There’s a difference between the talk and the walk and, where Mayor Sam Liccardo is concerned, the San Jose Mercury News doesn’t seem to be able to distinguish the two. In an editorial touting the newly elected San Jose Mayor’s efforts to “reach across the aisle” to collaborate with campaign foes, what’s missing is a dose of reality.
For all the willingness Liccardo has said he has to work with those who opposed his run for mayor, his actions have spoken louder by volumes. Labor Council Executive Officer Ben Field said it well in an article in the Silicon Valley Business Journal:
“The fact that he fired the City Manager, who was one of very few people in the administration who had made efforts to bridge the gap with city workers, is a very bad sign. The fact that he rammed through the city council in 2014 his hand-picked appointment for the vacant council seat in District 4 is a real problem. And some of his staff appointments send a loud message about his commitment to an austerity program. So all three of those are really bad signs in our perspective.”
Field says those who opposed Liccardo for Mayor are willing to work with the new Mayor because there’s a lot of work to be done to fix the damage caused under Chuck Reed’s administration, but a senior mayoral staff that’s decidedly anti-labor isn’t a good sign of collaboration. (Jim Reed, of the Silicon valley Chamber of Commerce, Pete Constant, former City Council member and labor-opponent)
The Mercury News castigates the labor movement for running a “passionate” campaign against Liccardo. All political campaigns are “passionate,” Liccardo’s included. But when it’s time to get down to work, potential partners need more than lip service to get on board.
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