Willow Glen Resident

Letters & Opinions

Speak Out

Tedesco's leadership
has been a positive

I am responding to the Oct. 18 endorsement in The Willow Glen Resident "Oliverio and Liccardo: Time for a dramatic change."

I strongly disagree with the paragraph, "Steve Tedesco, former Chamber of Commerce CEO and CEO of the Boys and Girls Club ... Unfortunately, neither organization flourished under his leadership."

I feel this statement is a fallacy. Both the San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Silicon Valley did more than flourish under Steve Tedesco's leadership. Here are a few examples.

I was a member of the San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce board from 1993 until 1998, which was under the direction of president and CEO Steve Tedesco. Besides being a member of the board of directors, I was a member of the executive committee, which gave me the opportunity to work directly with Tedesco.

During his 12-year leadership at the Chamber, Tedesco led the organization in the founding of Joint Venture Silicon Valley. He also brought the program "Principal for a Day" to Santa Clara Valley. This program paired 300 business leaders with 300 public schools, oftentimes forging business-education partnerships well beyond the one-day activity. This program was the first Principal for a Day program among the many California Chambers of Commerce.

Tedesco was also instrumental in forming COMPAC, the Chamber's political action committee that is still very active in the political community.

In the 1980s, the late Enide Alison, then owner of Oak Tree Mazda and Alison BMW, asked Tedesco to form a Women in Business program. This program featured monthly lunch meetings for women business owners and also featured award programs for women. I chaired this committee in 1991.

The other examples pertain to the Boys and Girls Clubs of Silicon Valley.

In 2002, Tedesco left his position at the Chamber and became CEO of the Boys and Girls Club in Silicon Valley. He inherited a failing organization. He immediately went to work to establish a committee for a quality board of directors, in which I was a member.

Tedesco was faced with a $900,000 gap in the budget. The expenses for the Boys and Girls Club were $900,000 more than the income. Tedesco continued to operate three public sites and four after-school sites while cutting $900,000. He reduced hours of operation, trimmed the teenage programs and reduced staff hours.

Besides saving the organization from bankruptcy, he also conducted a major retraining of staff to ensure high quality programs for our city's youth.

In the past year, the Boys and Girls Clubs celebrated the opening of the fully renovated Smythe Clubhouse on Cunningham Avenue in one of the neediest communities in San Jose.

Founding numerous Chamber programs and Joint Venture Silicon Valley and saving the Boys and Girls Clubs from ruin--I'd say that these organizations have flourished under Tedesco's leadership.

Now citizens who reside in San Jose's District 6 have an opportunity to elect a strong and knowledgeable leader, Steve Tedesco, and then see our city flourish once again.

Chris Di Salvo

Willow Glen

Why bail out the Rep
when streets need care?

Let me get this right: The San Jose Repertory Theater puts on shows that no one wants to see, overruns its budget by $1 million. It is further discovered that no oversight of this grant money is in place.

The city cannot afford to maintain its streets and landscaping, and yet the city council gives the Rep an additional $2 million by 9-1 vote.

Are there any sane people in city government?

We need more than just a new mayor. We need a new mayor, city manager and entire city council. I further recommend substance abuse testing for all of the above.

Keith C. De Filippis

San Jose