Jan 22, 2015
There’s good news and bad news in the City of San Jose’s just-released Comprehensive Annual Financial Report on its two pension funds. The good news is that the investment returns for the Police and Fire Plan (which covers police and fire) and the Federated Plan (which covers everyone else) were 13.5% and 14.2% respectively. That’s well above the 7.125% and…
Jan 21, 2015
We’ve learned a few important lessons from Election Day 2014, and perhaps one of the most important is how communities of color are stacking up to become forces in local politics, particularly the Vietnamese American community. And within that theme, there is another consideration, about who might take the 25th Assembly District seat when Nora Campos terms out in 2016. …
Jan 16, 2015
You might be surprised to learn who got the most votes on Nov 4th. It wasn’t Sam Liccardo or Dave Cortese. It wasn’t Mike Honda or Ro Khanna. None of those candidates garnered even a quarter of the votes. The overwhelming winner of this election was Nobody. Tweet
Jan 14, 2015
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. Tweet
Jan 12, 2015
Getting out ahead of Mayor Liccardo’s plan for immigrant residents, a new memo by Councilmembers Ash Kalra, Tam Nguyen, Magdalena Carrasco and Raul Peralez calls for funding to help immigrants take advantage of President Obama’s recent executive order on immigration. Last November, the President declared, through an executive order, various forms of temporary relief from deportation and work authorization for…
Jan 12, 2015
San Jose City immigrant services plan Two separate requests for City staff to come up with a plan for making things easier for immigrants who qualify for relief from deportation under President Obama’s Executive Action – One relatively vague request by Mayor Liccardo, one more substantive from three freshman council members led by Ash Kalra Tweet
Jan 9, 2015
With all the cloudy weather lately, SJ Council Member Don Rocha thought it would be good to bring a little more sunshine to City Hall. He wants the new Mayor to explain why he pushed City Manager Ed Shikada out the door just as he was beginning to make some progress with city unions. Tweet
Jan 7, 2015
Collaborate: /kəˈlæb əˌreɪt/ verb: to work, one with another; cooperate. It’s the word that newly inaugurated San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo has put forth often to identify his approach to governing the City. When he was sworn in before a crowd of more than a thousand at the Center for Performing Arts, the new Mayor seemed a bit rattled by an unavoidable change in plans,…
Jan 5, 2015
Among the duties the new San Jose Mayor will take on this month is choosing a Vice Mayor. That’s a role for someone whom the Mayor can count on to automatically second motions he supports or make motions for him. Because, some say, she’s not particularly bright and her word cannot be trusted, Liccardo is going to want to…
Jan 5, 2015
Happy New Year readers, it’s good to be back. City of San José Supersized committees Mayor Liccardo is adding a member to each of the Council’s standing committees, bringing the total from 4 to 5, while eliminating the Ad Hoc Economic Competitiveness Committee and the Ad Hoc Airport Competitiveness Committee. Instead of the Airport Competitiveness Committee, all airport-related issues will…