Willow Glen Resident

Letters & Opinions

Oliverio: still the right choice for District 6

We liked Pierluigi Oliverio when we endorsed him for the primary race for San Jose City Council District 6. We still like him.

During the primary, we argued that San Jose needs new faces at city hall to change an environment steeped in deals, land grabs and business being done behind closed doors. We thought Oliverio was the best candidate to nurture a new way of doing business at city hall.

Now that Chuck Reed has become mayor, and two new council members--Sal Liccardo and Pete Constant--have moved into San Jose city offices, it is clear that new faces, new ideas and a new way of conducting business were exactly what San Jose needed.

Putting Oliverio on the council dais will only further the positive turn this city took during the November election.

Oliverio's opponent, Steve Tedesco, certainly can boast more years of community involvement than the 35-year-old Oliverio, but instead of focusing on his own accomplishments, Tedesco and his campaigners have gone negative.

Surely, the silliest accusation is that Oliverio once ran for office using the name Pierre rather than Pierluigi. At different stages in their lives, people often tire of childhood nicknames in favor of their proper names. Thus Ken becomes Kenneth; Dave becomes David and Jack becomes John. Is this really the kind of accusation that befits a candidate wishing to be considered a viable candidate for public office?

Tedesco points to his leadership at the San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce as a key reason he would be a better council member. What he doesn't mention is that when he left the Chamber, it was suffering from declining membership and financial problems.

It took his successors to turn the Chamber around, with innovative thinking and a new approach.

Another of the ad hominem attacks from the Tedesco camp: Oliverio is a mere high-tech salesman. In fact, he is a stellar salesman for a software startup and wears many hats, as anyone who lives in Silicon Valley ought to understand.

Frankly, as San Jose continues trying to convince the world it is a world-class city, we can't think of a better addition to the city council than a great salesman.

Especially a salesman who supports strong neighborhoods, open government and a growing downtown population to finally attract the retail business this downtown so desperately needs. Certainly, his endorsement by Santa Clara County Supervisor Ken Yeager, who so ably represented District 6 prior to his election to the county office, speaks volumes for the youthful Oliverio.

With his high-tech background, we believe Pierluigi is the candidate who will help move the city into the 21st century.