February 10, 2006

Termed-out Gonzales reviews seven years in office

Recommends variety of city improvement proposals in final State of City speech

By Sheila Sanchez
Staff Writer

At times it seemed like the final chapter of a Shakespearean play where the long-remembered hero—represented in the persona of San Jose Mayor Ron Gonzales—had transformed into a tragic figure.

More than 1,000 San Jose residents gathered inside the new City Hall’s rotunda and event tent in the overflow area to hear Mayor Ron Gonzales give his final State of the City address Wednesday evening. Photo by Jeff Frazee

But the beautiful stage of hundreds of shiny glass pieces in the rotunda of the new $382 million City Hall, the applause from a polite crowd, the balmy spring-like evening and the handsome police horse mounted patrol unit helped see the mayor in a different light, particularly in the wake of the Norcal Waste Systems scandal.

His critics, many present, doubted proposals Gonzales outlined Wednesday evening during his final State of the City speech would have much of an impact, citing the lack of any real budget authority and no committee appointments.

“It’s unlikely that they (the proposals) will have that much carry with the council,” said District 8 Councilman Dave Cortese after the speech Wednesday evening. “In my mind, he (Gonzales) just doesn’t just have the creditability with me personally.”

But Councilwoman Nancy Pyle called the mayor’s speech hopeful, optimistic and promising to many people ready to “get over what’s been going on in the last several months.”

The forgiving Pyle said it’s time to move on. “Business is going on. His determination remains the same and we’re going to keep working for the betterment of the citizens of San Jose.”

She added: “Ron would be the first one to say, ‘what I did was wrong.’ And I agree with that. There comes a time when you have to forgive, forget and move on and focus on the residents of San Jose. That was the primary thrust of his message and I think he delivered it very well.”

San Jose City Auditor Jerry Silva called Gonzales’ last speech his best one. “He delivered it well, especially at the end. He was very passionate about where we need to go as a city and the things we need to do. You could see it in his face that he meant it.”

Speech detailed familiar themes
Councilman Chuck Reed agreed with many of the themes the mayor touched on during his speech, including some that were repeated from previous State of the City addresses.

“The focus on education, school and neighborhoods needs to continue. He’s done a great job with those and we need to build on them,” Reed said. “We have to recognize his accomplishments even though he’s had some problems.”

San Jose Mayor Ron Gonzales celebrated his accomplishments during the past seven years and challenged the city council and the community to continue to focus on progress during his State of the City address Wednesday evening at City Hall. Photo by Jeff Frazee

Against the backdrop of 12 American flags placed on the rotunda’s stage and flanked to the right by the 10 members of the San Jose City Council, Gonzales stood at the lectern and proposed extending the Strong Neighborhood Initiative model citywide, recommending investing another $100 million in the coming years on the program that has pumped money into many older and dilapidated communities.

In 2002 the San Jose City Council declared 20 neighborhoods as blighted, about a third of the city’s population, making them eligible for redevelopment money.

This year, he said he would set aside $5 million to spend on neighborhoods citywide.

“Strong neighborhoods are the foundation for a safe city,” he said to the applause of the more than 1,000 people who attended the ceremonial event.

About 400 were lucky enough to find a seat in the rotunda, another 600 were seated inside an event tent next to the glass dome and many more saw the speech from the council chambers.

Gonzales, dressed in a dark-blue pin-stripped suit, blue shirt and yellow-and-blue striped tie, said the city had created a national model for neighborhood revitalization in the SNI program that puts residents in the driver’s seat and said that more than 120 SNI improvement projects have been completed since the program began more than five years ago, such as homework centers, community gardens, street repairs, streetlights, and street trees, to name a few.

Vice Mayor Cindy Chavez praised the mayor’s proposal because council members have wanted the SNI program to reach to all city neighborhoods. “It’s one of the most democratic elements of city governance,” she said.

Reed said the $5 million was “a drop in the bucket.”

Gonzales acknowledges challenges, goals
Before unveiling several goals for the rest of his administration, Gonzales acknowledged the challenges he’s had while in public office, alluding to the Santa Clara County’s Grand Jury findings last June that accused him and his top budget aide, Joe Guerra, of “duping” the council into agreeing to a garbage rate increase. An independent investigator later corroborated the grand jury’s findings that the mayor had secretly promised the garbage hauler $11.25 million in payments.

The scandal led to the city council’s censure of the mayor in December and his removal from all council committees and dilution of budget authority in January.

San Jose Mayor Ron Gonzales is flanked by the 10 members of the City Council during his State of the City speech Wednesday evening. Photo by Jeff Frazee

“It’s easy to sail a ship when the wind is fair and the sun is shining. The real challenge is maintaining a steady hand during the fiercest of storms, and making the right decisions to ensure that you stay on course. We’ve weathered many storms together. Each time we’ve come out, on our course, making progress toward our goals,” he said, his image projected on two large 15-feet wide screens. “Even though this past year was a rough one, we must learn from it.”

Cortese, who’s running for mayor along with Chavez and Reed, said he had applauded some of the mayor’s initiatives because they represented what the community as a whole had accomplished.

“Any criticism that I’ve had of this mayor is not based on personal animosity… my criticism of him is about a pattern of behavior that he’s brought on himself and it’s unfortunate that his own legacy is going to reflect that over time. I would have liked to have seen him finish his career with a much stronger legacy,” Cortese said. Gonzales promised to use his remaining 11 months in office to support schools, build affordable housing and strengthen neighborhoods.

He then gave a report of goals he made when he ran for mayor in 1998 such as supporting education, building stronger neighborhoods and creating a stronger economy by building affordable housing and bringing BART to San Jose.

As he looked back at his promises in previous State of the City speeches, Gonzales said he had found the consistent themes of neighborhoods, economy, education, public safety, transportation, housing and downtown redevelopment.

“In the next 11 months, I’ll keep pushing hard to complete the good work we’ve started together. This will be a critical time for the voters to decide who will lead this city in the future,” he said.

In the area of education, the mayor promised to cut the high school dropout rate in half during the next five years by working with school districts, create a plan to provide preschool to 4,000 children in the next five years and to support the “Preschool for All” initiative on the June state ballot.

Gonzales also proposed spending more money to reduce domestic violence and ensuring that residents are ready for a disaster.

He said he would also recommend to the city council another five-year plan that will create another 1,200 affordable homes per year.

The mayor also promised to continue to fight to bring BART by supporting a cooperative ballot measure.

And he also promised to help overhaul the city’s General Plan, last updated nearly 20 years ago, and present voters with a plan for a downtown ballpark.

Gonzales delivered his eighth State of the City speech at the new rotunda of the $382 million City Hall complex Wednesday evening. Photo by Sheila Sanchez

Stressed need to move past ‘Politics of Blame’

To his sharpest detractors, Gonzales said the “people of San Jose need a dialogue that goes beyond the politics of blame. Criticism alone is not leadership. We’ve been a city of solutions. We must remain one. The people of San Jose deserve to hear about solutions that will keep this a great city, for all of us.”

The mayor also outlined specific accomplishments during the past seven years such as the modernization of Mineta San Jose International Airport and work to bring BART to Silicon Valley.

In his conclusion, Gonzales said that, “Leadership is about your ability to lead despite what is happening around you.”

“I’m proud that we’ve been able to lead and make San Jose better, despite a prolonged recession. I’m proud that we’ve been able to lead for long-term, big-city results, despite chronic complaints from short-term, small-town thinkers. I’m proud that we’ve been able to lead to accomplish what our residents really want, despite the distractions of a thousand whims that mask what’s truly important to our community,” he said.

“It is true, leadership is about your ability to lead despite what is happening around you. That’s just what we’ve done. I am proud that we’ve achieved so much. That’s why I can say that the state of our city is strong, creative, collaborative, optimistic, dynamic (and) proud.”

He asked San Jose residents to keep working to make the city the best place to live in the country.

“Let us always choose action over inaction. Let us choose bold ideas, though they are daring, over static ideas, though they are safe,” he said. “I’ve had the immense honor to serve as your mayor of this great city. I thank everyone who has helped me so much and ensured that we could accomplish so much together.”

To read Gonzales’ State of the City speech visit www.sjmayor.org.