Dennis green had a great opinion piece in a recent SMCDT (that shameless rag that had the audacity to endorse me for City Council!):
http://www.insidebayarea.com/opinion/ci_13515733
"In the 1990s, I served 10 years on the board of directors of the Alameda Chamber of Commerce, and as its president from January 1995 through July 1996. During that time, we felt it was important for the Chamber to declare its independence from the city, and we got our budget strong enough to get off the dole of some $28,000 annually contributed by the city. We did not believe that city decisions regarding redevelopment and taxation always served the best interests of our members."
After Pacifica's Chamber of Commerce endorsed Measure D, the controversial 1-cent sales tax that was overwhelmingly rejected by the voters earlier this year by a NO on D campaign that had the support of most of the local business community, I wonder if its time for them to open their books to the public and declare their independence as well.
JEFFREY W SIMONS
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My understanding is that there's been a bit of a revolt at the Pacifica Chamber of Commerce after Measure D, and it's finally starting to pay some attention to promoting local commerce. Imagine that!
I'm not a member and never paid much attention, but in trying to understand why it endorsed the Measure D sales tax, I was shocked to find out how many non-Pacifica organizations, and non-profit-groups that had nothing to do with business, were on the local Chamber's board.
My impression was that so few local companies wanted to be a part of the local Chamber that it was forced to open its membership and board to anyone, simply in order to survive.
The chamber needs more than "we're open for business" radio ads and a feel good awards ceremony at Portofinos. They need to be a part of the San Mateo County Convention and Visitors Bureau. They need to support the development and infrastructure Pacifica desperately needs. Quite frankly, non-profits should be members, but not voting board members.
I talked with a local service business owner whom I have patronized for years.
He said that he called the chamber board mambers and asked why they were endorsing Measure D. They acted surprised, in some cases, as to why their decision was being quesioned.
The chamber had an inherent conflict of interest, as it was receiving $10,000 per year for the funding of the Visitor's Center from the city. Or maybe there was an implied threat of funding to be cut off, I don't know.
What was the final decision on that $10,000, was it funded this year, or not?
It doesn't look like the adopted FY 2009-10 budget is on-line, but I remember in the final draft of the 2009-10 budget, $10,000 for the Chamber of Commerce was still allocated.
This is why I believe they need to open their books and justify taking the $10,000. They seem to be just another operating wing of City Hall, and they should be more independent.
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