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44-586: The progressive think-tank Working Partnerships, USA began as the policy arm of the SBLC, but has since separated and become an independent organization. The South Bay Labor Council runs one of the largest organizational campaign operations in Northern California. In the late 1930s Santa Clara County's trade unions wrestled with the AFL-West for control of the then existing central labor council. Twice, in 1938 and 1939,

88-497: A dramatic turn, fellow councilman Dave Cortese demanded Gonzales's resignation while member Chuck Reed began proceedings to remove Gonzales from his office as mayor. Eventually, the Council voted to censure Gonzales, but took no further actions. When the issue came before a judge, all charges were thrown out, on the basis that the prosecution's claims were novel as a matter of law, and even if true, did not amount to illegal activity. In

132-553: A failed mayoral bid. After Lamkins left the SBLC in 2009 Chavez was appointed executive director of the labor council. In 2013 Chavez left the SBLC after winning office in the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors. The current executive officer of the SBLC is Jean Cohen. In 2016, after the success and regional expansion of the 2012 minimum wage campaign, the South Bay Labor Council launched a new effort to lift

176-609: A large and sophisticated grass roots campaign with thousands of volunteers working to help pass the measure. After the passage of the measure, a statewide bill was introduced in the California State Assembly to enact a similar law statewide . Under Dean's leadership the SBLC in 2000 authored the Children's Health Initiative, a plan to expand Medi-Cal service to offer universal healthcare to children in San Jose. With Chavez on

220-539: A partner in Farmers Union at San Pedro Square, McEnery led the effort to privately restore many historic San Jose buildings, placing them on the national, state and city historic registers. San Pedro Square, which includes the Paul Masson Champagne Cellars and the Farmers Union and Lyndon Buildings, has a lively restaurant row, offices and apartments. The San Pedro Square Market, opened in the fall of 2011,

264-542: A professional theatre artist with over 30 years of experience as a director and teaching artist. Santa Clara University faculty members Jerald Enos and Derek Duarte have been announced as Set Designer and Lighting Director, respectively. McEnery is the Founding Chairman of the Cinequest San Jose Film Festival which he helped build as chair for ten years into an internationally regarded festival which

308-552: A raise for sanitation workers. The issue revolved around a nine-percent, $ 11 million ($ 2000), increase for Norcal Waste Systems, Inc. , that Gonzales advocated the San Jose City Council adopt. Which the Council did. Gonzalez's political distractors framed the negotiation through a Santa Clara County Civil Grand Jury as an illegal quid pro quo to the Teamsters workers, which were part of Gonzales' labor political base. In

352-451: A single prominent Latino politician, he formed an easy target for dog whistle attacks tuned for a white voting constituency. In 2000, a political spectacle was made out of Gonzales' personal life, which culminated in the politicized news of a separation from his wife and a relationship with a staffer, Guiselle Nunez, whom he married. With his marriage already a public spectacle, in 2003, Gonzales came under political attack for negotiating

396-653: A website devoted to the culture and politics of San Jose. McEnery was part of the ownership group for San Jose Sports & Entertainment Enterprises , which owns the San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League . He is an owner of the Irish Innovation Center and Silicon Valley Global in Downtown San Jose which houses and funds start-up technology ventures. San Jose's McEnery Convention Center

440-494: Is a longtime dream of the McEnery family and has been heralded as the key ingredient to the vibrant and revitalized downtown as the catalyst from the thousands of housing units and office development. Mayor Sam Liccardo has called it " The San Pedro Square Market is downtown's second renaissance." It is a spectacular historical city center amenity built around the historical Peralta Adobe and Fallon House. A reformist leader, McEnery led

484-423: Is an American author, businessman, and teacher from San Jose, California , who served as the 61st mayor of that city from 1983 to 1991. McEnery attended Santa Clara University , graduating with a B.A. in 1967 and an M.A. in 1970. After his term in office, he served on the board of directors of the San Jose Sharks hockey team and continued to pursue his business and writing career. He co-founded San Jose Inside,

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528-561: Is named in his honor. Tom McEnery was born in San Jose, California on September 23, 1945. His father, John P. "Big John" McEnery, was a member of the Truman administration and Chairman of the California Democratic Party, and an early supporter, confidant, and floor leader for John F. Kennedy at the 1956 and 1960 Democratic Conventions. Tom's maternal grandfather, "Honest Ben" Sellers, was a San Jose city councilman, mayor and leader of

572-553: The King and Story neighborhood. Gonzales pushed for BART to extend to Downtown San Jose , in the Silicon Valley BART extension . When San Jose's first BART station, Berryessa/North San José station , opened, many officials credited Gonzales with bringing this project to fruition. Ron Gonzales was the first Latino Mayor of San Jose since California's Statehood. As San Jose is a major metropolitan region, that made Gonzales one of

616-578: The University of California, Santa Cruz . At age 18, Ron Gonzales won a seat on the student council at De Anza College . Gonzales became active in municipal politics in the late 1970s, heading a citizens’ commission in Sunnyvale that recommended maintaining low density zoning in Sunnyvale neighborhoods. He first ran for Sunnyvale City Council in 1977 and lost by 300 votes. After being elected to Sunnyvale City Council on his second attempt in 1979, Gonzales

660-605: The 100-member Bay Area "Brain Trust" in 1995. He was the first American to receive the Lord Mayor's Award in Dublin, Ireland. The San Jose Tech Museum of Innovation honored him in 1998 as its Inspiration Award Winner. He was selected as one of the "Top 100" Irish Americans by the magazine Irish America , in 2011 was named to the "Silicon Valley 50". Tom McEnery and his wife Jill have three grown daughters and six grandchildren, and still reside on

704-702: The Community Impact Award in June 1999 from the Asian Law Alliance, as well as the Point of Light Award , a national honor given to individuals who have made significant contributions to their community. Gonzales founded of The Role Model Program, an effort that recruits adult role models to visit local middle schools [1] . He also chairs the National League of Cities Youth, Education, and Families Council overseeing

748-457: The Council, the plan initially had majority support. The plan depended on $ 2 million from the city in order to qualify for matching federal and state funds, but Mayor Gonzales managed to withhold the funds after offering $ 2.3 million in project funding to Councilwoman Pat Dando, who reversed her vote. After the initiative failed in City Council, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors offered

792-525: The November 2006 run-off election. The winner was Chuck Reed , who won a clear majority of the votes over the vice-Mayor of San Jose, Cindy Chavez . After leaving the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors due to term limits , Gonzales was an executive at Hewlett-Packard . Gonzales worked as Program Manager for ten years at Hewlett-Packard where he led a national initiative to create partnerships with local school districts and universities. Gonzales received

836-515: The SBLC was able to push the San Jose City Council to pass what was at that time the highest living-wage ordinance in the country for municipal employees and city contractors. The SBLC's political influence in the city also grew that year with the election of Education and Outreach Director Cindy Chavez to the San Jose City Council. In 2000 the SBLC authored and spearheaded a campaign to establish universal child healthcare in San Jose. After

880-404: The SBLC was able to push through City Council legislation that put conditions on a Santa Clara County tax rebate program, including a written commitment to job creation listing the numbers of jobs planned to be created with tax dollars. The terms led to the disuse of the rebate program. In 1998, with research assistance from Working Partnerships, USA, and organizing assistance from local churches,

924-452: The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors. In 1998 , Gonzales was elected mayor of San Jose, edging out councilperson Pat Dando with 51.4% of the vote. He began his term in 1999. Early in his first term, Gonzales began new programs. He designed a program to attract young teachers to the city's schools, including home purchase assistance programs. He advocated using San Jose Redevelopment Agency funds in areas outside downtown, including

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968-596: The award-winning book of the same name, by Harry Farrell, was performed at the Tabard Theatre in San Jose in 2015, and was produced as a full-length play in January 2016. In 2017, his original comedy A Statue for Ballybunion made its original premiere in Dublin, Ireland at the O'Reilly Theatre. It was directed by Paul Meade and starred John Olohan. The comedy was scheduled to make its U.S. premiere on St. Patrick's Day 2020 at 3Below Theaters & Lounge in downtown San Jose but

1012-490: The council had its charter revoked after electing leaders disapproved of by the national organization. The South Bay Labor Council in its current form was chartered in 1958 as the Central Labor Council of Santa Clara County. In 1987 council Executive Director Rick Sawyer persuaded then mayor Tom McEnery to negotiate an organizing agreement at the newly opened Fairmont Hotel in downtown San Jose. The agreement led to

1056-519: The court's opinion, the judge wrote "This is not bribery, this is politics." In 2002, Gonzales created the Silicon Valley Leadership PAC and started collecting donations for this fund. With the above noted sanitation political fight ongoing and suffering a stroke in January, in March 2004, Gonzales announced he would stop collecting donations because of controversy about the fund. He is also

1100-470: The first Hispanic mayors of a major U.S. city. He is listed among the nation's "Most influential Hispanics". When he addressed the 2000 Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles, Mayor Gonzales launched into an impassioned speech extolling the virtues of California's famed "Silicon Valley." Gonzales came under frequent political attacks during the transitional years as San Jose politics moved left. As

1144-458: The floor for the working class . The Labor Council led the campaign to pass San Jose's Measure E, which requires companies to offer hours to their current part-time qualified workforce before hiring new staff. With only two jurisdiction with similar, but much smaller in scope, ordinances - this was the first initiative of its kind . The Measure passed with nearly 64% of the vote and the law will go into effect in early 2016. The Labor Council led

1188-650: The founder of the Hispanic Foundation of Silicon Valley. Gonzales was reelected as mayor in the March 2002 election . His second, and final, term as San Jose mayor ended in 2006. On January 28, 2004, while delivering the State of the City address, Gonzales suffered a stroke. He returned to his duties on February 16 of that year. Gonzales stayed out of the race to succeed him and did not endorse or campaign for either candidate running in

1232-537: The plan failed in City Council, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors offered the necessary funding. In 2001 SBLC succeeded in winning 5,000 units of affordable housing in a Coyote Valley development project. In 2003 the SBLC negotiated a community benefits agreement with the CIM Group over a downtown San Jose development project. That year Dean left the council, and deputy director Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins became executive director. In 2006 Chavez left City Council for

1276-546: The progressive reform movement in the early twentieth century. His mother, Margaret was a key political influence in the life of each of the three political leaders in her life: father, husband and son. McEnery's other grandfather, Patrick McEnery, was editor of the San Jose Mercury Herald. Attending local schools, including Bellarmine College Preparatory , McEnery earned a BA in business administration and an MA in history from Santa Clara University. His master's thesis

1320-545: The same downtown San Jose street where he was raised and four generations of their families have lived. Ron Gonzales Ronald R. Gonzales (born 1951) is an American politician and member of the Democratic Party , who served as the 63rd Mayor of San Jose, California . Gonzales was the first Hispanic to serve as Mayor of San Jose since 1845. Gonzales grew up in the Santa Clara Valley , and graduated from

1364-496: The starting funds, and the program began the next year. After the plan began, the mayor and City Council reversed the earlier position and committed $ 3 million to fund the program. The Children's Health Initiative extended coverage to 70,000 children, guaranteeing health insurance to an estimated 360,000 San Joseans below the age of 18. The number of uninsured children shrank from 16 percent to 4 percent in ten years. Tom McEnery Thomas Andrew McEnery (born September 23, 1945)

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1408-512: The statewide fight for the Clean Government Initiative, which included reasonable term limits for elected officials and campaign finance reform. In 1992, he led a coalition of community groups, city officials and Silicon Valley corporations in working on the problems of drug and gang violence. In 1994 he ran for Congress and lost a close primary election. From 1995 to 1998, McEnery hosted the frequently number-one rated radio show in

1452-597: The story of his friend John Hume's struggle for Irish peace and reconciliation. The Irish in the Bay Area , an anthology with an essay by McEnery, was published in 2006. McEnery is currently working on a new book on immigrants and the American dream. He teaches and lectures on a limited basis. His columns frequently appear in papers from California to the Irish Times and London Times . McEnery's short play Swift Justice , based on

1496-416: The unionization of every major hotel in downtown San Jose by UniteHERE Local 19, and to a prevailing wage commitment for city contracts above $ 50,000. In 1994 Amy B. Dean was appointed CEO of the council. In 1995 Dean founded Working Partnerships, USA , a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to policy research advocacy and community coalition building. With Working Partnerships, USA's research assistance,

1540-716: The valley. As Vice Chairman of the NHL San Jose Sharks from 1994 to 1999, McEnery helped establish youth programs and the successful Sharks Foundation. In 2002, McEnery, Shark CEO Greg Jamison and venture capitalist Kevin Compton formed a local group of Silicon Valley investors to purchase the Sharks and associated interests. McEnery served on the first board of the Silicon Valley Sports and Entertainment until he sold his interest to partner and SAP founder Hasso Plattner. McEnery

1584-415: The votes in the June primary. Incumbent Supervisor Tom Legan, who was on trial for but not convicted of molesting his underaged stepdaughter, polled 10.3% and Milpitas Mayor Robert Livengood made the runoff with 40%. Gonzales won the runoff with 57.4% of the November general election vote, becoming the county’s first elected Mexican-American county supervisor. He then served for eight years (1989–1996) on

1628-559: Was President of the family business—the pioneer retail and commercial Farmers Union Corporation—and a spokesman for controlled growth and downtown revitalization as Chairman of the San Jose Planning Commission and a member of the San Jose City Council. He was elected Mayor of San Jose in a landslide victory in the primary of 1982 . As mayor of San Jose, Tom McEnery led America's tenth largest city for two terms. He presided over an explosion of growth and optimism in San Jose and

1672-406: Was a delegate to the 1980, 1984 and 2000 Democratic Conventions pledged to candidates Ted Kennedy and Bill Bradley. McEnery shares his views on the paths that American cities should take in his book The New City State , published in 1994. He also wrote California Cavalier , a fictional journal written from the perspective of Thomas Fallon. He co-edited and wrote the introduction to A New Ireland ,

1716-503: Was a member of California Governor-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger 's Transition Committee in 2003 and San Jose Mayor-elect Chuck Reed 's Transition Group in 2006–07. In 2007, he and Steve Poizner were state co-chairmen of the Voter Reform Initiative. In 2005, he co-founded San Jose Inside , a news and blog site dedicated to exploring San Jose politics and culture, and subsequently sold it to Metro Silicon Valley newspaper. McEnery

1760-459: Was chosen by USA Today as "the most innovative festival in the world." He was a founder and trustee of Bytes for Belfast, a program linking Silicon Valley expertise with Northern Ireland community efforts, using new technologies to expand the social and economic opportunities open to the youth in inner-city Belfast and Derry. The Silicon Valley Business Hall of Fame selected McEnery as its first politician inductee, and Focus magazine put him on

1804-499: Was on Michael Collins, Irish republican and the architect of Irish independence, whose key lieutenant, Michael McDonnell, worked for his father, John, for many years. McEnery was a Presidential Fellow at Santa Clara University and lectured for two years at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business. He is a prime mover in the Irish Technology Leadership Group chaired by former Intel CEO, Craig Barrett. McEnery

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1848-634: Was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic . A Statue for Ballybunion is based on the true story of a group of Ballybunion , Ireland, residents who hatch a cunning plan to unveil the world's first statue of the leader of the free world — then-U.S. president, William Jefferson Clinton. However, well-publicized events in the Oval Office with a certain intern put his visit to “The Kingdom of Kerry” in jeopardy. The production will be directed by former San Jose Repertory Theatre Associate Artistic Director John McCluggage,

1892-534: Was quoted in a national column saying that a proposed censure of ex-Sunnyvale mayor Larry Stone for posing in a photo with Fidel Castro “was the most ridiculous matter to come to council” during his tenure. Gonzales succeeded Stone as mayor in 1980, and served again as mayor in 1987-88. He completed the Mayor's Leadership Program at Harvard Kennedy School and is an American Leadership Forum fellow. In 1988, Gonzales ran for county supervisor and received 49.7 percent of

1936-532: Was rated "the most powerful person in Silicon Valley" by the San Jose Mercury News . As "the youngest big-city mayor in the country," McEnery's key goals were the rebuilding of a viable downtown, fostering economic development, augmenting the police force, and developing youth programs. During his tenure, a new tax base and a new skyline emerged. He was reelected mayor in another landslide in 1986 . As

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