More Politics

[howeird]

I am ecstatic that Cindy Chavez will not be mayor of San Jose. A large part of this is because in a non-partisan race she was heavily endorsed by the local Democratic party, including personal campaigning by some nationally known Demo personalities who had no right to a voice in this election, such as Bill Clinton and Gavin Newsom.

Chavez was vice mayor and fully responsible for the same closed-door policies which got mayor Ron Gonzales into trouble. She had ample opportunity to blow the whistle on the back room deals, but instead stayed silent, and who knows, maybe she benefited financially as did the mayor. Now that she is out of office, it would be appropriate for the city attorney to investigate. Heck, it would have been appropriate while she was still in office.

I don't know much about incoming mayor Chuck Reed, except he was not part of that cabal. And he won by a decisive 60%, despite being an Anglo running against a Hispanic in a heavily Hispanic city. And Chavez out-spending him by at least 2:1. I wish him luck. San Jose is at the brink of Becoming, and its leadership in the next few years will be the key.

Comments

[johnnyeponymous.livejournal.com]

I was really glad to see Cindy lose. Chuck's a good guy, smart enough, a sensible politician with a strong base of support.

Chavez has always been so strongly tied in with Redevelopment, which to me is like laying with the devil. Her role in all of the recent scandals has yet to be uincovered if various city employees are to be believed.

Gavin actually does have a long history with San Jose and is a personal friend of Cindy's...and of me!
CHris

[howeird]

Gavin actually does have a long history with San Jose and is a personal friend of Cindy's...and of me

You're right, even without a past SJ history, as a local mayor he does deserve a voice in SJ's elections. But as a personal friend, especially as a personal friend who knows first-hand the temptations and responsibilities of being mayor of a large city, Gavin should have been urging Cindy to come clean, disassociate herself from Gonzales, and, if necessary, resign. Friends don't let friends <insert clever jingle which equates campaigning under a cloud with drunk driving>.

[cinchntouch.livejournal.com]

Everyone I know who lives in San Jose voted for Reed. I think that folks from other cities (Gavin, whom I adore) and Clinton should have stayed clear of the election - it simply isn't their affair.

[howeird]

I don't have a problem with candidates using positions as stepping stones, because they need to Do Good to get elected to the next level.

One of the dilemmas I have with the US political system is the 2-party system. We have the Whigs and Torys to thank for that.

On the one hand, it keeps things simple. There's a ruling party and an opposition party, and only a stray cat or two sitting on the fence. On the other hand, it stifles original thinking, and discourages cooperation across party lines.

Other systems I am familiar with are Israel's, where Knesset only works if there is a party with a strong majority. One of that country's biggest problems at the moment is they don't have a ruling party, and coalitions are too unstable. Italy is a country which rarely has a ruling party, and coalitions break apart every 10 minutes. More, if parliament is in session. Not much useful legislation gets enacted there.

Thailand (until the coup) had one strong party and several weaker ones, and a lot got done, but most of it was bad. Imagine the Republicans in an unbeatable majority, and 5 or 6 opposition parties which could never out-vote them even if they tried, which they rarely did.