... and BART Counterpoint October 8, 2008 By The Fly, Metro It was no shocker that San Jose Councilman Pete Constant was against Measure B. But he did surprise the mayor's office when he signed the opposition to the BART measure, a signal that he's actively campaigning against it. It was surprising because Constant previously had a conversation with Mayor Chuck ReeD in which he explained that although he's against the BART tax measure, he wasn't planning to campaign against BART. Moreover, he told the mayor that if he planned to join the opposition efforts, he would certainly let him know. "The mayor relayed to me that Pete was gong to stay out of the BART campaign," said Jeff Janssen, senior policy adviser for the mayor. "When we saw that Pete had signed the ballot in opposition of BART, I personally was surprised. I assume it took everyone by surprise." Constant claims he wasn't pulling a fast one on the mayor, who is co-chairing the Measure B campaign. He does regret not having given Reed a heads-up over his change of heart. "It slipped my mind," Constant said. "I screwed up." True to form, Constant's slap-in-the-face move hardly stirred reaction from Tickle Me Reed, one of his closest allies on the council. Staffers said that Reed just doesn't get upset when people disagree over policy matters. "He's not happy that I'm opposing it, but he's not mad at me personally," Constant said. Send political tips to The Fly. Or send a letter to the editor about this story.