Saturday, August 23, 2014

Why are you running for city council? View of candidate comments .


Pacifica Tribune/Jane Northrop, 8/19/14.  "The race for city council is hotly contested."

Listening to you, but you know ....
"Why are you running for city council?"  Comments from John Keener, Therese Dyer, Eric Ruchames, Victor Spano."  Read article.

Information from the article, assessed opinion from reading the candidate responses.  

John Keener - 1. Against highway widening (active member of PH1A). 2. For responsible city accounting. 3. Transparency, with public involvement (?).  Research biochemist. NIMBY. 

Therese Dyer - 1. Open to City growth (supported Measure L, quarry development). 2. Against additional taxes. 3. Activist and broader civic background, including legal.  Retired businesswoman.  SUPPORTS PROGRESS.

Eric Ruchames - 1. Community collaboration to manage funds.  2. From that, best solutions and city enhancement, Library Foundation member.  School board member, retired police sergeant.  STATUS QUO, probably supports some progress.

Victor Spano - 1. Economic development (represented an investment company to get Beach Blvd developed).  2. Civic and road infrastructure improvement (Highway 1 and Skyline).  Retired Economic Development Coordinator (Daly City). SUPPORTS PROGRESS.

The incumbent candidates, who have yet to respond to the Pacifica Tribune inquiry.  (Assessed opinion, based upon their comments and track record).  

Mike O'Neill - SUPPORTS PROGRESS.

Sue Digre - NIMBY.

Note photograph from Fringe Collective.

Posted by Kathy Meeh

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

Mike O'Neal says he is for progress and development but what has he done.

Nothing.

Another empty chair on city council.

Anonymous said...

Mike O'Neill in 2012 said that he would try to make Beach Blvd, into a Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, by changing zoning for some residential parcels to commercial. I am curious if he got anywhere with that. I like Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk!

Anonymous said...

355 And he's just too damn tall! Right?

Kathy Meeh said...

355, so, how do you view "everyone" on city council, all empty chairs? Think the votes from NIMBY Sue Digre are equivalent to the other four (4) city councilmembers, who frequent vote NO to her one YES.

The three (3) vote majority on city council sometimes changes the direction of the city. Example, had Sue been able to formulate a motion, there would have been legally binding City mediation to kill highway 1 widening. Another example, remember four (4) city councilmembers against quarry development, 2002 and 2006. (Councilmember Cal Hinton was the powerless exception then). Those four (4) nice personality NIMBIES failed to support two (2) developments which would have been good for this city. And, so it goes. Who we vote for (or if we don't vote) matters.

Anonymous said...

O'Neill and Digre lost four million dollars of our money. Great job. Four more years!

Kathy Meeh said...

501, not true!!!

The irregular accounting discovery so far goes back to 2003. Mike O'Neill has been on City Council 2 years only. And its doubtful that Sue Digre knew about this. Firing the competent City Treasurer (Maureen Lennon) several years ago didn't help-- neither did bragging about a $7 million dollar city reserve.

Anonymous said...

Replacing a highly qualified finance director with an HR person with a couple accounting seminars on her resume was the all time smooth move. Classic Vreeland. Hey, I'm gonna save you money. And what timing! Sliding into the recession without a clue. Years go by, stars rise and fall. Apparently ignorance really is bliss and fools and their money are easily parted. I'd say we should thank our lucky stars that they didn't give Ritzma the CM job, but I don't think luck had much to do with it.

Hutch said...

That's a great idea Mike has about tuning Beach Blvd into mixed use. A surf shop, restaurant, gift store. But there's a lot of resistance from residents for fear of affecting property values. Yeah, values would go up. Not sure if other council members support the idea either. One person can only get so much done.

I heard another great idea from Mike about putting a concession out on Mori Point where the old Mori Inn used to be. Nimby's would have a cow.

Anonymous said...

Is this city in any way better off today than it was two years ago?

Hell no!!!!

we're $4 mil in the hole

they jacked up our sewer charges

they jacked up our trash charges

they tried to pass ANOTHER tax on us (utility tax)

they want ANOTHER tax for a new library nobody wants

they won't cut salaries, no, those still go UP UP UP!

they want buy prime AAA real estate from Caltrans and use it for a poop pit

the palmetto project has been cancelled because the city "lost" the money they set aside for it

no progress and no takers on the ocean beach property

all our roadways are crumbling to dust all over town

WTF?!

Anonymous said...

Hutch the GGNRA would have the cow. The process to establish a new concession would be arduous, but Mike O'Neill alone has the RE background on council. Then again, we hear repeatedly that no one uses all these trails. Who'd patronize a concession out there? Could easily become another empty vandalized shack.

Anonymous said...

724 Two years? Town's been in a rut for 20. It's bitterly ironic that the only elected Pacifica official to change the landscape in the last 2 decades is Jim Vreeland. LM Beach is his lasting monument. A new library is just another monument for another council ego.

Anonymous said...

726 There are plenty of concessions in National parks.

As far as nobody using that trail, have you ever walked out on the levy? It's pretty busy.

Anonymous said...

1044 No one said there aren't concessions in the national parks. You're responding to something that wasn't said. There are many concessions, but, again, creating a new one from scratch is an arduous, expensive and lengthy process. Even when an existing one becomes available, the bidding process is worse than an IRS audit. And, the levee does have some traffic but it is not "out on Mori Point" which is the location suggested. Nonetheless, hope Mike O'Neill pursues the idea or a version of it, if it would profit Pacifica.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
Mike O'Neill in 2012 said that he would try to make Beach Blvd, into a Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, by changing zoning for some residential parcels to commercial. I am curious if he got anywhere with that. I like Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk!

August 23, 2014 at 4:19 PM

They tried this back when the properties were bought out for the Daly City Bart Station. Pacifica's finest Curtis, Howard, Loeb told them not too.

Anonymous said...

Cal Hinton another empty chair. The only thing he did besides collect a city pension was vote no on the Whole Energy fiasco.

Hutch said...

1150 I said put a concession where te old Mori Inn used to be, that's not up on the hill. It's at the end of te levy trail. Yes it would be hard.

Anonymous said...

Hard as in not in your lifetime. Tell Mike he can do a practice run getting that mythical hot dog cart going at LMB. The stores on Crespi will go ape again. Here comes another million signature petition from Java. Beach Coalition will get teary-eyed over the potential for litter. Council will wring their hands, dab their eyes, stare intently and stay on the fence. Nanny Nihart will announce hot dogs aren't healthy. Nothing ever changes. We're Brigadoon without the romance or the Lerner and Loewe music! Go for it Mike.

Anonymous said...

We must save the Snowy Plover! The Snowy Plover brings millions into Pacifica!

Anonymous said...

Not to worry, the snowies are safe. I think their little corral just went up. Electrification and gun towers delayed due to bad habits at city hall. Those must be pretty stupid birds to have landed here. Malibu's got the bucks. Fly south. They can still fly, yes?

Anonymous said...

Uh oh. You can run, but you can't hide. PH1A is telling supporters to not vote for anyone who hasn't declared they are against the widening. Ditto, natch, for anyone in clear support. Come out, come out wherever you are.