San Jose Revealed

I Miss Governor Willie.

2008-10-03T10:02:00.001-07:00

Rumor has it that Attorney General Jerry Brown may decide to run for Governor. After all of his years of service, he deserves a shot at the top prize.

After all, if the front page of the Merc's West Valley section today is to be believed, he's never been Governor before. Unless he's African-American and named Willie.

On the plus side, Willie will probably subscribe now.

An Intensely Serious, Important Post

2008-10-03T08:24:00.000-07:00

Here are anagrams of the names of local elected officials. Be warned: some of these may be a bit ribald.

(Hard to believe you don't have to pay for such a great website, isn't it?)

Chuck Reed
Check Rude (an indictment of his reimbursement policy?)
Cheek Crud
Creed Heck or Crude Heck

If you make it "Charles Reed":
Scare Her Led
...which might be the best of the bunch.

Pete Constant
Content Paste (how he drafts memos based on VAC press releases)
Ascent Potent (look out, Sam!)
Ascent Ten Top (pretty accurate)
Aspect Ten Ton (no comment)
Cannot Pet Set

Forrest Williams
Software Mill Sir (the former IBM engineer!)
Florist Slime War
Fossil Let Rim War
Itself Swarm Roil
Waitress From Ill (actually, he's from Alabama. And not a waitress)

Sam Liccardo
Cordial Scam (ahem)
Acid Oral Scm (ahem)
Card Scam Oil
Coda Liar Scm
Maid Scar Col (ahem)
Clam Raid COS (AHEM)

Kansen Chu
Chunk Sane
This was the only result for Kansen, but is a great option for his burgeoning hip-hop career.

Nora Campos
Soprano Cam (probably Labor-related)
Rasa Con Mop
Soap Con Mar (bathing in the ocean?)
Soon Arm CPA (since Chuck won't put more cops on the street)

Pierluigi Oliverio
(Actually, I used Pierre Oliverio, since Pierluigi didn't have anything good.)
Error Lie Poi Vie
Polio Err Ire Vie
River Oil Ore Pie
Live Poor Ire Ire (as in, if you live poor, you'll face his ire. Twice)

Madison Nguyen
Dungeon May Sin
Someday Gin Nun (if she's recalled)
Anyone Sign Mud (about the recall petition?)
Genius Many Nod
Gunman Said Yon
Maiden Snug Yon
Amend Noisy Gun
Amigo Sunny End (oddly intimidating)
Nudge Sonny I Am (outside a toll booth)

Dave Cortese
Corset Evade (be proud of your body, Dave!)
Screed Ovate (indeed)
Sedate Cover
Cover Sad Tee (wear your smiley face tee, instead)
Decor Eve Sat
Serve Ate Cod (I'll pass on dinner at the Corteses)
See Card Veto
Code Rave Set
Coed Star Eve (in a previous life)

Judy Chirco
Chord Juicy
Again, not many options here. But a good back-up singer to Chunk Sane.

Nancy Pyle
Penny Clay (...is in my ears and in my eyes)
Canny Yelp (there's a joke in here somewhere)

And, of course, we couldn't leave these two out.

Tom McEnery
Comment Rye (he learn his true inspiration - and I ain't talking about bread)
Memento Cry
Come Men Try (...to be relevant)
Omen Cry Met

Dan Pulcrano
Anal Porn Cud

I'll just see myself out.

Quick Notes

2008-10-02T08:13:00.000-07:00

Sarah Palin and Joe Biden are debating tonight, and the mention of that might trick people into coming and reading about less-interesting (to them!) information about San Jose politics. So I will just casually mention that I know who will win tonight and that secret Katie Couric interview footage was leaked and read here all about the strategy for Sarah Palin. That should get some Google traffic. Most of those statements, loyal readers, are untrue.
I have always wondered why the Merc (and other news organizations) have been so slow to incorporate maps into their articles.

This morning, for example, I noticed an article on the Merc website about a three-alarm blaze at a strip mall. It was in "West San Jose", at some high-numbered Moorpark address. Well, guess what, people-in-Colorado-who-run-the-Merc - San Jose is a big city, and I can't just picture where everything is instantly.

So here it is:

Did that add much to your day? No. But isn't it slightly more interesting?
Do you know what constitutes a "massive letter writing campaign" in a city of a million people? 351 letters. Or so Josh Molina would have us believe.

When it comes to anything having to do with Little Saigon, Josh is like the kid in elementary school who says his uncle is David Hasselhoff and David Hasselhoff is coming to his birthday party and then, when the party rolls around, he "wasn't able to make it".

Really? Something fascinating is happening with Little Saigon? Surrrre, Josh. Well, you go ahead and write about it then.
Confidential to C. G.: Time to take Blanca off the Christmas card list.
The Metro this week tries to offset the negative karma of supporting prostitution by devoting a multiple-page spread to Larry Pegram and the Values Advocacy Council. (In that name, the word "values" is defined pretty narrowly.)

Let me be blunt. Pegram is attention-starved and closed-minded, and deserves a feature article as much as Tom McEnery deserves respect as a community leader. Why not profile Andy Diaz? He's crazy, but at least he's up-front about it.
In case you were keeping track, at the end of the day, eighty hours of Councilmember and Mayoral time will have been spent, at our expense, being lobbied by the Chamber in Chicago. Just so you have some perspective.

Where The Hell Is Everybody?

2008-10-01T08:26:00.002-07:00

If you happen to sneak onto the 18th floor of City Hall today (or anytime through Friday), you may notice that some of your favorite Councilmembers are missing.

Here's a quiz to see if you can guess where they went:
a. They are at a retreat to discuss the impact of the national economy on the City's budget and residents.
b. They have all committed to spending the next few days in their Districts, listening to the concerns of neighborhood leaders and assuring that infrastructure and code enforcement issues are quickly addressed.
c. They're on a junket to Chicago, paid for with tax dollars through a specific loophole in the City's travel policy, in the company of any number of registered lobbyists.

Do you have a guess?

Yes, that's right, it's time for the annual Chamber of Commerce three-day lobby-a-thon, called, cleverly, City-to-City. Last year, the Councilmembers and some City staff were treated to a trip to Austin, Texas, where they brought back all sorts of fascinating ideas and made our city better. Ha ha. Just kidding.

This year's lucky five are the Mayor and Vice Mayor and Councilmembers Nguyen, Constant, and King Pickles. (Only five get to go, you see, because six is a majority of the Council. And since they're being lobbied the whole time, there would be the appearance of a Brown Act violation.)

Don't really believe that these leaders would take such a trip? Well, take a look at this excerpt from a recent Rules Committee meeting agenda:

Oops! Wrong excerpt! That's Oliverio's request that travel for City employees be shifted to web-based teleconferencing. I meant to show you this one:

So, let's follow Pierluigi's logic here -
Travel on City business paid for by the City: bad.
Travel to spend three days schmoozing with registered lobbyists, paid for by the City: a-okay.
Got it? Makes sense to me!

The King's hypocrisy (and entitlement issues) aside - this trip is archaic and should be offensive to San Jose residents. There is value in seeing how other cities do things. But that we should pay for them to be shown around by a group that's got three lobbyists on the payroll, and invites any number more to tag along (as they did last year) is ridiculous.

On an unrelated note - I am announcing San Jose Revealed's City-to-French Riviera excursion, for two weeks in December. Thanks in advance for funding it, taxpayers. I'm still trying to decide which five Councilmembers get to come, but I know one thing - Pierluigi can watch from his office. Videoconferencing rules!

King Pickles

2008-09-30T08:36:00.000-07:00

From his summer newsletter, which goes to households in his District. This was on the cover, of course.

Chuck And KLIV Play Softball

2008-09-30T08:15:00.000-07:00

Following up on last week's discussion of Armando Gomez' work on J and K, Bob Kieve's KLIV brought Chuck Reed out to the softball park, and gave him two floaters.

For those who can't listen, the questions posed to our beloved Mayor, Mr. Openness himself, were, "Did Armando Gomez break any law?" and "Is this common practice?" Chuck replied, "Yes, he broke law. And this has never been done before."

No, not really. But, come on. Obviously KLIV wants to keep this weekly check-in going, so they aren't going to push Reed too far. But the question is: does having a key Mayoral staffer making calls for money violate the spirit of Chuck's "reform" efforts?

This is the guy who railed against officeholder accounts and wanted disclosure when Councilmembers raised money for non-profit groups - presumably because he believes (or believed while politically beneficial) that such fundraising implies a future quid pro quo.

Measures J and K need to pass, for the sake of the City. But Chuck, likely following the advice of Vic Ajlouny, is playing his hand badly. Luckily for him, the local media isn't that interested in forcing him to do better.

Mea Culpa

2008-09-30T08:10:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I posted an item that indicated Pat Waite was being disingenuous in response to questions he received on Friday's post.

I read his response too quickly. While not providing a direct "I'm voting Yes on Prop 8", his response was consistent with what he told the Values Advocacy Council.

I was wrong, corrected my mistake, and apologize to Mr. Waite.

Quick Notes

2008-09-29T08:24:00.000-07:00

Interal Affairs this weekend relayed the story of Pierluigi's unfortunate foray to the Council's Rules Committee meeting.

Wearing a new outfit, cowlick tamed, and with a Twinkie in his lunchpail, Pierre hoped his field trip would be fun. But some of the smarter kids picked on him. In fact, one person in the audience, IA relays, even said that he just raised these foolish issues to try to get attention from girls.

We don't agree. I mean, come on. No one pays any attention to the City Council.
As I often do, I was trolling FundRace to see which of my neighbors gave to Presidential campaigns. And I discovered something interesting.

There must be a good reason for the head of Goodwill to want John McCain elected.

My guess? Job security.
NOTE: Originally, I had a piece here which indicated that Pat Waite was disingenuous in an answer he gave to a question a reader posed last Friday. He followed up on it and noted a mistake I made.

I must admit my error. The questionnaire to which I referred is not inconsistent with Pat's statements. I'll do a bigger apology tomorrow.

How's That Bed You Made, Chuck? Comfy?

2008-09-29T08:14:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday, we talked about Measures J and K - San Jose-specific items which would revise and renew funding mechanisms based on telephone surcharges.

I want you to pay close attention to this quote from a concerned citizen interviewed by the Merc for a story today:

"I know they have to get revenue somehow," said [Ms. Patte] Hempel, 63. "But city officials should take a little less money. They waste so much money in so many ways."

Now who, during most of 2005 and 2006, could have helped create such a perception in the minds of voters?

And, in a nutshell, you see the problem Chuck faces. After ridiculously (although no doubt earnestly) railing against drops leaking from the City's bucket, he has to convince people that it's worth repairing now that the bottom has fallen off.

The problem, as Congress is learning as they debate a $700 billion bail-out, is that it is almost impossible for humans to get a sense of scale around the budget. A million dollars seems to me like a lot of money. So does a billion. And a trillion. Obviously, I understand the order of magnitude difference, but not on an emotional level.

So when Ms. Hempel rehashes the canard about the general wastefulness of government, it may be in large part because these senses of scale collapse. The City paid too much for furniture for the new City Hall? Well, then, I'm not going to approve measures that would provide tens of millions of dollars in critical revenue to police, fire, roads and economic development.

Measures J and K are important for the future of the City, and should be an easy sale to the public, since it reduces money they're already paying. But Chuck, and his little friend Tom McEnery, and that guy Pierre who comes to Council meetings - they've invested a lot of political capital trying to build power for themselves by bad-mouthing the City government. Well, guys - you're the government now. And if the budget needs to shed some cops and quality-of-life funding, it's going to happen on your watch.

Is there a pea under this mattress?

Weekend Reading For Absentee Voters

2008-09-26T09:12:00.000-07:00

A visitor to this site asked recently when we'd take a look at local races. The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind - by which I mean, today.

In the interest of not poisoning the well of information, here are the most interesting* races, who is running, what I know about them, and their campaign websites. So print it out, grab a cup of joe, and hunker down in your house this weekend. That Leonardo thing at the Tech is overrated anyway. (Probably.)

Supervisor, District 2
Candidates:
George Shirakawa
Richard Hobbs

Former San Jose Councilmember, East Side Union School Board Member and meal-enjoyer George Shirakawa had an unexpectedly close finish in the primary, due to a strong race run by County Commissioner Richard Hobbs.

The general take on these two is that neither is a first ballot entrant to the Political Cleanliness Hall of Fame. That said, the odds seem stacked against George, since he was certainly the best known candidate in the primary, so the votes of his opposition can generally be seen as votes against Shirakawa. However, the Shirakawa name is still strong in the Valley, and with the bananas turn-out that we can expect on November 4th, that name ID might do what low turn-out prevented in June - push him past the 50% mark.

Supervisor, District 3
Candidates:
Otto Lee
Dave Cortese

Otto Lee, a one-plus term Councilmember in Sunnyvale faces off against another Valley institution, Dave Cortese. In some ways, the same calculus applies to this race, but there are big differences.

First of all, the third place winner in the primary, Jose Esteves, wasn't necessarily a Cortese protest vote - pulling decent support from his hometown of Milpitas. Milpitas and Berryessa are very much in play in November. The other difference is that the vote of Asian-Americans is a big wildcard. It's a vote that has flexed its muscles of late, but tends to vote more often than other populations, meaning it was probably a higher percentage in June than it will be in November. As such, the combination of name ID and higher turnout, particularly among Latinos, seems to put this one firmly in Cortese's grasp.

San Jose City Council, District 2
Candidates:
Ash Kalra
(Basically, no one else.)

Ash Kalra, a public defender, faces a strong challenge - what should he have for lunch? He got a sandwich from Safeway on Wednesday, and it was OK, but he's really been meaning to go back to Flames for some cake. What to do?

Oh, also - he's going to replace Forrest Williams on the City Council. I guess that's relevant to this blog post.

San Jose City Council, District 8
Candidates:
Rose Herrera
Pat Waite

If the number of "tips" this site receives from Pat Waite supporters is any indication, this is going to be a messy fight. Pat, a local businessman, did better than many (ahem like me) expected in June - but with a very friendly electorate. His opponent, Rose Herrera, looks to have a big advantage moving forward - the Democratic Party has fallen in behind her candidacy, and she will certainly do well with a bigger turn-out.

But this one seems like a game-changer is possible. As I said, every day I get some new accusation of unpaid bills or something from Pat's supporters - most of which are hard to verify. Rose's people, however, don't seem to be engaging San Jose Revealed in their campaign. I wonder why not?

East Side Union High School District Board
Candidates:
Patricia Martinez-Roach
Lan Nguyen
Eddie Garcia
Tim Tom

If the lack of websites for these candidates is any indication, everyone knows how this will turn-out. While Martinez-Roach might also benefit from increased turn-out on 11/4, it's very likely that Comcast VP Eddie Garcia and County administrator Lan Nguyen will be re-elected to their posts. Martinez-Roach, an elementary school teacher, has a good bit of baggage in the community. It will be interesting to see how the overlap with the District 8 Council race affects how this race goes.

Oh, there's also a 23 year-old guy named Tim Tom running. In Wasilla, Alaska, he'd be in the Mayoral contest.

Measure A - Valley Medical Center funding
Issue websites:
Yes on Measure A

Near the top of the list of things I like is this: not dying. I believe that we should try to make sure that a) hospitals don't fall down and b) that they don't have to close - particularly hospitals with the main trauma center in the middle of our County.

There's no organized opposition to Measure A, and there shouldn't be. It's a small parcel tax that will ensure a retrofit of key parts of Valley Medical Center which, in case you're wondering, is where you'll go if you're in a car accident on 280 or something similar. If you're lying in the middle of the highway, staring up at the clouds and bleeding, wouldn't it be nice if the closest hospital wasn't a pile of rubble? Yes, it would. So, as the website says: VMC matters.

Measure B - Funding for BART
Issue websites:
Yes on Measure B
No on Measure B (kinda)

While the issue of adding to the sales tax to bring BART to the South Bay is somewhat interesting, I'm far more taken with the folks that signed the ballot arguments for and against the issue.

The for side has a bevy of familiar names and blasts from the past: Chuck Reed, Joe Coto, Mike Honda, Paul Locatelli of Santa Clara University, Rod Diridon, Sr., Liz Kniss and the head of Applied Materials. But the best name you'll see is one David Yarnold, former Mercury News Editorial Board scold and Terry Gregory witch-hunter. Glad to see that he's back from the Big Apple to help us little Valley folks do the right thing.

The against side is a who's who of crazy and outspoken local elected officials: Palo Alto's Yoriko Kishimoto, Santa Clara's John McLemore, Mountain View's Greg Perry and San Jose's very own Pete Constant, to whom we'll just attribute outspokenness. But if these are your friends, as they say, who needs enemies?

Measure W - Berryessa Schools something or other

No one is really worried about Measure W, of course, but I include it to say this:

Seriously? 23 local measures? It seems the old trope about Presidential contests being the best time to run measures like this is being put to the test.

And speaking of ballot measures -

Prop 2 - Farm animals
Issue websites:
Yes on Prop 2
No on Prop 2

This one struck me as interesting. Do you think that, before they're slaughtered and eaten, farm animals should not be abused? If so, vote yes on Prop 2. A poll in July had this measure up heavily, which seems to reflect well on our fair state and its ethical tendencies.

As long as I can still have a burger, you might as well not torture the cow I'm eating beforehand. Just a thought.

Prop 4 - We hate abortion, take three
Issue websites:
Yes on Prop 4
No on Prop 4

Yes, parental consent is back. Re-funded by rich white men from outside of California, Prop 4 attempts, one more time, to begin the restriction of the right to choose. Vote however you voted the last two times.

Prop 8 - The Christian self-satisfaction initiative
Issue websites:
Yes on Prop 8
No on Prop 8

And, speaking of the culture wars...

You know all those marriages that are falling apart because gays can legally wed? And the slippery slope we're now on where anyone can marry anything? No? Doesn't ring a bell?

Oh, that's because those lame arguments were just conservatives' best attempt at disguising what they really felt - that homosexuals are scary and inferior. Nice try, guys.

But this, of course, is an unbiased assessment of these Propositions. I would never allow my personal feelings to interfere. So decide for yourself!

Prop 11 - Redistricting
Issue websites:
Yes on Prop 11
No on Prop 11

I mention this one to make a proposal. Parental consent, gay marriage and redistricting should be added to an annual 'Best Of' ballot proposition which requires a 2/3rds majority to pass. It would save a lot of time and money for nonsense which isn't going to pass anyway. You listening, Bowen?

Oh, then there's this -
President
Candidate:
Barack Obama

Since the other candidate suspended his campaign, this is really your only choice. Happily, it's a good one.

There you have it. Of course, you should actually read up on where the candidates stand, and what the issues mean. But that takes a lot of time, and the reimagined works of a long-dead Italian are on view at the Tech Museum. It's a tough call. What would David Yarnold do?

* By which I mean "races that aren't totally obvious in who is going to win" and "races that anyone besides the candidate and his or her immediate family cares about". If you're a purist, here's SmartVoter's complete list of races.

Sometimes, They Write Themselves.

2008-09-25T08:09:00.000-07:00

The headline in the Merc reads: San Jose mayor's budget director hit with ethics question involving work on tax-measure campaigns.

True to form, the article copy fails to meet such a lurid standard - articulating that Armando Gomez, Reed's Budget Director, is also leading the campaign for Measures J and K. J and K, you may recall (but probably don't), would replace the current 911 and telecommunications fees with lower (but more legally stable) ones. As is his way, Reed quickly assigned a staffer to join a crack team dedicated to getting these issues to pass.

The question the Mercury News raises is this: since City resources can't be applied to the passage of these measures, is Armando Gomez behaving inappropriately? Gomez, of course, says no; that he makes any calls on the issues during his breaks, on his cell phone, in his car, in another city, speaking French. (Several of those are suggestions for him, not actual things he does.) Oh, and anyway, the campaign was totally just about to replace him as campaign manager, probably even today! Just so you know. (Bet Gomez wishes he'd actually quit, after all.)

But Molina, who probably spent most of his time researching this article in trying to find the Little Saigon hook, misses a key point. The rest of the afore-mentioned crack team is not exactly who you'd want to put front and center in a conversation about why the City should have more tax revenues.

There is, of course, the obligatory role of Vic Ajlouny who, if Chuck's Chief of Staff's calendar is to be believed, is still very involved in Chuck's governance of the City. The whole situation, in fact, smacks of Vic's role in the Hon "Hindenberg" Lien campaign of '07 - during which, while advising the Mayor, Vic ran Lien's campaign. Into the ground. The Merc was caught flat-footed on that one.

Joining Reed, Ajlouny and Gomez in the JK Cabal is one Dawn Wright - also someone I might think twice about putting in a position of trust for a campaign. You see, Wright, Reed's former Chief of Staff when he was a mere Councilmember, has something of a history with local politics.

Six years ago, Wright led a Democratic group called Democratic Activists for Women Now or, DAWN. (This is unrelated to Vic's group Violence Is Cool or VIC.) While President of DAWN, Dawn appointed a treasurer who, in the course of her duties, pilfered about $5,000 from the group's bank account. That's what happens, I guess, when you put your mom in charge of the checkbook. (Yes, her mom.)

So here's the group responsible for ensuring that our City has enough money: our trusty Mayor (who transformed over $40,000 of tax payer dollars into memberships and event tickets), his shadowy consultant / advisor, his budget director (who the Merc raises ethical questions about), and the former head of a group whose lax oversight allowed her own mother to swipe thousands of dollars.

Hope you didn't like having police and roads, folks. We'll have to cut somewhere. And the Mayor's staff is probably pretty far back in the line for the chopping block.

The Insufferable One

2008-09-24T08:32:00.000-07:00

Let me see if I've got this straight.

Pierluigi has been on the Council less than two years - a Palinesque term of office.

His main staff support comes in the person of Denelle Fedor - who, while a minor District 6 staffer just out of college in 2002, floated the idea of running against incumbent Mayor Ron Gonzales. A testament to her political savvy.

He has no allies on the Council, and proudly disdains the input of both the Chamber and Labor.

When he was first running, the Mercury News pulled the endorsement they gave in the primary after it was revealed that Oliverio embellished his community service record and after he tried to pass off a photo of himself with an adult woman and some kids as his family.

And yet this guy, this extremely bizarre guy who at one point sported a Lincoln-esque beard, thinks he's the smartest guy on the City Council.

He was way too smart to vote for a policy that would stabilize the employee pool at the airport. Mind you, every other member of the Council voted to advance the policy, except Olives. He's much, much smarter than them, you see.

He's so smart that he is promoting a plan to replace City-funded travel with videoconferencing. Forgetting, of course, that have the point of conventions and meetings is building relationships. Oh, and that they need videoconferencing systems on the other end, too.

And now, he's too smart to think the City should build affordable houses. He wants, in fact, a moratorium on building affordable units unless there is a set-aside for parks. Despite city staff saying that the units are critical. Despite the still extremely expensive cost of housing in the Valley. (But then, that's probably not much of a problem in Willow Glen.)

You see, he's the only one smart enough to have seen this terrible flaw in the affordable housing system. He's the one who really understands the needs of folks looking for an affordable place to live - it's not a house they need, it's a house with a park.

He understands this, folks, because he knows what it's like to struggle to afford a house. He revealed in his Obnoxious Blowhards post on Monday that he paid nearly $12,000 in property taxes - meaning, at an average tax rate of $1.10 per thousand dollars of assessed value, that his home is worth north of a million dollars. That's gotta be tough on a Councilmember's salary.

There's an a propos quote from Robert Frost on the affordable housing issue. Don't ever take a fence down until you know why it was put up. It seems pretty clear that Pierluigi has no idea why the affordable housing fence was erected. But, despite that, he thinks that he's the guy - the only guy - who knows what San Jose needs. He's the one who, despite being new to the Council and being a lone voice on most issues, is right.

Pierre, heads up. You have an affliction called narcissism. And it's not endearing.

Chuck Gets A Taste Of Chamber Politics

2008-09-24T08:14:00.000-07:00

According to a report on KLIV, Mayor Reed asked the Chamber of Commerce for a slot at an upcoming Chamber discussion to advocate for Measure B (not, as the article stipulates, Measure A) - the Measure that would secure additional funding to bring BART to San Jose. (Via the East Bay. Which still seems odd.)

What he apparently forgot, though, is that the Chamber doesn't suffer opposition lightly. Since their most notable electoral work of late has been burying the candidacies of those they oppose under 18 feet of mud, it seems unlikely that they'd allow an influential voice to speak up on behalf of a measure that some prominent Chamber fat cats oppose.

And, as such, they declined - indicating that no outside speakers could advocate on issues. Sorry, Chuck! Thanks for bending over backwards for business! Your opinion isn't needed!

The flip side to this, of course, is that the Chamber of Commerce has no interest in getting the broad spectrum of information about issues before they decide how to vote or who to support. They, as always, rely on the cronyism and interpersonal intrigue that has gotten them so far in life.

And this move seems to pretty firmly cement Pat Dando in opposition to B. When the Mercury News relayed that Leadership Group head Carl Guardino wasn't interested in making public an internal poll on the Measure, Dando was one of the few early participants in discussions who criticized Guardino publicly.

On the positive side, Chuck, remember that the Chamber doesn't really have much in their arsenal, so they can't really do much harm. But don't be surprised if you open you mailbox next month and find an over-sized postcard with a picture of the BART system buying drugs from a terrorist or something. The Chamber just can't resist.

Quick Notes

2008-09-23T08:32:00.000-07:00

A new day dawns over our Valley, and it looks like another beautiful day is on tap. But, be warned - things aren't what they seem.

Take, for example, today's Merc piece about the Supervisors' plan to curb underage drinking. The measure could impose fines on those who provide alcohol to underage drinkers - people referred to colloquially as "cool".

But, Libertarians and the like, before you start with the "nanny state" nonsense, be aware of who is moving this idea through - the Supervisors' lone Republican, Don Gage. He who represents the conservative bastions of Santa Clara County.

Just upholding the Bush commitment to expanded government, no doubt.
Then there is this letter to the editor:
Unlike political advertisements, ballot arguments are part of an official publication. We trust them to make informed voting decisions. That's why supporters of the BART extension from Fremont to Milpitas, San Jose and Santa Clara asked a judge to review them. In the end, he removed two.

Contrary to what Herhold wrote, it's not to silence debate. Rather, voters deserve factual information and a superior court judge agreed.
The author of the letter, clearly a champion of an electoral process that proceeds with honesty and integrity, was none other than Bob Hines (or, as his page on the SVLG website is titled, Dennis Cima).

Hines, you may recall, was the principal architect of the Chamber of Commerce's ultimately-illegal series of scummy smears against Cindy Chavez in 2006, back when he was the decision-maker for the Chamber's political arm. Glad to see he landed on his feet.
Perhaps we have here another attempt by the Merc to generate funds, selling advertising to local municipalities. If so, it looks like they charge by the letter. And that they don't pay much attention to the context in which said ads appear.

Also possible - the article didn't have a headline, and the placeholder text appeared. But that is less amusing.

When In Doubt, Check The Other Calendar.

2008-09-22T08:52:00.000-07:00

With Reed Reform #21 complete calendars for the Mayor, Council and Chiefs of Staff are available online - often for the current month! (Well, actually, not often.)

But it seems Chuck "Mr. Open" Reed still has a thing or two to learn about transparency. There are frequently, on his calendar, descriptions which are incomplete or lack detail. Take, for example, his September 3rd 'Ballot Measure Meeting', at 6 p.m.. This is bracketed by similarly ill-defined meetings at the following dates and times: 7:45 a.m. and 11:45 a.m. the same day and 7:30 a.m. on the 4th. All of these meetings, which are listed as "off-site", say nothing more about Chuck's activities.

Enter the calendar of Pete Furman, Chuck's Chief of Staff. A careful reading of his calendar reveals a number of holes and, yes, omissions, on Chuck's. That 6 p.m. meeting, for example, was to discuss Measures J and K, per Pete's calendar. Seems pretty innocuous - so why elide that detail?

Sometimes, of course, it seems less innocuous. On September 4th at 4 p.m., Reed met with representatives from Nissan. Why, his calendar doesn't indicate. But Furman's does:

Nissan has announced they are bringing a battery electric vehicle to market in fall 2010 and are looking for a friendly environment to roll out their vehicle.

In other words, Nissan wants to lobby to find the city most willing to roll over for their demands. Thanks for clarifying, Pete!

And then, there's this:

Oops! Did Chuck forget to mention that a former lobbyist was going to be in his Senior Staff meeting? What a mistake! A mistake, mind you, that happened three other times in August.

Sorry, Chuck, if you don't like being called out on this. Whose bright idea was this whole "public calendar" thing, anyway?

(If you're interested in snooping around for yourself, check out the Mayor's calendar and his Chief of Staff's. A dollar to anyone who finds anything good.)

Yes, It's Friday.

2008-09-19T09:07:00.000-07:00

Which is why the best I can come up with is this.

You can either give Tom McEnery his just deserts...

...or help Chuck Reed walk the line between Pete Constant and Sam Liccardo.

Not sure why Chuck's in France.

Anyway. That ought to hold you until Monday.

How To Be Friends With Everyone

2008-09-18T08:46:00.000-07:00

Remember earlier this week? The Dow was a thousand points higher, Sarah Palin's Yahoo!-brand email was nice and secure, and the A's were 23 games out of first. (Now, only 21!)

You probably also remember a little article outlining the 2010 Ultimate Fighting Championship between Sam "Sammy Boy" Liccardo and Pete "The Boulder" Constant. (This is in a weight class I like to call "Flexiweight".)

In said article, Chuck "The Kansas Kid" Reed wasn't worried that the fight might cause him problems:

One thing that hasn't changed is that Mayor Reed, who has struggled to build a six-vote majority on the council, still considers both Liccardo and Constant as allies....
"They are both thoughtful. They are smart," he said. "They are very much alike in many regards."

Alike in ways such as: they both usually wear pants, but sometimes shorts. Both evolved from more primitive life forms, though one of them probably doesn't believe that. Both have tried calamari. These are the rocks upon which consensus is built.

But Chuck has another trick up his sleeve to make sure everyone stays happy - one that he demonstrated at Council on Tuesday.* Here's what happened.

The Council was looking at issuing a new contract for security services at the water control plant. Liccardo, a new convert to the Church of the Living Wage, made a motion to apply that (still-meager) wage to future contracts. Pierluigi of course, a long-time member of the Congregation of Holier-Than-Thou, instantly jumped all over it, railing about rate increases (that must obviously derive from an increase of a few grand) and generally coating everything within a two foot radius with a fine veneer of spittle.

Ultimately, Pickles made a substitute motion: that the Council just sit quietly and rubber stamp the staff's recommendation, living wage be damned. Constant gave a hearty "Aye aye!" as a second, and the Council proceeded to vote Pierre's idea down, 7 to 3. The three, mind you, included Reed, voting with his long-time ally Pete Constant.

So then the Council voted on the original motion - Sam's living wage addition. This was passed easily, 8 to 2.

Yes. To 2. Mayor Reed, you see, was persuaded, in those several seconds between votes, to vote with his long-time ally Sam Liccardo.

And that, kids, is how you play politics. Got a tenuous coalition? Do whatever you gotta do to keep folks happy. It's like a guy who can't decide which roommate he wants to date. He'll take them both out to coffee, insist to each that they're the only one for him, and end up sitting ten rows back on the bride's side at each one's wedding, sobbing quietly and wiping his nose on the sleeve of his suit.

What? No, that didn't happen to me. It didn't! Oh, shut up.

* You can watch the meeting online, of course, but I wish they'd allow you to embed the thing. But then, I'm probably the only one who cares. Probably not a lot of kids wanting to put this stuff up on MySpace.

Looking Back On Year One

2008-09-17T08:32:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, as you no doubt weren't aware, was the first anniversary of the return of San Jose Revealed. A small parade was held on San Carlos between First and Market at about 1:15 am. It was sparsely attended.

But self-indulgent bloggers love an opportunity to take stock. And this seems like a pretty good excuse to do so.

For those unaware, this blog began in April of 2007 and ran for a few grueling weeks until I needed a four month hiatus. That's how I work. Eight days off for every day working. Just like George Bush!

But last September, I got back into it, to Dan Pulcrano's great joy. And this thing has been going ever since. A few highlights:

Pat Dando Week
Does Your Councilmember Enjoy Erotica?
I guess the question now becomes, does he still?
Who Stole The Cookie From The Cookie Jar? Presumably, Lee Price never caught the Council snack thief.
Just In Time For Halloween. (This is one of my favorites.)
The Metro: A Boon To The Community
The Lying Lobbyist Lies. Still not clear on why a former Mayor-turned-lobbyist who provides inaccurate information about his lobbying activity isn't news. But then, the Merc is overflowing with stories.
Metro's Dan Pulcrano Being Sued For Fraud. So much fun...
Pat Dando Sells Herself
Questions Multiply In Pandorigate. This still smells like a much bigger deal than what we've seen so far.

These, anyway, are some of my favorites. Feel free to indicate some of yours in the comments.

But here's what I really wanted to do today. In the spirit of this anniversary, I thought I'd say nice things about those whose hypocrisy and back-room dealing we consistently seek to expose. It seems like doing that one out of every 365 days is a decent ratio.

Chuck Reed, for example. He's made a commitment to green policies and, while not unique, has been determined in that respect. The Tesla announcement is certainly a feather in his cap and, assuming the City gets a decent return on the investment, looks to be a boon.

And I'll say this about Tom McEnery - San Pedro Square, which he and his business partners own, is one of the nicest parts of downtown. It has the feel of a cohesive neighborhood, although it's just a few random city blocks. This is the sort of thing you find in real, major cities, and San Pedro Square, North Fifth Street, St. James and, maybe, Naglee Park are about it in San Jose.

Then there's Dan Pulcrano. I gotta say, I really wracked my brain on this one. But despite how loathsome the editorial policies and detrimental the advertising, there is much to be said for providing a space for independent columnists to be heard. Whatever Dan's motivations, the Metro does that.

Finally, the Mercury News. They're whalers in a world switching to gasoline - Stone Age hunters facing up to bronze and iron. The business model isn't tenable, but there's no doubt that there are committed journalists there who really want to serve the city and give important information to its residents. Making money and sensationalism often get in the way, sure. But not always. Faint praise, maybe - but praise nonetheless.

Alright. That's that. Now, we begin another 364 straight days of ensuring that everyone understands exactly how duplicitous and hypocritical the powerful can be.

That assumes, of course, that I don't go on another hiatus. After a solid year of posts, I owe myself eight years off. Which means, according to the Merc, I might return just in time to take on Mayor Constant.

Tempting.

What To Do When There's No News

2008-09-16T08:10:00.000-07:00

The Mercury News had a legitimately astonishing revelation today. Did you know that someone, somewhere, considers Pete Constant to be a viable Mayoral candidate?

This shocker comes in an 861-word piece (I counted) that delineates the areas of contention between Sam Liccardo and Pete Constant, and which ends with a typically hypocritical quote from Tom McEnery.

But before we delve into the meaty parts of the story, however scrawny that meat might be, please be aware, Mercury News, that it's obvious you didn't have anything else to write about. Unless Internal Affairs is now a daily column for Josh Molina, there's nothing to this article beyond this: a moderate Democrat and a conservative Republican disagree. Really? What a scoop! Just a tip. When you have nothing to write about, try contests, Google fights or making graphs. I've heard those work. Now, on to the article's contents.

First of all. Pete Constant is not a contender to be Mayor. This ain't Wasilla.

Fact is, San Jose is a heavily Democratic city, and Pete Constant hews pretty closely to the conservative strain of Republican. He would pretty much have to be in a three-person race against two incompetent Democrats. (Which, of course, is how he won his Council seat.) But consider this - San Jose chose perhaps the most conservative of its choices for Mayor in 2006, and that guy is a strongly moderate Democrat.

Liccardo, on the other hand, definitely seems viable. He's got a strong base. He's sharp, has a good resume, and knows how to play both sides. And I know Constant will call me sexist for saying this, but he ain't bad-looking either.

But time will tell. San Jose's track record with Mayoral elections has its bright moments and its turgid, festering embarrassments. Which reminds me.

McEnery, for one, said that the bickering is OK, as long as it doesn't morph into "mean-spirited" personal attacks, which don't sit well in Silicon Valley.

That's a quote from the article. And, yes, it refers to Tom McEnery, whose nasty, negative blog makes personal attacks that are solely "kindness-spirited".

See, hypocrisy like that you can flesh it out to 861 words. Maybe tomorrow.

Market Watch: The Local Perspective

2008-09-15T08:24:00.000-07:00

Ah yes. The local angle on the macro-news story of the day. A tried-and-true journalistic trope. As is alliteration. So allow me to indulge.

Did you hear that the stock market is a little iffy? That major financial institutions are falling apart or being devoured whole by slightly more sound institutions? No? Then you might want to bookmark a site called CNN.com, and check it every so often.

If you are aware of the challenges today is bringing, you are probably thinking to yourself, "Sure. My portfolio is drooping. But how is Judy Chirco's?" And of course, your friends at SJR have the answer.

State law requires that elected officials report on who gives them money, and where their money is invested. You can look up our local folks for yourself, at the City Clerk's website.

Today, in the spirit of capitalizing on the news, I thought I'd look at who owns what stock, how much of it, and how the stock is doing. Here's the unsurprising answer: people who don't own stock aren't losing money. Everyone else is.

In true SJR fashion, we went the extra mile, laying out a full spreadsheet of who owns what and how much it has dropped. Please enjoy a little something I call This Time, You Should Have Chosen Tech Stocks.

An important note - the exact amount of the investment isn't revealed, falling into four categories: investments ranging from $2,000 - $10,000, $10,000 - $100,000, $100,000 - $1,000,000, and $1,000,000 up. For the sake of this experiment, we pegged everyone's holdings at the lowest amount.

Overall, the big loser here is Nancy Pyle. Sure, Forrest is losing more money today, but that's just because he owns a ton of IBM stock. As a percentage of his total holdings, he's actually in the middle of the pack. Pyle's entire portfolio, however, is down 7%, thanks in large part to people second guessing B of A's purchase of debt-ridden Merrill. Or something. (What am I, Jim Cramer?)

A few other interesting things here. First of all, Pete Constant's only stock was in something called Paid, Inc., which he described as providing 'Celebrity Services'. Which seems like it's right up his alley. Anyway, he sold it last June, but if he hadn't, he'd be the only one making money today. Oops!

Oh, and Mr. Sam "Affordable Housing" Liccardo owns stock in housing development companies. That's a real jaw-dropper, I know. He also invested in the San Jose Water Company, which seems a little iffy.

Anyway. This is San Jose Revealed, reporting live from the scene. Tune in tomorrow for an interview with Joe Biden's cousin's dentist - a San Jose native!

My Invite Must Have Been Lost In The Mail

2008-09-12T08:14:00.000-07:00

If I may borrow a trope from the Daily Show, consider this your moment of zen.

For all those of you concerned about the Large Hadron Collider rending the planet in two, be glad that hypocrisy doesn't have a physical manifestation - or else, after Wednesday, we'd all be floating on little pieces of rock in outer space.

You see, Wednesday was the Leadership Group's annual Projections event, a pseudo-intellectual affair more about schmoozing than scholarship. And, at this event, in addition to such notables as Kim Polese (?) and Bill Coleman (?), you could have witnessed a moment of such unabashed cynicism as to threaten the existence of the planet.

For, you see, at this event, the "Community Cornerstone" award was presented to one Lew Wolff. As described by the event program:

The Community Cornerstone Award is presented to a top Silicon Valley leader – not from the technology community - who has displayed a lifetime of impeccable ethics, business achievement and community engagement.

(This is why you become rich, kids. Makes every achievement a high-school-class-president-style popularity contest, where popularity is measured in U. S. dollars. See also: Presidency)

But that's not the cynical part. The cynical part is this: the award, celebrating leadership and ethics, was presented by none other than Tom McEnery. What, Duke Cunningham wasn't available?

Next year's lineup will feature an award for marital fidelity presented by Ron Gonzales, the Charisma Cup handed over by Chuck Reed, and a recognition of traditional values with Dan Pulcrano doing the honors.

Bidding for each award starts at $15 million. Do I hear fifteen-five?

Pierluigi Sure Cares About Poor Folks

2008-09-11T09:50:00.000-07:00

Someone get Pierluigi a top hat and monocle; he's just not pulling off the fat-cat-plutocrat look without them. I mean, sure, he gets points for trying. But if you're going to be a stereotypically out-of-touch representative of the haughty upper middle class, you should telegraph that in your appearance a little better.

This post was prompted by a tipster, who writes:

Check out Oliverio's ridiculous argument against giving airport workers a living wage. When you lose a vote 9 to 1, that says something about your logic.

So, check it out we did. And the tipster, we gotta say, was on to something.

So again, folks, Pierluigi's solution to help the lives of these workers is to give them free (or just cheap!) parking.

First of all - they have to pay to park at their jobs?! Really? Parking in long term, the cheapest option, is $15 a day. Or, for an $8 an hour employee, nearly a quarter of their paychecks. Another way of looking at it - taking out that parking cost means these folks are really making about $6 an hour, barely above the minimum wage. And that's the cheapest parking option!

Second, of course, is that he's not even willing to commit to making it free. Enough said there.

Third - talk about missing the forest for the trees. He talks about how the arguments of the workers are "100% correct" and that they are "at the end of that precipice" - the symbolism of which doesn't really parse, but sounds gloomy. But his argument, that higher fuel costs are one of the major factors impacting the airlines works both ways. These folks don't walk to work. They buy fuel too. They're impacted by the same economic factors, and don't have Delaware tax filing status or offshore shelters to soften the blow. What you're saying then, Pickles, is that huge corporations are more important than the folks who live in the City you represent. That is, if they can afford to live here.

Here's the point, Mr. I-Represent-Willow-Glen. Your lone stand, that you no doubt consider so noble, means that you're perfectly willing to ensure that the airlines balance their bottom line on the backs of the people they employ. The people who guard the planes. Who clean them. Who handle the baggage. You're not willing to have airlines incur a small percentage increase in costs when workers are telling you they need two jobs just to survive, or that they rely on their children to help pay their rent.

As he says, it's "for the whole city [he's] gotta do this for." Presumably he has to do it for the whole city because the elected representation of the whole city disagreed with him - including the Mayor and Pete Constant. And, of course, he's gotta do it for the whole city except those who make the airport run.

On second thought, scrap the monocle and top hat idea. We can just redefine the stereotype of the callously indifferent elected official to look like Oliverio.

Wikipedantics

2008-09-10T08:16:00.000-07:00

(Ain't that a clever title?)

In my ongoing efforts to make Tom McEnery look like a boob (main accomplice: Tom McEnery), I did a little poking around on that newfangled tool for self-aggrandizement, Wikipedia. Wikipedia, if you don't know, is what Encyclopedia Brittanica would be if it were edited by the same 100,000,000 people who wrote it. And if a good 25,000 of those folks were under the influence of LSD. And the rest were a bit narcissistic.

Let me begin by relating this: the person who created Tom McEnery's Wikipedia page, a user named In defense, did so on April 8, 2007, late in the evening. To demonstrate his frame of mind, you should know that the next two entries he edited, less than four hours later, were for Larry of the Three Stooges and the history of the outhouse. I am happy to report that I'm not making that up.

The page was also heavily refined by a user with the cryptic name of TMC1982. (1982, you may recall, was the year that Tom McEnery won his first Mayoral election. No doubt, a coincidence.) This user is extremely prolific on Wikipedia, making over 500 edits to various pages in the last two weeks alone, with a strong propensity for giving a crap about pop culture items, especially Batman and comic books. He likes comics so much, in fact, that the user was reprimanded by Wikipedia for getting in a fight with another user:

[W]e remind you not to attack other editors, as you did on User talk:J Greb.

And what an attack! In his own, fightin' words, TMC1982 stated:

I'm getting extremely annoyed with people like you constantly insisting on breathing down my neck, lecturing me, and being microspobic with virtually every damn template I try to start on Wikipedia. I'm working as hard as possible to contribute to Wikipedia anyway that I can. Why should it bother you that I'm using "Iron Man" (which I used as basic outline/guide) colors for the Marvel animated universe template? Yes, I'm aware that this is a more general situation, but still, this is getting kind of silly.

You have to love the smooth transition from his noble efforts to make a contribution to the world's knowledge to his stern defense of using an Iron Man template. Keep fighting that good fight, TMC1982!

Oh. It probably bears mentioning that, in a biography of Tom McEnery, his dramatic loss in the Congressional primary to Zoe Lofgren was only added twelve days ago. Somehow TMC1982's rigorous Wikipedia improvement effort overlooked that minor detail.

As for the Wikipedia entry for Chuck Reed, it can be summarized thusly:

That Romanesque portrait is soulfully titled "Chuck_Reed_hat". Godspeed, good Wikipedians. Godspeed.

The Merc Nails The Details

2008-09-09T08:44:00.000-07:00

Way back in April of aught-eight, we briefly mentioned an initiative by Councilmembers Cortese and Williams to expand the living wage at the airport (while also dissing the 49ers). Today, according to the Mercury News, the policy is coming to a vote, a mere five months later. Or, in the case of folks making $8 bucks an hour, a robust $6,400 in salary later. Assuming a 40-hour work week.

A tipster last week raised a key issue around this decision that Molina ignores - what kind of security do you expect at an airport where you pay skycaps and baggage handlers the same as a Starbucks employee? According to the website for the living wage campaign, 80% of these employees haven't been trained in how to evacuate the building in case of an emergency. 80%! Reassuring, particularly when you consider that the person featured in Molina's article is responsible for escorting the handicapped and elderly around the airport. Good luck, Grandma!

But then, it's understandable that Molina would have missed this angle. After all, there hasn't been any recent TV airtime dedicated to major airport security holes seven years ago or anything. And, besides, he was probably busy nailing the details for his article.

Hm. Maybe this is a new funding strategy for the Mercury News. Give them a dollar, and you can see all of the words in the article. For the baggage handlers, that's only about eight minutes' work. Pretty good deal.

UPDATE: A reader writes in to correct me:

Regarding today's blog you have an error: Starbucks workers in Santa Clara County make more than the folks at the airport. My son works at Buck's and gets $10 per hour. I think his starting pay was $9-something.

Talk about nailing the details.

But the point is: the barista who makes your latte is better able to afford to keep his job than the guy checking bags onto the plane. Enjoy your flight!

The Three San Joses

2008-09-08T08:32:00.000-07:00

San Jose is rightfully proud of its diversity. The swirling mix of people, backgrounds and knowledge is widely credited as one of the factors critical to our area's historic innovation. But today, more so than any other time in recent history, San Jose is becoming Balkanized, less a city of diversity than a city of three dominant cultural groups, living side by side in increasing tension.

It's possible, I admit, that I spend too much time reading the comments on Mercury News articles. (That people whose identities are readily traceable using that system are so caustic in their racial denunciations never ceases to amaze me.) But the relationship between those of Vietnamese, Latino and European descent are certainly experiencing greatly increased friction.

The Vietnamese population, for example, is now strongly associated with the widely disparaged dispute over Little Saigon. Latinos, of course, are scapegoated for immigration issues and, increasingly, crime. And the stereotype of whites is one of a disengaged population more worried about property values and solar panels than making San Jose a better place to live. While these descriptions can describe members of those groups, it is, of course, an enormous mistake to allow ourselves the facility of such simplified associations. It is incumbent upon us to understand the complexity in each group.

And, further, it is the role of the City's leadership to rise above these distinctions and to determine how best to bring the groups together. But Mayor Reed seems incapable of doing so - or, perhaps, uninterested. He continues to stand behind his divisive role in the Little Saigon mess, and insists on battling Councilmember Campos over her attempts to bring a few more police to the streets of East San Jose, where three more people were murdered over the weekend.

Not that there's an easy solution. Many of the fissures we see derive from endemic problems - poverty, decreased job opportunities, racism and cultural differences. But efforts can be made. Reaching out to the leaders of the Nguyen recall. Instituting a vision for the poorer areas of town with as much fanfare as the Green San Jose initiative. Calling upon service and community involvement from all sides.

Mayor Reed is not a natural leader. He was a naysayer on the City Council, and he lets the City staff run City Hall. But it is unconscionable that he should allow the divides in our proudly diverse community deepen. His job, like it or not, isn't just to assuage Dan Pulcrano's mid-life crisis by bringing Tesla Motors to town. His job is to lead. And there is no more pressing arena in which leadership is needed than turning our three San Joses back into one.

And now, since you've all been so patient, sitting through my diatribe, a little snark.

Following up on last week's article about the Safeway blitzkrieg into downtown, the Business Journal reports - and I can't stress enough that I'm not making this up - that the 88 condos have entered into a marketing alliance with another group named (wait for it) The Axis.

No wonder racial tensions are on the rise.