City Council

After recently attending a San Jose City Council meeting, I've come to the conclusion that for the most part, the council meeting seems to be a ceremonial show that is put on for the sake of perceived transparency.

The truth is most decisions are made before the item comes before the council for a formal vote. This is merely a formality to the decision.

As the Mercury News stated in an editorial, council member Dave Cortese expressed [his] “outrage over how city council members use so-called ‘recommendation’ memos to establish the council’s position before public hearings take place”. I strongly agree with Cortese and believe that these memos dilute the democratic processes that are in place during the ceremonial council meetings.