As one of the larger neighborhood mayoral forums — and one hosted by arguably the most successful neighborhood association — the WGNA forum also brought significant focus to issues that we face in Willow Glen.

Property rights, neighborhood cohesiveness, and monster homes were all discussed by the candidates, most of whom have straight-forward opinions on zoning, plannings, and growth. (more…)

Look … up in the air …. it’s a bird … it’s a plane … no, it’s a Michael Mulcahy mayoral campaign sign. And, we’re not sure that’s a good thing.

We asked readers to send us pictures of their campaign lawn signs, and the first came from Robert Ortiz, but it definitely was not a picture of anyone’s front yard. On almost every commerical street corner in WG, you’ll find a Mulcahy sign towering way above the others, taped to a light pole or a marquee sign.

Other candidates’ signs are placed in a few equally-inappropriate places (look at any vacant lot), but Mulcahy has taken the campaign to a whole new level - literally. He may be WG’s favorite son, and he has some good ideas about how to fix San Jose, but does he have to make our city look so ugly in the process?

More of our continuing “Mayoral Coverage” …

While the debate included a set of prepared questions, the candidates found ways to include their main points almost every time they held the microphone (of course). And since they’ve faced off many times in multiple venues, the gloves came off relatively early. Sparks did fly, but overall everyone was well-behaved.

Presented with a question about police funding and crime prevention, (more…)

The neighborhood association held its Mayoral Forum & Debate on Wednesday night, with an official attendance of 225 people; counting candidates and their support teams, there may have been more than 300. Moderator Kris Cunningham presided over a mostly-polite panel of politicos, and she served up questions collected and chosen by the WGNA Board of Directors.

Over the next few days, WGx will post observations and comments about the debate and the candidates. It’s all part of our 2006 Mayoral Coverage. (more…)

Some people might have a tough choice to make tonight. The WGNA hosts its Mayoral Debate tonight at 6:30, but the San Jose Sharks play Game 3 against Calgary at 7:00. (more…)

Who will be the next Mayor of San Jose. Don’t ask us — ask them:

Cindy Chavez
David Cortese
Michael Mulcahy
David Pandori
Chuck Reed

These candidates will be at the WGNA Mayoral Debate on Wednesday, May 10.

In addition to the random lawn sign slideshow in the left column, you can see the entire lawn sign collection or submit a picture of your own lawn sign. Comments welcome!

You’ve got questions … They’ve got answers. Hopefully.

Actually, the Willow Glen Neighborhood Association (WGNA) and the United Neighborhoods of Santa Clara County still need questions for the candidate forums they are hosting in May:

May 10, 6:30 pm — WGNA Mayoral Forum at WG Baptist Church
May 13, 9:00 am — UNSCC Mayoral Forum at SJ City Hall

WGNA President Ed Rast is collecting questions for the debate, including general questions for all candidates, questions for specific candidates, and simple “yes/no” questions on basic issues.

So, if you’ve got a question … (more…)