Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Final City Council Vote


Candidate NameVotes By MailEarly VotingElection DayGrand Total Votes
SUE DIGRE (19.86%) *
2,016201,6183,654
MICHAEL "MIKE" O'NEILL (17.29%) *
1,788271,3653,180
JOHN KEENER (16.43%) *
1,631131,3783,022
ERIC RUCHAMES (13.77%)
1,387121,1342,533
VICTOR A. SPANO (13.32%)
1,419161,0162,451
MATT DOUGHERTY (10.64%)
94691,0031,958
THERESE M. DYER (8.68%)
947126381,597

* = current leaders
Last Updated: 11:30 Report

All votes counted.

7804 ballots cast out of 22419 registered voters.   34.8% turnout.

Posted by Steve Sinai

100 comments:

todd bray said...

Thank you, Steve.

Tom Clifford said...

Congratulations to Sue, Mike, and John.
Thanks to all the Candidates for caring enough to run. I am proud of you all.

Anonymous said...

Conclusion: the number of Facebook "likes" or "members" has absolutely no relation to who wins elections.

Anonymous said...

Thank you to all candidates who ran. Congrats to the new Council elected. Now , get to work and stop that freeway and protect our environment.

Anonymous said...

Conclusion #2: The build-it-out crowd can continue it's shrill take no prisoners style of politics that has become the Fix Pacifica mantra and bask in the glory of irrelevance, with an occasional detour of comic relief when Todd and Theresa harangue Council, or build consensus with the majority on issues of land use. We will know when Kathy Meeh finally graces us with her comments regarding last night's results.

ian butler said...


Hutch said:

“Can we keep track of all these moronic comments like "Kathy is the kiss of death" and post them all after Greener loses by a landslide?”

Yes we can, and I did. Here are a few more:

“I think that when you see John Keener defeated by a very large margin, you will realize how wrong you were.”

“… the referendum will be next Tuesday and will be based on how large an amount Keener loses by.”

“… after the 4th. We'll see who is more out of touch with what voters want or care about.”

Hutch’s predictions:

“O'Neill 4200
Spano 4050
Dyre & Digre very close
Ruchames 3200
Keener 1800
The other guy 700”

Interesting that Hutch thought Dyer and Digre would be “very close”, when in fact Digre came in first and Dyer came in last, separated by more than 2,000 votes. That’s epically out of touch!

Kathy Meeh said...

Ian 746, it hardly matters who said what, you guys ran your usual slimeball campaign, and when it comes to elections we can't count.

Total votes 18,395. Progress votes to fix Pacifica 9,761. Anti-progress and other votes 8,634, difference - 1,127. We win in numbers by 1,127, but not in voting results. Fortunately the current city council will retain their majority vote, but this is not a good day for the future of city improvement.

Anonymous said...

Wow, quite the spin on numbers Kathy. And now you are pleased that the current council retains their majority vote? For weeks - months you have been bashing them.

It's an outstanding day for recognizing what many think that Pacifica is terrific and does not support the type of "improvement" advocated here.

Sam Casillas said...

What the results mean is that the majority of Pacificans do not believe that Economic Development equals huge buildouts. We need to work with the assets this city has which is our recreational environment and make a REAL effort (not half-measures)to attract and cultivate businesses that capitalize off the recreational activities we own that other places don't have. Mass housing (regardless of what SAMCAR wants to believe) will not bring us forward. Look at any COS report that presents these facts. There was no "Slimeball campaigning" from anyone; if anything I thought for the most part all candidates were very respectful and the campaigners were passionate. This does become a warning shot for the majority of the council that if there is a 3-2 vote for the HWY widening that there will be a referandom which will overturn their decision--like it or not this will happen and it will embarrass the Council so we need to find solutions that work for Pacifica and just not special interests. And I don't think we should ignore anyone's voice as we move forward---we all need to hear each other out

Anonymous said...

"... it hardly matters who said what, you guys ran your usual slimeball campaign..."

And there you have it, less then 24 hours after the voters repudiate highway widening and runaway development Fix Pacifica dominant voice embraces the lowest common denominator and sinks into irrelevancy.

Kathy Meeh said...

914 Sam, hiking the hills does not deliver a balanced city economy. The world around us is evolving and growing. No one is advocating for "mass housing". The anti-city progress tactics were slimeball, perfected: attack on the 10 year studied highway project, attack on Victor Spano who represents a more positive future for this city, soft ball commentary on keeping equal city representation on city council.

857 the numbers of people who voted are fact. The current City council frequently votes 4-1 on important city issues, who do you think I support? Clue: them, (not so much NIMBY Sue Digre).

Anonymous said...

Q: When are the election results not the election results?
A: When you don't like them.

Sue Digre was the top vote getter by a wide margin - 474 votes ahead of Mike O'Neill. Only 158 votes separated incumbent O'Neill from John Keener, a total unknown at the beginning of the race. Then there's another big gap of 489 votes between Keener and Ruchames. The difference between Ruchames and Spano is only 82 votes. The gap between Spano and Dougherty is also large - 493 votes. And the difference between Dougherty and Dyer is large at 361 votes, especially considering the much lower number of votes that both got.

I think the voters expressed themselves very clearly and got exactly what they wanted.

Hutch said...

This is hardly any mandate for anything. The no side managed to stimulate more people to get out to vote mostly through scare tactics. But they did it and I give them that. But this TINY turnout is hardly any kind of mandate against widening with only around 10% of registered voters going for Keener.

Bottom line: We now we have 2 nimby's on council that don't know procedures or how to do anything. We still have a majority of 3 that control decisions and are for sensible development and widening.

Anonymous said...

NIMBY Sue Digre was the top vote getter by a wide margin. What does that tell you?

Hutch said...

Actually Sam 53% of voters chose pro widening candidates if you add up the percentages. So there you go.

Ian I don't discuss things with liars. I hope you get sued for your defamatory remarks.

Anonymous said...

Hutch, that's not how elections work. You don't add up percentages of the candidates you agree with. The candidates with the most votes win. But you know this. Spin, spin, spin all you want. It won't change the outcome or the meaning of this election.

Anonymous said...

Hutch said: "53% of voters chose pro widening candidates". Oh, so now all those candidates who weren't anti-widening are now pro-widening instead of being neutral or open to change or some other half-assed position. Do you count Ruchames as pro-widening? He steadfastly refused to take a position. Do you count O'Neill as pro-widening? He never committed to that position. Do you count Spano as pro-widening? He had all kinds of positions on the subject. There's no way you can say that any voters chose pro-widening candidates except the ones who voted for Therese Dyer and she came in dead last.

Steve Sinai said...

"NIMBY Sue Digre was the top vote getter by a wide margin. What does that tell you?"

She has high name recognition.


"Q: When are the election results not the election results? A: When you don't like them."

Nobody's disputing the results. Just what they mean.

Anonymous said...

I'm for widening and development but I actually prefer that Keener won over Ruchames. He scares me with his police union ties, pro library and pro tax.

Keener is a harmless enviro in the minority. Mary Ann, Mike and Karen will just bulldoze through him and get things done.

Anonymous said...

Only two people actively ran an anti-widening campaign, and they won! The only person who actively ran a pro-widening campaign came in dead last.

On top of that, the Keener campaign chose to do without heavy signage, whereas Spano signs litter the city -- giving Spano better name recognition. Yet Kenner still beat Spano by a wide margin.

This pretty much says all that needs to be said.

(On a related note, I assume Spano and his supporters will be removing the Spano signs that currently cover Pacifica.)

Anonymous said...

"NIMBY Sue Digre was the top vote getter by a wide margin. What does that tell you?"

It tells me that she was the only contender with a proven track record of keeping Pacifica broken and all 3600 of the likeminded NIMBIES in Pacifica voted for her.
This is not a majority of Pacificans, but you've got to hand it to them, just like the Republican menace in America, they are much better at gaming the system than people with common sense.

Anonymous said...

Even in defeat, I doubt these candidates want to be painted "pro-widening", or anything else, by Hutch or Fix. Particularly as part of some whacky analysis of the election results. Spin your cocoons.

Anonymous said...

Sue Digre had "higher name recognition" than the other incumbent Mike O'Neil by several hundred votes.

"Nobody's disputing the results. Just what they mean." A distinction without a difference. The meaning is that Digre, O'Neill, and Keener were elected to the Pacifica City Council. The other candidates were not.

Anonymous said...

The continuing snide cynical comments by Hutch et al are the gift the gift that keeps on giving! Please stay fully engaged until the next election cycle!

Anonymous said...

One election result that cannot be disputed: Fix Pacifica is irrelevant, and, in fact, detrimental to the success/future of a candidate and/or issue. Candidates have been known to pay good money to get the kind of help FP gave Digre and Keener. Keep up the good work guys and gals!

Anonymous said...

We intend to stay fully engaged.
It is an absolute requirement if we are to prevent the simple minded Gang of No from driving the final nail into our municipal coffin.

Anonymous said...

This vote is a shot across the bow for council. Enough of your dodging and weaving. Try shoving the highway through and there will be a public referendum on your watch. Allow or encourage this to be viewed as a nimby issue at your own peril. It's an issue that unites Pacificans and this election is just a sample. And for those who take comfort because it was not a high voter blow out, well, it'll do til one of those comes along.

Anonymous said...

Even by Fix Pacifica standards, the spin doctors here are shameful.

The election will be a mandate!
This election wasn't a mandate!

We lost but got more votes!

Ian should be sued for making Spano lose the election!

99% of Pacificans are for the highway widening!

The only reason Digre won is because more people voted for her!

What an absolute bunch of clowns you are. And the beauty of it all is that someone can tell this to you, straight to your faces, but you'll never realize how completely ridiculous you all are and will continue to alienate yourselves and your unelectable candidates over and over and over.

You can't stop yourselves -- you have absolutely zero self awareness and even less self control.

Rage on, Fix Pacifica!

And... thank you. I truly, truly mean that. What a gift!



Anonymous said...

1700 voters out of 20,000+ registered isn't really anything. It's especially not a sign that Pacificans are unified against widening when more voted for O'Neill.

Nothing changed for the gang of no. You still have a minority vote on council. Highway widening will still move forward. But I do agree that maybe it can be tweaked for the better.

Anonymous said...

O'Neill benefited by comparison to Ruchames, Spano, Daugherty and Dyer. He also has accumulated some pretty good political and personal credit in this town by virtue of his time on the school board and his show and tell sessions while on council. He's managed to still be seen as a straight shooter in a council majority notoriously not. Mike O'Neill drew heavily on his "line of credit" in this election.

Anonymous said...

Yeah. What 203 said. Wonder if Spano knew the Fix Embrace was political Ebola? Brilliant strategy. Knocked him off! And then the loudest voices here supported Dyer and wasted votes 4th place Ruchames could have used. That had to be out of the Masters of the Universe playbook, right? Thanks, guys!

Anonymous said...

Keener got more election day votes than O'Neill did:

1) Digre
2) Keener
3) O'Neill

But according to the Fix Pacifica Reality Distortion Field, the voters weren't sending any message, oh nonononononononono.

You guys got spanked. Admit it and move on.

Steve Sinai said...

"Keener got more election day votes than O'Neill did"

Haha. You're trying a little too hard with that one.

Anonymous said...

It goes without saying that Fix Pacificans are electorally challenged. Steve, "try hard" to understand where momentum was going, what these numbers mean, and what the results might have been had the election been held two weeks from now.

Election Day Votes
Digre: 1618
Keener: 1378
O'Neill: 1365

Anonymous said...

glasses 317, glasses. the kind you wear. spanked? yeah.

Steve Sinai said...

3:32, All those numbers mean is that Keener's peeps stay in Pacifica during the day. They probably don't work, so it was easy for them to vote in person rather than by mail.

Good Lord, who's to say the first mail in ballots weren't mostly Keener, and the latter ones were mostly O'Neill?

todd bray said...

Bottom line Steve: Sue and John ran on a NO HIGHWAY WIDENING campaign and O'Niell just ran on himself.

Anonymous said...

Interesting point about election day. Obligatory stereotypes aside, you've got to wonder what another week or two would have produced. There was a definite momentum building. A thinning of the herd. Voters seemed to be looking for substance. Another week could have helped Ruchames a lot, IMHO.

Anonymous said...

Ian should be sued for making Spano lose the election!

50% of nothing is nothing.

Tom Clifford said...

Please everyone lets stop all the bickering.
The election is over an three people have been chosen to deal with the City's mounting problems.

One of the main problems is that the two predominate groups have forgotten the most important thing, that they both want the best for Pacifica.You can either find a way to work together or continue to waste your time scoring meanless points while the Town you loves dies.

Steve Sinai said...

Tom, we are merely engaged in principled, Socratic Dialectic.

Kathy Meeh said...

Tom 510, EXACTLY! But how is that going to happen, when one group wants progress, and the other group wants "nothing"? This is not a new city issue.

And its not really clear whether the "nothing" group even cares if the city dies.

Tom Clifford said...

Steve I knew you were having me on (as the Brits say) when I got to the part in the dictionary about "all rational beings".
Thanks for the laugh.

Anonymous said...

Kathy, you prove time and again that you haven't a clue what people outside your shrinking, shrieking demographic want. You are not the only ones who want good things for Pacifica, nor are your peeps alone in their sense of civic responsibility or deep concern about this town. Time after time, it's not what you're saying that's divisive, it's how you say it! No doubt you'll find that too collaborative, too "nice". So be it. Your isolation is self-induced. And really, what are you accomplishing for Pacifica?

Tom Clifford said...

Kathy, I wish I had a simple how to book on getting people to both talk and hear each other but I don't.

I will suggest that anyone who wants to bridge the gap might start very small. Reach out to someone that you know you don't agree with on the big issues and work on something small together like reading to kids at the library or delivering meal on wheels.
You have to know a person before you can work out differences.

Will it work ,hell I don't know but some kids might learn something or someone might get fed.

Anonymous said...

Only on Fix Pacifica do the loss of all your candidates get spun into some Pyrrhic victory. Right, right, your loss was really a a win. Sure, sure, but at the end of the day, your "winner" candidates will be at home watching Monday Night Football every other week while the others will be over at Beach Blvd.

Also loving David Plouffe Jr. chiming in to tell us that day-of votes don't mean anything. L-O-L. Someone's been to Pacifica's "flower shop" a few times too many.

Spin, baby, spin!

Anonymous said...

Steve @ 4:04 -- If you really believe Keener won because his supporters don't work you are wrong.

The Keener supporters I know are an eclectic, well-educated group who keep various hours -- and we vote! His supporters include scientists, lawyers, engineers, sales people, consultants, business owners, stay-at-home moms (yes, being a mom is work), and other hard working folks -- along with retirees who have already put in their time. I personally not only own my own business, my fed/state tax bill for 2014 (which does not include my husband's tax bill) is well over $1,100,000 and my Pacifica property tax bill is about 15k/yr -- so I not only work hard, I pay a boat load of taxes in this town. Indeed, based on the looks of some of the people I saw waving Spano signs from their apartments during Fog Fest, I am guessing some of the tax dollars I pay are going to support them and their broods. (You're welcome by the way.)

But if it makes you all feel better to believe Keener won because his supporters don't work, so be it -- drowning your sorrows in false beliefs is ultimately a lot more healthy than drowning them in booze.

That said, we opened a bottle of 25-year old vintage port to celebrate last night's win. And the celebration continues tonight.

Cheers!


Steve Sinai said...

I didn't mean to imply that every single one of Keener's peeps didn't work. (Sorry for the double negative.)

More realistically, I was thinking along the lines that 97% don't work.

Anonymous said...

Sounds like a bourbon myth, Sinai.

Anonymous said...

Everyone thinks they are now Karl Rove after the election.

You couldn't even be Pacifica s version of Karl Rove even if you wore a loud and tacky Hawaiian shirt.

Anonymous said...

I can't picture Sinai, sipping a fine bourbon. He comes across more like a Budweiser guy.

todd bray said...

Steve, do you wear a clown costume and full on clown make up when you post things like your 6:47 PM comment?

Hutch said...

624 said "Only on Fix Pacifica do the loss of all your candidates"

All our candidates? Really? Because Mike O'Neill came in second and council stays out of the control of nimby's. That's a win.

Talk about spin.

Anonymous said...

Hutch said, "Mike O'Neill came in second and council stays out of the control of nimby's. That's a win.

Talk about spin."

Hahahahahahahahaha
A-hahahahahahahahaha
hahahahahahahahaha

*whew*

funniest thing I ever read on here

Anonymous said...

What's so funny, 8:33? Hutch is correct.

Anonymous said...

IN OTHER UNREPORTED NEWS OF THE DAY:

The castle on the other side of highway 1 sold at the courthouse steps today.

$1,300,000 cash!

Sale Date/Time: 11/5/2014 12:30 PM
Status: Sold to Third Party
Estimated Debt: $1,759,665.57
Bid Amount: $866,913.93
Sale Amount: $1,300,000.00
TS Number: CA-14-624163-HL
APN: 016-315-170


The Castle Jr at 85 Clarendon went up for foreclosure sale today at the courthouse steps in Redwood City. debt owed was $1,759,655.57 and the bid the lender wanted was $866,913.93. Some deep pocket investor purchased the property for $1,300,000 all cash.

This is the property rumored to have been purchased by Barry Zito
Property County: San Mateo
Property Address: 85 CLARENDON ROAD, PACIFICA, CA 94044
Google Map

Sale Location: At the Marshall St. entrance to the Hall of Justice and Records, 400 County Center, Redwood City, CA 94063

The Truth Police said...

Hutch,



Back on October 26 I asked you this question. Did you think I'd forget? Well I NEVER forget, friend.

What made you think that it would be a Great Idea to pay $1,000 to run two ads declaring that 99% of Pacificans were for widening? I mean, there's spin and then there's unadulterated bullshit. That ad was 99% the later and it really stunk up the joint.

You've kind of gone AWOL when it comes to that ad. Want to own up to that embarrassment?


This was your answer at the time:

Ask me that after the 4th. We'll see who is more out of touch with what voters want or care about.

http://fixpacifica.blogspot.com/2014/10/we-call-shenanigans.html

It's past the 4th and I’m calling you out:

Are you going to continue to pretend the ads you created and paid for never existed or are you going to man up and take ownership of the worst PR blunder ever witnessed in Pacifica?

Kathy Meeh said...

903, why don't you send-in some of these unreported news comments as articles? Using your name couldn't be that harmful to you, could it? (Also, don't forget to link the source information.)

Steve Sinai said...

TP, I don't think Hutch had anything to do with those 99% ads.

You talk about manning up, yet you attack people while hiding behind anonymity. I see you're one of those "Do as I say and not as I do" types.

Steve "Blogmaster" Sinai said...

We're getting some comments that make some legitimate points, but also are going overboard with personal attacks. Those comments won't be displayed.

If you don't see your comments, try taking the attacks out and resubmitting.

Hutch said...

That's right Steve, I had nothing to do with the choice of words in that ad.

mike bell said...

Thanks Steve and Kathy for the work you do to keep this blog on task. Post election darts after an emotional election are not all that unusual.
I think we still have a 3-2 Council but we will have to be more vigilant than ever and work smartly to stop Pacifica's slide into bankruptcy.

Anonymous said...

Kinda ironic that the person complaining about anonymous posts is the very personn who set up the blog so you can post anonymously.

There's more Fix Pacifica Logic(tm) for you!

Steve Sinai said...

11:59, you have the option of posting anonymously, but nobody's forcing you to do that.

The Truth Police said...

"That's right Steve, I had nothing to do with the choice of words in that ad."

Oh, Hutch. I'm disappointed in you. It isn't about the words. It's about the ads' very appearance in the paper... and the money. It's ALWAYS about the money -- don't you know that by now?

So... back to the ads whose words you didn't choose... still think it was a good idea to have spent the money to run those in order to make those ridiculous claims? Or are you gonna tell me you didn't even do THAT now? LOL

Anonymous said...

Mike O'Neill is no dummy. He got the election message loud and clear. He'll have to decide who he works for. I wonder what the results would have been with a fourth anti-widening candidate in the pool? Either a novice like Keener or well-known as Digre--I wonder. Matt Dougherty did extremely well for a kid and I think it was the highway that worked for him. Someone like a Leo Leon or even Rich Campbell might have given voters 3 solid anti-widening picks to take the whole enchilada. Oh well.

Kathy Meeh said...

1217, 99% of people with a brain who drive highway 1 through Rockaway and Valemar intersection understand the highway congestion issue. You don't, that puts you in the 1% of dummies.

And 99% of people understand newspaper ads are placed and paid by those who care about an issue or a product. That's what most mainstream people do, place and pay for ads. Whereas 99% of cheap, flaky, freeloading NIMBIES post and promote their appeals through "free" newspaper articles, letters-to-the-editor, in the Wandering column, or on low to no cost Riptide ads.

Unfortunately, it seems only 97%-63% of reasonable people who care about city improvement understand NIMBIES offer NO real city economy or highway 1 solutions. But, the 10 year studied highway 1 widening solution (with funding) is in front of us now, (and for the benefit of the people who drive that road should move forward).

Fake, "truth police" 1217, maybe you should try one of those other media outlets to express your NIMBY ideology. They may appreciate your twisted commentary reiteration more than 99% of us who seek a better, safer and more economically productive city.

todd bray said...

@ Mike Bell, I had no idea this election was an emotional one. However now that you mention it there were a few on this blog that were taking very seriously. Please let us know if you are going to be reactivating your Tod with one D at council meetings.

Anonymous said...

Let's declare Hawaiian Shirt Day! An island Muumuu an option for the ladies, or even the guys. I don't judge.

Anonymous said...

Double D Todd, he's warming up in the bat-hanger right now.

Kathy Meeh said...

229, and how about deactivating Todd with 2 D's on this blog? Sounds like a win, win to me!

Anonymous said...

Compromise, Meeh. Move Fix Pacifica forward. Ban one of theirs for one of yours. Well, for Todd, it would be two of yours, maybe three. And, I'm not going by the pound here.

Anonymous said...

2:46-- speaking of awfully dressed barflies, isn't it interesting to note that the Chamber's endorsement and the efforts of that dumb PAC amounted to nothing more than a mouse fart?

Talk about useless...

Anonymous said...

Single D Tod, is retired from Pacifica politics and he couldn't be happier.

Anonymous said...

332 Mouse farts, I hope it was mouse farts...it figures they'd manage to find another way to contribute to greenhouse gases and global warming. Clods.

Anonymous said...

The membership of the Pacifica Hall of Irrelevance grows:
- Fix Pacifica
- Pacifica Chamber of Commerce
- Pacifica Tribune
- Todd (with 2 d's)
- The Wandering Wonderer
- Pacificsns for Sustainable Development
- Competitive bidding
- Froggy and snakey
- Unfunded liabilities
- Emergency response times
- Loving thy neighbor

mike bell said...

Todd,
That's the problem.
We vote with emotion rather than common sense.
I have zero influence over Tod's actions. Last I heard he is taking care of his health and avoiding stressful Pacifica politics.

Assuming you were successful at chopping city salaries, what ideas do you have to increase revenues coming into Pacifica?

Anonymous said...

440 That's a lot of farts to add to the chamber's dumb PAC, and it's only a partial list. Pacifica could be wiped off the map by a gas explosion. Save the plovers!

Anonymous said...

Leave that one to the experts, Todd.

Anonymous said...

People vote party down the line instead of the best person for the job.

Keener has zero political experience. Would you go to an attorney, surgeon, doctor, CPA or hire a contractor with zero experience.

wait some of you would.

Anonymous said...

Vote the party line? What party? What the hell are you bleating about? Pacifica elected a lifelong Democrat, a Green Party member and O'Neill, party unknown, but most likely Democrat. Local politics run non-partisan, are about issues and the candidate. Endorsements work for some and not for others. Spano, O'Neill and maybe Ruchames all had SAMCAR. O'Neill and Ruchames had Labor. Digre had the Democrats. Pretty sure the BACPAC thing didn't endorse Digre or Keener. Small town politics is extremely personal and local-issue driven. The voters preferred Digre, Keener and O'Neill.

Anonymous said...

Zero political experience? As in elective office? Anything else is purely subjective. Spano, Dyer, Dougherty and Keener--all zero. Stone and Nithart both elected without prior political experience. In Pacifica, unless they've served on a school board, it's going to be zero political experience.

Anonymous said...

353 I can think of 5 people who are even happier. Bet they hope he'll see America by RV and take a couple pals with him.

Anonymous said...

Endorsements can help. With the Dems endorsement sometimes comes Jackie Speier and in Pacifica, that counts. Digre has always had that. She and Keener both had the Sierra Club which also counts for something here, like it or not.

Anonymous said...

Don't worry, Sue can teach john Keener the ropes.

Oh wait...

todd bray said...

Without a protagonist, Kathy, how are you going to get your antagonist freak on? Kathy, Fixpacifica needs protagonists, like me, willing to use their real names so your blog isn't just a gang of antagony. Hum... Gang of Antagony... Hum. Beats the heck out of Gang of Know. Fixpacifica... Gang of Antagony... Hum.

Anyway, the two candidates I voted for won. I'm happy.

@ Mike Bell, if our senior staff department heads, Fire and Police voluntarily reduced their compensation 1% for every $10,000 earned to give our annual budget a breather that would show a great sense of empathy and understanding. As for attracting business, generating increasing tax revenues, I wish I was a centrally controlled economy like China (a national corporation if you will) and could just order businesses around at will. That way either me or you could "attract" the businesses you feel would help. But, unfortunately I'm not. In our country businesses are free to go where they choose... but you knew that... right? At least I hope you do.

The Fixpacifica Gang of Antagony needs protagonists, Kathy. Of course if you all stopped being the Gang of Antagony the need for protagonists just goes away.

mike bell said...

Todd,
Your response regarding ideas to bring revenue into Pacifica is a weak dodge but underpins the basic Pacifica problem.
The people who kneejerk block revenue producing development in Pacifica, have no ideas about how to attract revenue, which could sustain the very environment they purport to be protecting.
I am very appreciative and respectful of the pioneering and hard work that has been done to preserve beaches, trails, hillsides and habitats.
Unfortunately you need more than good intentions, slogans and wishful thinking to pay for the infrastructure maintenance, police, fire and safety services that 40,000 human beings need for a quality life.
Sparse and sprawling development is harmful to our environment.
We need concentrated infill construction that can capitalize on transportation modes and produce the highest revenue stream with the smallest footprint possible.
If all you do is habitually block development you end up with schlock.
We need to get rid of the crap that is presently sitting on our pristine bluffs and beaches and "design" a beautiful future for Pacifica which includes sustainable revenue production.
If we miss this huge opportunity we have only ourselves to blame.

Anonymous said...

Mike,
"If we miss this huge opportunity we have only ourselves to blame".
This is Pacifica. We're known far and wide for never missing an opportunity to miss an opportunity. What makes it even worse is that we try to claim that missing it is the best thing for us. We never ever blame ourselves. Or learn from it. I think saying we have only ourselves to blame has no effect here. None.

todd bray said...

@ Mike Bell... draw us something akin to what you have described. I'd honestly like to see how you would plan a beautiful future for Pacifica. If you remember we did share ideas for the SPWWTP site. We both had shops, restaurants and a combination of condo and hotel rooms.

Mike, rather than point that finger of yours, that Gang Of Antagony finger, draw something up and lets have a sit down. I'll bring my sketch pad and crayons.

The Ghost of ECO-nomics said...

"Double-D" Todd can do all of the crayon sketching his little heart desires but it will have absolutely NO bearing on Pathetica's economic future. Do you really think that entrepreneurs/investors/shareholders could really give a rat's ass what you come up with, Todd? Really!?! What well hidden credentials do you now carry that would ever lead someone to value your economic/fiscal judgment with respect to investing in Pacifica? Perhaps I missed the part where you, yourself are investing your own personal fortune in this town. Please do tell...

Elementary economics would tell you that potential investors are primarily concerned with ROI which might be difficult to achieve when one considers Pacifica's self-imposed poverty. You see, Mr. Double D, from an investor's perspective, ROI is a byproduct of demographics. And demographics tell the investor little things like population growth trending and household income dispersion - you know, those little incidentals that help them assess risk vs. potential gain. And you see, my little Toddler, our quaint little town has somehow managed to acquire some very, very unattractive demographics from the perspective of the business and financial markets. Nothing wrong with that. Some of my best friends live a very happy life below the poverty line. You just have to remember what you don't have in the bank when it comes to spending City funds on frivolities like emergency services, libraries, resource centers, recreational facilities, etc. Just live within your means, I say. Certainly Double-D, you do understand living within your means, don't you?

Anonymous said...

Ghost: I imagine your voice sounds exactly like the Great Gazoo! Or Snagglepuss! Amscray...Exit...Stage Right!

Mike bell said...

Todd,
Thanks for the offer. As much as I would probably enjoy a color crayon play date, I really don't have time right now. I'd really rather hear yours and your colleagues ideas on how to bring revenue into this city. These circular pissing matches are repetitive and accomplish nothing.
Pristine hills, trails and beaches - Mission accomplished.
Death of a dysfunctional city - Nearer than we think.
BTW I don't think antagony is a real word but evidently I resemble that remark.

todd bray said...

Mike, lets here yours. It will make a pleasant change from all your griping, Bruh.

todd bray said...

Gang of Antagony Mr Ghost, wear it well.

Anonymous said...

I want to see how many noobees hippies and nimbys jump off the Manor overpass when Jeb Bush is the next president.

mike bell said...

Todd,
I and many of my compatriots have forwarded hundreds of ideas over the years for improving Pacifica's revenue problem.
I have also expressed my appreciation for the hard work done by folks who have protected our beautiful environment. Unfortunately, the mis-leading propaganda used by the anti-development gang in this town which says that anyone in favor of development just wants to destroy the environment, has created the severe financial crisis we find ourselves in.
Presently no entrepreneur in their right mind is willing to expose their resources to the long drawn out "suck 'em dry" strategies of this same group.
The result is a vibrant economy all over the bay area with the exception of Pacifica.
Like it or not, it takes money to provide services for human habitat and it takes money to protect and maintain our fragile eco system.
It's time for you and the rest of the folks on your side of the aisle to start offering up credible ideas and strategies to bring revenue into our town.
Welfare and poverty sucks.

Anonymous said...

Mike,

You might as well talk to the sea gull that lands on your deck, Bray's goal in life is to be a pain in the ass. He doesn't recall what he posts, who he posts too. Just a tremendous wind bag. In fact I think his hot air changed all the weather patterns.

Anonymous said...

If people wanted the FREEWAY, then maybe, could it be true that, more would of voted? So, it's not like they did not know if they drive it every morning and afternoon. People don't care enough. Are they indifferent? I think so. Pacifica is beautiful. I like our Highway One. I use all business on the highway. I want to see business get some tax breaks and fix up their place if need to be and for going through any construction that may come and inconvenience. I want to see a cozy highway where our local business is highlighted along with our exquisite oceans views and coastal mountains. Slow down and chill out in Pacifica. Fix it. Don't widen it. I think Keener can do it. We can all do it. Do it the right way.

mike bell said...

anonymous 3:35
I get it.
The constant dishonest manipulations and phony arguments are played out.
The anti-development gang is destroying Pacifica with their selfish "I got mine" agenda.
Until we get out of this mess and if it's germane to the issue, we have to challenge every cause celeb with.......
"Thank you for your effort, please explain how this will increase revenue for Pacifica?"

Anonymous said...

Maybe a better question is what will create the most revenue for Pacifica? I mean, if that's genuinely the goal, then that might be a better way to frame the question. Of course that means the city cannot passively accept the will of a property owner or developer to maximize his/her profit and leave Pacifica holding an empty and expensive bag. There is a great middle-ground where compromise can be found if we are sincere and honest about the goals. That's not a place you'll find extremists of any viewpoint. Want to create more extremists? More people who fight progress? Be inflexible. Make it personal.