You can find an interesting article in this week Metro related to the fight against Power plant in Santa Teresa.
It is also available on Internet at:
http://www.metroactive.com/metro/public-eye-9936.html

Fight the Power: A few neighborhood activists want to recall lame-duck council member Charlotte Powers before she votes on a proposed power plant in her district. Judging from history, it's not likely to happen.

Public Eye

Total Recall

In San Jose's 150-year post-statehood history, only one elected official has ever been recalled. City Councilwoman Kathy Cole earned the dubious honor in 1994 when voters punished her for delivering a speech caught on videotape where she tugged the sides of her eyes to describe Asians. Before Cole's ouster, it had been 30 years since a San Jose politician faced recall (in that case, four council members survived). Even though they are rare, recalls are nonetheless threatened as often as gas prices fluctuate because politicians, like the oil companies, just have a way of fueling our ire. ... Within the past month, no less than two San Jose council members have been the subject of recall talks. After Berryessa Councilwoman Margie Matthews' recent vote to allow a crematorium to locate near a school, the city clerk began receiving calls asking how to boot the District 4 rep out of office. And last week the clerk's office received inquires from voters seeking guidance on how they might oust District 2 incumbent Charlotte Powers. Oddly enough, both council members are lame ducks who will be forced out of office by term limits at the end of next year. Eye suspects that as with most recall threats, nothing will come of either of these. ... This is especially true in Matthews' case, where the damage has already been done. But in Powers' Santa Teresa district, a few hard-core neighborhood activists want to prevent Powers from casting a vote on Calpine and Bechtel's proposed power plant, which nearby landowners view as a threat to their property values. Though Powers has yet to take an official position on the project, some conspiracy theorists suspect she secretly supports it. At the very least, they blame her for not actively trying to pull the plug on the project. "We need a stronger leader," one Santa Teresa citizen gripes. Time, however, is running out on the would-be recallers: They would need to gather about 4,500 valid signatures and have a special election scheduled before the City Council votes on the project. That vote, sources predict, should come in late winter or early spring; by then a recall vote could be a moot point. It took 10 months from start to finish to consummate Cole's aforementioned removal from office.