Robinson Wins

Why Sheriff Smith Won’t Run for Mayor

robinson — Wed, 15 May 2013 20:06:39 +0000

“If at first you don’t succeed, try again. Then quit, no use being a damn fool about it.”–Winston Churchill In our business we dream of the perfect candidate. The right person, at the right time, with resources to win and the perfect fit for the populace and the times. Barack Obama in President 2008, Jerry …

Elected Officials That Need Help

robinson — Thu, 09 May 2013 17:03:50 +0000

The Sunnyvale City Council recently censured their colleague Patrick Meyering for his paranoid and shrill public attacks on city staff, the Sunnyvale public and fellow councilmembers. Cupertino City Councilmember Barry Chang threatened a county employee, exhibits uncontrolled anger and has made embarrassing and false accusations of people lying. He was admonished in a letter from …

A Double Negative Doesn’t Always Make a Positive

robinson — Thu, 02 May 2013 21:07:11 +0000

There once was a politician from the Midwest who never attended law school or even graduated from high school, but he claimed to be a lawyer. His main advisor was a well-known alcoholic, his wife was found to have used public monies on frivolous personal items, and he was known to be crude and lacked …

Here Come the Moderates, Again

robinson — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 17:55:38 +0000

(From left to right, John T. Knox, John Fora and Paul Priolo. Bottom, Bill Bagley) Former Marin Assemblyman Bill Bagley is a gregarious and genial man. Those who drive highway 101 just above the Golden Gate Bridge might recognize the freeway named for this republican that begins just before the …

It’s Lonely at the Bottom

robinson — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 23:03:40 +0000

It was striking that when George Shirakawa Jr. pled guilty on Monday in Superior Court nary a friend or family member was there to support him. In politics you never know who your friends are until you are down and the absence of so many spoke volumes of George’s real plight. There are those who …

White Smoke Elections are the Best

robinson — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 18:07:10 +0000

Habemus Papam! We have a Pope! The centuries old tradition of locking 115 men in a room until they make a decision still works today. This brings us to the old idea for getting rid of gridlock in our political system. It is clear transparency, openness and 24/7 cable television has failed. Back room political …

Integrity Must Supersede Political Loyalty

robinson — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 18:24:56 +0000

Integrity is the single most important ethos the public has a right to expect from anyone and everyone who participates in the political arena. Beyond party and philosophy, it is the one essential element of governance that each of us must insist upon when doing the people’s business. Too often our divided politics or the …

Silicon Valley CEOs Need Public Relations

robinson — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 20:49:22 +0000

The titans of Silicon Valley need some personal public relations advisors. Marissa Mayer, Tim Cook, Meg Whitman, Scott McNealy and many others fail to grasp the most basic PR concepts. They don’t have to look far for good role models. Former titans David Packard, Bill Hewlett, Steve Jobs and Gordon Moore were masters at …

Et Tu Khanna, Et Tu

robinson — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 19:48:17 +0000

Nothing hurts in politics like being stabbed in the back; especially by a person who should be helping your cause instead of hurting it. As Brutus ultimately found out, killing Caesar does not always work out in the long run. Fast forward to the curious case of Ro Khanna, the modern day Brutus who is …

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Super Bowl Week

robinson — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 20:55:42 +0000

The Good—New Orleans is a very fun town. The French Quarter, the Riverfront, the NFL Experience and the people could not have been better. When Santa Clara hosts a Super Bowl, hopefully in 2016, they could learn a lot from the host committee in New Orleans. These folks do it up right. The French Quarter …