December 15, 2006

Reed taps Cortese for vice mayor

By Carol Rosen
Staff Writer

Mayor-elect Chuck Reed recently announced that he has chosen Dave Cortese to serve as vice mayor.

Although the two were opponents in the June primary, Reed said Monday that the District 8 councilman “shares my commitment to open government and reforming city hall. His broad experience working in collaboration with other cities will be an invaluable asset as we deal with regional issues that affect the quality of life in San Jose."

At the same time, Cortese applauded Reed’s ideas of reforms for city government. “He made a commitment that an open, honest and transparent government will soon be a reality in San Jose. I share that vision and I look forward to doing everything I can to help implement it."

Unlike the other two candidates in the mayoral race—David Pandori and Michael Mulcahy—Cortese did not endorse Reed or his opponent Vice Mayor Cindy Chavez. The two men joined the council in 2000 and more often than not have agreed on various issues such as the Grand Prix, and the Norcal Waste Systems contract. However, they disagreed on other issues including the new City Hall and the eminent domain issue with the Tropicana Shopping Center.

Cortese currently serves on various boards and committees. He is a past president of the Santa Clara County Cities Association and president of the Association of Bay Area Governments. He also is a member of the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) board of directors and the VTA Transit Planning & Operations Committee and serves on the VTA Downtown/ East Valley Light Rail Policy Advisory Board.

Prior to joining the city council, Cortese served on the East Side Union High School District board. An attorney, he also managed his family’s ranching and real estate businesses.

In other transition news, the team’s subcommittees are now meeting, with the government reform and ethics committee holding its first meeting Dec. 4, followed by the education committee on Dec. 6 and the environment and public safety committees on Dec. 7. All meetings are open to the public.

The government and ethics subcommittee will also meet Dec. 11 with a final meeting scheduled for Dec. 18 At the first meeting committee members took two Reed reforms off the list because the council already had adopted them and another because it could not be done within the process, said staff member Jeff Janssen. Other items the members are tackling including lobbyists, campaign finance and policy on industrial land conversion.

“All of our work will be completed by Jan. 5,” said Janssen, “with a wrap-up meeting on Jan. 8—the day before Reed is sworn in as mayor.”

For more information about the committee meetings, visit the Web site at www.chuckreed.com