San Jose adopted new rules this week that require lobbyists to file reports more often, but with fewer accountability measures in place.
Tag Archives: Tom Saggau
San Jose City Council Looks to Strengthen Lobbyist Regulations
In a bit to improve transparency, San Jose will consider increasing the frequency of its lobbying reports.
Trade Unions Spar with San Jose over Tax Breaks, Wages, Jobs
Local trade unions are bracing for a fight with San Jose over proposed tax breaks for developers who want to build high-rises in downtown.
Labor Council’s Suspected Ghost Writer Joins Washington Post
Philip Bump’s ascension from suspected hatchet man to prodigious blogger and Tweeter has been an extraordinary rise over the last half-decade.
Political Consultants, Lobbyists Deny Running The Daily Fetch
The Daily Fetch takes no prisoners—at least that’s what political consultant and lobbyist Dustin DeRollo told Fly when denying he has any role in producing the anonymous links blog. In the past six months, the Fetch—under new ownership—has taken a decidedly aggressive tone in going after everyone from Mayor Chuck Reed, his City Council allies and defeated county supervisorial candidate Teresa Alvarado to Metro and its staff. But one group that has received far less criticism from the blog is the organized labor machine and its elected allies, such as Cindy Chavez. So, when DeRollo’s name turned up as the quasi-editor of a PDF the site posted for a story last week, speculation in Silicon Valley political circles percolated that he and his business partner, Tom Saggau, have been orchestrating the site. Both men say that couldn’t be further from the truth, claiming DeRollo was improperly ratted out as a source for a story he expected not to lead back to him.
Shirakawa Holds On to Missing Funds, Misses Auditor’s Repayment Deadline
George Shirakawa has a reputation for missing important deadlines. It then comes as little surprise that the county supervisor under investigation for his misuse of county funds ignored Friday’s due date to reimburse roughly $12,500 in charges. If that wasn’t bad enough, Shirakawa also ignored an extension he was given to Monday, according to County Executive Jeff Smith.
Who Wasted the Most Campaign Money in 2012? Well, a Lot of People
The deadline for semi-annual campaign disclosure forms covering the last half of 2012 came due last week. The documents provide a clearer picture of how winning and losing candidates raised money and how they spent it—or misspent it—in the final weeks of the campaign. We also tracked a number of political action committees (PACs). The most interesting findings: How much money was wasted in trying to defeat Councilmember Rose Herrera, a potential quid pro quo between the ChamberPAC and a person quoted in its ballot statement against minimum wage, and hangover debt for losing candidates Jimmy Nguyen and Robert Braunstein.
Shirakawa’s Lobbyist Friends, Political Allies Reimburse County for Meals
The list of people to reimburse the county for meals Supervisor George Shirakawa expensed to taxpayers has now grown to eight. Included in the updated list are Shirakawa’s lobbyist friends Tom Saggau, Dustin DeRollo and Joe Guerra, as well as San Jose Councilmember Xavier Campos.
POA President Fires Back at Critics
Jim Unland looked exhausted on election night. But that fatigue didn’t last long after the Mercury News reported over the weekend that an upstart member of the police union named Jon Baker was questioning Unland’s leadership of the Police Officers Association.
Takeaways from the 2012 Election
Billions spent nationally, two years of nonstop campaigning and essentially nothing changed. But the outcome of Tuesday’s election will help the economy. Gov. Jerry Brown reigns supreme. People voted to tax themselves and Democrats have super majorities in the legislature. Happy days are here again!