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Posted on 01/06/2006 9:48:35 AM PST by NormsRevenge
San Jose Mayor Ron Gonzales has taken 40 political and business trips in North America during the past four years, and every time he goes, San Jose taxpayers pick up an unusual cost: They pay for a city cop to accompany him. In a few cases, there are two.
No other San Jose mayor has received such protection, a post-Sept. 11 precaution that Phoenix, San Antonio and Dallas -- all bigger than San Jose -- don't provide their mayors.
The officers often leave a day in advance of Gonzales to set up logistics and have run up $60,000 in travel costs -- about three times more than taxpayers have paid for the mayor's travel tab. They stay at the same hotels as the mayor, at rates as much as $300 a night.
They escort Gonzales to conferences of city mayors; to Washington, D.C., when he lobbies Congress for federal money; to visits he makes to cities with the chamber of commerce; to Phoenix when he held a press conference at spring training last year to promote his effort to bring baseball to San Jose.
One officer accompanied him in December 2004 to an Aspen resort for a private retreat of the Democratic Leadership Council, the national political group to which Gonzales belongs.
San Diego sends an officer when its mayor travels. So does San Francisco, which is smaller than San Jose but whose mayor's national profile is much bigger.
``People have a hard time recognizing the mayor of San Jose anywhere 60 miles away from San Jose,'' said former San Jose Mayor Tom McEnery, a frequent critic of Gonzales who calls the traveling security ``pretty ridiculous.''
(Excerpt) Read more at mercurynews.com ...
Ahem. San Jose isn't that big a city, is it? Would I know the mayor if he sat next to me on an airplane?
Sounds like Ronnie's got a fairly high opinion of himself.
BTW, never heard of the guy.
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He had a stroke a few years ago as he delivered a state of the city speech.
LOL
I can see why the SD mayor needs protection, tho.
I can see why the SD mayor needs protection, tho.
---
after asking all the city managers to resign, I hear ya. ;-)
By the way, san Jose is #3 population-wise in the state, behind LA and San Diego.. but I hear ya re: recognizing him and Yes, he has a very high opinion of himself, he's a liberal to the core.
Thanks, Norm. My word, I had no idea that SJ was such a large city. I need to get out more.
-Rex
I flew into San Jose first time in '73, it has grown probably 10 fold since then or seems to have.
Thanks for finding the pic of his intern / girlfriend .
I remember Gonzalez' original campaign ads for mayor, where he touted his "family man" credentials by posing with his grinning kids and with a wife who looked an awful lot like him.
LOL, poor kids.
No surprise here...
Put a leftist Democrat in office -- and NOTHING is too good or too corrupt for them to enjoy.....
Folks just won't learn.....
We've had a lot of experience with leftist Democrat criminals in Kalifornicate -- but the freaking stupid sheeple never learn......I guess that's why they remain so damned ignorant, poor and "victimized"...
Semper Fi
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