We relish the effrontery of election season. In San Jose’s District 8, where Councilwoman Rose Herrera is running for re-election next year, the spam has begun in the shape of a dubious poll organized by hostile forces.

An IA informant says he received a call last week from a young telephone questioner who claimed not to know who was paying for the survey. The pollster asked whether Herrera should be re-elected or replaced. Then he posed questions about several potential opponents — former television journalist Rigo Chacon; former City Council candidate Van Le; Patti Cortese, the wife of Santa Clara County Supervisor Dave Cortese; and Cortese aide Mike Donohoe.

For dessert came a clutch of nasty “push” questions aimed at potential Herrera weaknesses. Our informant says one asked how the respondent would feel after learning that Herrera had “voted to allow pot clubs within 600 feet of schools.” (In fact, the city’s pot ordinance would allow 10 marijuana collectives throughout the city, none of which could be within 500 feet of a school.)

He also asked how our informant would feel after learning that Herrera “allowed police layoffs” while funding other programs. (Largely because of out-of-control employee pension costs, the city didn’t have much choice.)

So who was behind the poll?

All signs point to organized labor, which was furious with Herrera last spring when she signed on with Mayor Chuck Reed’s planned ballot

measure to curtail pensions.

IA couldn’t get the executive officer of the South Bay Labor Council, Cindy Chavez, to respond to our questions. But Herrera didn’t disagree with the idea that labor was behind the poll.

“Frankly, I’m kind of surprised they’re doing it,” Herrera told IA. “But it doesn’t change anything for me. I’m going to continue to run a positive campaign.”

Occupy San Jose costs city $7,997 in cleanup expenses

By the time they were forced to move their tents (again) from San Jose’s City Hall plaza last week, the dwindling number of Occupy San Jose members remained in the shadows of their counterparts in Oakland and San Francisco — not to mention New York and other “tent cities” across the nation.

So not surprisingly, the cost to the city since the group set up shop on Oct. 2 has been comparatively low.

IA asked the city manager’s office to break down how much the city has spent “hosting” Occupy San Jose members on city property.

The total bill: $7,997.

That includes $1,585.50 for extra custodial work to clean the plaza and nearby City Hall restrooms, remove graffiti and pick up trash. An additional $4,992 has gone to pay overtime

to public works crews and security staff, while $1,237.50 was spent on “property release” last month. Those costs were incurred the first time the city kicked the protesters out, collected their belongings, then returned the items. Exactly $182 went for miscellaneous costs.

While nowhere near the reported $2.4 million that Oakland has shelled out since protesters took over Frank H. Ogawa Plaza on Oct. 10 — including more than $1.1 million for police alone — San Jose officials say their cash-strapped city could have used the money to repair things like doors, floors and walls that should have been fixed long ago.

Plan for Santa Clara rail station not on the radar

At the tail end of a community meeting on high-speed rail in San Jose last month, frustrated city transportation officials broached an idea: If California’s High-Speed Rail Authority won’t build a tunnel to accommodate a rail line under Diridon Station (another report says it’s not buildable) and locals don’t accept what they consider an ugly elevated concrete structure, what’s the next best location for a station in Silicon Valley?

How about a site adjacent to Santa Clara’s Caltrain station?

San Jose’s transportation director, Hans Larsen, confirmed to IA that while the idea was mentioned in passing, it’s not being pursued. Diridon Station in downtown San Jose is the region’s transportation hub, and that’s where a high-speed terminal should go, Larsen and other city officials say.

Over in Santa Clara, Assistant City Manager Carol McCarthy said that her city has “not been approached on that idea by any agency.” And rail authority Deputy Director Dan Leavitt said last week that he hadn’t heard of a Santa Clara station being “a serious consideration.”

Meanwhile, Leavitt said the rail authority remains committed to having trains run between the Central Valley and the Bay Area via the Pacheco Pass. But some San Jose city officials say rail authorities have mentioned an Altamont Pass route in recent discussions, meaning the trains would stop in Oakland and San Francisco but not San Jose.

Is that a veiled warning from the authority that it will divert the route from Silicon Valley if San Jose city officials don’t agree to an elevated train passing through the downtown?

Rail officials say that no such threat has been made.

“If they had threatened me, I would have reacted negatively,” San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed told IA.

City Councilman Sam Liccardo put it another way: “For a project struggling to gather public support, the notion that a multibillion dollar project would travel to Northern California and miss the largest city in the region is a bit like launching a global naval strategy that ignores the Pacific Ocean.”

Still, if the complaints from factions in San Jose and the Peninsula about high-speed rail ultimately push the project’s $98.5 billion cost further into the stratosphere, the route might have to change.

In any case, all this discussion may be for naught. Last week, Congress derailed critical federal funding for high-speed rail. And coupled with the controversy over the proposed elevated tracks, it appears the reality of high-speed rail reaching San Jose anytime soon is quickly fading on the horizon.

‘Best of’ schools list not the only measure of success

Most schools would be thrilled to be listed among the top in the nation. For some South Bay schools, though, landing a spot on yet another “best of” list is so, like, yeah we know.

Schools in the greater Bay Area made up an impressive 5 percent of U.S. News World Report’s newest list, a tally of what it calls the nation’s top high schools for science and math.

Among the 19 local schools listed: Pacific Collegiate in Santa Cruz (ranked No. 7), Mission San Jose in Fremont (No. 10), Monta Vista in Cupertino (20), Lynbrook in San Jose (29), Gunn in Palo Alto (31), Saratoga (37), Palo Alto High (54) and Homestead (99). Mountain View High was tied with Summit Prep in Redwood City for No. 141.

Does it help being named by the national magazine? IA asked.

“If you’re trying to sell real estate,” replied Superintendent Barry Groves of the Mountain View-Los Altos School District. (IA might add: If you’re trying to sell magazines.)

Groves acknowledged that the list identifies schools where lots of students are applying to highly selective colleges — and therefore taking and passing advanced-placement courses. But that’s just one of many measures of success, he said.

“To think that is the best way to judge high schools — I’d probably say is a specious idea,” he added.

In Palo Alto, Superintendent Kevin Skelly said, “It’s nice to be recognized.” But, he added, “it’s not like we’re campaigning to be on those lists.”

As for being honored for science and math education, consider the fact that the schools are in Silicon Valley, he said.

“The shoemaker’s children,” he said, “should know something about making shoes.”

Internal Affairs is an offbeat look at state and local politics. This week’s items were written by Scott Herhold, Tracy Seipel, Sharon Noguchi and Paul Rogers. Send tips to internalaffairs@mercurynews.com.

Article source: http://www.mercurynews.com/internal-affairs/ci_19377538