The post Can Tough-on-crime Ballot Measure Deliver on Promises to Reduce Homelessness? appeared first on San Jose Inside.

The post California Voters Could Get Chance to Force More Sunlight on Public Records appeared first on San Jose Inside.

After launching a statewide ballot initiative to scale back pension benefits for public employees, San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed reached out to union leaders, suggesting an open dialogue in the process. The move has already been described as shrewd, naive and/or insincere.

The post Mayor Reed Asks Unions for Feedback on Statewide Pension Reform Plan appeared first on San Jose Inside.

What in tarnation is Chuck Reed up to? Pension reform, of course. The mayor of San Jose got future benefits for city employees scaled back last year with Measure B, and now he’s taking aim at a state ballot measure with the help of Texas moneymen and California libertarians.

The post Mayor Chuck Reed Behests $300K in State Pension Reform Push appeared first on San Jose Inside.

The post Rules to Consider Bill that Limits Nonprofit Political Spending appeared first on San Jose Inside.

City officials will hold a study session Tuesday on how to restore public services lost in the past decade of budget cuts, namely by considering a couple tax increases for the 2014 ballot. Police pay and staffing is a top priority, according to several memos.

The post Study Session to Focus on Tax Measures, Police Department appeared first on San Jose Inside.

In what may turn out to be one of the most expensive races ever for a local county office, Cindy Chavez has captured the District 2 Supervisor seat held by her disgraced former ally, George Shirakawa, Jr. The victory places the largest county government in the global home of leading edge technology—from Teslas to Google Glass—firmly in the hands of an old-fashioned political machine; a classic one that delivers votes, wins elections, rewards its followers and dispenses benefits. Over the next two years, the board will vote on billions of dollars in employee compensation contracts—the county spends $3 billion a year on salaries, benefits and pensions—for the members of the unions who returned the former San Jose city official to public office.

The post The Redemption of Cindy Chavez appeared first on San Jose Inside.

The office of Attorney General Kamala Harris granted the San Jose police union’s request for a judicial review of Measure B, the controversial pension reform ballot measure voters passed last year.

The post Harris OKs Judicial Review of Measure B appeared first on San Jose Inside.

The Santa Clara Valley Water District paid nearly $70,000 in membership fees last fiscal year to a long list of chambers of commerce and other networking associations. Not surprising, almost every single chamber of commerce on the list endorsed the Measure B water tax.

The post Water District Pays $70,000 in Annual Chamber of Commerce Dues appeared first on San Jose Inside.

On March 24, Metro/San Jose Inside reported that Santa Clara Family Health Foundation (SCFHF) executive board member and officer Cindy Chavez participated in a board decision to provide $250,000 in funding to the Yes on A committee, on which she and Kathleen King—CEO of SCFHF—constituted a majority of the three-member committee. The committee subsequently turned over a large portion of the funds to the South Bay Labor Council Issues PAC and Democratic Central Committee’s PAC. Because of Chavez’s obvious conflicts of interest—she headed up the SBLC at the time—and the importance of a countywide sales tax increase, which will be paid by all residents, Metro/San Jose Inside felt this was a matter of public interest.

On Friday, nine nonprofit executives wrote a letter to express their thoughts on recent articles. They worry that investigative reporting could make nonprofits “the target of unfounded accusations and public reproach.” Because we feel this is a useful debate to have, and because we want to give differing points of view the proper attention they deserve, we are running below the letter in full, in addition to its appearance in the comments section where it was submitted. —Editor

The post Nonprofit Executives Respond to Cindy Chavez Conflict Allegations appeared first on San Jose Inside.