BY MATTHEW RICCHIAZZI
Former Santa Clara County Supervisor Blanca Alvarado signed the congressional campaign nominating petition of Tribal Chairwoman Charlene Concepción Nijmeh at the home of Rose Amadore, on the evening of November 29, 2023, at a gathering in support of Corina Cihuachimalli‘s candidacy for the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors in District 2. Alvarado signed the petitions in my presence. By definition, to endorse is to sign, and a signature is an endorsement.
But, in peculiar and coordinated fashion, Alvarado reversed her position — apparently at the urging of political operatives and reporters acting at their behest — and in dramatic fashion has told The San Jose Spotlight and The San Francisco Chronicle that she did not endorse Nijmeh’s congressional candidacy. Either intentionally or inadvertently, Alvarado, 92, is mistaken.
In fact, her endorsement of Nijmeh’s campaign petitions are a matter of public record, and are filed with the Secretary of State’s office. The documents are available for viewing in Sacramento.
Rep. Zoe Lofgren was, apparently, able to strong arm the vivacious Latina leader (who is widely seen as the matriarch of East San Jose) into reversing her endorsement of an indigenous ally in just a matter of hours.
When notice of the endorsement was mentioned in The South Bay Chronicle, an independent print publication that is affiliated with The San Francisco Inquirer, Lofgren was reportedly livid. She quickly turned to her octogenarian contemporaries in the Congress to solicit statements of support and to disparage Nijmeh. Indeed, Lofgren’s two closest comrades in the Congress — Anna Eshoo, 81, and Nancy Pelosi, 83 — did just that.
Eshoo was happy to offer a quote in particularly colorful language, calling Nijmeh “the most deceitful woman” she has ever met. Pelosi followed up with a statement calling Nijmeh’s use of a photo that the Speaker Emerita took with her insider her Capitol Hill office as “disgraceful”. Those two quotes and Alvarado’s flip-flop allowed Lofgren’s political henchmen to order up two well-placed hit pieces (one in The San Francisco Chronicle and another in The San Jose Spotlight) against Nijmeh’s insurgent campaign.
Alvarado was born in 1931 and was a contemporary of Cesar Chavez.
There is a great deal of pan-indigenous solidarity in the public consciousness, and the community almost expects a leader of Alvarado’s stature to endorse an indigenous candidate for Congress over Lofgren, a wealthy white woman who is bought and paid for by the special interests that have been most destructive to the community, like Big Tech and high-end real estate developers.
It’s sad that a toxic culture of political bossim, as typified by Lofgren and her ilk, could be wielded so effectively to silence such a respected Latina voice so quickly.
You can read the full edition of the South Bay Chronicle, February 2024 – Election Edition. Hard copies of the print edition are available exclusively at Houdini’s Smoke Shop, located at 118 East Santa Clara Street, less than a block from City Hall. Those interested in judging the publication for themselves are encouraged to grab a copy. They are currently retailing for $5 per copy.
It’s unclear if either the San Jose Spotlight or the San Francisco Chronicle will print a retraction. Both publications, like nearly all publications, have been lambasted as ‘fake news’ by critics. Both are widely associated with the Bay Area’s Democratic Party establishment, and these types of hit pieces against political challengers have become common place. San Jose Spotlight, in particular, has a reputation for providing Lofgren with an ample supply of gratuitous publicity that is heavily biased in her favor.
