From Pacifica Tribune, Letters-to-the-editor, 11/1/2011. "Editor: Full disclosure: I recently applied for one of two vacant positions on the Pacifica Planning Commission and was not chosen by Pacifica's City Council. At the risk of sounding like "sour grapes," I am writing this letter because I do not want the San Mateo County District Attorney's decision not to further pursue Brown Act violations against the Planning Commission to minimize the seriousness of the offense committed by its members.
During my six years on the Pacifica School Board, I was
very clear that I served as a private citizen only and not in any
capacity as a lawyer. That said, it is my opinion that a lawyer serving
on a board or commission is charged with a higher knowledge of the law
and a corresponding higher duty of adherence to the law.At the September 19th meeting of the Planning Commission, the Commission launched into a discussion of issues not included on the evening's agenda, therefore not noticed to the public. Commissioner Clifford raised concerns about a possible Brown Act violation, to which the Planning Director, George White, responded that he thought the Commissioners "were in danger already at this point."
For a full 40 minutes AFTER Mr. White's warning, the Commissioners continued to discuss -- and then proceeded to vote on -- unagendized items. All Planning Commissioners disregarded the law, but the fact that Commissioners Josh Gordon and Celeste Langille are attorneys make their violations all the more egregious.
Planning Commissioner Chair Richard Campbell, also an attorney, later characterized the violations as "minor" and the complaint to the District Attorney as making "the proverbial mountain out of the molehill." To the contrary, the Brown Act promotes nothing less than government transparency and participatory democracy.
Just because this Commission successfully pulled off a "do-over" (by later rescinding its actions of September 19th) does not excuse these Commissioners' flagrant and arrogant disregard of the law. Their subsequent "corrective measures" look more like pre-emptive political maneuvering than a genuine redress of wrongdoing."
Connie Menefee
Posted by Kathy Meeh
11 comments:
Put them all in the same cell on a diet of snake drool and frog kidneys with a diatribe from CBD piped in 24/7. Darwin rocks!
Hal Boehner and Verby are attorneys also
So that makes 5 attorneys in attendance that night
Alrighty so even more of those present knew exactly what was going on and the consequences and decided to proceed. The DA has basically said no big deal and here's the DIY remedy. Probably because they see a lot of this and it rarely rises to the level of censure or prosecution, ie, the same thing the lawyers
knew. I guess we can't let it go here in Pacifica because we're hoping to shame council into firing the whole pack. Whoa, shame and council in the same sentence?
When was the last time someone on the planning commission or city council got censured or fired?
Ask Jim Wagner.
Uh oh, now we have shameless and anonymous working together.
When was the last time the council fired a planning commissioner? When the Friends of Pacifica elected a slate and at their first meeting they fired the entire commission and replaced it with their cronies which at the time included the brilliant nobie-wan-kanobe, John Curtis. How's that all turned out 30 years later!
Trivia question: name 3 Planning Commissioners who were forced to resign.
I give up. Tell us.
Ask Jim Wagner.
Better yet, name 3 planning commissioners that should be forced to resign!
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