Santa Clara Focus – Opinion
By Robert Haugh

So here we are, a week after the elections – the mudslinging has halted.

But Santa Clara Weekly publisher Miles Barber continues to throw his own unique mud in his column last week, a couple days after the elections.

The Trump-like Barber wrote  in his Nov. 9 column about the winners: “You must know they will do their best to make Santa Clara great again.” That’s not too original, Miles.

Let’s not forget that over the past month, Barber vehemently attacked the councilwomen  – going as low as stating they couldn’t spell their own names. What a low blow, and how Trump like.

Here’s some more odd ball writing from his most recent column:

* Barber says “Once again Santa Clara has been successful at electing an all-white slate” and considers it missed opportunity…. Hey, Miles, didn’t the Chamber PAC and the Weekly… and, by the way, you, supported three white candidates in four council races?

* Barber once again writes that there’s a looming lawsuit about council districts? Actually, there’s not. It’s a letter from an attorney, not a lawsuit, that raised the issue. Columnists, even publishers, should try to be accurate. By the way,  minority candidates like Raj Chahal and Suds Jain actually recorded a substantial amount of votes.

* Mr. Barber may need to hire a mathematician at the Weekly. He wrote that only 50 percent of Santa Clarans voted. In reality, of the over 50,000 registered voters in Santa Clara, approximately 35,000 are projected to vote by the County – That is about 70 percent, a relatively high turnout.

* Barber writes that Santa Clara is a  divided City? Huh? Voters overwhelmingly approved all four city ballot measures, including giving the mayor and council a raise. Incumbents won by landslide margins. The mandate for the mayor and council is pretty clear. Keep doing what you’re doing and maybe do more, especially when it comes to transparency and standing up to the 49ers and outside special interests.

Robert Haugh’s column appears on Tuesdays and Thursdays.