The Weekly Scandal

Even Mayor Chuck Reed himself seems to believe he might have miscalculated community concerns in San Jose's most recent controversy—the selection of the newly hired, just-resigned Independent Police Auditor. Over the weekend, Reed finally confessed that maybe he was wrong about hiring Chris Constantin as the new IPA, knowing full well that his older brother is a San Jose homicide detective. "I didn't think it was a fatal flaw," Reed told Fly, adding that he is surprised it turned into such a big deal. "After the public controversy exploded, it was fairly clear that it was [a mistake]." Reed says he still believes that the potential conflict of interest created by the appointment could have been mitigated fairly, which is why he may have glossed over this big detail when announcing Constantin's appointment two weeks ago. Constantin resigned from the position less than a week after the council hired him unanimously. True to form, Councilwoman Nora Campos went on the attack, with memos and words in the press, accusing the mayor of not telling her about Constantin's brother before the vote. Reed emphatically insists he did his part in disclosing the tidbit about Constantin's brother before the council took the vote. "My councilmembers usually have pretty good ears," the mayor says with uncharacteristic sarcasm. So far, Fly has been unable to unravel the he-saids from the she-saids in this matter. If the mayor gets his wish, the minutes from the closed-door meeting will be released, and we'll know for sure whether the whole council is tone-deaf to controversy, or just the mayor.

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