I write today to highlight an example of egregious abuse of the California Public Records Act (CPRA). Since being elected in November 2020, I have received more than 69 Public Records Act (PRA) requests, including 49 from just one individual who has stated in emails that he is “fond of” Mayor Lisa Gillmor—and it’s widely...

Most voters probably have no idea what the office of Santa Clara County Assessor does, or why they should care. Some voters may think, “I haven’t heard of any scandals with this agency so I guess I’ll just go ahead and vote for the incumbent.” Don’t do it! Here’s why. The incumbent assessor, Larry Stone,...

Norm Mineta and I served locally, starting during turbulent times with the Vietnam War, the War on Poverty and social unrest as we moved closer to the millennium. Norm was mayor of San Jose; I was a Santa Clara County supervisor. We saw each other often and stayed in touch, and it seemed like we...

The impending reversal of Roe v. Wade will demolish the revered role of the Supreme Court as simply interpreting the Constitution. Citizens United, a classic example of creating a decision that insulates the dark money of the ruling class from public accountability and enables despotic interests to gain power, is held in contempt by many....

As a career prosecutor, I have seen many people change their stories. Usually, I see it in court. Career public defender Sajid Khan, who is running for DA, is changing his story by deleting many of his personal blog posts. What these recovered posts reveal, in my personal opinion, is that Sajid is unfit to...

San Jose made history on Dec. 19, 2017 as the first city in Santa  Clara County that unanimously approved an ordinance recognizing the UN’s Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), also known as the Women’s Bill of Rights. Following the successful passage of the CEDAW ordinance, San Jose once...

Russia funds their modernized military with income from petroleum. To allow its attack on Ukraine, Russia attempted to blackmail Europe and the world by cutting off petroleum. Already high fuel prices will spike even higher. Though that dynamic is sad, I’ve been driving free since my first of six electric vehicles (EV) arrived in 1996...

The No. 1 reason people experience homelessness in our county and nation is the lack of affordable housing. According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, “The solution to homelessness is straightforward: housing. By connecting people experiencing homelessness to housing and services, they have a platform from which they can address other areas that may...

Student enrollment has declined sharply at community colleges. Why then, are community college districts ignoring student preferences in course offerings? We are faculty union leaders from three Bay Area community-funded college districts, also known as “basic aid.” Rather than being funded by enrollment, our colleges receive local property tax money to offer classes and services and run...

Throughout Santa Clara County, we have all seen the growing number of people living on our streets and waterways. The number of people struggling with homelessness continues to rise, even though we have passed new taxes like 2016’s Measure A which promised to build 5,000 units over 10 years. Another tax, 2020’s Measure E, promised...