Posted on 06/23/2006 7:56:08 AM PDT by SmithL
It wasn't supposed to end like this.
It was just six years ago that San Jose Mayor Ron Gonzales was addressing the Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles, basking in the glow of his 1998 election as the city's first Latino mayor since California's statehood and his regular appearances on magazine lists of the nation's "Most Influential Hispanics.''
But Thursday, the sword that has been hanging over Gonzales' head for months finally dropped. His once-glittering political career effectively ended when he was arrested and booked on charges stemming from secret agreements he made in a multimillion-dollar negotiation over a city trash-hauling contract.
Gonzales said all the right things Thursday, denying any wrongdoing through an aide and vowing not to be forced out of office, even as he paid his $50,000 bail.
Gonzales "broke no laws,'' David Vossbrink, his press spokesman, said in a release.
That's a claim that can work for a shoplifting suspect or an armed robber, but it's different for a politician. While the indictment against Gonzales had not even been publicly released on Thursday, any link to corruption is a political death sentence, said Terry Christensen, a San Jose State University political science professor who keeps a close eye on the South Bay.
"His political career is finished, and I assume his career as mayor will be over any day now,'' he said. "There were few politicians who were more promising. He's accomplished a lot, which he'll never get credit for now.''
When Democrat Gray Davis was elected to a second term as governor in 2002, there were plenty of people around Gonzales who were suggesting the San Jose mayor could be Davis' successor. It wasn't a far-fetched idea.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
Well, there was the first hint.
One of the local tv shows showd a clip from late 2005 after hi censure where he said he did what he said needed to be done, but just wish he had done it differently.. lol
I always supected Gonzales was trying to shake down Calpine and Cisco too, when they tried to build in SJ.
Phil Matier was saying on KGO that it was Gonzales's secret deal to replace the Longshoremen with the Teamsters that did him in. Speculation is that a Teamsters endorsement would go a long way to further a run for Governor at some point in the future.
He will likely get his state promotion alright, to a state facility with tall fences. ;-)
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