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I see an article in the San Jose Mercury news today where a group of residents in Palo Alto are holding up a project that involves a developer. The developer is wishing to build a new plaza. The residents have taken legal action to fight this proposed development.
Clearly the ‘little people’ are starting to say enough is enough and looking for ways to fight councils and developers. These residents have taken legal action. To read more about what they are doing here is a link to the article in the SJ Mercury . I think it is worth noting that home owners are seeing that these developments affect their property prices. In this case this development is a plaza with stores and businesses associated with it. It is worth noting that the residents are attempting to completely block this project but that their voices are heard and that they have some say in the feel and look of this project.
The argument that project reflect the cities ordinances and the plan are no long really relevant as I see it. Many years ago when some of these ‘plans’ were set life looked different. We didn’t have many of the issues we have today as we write. We didn’t have 8% unemployment, we didn’t have words like ‘recession and depression’ used in the same sentence. We didn’t have the strength of the internet spreading news and bloggers out there writing opinions and becoming watchdogs of our governments. Many bloggers out there are just individuals with opinions not ‘paid’ employees of newspapers, PR organizations or lobbyists.
Santa Clara city council has argued for a long time that we need more housing for the jobs around the city? What jobs? Sun Microsystems announced two fridays ago that they would be letting 18% of their work force go, Along with Sun, there are other Santa Clara tech companies following suit. Thanksgiving is a time when comes tradional lay off HR feels it’s a time people will be around family and they will be ’safe’ to send them home with out a job. Nice.
I would continue to ask the city rather than focus on more housing focus on updating our section of El Camino – clean up the ’strip’ please. I know it’s very boring to hear me say this again, but I would rather this than a 49ers Stadium or another 806 residential units – such as the Fairfield Residential project. Find some developers that will give us something to be proud of and that brings true business to our city. As we loose tech companies we need to look at other forms of businesses. With the car industry in turmoil some of our Stevens Creek car lots will disappear and with it big dollars from taxes.
Wow wouldn’t it be great to have a time machine. If only HG Wells had developed a Time Machine, wouldn’t it have been a money spinner. There might be also sorts of people who line up to use it on a weekly basis or a daily for that matter. Pick a day and go back and have it look like something else. Sure would be better than Ground Hog Day where you keep doing the same thing over and over. I hated that movie it sent me to sleep, it was more of the same thing over and over. Kind of reminds you of Santa Clara City Council line up, more of the same types over and over. The same faces keep popping up and showing their faces.
So last night just in case the city didn’t get it right the first time they voted on Caserta’s request to set the record straight that he had not voted nor would he vote again on the (oops that’s perhaps the wrong thing to say because he and a few others claim he never did original vote) on having his property classed Williamson Act Tax exempt or rather as I understand it very little tax exempt. The whole ‘rectification’ of the situation last night begs the question as to why do it in the first place – was there some feeling that things were not Kosher to start with. I bet an attorney could call this vote and admission of guilty. Whatever the case is it certainly makes an interesting read in the SJ Mercury News today – so one day when we all see the video make by a SC resident of the original vote on say something like YouTube we will know official what heck happened.
copyright Letters from Silicon Valley 2008
This coming Tuesday is a regular meeting for City Council at the Santa Clara Council Chambers starting 7pm at 1500 Warburton Avenue Santa Clara.
I just went to the website to look at what is on the agenda for this week as I believe that there are some residents who have requested an extention of reading the Draft EIR for the Gallery at Central Park – which is the 900 Benton, Fairfield Residential, old Kaiser site development. These residents have petitioned the city for an extension to read the draft EIR because it is quite extensive. The request is in view of the holiday season and the elections just gone that they need extra time to read this report.
Copies of the report can be obtained by going to the reference desk at the Santa Clara Library upstairs. They have copies if you want to understand the impact of this development on the local community. It discusses trees, transportation, business – you name it it’s there. There are also images of the proposed project. If you like a “prison cell block” look in your neighborhood you will be happy. If you are hoping for something with a mission flavor or a Rivermark feel to it, forget it, it’s nothing like that. More like large cynder block concrete mass construction or known in the industry as ‘budget buildings’. The report also shows you which trees are planned for the logging mill, of which I would say MOST! Darn it I guess the birds and the local wildlife will have to move out for a time, as will a lot of the local residents while they build this puppy over the next five years or so.
Now I’m hoping I’m right about this being on the Agenda, because as of 11.25am today the City Council agenda was not on line. And if my memory serves me right, they should have been on line a week before the council meets but Santa Clara might do it differently.
Internal Affairs in the San Jose Mercury News picked up a piece about Caserta. It relates to him not stepping down around a tax break he sought on his home in down town Santa Clara. Under the Williamson act a number of homes in the down town area have applied for tax concessions to maintain their homes. The idea is that the money saved on taxes can be put back into maintaining their homes given they are older homes and need to be maintained in the spirit of the original house – no pun intended.
It has been alleged that Caserta took money from various developers and in the case of Barec he took the money after he promised to support those who were against the project. There are other projects and other developers that have allegedly given Caserta monies and it would be interesting to see if he excused himself from those votes as well? I wonder if the Fair Political Practices Commission is looking into other projects Caserta voted on?
In any case it begs the question – how is it that Dominic Caserta and Kevin Moore who both have real estate licenses vote on a number of building issues when they are realtors? Not that I’m against realtorsbeing on council, for I am sure they are valued members of society but it’s a fine line for them voting on anything that involves real estate and I would think their consciouses would draw the same conclusion as mine – far better to abstain than to vote on an issue related to any type of real estate deal especially if you work in the industry.
Jamie McLeod has been criticized for continuously dismissing herself for not voting on certain agenda items because her partner has ties to certain projects and communities. I hope that others see the value of stepping down when voting on an issue that they are too close to.
I guess this is an example of why I am so apposed to endorsements. Endorsements and financial funding come with ties it seems.
Congratulations to Mr Obama on a fabulous victory. His speech was a most gracious and exhilarating speech. Though I have memories of Kennedy, I felt Obama spoke far more eloquently and touched the hearts of all voters not just Democrats but he reached out to Republicans as well. A true moment in history, right before our eyes. May his tenure be one of grandeur and success and may the country restore it’s dignity in the world.
Jamie McLeod, Jamie Mathews, Will Kennedy all won their seats. Congratulations to them all. To view the final results you can go to this link. Here you will find how much they won by. Mr Moore’s results are there too - it would be interesting to learn how many peole wrote in Karen Hardy – just out of pure interest.
I had been waiting on publishing this blog because I was waiting to get email from various candidates and view their blog/websites but it seems that only one candidate has updated their website with the result and that is Jamie McLeod. I nearly feel like adding and of course there because it seems that Jamie is more on the beat than most. Anyway congratulations to the winners may their judgements be honest ones and not tainted by endorsement or associations.
Dr Shanks asks us how do we act when we are at our best? We are service orientated, ethical and he believes that in the city of Santa Clara we are better than most places but he admits it is a work in progress. Phew because as I listen to him via the streaming system the city had it makes me wonder if the people running for Santa Clara city council all went to the workshops he talks about candidates went to at the start of the campaign.
We all know that politics is dirty but here in Santa Clara this year it appears it’s dirtier than normal. Clearly the 49ers issue was at stake and as such who gets to sit on our council for the next few years. Dr Shanks clearly wanted to limit the discussion and to address the ‘hit pieces’ and to focus on how the candidates ran their campaigns.
The campaign between, Bouza, Kennedy and Emerson was very amicable and the candidates all spoke well of each other, same goes for Mathews and Lowery. Brian Lowery commended Mr Mathews for pointing out that there are rules that did not allow for his suit to be a deduction. He quickly addressed the fact and he reimbursed his campaign. Mr Lowery used his own money to fully fund his campaign – not one dollar came from an outside organization or individuals. He unlike Mr Mathews did not have money from other groups buying big postcards, making phone calls etc. I commend him for doing a grassroots campaign vs mega bucks. That to me is a person who clearly has our city at heart not the interest of other cities or other large groups. Touche to him – I hope he does well tomorrow. And how fair of Mr Mathews in pointing out this issue – I hope he wasn’t the one that leaked the story to Internal Affairs in the SJ Merc? That would be sad.
Dr Shanks reminds as that this event tonight is to clarify and set the record straight – so here are some questions still:
What is the story on the hit pieces Mr Blair’s supporters had put out on Jamie – Mr Blair said that they were not his hit pieces they were hit pieces by other interested parties and his supporters and went out without his knowledge or agreement. That those hit pieces were not authorized by him. He actknowledges that at his website but he says he would have done them differently. So even though he didn’t authorize them he admits he would have done them but in a different way. Good for him for being honest about how he would have done them had authorized them. However, remember the ethics program says that if there is inaccuracies or anything misleading the candidates need to correct that – he does not refute them even though Dr Shanks indicated that there were mistruths made regarding Ms McLeod’s voting record. After some prodding Mr Blair says he should Apologize – you got to watch the streaming and this little snippet it’s like seeing someone caught and trying to get out of a trap. Bottom line is the pieces were sent out – they were not sent with Mr Blairs approval and they are not factual. They were dirty hit pieces – will they harm Jamie – probably – boy I hate dirty politics.
The other issue is that there were automated telephone calls made by Mayor Patricia Mahan and Don Van Raesfeld. The city did not pay for the calls – but the calls did go out without saying who paid for those calls. So I can understand that people felt that they were misleading and it sounds like they are being investigated. There was obviously some issue regarding the phone calls being made out of State because when they are made out of State they are not regulated. What does that mean? The main issue is that they did not clarify who paid for the calls – so today as the school bell goes off, so to speak, they made a third call clarifying who made the first two calls supporting those three candidates. Wow what would have happened had they not have made that call? Apparently these three candidates were concerned that there would be a hit piece put out on them, according to what Mr Mathews says on line. Which makes me wonder what were they worried could be said against them? Hmmm very interesting. That the three of them amount to a full deck on city council? that the three of them all have connections to one major city family? That should Mr Blair and Moore get elected that with Mr Caserta sitting on council that Santa Clara would now have three employees of one Real Estate office on council? Wow I don’t know what could be said that is not already known by a lot of local residents.
Dr Shanks thinks this process is a work in progress – well I think a work in progress is a city council that is hell bent on stacking the numbers that is ‘a work in progress’ and I hope that the residents tomorrow when they go to vote remember it’s time for Change here as well as in the country.
©Letters From Silicon Valley 2008
Scott Herhold of the San Jose Mercury News each year gives awards for campaign ads. He dishes out trash cans for political hit pieces, and bouquets for well done pieces.
He awards three (3) Garbage Cans to the hit piece that took the side of challenger Chuck Blair, by the Santa Clara Police Officer’s Association against councilwoman Jamie McLeod. Personally I think it should have got four but he gave four to a Vietnamese-American group associated with the LIttle Saigon movement that did a hit piece on Councilman Dave Cortese who is running against Sunnyvale Councilman Otto Lee. I trust Herhold if he says that, that ad deserves 4 garbage cans I’m sure it does.
Clearly the hit piece done on these two candidates warranted the attention of the greater community otherwise Mr Herhold would not have written about it. Local city politics here is definatley more intense and there seems to be more at stake if you win the race. Which begs the question Why? What is it that have people so hell bent on being on a city council? What do they get out of it? A gravy train? Junkets? I don’t know what the answer is? Perhaps is it civic duty? Civic pride? a Vision for something ….
and if it is a vision then let us hope that those that get elected in Santa clara this time can earn some bouquets from the residents and that they look at issues like
Cleaning El Camino in Santa Clara,
Planting trees along El Camino
decrease the number of high rise buildings planned
Give us a proper downtown area
and start to listen to what residents want
Once again I say support Jamie because she appears to be one of the few current council people who has listened to residents and asked questions. She is a thinking person, and I believe that there are others out there running in this election that representing thinking people, such as Brian Lowery and Mary Emerson.
©Letters From Silicon Valley 2008
So last night was Halloween and though I was home late from work I missed many of the early trick or treaters, though I think the weather kep peole at bay. I hope the weather will not stop people voting on Tuesday or the unwillingness to take an hour out of their day to vote. I saw that Google is endorsing a plan for their employees to remember to vote. They will be sending mail out to their staff to remind them on Tuesday.
So as we go into the final days of this election it’s worth reflecting on the race and what I have observed:
The candidates that have dropped by personally and door knocked are: Mary Emerson, Brian Lowery and Jamie McLeod.
I have seen two mud slinging postcards against Jamie Mcleod which totally turned me off. The language on those cards were particularly disgusting.
I’ve not had a visit from: Bouza, Kennedy, Blair, O’donnell, Moore or Matthews – I guess they have been too busy elsewhere
I’ve had voicemail from the Mayor and someone else at city hall endorsing some candidates
I’ve seen ‘paid’ for endorsement from Blair and O’donnell
I’ve caught: Bouza, Blair and McLeod on comcast TV.
I’ve saw the San Jose Mercury News endorse Jamie McLeod, do an expose on the who called whom regarding the Bouza and Moore, and a article about Mr Lowery’s suit expense.
I’ve not heard from Moore but I have spoken to the Write in Candidate Karen Hardy that is running against Mr Moore.
I walked the gauntlet at the Wine and Art Festival: O’donnel, McLeod, Kennedy, Bouza, Lowery, Emerson – and saw them talking to locals.
I’ve seen the issues be: 49ers stadium and the more and more proposed high rise buildings. Though the Santa Clara weekly feels that the tight run closed ranks city council is not an issue the San Jose Mercury News did pick up that it is an issue and a concern that one family has for a number of years managed to control the Santa Clara City council. I too am alarmed that this has been the case and the fact that it is always pooh poohed as a non issue, which again then makes it an issue.
I noted that Kennedy was not endorsed by the Mayor – which surprises me but she didn’t endorse McLeod either. Why is that?
So if you have any questions outstanding and feel you haven’t touched base with a candidate and need to learn a little more about them before you vote remember Monday Night City Hall all the candidates will be gathered. You can hear them for the final say and if you have a concern about ethics you can have your say as well.
©Letters From Silicon Valley 2008
