Political news, Local politics and government news reporting in Santa Clara and Sunnyvale.
In addition to its other responsibilities, Santa Clara’s City Council Members represent the interests of the city on a variety of county, regional, and state agencies. One critical area is transportation, and there are nine local committees dedicated to this assential part of Bay Area life. The following chart shows what these committees are, when … Read more
The City of Santa Clara appears to have figured out how to build a $1.02 billion public facility and get someone else to undertake virtually all the risk. Last week the City Council finally shared the details of the 49ers stadium agreement they have been hammering out for the last two and a half years. … Read more
Santa Clara City Council members’ service isn’t limited to their participation in City Council meetings. They also serve on the city’s committees and commissions. Here are Council assignments for the current year.
During elections we love to toss around hot air-filled slogans like “affordable housing,” “green building,” and “transit-oriented development.” But few of us step up to the homework of making campaign slogans reality. Last Tuesday, the Santa Clara City Council and City Staff offered a lesson in doing that demanding homework with an hour-plus long discussion … Read more
More than a few of us have said – or thought – that surely we could do better than California’s state legislature at managing the state’s $68 billion budget. But, as most know, talking is easier than doing – especially when the subject is something we have no hands-on knowledge about. For those who are … Read more
Come New Year’s Day 2012, the 49ers stadium project will start moving ahead at a notably faster pace. So, despite the many demands of the holiday season, attentive residents will want to take some time out to review some important milestones in the nearly $1 billion project at upcoming public meetings. First, city staff plans … Read more
While California’s Brown Act establishes that public business must be conducted, well, in public, government agencies can hold private meetings to discuss things such as litigation, real estate transactions and labor negotiations. But they must disclose topics in advance, the legal basis for the closed session, and make final decisions public. Nothing in the Brown … Read more
The Santa Clara Charter Review Committee won’t complete its recommendation about the city’s election system on Oct. 11, 2011 as initially planned. At its Sept. 22 meeting, the committee scheduled three additional two-hour meetings – Sept. 29, Oct. 13, and Oct. 27 – and hasn’t set a date for its report to the Santa Clara … Read more
In what alternative universe did the Santa Clara city government think an open lawsuit against a prospective City Attorney would not draw attention? The Mercury had the story online Monday evening – 24 hours before the City Council meeting to make an official offer. When was the last time the Mercury took such prompt note … Read more
Don’t say the 2002 California Voting Rights Act (CVRA) hasn’t had results. It’s just that results aren’t necessarily those civil rights activists are looking for. One clear winner is the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights (LCCR), which has collected over $4 million in legal fees from settlements under the law, according to a 2009 AP … Read more