Brock Turner inspires New Jersey garage band

Now, a New Jersey garage band has unleashed its own politically inspired pop piece — “F— Brock Turner,” an incongruously catchy ditty given its incendiary title and cruel lyrics: “You’re the definition of scum; Get stepped on like old gum; I hope your face gets kicked in.”

Yes, it’s about the former Stanford University swimmer who spent only three months in jail after being convicted last year of sexually assaulting an unconscious, intoxicated woman. The outrage has spurred a well-financed recall campaign against the Santa Clara County Superior Court judge in the case, Judge Aaron Persky.

The song surfaced this week after recall leader and Stanford law professor, Michele Dauber urged her Twitter followers to “enjoy” it. That led a leading Persky supporter to raise strong objections, noting the song brands Turner a “monster,” and

expresses hope he will throw himself off a cliff.

“It’s truly deplorable,” said retired Santa Clara County Judge LaDoris Cordell. “I think that the fact that a Stanford law professor who teaches undergraduates and who blatantly and vigorously endorses violence against a young man who is exercising his constitutional right to appeal his conviction is highly disturbing and totally inappropriate.”

A spokeswoman for Stanford said the law school declined to comment.

The tweet, which Dauber has since deleted, said, “#BrockTurner appealed his conviction and said it was ‘all lies’ and that he didn’t do anything wrong. He isn’t remorseful or accountable and learned nothing, which is exactly why the light sentence was wrong. Please enjoy this song. http://bit. ly/2iF5d3w”

In a written statement, Dauber explained why she took down the tweet, which occurred after IA asked her about the concerns.

“Obviously, I do not endorse violence against Brock Turner or anyone else,” Dauber said. “I understood the song referenced in the tweet to be clearly satirical and not literal. I have deleted the tweet to avoid any distraction from our focus on holding Judge Persky accountable for his pattern of bias in favor of college athletes who assault women.”

Dauber said she had nothing to do with writing, producing or funding the song. It’s one of several that have popped up on the web since Turner was sentenced in June 2016, she said.

According to the web, it was written by two brothers, Brandon and Christian Cordes, of Howell, New Jersey. The young men, who have a garage band, the Melted Crayons, did not respond to an email from IA.

San Jose cops’ new whirlybird

SJPD is finally getting to the chopper.

After a multiyear odyssey which included the grounding of the air unit due to budget cuts and a Justice Department audit accusing the city of inappropriately stockpiling federal funds for a chopper buy that hadn’t happened, a shiny new helicopter appears to now be in the works.

For real this time: On Tuesday, the San Jose City Council unanimously approved $5.2 million in funding for the purchase of an H125 helicopter from Texas-based Airbus Helicopters. The new aircraft will replace the current “Air2” unit, an Airbus EC120B that has been in use for about 16 years, which is nearly twice its recommended life span.

Part of that stems from the fact that nearly every year since 2010, the department budgeted funds to buy a new chopper, but saw those plans derailed for a myriad of reasons. That included the suspension of the helicopter unit in 2011 for austerity purposes.

That indecision was part of what drew the wrath of the Justice Department, which released an audit earlier this year chiding SJPD for sloppy bookkeeping with “equitable sharing revenue” the police agency earned from federal asset forfeitures. In essence, the department was found to be sitting on hundreds of thousands of related funds that were meant to be spent expeditiously.

In a report presented Tuesday, those federal funds are expected to account for nearly $3.5 million of the total helicopter cost.

The hefty price tag for the new helicopter breaks down to a $3 million base price, plus about $2.2 million in modifications to make it police-ready, including a spotlight, infrared and low-light cameras, and an array of radios, computers and other tactical gear. That’s not including a $500,000 sales tax bill.

With a more reliable and powerful helicopter in the Airbus H125, the four pilots on the force — who are all sworn officers — will once again be able to take to the skies more often, and for longer stretches. There is also room for four passengers in addition to the two requisite co-pilots for each flight, where only one additional person could fit on the old unit.

“We can transport people in times of emergency,” SJPD special-operations Capt. Loyd Kinsworthy said. “We can extend our flight times. It will go back to flying seven days a week.”

All things considered, the pending purchase — officials expect a 4- to 6-month delivery time — is welcome news to Kinsworthy’s unit, which has been stretching the old helicopter by limiting its air time and shelling out for more frequent and expensive repairs. The Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office and California Highway Patrol have lent air support to the city to fill in the gaps.

“We’ve gone well beyond the typical life span for Air2,” Kinsworthy said. “A helicopter is such a valuable tool. It was definitely needed.”

Councilman draws new re-election rivals

Two more candidates have jumped in to challenge San Jose District 7 City Councilman Tam Nguyen‘s re-election bid next year, including a political rival from the past.

Omar Vasquez, 37, said he decided to run for City Council to advocate for immigrants and San Jose’s working poor. He said Nguyen’s recent votes against tightening rent control and requiring project labor agreements on construction projects cemented his decision.

“Those voices aren’t being heard,” said Vasquez, a shuttle bus driver who cofounded Latinos United for a New America, a group that works to improve immigrants’ quality of life. “Our elected officials sometimes are more concerned about being re-elected than working for the people. I don’t really see a candidate that I think is going to be our champion.”

Also entering the fray is Maya Esparza, who ran against Nguyen in 2014 and lost the runoff by about 200 votes. Esparza, a former Franklin-McKinley School District trustee, works for the nonprofit Destination: Home.

“After much soul searching,” Esparza began in her announcement, “I’ve decided to run for District 7 on the San Jose City Council. As a former school board member and community leader, I’ll bring a track record of getting things done for our community.”

Political observers say Esparza and Vasquez could dilute the Latino vote in District 7, which spans East San Jose including the Rock Springs and Seven Trees neighborhoods.

Esparza and Vasquez join three others also vying to unseat Nguyen: Thomas Duong, a mortgage loan manager; Van Le, an East Side Union High School District trustee; and Chris Le — no relation to Van — an Oakland tax auditor.

Nguyen said Wednesday he isn’t worried. “I just focus on what I’m good at,” he said. “Making deep and wide connections to voters through great service to the community.”

Milpitas councilor covets higher office

Milpitas City Councilman Anthony Phan has been in office for less than a year, but he’s already eyeing higher office.

Phan, the city’s youngest councilman at age 24, just launched an “exploratory committee” to potentially run for Santa Clara County Supervisor Dave Cortese‘s seat in 2020. A website funded by the committee declares, “Nobody who works 40 hours a week should be living in homelessness.” Then it asks people to donate money.

“I think it’s better to be candid than coy,” Phan said about his decision to explore higher office so soon into his council term. “People are going to know my intention for higher office at some point anyways. Politicians always avoid that conversation, but I’m comfortable with it.”

The committee has raised $4,500 so far, but Phan said he expects that figure to double by the end of the month. The committee was initially started to fund Phan’s run against County Assessor Larry Stone in 2018. But Phan said he “was not very serious” about that campaign.

Phan, who in Nov. 2016 beat four other candidates for one of two seats on the Milpitas City Council, has positioned himself as a progressive, pushing for higher wages and a measure to make Milpitas a sanctuary city. But Phan earlier this year was the subject of a probe by the FPPC after a political rival filed a complaint questioning a $43,000 loan he gave himself.

Phan’s possible run for supervisor could pit him against a colleague, Mayor Rich Tran, who is rumored to be eyeing that seat as well along with former San Jose Vice Mayor Rose Herrera.

“I see it as an extension of my duties on the council,” Phan said. “I’ll still be serving all the constituents I was originally elected to represent.”

“Patty pulled out her breast cancer survivor card a couple of times.”

— Santa Clara City Councilwoman Teresa O’Neill in a Sept. 27, 2016 email to Councilwoman Debi Davis about a Democratic club’s endorsement interview with then-candidate Patricia Mahan. Last week, Mahan announced her cancer returned and took leave from the council.