San Jose Mayor Vows to Stay and Fight Charges

As the first Latino mayor in one of the nation’s fastest-growing cities, Ron Gonzales was once a rising star. He addressed the Democratic National Convention and was rumored as a candidate for statewide office as San Jose and Silicon Valley boomed.

On Friday, Gonzales was fending off calls for his resignation after being indicted on fraud, bribery and conspiracy charges stemming from a grand jury probe into a secretly negotiated garbage contract that cost taxpayers more than $11 million.

“Every one of the charges is false. I broke no laws, and I am confident in the outcome of the legal proceedings now underway,” Gonzales said in a statement. “Resignation in the face of false accusations like these would break faith with our residents, and therefore would be very wrong.”

Gonzales resumed work Friday as leader of the nation’s 10th-largest city, vowing to do the job voters elected him to do. But his tenure is up and he’s barred by term limits from seeking reelection. If convicted, he faces up to eight years in prison and removal from office.

The City Council has scheduled a special meeting Wednesday to consider a proposal to formally request that the mayor resign immediately and to determine a process that would strip him of his power if he doesn’t.

By Friday afternoon, six of the 10 council members had said they supported his resignation, but two -- Forrest Williams and Madison Nguyen -- urged against a rush to judgment.

Gonzales, 55, was released Thursday on a $50,000 bond after being indicted on six criminal counts alleging he pressured a city trash contractor into using the Teamsters union at a recycling plant.

The mayor’s budget aide, Joe Guerra, also was indicted on charges of fraud, conspiracy and misappropriating public money. He was booked and released on bail.

The indictment also names Norcal Waste Systems Inc. in four counts, including conspiracy, bribery and misappropriating public money.

The company denied any wrongdoing and vowed to fight the charges. “Norcal committed no crime, either in the bidding process or in performance of the contract,” it said in a statement Friday.

Guerra could get a maximum sentence of five years and eight months; Norcal could face more than $100,000 in fines, plus repayment of the extra $11.25 million it got from the deal with San Jose.