Author Archives : The Left Hook

Policy Watch: Your tip sheet for what’s going on in your community.


Santa Clara County – 5/29/14 Senior Meal Funding Supervisor Dave Cortese is leading the effort to restore funding for meals cooked on site for the Senior Nutrition Program.  During the April CSFC  (Children Seniors Families Committee) meeting, the Department of Aging and Adult Services was asked to provide the Board with information regarding the feasibility of restoring cook-on-site meals to…

Whopper of the Week: A Classic Approach, But WRONG


This week we discover a Whopper in the American Mid-west, specifically in a May 20th column in The Cleveland Plain Dealer written by Kevin O’Brien and titled, “Where the VA has taken veterans, Obamacare is leading all Americans.” O’Brien doesn’t like the Affordable Care Act and his hostility to that legislation has led him into Whopper land. To begin with,…

Santa Clara County Heads Toward Cutting Edge Living Wage Policy


 The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors took the first step toward establishing the nation’s most comprehensive living wage ordinance.  On a unanimous vote, the Board directed County Administration to develop a framework for an ordinance that would set a new standard of higher wages, healthcare security and a better standard of living for tens of thousands of low wage…

Sleazy Mailer Crosses the Line


The California Apartment Association, which has endorsed Sam Liccardo for mayor, has sent out the sleaziest political mailer of the year so far.  At first glance the mailer appears to be from organized labor.  It praises Dave Cortese as if he opposed pension reform.  Only the small print shows that the mailer actually comes from the California Apartment Association PAC.…

Campaign Mailers Shouldn’t Punish Victims


There is something about political campaigns for law enforcement offices that makes them particularly vicious.  Maybe it’s that some candidates who see themselves as the champions of law and order tend to see their opponents as villains.  The result is self-righteous campaigns that cross ethical boundaries.  The use of crime victims for political purposes—especially without their consent — certainly crosses…

Policy Watch:Your weekly tip sheet for what’s going on in your community


Santa Clara County Rural/Metro The County board of supervisors will accept a report from the County Public Health Department relating to performance of Rural/Metro as  the 911 exclusive operating area ambulance provider.  Since January 2013, Rural/Metro’s response time performance has consistently met or exceeded the contractual response time performance standards.  Tweet

Deputy Sheriffs and Correctional Officers Attack… Themselves


Cannibalism is an unusual tactic in political campaigns, but that is what we are seeing in the campaign to elect Kevin Jensen Sheriff.  The Deputy Sheriffs Association (DSA) and Correctional Peace Officers Association (CPOA), which are running the Jensen campaign in the absence of any real campaign by Jensen himself, have attacked Sheriff Laurie Smith with mail that blames her…

Ro Khanna Showing His Anti-Labor Side


Ro Khanna Field Director William Rinehart, channeling Tea Party anger against working families, hoisted the American flag and yelled anti-union slogans at a campaign rally last Saturday. “Don’t let the unions own your vote,” Reinhart screams. Faux-Democrat and congressional candidate Ro Khanna has always claimed to be pro-Labor. In fact, he features his union ties in his new TV ad.…

Policy Watch:Your weekly tip sheet for what’s going on in your community


San Jose Campaign Finance Law Regarding Card Clubs  Councilmember Sam Liccardo is asking the city attorney for guidance on his  efforts to block Card Clubs from their constitutional right to give campaign donations to political organizations.  Currently, San Jose law prohibits the Clubs from donating directly to individual candidates, but he’s running for Mayor and doesn’t have the Card Clubs’…