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Santa Clara County, CA | June 6, 2006 Election |
A Clean, Open and Ethical City HallBy Dave CorteseCandidate for Mayor; City of San Jose | |
This information is provided by the candidate |
Dave Cortese's government reform proposals include amendments to San Jose's Lobbyist Ordinance, providing greater access to information and meetings, and establishing stronger enforcement provisions.In light of the recent scandals that have rocked City Hall, San Jose citizens may be wondering, "When did it become OK to lie in government?" It's not OK. Dave is dedicated to ensuring that City Hall becomes more open, honest and ethical and has already taken the lead on a number of proposals to accomplish that goal. He was the first to request the Council consider censuring former Councilman Terry Gregory in November 2004, the sole councilmember to call for an investigation to continue on the Cisco technology contract for the new City Hall in January 2005, and the first to request a censure hearing and resignation of the Mayor after he crafted a backroom garbage-hauling deal that cost citizens an extra $11.25 million. He has also proposed strengthening penalties for campaign consultants who commit violations and strengthening rules so that elected officials cannot make recommendations on consultants. As president of the Santa Clara County Cities Association in 2005, Dave convened ethics training for all mayors and council members in the entire county. As mayor of San Jose, Dave will make sure this ethics training is an annual priority for the city and for the region. He is not be afraid to eliminate backroom politics and return City Hall to its rightful owners--the people of San Jose. Amendments to San Jose's Lobbyist Ordinance Lobbyists are dictating public policy at City Hall, and this must change. As mayor of San Jose, Dave will do everything in his power to reduce their influence. Some elected officials and lobbyists claim this is not happening, so the first step in reforming the system is to reveal what lobbyists are really up to. San Jose citizens have a right to know who is lobbying their elected officials and how to better assess the impact of lobbying on public policy decisions. We cannot have lobbyists running City Hall. To resolve this dilemma, Dave first proposes a filing system that demands a two-day turnaround for lobbyists to report who they met, on which issue, and the amount of any contribution in dollars and in-kind goods. This would reveal if there was any link to key policy decisions being made at City Hall. Second, Dave proposes stringent restrictions on elected officials and their employees who have typically returned to City Hall within a year of departing. This includes permanently banning former employees from returning to lobby their bosses. The current `revolving door' policy is inadequate, because many policy decisions like Norcal and land use decisions like Coyote Valley, Communications Hill and Evergreen span two to three years. Former city employees or elected officials should not be able to exert undue influence on public policy based on their previous legislative history with the policy or the personal relationships they may have formed while in office. Dave's six amendments to San Jose's existing lobbyist ordinance would: 1. Require filing of lobbyist disclosure reports within 48 hours or two business days of the occurrence of reportable lobbying and fundraising activity. 2. Request the City Clerk to make available the reports required in #1 above, real-time on the City of San Jose website, including lobbyist fund raising activities, contributions raised/offered, and solicitations made on behalf of an elected official. 3. Permanently ban former employees of San Jose elected officials from returning to City Hall to lobby their former supervisors. 4. Prohibit former city employees, including elected officials, from registering as lobbyists or providing political consultation services to a registered lobbyist for at least eight years, the equivalent of two terms in office, after they leave City Hall. Former city employees or elected officials should not be able to exert undue influence on public policy. 5. Prohibit registered lobbyists, whose primary occupation is to influence the outcome of legislation, from serving directly or indirectly through others, as fundraisers, treasurers or other campaign employees/consultants for candidates for city office. 6. Require the mayor and city council members to report offers of employment and/or negotiation of future employment with any corporation, organization or entity that has or anticipates having legislative issues pending before the city council. Provide Greater Access to Information and Meetings San Jose City Hall has been guarding information from the public for far too long. Other major Bay Area cities like San Francisco and Oakland make information more readily available to the public because they have passed strong sunshine laws, which are simply open-government ordinances. Dave has already made a motion to add amendments to the campaign financing ordinance that would require full public disclosure of the use of paid campaign workers, which is not currently necessary. As mayor of San Jose, Dave will propose adopting sunshine laws that provide greater access to information and meetings. He will hold elected officials accountable if they don't abide by the City Charter, the Municipal Code and the Brown Act. Dave's open-government proposals will:
To give these new provisions the "teeth" needed to assure compliance, Dave proposes establishing new criminal and civil penalties and strengthening the sanctions for violation of provisions already in effect. According to the San Jose City Charter and Municipal Code, the mayor and city council are required to disclose material facts before the city council takes action. And the Brown Act prohibits closed door meetings for city task forces, commissions and committees. As mayor of San Jose, Dave will hold elected officials and City employees accountable when they don't abide by the rules. He will:
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Created from information supplied by the candidate: May 18, 2006 17:50
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