The first and primary commandment required by and applied to any elected leader is: “Do no harm.”
Sounds good, looks good and makes good sense.
When evaluating the actions and events of an elected leader, applying this axiom is a great indicator of their success or, in some cases, failure.
It doesn’t matter if the individual being evaluated is a local leader or a known national figure of notoriety.
When an elected leader goes off the rails, citizens are subject to the whims and fallout of defective decisions destined to drive the demons of democracy into overdrive.
Santa Clara has been a forerunner of foolish fantasies fostered by flimsy fights featuring the 49ers and Mayor Lisa Gillmor. Her fabrications were without any foundation, yet featured as fact.
Damaging, derogatory and deceitful campaigns were deployed to derail and destroy the Chamber of Commerce. A Chamber that has now become a shell, vacating its vision of building local businesses only to become a mouthpiece for the mayor.
Chamber Board President Christian Pellecchia, once a respected member of the community, has joined the Gillmor Gang. Gillmor plans to run Pellecchia against incumbent Council Member Karen Hardy in November.
Karen Hardy and Raj Chahal were the only two voices for reason and sanity from 2018 through 2020, during the Gillmor gaffes, her Forty-Niner fights, her Santana saga, and her Doyle decision disasters. Hardy and Chahal spoke up and out during this insane reign of Gillmor’s gang.
Another wannabe for Council is Planning Commission Member Nancy Biagini, who lost to Chahal four years ago despite a truckload of labor money. Gillmor has set her sights on replacing Chahal with Biagini, and Hardy with Pellecchia. Gillmor’s goal is to recapture control of the City Council and the City and reinstate her reign of error.
Of course, there is one other race and that is for the mayor’s job. There is no question that Gillmor wants to run for another four years. If she were to be reelected and served out her term, it would give her a total of 30 years on Santa Clara City Council.
Gillmor has demonstrated that even well-intended leaders can lose their way. Objectivity slowly disappeared in City Hall as dubious decisions demolished a once-dynamite city.
Gillmor forgot the first axion of public office. “Do no harm” was hastily hurled aside and replaced with ego-directed decisions that have decimated the budget — and our neighbors’ respect.
Fortunately, Santa Clara’s current City Council majority respects residents, supports solvency, is mindful of management and, hallelujah, does no harm.