The battle for the District Six seat on the City Council has heated up again — and this time it includes the local press.

The SJ Mercury News and the weekly Silicon Valley Metro took each other to task this week, reporting on multiple sides of the story, disputing each other’s veracity and accuracy.

Last Saturday, the Merc published a story questioning Oliverio’s track record of fundraising for a local nonprofit:

From the Merc: The executive director of a prominent non-profit says Oliverio is exaggerating his fund-raising role with her organization. While Oliverio has publicly claimed his work for the group was one of his three proudest accomplishments, she said he raised less than $350.

“It makes me feel like we have been exploited and used for political gain,” said Kathleen Krenek, head of Next Door Solutions to Domestic Violence. “It begs the question, `what about his other accomplishments?’ ”

The Metro’s Fly objected to the characterization in its February 21 edition:

From Metro: We knew things were getting messy in San Jose’s District 6 race, but the hit piece that ran in the Merc on Saturday was just ridiculous. Reporter Joshua Molina dissected Pierluigi Oliverio’s résumé with the help of Steve Tedesco backers and a few erroneous omissions of fact. The story’s key source, nonprofit executive Kathleen Krenek, claims she isn’t endorsing Tedesco (another nonprofit executive), despite the fact that her name is clearly listed as a supporter on Tedesco’s campaign website. Wags around town have also seen her sporting the candidate’s green and white buttons at campaign events. Subtle!

In its February 23 edition, Molina updates the story. Although he didn’t directly challenge Metro’s reporting, the two papers clearly see things differently:

The Mercury News: Krenek said she didn’t know her name was on Tedesco’s site; Tedesco said he barely knows Krenek and included the names of anyone who donated money to his campaign.

Krenek has said she donated $20 each to Oliverio, Tedesco and candidate Clark Williams during last year’s primary race, although Oliverio says he received no such donation. Krenek offered to look for her canceled check.

But, wait … there’s more! The Metro also questioned the Merc’s reporting of previous electoral campaigns waged by Oliverio:

Metro’s Fly continues: Molina also jabs at Oliverio for his supposedly clandestine attempts at public office under a “different name.” The scandalous truth: Oliverio went by “Pierre,” a shorter version of his own name, because it’s easier to pronounce. He ran unsuccessfully for school board when he worked as a teacher in 1992 and for City Council in 1994—two facts that Molina claims credit for “revealing” only recently. But Oliverio told the Merc’s editorial board months ago, which they mentioned when they endorsed him before the November election.

Perhaps in response, the Merc printed a small retraction on February 23, clarifying Oliverio’s previous runs at elected office. The daily paper took the additional step of adding the clarification as a banner update to the online version of its original February 17 story.

The Mercury was quiet today, but did report on more mean-spirited campaign tactics unfolding in the District 4 race to replace new Mayor Chuck Reed.