Can the San Jose Mercury suvive?

On Sunday San Jose Mercury announced that they would no longer be publishing the Sunday "Perspective" section, and on Tuesday the Merc reported that they would be reducing their staff by 40, which will leave them with 170 employees. The reasons for the layoffs and eliminating "Perspective"r are the usual suspects, a "downturn in advertising revenue," and low readership. Eliminating Perspective and laying off workers is a short term solution to a long term problem which is effecting almost all of the daily papers in our nation.

Not long ago many of our cities and metropolitan had numerous dailies, now many cities have but one paper, and sometimes that one paper is filled with reprints of stories from news wires with little in depth coverage of local stories. Why does any of this matter? It matters because the majority of people in our nation no longer take the time to read and study the news, rather most people obtain their "news" in quick sound bites on TV and radio. It matters because there is a big difference between reading the news in the paper and having it presented to you in an abbreviated form. Of course many people rely on the internet for their news, however this has not translated into better local coverage or even improved national reporting.

Our democracy is dependent on the public being informed and able to form their opinions from various sources and discourse. Our founding fathers knew this and they published their ideas in New York papers to educate the public on why it was important to ratify the then proposed constitution. These publications are now known as "The Federalist Papers," and

...consist of 85 essays outlining how this new government would operate and why this type of government was the best choice for the United States of America. All of the essays were signed "PUBLIUS" and the actual authors of some are under dispute, but the general consensus is that Alexander Hamilton wrote 52, James Madison wrote 28, and John Jay contributed the remaining five.

The Federalist Papers remain today as an excellent reference for anyone who wants to understand the U.S. Constitution.

Would anyone in our nation even bother reading these same ideas today? Given the demise of most news papers, it could be argued that the Federalist Papers would not even be published. Without New York the new constitution would not have been ratified, and without publication of the Federalist Papers New Yorkers may not have had the slightest idea of what they were being asked to support. Without an informed electorate the very foundation of our government becomes weaker and more prone to abuses by those who control the media (and thus the ideas that are brought to the public.)

The Mercury is increasingly becoming unable to adequately cover local news. For instance, the Mercury did not publish their endorsement until two week before the election, however the election had already been determined by absentee voters who had turned in their ballots weeks before the Mercury published their endorsement. As voters in the district were casting their absentee ballots the Mercury had few stories on the election, and by the time the Mercury finally published their handful of stories, the election had been decided.

Even more troubling is the fact that the Mercury failed to cover one of the two forum held in this race, and also decided to keep links to the full video forum out of publication. Finally, and most egregiously, the Mercury had no mention of the election on the very day voters went to the polls.

As the internet has increasingly become part of our lives the ability of newspapers to deliver fast breaking news has become a challenge. It is clear that newspapers are no longer the quickest source for news, which means that local papers need to rethink the services that they provide the public. Newspapers have started to incorporate the internet into their papers by publishing online, having their columnists post blogs and also allowing the public to comment on stories online. While these are positive developments, clearly these actions do not go far enough in changing the bottom line which is profit.

To become profitable newspapers, such as the Mercury, need to reinvent who and what they are, for instance the Mercury has few, if any, stories on things like "crafing." Crafting is everything from bead work to knitting, and one is challenged to find articles on any of these hobbies. Locally there are many events that the Mercury could do stories on, things like Rubber Stamp shows, new types of tools for crafting, new types of crafts, and more. By reporting on local people, local trends the Mercury can start to appeal to those who have dismissed the Mercury as not being able to cover many aspects in their lives.

Another area the Mercury could improve on is their coverage of local politics. Have you ever read a story in the Mercury about the Democratic Central Committee? How people are elected to this the party? What, exactly, the Democratic Central Committee does? Who serves on the Democratic Central Committee? Why do they serve? And the same can be applied to the local GOP. Imagine the Mercury asking the local Democratic and Republican Chairs to write on a topic each week? Sort of a point/counter point column, something that might well generate some interest.

We all lose if the Mercury goes under, at the same time the Mercury needs to reach out to the community and start a dialog on how to best cover our local news.

Congratulations council member Kansen Chu!

The Santa Clara County Democratic Party extends a huge congratulations to San Jose's newest council member, Kansen Chu. In what is being described as an "overwhelming" majority, Chu crushed Hon Lien by almost 30 points. Chu worked hard, was the best qualified candidate and the voters of District 4 are to be commended for their ability to see through one of the worst candidates, Hon LIen, our city has ever seen.

Everywhere that one traveled in District 4 it was apparent that Chu had enormous support in the community, and it was also clear that D4 residents were outraged with Lien's candidacy. The San Jose Mercury also noted this morning that:

Chu's victory was a blow for Reed, who chose Lien to be his successor in District 4, which represents about 98,000 people in San Jose, including the Berryessa and Alviso communities.

After the results were in, Chu said he believed he and the mayor would be able to work together.

"We'll be able to find some common ground," he said. "Our goal is to serve the city."

Reed, who was in a council meeting until 10:30 p.m., admitted he was taken aback by his candidate's trouncing at the polls.

"I thought Hon Lien was going to win, so yes, it was a surprise," Reed said. "

Chu won because of his public service in the district, because he worked very hard in this campaign, because he went out to meet voters at every opportunity, Chu won because he demonstrated over and over that he was the best candidate to represent District 4.

Lien was utterly unprepared and unqualified to serve on the city council, and even though Reed endorsed and actively campaigned for her, Lien could barely muster 35 percent of the vote. Lien's devastating loss is troublesome for Reed, and he will have trouble distancing himself from his obvious poor judgment. As mayor Reed must demonstrate, through his actions, that he can lead honestly and ethically. Reed's endorsement and support of Lien has clearly damaged his reputation and ability to govern.

Again, our congratulations to Kansen Chu for his resounding victory! Also, a huge congratulations to Cary Chien for his amazing work as Kansen's campaign manager. And of course an enormous thank you to all the volunteers who worked so hard to help Kansen win this very important election.

Chu vs Lien video clip on YouTube

For those of you who do not have time to watch the entire River Oaks Forum between Kansen Chu and Hon Lien, you can view a clip that features Chu and Lien answering one question (no commentary) on YouTube.

The clip below also contains a link to the full forum video, hosted on the Democratic Party server. If you know voters in District 4, encourage them to watch the clip and then also to take the time to view the entire forum.

Vic Ajlouny's "city hall" job raises some questions

It seems that Vic Ajlouny, the same person who is responsible for the worst GOP city council candidate San Jose has ever seen (Hon Lien), may also have some issues with his dual role as adviser to the mayor and Hon Lien's campaign consultant.

The Mercury is reporting that:

Shortly before becoming San Jose mayor in January, Chuck Reed retained his longtime political adviser on a $39,000 city contract to write speeches, provide community outreach and offer other help. Since then, the adviser, Vic Ajlouny, also has been running - for free - the City Council campaign of Hon Lien, whom Reed hand-picked to vie for his former council seat.

Ajlouny says he's been volunteering his services to Lien because he likes and believes in her. But because his consulting contract with the mayor's office doesn't require him to log his hours to the city, some observers are wondering whether taxpayer dollars are being used to secretly fund a political campaign.

It is no secret that Ajlouny has been running around city hall for the last six months, and even though he is being paid by the city his name does not appear on any staff list. Another consultant, Dean Monro has been listed on a staff sheet, which makes the exclusion of Ajlouny's name all the more curious.

Ajlouny doesn't have to log his hours for his "consulting" work, and he has enough time to not just volunteer, but to run Lien's campaign? If we are to judge his actions by what others have done in the past, well, Ajlouny looks even more suspect.

In 2000 Jude Barry, then chief of staff for Mayor Gonzales, took a LEAVE of absence from his city hall job so he could RUN the Measure A (bring BART to San Jose) campaign

Barry was also quoted by the Merc today:

''We never hired consultants. I am not aware of any mayoral office that has done so in the past,'' said Jude Barry, chief of staff to former mayor Ron Gonzales from 1998-2000. ''It can be confusing or a potential problem if someone is wearing two hats simultaneously - one that says mayoral staffer and one that says campaign consultant.''

Ajlouny can volunteer all he wants, plenty of city hall employees volunteer their time on political campaigns, but find me one other person paid with city money that is a campaign consultant. Your city dollars have lined the pockets of Mr. Ajlouny as he runs Lien's campaign, and Ajlouny see nothing wrong with his actions.

In November the voters of San Jose elected Reed because he said he would bring honor to the mayor's office. Actions speak louder then words, and what is currently going on at city hall, with Reeds' blessings, is anything but honorable.

Entire District 4 Forum Video Online

The YouTube clips of the debates have been such a huge hit, the Santa Clara County Democratic Party has graciously agreed to host the entire video of the River Oaks Forum (we are working on uploading the BCAC Forum video as well). Click here to watch the entire forum, it is a little over an hour.

The Santa Clara County Democratic Party is taking the action needed to help the residents of District 4 become informed before they cast their vote. While residents of District 4 are being inundated with negative mailers, the Democratic Party hopes that by posting the entire video of the River Oaks Forum the voters of District 4 will reject the politics of personal destruction and instead cast a vote based on how the candidates demonstrate their knowledge in these forums.

There are two weeks left until June 5th. The Democratic Party calls on the Hon Lien, her supporters, the Chamber of Commerce and the Silicon Valley Republican Party to demonstrate clean, ethical campaigning. If these groups and individuals cannot stop their politics of personal destruction, the voters of District 4 should send a resounding message that negative campaigning will not result in victory.

We hope you will help end the politics of personal destruction by distributing the link to the River Oaks Forum far and wide.

"Chu's proven record retains MN Support"

The San Jose Mercury News finally published their endorsement in the District 4 race, and as was expected, Kansen Chu won their support once again. From the endorsement:

But Lien fails to meet the minimum threshold of qualifications for city office, while Chu has worked hard to prepare. The city is best served by council members with experience in community causes and at least some familiarity with government and politics.

Chu, 54, is a former IBM programmer who runs a small business. He and his family are longtime Berryessa residents involved in a variety of local organizations and projects during the years. He was just re-elected to the Berryessa School Board, and he has worked for two state lawmakers.

As many of us know, Chu has not only served the Berryessa community for decades, he has worked hard during this campaign by reaching out to voters at every opportunity. From knocking on doors to attending local festivals, Chu has gone out into the community to personally ask for the voters support, Lien, on the other hand, has done little more then send erroneous mailers throughout District 4. Lien has campaigned by proxy, and as the Mercury noted today, she has little to offer either Berryessa or San Jose:

But she has not been engaged in District 4 or city issues. Eligible to vote for nearly 20 years, she never even registered until last fall. She's intelligent, but as any teacher knows, a certain level of basic knowledge is necessary for even the brightest student to make the grade. On city issues, Lien is lacking the basics. Taking leadership in Berryessa community groups or joining a city board or commission could give her that foundation.

In a separate editorial the Mercury also notes the tone of this campaign which has turned into a mudslinging contest initiated by Lien. Cleaning up the campaign in this race, and other local races would benefit our community, however if there is no penalty for starting a war of personal destruction there is no incentive for a campaign or candidate to avoid going negative.

In this separate editorial the Mercury did note that:

Lien's backers believe Chu has unfairly accused her of moving into Berryessa from Milpitas just to run for office in 2006. She previously lived in Berryessa from 1991 to 2000, so she's not a total newcomer.

But in a broad sense, pointing out her lack of community ties is fair. Lien was not involved in neighborhood or city issues until she ran for the Berryessa School Board last year, and she did that only because now-Mayor Chuck Reed asked her to. She lives with her brother in Berryessa, but her daughters live with her mother and attend Milpitas schools.

As a summary, Lien

1.) Never voted before last year, even though she had been eligible to vote for 20 years

2.) Has no service to the community in District 4

3.) Knows little about the workings of city government.

4.) Recently moved into the district.

5.) Lien ran for Berryessa Union School Board in November of 2006 while her own children were attending school in another city, and continue to live and go to school in Milpitas.

Congratulations to Kansen Chu for once again being supported by the Mercury News, and now we all need to take to the streets knocking on doors, we need to help phone the voters of District 4 and make sure that Chu is elected as our new city council person.

UPDATE: MORE VIDEO of Hon "I don't know" Lien

Ok, so I am partisan, of that there is no doubt. While I admit my partisanship, I do draw the line at endorsing or supporting Democratic candidates who can't answer even the most basic question. Last night at the River Oaks Forum, Hon "I don't know" Lien made a fool of herself and every single person who endorsed her.

Here is but one short example of her performance last night:

As you can see Kansen had a complete understanding of the question and gave a very good answer. I still can't figure out how Lien had absolutely no idea of what was being asked of her, it was a BASIC, easy question.

Shame on anyone who is supporting or endorsed this woman, shame, shame, shame.

UPDATE:

Here are two more videos. The first one is about 3 minutes, the second one is a little over 7 minutes.

Kansen Chu and Hon Lien Forum Video

We just found this on YouTube and thought you might like to see for yourself how utterly unprepared Lien was at the forum. It is our understanding that there will be more video posted later in the week, including Lien's ill fated "attack" against Chu.

After watching this video, ask yourself how anyone can possibly support Lien as a city council candidate. Lien has attacked Chu with falsehoods, she has no idea of her own personal finances and as you can see for yourself, she no grasp of the issues that our council members need to know and understand.

Kansen Chu clearly understands the issues, he demonstrates his knowledge of how our government works, and as you can see and hear for yourself, Chu does not have to rely on notes when answering questions.

If you have a YouTube account don't forget to rate the video.

Kansen Chu clear winner at BCAC Forum

Last night the Berryessa Citizens Advisory Council (BCAC) hosted a forum for the two city council candidates in District 4, Kansen Chu and Hon LIen. The forum was held at the Berryessa Community Center and was attended by over 200 voters. From the start it was obvious that an overwhelming majority of those at the forum were Chu supporters as it was hard to miss the Chu buttons and t-shirts in the audience.

The first "violation" of the rules came early in the evening from Lien supporters. The moderator of the forum asked that the audience not applaud either candidate until the entire forum was finished. Chu gave his two minute opening speech and then Lien gave her opening which was followed by applause from her supporters. Given Lien's actions in this campaign it was no surprise that neither she or her supporters have any respect for rules.

More on the flip.....

Very early in the forum it was clear that Lien had no command of the issues, and as the evening progressed her lack of understanding become painfully obvious to even the few in the audience who were LIen supporters. For instance, the candidates were asked about the San Jose Redevelopment Agency and Lien could only state that she had little knowledge of the agency or its functions. Chu on the other hand showed command of not only what the agency does, he offered various directions that the agency could take.

Another lack of knowledge by Lien appeared when the moderator asked both candidates about development in Coyote Valley. Lien stated that since Coyote Valley was currently zoned "industrial" we should leave that zoning in place until triggers are met to bring in housing. Ms. Lien somehow was unaware that Coyote Valley is currently zoned as a "green belt",which raised many eyebrows among the audience. Chu noted that he would not support any acceleration of housing development in Coyote Valley unless the job triggers are met. Chu also understood the specifics of the triggers and their order.

When asked how they would communicate with the district Lien gave out her cell phone number and stated if elected residents could call her on her cell at any time. Given that there are 90,000 residents of District 4 handing out a cell phone number not only is impractical, it is ridiculous. In contrast, Chu repeated his pledge to hold community office hours and proactively reach out to residents to seek input.

At one point Lien again showed how little respect she has for honesty and ethics as she made an erroneous attack on Chu. The question asked was what each candidate had learned from the campaign. Lien never really answered the question; rather she claimed that Chu was attempting to buy votes in the Vietnamese community by promising to hire a Vietnamese chief of staff. Chu responded to the untruthful accusation by stating that he had told the Vietnamese community he would be open to hiring a Vietnamese Chief of Staff, just as he would also be open to hiring an Italian or anyone from any ethnic background. The audience erupted in spontaneous applause for Chu and Lien was clearly shaken.

Over and over Chu cited his experience, his dedication to the community, and his recent outreach at the Berryessa Art and Wine Festival, while Lien had little to say beyond "bring business to San Jose." Given that Chu has lived in the district for 29 years and has been active that entire time, coupled with Lien's recent residency in the district, her failure to have ever voted before last year, her lack of any type of community service in District 4, and her absolute failure to grasp many of the issues, left the voters with a clear choice last night.

Check back later today or tomorrow as we post highlights from the forum. We report, you decide.

Kansen Chu wows voters at the Berryessa Art and Wine Festival

Yesterday was the 32nd annual Berryessa Art and Wine Festival. The festival was so crowded that it was difficult to walk the numerous merchant aisles. Even though the festival was attended by hordes of District 4 voters, you could easily find Kansen Chu shaking hands, answering questions, walking around and greeting everyone. Kansen was a huge hit and almost everyone who approached the "Kansen Chu" booth noted that they had already voted for Kansen!

Kansen was joined by his beautiful and amazing wife Daisy, as well as their lovely daughter Ann. The "Chu Corp" of volunteers also helped keep the booth manned throughout the day. As more and more volunteers arrived their presence was hard to miss as they strolled the festival in their classy navy and orange "Kansen Chu for City Council" t-shirts. Rumor has it that one unnamed volunteer even had "Kansen Chu" tattooed on their arm. Another volunteer could be seen walking the festival holding a Chu lawn sign for all to see.

Very early in the day the Chu booth ran out of buttons, and when walking the crowds Kansen buttons were everywhere. Kansen and Daisy were the hit of the day, and they were at the festival until they left to walk precincts in the early afternoon.

Kansen really wowed the voters yesterday, and he continues to meet, greet and talk to everyone in the district.

There were no reported sightings of either Hon Lien or any of her supporters. As a matter of fact emails are making their way throughout the district noting the absence of Ms. Lien:

yesterday was the 32nd Berryessa Art & Wine Festival. Signs have been up for weeks throughout the district (you can't miss them) & the festival has been on the Saturday before Mother's Day for the last 32 years. Hon Lien was not there. - she can't plead she didn't know the date or know about the festival. The sign's are everywhere in the area she has resided in for 16 months. The festival was packed with District 4 residents - where better to reach out to the public.

I was at the event from 6:30 AM to 7:PM. I never saw her. Did her campaign even make any attempt to attend?

Mayor Reed was always in attendance when he ran for office and was always a supporter of this festival. Dave Cortese had a representative on site. We did see the Milpitas Republican Party group - but, no Hon Lien.

Mr and Mrs. Chu, their family and several Chu supporters were there. You could not miss them.

Updated: Hon Lien forgets details of her finances

My, my, my. The rigors of the campaign must be getting to Ms. Hon Lien, as is clearly evidenced in her statements to the Berryessa Sun. Ms. Lien seems to be confused about her current unpaid lien at the county for unpaid taxes:

Lien herself has an unpaid tax lien of more than $7,000 against a business she brought into bankruptcy last year.

This week, Lien said monies owed were less than that about $6,500.

Well, lets check and see exactly what the amount owed is....follow me on the flip

According to the Santa Clara County Tax Collector, Ms. Lien owes over $7,000.

County of Santa Clara, Tax Collector's Office
Date: Friday May. 11, 2007 Time: 20:06:48
Information Summary for Unsecured Property Taxes
Property Information Assessment Number 06-054624-9
Assessor Account Number 410095-0001-2
Property Address 580 N . RENGSTORFF AV.
Mountain View, CA
Property Description GROCERY
Taxes Due for Assessment Number: 06-054624-9
Total Amount Paid Still Due Delinquent Date
$7,217.01 $0.00 $7,217.01 08/31/2006

UPDATE Here is the screen shot from the Tax Collector taken on May 13:

The business in question is the "Golden Phoenix Market," and Lien was the president. Lien is about $717 dollars off in her statement, but that is understandable if she is going by this lien, however the lien at the link clearly indicates that the "amount may have increased due to the addition of penalties."

Further into the article we see this reference to Ms. Liens bankruptcy:

Others have also targeted the Lien campaign over monies she allegedly owes to Santa Clara County and private companies.

In an e-mail sent to Berryessa Sun, a person who goes by the name "Cuu Chau" who was a former supporter of failed District Four candidate Bryan Do alleged Monday that Lien's Golden Phoenix supermarket owes more than $1 million to 141 different creditors.

Confirming that her Mountain View business was in bankruptcy, Lien said monies owed were "not anywhere close to that number."

Lien said she did not know the exact amount owed, or the number of creditors involved.

"I don't know. My attorney should have the answer for that," she said.

Lien doesn't know the exact number of creditors, nor does she know the exact amount, however she knows that her debts were not "anywhere close to that number."

Ok, so let us take another little journey and see what Lien doesn't know about her own bankruptcy. Here is her bankruptcy file, and as you can see on page 4 she owes 1,083,262.55. She does have some assets that might be used to pay her debts, but that still doesn't change the fact that she owes over $1 million.

It is hard to imagine that someone who would like to serve as our council member cannot even remember her own finances. If she can't remember her personal finances, how is she supposed to remember complex and detailed budget items that she will be asked to vote on?

UPDATE: Here are the documents from her bankruptcy filing.

Page one notes that she has between 200 - 999 creditors as well as debt between 1,000,000 and 10,000,000. Also you will note that none of these creditors will be paid as her bankruptcy filing checked the box next to this statement:

Debtor estimates that, after any exempt property is excluded and administrative expenses paid, there will be no funds available for distribution to unsecured creditors.

Here is the screen shot of page one of her filing:

And here is page four of her bankruptcy filing which lists her debt at over $1 million with 69 PAGES of creditors:

District 4 race turns ugly and dirty

There are not enough words to express our outrage at what has been going on in the San Jose District 4 City Council race. Kansen Chu, endorsed by the Democratic Party, a long time resident of District 4, a community leader with numerous community service awards, an elected member of the Berryessa Union School Board, has been maligned by his opponent, the local GOP and the Chamber of Commerce.

Kansen's opponent, a woman who until last year had never even bothered to register to vote, a woman who has almost no community service, a woman who until last year did not even live in San Jose, a woman who filed bankruptcy and owes over $1.2 million to creditors, has allowed her campaign and other groups associated with her campaign to distribute erroneous information about Kansen.

More on the flip....

Hon Lien, Kansen's opponent, sent out a mailer last week claiming that Kansen had had numerous liens that amounted to thousands of dollars filed against him or his business. Only one of these liens belonged to Kansen, and that was in the amount of $10, which became a $50 lien with interest. The rest of the liens belonged to "Ocean Harbor, Inc." Kansen's business is "Ocean Harbor 2889 Inc."

Yesterday Lien finally apologized for her actions, however the erroneous information had already been given to the GOP and the GOP sent out another mailer containing the lies told in Lien's first mailer. While the GOP may not have had time to stop their mailer, they are still obligated to correct the record by sending out a retraction to the voters of District 4 as well as apologizing to Kansen.

In what is perhaps the most serious violation of the law, the Chamber of Commerce continued these actions of deception and deceit by allowing their mailer to go out after they may well have had confirmation that their information was a complete lie. Lien's campaign, the GOP and the Chamber all used the EXACT same information, which indicates there may have been coordination between Lien's campaign, the local GOP and the Chamber.

Further, Ms. Lien also lied to the Mercury News yesterday, claiming that she was unaware of a $7,000 lien placed against her in late 2006 because the lien was mailed to the wrong address. A quick check with the county tax collector proves that the county has only one address on file for Ms. Lien's bankrupt market, "580 N. Rengstorff" which is the correct address. Further, before filing bankruptcy, Ms. Lien had previously paid her non- secured taxes from tax bills she had received at the "580" address.

Not only has Ms. Lien distributed erroneous information about Chu, she herself has extensive financial issues, including running a business into bankruptcy last year. Ms. LIen owes $1.2 million to creditors, many of whom are small business people who will never see payment from Ms. Lien's business.

Who is behind this smear campaign? Who seeks to bring this lack of ethics, this dishonesty to our city government? Who are the people that support this utterly disgusting type of campaigning? Those who have endorsed Lien, if they do not withdraw their support, become directly supportive of the actions by Ms. Lien's campaign.

Actions speak louder then words, and the actions of both Ms. Lien and her supporters speak volumes about the dishonesty and deceit that is behind Ms. Lien.

Values Advocacy Council seeking to influence electeds and elections

While the San Jose Mercury repeatedly attacks both Democrats and Labor for influence in our local government and elections, there has been not one mention in the Merc of the Values Advocacy Council (VAC). What type of organization is VAC? For starters it is an organization that is anti-choice, anti-domestic partners, pro prayer in school, pro governmental sponsorship of religious symbols and articles in public places, pro intelligent design as a "science" and pro prayer in the public arena.

VAC's purpose is:

to be a voice for Christian values in public policy matters in Silicon Valley. We work to influence elected and non-elected officials to make values based decisions and take values oriented actions.

In the last election VAC prepared a 2006 Voter guide by sending out candidate questionnaires (with different questions for the mayoral, city council and school board races), asking mayoral candidates for a "yes" or "no" to such statements as:

1. I believe that marriage is between one man and one woman. I support an effort to place a measure on the ballot to place Proposition 22 in the California State Constitution.

2. I believe abortion should not continue to be legal in the United States. I believe that the procedure known as a "partial birth abortion" should be illegal.

3. I believe the doctrine of "separation of church and state" means that the government shall not establish a national or state religion (Establishment Clause, First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution) but does not mean that religion should be totally removed from any and all governmental activity.

4. I believe that health, survivor and other benefits should not be made available to the "domestic partners" of City employees.

5. The display of religious articles or symbols has a place on public property.

6. Prayer has a place in the public arena.

7. The "faith based" community can positively shape lives and should be encouraged hrough land use decisions and public signage.

8. The "faith based" community should have a "place at the table" in public policy matters, discussions, and debates.

9. "Faith based social service" organizations should be eligible to receive government funding and/or support.

10. I believe that the City has enough revenue to fund necessary services without having to resort to new or additional fees and taxes.

11. I believe that the City should take property utilizing "eminent domain" only when it is to be put to use for the public and not for private development. At no time is the taking of Church property for private development appropriate utilizing "eminent domain."

On the flip, questions for school board candidates.....

School board candidates were asked:

1. I believe that marriage is between one man and one woman. I support a Constitutional Amendment to make this the law of the land. I do not believe that "alternative lifestyles" are equivalent relationships to traditional marriage and should not be taught as such in public school.

4. I believe that health, survivor and other benefits should not be made available to the "domestic partners" of School District employees.

5. The display of religious articles or symbols has a place on public school property.

6. Prayer has a place in the public school arena.

7. Do you believe that creationism or intelligent design should be taught as an alternative to or along with the theory of evolution?

9. I believe that sex education classes should be designed to promote abstinence.

What is most disturbing about this group is their growing influence in our local goverment. For instance, Larry Pegram, President and Co-founder of VAC, has been appointed to the Reed "transistion team" which will advise Reed on matters of public policy.

VAC is aligned with the Christian Coalition, Family Research Council, Capitol Resource Institute (a conservative California group that is headquartered in Sacramento) and the Alliance Defense Fund

We take for granted how progressive our area is, when in fact there are clear indications that groups such as the VAC seek to influence not only our local elections, but our public policy as well. Our Democratic values are under attack by the VAC, and we cannot assume that our local government will continue to be as progressive as it has been. Get involved with our local party and elections, sign up to be a precinct captain, join a local Democratic Club or organization, write a letter to the editor, make sure your voice is heard because the VAC is clearly making sure their voice has the ear of some of our local elected officials.

When "reform" is just another word

Today my mailbox was filled with political mailers, one especially caught my eye, a newspaper type mailer sent out by "reformer" Chuck Reed. Reed's piece touted his endorsements from local newspapers, and also contained some political cartoons that, at best, are offensive.

Reed's mailer contained vile cartoons of Cindy Chavez, portraying her in a manner that is not only disrespectful, it was downright nasty. Now please remember Reed is the candidate that wants your vote because he is going to "reform" city hall, and yet his actions, including these political cartoons in his mailer, his actions are nothing less then slimy, and par for the course.

Chavez's campaign has sent out mailers attacking Reed, but I have yet to see one as nasty and offensive as the one Reed sent out today. Chavez has gone after Reed for his failure to realize his personal use of tax payer money is not acceptable. There is no doubt that what Reed did was wrong, and it certainly didn't show Reed to be any type of "reformer."

And today's mailer from Reed is, at best, hypocritical.. While Reed's mailer claims he will "change city hall culture," he includes political cartoons that are personal and nasty attacks against Chavez. If this is "change" I don't want any part of it or Reed.

Further, Reed is once again embroiled in the misuse of our taxpayer dollars. Reed

sent one of his aides to a semester of religious study and paid for it with city funds.

What part of separation of church and state doesn't Reed understand? But the most concerning part of Reed's actions is that Reed doesn't see anything wrong with using tax payer money to fund religion.

Cindy Chavez is a good person, she works hard, she has been bold in her decisions, and she is the right choice for San Jose. Don't be fooled by words, look closely at the actions of those who point fingers because as they point one at Cindy, four are pointing back at them.

Judge throws out San Jose's limits on campaign funding

On Wednesday Judge James Ware threw out San Jose's :

controls on independent political committees, ruling in a highly publicized case that mailers sent last spring by the chamber of commerce opposing mayoral candidate Cindy Chavez were legal.

The Mercury also notes that:

The decision by Judge James Ware, sitting in San Jose, has the potential to change the dynamics of the current races for mayor and city council, by freeing groups independent of candidates to raise and spend money in unrestricted amounts.

The city long has attempted to diminish the influence of money in politics by limiting direct campaign contributions to candidates -- $250 per contributor in a council race and $500 per contributor in the mayor's race. It has voluntary expenditure limits as well.

A similar $250 limit on contributions to independent committees was an attempt to prevent political interest groups from evading those restrictions by spending large amounts of money on their own.

According to the Mercury article, a number of large donations were received by COMPAC before the June primary, including:

contributions of as much as $26,000 from Dennis Fong, the Tropicana's owner, and $25,000 from the California Apartment Association.

How many of you have the ability to give money in those amounts? I sure don't, and most of my "giving" comes by way of walking precincts, making calls and stuffing envelopes (which when measured in dollar amounts doesn't come close to $25,000). While the decision by Judge Ware clearly shows that the courts view limits on independent expenditures as limits on free speech, the flip side is that those who have the most money will certainly have "more free speech" then those of us who cannot write checks for tens of thousands of dollars.

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How this plays out between now and November will remain to be seen, and given the previous actions by the chamber, it is not a far leap to suggest that the San Jose Mayor's race is going to quickly take a low road.

Regardless of the legality of COMPAC's actions right before the June primary, the ethical issue remains: COMPAC sent out mailers attacking Cindy Chavez for supporting the downtown car races, a race that Pat Dando, President of the San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce, spoke in support of before the city council. There has not been any apology from the chamber, from Pat Dando, for this hypocrisy and lack of ethics.

And while the chamber refuses to apologize for actions that led to resignations on their board, our city will be subjected to more unethical and dirty campaigning that is sure to leave every resident in San Jose needing a shower to clean off the filth that will flow from the chamber.

Yes, the chamber is now legally allowed to do what it wants, to spend what it wants, but ethically they owe the citizens of San Jose an example of clean and positive campaigning. I, for one, am not holding my breath.

Boycotting the COMPAC Barbecue

The San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce has:

with some bravado... dismissed as fanciful a call for a Democratic boycott of COMPAC's main fundraiser, the August barbecue at History Park.

If there is truth to this dismissal, why is the chamber pressuring candidates to attend this barbecue? Could there be some realization on the part of the chamber that this boycott has affected the number of tickets being sold for this event?

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Even more troubling for the chamber is the dismal number of local elected officials that will be attending the COMPAC barbecue, and given that the main reason to buy a $150 ticket is to talk with elected officials and candidates, one has to question if that $150 is going to be well spent.

And as the Business Journal states:

There seems to be something in the water over at the San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce these days.

While Pat Dando continues to claim that the mailers COMPAC funded were "issued based," Bob Kieve, COMPAC boardmember, at least tells the truth when he states that COMPAC:

circulated a series of mailers that attacked the record of one candidate

It seems the only way that COMPAC is going to get the message about their actions is to deny them the ability to fund another round of hit pieces, and the way to keep them from once again using unethical and illegal mailers is to boycott the COMPAC barbecue.

Dems lead in CA statewide races

A new Field Poll is reporting that Democrats are ahead of GOP candidates for CA statewide offices:

Democrats are enjoying early leads in four of the six down-ticket statewide races but Republicans are challenging more closely in contests for insurance commissioner and secretary of state, according to a new Field Poll.

While this Field Poll has good news for Democrats, as noted above, we have two races that will need our attention, along with, of course, the race for Governor. Even though the election is still months away it is not too early for you to help Democratic Candidates for office, especially the race for insurance commissioner and secretary of state.

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Cruz Bustamente, now CA Lt. Governor, is running against Steve Poizner for the insurance commissioner seat, and this is a race that is sure to become more heated as time goes on, especially given that Poizner is attempting to buy yet another elected office.

In the race for secretary of state the Democratic candidate, Debra Bowen, is head and shoulders above Bruce McPherson, and she could use any help that you can give, financial or time. The secreatary of state is responsible for oversight of our elections, including electronic voting machines, and Bowen is the one candidate that will make sure our future elections are honest and fair.

So while we all enjoy those last fleeting days of summer, remember that November isn't that far off and any help you can give to our statewide candidates will ensure that Democrats will continue to represent our interests at the top of the California ticket.

Boycotting the COMPAC Barbecue

In August the San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce's political arm, COMPAC, sponsors a fundraising barbecue. The money raised from the barbecue is used on political campaigns, and as we have seen, used unethically and illegally. One of the reasons that the barbecue is so successful is the "draw" of bringing local business leaders together with elected officials.

Why is the Santa Clara County Democratic Party asking all elected officials to boycott this event? Because COMPAC continues to lie about the unethical and illegal mailers they sent to the voters of San Jose.

First of all, COMPAC claims that these mailers were "issues" based:

Chamber President Pat Dando elaborately explains how she and COMPAC's executive committee set out to run an "issues'' campaign that ended up attacking only Chavez. The tortured reasoning might work in a courtroom but fails the test of common sense.

But the truth, as explained by Robert Kieve, COMPAC board member, is that these "issue based mailers" were, in fact:

a series of mailers that attacked the record of one candidate

Kieve goes on to state that:

the real truth of the matter is that the Chamber did nothing wrong --

The Mercury News stated that while the ads did raise fair questions regarding Cindy Chavez's record:

the city elections commission unanimously found that the ads broke city campaign-finance laws, failing to adhere to contribution limits. Other aspects of the blitz raised ethical questions.

More....

The Mercury ends their editorial with:

But Dando says that among the general chamber membership, there doesn't seem to be much dissatisfaction. And COMPAC board members just wish they'd been warned earlier about the blitz.

If that's true, then the chamber may be in for some rough sailing.

If Democrats honor a boycott, COMPAC won't raise much money for another campaign. And if Chavez becomes mayor, imagine the chamber's challenge in maintaining a healthy relationship with City Hall -- let alone accepting grants to administer city programs, as it now does.

The chamber is a private organization and can do what it wants. But San Jose badly needs a strong business voice to balance the politically powerful South Bay Labor Council and set an example of upstanding conduct.

This campaign was a blunder. Dando and the board need to stop rationalizing it, say they're sorry and begin rebuilding the community's respect.

The chamber continues to seek justification for their illegal and unethical actions, going so far as to have members publish editorials that state the chamber has nothing to apologize for. The Mercury News, Mike Fox Sr., the local Democatic Party and other members of our community have called on the chamber to repudiate their actions, and as of today the chamber is nowhere close to an apology. Because the chamber not only will not apologize, but clearly may once again engage in these same tactics, elected officials, businesses and candidates must send a message back to the chamber: We will not tolerate or support the actions the chamber continues to rationalize.

And the best way to send a message to the chamber is to make sure that their main fundraising event, the COMPAC Barbecue, raises little, if any, money. Without the "draw" of elected officials and candidates, there is little reason for most businesses and individuals to attend this event. The call for this boycott extends to businesses and individuals as well, and it is clear that the chamber won't get the message unless they see it hit home in their pocketbook.

The Santa Clara County Democratic Party will continue to call for ethical and honest campaigning, as our voters and residents deserve nothing less. It is sad that the chamber, once a solid member of our community, continues to stay the on a road that will be a deadend for them.

California Primary: Today is the day

After months of having to deal with the candidates slinging mud at each other, the voters of California will go to the polls and vote. Turnout for this primary is expected to be dismal, from 34 to 38 percent of registered voters taking the time to participate in our democracy. Many voters are just turned out by the negative campaigning at the top of the ticket and don't want anything to do with a process that offers little substance or positive message:

DiCamillo predicted many of these undecided voters wouldn't cast ballots. He also said the negative campaign ads are likely to suppress turnout.

"That does turn voters off, especially when they're having a hard time deciding which candidate they support," he said.

DiCamillo said the growing number of voters registering as nonpartisans means fewer Californians participate in primaries.

The percentage of Californians who didn't name a political party when they registered to vote has risen from 10.4 percent in 1994 to 18.5 percent today, according to the secretary of state's office.

These voters can cast a vote in either the Democratic or Republican primary by requesting a partisan ballot. Westly has sent out mailers urging them to do so.

But DiCamillo said few nonpartisan voters actually request a partisan ballot, and most sit out the primary elections because they're left with so few contests in which to vote.

My pet peeve? Robo calls, I hate them and hang up when I get one. I could care less what voice is recorded on the other line; the calls are annoying and are a waste of money. In addition, how hard is it for the candidates to sort their lists so that those of us who vote absentee are not contacted weeks after we have already sent in our ballots. I don't mind if a live person calls me, as that is a more human touch and I have the ability to ask a question or discuss an issue with the person calling. Robo calls are directed "at" the voter, there is no conversation only a one sided message that drones on and on and most voters simply decide to hang up.

More....

The problem with dirty campaigning isn't just at the top as we saw here locally. The San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce engaged one of the dirtiest, most dishonest and unethical campaigns San Jose has ever seen. While the chamber maintained they were not in any way trying to influence the San Jose Mayoral race, they called their campaign "Anyone but Cindy."

The chamber's political arm, COMPAC, spent $250,000 to knock Cindy Chavez out of the runoff, and what exactly did they get for their money? First of all they ruined the reputation of the chamber, secondly they have lost many members, and thirdly (according to the most recent polling) Cindy may well be the top vote getter in this race. And not only did they expend a quarter of a million dollars, they have impacted their ability to raise money to support their candidates in the November general election.

If you are expecting to know the results of the election tonight or even tomorrow, chances are that you are going to be disappointed:

While many Californians will encounter a host of high-tech ways to vote today, the renewed popularity of old-fashioned paper ballots could delay results of key contests -- from the Oakland mayor's race to the Democratic primary for governor -- for a day or more.

A last-minute decision to abandon electronic voting in Alameda County, which is heavily Democratic, means that officials there probably won't be finished counting votes before Wednesday.

And a record number of absentee voters around the state, using paper ballots that often take longer to count, could add to the delays.

``It may be one of those `perfect storm' cases, where we have to wait a week to find out who won,'' said veteran election watcher Mark DiCamillo, director of the non-partisan Field Poll.

Check back here later tonight for updates on local races and of course don't forget to vote.

Chamber: Sure loser on Tuesday

The San Jose Mercury News ran two articles today on the continuing saga of the chamber's unethical and illegal campaign behavior. In a stinging editorial the Merc stated:

There'll be some close races Tuesday, but we already know one sure loser in this primary election: the San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce.

The chamber's unethical campaign against mayoral candidate Cindy Chavez has shattered its unity and prompted the resignations of a number of community leaders, including businessman Mike Fox Sr. and former county supervisor Susanne Wilson. Board president Terry Austen, of Kaiser Permanente, was forced to resign because his employer felt the partisan blitz could affect Kaiser's non-profit status.

Other members are beginning to voice concerns, from discomfort to outright anger, at the actions of the chamber's political action arm known as COMPAC. HP and PG&E have co-written a letter repudiating the tactics.

While the chamber continues to defend their actions, Pat Dando did offer up a half-hearted attempt at a quasi apology:

Chamber President Pat Dando defended COMPAC Thursday. A former council member and mayoral candidate herself, she says the campaign wasn't last-minute and was based on public records. But she acknowledged, "If we had it to do over, implementation could have been done another way.'' She added, "If the chamber's reputation has been damaged, then I am sorry.''

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Just to set the record clear, the chamber's reputation has been damaged, of that there is no doubt. For Dando to continue to defend the actions of the chamber just doesn't fly, and further, she is inflicting more damage to the chamber's reputation each time she tries a new justification for the chamber's actions.

The Merc's response to Dando's statement was that she should be sorry, and they also laid out what a real issues campaign would have done for the chamber:

A true issues campaign comparing all the candidates' records on matters that concern business could have educated voters and strengthened the chamber's image. Now the group has to work at healing its deep wounds when it should be focused on building the economy.

In what is a strong rebuke of those who are now leading chamber the Merc closes their editorial with:

But the campaign COMPAC waged against her (Cindy Chavez) says more about the authors than it does about the candidate it attacked.

And while Dando and other leaders at the chamber continue to defend their actions, more members of the chamber are resigning:

Even as chamber leaders continued to defend the communications as legal, two more chamber board members resigned over the issue Thursday. They are Kathryn Meier, the managing partner of law firm Hoge, Fenton, Jones & Appel, and John Neece, a partner with consulting firm Catapult Strategies. Neece also resigned from the board of the chamber's political action committee, COMPAC, which organized the anti-Chavez campaign

Would these people have resigned if the chamber had realized their mistake and corrected their unethical campaign? No, and the chamber needs to realize that they are simply digging themselves into a hole that gets deeper each time they open their mouth in defense of what almost every citizen in our community sees as unethical and wrong.

Last night the SCCDP passed a resolution asking that all elected officials and candidates boycott the upcoming COMPAC Barbecue in support of Mike Fox Sr.'s request that:

everyone should take an action that says, ``We will not tolerate this kind of unethical campaign in our name.''

Update: The Mercury also listed the reasons the chamber's actions were unethical:

Campaign's ethical missteps took many forms

Here are some reasons we -- and the San Jose elections commission, and some chamber of commerce members and former members -- believe the chamber's campaign was unethical:

• While claiming to focus on issues in this five-candidate race, the mailers and telephone calls were attacks on a single candidate, Cindy Chavez.

• The campaign employed a sleazy telephone campaign tactic, the fake poll: While pretending to ask voters' opinions, it actually was designed to convey potentially damaging information about Chavez.

• A hit piece on Chavez's support of a subsidy for the San Jose Grand Prix points out that she knew the request was coming but didn't tell her colleagues, which is true. But it turns hypocritical by implying the subsidy was a waste of money, when the chamber itself urged the council to support the Grand Prix.

• Mailers and phone calls say Chavez voted to use eminent domain to acquire the Tropicana Shopping Center, but they failed to note that another mayoral candidate, Dave Cortese, voted the same way.

Elections commission rules that the Chamber violated city laws

Last night the San Jose elections commissioners determined that the San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce's political organization, COMPAC, violated city laws by sending out mailers and phone calls that were attacks on Cindy Chavez and not "issue ads:"

Outraged San Jose elections commissioners declared Wednesday night that the San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce's political arm violated city laws with mailers and phone calls attacking mayoral candidate Cindy Chavez.

The Chair of the commission, Thomas Mertens stated:

``I find it an insult to the voters and residents of San Jose that an organization would think the people of San Jose can't see through what's happening with a mailer like this,''

The chamber claims that:

they were railroaded by a commission that refused their pleas for more time to prepare a defense.

The fact is that the chamber has had months to "prepare a defense" and the truth is that their actions are indefensible. There is no doubt that the chamber's "Anyone but Cindy" campaign was unethical and unlawful from the start, for the chamber to make the claim now that they need more time to defend themselves is absurd.

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Juse a few days ago Mike Fox Jr. was claiming:

that the group (COMPAC) ``is confident that our outreach to San Jose city residents on the need for open and clean city government complied with both the spirit and the letter of the law.''

``We look forward to meeting with the city's elections commission and believe that they will find that our fact-based reporting on the issues complied with city guidelines,'' he said.

COMPAC legal adviser Russ Miller said, ``The law is clearly on COMPAC's side.

``Once the elections commission consultants conclude that COMPAC's communications are `issue advocacy,' '' Miller said, ``the San Jose campaign ordinance does not apply.''

The San Jose Silicon Valley Business Journal is also reporting that COMPAC may be facing substantial fines:

In the past, the commission was limited to a $5,000 slap on the wrist for each valid complaint.

But the new ordinance allows for a fine for each violation of the ordinance. The commission decided Wednesday that it would base its fine on the number of too-large donations spent on the chamber's campaign, which was informally known as the "Anybody But Cindy" campaign. The only problem is establishing how many of those donations there were.

The continued insistence by the chamber that their actions are in no way associated with any candidate for San Jose mayor is a lie that no voter in this city believes. If the chamber continues to pursue this issue they will find themselves on the losing end of a battle they are ill equipped to fight, and their already tarnished image will erode even more.

Mike Fox Sr. files state complaint against the chamber

According to the Silicon Valley San Jose Business Journal Mike Fox Sr. has filed a complaint with California's Fair Political Practices Commission:

Now Fox has taken matters a step further, claiming that COMPAC failed to file a report within 24 hours of its expenditure detailing its expenditure. Complaints filed with the Fair Political Practices Commission are not public until they are closed or placed on the commission's agenda, and a spokeswoman for the commission would not confirm that Fox's complaint had been received.

Fox Sr. is also publicly disagreeing with his son, Mike Fox Jr.:

The chamber's actions have so angered Fox that he says he is resigning his company's membership in the chamber. His action puts him at odds with his son, Mike Fox Jr., who is the chairman of COMPAC.

Fox Sr. maintains that the mailers the chamber has sent out were attack ads against one candidate for San Jose Mayor, while Fox Jr. insists the mailers were about "issues" (something which few, if any, voters in San Jose believe).

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On Sunday the Merc printed a letter by Mike Fox Jr. that is a lame attempt to justify the unjustifiable. In his letter Fox Jr. claims:

The chamber will continue to vigorously support the Grand Prix, which brings strong economics and worldwide media attention to Silicon Valley, as well as the Canary Foundation's commitment to vital cancer research. We never opposed the event, only the process -- and those who abused it.

The facts prove otherwise, as one of the mailers claims that the money earmarked for the downtown car race is:

...money that could have been spent on parks, public safety and libraries.

Maybe Fox Jr. doesn't understand the definition of support, because anyone who reads the mailers walks away thinking that the chamber is against the downtown car race. Support, as defined by Webster's is "to take sides with, BACK, ASSIST." Attacking the allocation of funding for the downtown car race (after Pat Dando publicly stated in front of the San Jose City Council that the funds were "well worth it.'') is neither taking sides with the car race, backing it, or in any way assisting the downtown car race. So while Fox Jr. is saying one thing in his LTE, the mailers from the chamber clearly prove otherwise.

Further, the chamber (and Fox Jr.) has continued to claim the mailers had nothing to do with the election or candidates; rather, the mailers were about "issues." However, Fox Jr.'s letter to the Merc states that:

COMPAC will disclose the past activities of candidates whose conduct compromises the core values we believe are critical to San Jose leaders. It's important that residents stay informed and not lose focus on issues vital to our economic vitality. We encourage voters to support candidates on their records, rather than campaign promises.

There is no doubt in the mind of the voters of San Jose that the mailers the chamber sent out were hit pieces aimed at Cindy Chavez, there is no doubt that these mailers had nothing to do with any issue other then attacking Cindy Chavez, and there is no doubt that the chamber's spin isn't going to change the facts.

Tonight San Jose's Election Commission will hear the complaint filed by Steve Preminger (Chair, Santa Clara County Democratic Party) against the chamber's COMPAC, and it is our hope that the commission fines the chamber for their illegal, unethical and dishonorable actions.

Chamber may be in violation of city campaign contribution limits

The San Jose Mercury is reporting that independent investigators who reviewed the complaint filed by our own Steve Preminiger have found that:

the complaint also alleged the mailers and calls were paid by funding that exceeded campaign contribution limits.

``We find there is merit to the complaint,'' Cassman and Moye wrote in their findings.

The city limits individual contributions to an independent committee that will be ``expending funds or making contributions'' to aid or oppose the election of a candidate for city council or mayor to $250.

``The undisputed evidence establishes that the mailers/calls were funded by contributions from individuals and organizations, some of which exceeded $250,'' the attorneys wrote.

The investigators also determined that:

Both attorneys disagreed with the allegation that mailers and phone calls were independent campaign expenditures that weren't properly reported. They said the law narrowly defines independent campaign expenditures as those that ``expressly advocate'' a particular result. Since none of the mailers or calls mentioned the mayoral candidacy of Chavez or any other candidate, they concluded the material failed to meet that definition, and therefore there was no reporting violation.

Though I am not a lawyer, my opinion is that the mailers DO advocate a particular result in the June primary, the defeat of Cindy Chavez. While the chamber continues to claim the mailers are "issue" driven, the reality is that the "issue" is defeating Cindy Chavez, over and over and over. It is an insult to the voters of San Jose for the chamber to continue to insist that their mailers are not in any way related to the mayor's race.

One has only to ask voters who received these mailers what they think the mailers are saying. Without exception everyone I have asked about the mailers has stated that they get the impression that the intention of the mailers is to get voters to vote against Cindy Chavez. The exact wording may have skirted the law, but the intent of these mailers is clear, and therefore the chamber should be fined for their actions that clearly are "advocating" a particular result in this election.

Next Wednesday, May 31st, the City Elections Commission will hold a hearing at City Hall, 6 p.m., to review the findings of the investigators. One week after the commission hearing the voters of San Jose will cast their ballots in the mayors race, and it is my hope that the chamber's unethical and slimy mailers backfires on them.

Chairman of chamber resigns over inaccurate mailers

On Wednesday Terry Austen, senior vice president at Kaiser, resigned from the chamber's board of directors. Austen's resignation is yet another voice speaking out against the recent slimy, inaccurate mailings that the chamber has sent to voters in San Jose.

The Merc is reporting that:

Blowback from controversial mayoral campaign mailers by the San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce's political arm has toppled the business group's chairman, who resigned this week under pressure from the non-profit health plan where he is an executive.

Terry Austen's resignation statement was read by the chamber's new board chair, Nanci C. Williams of Orloff/Williams & Co., at the board's regular meeting Thursday. Kaiser Permanente said in a statement that Austen, its senior vice president and San Jose-area manager for Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, resigned from the chamber's board of directors effective Wednesday.

Kaiser's statement said that because its health plan and hospitals are tax-exempt, non-profit public benefit corporations, its employees must avoid the appearance of representing the health plan and hospitals in partisan political activities.

Bob Hines, chamber vice president for public policy and communications, claims that:

`It's difficult for COMPAC to understand how something based on public reports and public documents can be questioned,'' Hines said. ``The debate hasn't been on accuracy, but on the process. That's disappointing.''

Hines is wrong, both the accuracy and the process are under scrutiny, and given the current leadership of COMPAC it is no wonder they can't "understand" why their mailers are inaccurate.

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For instance, in one of the mailers, the chamber attacks Vice Mayor Cindy Chavez for voting to "spend millions of dollars for car races, then cut funding for libraries and parks." Further down in the mailer the chamber states that the money allocated for the car race is "money that could have been spent on parks, public safety and libraries." What the mailer fails to mention is that the chamber made it a point to speak to the city council in support of the expenditure in January, going so far as to have Pat Dando, CEO, make the following statement:

Chamber Chief Executive and former San Jose Vice Mayor Pat Dando, in fact, spoke publicly in favor of the Grand Prix subsidy at the time. When "you look at the amount of marketing and notoriety and civic pride that you create with these funds,'' she told the council at its Jan. 10 meeting, ``I think it's well worth it.''

For the chamber to now send out a mailer attacking the expenditure of this money is wrong, and maybe if Hines reads this post he might finally start to understand what accuracy entails. For starters, Webster defines accuracy as: "free from error." By omitting the fact that the chamber supported the expenditure of $4 million, the mailers are not "accurate" as they clearly send the message that the chamber thinks the money allocated by the city council for the car race should have been spent on other city services.

What is disappointing is that the leadership at the chamber has no regard for truth or ethics and refuses to admit what everyone in our county can see for themselves: the mailers are NOT accurate.

Clearly missing from the debate is any type of apology by the chamber for their actions, and because the chamber leadership (up to this point) refuses to see anything wrong with their hypocritical and inaccurate hit pieces, many of the most prominent members of the chamber are sending their own message by resigning.

Mike Fox Sr., a man who is one of the most respected and beloved leaders in our valley, has made public his disgust at the chamber's actions, and today the Merc printed Fox's letter:

Chamber smears are unacceptable

Last week, the San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce, led by its new President Pat Dando, unleashed a barrage of distortions and half-truths against mayoral candidate Cindy Chavez. While I have decided to endorse another candidate for mayor, it saddens me to see our tradition of civility trampled, and it makes me mad to see a thoughtful, hardworking leader like Chavez dragged through the muck. It's stunning that it came from the Chamber of Commerce.

Every year, money raised at the Chamber BBQ has been used to create an atmosphere in San Jose where businesses can succeed. But now those donations have been subverted.

So, I've decided to resign from the Chamber of Commerce and ask for my donations back. And I encourage other business people in the valley to join me in expressing their disgust. Not everyone may be able to resign, but everyone should take an action that says, ``We will not tolerate this kind of unethical campaign in our name.''

Deceitful campaigning hurts all of us in this fine community.

Michael E. Fox Sr.
Former chairman, San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce

When the chamber loses Mike Fox Sr. they have lost the county.

Chamber members resign

Yesterday Susie Wilson, former Santa Clara County Supervisor, and now former COMPAC board member, had a letter to the editor published in the San Jose Mercury News. In that letter Wilson rightfully takes Pat Dando, CEO of the Chamber and COMPAC, to the woodshed:

Chamber hit piece is embarrassing

It has been nearly a week since the Mercury News Editorial Board (Opinion, April 18) asked the Chamber of Commerce's political action committee, COMPAC, to withdraw the mailer about the Grand Prix funding, calling it hypocritical. Saturday, I received a second revision of the same slam on the Grand Prix by the Chamber and COMPAC. Chamber CEO Pat Dando publicly supported the funding for the mailers and is now a part of a fake ``Issues Campaign'' to discredit one candidate, Cindy Chavez. COMPAC was a founding member and stakeholder in the Campaign Ethics Foundation (CEF) founded in 1997. The foundation's mission and process was to support ethical campaigns. I served as its president for about seven years and have served on the COMPAC board for an even longer time. Ethics have gone out the window. The mission of COMPAC has changed. We are no different than any other political group that believes the goal is winning by any means.

I do not support and am ashamed of the ugly, false campaign being waged by COMPAC.

Susanne Wilson, former Santa Clara County supervisor and COMPAC board member
San Jose

Today the Merc is reporting that Wilson has resigned from the COMPAC board and is also letting her chamber membership expire. In addition, Mike Fox Sr. is pulling his company from the chamber. Fox's son, Mike Fox Jr., who is president of his father's company as well as chairman of COMPAC, had a hand in these dirty dealings and had no comment regarding his father's actions. (Though one could say that Fox Sr. had a great deal to say about his son's actions.)

More.....

Fox Sr. was quoted in the Merc as saying:

he will resign from the chamber where he once served as chairman over what he called ``deplorable tactics'' by its political branch.

``I fully disagree with the tactics,'' Fox said by phone from his Saratoga home. ``It's the antithesis of what I stand for.''

In addtion, Fox Sr. is urging other chamber members to join him in expressing their "digust" over the unethical actions by the chamber leadership.

Pat Dando, Republican CEO of the chamber and COMPAC, has clearly stepped over the line and because of her lack of political finesse she is also impacting the chamber financially. As Susie Wilson stated, the chamber was a founding member of the Campaign Ethics Foundation, whose purpose was to "support ethical campaigns." Dando, through her lack of leadership and inability to understand the word "ethics," has done more harm to the chamber then any other group could have ever inflicted.

Pombo once again trying to drill in Arctic Refuge

If it isn't enough of a nightmare that Pombo is local, we also have to live with his attempts to drill in the Arctic Refuge and once again he is trying to pull a fast one by sneaking in a bill that will open the Arctic Refuge to oil drilling.

According to the
SitNews (Alaska) Pombo has:

filed another bill to accomplish what so many prior bills have failed to do: open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling.

Recent strategies to get an ANWR bill through a reluctant Senate have involved mixed marriages - ANWR and the budget, or ANWR and the defense bill. Rep. Richard Pombo's latest proposal, on the other hand, is a standalone bill dealing only with ANWR. That leaves it wide open to filibuster in the Senate.

Remember, just a day ago Cheney was in CA raising money for Pombo, and now Cheney's "partner" is returning the fundraising favor by seeking to drill in the Arctic Refuge :

This Pombo bill is due to be debated in the house this Thursday, and you can help defeat this bill by taking action.

More....

First and foremost, please send this information to all of your lists, to friends and family members. Ask them to call the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 to be connected to their representative, and tell them to let their representative know that drilling in the Arctic Refuge is NOT acceptable and that this bill should be defeated.

Secondly, set aside time between now and November to work on this race. In just two weeks we will have a Democratic candidate who will take on Pombo, and given that Pombo has over $1 million in the bank, every last bit of time and energy you can volunteer will help to stop these types of attacks on our environment.

Local Candidates and Issues on the June Ballot

Yes, I know, this was promised last week, but as they say "better late then never." So, without further introduction, here is a listing of most of the local races and issues, complete with links to the candidates or issue web pages. If you are interested in a race or issue that has not been listed here, please go to the League Of Women Voters website.

San Jose

Mayor: At this time it appears that the June primary will give way to a race between two of the top vote getters, so get ready for yet another round of campaigning from June until November. To win the mayor's race in June a candidate would need over 50 percent, and recent polling shows that none of the candidates are at that number.

Cindy Chavez (Endorsed by the Santa Clara County Democratic Party)

David Cortese

Michael Mulcahy

David Pandori

Chuck Reed

More.....

San Jose City Council Races:

District 1:

Jay James (Endorsed by the Santa Clara County Democratic Party)

Pete Constant

Ross Signorino

District 3: (not all candidates are listed here, for a complete list of candidates please click here.

Sam Liccardo

Manny Diaz

Dennis Kyne

Joel Wyrick

District 5:

Nora Campos (Endorsed by the Santa Clara County Democratic Party)

District 7:

Madison Nguyen (Ednorsed by the Santa Clara County Democratic Party)

District 9: (not all candidates are listed here, for a complete list of candidates please click here.)

Judy Chirco (Endorsed by the Santa Clara County Democratic Party)

Santa Clara County:

Assessor:(Both candidates have been ndorsed by the Santa Clara County Democratic Party)

Larry Stone

Pete McHugh

Supervisor District 4

Ken Yeager (Endorsed by the Santa Clara County Democratic Party)

Linda LeZotte

Patricia Mahan

Measure A (The Santa Clara County Democratic Party has endorsed this Measure)

Yes on Measure A

Party Central Committee Races:

Many voters in Santa Clara County will vote for members of our County Central Committee. What, exactly, does the County Central Committee do? Many things, including, but not limited to: helping elect Democrats to office, organizing local volunteer activities, endorsing candidates in local races and continuing voter registration drives.

There are six seats for each Assembly District that is located in Santa Clara County. If six or fewer people have filed to run for any given district, those candidates are automatically elected to the committee. If more then six people have filed to run in a district Democratic voters will then vote for the six they would like to represent them on the Cetral Committee.

Many of the candidates for Central Committee have web pages with information the League of Women Voters website.

The Central Committee meets the first Thursday of the month in the cafeteria of the County Building, 70 West Hedding (the cafeteria is in the basement), 7:00 p.m.

The San Jose Mercury News has complete coverage of our local races, click here to check out their Elections page.

SVSJ Chamber Doesn't Pass the Smell Test

The Silicon Valley San Jose Chamber of Commerce has once again shown exactly how low they can go. If you live in San Jose you may have had your mailbox soiled by their mailings. First of all the Chamber shows how hypocritical they are by attacking Cindy Chavez for her support of the downtown car race, when in fact the chamber was one of the strongest supporters of this race. From the San Jose Mercury News:

But Chavez supporters and some community leaders say the mailer completely ignores the fact that the chamber, which has endorsed businessman Michael Mulcahy for mayor, also supported the council's vote to subsidize the race with city money.

Chamber Chief Executive and former San Jose Vice Mayor Pat Dando, in fact, spoke publicly in favor of the Grand Prix subsidy at the time. When ``you look at the amount of marketing and notoriety and civic pride that you create with these funds,'' she told the council at its Jan. 10 meeting, ``I think it's well worth it.''

The chamber may well have violated the law as they paid for the mailings:

\ using funds that were donated in $500 increments or more, according to COMPAC treasurer Kirk Pessner. The group's reasoning: State law exempts ``issues advocacy'' from the normal campaign donation and spending limitations.

Further, according to another article in the Mercury,

City law requires that independent expenditures on behalf of or against a specific candidate be funded by a committee that raises funds in amounts of $250 or less. COMPAC maintains that the brochures are ``issue advocacy,'' unrestricted by that rule.

More below the fold....

Clearly the chamber thinks that the voters in San Jose are too stupid to figure out that both of these mailings are 'against a specific' candidate, and have little or nothing to do with any issue. And what does the Mercury have to say about these mailings? From a third article in the Mercury:

Like Christmas decorations going up before Halloween, political hit pieces in the San Jose mayor's race are arriving early in the campaign season. The most flagrant is courtesy of, to our surprise, the San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce.

Thankfully our local Democratic leadership is not going to allow the chamber to violate the law:

The brochures are not issue advocacy, said attorney Lance Olson, who advised the labor council, because they name only Chavez, are being sent at election time and are being sent to registered voters. Taken as a whole, he said, they clearly encourage voters to oppose her.

Further, he said, the Tropicana brochure does not refer to a current issue. The vote occurred in 2002.

The complaint was filed by Steve Preminger, chairman of the Santa Clara County Democratic Party, with legal help from the South Bay Labor Council, which has endorsed Chavez.

The chamber's actions are dirty, unethical and possibly illegal, and the chamber should not only know better, but they should be held accountable for violating the campaign laws of our city.

Bush's visit to San Jose (with pictures!)

As many of you might already know, last Friday Bush was in San Jose. Of course we couldn't let him visit our wonderful city without showing up and giving him the welcome he deserves, and to those of you who made the effort to greet Bush, thank you!

If you were not able to attend the numerous protests around the Bay Area go below the fold for some pictures of the San Jose rally/protest of Bush's visit. While hundreds of people showed up to protest Bush in San Jose, supporters of Bush were not to be found (which doesn't surprise me for some reason.)

Two of our most active local Dems, Jay and David

Steve Preminger, SCCDP Chair, being interviewed

Two more of our active local Dems

Shot of the crowd