By Robert Haugh
2019 hasn’t gotten off to a good start for Miles Barber.
Barber is the Publisher of the Santa Clara Weekly/SV Voice. But his paper is rarely delivered anymore. My neighborhood hasn’t seen it in over a month. Other neighborhoods say it’s been a couple of months of no delivery.
Maybe that’s a good thing because Barber’s columns are frequently full or errors. The City corrected his February 28 column.
The City Manager’s office sent out a press release this week:
“The opinion piece demonstrates Mr. Barber’s lack of understanding of the City’s current audit practices, recent efforts to expand audits within the City, as well as state law requirements.”
Ouch.
There’s a lot more. You can read it on the City’s website.
The City also corrected Barber’s entire January 31 column.
Note to Miles: don’t write columns on the last day of the month.
Leaving the Chamber
We also got word from numerous sources that Barber left the Santa Clara Chamber of Commerce. Depending on who you talk to, he was either asked to leave or he left voluntarily.
Some Chamber members think Barber has been a poor representative for their organization. He was officially reprimanded in writing by the City last June for verbally abusing employees.
After that incident, he was asked not to testify for the Chamber again, according to Chamber sources. Barber has not made a public presentation at City Council meetings since the incident, according to City records.
Barber is also one of the people responsible for the Chamber PAC. They’ve mostly picked losers.
They’ve also failed to file reports. That means they’re facing a big FPPC fine. It could be as much as $43,250.
Even though they knew that had a big potential fine, they spent almost all their cash attacking Mayor Lisa Gillmor last November.
The brochure was really negative. It didn’t even say anything positive about her opponent, Anthony Becker. Chamber members say Barber who pushed it. And he wrote most of the really wordy brochure.
Gillmor won re-election with 75 percent of the vote. And the PAC is almost broke. The treasurer Dave Tobkin is personally responsible for the FPPC fine if there’s no money.
Barber Still Active?
Barber is still active with the Santa Clara Rotary Club.
Some sources say he’s still helping with the massive Mariani development project even though he resigned as a lobbyist. Former Councilman Kevin Moore replaced him.
We’ve asked Lou Mariani about Barber’s current role in the project. So far there’s been no comment.
Long ago and far away, I managed a few local papers. Since moving here, I’ve noticed that the Santa Clara Weekly is considered a sub par publication. I looked through the paper and online and I don’t see any one with journalistic experience, including their publisher, editor, or major writers. I’ve also noticed that they don’t publish or practice standard journalistic ethics, like disclosing major funding or advertising when they cover certain issues.
I understand that you formerly worked at the Weekly. Perhaps you could shed some light on their key personnel and practices. This might be a useful community service and not just something to satisfy the curiosity of a long-retired editor.
Also, I admire that your site is free of advertising or sponsorship. I like your writing style, regular coverage, and sense of humor about local politics.
With this story, I hope that you gave Mr. Barber a chance to comment. But I don’t see it noted in the story.
Yes, I did give Miles Barber a chance to comment. He did not respond for days. I probably should have put that in. Yeah
Other people have asked me about the Weekly staff. You’re right that the publisher, editor, and some of the reporters don’t have any real journalism experience. Maybe I’ll write a brief profile of the top people since people seem curious.
When I was there, we never had professional training in journalistic standards or ethics. I’d be surprised if they do now.
Thank you, Robert. I look forward to learning more. I’m sure others are as well.
I’m glad it’s no longer delivered to our neighborhood. It just sat in people’s driveways. The writing is terrible.
This old creep is out of his mind and has been for the last few years. I haven’t had a use for his paper since the bird died..
How is Carolyn Schmuck going to get a job after the weekly goes away eventually? Who cares!
Anyone or group involved with Miles Barber is complicit with his irrelevant destructive geriatric rants.
Slowly but surely Barber is becoming irrelevant. Where is the ghost of Christmas past? Is there time for redemption? Or is it just to late for Barber, his cohort Schmuck and the Weakly?