an email from her official City account, Lee Price has confirmed:

... yes, the "official roster" is indeed prepared by this Office. The Council Receptionist maintains another roster and shares it internally but the one that was submitted to you that you posted was a doctored official list created by my office...

So, according to the City clerk, the formerly registered lobbyist who still participates in Senior Staff meetings with the Mayor (assuming the Mayor's calendar isn't doctored) is doing so without pay. At least from the City.

It seems unlikely that Ajlouny is participating in an official capacity from the bottom of this heart. So who pays him for this work? Does this money come directly from Chuck Reed, or through one of Reed's campaign accounts? Or is this truly a case of a humble Nebraskan, willing to forgo payment simply to serve a city he once lived near?

The Wide World of Sports

If the Sharks are looking for someone to play some decent defense, which they should be, why not see if Rick Doyle is interested?

Granted, the L.A. Kings display a different offense than independent auditors or nursing students, but beggars can't be choosers.

A Public Service for Tom McEnery

You know what makes Tom McEnery mad (today)? Changing term limits. Also, that Latino last names can be so hard to spell. Excerpted from today's Obnoxious Blowhards tedium:



It's Coto, Tom. I know four letters is a lot, particularly when you've been drinking, but you should really try and get it right.

Earthquake Hits, Fire Stations Okay

The decent-sized earthquake that hit a little while ago has been pinpointed a few miles northeast of San Jose. Specifically, here.

Happily, no major damage repeats means no major grandstanding opportunities for our Mayor.

UPDATE: The Merc is seeking eyewitness photos and videos - but, as the site warns:

Do not upload photos containing cartoons, celebrities, nudity, artwork, or copyrighted images.

There will be time enough for your artistic renderings of how Brad Pitt might have been impacted by the earthquake tomorrow.

UPDATE: CNN.com has a preliminary story, with great news!

The quake was centered in the foothills not far from the home of Mayor Chuck Reed, his spokeswoman, Michelle McGurk, told The Associated Press.

"The mayor's fine. His home's fine; City Hall is fine," McGurk told the AP.

Sleep well, San Jose. Sleep well.

UPDATE: CNN has updated their story, and apparently Reed is no longer the story. A mysterious 'Rod Foo' is:

Rod Foo, who resides in southern San Jose about 10 miles from the quake's center, told the news agency that the his home did not lose power or phone service.

"I could hear it coming up the street before it hit the house," Foo told the AP. "I thought it was the kids messing around at first; then I felt the house shaking and I knew it was an earthquake. ... It was rattling for a long time and really loud."

Now, who could this Rod Foo be that has such access to the AP? (And, no, I didn't mean 'Rodney Fox', Merc.) (Although I do appreciate that a bug on your site has an article titled "Woman jumps from window to flee fire by Rodney Foo".)

UPDATE: According to CNN:

Alum Rock is 50 miles southeast of San Francisco.

The quake was centered in the Diablo Range foothills, not far from the home of the Mayor, Chuck Reed, The Associated Press reported.

Congratulations, Alum Rock, on your new Mayor! Plenty of openness, coming your way.

A Quick Recap

The world according to Pete Constant and Chuck Reed:

Not blocking part of the internet at the library, lest a child see a breast? Bad.

Receiving the endorsement of a free (and easily accessible to kids!) weekly that features hundreds of ads for prostitutes? Good.

(We couldn't find the actual page of endorsement for either, so please enjoy this artist's rendition.)

A Walk Down Memory Lane. Watch Out For Old Mufflers.

Today, the San Jose City Council votes on the Mayor's "green vision" for San Jose. For kicks, it is worth remembering what Reed's vision for San Jose looked like in 1996:

Back in the mid 1990s, Chuck was more explicit about his lobbying as an "environmental lawyer"*, and represented the good folks from a Southern California Pick-Your-Part franchise. As Reed put it:

Pick-Your-Part has been a good neighbor in Anaheim. They will be a good neighbor in San Jose.

Worth noting, of course, that the Pick-Your-Part would have been on Senter Road, far from Reed's District 4 home - making it far easier for Chuck to consider them a good neighbor.

The City Council voted to approve the junkyard, but competitors and community activists came together to qualify a referendum on the issue for the ballot. In November of 1996, San Jose voted on whether or not to allow Reed's clients to build a junkyard in San Jose. Unsuprisingly, they declined to welcome this particular new neighbor. Reed, true to form, referred to the vote as an "abus[e] of the planning process."

Just a little background as Reed works on bolstering his environmental record.

* An "environmental lawyer" who owned stock in Occidental Petroleum, Royal Dutch Petroleum, Dow Chemical and Great Lakes Chemical. The Great Lakes stock probably dropped in value when it was determined to be the top polluter in Arkansas.

The New Vision of Independent Government

Earlier this month, our friends at the Chamber of Commerce invited a few close friends to join them in Austin, Texas. In attendance:

Adam Alberti, John Armando, Victor Arranaga, Rick Callender, Pete Carrillo, Dave Cortese, Pat Dando, Nick Ammann, Tom Armstrong, Bill Baron, Dirsten Carr, Pete Constant, Doug Dahlin, Gerry De Young, Jim Eller, Bruce Fairty, Debra Figone, Bob Fuselier, Laura Guio, Ramish Hariharan, Joe Horwedel, Jonathan Emami, Dan Fenton, Dennis Fong, Linda Gold, Jody Hansen, Scott Hayden, Daniel Hudson, Mary Ellen Ittner, Daniel Katz, Bill Klein, Paul Krutko, Selene Lenox, Donna Long, Michelle Mann, Michael Jacobson, Bob Kieve, Brian Kneis, Scott Landsittel, Sam Liccardo, Patrick Love, Harry Mavrogenes, Michael Mulcahy, Chuck Reed, Rich Roth, Bill Sherry, John Tang, Ted Trujillo, Nancy Pyle, Heather Richman, Jan Schneider, Larry Stone, Mark Tersini, Nanci Williams, Kerry Williams, Blage Zelalich

Folks underlined, of course, are one shy of a quorum of the City Council, plus Larry Stone, who must have heard there would be free wine. Those in bold? Lobbyists registered with the City of San Jose.

You'll notice many of the names are of folks who are, in effect, lobbyists: Nanci Williams from the Chamber, several developers, centenarian Bob Kieve from KLIV.

The trip, which lasted three days and is funded by the Mayor/Council Travel Budget (thanks to a specific carve-out in travel policy (Component E)), covered everything from how Austin treats its retirees to how Austin became a "world-class city", which apparently it did while no one was paying attention. Other highlights:

• A visit to the ballet
• A visit to IBM
• A tour of the state university in town
• Meals at Mexican restaurants

In other words, a lot of stuff you couldn't do here in San Jose.

Day after day on the schedule, the same name pops up: Pat Dando, moderator. Pat Dando, speaker. Pat Dando, facilitator. An agenda determined and facilitated by a registered lobbyist designed to discuss, in part, issues on which the lobbyist has been lobbying.

This is not the first of these trips, nor will it be the last - these trips weren't instantiated by Dando and Reed. And neither, I think, will they be ended by them. The opportunity for Dando and the multitude of other lobbyists is too great, and - let's be honest - Chuck really couldn't care less.

The Merc Improves Its Coverage

As promised, Josh Molina and the Mercury News invested some ink in discussing how San Jose Revealed is the best political blog in town (at least if you read between the lines).

A few points worth pulling out.

First, Molina failed to mention the correct URL for McEnery's blog. Simply type www.ObnoxiousBlowhards.com into your web browser to read all of the increasingly irrelevant lobbyist's thoughts. But bring some caffeine.

Second, discussion of a union of McEnery's bias with the Merc's is unsurprising, but remarkable for the window it opens on both of their motivations. But then, why shouldn't the Merc make a content deal with Obnoxious Blowhards.com? After all, it already has a completely inappropriate relationship with the Chamber.

Finally, my anonymity, which I prefer for my own sake, leads to speculation that I'm a Labor flack. Amusing, particularly when you read up a few paragraphs to my saying:

The institutions of power in this city are deliberate about building straw men to disparage and denigrate, with the aim of maintaining that power,

I'm talking, in part, about Labor, Josh. Thanks for helping to prove my point.

Can We Hazard A Guess?

From the Merc's look at the start of Delores Carr's tenure as DA:

...[A] judge threw out a seven-count indictment against former Mayor Ron Gonzales, a top mayoral aide and a city garbage contractor, saying "this is not bribery. This is politics." Former District Attorney George Kennedy had pushed for the indictment; Carr said in August that after consulting with top assistants, she had decided not to refile charges.

Some prosecutors loyal to Kennedy privately questioned whether that decision was a sign Carr would not take political corruption cases seriously.

Any chance one of those "loyal" prosecutors was David Pandori, himself under investigation by Carr's office for trumping-up election year charges against some of Gonzales' former aides?

To any children who may be reading this: there once was a time in America when the judicial branch of government at all levels prided itself on its lack of bias and immunity to political influence. Honestly. It's in your history books - look it up.

Let's Remember Who We're Dealing With

A tipster this week sent in a link to this 1998 Metro article, which appears to come from an era before Metro publisher Dan Pulcrano's primary financial motivation was adult content. Probably because Yank was still for sale.

The article looks at the cushy practice of elected officials leaving office only to be installed in lucrative private sector jobs. It deals, in depth, with two of our favorite elected-officials-turned-lobbyists, Pat Dando and Tom McEnery.

The article starts, as follows:

WHEN PAT DANDO, former campaign manager and loyal lieutenant to Mayor Tom McEnery, went looking for a job in 1990 when term limits dethroned her boss, she didn't have to look too far. The Redevelopment Agency gave her a $72,500 job to be director Frank Taylor's assistant, a position that was never advertised and had no other applicants. It was what the agency calls a "direct outreach recruitment."

McEnery himself landed a post-mayoral job that on the face of it looks suspiciously like a payback. Under his mayorship, the San Jose Sharks received a contract for the use of a $157.6 million taxpayer-owned building for nominal rent, including the right to capture revenue from nonsporting events such as Elton John concerts. After losing his congressional bid in June 1994 and encountering financial problems in his family's property management business, McEnery was hired by the Sharks as "vice chairman."

The article goes on to detail Dando's leap into an unadvertised position doing generic, unnamed work. But it is savage on McEnery's transition:

In his final term as mayor, getting the San Jose Arena built became McEnery's consuming preoccupation. McEnery was so identified with the arena that when the matter of its funding went on the ballot, it was considered a referendum on the mayor himself. When the arena became a sure thing, he tried to recruit a basketball team, and when that fell through, he sought an NHL hockey franchise as anchor tenant. District Attorney Leo Himmelsbach objected to the mayor's active promotion of a facility so close to his family's real estate holdings, and McEnery later curbed his activities after signing a good-behavior pledge demanded by the DA. [Read all about it! - Ed.] Flash to 1994. Soon after McEnery lost the Democratic congressional nomination to Zoe Lofgren that year, Sharks CEO Art Savage named him vice chairman of the team. The job offer raised eyebrows, since it was under McEnery's watch that the Sharks landed a sweetheart deal that made the team one of the most profitable sports franchises in America, while San Jose bore nearly all the costs of constructing the team's home. At the time McEnery took the Sharks job, his family business was having some financial difficulties: Bay View Federal Bank filed a $57,703 foreclosure notice against Farmers Union; the company managed to pay off the debt 18 days later, one month before McEnery became an instant hockey executive. McEnery's duties include setting the overall direction of the team's community and charitable activities. What McEnery does exactly from day to day remains a mystery. Anyone who tries to call his Sharks office number invariably gets a voicemail greeting.

True champions of openness and honesty, these.

The only thing that has changed since 1998? People have forgotten all about this.

Just In Time For Halloween

I don't subscribe to San Jose Magazine, since I live in San Jose, and no one here does. But a tipster out there in the world does, and they faxed in this page from this month's issue, which I can only assume is a horrible, horrible joke.


Yes, this is a page of make-up tips from the one and only Pat Dando. The expression you're looking for? Good Lord. If you click on this version, you can see a larger one, allowing you to actually read her advice.

Here are my thoughts on this.

1. Way to reinforce gender stereotypes there, Pat.
2. Are there people in the world who were writing in to San Jose Magazine saying, "How do I look more like Pat Dando?"
3. Rebecca Cohn is vindicated.
4. And, finally, an answer to the question: how many pounds of make-up do you need to use in order to look 100 years younger?

Bad decision by all involved. But a hell of a way to go into the weekend.

The Truth Shall Make You Free

Earlier this week, I received an anonymous tip that I will reproduce in full:

Vic Ajlouny is not an employee of the city nor he is a current contract employee/consultant. This roster was deliberately doctored after it was sent out by my office and should be removed immediately. Lee Price, MMC, City Clerk, City of San Jose

The reference, as you might have guessed, was to this posting.

I don't just post any nonsense claiming to be from anyone (believe it or not), so I emailed the Clerk's office to determine the authenticity of the message. No response.

In support of the accuracy of the message, the email link to me has been broken for a while,* making it more reasonable that Price should use the anonymous box. In opposition, however - it's my understanding that the linked staff list comes from admin staff on the 18th floor, not from the Clerk's office. Can anyone clarify this point?

Either way, questions about Ajlouny's role in the City persist, despite Reed's frequent and vocal attempts to set the record straight. In another, parallel, dimension.


* A problem pointed out to me by Josh Molina from the Merc. Who, incidentally, is working on a story comparing my site with Tom McEnery's - to Tom's eternal frustration, I'm sure.

UPDATE: It was, indeed, from Lee Price.

Friday News Round-up

As we (hopefully) close out Internet Porn Safety Week in District One, a quick summary of interesting articles is in order.

• What better way for the Metro to lead in to a story about blocking porn than with, "One thing San Jose shouldn't have to pay for is your filthy porn habits." After all, why should the City pay when Pulcrano is happy to pick up the tab?
• CBS 5, in an internet story categorized under 'Urban Revitalization', trumpets Reed's attendance of a Home Depot opening on the East Side. No report on whether Ajlouny also attended, or if he stayed back at City Hall, gleefully rubbing $100 bills and Home Depot gift certificates all over his body.
• Reed began yesterday by hosting an interfaith leaders breakfast in the Rotunda. According to an attendee's blog, Reed claimed that people constantly asked how they could pray for him. (Our commenters have been noticeably silent on this issue.) His response? Pray that he gain wisdom, courage, and humility. He didn't make any recommendations on which was needed most - but we have some thoughts.

Tipster Round-up

The tipsters out there are, it seems, not fans of restricting First Amendment rights at our libraries. Here is some info they've sent in:

• One points to Larry Pegram's specific pro-Christian focus,
• Another, to some filtering software he recommends, as it filters everything, including conservative websites,
• A third sends us this odd picture, which I don't really understand,
  
• And, in a comment, a user asks, "Why not extend the porn-ban to every city computer? It is possible that city hall has a number of users that would be pissed?"

No comment.

Except, He Added, The Second Amendment.

The beginning of the Oath of Office for the State of California:

I, ______, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of California against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of California...

And then, there's Chuck Reed on ABC 7 last night:


Call me a traditionalist. But my hope is that our elected officials seek out ways to support and defend my rights, not limit and attack them. Especially our elected officials who are passionately in love with American flag ties.

For those who doubt that the rhetoric on this issue can be truly restrictive, consider San Jose Library Director Jane Light. In 1997, Light indicated that filters were a "slippery slope to censorship." Now, according to the Mercury News, she has "no opinion one way or another."

Snarkiness aside, libraries should be bastions of free information, immune to the vagaries of individual opinion. To suggest otherwise, and to couch it in terms of looking for the limits to our Bill of Rights, should make anyone, not just City employees, nervous.

Best Way To Get A Pay Increase?

Send out notice of your public meeting to approve the increase the day after the meeting. This appeared in today's Merc:

Nicely done, San Jose Water Company.

(For you government expenditure psychos out there, the pay increase was about a dollar a month. So calm down.)

Apparently Disingenuity Isn't Fatal.

If it were, Tom McEnery would be dead.

In a post today on Obnoxious Blowhards, McEnery has the complete gall to celebrate Reed's restrictions on industrial land conversion without mentioning its gaping loophole: the one that will finance McEnery's Earthquakes coming to town. In his standard purple prose, McEnery declares success over the lobbyists and their efforts.

If lobbyists were ever the problem, they certainly aren't now. Now the problem is that, as several tipsters have overheard Dean Munro say, the good old boys are back in charge.

Fashion-watchers take note: even in San Jose, the 1980s are back in style.

The Religious Right Comes To Town

I think it's just another case of kind of the nanny government. - Pete Constant, to ABC 7

Well, in that case, Pete, you might as well cross Net Nanny off your list.

Let's get this part over quickly: attempting to filter internet content at libraries is useless, damaging and, oh yeah, unconstitutional. Now, let's look at the politics.

Constant, in his efforts to think of the children, has enlisted the help of Larry Pegram, who some may remember as a two-term San Jose City Councilmember, and others as a member of Chuck Reed's transition team. Many of you likely also know that he serves as President and co-founder of the explicitly religious Values Advocacy Council - the capacity in which, according to a tipster, he has been invited to join Constant at a press conference today which will attempt to make the case that filtering library content will help our children become good Christians avoid seeing dirty pictures.

And Pete has found some additional outside help. According to his memo, he has enlisted the assistance of the Alliance Defense Fund, a purportedly pro-First Amendment group that sees itself as an opposing force to the ACLU. According to People for the American Way:

As a legal group, it assists and augments the efforts of other right-wing groups to "keep the door open for the spread of the Gospel." The ADF has been active on issues including pushing "marriage protection," exposing the "homosexual agenda" and fighting the supposed "war on Christmas."

This is all right up Pegram's alley, of course. He and the VAC reference the ADF liberally (if I can use that term here) in their documentation. And, remember, the last time Pegram was really up in arms in San Jose was around the issue of recognizing same-sex marriages.

In summary: in a futile attempt to bring a flawed policy to San Jose, Pete Constant has moved the City from humoring Pegram's shrill cries to welcoming the involvement of an extremely conservative, national organization. Just the kind of leadership we've been looking for.

Lew Wolff's Soccer Subsidy

In economics, a subsidy is a type of financial government assistance, such as a grant, tax break, or trade barrier, in order to encourage the production or purchase of a good. Wikipedia

Can someone out there please explain to me how Chuck Reed's bending over backward for campaign contributor Lew Wolff doesn't comprise a subsidy?

Wolff has asked the City to rezone some of his light industrial land to housing in order to fund construction of a soccer stadium. Chuck Reed, who is so against industrial conversion that he spoke against it repeatedly from the dais - and made it a key point in his Mayoral campaign - has bent over backwards to agree.

In a nutshell, the City is sacrificing tax revenue over the long term in order to allow Wolff to build his stadium. The difference between this and a direct subsidy is slight - but Chuck understands the political difference. Last February, he said:

I would be extraordinarily surprised if there were public support for a tax to pay for all of those projects. People aren't going to support that when we don't have money to maintain the streets, the library hours, the day-to-day things.

Where there's a will to give tax dollars to developers, there's a way.

Reed's willingness to kow-tow to Wolff goes back some time. You may recall a bit of a dust-up over Reed's leadership in making a closed-session commitment to buying land near Diridon station that could be converted into a soccer stadium. And, I must of course mention, the McEnerys are heavy investors in the Earthquakes.

Probably the most mind-boggling component of this, however, is simply this: the Earthquakes went belly-up in San Jose only a few years ago. The Mayor plans, contrary to his consistently stated opinion, to sacrifice long-term tax revenue in order to bring a stadium to town, for a sport that was a demonstrated failure in our community within this decade.

Um, what?

N.B. As of writing this, none of the Merc's articles are accessible online, so I can't add the sources I would like. Actually, it may be an advanced feature of my browser, as the error that comes up is 406: Not Acceptable. Pete Constant wishes he had filtering this good.

District 2 Gets A Candidate

Last weekend, Ash Kalra, an attorney with the public defender's office, announced his candidacy to replace a termed-out Forrest Williams.

Coming soon, a brawl pitting Kalra and Liccardo, defenders, against Sinunu and Pandori, prosecutors. City Hall Rotunda, high noon.

Life Before McEnery Had A Lackey In The D.A.'s Office

For those new to our town, it may seem like a fairy tale - that, once upon a time, the District Attorney's office was willing to try to hold the Mayor accountable for reasons other than politics.

In the past, on this site, we've made flippant remarks about Tom McEnery's financial windfall from his time as Mayor. Today, we're going to give a little more background.

A downtown renaissance championed by San Jose Mayor Tom McEnery has helped his family's San Pedro Square property nearly triple in value since McEnery took office in 1983. Merc, April 10, 1987.

In 1987, in McEnery's seventh year in office, the Merc finally got around to noticing McEnery's increasing real estate wealth. His properties, including San Pedro Square, had begun to balloon in value. Not to worry, of course, as McEnery signed an agreement with the D.A.'s office after his election forbidding him from voting on projects within a mile of his property.

That agreement fell by the wayside when McEnery began, in 1988, voting on issues related to the coming San Jose Arena - located, as you know, a few hundred steps from San Pedro Square.

The D.A. stepped in. In an extraordinary move:

San Jose Mayor Tom McEnery, who led last year's fight for the city's $100 million arena project, has been barred from voting on most aspects of it because he has a conflict of interest, District Attorney Leo Himmelsbach said Tuesday. Merc, March 15, 1989.

The D.A. determined that McEnery's interests fell squarely within the realm of conflict barred by the Fair Political Practices Commission, and strong-armed McEnery into an agreement on his behavior moving forward.

To imagine the reaction from the Mercury News today on such an issue is fairly easy. Outrage, followed quickly by a call for censure. Depending, of course, on who was doing the conflicting.

At the time, the Mercury News editorial board took a shrugging attitude.

Basically, here's what it says: All the important things that already have been done, McEnery can't do; but most of the important things that remain to be done, McEnery can do -- as long as the city council says so. Well. We will all sleep better at night knowing that. Merc, March 20, 1989.

The Merc referred to it as "costly hair-splitting", despite the fact that even the initial action by the D.A. was reviewed to determine if it should be strengthened.

To this day, McEnery maintains ownership of the downtown properties. This is a fact that cannot be ignored - that a sitting Mayor explicitly ignored an agreement with the D.A.'s office in a way that profited him personally, and today continues to try to influence City leaders to his benefit. Ron Gonzales had nothing on this guy.

Worth noting, of course, McEnery's campaign for Mayor against Claude Fletcher in 1982. Central to that effort? Criticizing Fletcher's secrecy in his financial holdings.

Fun With Google Alerts

Google Alerts presents us with this amusing press release:

MEI, the global leader of unattended payment acceptance systems, is pleased to announce the addition of Chuck Reed as Marketing Director of the Americas Vending channel.

"Unattended payment acceptance systems"? Yeah, that sounds like a Chuck Reed, alright.*

* For those too lazy to click the second link, one of Chuck's reimbursements greatest hits: getting cash from the City to give out to kids in his own name.

Proof of the Merc's Objectivity

The Mercury News' business-at-any-cost attitude is, we're sure, completely unrelated to the fact that their publisher is also the Secretary-Treasurer of the Chamber of Commerce.

Of course, Jeff Kiel's dual role on the Executive Board of the Chamber and the Editorial Board of the Merc would never create a conflict of interest. And caring about even apparent conflicts of interests is passé. So all is well!

Colleen Wilcox's Worst Decision

The word 'embattled' is about two weeks too old to apply to former schools Superintendent Colleen Wilcox. Excepting only Terry Gregory, at no time in recent memory has a public official been so thoroughly pilloried by the Merc.

As the week has progressed, it became clear where her worst decision was made - in selecting uber-sycophant Jude Barry to be her PR flack.

This is the same Barry who ran Governor Steve Westly's electoral campaign. (This, of course is a joke - at no point was it ever considered a campaign.) The same Barry who cut his teeth helping Ron Gonzales down his path to leaving office with record approval ratings. The same Barry who, even just earlier this week, allowed the Mayor to publicly suggest emasculating his police officer clients.

Rumor has it that Wilcox is going to bounce back as the front-runner for selection to run the Children's Discovery Museum, where it seems they take a more lenient stance toward racial bias. And Barry is trying to make his comeback by offering up his services, for free, to Barack Obama's California campaign.

Barack currently trails in the polls by 37 points.

Paul Krutko, What Do You Do?

The Mercury News today re-introduces a favorite straw man, labor peace - a bit of baloney we have discussed and dealt with before.

But what's really missing from the story is the question of all the other vacant retail downtown. Of course people aren't going to move in to the equivalent of a concrete box - they also won't move in to an old stationers, an old jewellers, or a copy center, even if they're directly across from the art museum, the Knight Ridder building and the library, respectively. And this is just from a quick look down San Fernando.

So, Paul Krutko, head of the City's economic development, what do you do? Instead of making excuses for why no one wants to move in (excuses that, rumor has it, will be easily disproven), why not actually find some tenants?

In the meantime, I've created a new logo for your department. No rights reserved.

Who Stole The Cookie From The Cookie Jar?

Did you know that there is an area with snacks behind the Council dais? Apparently, there is. And apparently, some City Hall staffer or elected official has been abusing the privilege of readily available tastiness.

The word you're looking for? Snackgate.

Lee Price, City Clerk, was forced to play schoolmarm, deciding to lock the cabinets to prevent pilfering. Not sure how that solves the problem - will the snacks be unattainable by anyone? Or will Lee have to step into the back every time Pierluigi wants another Pixy Stick?

Lee's email, which follows, wasn't clear.

I am sorry to report that after much consideration I have had General Services install locks to Council Pantry entry door and cabinets. Unfortunately, because so many people have access to the Green Room/Pantry area, monitoring the area has become extremely difficult and the honor system hasn't worked as well as I had hoped. There has been a growing number of "raids" to the snacks and beverages stocked in the pantry. I apologize for any inconvenience this is likely to cause, but as steward of the public dollars you've entrusted in me, I felt it prudent to discuss with General Services the least cost-effective way to ensure that the refreshments purchased for you are there when you need them most.

A key component of this is Price's articulation that "the honor system hasn't worked." Never, never, has it been more clear that the Council oath needs to include, "Don't lie, don't cheat, don't steal" and "don't oversnack."

Also worth noting, putting locks on the door a) required consultation with another department and b) this solution was determined to be the "least cost-effective."

Snackgate, people. Whose head will roll first?

Have We Angered You, Dan?

Apparently, the Metro is still publishing, which certainly seems like a fixable fluke.

Nonetheless, in this week's 'Fly', which used to be the 'Eye', and used to be interesting, Swinger Dan Pulcrano complains about Cassidy's column of last week, and makes a couple of interesting claims about yours truly.

• He claims we're well-funded. Dan, when you get a sec, go to Blogger.com. See the word 'free' on there? That's our publishing tool. You can remove both the word 'well-' and 'funded'. Dan likely doesn't understand that some people are motivated by issues, not money.
• Dan claims that we go after Pierluigi because of the Rosegarden issue and his anti-Labor stances. Nope. We go after him because he's arrogant and feels entitled. I can imagine Dan doesn't want to think that people don't like those attributes.
• He claims he was "offered the chance to break the yawn-worthy Match.com profile". Well, it certainly wasn't offered by us, if that's what he's implying. And I think the story has proven itself to be non-yawn-worthy. Who's the one that's toeing the party line, Dan?
  

If only I were a nubile 18 year old girl. Then Dan wouldn't be so mean.

Chuck's Strong Anti-Lobbyist Stance

Here's how much Chuck Reed hates lobbyists (remember his quote?), and desires to rid City Hall of them.

He hates them so much, that he is only going to miss one Rules Committee meeting (of which he is Chair) in order to attend a Chamber of Commerce junket to Austin, Texas. Only one! One wonders if his lobbyist-turned-staffer is going too.

Looking at the other side of the coin - Pat Dando, super-lobbyist. Pulls in over $100 grand a year from the City and happily escorts elected officials on trips to other cities. During which, I'm sure, there is no lobbying that occurs. I think there needs to be a special, fourth category of lobbyist which covers people like this. Maybe call it Lobbying Juggernaut. Surprisingly, Dando's Blue Ribbon Task Force didn't get that far.

I have no closing punchline, because I'm actually started to get tired of typing 'open and honest' in a snarky way.

Hot Scoop From a Tipster

A tipster has sent us what appears to be Tom McEnery's Obnoxious Blowhards column from next week. To quote the tip, verbatim:

Here is a tip - get a life! I bet you'll get fired from your real job (which probably doesn't pay much) for doing this. Better stock up on want ads for all the time you'll spend in your small, Sunnyvale apartment being jobless.

At first, I thought this was directed to me, but then I realized it must be directed either to David Pandori or a 1995-era Ron Gonzales.

Your guesses?

Good News About Property Values

For those worried about the impact of the sagging housing market on the value of your home, worry not. San Jose Revealed is here to provide a sure-fire way to increase your property value.

Step one: Buy a house. A good location? Right about here, next to David Pandori's house, is a good spot to try this out in.

Step two: Get hired by the Mayor of your City - ideally, by Tom "Let's Build An Arena Right Next To San Pedro Square Which By The Way I Own" McEnery.

Step three: A couple of months after you buy the house, have your boss commit $2.5 million dollars to building a massive park a couple of hundred yards away.

Step four: Increased property value!

Now - and this is important - you and your cronies must remain in power, lest someone build a major freeway between your park and your house. That will not help its value.

This investment tip brought to you by David Pandori Investment Strategies, LLC.*

* Not real, unfortunately.

Mr. Ajlouny, You've Been Upgraded

Last evening, we received via an emailed tip the following City Hall staff list:

As you can see, Home Depot advocate Vic Ajlouny is now officially listed as a City Hall staffer. (At least Victor "Aljouny" is. Can no one over there spell?) To our knowledge (and please correct us if we're wrong), this is the first time evidence has arisen that he is officially on staff.

So how does this change things? First of all, we're proud of Chuck for resisting his base inclination and actually being open and honest about Vic's role. And second, we're happy to have helped move him to understand just how important honesty and openness are.

These questions, however, remain. What does Vic do? How long has he worked in an equivalent capacity at City Hall without being listed on the staff list? Has he moved out of Nebraska?

And is Rosie Perez's acting career really doing so badly that she'd take a secretarial job?

UPDATE: Lee Price, City Clerk, has confirmed that this document was doctored. Although not, unfortunately, the part about Ms. Perez.

The Chamber Embraces Latino

The Chamber's annual "Legends and Leaders" (which obviously must come from outside their organization) will this year be headlined by Vicente Fox, the former President of Mexico. The Chamber titles this Cena con El Presidente which seems in direct opposition to one of Pat Dando's core values.

No matter. The Chamber should rightly be proud of its embrace of the Latino community. After all, just recently they've endorsed many fine minority candidates, including Chuck Reed, Michael Mulcahy, Larry Stone, Steve Tedesco, Sam Liccardo and Pete Constant. Oh, wait. Actually, in the past five years, the only Latino I can remember them endorsing is Rich de la Rosa, and we know how that turned out.

Which is not to say that the Latino community doesn't play an active role in the Chamber's events, as evidenced from this photo from the COMPAC barbeque page:


Try and find another Latino on that page. I dare you. I bet you can't even find Vicente Fox.

Bias

Yesterday, in a submitted comment, this blog was accused of being biased. I thought that a response was appropriate.

Yes. This blog is biased.

If, however, you think the Mercury News, Metro and Obnoxious Blowhards aren't - well, to quote Michael Corleone, now who's being naive?

So, the point being raised, let me articulate the specific bias of this blog. We believe that:

• those who can't afford to buy a house here should still be respected and have a voice.
• the community should have a role in the decision-making process.
• Chuck Reed's talk of open government was a campaign slogan, and nothing more.
• the institutions of power in this City are deliberate about building straw men to disparage and denigrate, with the aim of maintaining that power.

To that end, we are purposeful about presenting an alternative viewpoint to what you'll read in the Mercury News, in the Metro, or what has emerged from the septic tank that rests on Tom McEnery's shoulders.

If you disagree with our positions, fine. If you dislike someone we respect, very good. But we will always try to be open about how and what we advocate, and will always seek to bring an alternative opinion to the public discussion.

Please feel free to give us your feedback in the comments. Thanks.

The Mood in Willow Glen

An email I received, which shall stand alone. And I quote:

On Sunday afternoon, outside Peet's Coffee on Lincoln Avenue, three women were sharing coffee and intimate conversation. I overhead the following, "what's with all this talk about erotica? Hey, maybe Pierluigi will know!" Tons of laughs followed.

Pierre is now a joke - even among the Lincoln Avenue crowd.

Nora Campos, Puttin' Out Fires

The cage match between Campos, Constant and Reed continues with today's opinion piece from Campos correcting Constant's bad-mouthing of her from two weeks ago.

Campos smacks Pete around a good bit, questioning who the real mini-mayor is and calling him out for his hypocrisy in his wailing about wasting taxpayer money - while at the same time scratching and clawing for every dollar to bring back to District 1. (This, of course, is exactly why we need to do things like invest in fire stations on the East Side - because for fifty years, Willow Glen and Almaden Valley have been strong-arming for every available penny. Et tu, West San Jose?)

And, frankly, Campos was generous. Two other key hits on Constant: first, that the $500k he criticizes Nora for removing from the fire fund he himself advocated removing in supporting option 2 (page 10). And, second, that Constant falsely claimed that District 1 is the "most park-deficient" in his September 10th budget document, in his attempt to secure the funding Campos refers to.

Final score: Campos 2, Constant 0. And, I suppose, Reed, 0. And Oakland, 14.

Chuck Reed's "Calender": October 5, 2007

(Whenever I click the link to Chuck's schedule, I expect this to pop up.)

On October 5th, Reed had a senior staff meeting, including one "Vice" Ajlouny. Obviously, we're glad to see that his lobyist-turned-secret-advisor is still in the picture - it allows us to renew our call for more information about who pays Ajlouny, how much, and if Home Depot, his most recent City lobbying clent, is glad to have him in that position. After all, with Paul Krutko recommending Home Depot by name in an upcoming plan to bring (gag) even more big box here to Gilroy San Jose, Home Depot is certainly getting its money worth from Vic, assuming they're still paying him, which we'll never know.

Anyone want to raise this issue? Molina? Witt? Hell, Cassidy?

Or, maybe, this is a different Ajlouny - "Vice", as the calendar suggests. And if it is, is this person supplanting Cortese? Or is it an Ajlouny who is committed to cracking down on streetwalkers as a hard-lovin', hard-drinkin' man in blue? (N.B., I would love to post a mock-up of just what this would look like, but our secret City advisor is also poorly represented in Google image search. Anyone have a pic they can share?)

Reversing The Spin: Wolf! Wolf! I mean, bankruptcy!

Employees of the City of San Jose (and, for that matter, many other cities) often give up the opportunity for higher pay in the private sector in order to serve their communities. Historically, part of the reward for doing so has been the promise that, in retirement, the City will take care of them.

In San Jose, part of that promise has included providing healthcare. The City offers retirees and their spouses healthcare - what the reporter in the segment below calls 'a sweet deal', neglecting to mention the caveat above.

But what really makes this clip stand out is the claim by DINO Chuck Reed that our retirees have us on the brink of bankruptcy. Take a look:


That's right. At no point in this news segment do they mention that the financial obligation is over thirty years - only that it is "twice the city budget". And over that thirty years, even if City revenue doesn't grow at all, we're going to bring in over $23 billion.

Is $1.6 billion a lot of money? Of course. Will it directly lead to the City's bankruptcy? No. There is more than enough money to keep the City solvent - it's a question of how resources are applied, not if resources exist.

That, my friends, is called "fear-mongering". The term you're trying to remember right now? "Open and honest government." We should have used that concept as a guideline for electing the Mayor. Oh well. There's always 2010.

Well, The Greatest SJR Tip, Anyway.

In today's Merc, Mike Cassidy wrote about our coverag