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From YouTube: Valley Politics January 2020: City Manager Dave Sykes; Registrar of Voters Shannon Bushey
Description
Can you name the person in charge of San Jose’s 6,700 employees and $4.7 billion budget? It’s not the mayor or city council. They set policy for the city but it’s the city manager who carries it out and oversees spending and all but a few city workers, not the mayor and council. The person in charge is Dave Sykes, our guest for Valley Politics this month. He’ll tell us about his job and some of the challenges of managing our fair city, including working with a sometimes deeply divided council. It’s especially important to understand the role of the manager right now because there’s serious talk about replacing our current council-manager form of government with a strong mayor system—and we asked City Manager Sykes what he thinks about that. We also talk with Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters Shannon Bushey about changes in the way we vote that should make it easier and increase voter turnout in the March election. We end the show with news about our plans for the coming year, including election coverage and some changes in our format.
A
Hello
I'm
Terry
Christiansen,
and
this
is
Valley
politics
today,
we'll
talk
to
the
person
in
charge
of
San,
Jose,
6700
employees
and
4.7
billion
dollar
budget.
Do
you
know
who
that
is
I'm?
Not
talking
about
the
mayor
or
council?
They
set
policy
for
the
city,
but
it's
the
city
manager
who
actually
carries
it
out
and
oversees
spending,
and
almost
all
of
those
6700
city
workers
answer
to
the
manager,
not
the
mayor
or
the
council.
A
Today,
we'll
meet
city
manager,
Dave
Sykes,
to
learn
more
about
his
job
and
some
of
the
challenges
of
managing
our
fair
city.
It's
especially
important
to
understand
the
role
of
the
manager
right
now,
because
there's
serious
talk
about
replacing
our
current
council-manager
form
of
government
with
a
strong
mayor
system
and
then
we'll
talk
with
Santa
Clara
County
Registrar
of
Voters
Shannon
Boucher
about
how
voting
in
the
March
election
will
be
different.
She'll
explain
several
changes
that
should
make
voting
easier
and
increase.
A
A
B
Listen
to
the
community
I'm
here
to
support
the
work
of
the
mayor
and
council.
That's
that's.
The
policy
work
that
they
do,
the
important
policy
work
they
do
and
then
the
other
piece
of
it.
The
third
leg
of
that
stool
is
really
leading
the
organization,
the
the
six
thousand
seven
hundred
employees
I'm
the
leader
of
that
city,
and,
as
you
can
imagine,
you
know
the
input
that
we
get
from
the
community
and
the
council
and
even
the
work
that
comes
from
our
own
staff.
B
A
B
A
B
B
And
that
is
actually
the
expression
that
is
used.
It
would
take
a
vote
of
six
of
them
to
do
that,
but
you
know
I'm
at
will
of
the
the
mayor
and
the
council,
and
it's
certainly
something
that
I
feel
comfortable
and
and
I
feel
is
actually
very
appropriate
that
you
know
if
the
if
the
mayor
and
the
council
feel
like
I'm
not
doing
the
job
or
they
want
to
go
in
a
different
direction.
You
know
I
really
feel
that's
the
way
the
system
should
work
and
we.
A
B
A
A
Five
to
six
vote,
the
mayor
with
the
six
on
a
lot
of
issues
now:
well,
not
a
lot
of
issues
on
a
few
issues.
Most
votes
are
unanimously
hoarse,
but
on
some
workers,
rights
issues,
some
housing
and
rent
consume
less
use,
and
there
are
several
seats
up
in
the
next
election
that
could
shift
that
balance
yeah.
How
does
it
manage
your
cope
with
that
kind
of
change?
Are
you
ready?
If
it
happens,
it
might
not
well.
B
It
would
have
to
be
ready
and
certainly
recognizing
have
no
control
over
it
and
and
nor
should
I.
You
know,
I
think
I
will
acknowledge
the
fact
that
when
we
have
consensus
around
things
and
that's
just
not
consensus,
broad
consensus
on
the
council
but
broad
consensus
on
the
community
on
issues,
you
know
we
can
get
a
lot
done.
When
we
lack
that
consensus.
You
know
things
can
get
a
little
tougher.
B
It
can
be
harder
to
get
work
done,
and
so
certainly
recognizing
when,
when
when
the
council
is
divided,
it
can
make
things
more
challenging,
but
at
the
end
of
the
day
it
doesn't
really
change
the
work.
You
know
our
our
job
is
to
bring
forward
professional
recommendations
to
the
council
and
to
provide
them
with,
hopefully,
the
appropriate
information
to
make
those
decisions,
so
whether
it's
six,
five
or
eleven
zero,
really
the
work
that
we
should
be
doing
is
the
same
work.
You.
A
Mentioned
that
you
sort
of
worked
your
way
up
from
within
city
government
yeah.
That
was
true.
The
last
couple
of
city
managers,
two
dozen
for
going
in
and
Norberto
lanius,
so
San
Jose
seems
to
have
a
pattern
of
recruiting
from
within,
where
some
other
cities
recruit
from
a
national
pool.
What
do
you
think
are
the
advantages?
Obviously
you
have
a
little
self-interest.
Yes,.
B
B
Yes
and
that's
a
perfect
example,
you
know
and
I
I
do
think.
Overall,
you
know
a
mix
of
people
that
have
come
up
through
the
organization
and
a
mix
of
people
that
have
come
from
outside
the
organization
is
a
healthy
mix,
and
certainly
when
it
comes
to
our
recruitments,
you
know
I
think
with
a
with
an
inside
candidate.
B
You
you,
you
get
someone
that
you
know
and
trust,
certainly
probably
someone
who
knows
the
culture
of
the
city
in
the
organization
and
and
and
someone
that
you
has
a
kind
of
a
track
record
and
and
sometimes
there
can
be
risks
to
kind
of
going
outside
and
finding
that
person.
I
I
do
know
that
we
work
in
a
very
dynamic
place
and
and
I've
seen.
People
that
come
from
outside
the
organization
can
be
challenged
by
the
pace
at
which
we
work
and
and
the
process
of
which
we
work
by.
A
You're
generally
pretty
quiet
at
council
meetings,
I've
rarely
actually
heard
you
speak,
so
you
leave
most
of
the
discussion
of
policy
recommendations
and
answers
to
the
council
council
members.
Questions
to
your
staff.
Is
your
job
mainly
to
pick
the
right
people
to
do
the
specific
jobs
as
department
heads
or
whatever
it
may,
whatever
it
may
be?
How
deeply
do
you
get
into
it?
The
actual
policy
discussions,
certainly.
B
Picking
the
right
people
is
key.
Interestingly
enough,
though,
in
my
last
evaluation,
the
council
described
me
as
very
hands-on
and
I
think
I
reflect
on
some
of
my
predecessor,
I
think
I
am
probably
more
hands
on
then
then
some
of
them,
you
know
I,
can
tell
you
I'm
really
involved
with
the
operations.
B
I
have
a
pretty
strong
understanding,
what's
going
on
day
to
day
and
and
literally
I'm
involved
with
all
the
policy
work
that
we
bring
forward
to
the
council,
I
make
sure
I'm
kind
of
checked
into
that
understand
it,
and
in
supporting
that
you
know,
I
think
my
engagement
in
council
meetings
is
pretty
strategic.
There's
meetings
where
I
might
not
say
a
word
or
two
others
may
I
may
have
to
engage
quite
a
bit.
B
A
That's
a
good
way
to
put
it
I
checked
recently
and
I
understand
that
the
city
has
nearly
800
vacant
positions.
Now,
when
I
interviewed
the
mayor
last
year,
it
was
600
the
year
before
when
I
interview
it
was
700,
that's
like
10
percent
of
your
workforce
or
10
percent
of
your
positions,
unoccupied
yeah!
What's
the
problem?
Why
can't
you
get
those
positions
filled,
yeah.
B
So
you
know
what
we
need
to
do
is
be,
as
you
know,
competitive
as
we
can
as
an
employer
compensation
and
certainly
as
a
place
to
work
and
I.
Think
we
offer
that.
That's
why
we
still
have
some
pretty
talented
people
at
the
city,
but
yeah
definitely
we're
in
a
talent
war
with
with
all
of
those
other
agencies
and
even
the
private
sector
that
works
around
us.
I.
A
Wonder
if
Millennials
and
the
younger
generation
don't
really
understand
what
public
service
is
all
about
and
and
how
you
can
work
your
way
up
from
like
Deborah
Fagin
II
was
a
was
a
recreation
leader,
Roosevelt
community
center,
when
I
first
knew
her,
and
then
she
became
city
manager.
She
worked
her
way
up
through
a
whole
bunch
of
different
positions,
as
did
you
to
get
there,
so
you
don't
work
at
the
same
job,
your
whole
career
and
the
pays.
A
Okay,
it's
expensive
to
live
here,
of
course,
but
the
benefits
are
also
great:
the
retirement,
the
pensions
and
so
on,
and
speaking
of
pensions,
how
we
doing
with
San
Jose
how's
the
budget.
Last
year
there
was
a
tiny
surplus.
I.
Think
Saint
projected
for
next
year
are
the
city
services
secured?
Are
the
budgets
of
our
the
pensions
of
your
workers
secured
well.
B
I
think
pensions
are
secure
and
certainly
the
services
are
stable,
I
would
say,
you
know,
I
think
you
know.
For
ten
years
we
went
through
some
pretty
horrendous
shortfalls,
the
last
eight
years,
we've
kind
of
gone
back
and
forth
between
minor
surpluses
and
shortfalls
and
I
think
for
next
year
we
may
be
looking
at
at
a
minor
shortfall
of
something
that
we
can
manage,
but
certainly
it's.
B
Dollar
budget
right
now
and
in
over
the
last
few
years,
we've
been
able
to
restore
positions
and
services
at
a
kind
of
an
incremental
way,
where
we're
still
not
where
we
want
to
be
in
terms
of
service
delivery
for
our
community.
So
we
still
have
to
work
hard
at
being
able
to
afford.
You
know
that
service
delivery
model
that
we
would
like
to
see.
A
Which
brings
me
to
a
question
about
how
slow
it
sometimes
seems
to
get
cities
how
slow
City
services
some
towns
seems
to
be
I
just
finished.
Building,
building
an
aide
to
you.
We
had
two
to
four
week,
waits
for
our
inspections
sometimes,
and
that
actually
slowed
the
process
down.
Some
rain
slowed
it
down.
There
was
other
stuff
too,
but
I
can't
imagine
what
it's
like.
Building
a
really
big
project
or
I've,
been
working
on
the
five
ones
trail
for
a
while
and
there's
a
real
estate
deal
in
process.
It's
two
years
in
process.
B
Can
be
at
times,
but
I
wouldn't
want
to
hide
behind
that.
There's,
no
doubt
we're
lean,
we're,
probably
the
leanest
big
city
in
the
country
in
terms
of
number
of
employees
that
we
have
per
capita,
but
I
want
to
hide
behind
that
I
think
we're
always
striving
to
get
better.
You
know
certainly
Development
Services
is
where
I
spent
a
third
of
my
career.
B
You
know
we're
doing
some
great
work
there
and
really
there
it's
it's
kind
of
the
progression
we've
made
from
kind
of
being
a
regulator,
and
then
thinking
of
ourselves
as
a
facilitator
and
now
in
my
mind
and
really
trying
to
you,
know,
share
with
the
organization
to
be
able
to
kind
of
be
a
driver.
Have
the
city
be
a
driver
in
smart
development
and
not
just
kind
of
rely
on
the
private
sector
to
do
what
they
do.
I
also
spent
about
a
third
of
my
career
in
the
capital
project
delivery
process.
B
You
know
this
city
has
a
lot
to
be
proud
of.
We
we
kind
of
rock
it
when
it
comes
to
delivering
capital
projects.
I
will
tell
you,
though,
trails
are
the
toughest
project
and
so
no
excuses,
of
course,
but
what
goes
into
a
trail
project
can
boggle
a
lot
of
people's
minds,
but
hopefully
we
can
do
better
for
you
well
I.
A
A
Been
a
big
move
forward,
yeah
for
the
city,
I,
guess
back
to
the
budget
a
little
bit,
but
also
relating
to
development.
The
Google
project,
because
one
of
the
reasons
we
have
some
structural
budget
problems
in
San
Jose
is
an
imbalance
of
housing
and
jobs.
Google
will
bring
a
lot
of
jobs
to
the
tens
of
thousands
of
jobs,
but
also
some
other
challenges
and
I
know:
you've
just
appointed
your
negotiating
team
yeah
for
the
Google
project.
So
that's
all
going
to
happen
over
the
course
of
the
next
year.
B
I,
certainly
you
know
the
Google
and
what's
going
on
downtown
is
one
of
my
main
priorities.
You
know
you
talk
about
the
jobs
imbalance,
super
important
issue
for
us
we're
only
one
of
the
only
big
cities
that
has
this
type
of
imbalance
and
it
kind
of
the
structural
deficit
that
creates
is
really
challenging,
we're
also
in
the
middle
of
a
housing
crisis,
and
we
need
to
build
more
housing
and,
unfortunately,
the
housing
that
we
have
all
the
single-family
housing
really
doesn't
pay
for
itself.
B
The
way
the
tax
structure
works,
and
so
the
housing
that
we
need
to
build
needs
to
be
higher
density
so
that
we
get
to
a
place
that
it's
more
sustainable,
fiscally
sustainable
for
us.
You
know
I
do
feel
very
fortunate
to
be
the
city
manager
at
a
time
that
we
have
some
exciting
things
going
on
at
Deer
Don,
not
just
Google,
because
really
we've
had
a
plan
for
deer
Don
way
before
Google
came
around
and,
and
that
has
to
do
with
how
we're
going
to
bring
all
the
transit
together
there
and
and
I
do
think.
B
I.
Add
some
value
in
that
in
terms
of
kind
of
my
history
with
the
city
and
my
involvement
with
bringing
forward.
You
know
major
projects,
so
I'm
looking
forward
to
being
involved
and
we've
got
some
key
people
that
will
be
leading
that
effort
and
I'm
super
excited
about
it
and
I
just
wanted.
Also,
though,
there's
some
things
that
we
need
to
address
through
that
project,
and
certainly
there's
you
know
the
issues
of
displacement
and
we're
go
through
a
process
of
understanding
kind
of
what?
A
That's
what
people
are
really
concerned
about,
as
I
know,
you've
heard
thousands
of
times
probably
yeah
ready.
There's
another
idea
kind
of
kicking
around
lately
about
changing
San
Jose's
form
of
government
from
council-manager
as
it
now
is,
or
mayor
council
management.
It's
a
it's
a
little
bit
of
a
hybrid
right.
A
B
It's
I
think
my
feelings
are
actually
irrelevant
and
because
it's
it's
not
a
certainly
wouldn't
be
about
meaning
it's
not
even
about
the
city
manager.
You
know
I
think
the
way
I
look
at
it
is,
you
know
whatever
is
best
for
our
community
and
our
organization.
You
know
I'm
going
to
be
supportive
of
it's
interesting
I
do
get
asked,
you
know
kind
of
hey.
That
would
be
a
shift
of
kind
of
power
from
the
manager
to
the
mayor
and
that's
not
at
all
what
it
would
be.
B
A
B
And
under
that
scenario,
I
might
might
only
work
for
the
mayor
as
well
as
some
of
the
department,
heads
and
so
I
think.
The
question
to
be
asked
is
really
kind
of.
Where
does
that
put
the
council
and,
and
where
does
that
put
the
community
that
the
council
represents?
I
think
are
the
important
questions
that
need
to
be
asked
absolutely.
A
B
That's
an
easy
case
to
make
okay
great
opportunity.
We
talked
about
all
the
vacancies.
You
can
come
in,
develop
your
career
and,
have
you
know
a
really
good
career.
We
have
amazing
people
working
there
and
you
get
to
do
great
work
and
learn
from
great
people
and
I.
Think,
probably
for
me
the
most
important
thing:
it's
a
daily
opportunity
to
make
a
difference
in
people's
lives,
a
tangible
difference
in
people's
lives
and-
and
there
is
probably
nothing
more
rewarding
than
being
able
to
do
that
for
a
city
like
San
Jose.
Well,.
A
Here's
our
interview
with
Santa
Clara
County
Registrar
of
Voters
Shannon
Boucher
about
important
changes
in
the
way
we
vote
here
in
the
valley.
We
have
some
big
changes
coming
in
the
electoral
process
and
the
way
we
vote
in
California,
especially
in
Santa
Clara
County,
coming
up
to
the
March
3rd
election.
Let's
just
start
with
voter
registration.
Are
there
changes
in
registration
and
signing
up
to
vote
actually.
C
A
C
Is
correct
and
when
they
register
online
what
the
system
does
is
we
verify
that
information
front
with
the
DMV
and
grab
their
signature
from
the
DMV
and
use
it
in
our
file
and
if
they
don't
have
a
DMV
record
or
like
an
ID
card
or
driver's
license,
then
they
can
just
use
our
paper
form
sign
it
and
send
it
in
to
us.
So
it's
really
simple.
That's.
C
Registered
there
is
an
official
deadline,
it's
February
17th,
but
it
moves
to
February
18th
because
of
the
holiday,
because
normally
it's
15
days
before
an
election.
But
when
people
have
missed
that
deadline,
it's
not
too
late
anymore,
because
in
2017
conditional
voter
registration
was
passed
into
law
and
that
allows
a
voter
to
actually
register
and
cast
a
provisional
ballot
on
the
same
day.
A
C
A
C
All
voters
will
now
receive
a
vote
by
mail
ballot
automatically
we're
going
to
mail
it
to
them.
We
already
had
about
a
75%
or
more
of
our
voters
that
were
mailed
a
ballot,
but
now
100
percent
will
receive
a
ballot
which,
actually
again
in
our
one
of
our
goals
of
the
voters,
choice
act.
The
VCA
implementation
is
convenience
for
the
voters.
So
now
for
that
person,
maybe
who
forgets
to
request
a
ballot
to
be
mailed
to
them?
You
don't
have
to
worry
anymore,
we'll
just
automatically
good
namilama
ballot.
So.
A
C
A
C
C
We
are,
we
have
been
preparing
for
this
change
for
over
two
years,
in
anticipation
of
the
Board
of
Supervisors,
passing
the
voters
choice
model,
so
we
have
been
prepared.
We
have
been
working
on
committees,
we've
been
getting
community
input
and
stakeholder
input
and
information,
and
actually
we
have
developed
a
250
plus
page
election
administration
plan
that
we
vetted
through
public
consultations,
hearings,
meetings
for
several
months
and
that
is
actually
available
on
our
website
for
any
voter
to
go
read
so.
A
I
I'm
predicting
higher
turnout
anyway,
you're
just
making
it
easier
for
everybody
to
vote,
so
I
would
think
a
few
more
people
would
vote.
But
what
about
voters
like
me,
I've
always
voted
in
the
polling
place,
I
like
to
go
on
election
day
and
vote
in
the
polling
place.
What
happens
to
us
where's
our
polling
place.
Well,.
C
Your
polling
place
is
now
a
vote
center,
so
there
are
many
benefits
to
having
a
vote
center
instead
of
a
polling
place.
Because
now,
with
the
vote
center,
like
I
said
you
can
go
to
any
vote.
Center
and
vote
you're
not
restricted
to
your
one
polling
place
on
Election
Day
in
your
neighborhood.
So
now
you'll
be
going
to
your
vote
center,
which
will
provide
more
services,
more
convenience
and
actually
we'll
have
additional
translators
and
accessible
voting
equipment
for
voters.
So
it's
going
to
be
great
for
our
vote.
How.
C
A
What
about
counting
the
ballots?
Presumably
you're
gonna,
get
more
ballots
by
mail
before
Election
Day,
so
election
night,
when
you
release
your
first
numbers,
they'll,
probably
be
more
voters
being
counted
by
then.
Is
it
gonna
take
as
long
as
usual
to
get
to
the
final
count,
because
it
takes
weeks
sometimes
right?
Well,.
C
You
would
think,
maybe
that,
because
we're
mailing
out
ballots
to
everyone,
they're
going
to
return
them
sooner,
but
I've
worked
in
elections
for
25
years
and
voters
still
do
like
to
send
their
ballot
in.
At
the
last
moment,
we
can
receive
a
hundred
two
hundred
thousand
ballots
on
election
week
alone.
I've
received
over
a
hundred
thousand
it's
on
one
election
day
before
so
that
part
I
just
have
no
control
over.
A
C
They're
going
to
return
it,
but
as
far
as
results,
so
we
do
really
kind
of
have
two
results
that
we
like
to
talk
about.
We
have
election
night
results
that
people
wait
and,
and
then
we
have
our
final
results,
which
we
do
30
days
after
the
election,
so
our
election
night
results
are
going
to
be
sped
up
for
a
couple
reasons.
We
have
now
implemented
a
new
voting
system.
That
is
a
precinct
count
based
system.
C
A
Be
back
next
month
to
kick
off
our
election
coverage
with
local
experts
handicapping
the
key
contest
over
the
course
of
the
year
will
host
candidate
debates
and
provide
more
expert
analysis,
as
usual,
we'll
do
shows
with
the
mayor
and
the
president
of
the
County
Board
of
Supervisors
on
the
state
of
the
city
in
the
state
of
the
county,
but
otherwise
we'll
focus
exclusively
on
the
candidates
for
City,
Council,
County,
Board
of
Supervisors
and
the
state
legislature
to
ensure
adequate
time
to
cover.
So
many
races
will
discontinue
our.
A
Where
are
they
now
feature,
at
least
for
the
coming
year?
We've
recorded
over
two
dozen
of
these
interviews
and
it's
been
a
pleasure
to
hear
the
stories
of
the
leaders
and
activists
who
made
our
local
history
we're
now
repackaging
these
interviews,
most
of
which
aired
in
two
or
three
parts,
so
they
can
become
more
easily
accessible
as
single
standalone
programs,
you'll
find
them
on
YouTube
by
searching
for
create
TV,
San,
Jose
and
scrolling
down
to
Valley
politics.
History
interviews,
we've
already
posted
interviews
with
San
Jose's
mayor's
from
1971
to
2006.