San Jose City Council backs SF in Prop. 8 court case; mayor objects

[Newsjock]

Source: CBS San Francisco

The San Jose City Council passed a resolution on Tuesday in support of San Francisco’s scheduled argument next month before the U.S. Supreme Court challenging the constitutionality of Proposition 8, although it was not a unanimous vote.

San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed, who supports domestic partnership benefits but not same-sex marriage, was one of those who voted against the resolution.

“The people of California voted in favor of Prop 8 a few years ago and I respect the will of the voters,” Reed said. “So I’m not going to support joining into an amicus brief that would try to overturn the will of the voters of California.”

... Council members who voted in support of the resolution said it’s important for the Bay Area’s largest city to assert its commitment to diversity, equality and fairness.

Read more: http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2013/02/13/sj-passes-resolution-backing-sf-in-supreme-court-proposition-8-fight/

[TDale313]

1. Chuck Reed is a Republican in Dems clothing.

Total corporate shill. We can do better.

[Newsjock]

2. 'Chuck Reed: Our Republican Mayor'

http://www.sanjoseinside.com/news/entries/2_11_13_chuck_reed_republican_mayor_marriage/

Mayor Reed should come out of the closet. No, not that closet. I’m talking about the closet inhabited by local politicos who call themselves Democrats, because it suits their electoral ambitions despite plainly conservative fiscal—and social—values. This is a subject we visited last month, and in the time since, it’s taken on an added dimension.

... On paper, San Jose is arguably one of the most Democratic big cities in the nation. And on paper, the resolution rejected by the Rules Committee last week would seem to fall in line with the politics of our residents. So why did it fail to move out of committee? According to Mayor Reed, the proposal was “pretty far out there.” That’s a pretty far out there statement from a man who calls himself a Democrat on the dotted line. And it doesn’t stop there.

... It’s enough to make you wonder if the de-facto figurehead of San Jose’s government has his finger on the pulse of his residents. From his opposition to gay marriage and the Measure D minimum wage hike to his “gravy train” rebuke of our police officers and attempts to undercut the voice of city boards and commissions in the name of fiscal responsibility, Mayor Reed looks, sounds, and votes no different from conservative Republican Councilmembers Pete Constant and Johnny Khamis. And as the saying goes, if it looks like a Republican, sounds like a Republican, and votes like a Republican, you call it what it is.

[TDale313]

3. Good article. Thx. n/t