Feb 4, 2015
No sooner than the November 2014 elections were over, San Jose found itself preparing for another race for City Council seat in District 4, this time on April 7th. The seat was vacated by Kansen Chu after he won his race for the State Assembly in District 25. Just like other Council races, this one will be very critical for the…
Feb 2, 2015
The campaign to replace Assemblymember Nora Campos when she terms out in 2016 is already off the ground for at least two candidates interested in the seat. San Jose City Council Member Ash Kalra kicked off his campaign over the weekend, drawing a strong and supportive crowd, as lion dancers ushered in the lineup of impressive names there to endorse…
Jan 29, 2015
How does one become a leader in the community when formal education only provides part of the story surrounding some of the most critical political issues of our time: from income inequality to affordable housing, to understanding the valley’s political history and structural power? There are few courses in college that touch on these critical issues and if they are…
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 15, 2015
Ro Khanna is running for Congress…again. It’s nothing new. He’s been running for Congress since he graduated law school 13 years ago. It’s what he does. Tweet
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,…