Bill Clinton will be in Downtown San Jose Today

Bill Clinton is making a single stop in the Bay Area today as part of the campaigns for Jerry Brown and Gavin Newsom. That stop happens to be at San Jose State University. Why San Jose? In the SFGate article, Newsom's former chief political strategist says: "If you are going to do one stop in the Bay Area, it makes sense to choose the largest city." Shabam. Click here for the full article, (oh and thanks DLO for the tip).

Does anyone else find it interesting that politicians/leaders from all 3 core Bay Area cities are making a run for State office? Brown was former mayor of Oakland, Newsom is the current mayor of San Francisco, and Meg Whitman was CEO of San Jose's eBay, growing it to an $8 billion company. Hopefully the election winner(s) will keep the Bay Area in mind from their Sacramento perch.

The Anti Prop 23 Campaign

I know putting anything political up here is playing with fire; however, Prop 23 is essentially a sham backed by oil companies. It claims to be protecting jobs by repealing laws that will reduce consumption of oil-related products and reduce pollution. There was an anti-Prop 23 rally earlier today at a San Jose Valero station and you can read more details about it below:


A group of local citizens from the Crush Proposition 23 Campaign rallied outside of a San Jose Valero gas station yesterday. The rally was part of a state-wide effort to defeat Proposition 23 - a deceptive ballot initiative funded by Valero and other Texas Oil companies that would effectively abolish California's landmark 2006 global warming law. 

Photo by Ruth Robertson (rwsrobertson@yahoo.com)

Texas oil companies are pledging tens of millions of dollars this fall in an effort to pass Proposition 23 and effectively repeal California's landmark global warming bill (AB 32). If Proposition 23 passes on November 2, it's a serious blow to our ability to take aggressive steps to slow climate change. If Proposition 23 is resoundingly defeated, we can show ourselves and the world that the people of the United States are ready to do what scientists say is necessary to address our global climate crisis. Depending on the outcome of the election this fall, our state will either be the world's leader in the fight against global warming, or it could become the latest casualty in corporate takeover of government.

For more information and to volunteer with the campaign, www.stoptexasoil.org, stop by the Palo Alto office at 3491 El Camino Real, or email john@greencorps.org.

San Jose Politics: Proposed Runoff Election Changes

If you're interested in San Jose politics (or a free lunch), then you might want to check out this event happening at the Martin Luther King Jr. Library Room 225, from 12pm-1:15pm this Thursday:

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CA EVENT: Instant Runoff Voting (San Jose)

In order to be elected to office in San Jose, a candidate must secure a majority of the votes cast. Sounds simple enough, but if no candidate receives a majority, then a runoff election is held in which the top candidates must compete again. This process is not only lengthy and results in voter fatigue and low voter turnout, but can cost $500,000 per election. There must be a better way to elect our leaders.

In May, the San Jose Elections Commission had Instant Runoff Voting (IRV) on their agenda, and heard it described as a cheaper, quicker, and more civil way to run elections. Join us for a discussion of how IRV works and what it can do for San Jose.

This event is free and open to the public and lunch will be provided.

The event is jointly sponsored by the New America Foundation and Common Cause.

Featured Speakers
Sam Liccardo
Councilmember, San Jose City Council (District 3)

Steve Chessin
President, Californians for Electoral Reform

Ash Kalra
Councilmember, San Jose City Council (District 2)

Ellen Wheeler
Member, League of Women Voters Los Altos-Mountain View

Moderated by
Terry Christensen
Professor of Political Science, San Jose State University"

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Sign up for this event here!