Dec 21, 2015
When the Santa Clara County Water District Board appointed former Morgan Hill Mayor John Varela to fill the Board seat vacated by Dennis Kennedy, who is battling cancer, they probably were not looking ahead to the 2016 election, but one potential candidate was. Apparently, San Jose Vice Mayor Rose Herrera, who will be termed out at the end of 2016,…
Dec 14, 2015
In this week’s edition of How the Morgan Hill Unified School Board Turns, a 3 – 3 divided board will attempt to select a new board president and vice president. It is also the first regular board meeting since The Morgan Hill Times released a series of sexist, vulgar e-mails sent by Trustee David Gerard, so we can expect that parents, teachers,…
Dec 9, 2015
The candidate pool for the vacant Santa Clara Valley Water District 1 seat, has been narrowed from 21 to five. The Board is set to make the appointment tomorrow afternoon. The final five candidates, all of which received at least three votes during the candidate screening process earlier this week, are: Morgan Hill Council Member Rich Constantine, President of the…
Dec 8, 2015
There are many words that can be used to describe the Morgan Hill Unified School District Board of Education (Board), but “unified” is actually not one of them. The now six member board has consistently split 3 – 3, making virtually no headway on issues important to the education of our children. The citizens of Morgan Hill hope that the…
Dec 8, 2015
Yesterday, Assemblymember Luis Alejo announced his candidacy for a seat on the Board of the Monterey County Supervisors. This was somewhat unexpected, as many had thought he would jump in the ring for the newly open Congressional District 20 Seat, created by Sam Farr’s retirement. In his announcement, Mr. Alejo sighted a myriad of problems in Monterey County he intends…
Dec 7, 2015
Santa Clara County Initial data on gender/race pay equity & direction on pay equity in County contracting policies Commission on the Status of Women’s (CSW) Pay Equity Study: In advance of the forthcoming pay equity study that will be undertaken by the Office of Women’s Policy and the Commission on the Status of Women, County Counsel and Administration have conducted…
Dec 4, 2015
Today marks end of former-Mayor Chuck Reed’s pension reform fiasco. The City of San Jose has now agreed to a settlement of the dispute surrounding Reed’s Measure B with City workers. The agreement covers all but one of the nine non-public safety unions, which represent 3,000 City employees. The terms of the settlement are similar to deal made with the…
Dec 3, 2015
The Morgan Hill Unified School District finds itself in yet another controversy, this time as a result of the extraordinarily insulting and inappropriate emails sent by Trustee David Gerard from his official email address. Gerard denigrated several of his fellow board members and the District Superintendent, but saved his most venomous slurs for then-Trustee Amy Porter Jensen, commenting on her…
Dec 3, 2015
The Santa Clara Valley Water District 1 seat, vacated by Dennis Kennedy due to his battle with cancer, has drawn a significant number of interested applicants, 21 to be exact. Rich Constantine continues to be the most viable candidate, currently serving as a Morgan Hill Council Member. Another familiar name is Jeff Cristina, the Mayor of Campbell. If appointed, Cristina…
Nov 25, 2015
Earlier this month, Dennis Kennedy, former Mayor of Morgan Hill and current Santa Clara Valley Water District (SCVWD) Board Member, resigned due to his battle with cancer. While no candidates have officially filed for the vacant District 1 seat, there are a handful of people who are rumored to be interested. The first is Morgan Hill Council Member Rich Constantine…