Politics

Santa Clara County residents will pay a half-cent sales tax to improve roads, trains, bike and pedestrian paths to the tune of $6 billion, if a major group representing the top businesses in Silicon Valley has its way.

The cake was out on Monday as the City Council said farewell and thanks to interim city administrator Ed Tewes, who attended his last council meeting on the dias before turning the keys to City Hall over to new administrator Gabriel Gonzalez.

No one could argue that serving on a city council isn’t a grinding activity, requiring one to parse and analyze dense, technical and unfamiliar material, then comment as though one were an expert and to always without fail, make the right decision.

This November’s election will be hugely important for Gilroy and for the nation as a whole. Not only will it be a test of our presidential election system, but it will be an opportunity for Gilroy residents to vote for a mayor and three council members of their choice. Mayor Woodward, Cat Tucker, Teri Aulman and Daniel Harney all finish their terms at that time. This is an exciting moment in the history of our democracy. I hope that Gilroy residents will register to vote if they haven’t already, and that all registered voters express their wishes at the polls.

The Gilroy mayoral race is starting to heat up as Terry Feinberg has announced he is resigning his post as chairman of the board of the Gilroy Chamber of Commerce in order to support Councilmember Roland Velasco in his bid to become Gilroy’s next mayor.

He came to Gilroy as deputy district attorney prosecuting drug dealers and bad financial actors. Mayor Pro Tempore Peter Leroe-Muñoz is a Harvard Law School alum with a first-hand understanding of public safety issues affecting the region. No longer in the running for state Assembly, having dropped out of the race in January, Leroe-Muñoz has two more years left in his term on the City Council. In this Q&A he addresses a major project’s effect on the communications capabilities of law enforcement and emergency responders across the region, as well as a rumour about his residency.

The Gilroy City Council on Monday voted to join a new county energy agency that plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions by getting power from renewable sources.

Uvas Reservoir, which had dwindled during the drought, reached an inch from its top Tuesday, before officials began letting water down the spillway. It doesn't mean the end of the drought, water officials say, but it's a big step toward helping recharging the underground aquifer that brings Gilroy much of its water.

Last year, 6,000 people attended events at the Gilroy Center for the Arts, in increments of 49—but frustrated members of the arts community say they could have handled many, many more if they had the space.

Gilroy Police officer Bobby Zuniga demonstrates the new “Don’t Rush to Flush” bin at the Gilroy Police Department (7301 Hanna St.). The bin was established as part of a $276,000 dollar grant funded project to place and promote 50 bins around the county to ensure that prescription drugs don't get into the water supply.