Karen T. Borchers / Mercury News
Posted on 06/23/2006 12:42:02 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
A majority of San Jose City Council members now say Mayor Ron Gonzales should resign his post and the council has scheduled a meeting for next week to discuss removing him from office or stripping him of power.
And Councilman Chuck Reed this morning asked the council to rescind the $11.25 million contract amendment to Norcal Waste Systems that is at the root of the city's garbage scandal.
Meanwhile the political fallout from Thursday's arrest of Gonzales and his budget aide, Joe Guerra, continued. Councilwoman Nancy Pyle joined five council colleagues in calling for Gonzales to step down.
``I will be joining the people who are asking for a resignation,'' Pyle said shortly before the council convened a study session this morning on Coyote Valley development. ``The reason is that the No. 1 thought at this point should be to keep the city running smoothly and this would be a distraction.''
Vice Mayor Cindy Chavez on Thursday called for Gonzales to quit in the wake of his arrest on felony counts involving allegations of misconduct in office related to the Norcal scandal.
She said that if the mayor refuses, the council should explore steps to remove him or eliminate his authority.
Also calling for his resignation or removal are council members Chuck Reed, Dave Cortese, Ken Yeager and Linda LeZotte.
Gonzales, scheduled for arraignment in court Monday to formally answer the charges, said hours after his arrest that he does not plan to resign -- and he repeated that stance this morning on his weekly appearance on KGO radio.
``I believe in my god and know that justice will prevail,'' Gonzales told KGO. ``I know I will be proven innocent because I know I'm innocent.
(Excerpt) Read more at mercurynews.com ...
Just remove his salary. He'll leave on his own........
I doubt we'll see any refund on the garbage bills.
Get Linda LeZotte to chuck him out of office. Something tells me she's up to the task.
Discussing it is all the Council can do. They have no authority to do anything more than censure him, and they've already done that.
Are you listening to the News Conference?
I have it on now. Thanks for the note.
No.. I have to go out for a bit, darn.
I love how the Teamsters thugs are getting dragged through the mud on this one.
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