Double-Take
Although usually one of the most accurate political tipsheets in the area, last week's issue of the Peninsula Democratic Coalition's New Democrat newsletter startled many local insiders with the news that Mike Potter had thrown his hat into the ring and would oppose former Palo Alto Mayor Joe Simitian and Cupertino's Barbara Koppel in the race for Dianne McKenna's north county seat on the Board of Supervisors. The news was surprising because Potter, a former aide to Supervisor Jim Beall, is Simitian's full-time campaign coordinator. "After careful and deliberate consideration, and after requesting and getting a very large raise," he joshingly informed Eye, "I have decided to throw my considerable support to Joe," before confirming that his entire short-lived campaign was, in reality, just a typo.
Photo by Christopher GardnerFree Speech Monitor: Jim Warren continues the fight against fees for access to government data that has been collected at taxpayer expense.
Your Money or Your Data
The heated online debate between First Amendment stalwart Jim Warren and the director of Santa Clara County's Center for Urban Analysis, Frank Lockfeld, finally spilled onto newsprint this past Monday with the publication of an article headlined "Bill Would Limit Free Access to Public Records" as the lead item in the Peninsula section of the San Francisco Chronicle. But Lockfeld, who works in the county executive's office, was none too pleased with the story, and it had nothing to do with the fact that his first name isn't Bill. The dispute, which has been raging in cyberspace for several weeks now, centers on Assembly Bill 185. The measure would increase counties' powers to sell public records to outside companies, who could then repackage the information and resell it to people seeking online data. Critics like Warren contend that the taxpaying public has already paid to collect the information in the first place and should not be charged for access to it. But Lockfeld argues that the county can't afford to provide everyone with the digital data streams they request. "What we have are companies, like title companies or credit reporting agencies, who want daily updates from us. I have nothing against those businesses," Lockfeld assures Eye, "I just don't think taxpayers should be subsidizing them." Lockfeld also contends it would be "enormously expensive," to prepare the county's existing records for widespread public online access without involving pay-per-view companies in the process. Warren feels the measure would allow the county to charge through the nose at market rates for anything online. "The government bureaucrats are just trying to squeeze maximum dollar profits for information they have collected under force of law and compiled at taxpayer expense," Warren contends. "And that," the multi-academic-degreed Warren adds in his best technospeak, "sucks."
Mayor for Life
And speaking of large, smooching sounds in advance of Valentine's Day, judging by last week's color photo and above-the-fold spread in the local section of the SJ Merc, it looks like Tom McEnery is finally talking to Phil Trounstine again, the latter perhaps feeling somewhat grateful. Fact is, SJ's ex-mayor put the word out that he would never speak to the Merc's longtime political editor again after he thoroughly trashed his book, The New City State: Change and Renewal in America's Cities. (The Macster also inexplicably compared Metro's editor to O.J. Simpson's houseboy after a scribe failed to sufficiently praise his radio show.) McEnery, however, appears to have made an exception in the case of discussing the possibility of a mayoral redux in 1988. ... First prize for Noticeably Unattributed Quote goes to the jab at Supe Ron Gonzales, that a former mayor of Sunnyvale shouldn't become the mayor of San Jose, followed by an inaudible harummphh. The Gonzales camp's spin is that McEnery merely wants to regain the influence he lost when he failed to endorse in the 1990 election, by being the kingmaker this time around. In other words, he doesn't plan to run -- just attract support and throw it to the candidate who will give him the most clout at City Hall during the next mayorship.
No Port Whining
Despite opposition from its own members, the Portuguese Chamber of Commerce is working with the city to receive "minority" classification for people of Portuguese descent. Why the sudden need to be classified as one of the disadvantaged groups? It may have to do with the fact San Jose is working on an affirmative action program that would ensure a more equitable share of city contracts would go to businesses owned by women and people of color. But the idea doesn't have all the Portuguese Chamber cheering. ... "I feel we don't want to be a minority. Period," one slightly disgruntled member told Eye. "If somebody wants to do this to make a buck ... well, I really don't support it. I wouldn't want to be a minority just to make money." Al Dutra, the Portuguese Chamber president, says around half the members oppose the attempt for minority designation, but he's not one of them. "The Portuguese in California have been looked upon as a less worthy group of people," Dutra pontificates. "It's our view that we deserve the designation of minority. We are facing all the same difficult situations other minority populations face. We have to learn a language and a culture and we have to find a way to make it in this society." Santa Clara County, the state of California and the United States government must all agree with Dutra, because each of those jurisdictions recognize Portuguese as a minority group, worthy of affirmative action.
Stanford Siberia
During the recent and acrimonious race for Congress, Tom Campbell pledged to move into the 15th Congressional District he was elected to represent. But don't call the movers yet. Campbell has decided to stay put at his Stanford residence, about 20 miles outside the district, at least for the time being, though he is quick to point out that he rents an apartment in Campbell, which sits squarely in the district, even though he doesn't live there. Campbell's plan is to wait until after the November election before putting his home on the Stanford campus up for sale. At that time he might also consider resigning his teaching post at Stanford's law school. As for his heartfelt pledge to move into the district, the rep says, "I mean to deceive no one. I will move into the district but probably not before the end of the year." ... As for being back in Congress, Campbell says he couldn't be more pleased. While Eye was eavesdropping, Campbell received a call from state Sen. Dan Boatwright, D-Oakland, who whined to Campbell about the Assembly's slim Republican majority and their war-is-hell plan to strip all Democrats of their chairmanships and even limit the number of Democrats who hold vice chairmanships. Campbell responded, saying, "That's a shame. And you know when the tide turns those guys are going to be out in Siberia."
Stamps of (Dis)approval
It's a perfect gift for the conspiracy theorist in your household: Drink in hand, Richard M. Nixon mingles with CIA bigwigs as they plan JFK's assassination. Just paste in that Nixon stamp and the postal service will deliver this controversial scene to your friends in Dallas. Then there's the envelope for the corresponding hempster: a red barn, framed against rolling green fields and distant hills--and in the foreground, your 32-cent Old Glory flies proudly over a field of cannabis. ... You guessed it. Nixon envelope creator Thom Zajac is at it again. On Feb. 1, he's introducing five new envelopes tailored for specific stamps. Zajac's Tricky Envelopes company has Louis Armstrong playing his heart out for an appreciative, if inebriated, crowd in a smoky jazz club. And, of course, there's that classic Marilyn Monroe atop the steam grate envelope. ... Zajac has even circumvented the most obvious limitation on envelope possibilities: How can you make fun of someone like Newt Gingrich, whose status as a living person precludes his being memorialized on a stamp? That's easy--put him on the envelope instead. Zajac enlisted Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist Tom Toles to draw up a "NEWtSPEAK" envelope proclaiming Pain Is Love (USA32). "It's supposed to be a takeoff on [Orwell's] 1984," Zajac explains. ... The Santa Cruz Comic News publisher made national news himself shortly after Nixon's funeral, when he came up with a custom envelope that put "Tricky Dick" Nixon's 32-cent mug in jail, where it should have been circa Watergate. The idea was an instant hit. Zajac has sold nearly 500,000 of his original design, and the soft-spoken publisher stood convinced he'd come up with a viable business idea. In addition to Toles, Zajac recruited local artists Tim Eagan (Monroe), Peter Bartczak (Armstrong) and former Santa Cruzans Paul Garvey (hemp field) and Mark Zepezauer (JFK conspiracy) to draw up the envelopes in exchange for 10 percent cut. ... The new envelopes have the best effect when the stamp's white borders are removed. (This does not invalidate the stamps, adds Zajac, who checked with the postal service.) If the post office is out of stamps, no problem. Zajac sells those, too, at face value. "I think I'm probably the biggest orderer of Nixon Stamps in the U.S.," Zajac says. "I've bought about $50,000 worth of them." . Zajac is selling them for six bucks a dozen. As with the original Nixon envelope, Zajac plans to do most of his business by mail order, and has wisely included a phone number, mailing address and Web site address on the back of each of his new babies. To get a catalog, send $1 to Tricky Envelopes, P.O. Box 8543, Santa Cruz, 95061.
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From the Jan. 25-31, 1996 issue of Metro
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