Thursday, September 20, 2012

City Council candidates forum, city small business economics


The city council candidates forum is tomorrow, Friday September 21, 2012.  Be there 6-8 PM, or tune in to  Pacifica Community Television, Channel 26  for the live broadcast.  Location:  City council chambers.  Chamber of Commerce flyer.

Pacifica Tribune, Op Ed, 9/18/12.  "Pacifica Chamber of Commerce holds candidates' forums," by Chris Porter 

Who will fix this?
"The Pacifica Chamber of Commerce will host a City Council candidates forum on Sept. 21 at 6 p.m. in the Council Chambers. The forum will be broadcast on local television Channel 26. All candidates have accepted the Chamber's invitation to participate.

The Chamber of Commerce's government affairs committee prepared a questionnaire that was sent to all candidates for response regarding important issues facing any Pacifica elected official in the next few years. All candidates responded and the questionnaires will be posted on pacificachamber.com.

 There are currently four members of the community vying for the two-year term made available by the resignation of former councilperson and Mayor Jim Vreeland. These candidates are Pacifica School Board member Mike O'Neill, Pacifica Economic Development Committee member Victor Spano, Pacifica Planning Commissioner Rich Campbell and local business person Gary Mondfrans. 

Or fix this?
Two four-year terms are open. Councilperson Mary Ann Nihart, former Pacifica School Board member Karen Ervin and past Chamber of Commerce and Pacifica Rotary President and local businesswoman Susan Vellone are running for a four-year term.

The forum will be moderated by Mary Brown, owner of Mary Brown State Farm Insurance and Pacifica Chamber of Commerce Board member. All participants will be allowed a three minute opening statement and a five minute closing statement. Questions will be presented to the candidates. Questions will be focused on the needs of the business community in this town.

Pacifica revenue includes locals and tourism 
The Government Affairs Committee of the Pacifica Chamber of Commerce strongly believes that a good part of the economic turnaround for this City is encapsulated in not only new business but the regeneration of our current businesses. New businesses such as The Surf Spot, Boston Bills, and the transformation and reemergence of the Moonraker Restaurant have stimulated the local economy and brought in new visitors to see what our town has to offer. A larger problem looming is the indifference of the long distance owners of our large shopping centers in realizing the impact on the community in forcing long established businesses out with extreme rent increases. 
No worries, everything is fine

Many of these "Mom and Pop" establishments have been holding on by a thread to survive in our current economic atmosphere and being asked to sign a long-term lease at double or more the current rent which is an impossible burden for them. 

The Chamber as well as the Pacifica Economic Development Committee has reached out to the local representatives of these owner/corporations with presently no reply. This, from the business community, is a large question for any Council candidate. No new business will even entertain coming to a City with a large amount of empty store fronts. What leverage can the Chamber/City of Pacifica use to open up this dialog with the shopping center management? This is something every person running for council should have an answer for.

The planning process within the city of Pacifica has definitely been streamlined. We congratulate the City Manager, Planning Director and current council for this. Now let's make this change public. Pacifica has long been known as a city that is impossible to work with. Let's contact builders and spread the word. If we do not have the money to hire an economic coordinator, let's invest a specific portion of our Transit Occupancy Tax to market the city in new venues and use new approaches to keep this momentum moving forward.

Please join us this Friday evening 6 p.m. at City Council Chambers for a council candidate forum that will be asking the tough business questions that currently plague our community." 

Posted by Kathy Meeh

36 comments:

Anonymous said...

As long as Recology can get a solid council majority, along with the Chamber, Pacifica will be saved. Why is my nose growing?

Robert Abooey said...

No offense, but Chris Porter knows about as much about running large commercial real estate properties as the twirly dancers know about civil engineering.

Anonymous said...

Forget meddling with the rents, lobby Kimco to remodel that dump like they did Westlake. More money for them and Pacifica.

Anonymous said...

Sure, if they remodel the dump then the rents go up.

Supply and demand.

Anonymous said...

Jesus, Kathy! Could you find any worse looking hippies to put on this?

Anonymous said...

Or any more completely irrelevant images?

Anonymous said...

The dude look like Gallagher the Comedian!

Anonymous said...

Chris Porter, needs to focus on what she knows, garbage.

Not the City Hall, Garbage.

Now she will defend the rate increase and justified!

Kathy Meeh said...

"Irrelevant images.", Anon 3:47 PM, 3:37 PM.

Oh, I don't know, rings without Saturn are kind of like an economy without a city (you know Pacifica).

And, those locals or tourists are standing on our pier. You insult them by cursing Jesus at the same time. Nice.

If you focus on the text, the downward skywriting picture is relevant, as is the hang gliding over the Pacific ocean.

Anonymous said...

If they remodel that dump and bring in a couple more anchors like a small home depot and target or tj's then there will be more foot traffic, more business, more jobs, more money for Kimco and this town. Lower rents aren't the solution to the problem this city has, foot traffic is. And "name" anchors increase the foot traffic for the entire shopping center and all the businesses in it. The coast is going to grow, the tunnel can help business in Pacifica, and LM has the right location to benefit. Let's hope Kimco is aggressive.

Anonymous said...

Damn, I thought the "downward skywriting" was the Challenger Disaster and Kathy was being edgy comparing the disaster that is Pacifica to a national disaster. Guess not.

Anonymous said...

@412 What's wrong with you? City Hall is garbage! Toxic waste, even.

Anonymous said...

@411 he sure do!

Anonymous said...

@251 Thank you professor.

Anonymous said...

I think Chris Porter knows more about running a businss then all of you put together. She was a past president of the Chamber and I think she knows more about business in this town and has more insight and connections to the people who know the answers then any of you. Why do you always have to bring up her business when she makes a comment. Can't she have her own opinion?

Kathy Meeh said...

Trash Anonymous 12:43 PM, 2:12 PM, 4:12 PM, you have now written 3 unfair, idiotic attacks against Chris Porter, who wrote this excellent article on behalf of the Chamber of Commerce. How bold of you trash bag Pinocchio impersonator, the part you got right is your nose growing.

In your 12:43 PM comment, you included, "Why is my nose growing?" That's easy, because you are either confused or lying.

In your 2:12 PM comment, you said that Chris knows nothing "about running large commercial real estate properties.." She did not suggest she did, so your nose continues to grow.

At 4:12 PM you commented that Chris "needs to focus on...garbage." Well, that comment is more likely your introspective garbage. Even our noses, so much shorter than yours nose, can smell that.

We know who Chris is and she speaks with a voice of leadership. You, on the other hand, who are you Trash Anonymous windbag?

Anonymous said...

anon514 It's up to you. She can have any little thing her heart desires if you'll just learn the difference between then and than. It's like a signature.
I think Recology does a great job!

Anonymous said...

Kathy, You keep getting smart and the blogmaster will lock you in a room and won't let you back out!

Anonymous said...

So we should look for someone with a big nose? Why respond? Chris Porter knows how to deal with that kind of garbage, too.

Anonymous said...

Probably someone who does road rage on a daily basis!!

Anonymous said...

If only our city would run as well as Recology of the Coast. Can you get your potholes fixed? No. Can the city balance a checkbook? No. We would do well to have Recology run our city. Recology provides a needed service. City hall provides stuff that should be put in your compost bin.

Kathy Meeh said...

Spamming personal attacks from anonymous people is "smart", and should be the enforced policy of this blog, Anon 5:54 PM and Steve.

Anonymous 5:14 PM, made a similar point. The "signature" on that anonymous comment is also female. You know, we are at least 50% of the population and we don't like these brutish personal attacks. These kind of attacks are chilling, a real turn-off.

And, the comment policy of this blog is: "People may comment anonymously, but any comments that degenerate into 1) personal attacks against individual blog participants; 2) incomprehensible gibberish; or 3) attempts to turn conversations into grade-school playground brawls, will be removed."

"Personal attacks against blog participants.. will be removed." How about enforcing this stated blog policy 100% of the time, Steve?

Anonymous said...

Steve, Kat, you need a national DO NOT POST number on this freaking blog!

Ernesto Francisco said...

Please, Kathy. Stop being such a hypocrite. You personally attack someone by calling them "trash bag Pinocchio impersonator" and "Trash Anonymous windbag" and then complain about personal attacks. It's obvious that you just want to censor people who disagree with you.

You also violate the "incomprehensible gibberish" rule on a very regular basis. I'm sure you'll complain that that's a personal attack too, but in fact it's just the opinion of numerous people trying to wade through all your stream-of-consciousness pseudo-English.

Kathy Meeh said...

Oh funny, Ernesto 10:07 AM. You argue in favor of an anonymous person personally trashing a named person. Got to love that reasoning.

Whereas, my fair return comment was against that kind of unfair personal attack. Arguing against the merits or not of 1) an ideology or 2) an issue is reasonable and fair.

From the 9/20, 12:43 PM comment, the Pinocchio "growing nose" comment was what Anonymous said of himself, no doubt in error. That comment has since been REMOVED by the comment author.

Hostile anonymous personal attacks on bloggers who use their actual names should fail period. BTW, the name you used (living in Pacifica) appears to be fictitious, figures.

Anonymous said...

This blog use to have some constructive thoughts. At this point it is just a cesspool of idiotic comments. Kathy, can you clean up the comments!?

Chris Porter said...

Hi Kathy. Thanks for sticking up for me but it's the same people who think all I do in town is look for ways to raise the garbage rates. They usually post to RIPTIDE like the column up right now. Anyway, all anonymous posters can come to the chamber forum tonight and learn about our candidates.

Steve Sinai said...

"'Personal attacks against blog participants.. will be removed.' How about enforcing this stated blog policy 100% of the time, Steve?"

Kathy, as you know, we have a disagreement on what constitutes a personal attack against blog participants.

To me, a personal attack involves name-calling and personal insults from out of the blue.

To you, a personal attack is when someone disagrees with you or one of your friends.

Kathy Meeh said...

"To you, a personal attack is when someone disagrees with you or one of your friends." Steve Sinai 12:27 PM

Well then, guess we can consider everyone to be my friends.

And you said, "To me, a personal attack involves name-calling and personal insults from out of the blue."

What does "out of the blue" have to do with anything? Personal attacks by an anonymous person against a named person, or the campaign of attacks against the same are PERSONAL ATTACKS.

Siegfried McGillicutty said...

What does anonymous or named have to do with anything when it comes to personal attacks?

Hutch said...

RE: Chris Porter. I have had my share of disagreements with Chris here but I want to tell her that I do appreciate her work in moving Pacifica forward past the stagnation of the past 20+ years.

Anonymous said...

I think the objection is really about anonymity rather than content
on this blog.

Anonymous said...

Precisley. "I don't agree with what you're saying, so I'm going to complain that I don't know who you are".

Just like Maybury, the less-sophisticated people on this blog prefer to focus on who's doing the saying, rather than the conent of what they're actually saying. It's sometimes known as an ad hominem logical fallacy.

Anonymous said...

anonymi 743+845 oh now you've gone and done it.

Anonymous said...

I don't need to know who I'm arguing with. I just like a good, thought-provoking argument. If I don't like the tone, I don't participate.

Vito Romulus said...

Yes, Kathy always mentions whether someone's anonymous, rather than addressing the content of their argument.