South Bay Labor's recent hit piece on Supervisor candidate Johnny Khamis has been roundly denounced as inaccurate and trafficking in ugly racial and ethnic tropes. Cruz Medina, associate professor of Rhetoric and Writing at Santa Clara University, connects the piece to the long legacy of anti-immigrant politics in California and Silicon Valley, which continue today.
Read MoreWacky claims. Disinformation. Bigoted mailers. What's up with our local Labor movement? Jackson Reese, vice president of the influential statewide think tank California Policy Center, explores how and why Labor goes over the top--creating a false sense of existential terror--in their bizarre and dangerous efforts to influence local elections. An Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreTwo years ago, local nonprofits stood in unison opposing racially tinged ads distributed by the SVO (Chamber of Commerce). This year, when local Labor groups distributed mailers that were even more explicitly bigoted in nature (in this case, anti-Arab, anti-immigrant), those groups sat on their hands. Only one local nonprofit, the Silicon Valley Public Accountability Foundation spoke up to decry Labor's ugly politicking. Jonathan Fleming is the founder and director of SVPAF and explores what's going on with local nonprofits in a conversation with Opp Now co-founder Christopher Escher.
Read MoreLocal Labor lefties last week continued their exploration of how many false and discriminatory hit pieces a group can distribute in one primary season. The latest howler was a mailer suggesting lifelong Democrat and mayoral candidate Matt Mahan is a closet Trumpy Republican. Huh? The Merc editorial board awakened to renounce the mailer's accuracy. But more importantly, D3 council candidate Irene Smith demolished the rhetorical foundations of Labor's looney attacks on their competitors, and argued for an inclusive, nonpartisan approach to local politics. Smith's letter to supporters is excerpted below.
Read MoreAccording to political writer Joel Kotkin, Gov. Newsom distracts Californians from our state’s economic downfall by pretending to care about climate change, race, and gender issues, while only hearing resounding applause from wealthy and woke-affirming citizens.
Read MoreLeaders of the local Arab American community are condemning Labor's ongoing, racially-tinged attacks on county supervisor candidate and Arab American Johnny Khamis--and politicians outside of San Jose are joining the chorus of denunciation. Local labor-backed mayoral and council candidates, as well as local "equity" non profits remain--predictably--mum.
Read MoreLocal leaders from across the political spectrum have called Labor's recent hit piece on Arab-American and immigrant County Supervisor candidate Johnny Khamis a hypocritical, shameful, and dirty ploy. The mailer has been criticized by Arab-American leaders as discriminatory and harshly criticized by the Merc's editorial board and this website as full of disinformation. Political leaders' comments below.
Read MoreBoard of Equalization (BOE) candidate Peter Verbica reiterates his conversation with the Mercury News editorial board regarding the importance of the BOE for an equitable and efficient statewide tax system. Below is an excerpt from a Verbica letter to the Merc, outlining his views of three reasons supporting continued support for a healthy BOE.
Read MoreProfessor Joe Mathews examines the Institute for the Future’s projected scenarios for California post-COVID. The four scenarios are sobering. Some envision a “fractured” place of never-ending chaos. Yet all four offer hope: We can (and must) transform failing economic structures.
Read MoreOn May 17 the Merc reported that the proposed budget for the controversial new county prison had risen more than 70%, from $390m to $689m. County supervisor candidate Johnny Khamis and mayoral candidates Dev Davis and Matt Mahan express concern.
Read MoreSomewhere, George Orwell is smiling. In a brazen example of counterintuitive spin, a collection of the local subsidized housing leaders responded to news that homelessness is rising in the county by saying that—get this—the uptick proves their Housing First programs are working. Astonishingly, the Merc took their comments at face value and—hold on—didn't seek out any voices to suggest that, y'know, maybe the increase is a sign that something's not working. To get more clear-eyed perspectives we talked to ex SJ councilmembers Johnny Khamis (who's also running for county Supervisor) and Pierluigi Oliverio (who's also a Planning Commissioner).
Read MorePolitical commentator Joel Fox surveys how current direct policymaker is supposed to work in California--initiatives--and finds that the system has been gamed by the wealthy and influential. He offers some thoughtful changes to recover the original Progressive vision for initiatives.
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