I noticed the following on the agenda for the May 22 Pacifica City Council meeting -
Consideration of Request by Councilmember Martin that the City Transmit a Letter to
Caltrans and the San Mateo Transportation Authority Requesting the Repurposing of
Funds Previously Designated for the Widening of Highway 1 (Calera Parkway Project).
PROPOSED ACTION:
Move to direct staff to work with Councilmember Martin to finalize a letter addressed to
Caltrans and the San Mateo Transportation Authority to redirect funds previously designated
for the Calera Parkway Project to other infrastructure needs in the City and include
the letter for formal review and consideration by the City Council at its regular
meeting of June 12, 2017
Here is the initial draft of Martin's letter requesting Highway 1 widening funds be redirected elsewhere -
Remember, the only reason Martin is on council is because she gamed the election to guarantee herself a seat. By pursuing the endorsement of the San Mateo County Democratic Central Committee, Martin changed the classification of the election from non-partisan to partisan. Since the Hatch Act says government employees cannot run in partisan elections, VA employee Mary Ann Nihart was forced to withdraw from the race, which guaranteed Martin a spot on council.
Martin decided her own self-interests were more important than letting Pacificans choose who would be on council.
Martin cannot legitimately claim that her election to council, nor her actions on council, represent the will of the voters.
I've seen nothing that indicates the majority of citizens of Pacifica want to stop Highway 1 widening. If the small group of NIMBYS who want to stop highway widening are so sure they represent the desires of Pacifica voters, why are they afraid to have a vote on this issue?
Posted by Steve Sinai
40 comments:
The hippies noobees and gang of no rule.
The rest of you just sit and drool.
Bow down taxpayers Deidre Martin in the new dragon lsdy running the city.
Pay the transportation tax. Take the bus. Sit in traffic. They don't care.
won't let voters decide the issue either. Our overlords!
Deirdre Martin is a lying, manipulative carpetbagger. She intends to send a dishonest letter to CALTRANS stating that Pacificans are against Highway One widening by a margin of two-to-one.
Isn't that a misrepresentation of fact from one government agency to another?
Isn't that fraudulent?
Isn't that illegal and punishable?
Isn't that what Trump does?
Maybe her friends and NIMBY puppet masters are against Highway One widening but they do not represent a two-to-one majority in Pacifica.
Her and her fellow liars, Keener and Digre are trying to con CALTRANS and in the same breath are so afraid of a public vote that they voted against putting it on a ballot with their illegitimate 3-2 majority council vote.
It's time to blow the whistle on this criminality. Everyone please contact you local politicians, county, state and fed. Tell them that this is a fraudulent claim they are making and their refusal to put it to a public vote is the proof.
This Deedee Martian does not speak for me. I demand that she step down. Or else.
Martin has fit into the shoes that Mary Ann Left
Mary Ann fit into the late Jim Vreeland's shoes
There has got to be a way to impeach Deirdre Martin for violating her oath of office and abuse of power. She is very harmful to the city of Pacifica.
Recalls are expensive, messy, mostly ineffective and take way too long.
She swore an oath to honestly carry out the duties of her office and to be a fair and conscientious representative to all Pacificans. Clearly she is in violation of both of these tenents. Time for her to go.
The Deep State is real. Read and listen to the whole thing.
http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/joe-arpaios-posse-investigator-mike-zullos-secret-recordings-7823417
People can always take it in their hands and put a measure on the ballot via petition drive. what's needed. 2500? Stand at the side of the hwy in the morning commute and you might get your 2500 in one place.
Being you say Deidre is illegitimate. Does this means her parents were not married when they had her?
However she was spawned is not important. The fact is, that now Pacifica has this Dragon Lady to contend with. She's a power hungry narcissist and has no qualms about stepping on our democratic processes to get her way. Just like Vreeland.
Can you have myopic ears? Twice as many people at meetings against than for. Under that argument then, rent control should have been shelved (like it was last year) forever. Next time you run into naïve lady ask her that question.
741 David, yep the NIMBY mob always shows up at city council meetings to assure progress is thwarted in this City.
Get ready for another 15 minute angry rant from Deirdre about how the residents she represents are stupid, wrong, and need to shut up.
Why did she take this job when it's obvious she hates people who have different opnion than hers?
It's true, 8:44.
Listen to Martin. If she disagree's with you, it's not because there's a legitimate difference of opinions, instead, she's right and your wrong because your point of view is dumb or "you just weren't paying attention." She's really got a terminal case of the Holier Than Thou's.
If we want to talk about the type of rhetoric that's dividing our community, maybe the council-members need to mind their own house?
She's been here, what, 7 years. We've been dealing with the Hwy for 30. That's the problem. She has Bohner, Verby, and the rest feeding her fractured fairy tales of what the past really is. Pacifica city councils fought to get funding for the highway safety fix. You can make it all up in your little head, Ms Martin, but the truth is the truth. Wake up. Spend 30 years in that traffic jam everyday and you will get a little frustrated. You're overthinking common sense.
When I first moved to Pacifica, I fell for the "environment is our economy" bs, too. It only took me about 20 years before I realized it wasn't working, and the NIMBYS had no intention of building an economy.
Excellent Article/posting Steve!! You outlined the facts perfectly. The procedures and actions that Martin is taking are an example of no respect once you get away with gaming your seat onto city council. There was an illegitimate election in 2017, Martin being elected to Pacifica's City Council.
With all due respect Steve and Frank, Leadership and Motivation are lacking here. Easy to throw stones at Martin, so called illegitamate elections, etc. but not so easy as to lead a recall effort, which based on much of the rhetoric on here, is needed. It was done to the council in the 80s, and then years later, Therese Dyer tried.
I am guessing that the only people who care about the highway traffic are the people from Half Moon Bay who are coming to work. Most Pacificans time their commutes to live with or work around the traffic. Half the town north of Reina Del Mar is not affected and does not care about Highway One widening projects. You ask Fairmont Fred, about widenging Highway ONe and he asks, "where's that, I'm off to Serramonte".
This battle for Highway Widening is lost, the letter will go out, and Caltrans will re-allocate the funds. Some stakeholders effectively organized and elected candidates who now are "putting a stake" in the heart of the widening idea. It is what it is, and even though I agree with you, I'm not going to waste any oxygen talking to this council tonight. If you guys want to stand out in front of Safeway and collect recall Martin, Digre and Keener petition signatures for November 2017, I'm willing to sign and even join you in collecting them. But I do not sense leadership, organization, or motivation on this or any issue that this council has controversally acted upon, exists to impress the voters that these three need to go and there actions need to be invalidated.
Recalling a council member is very expensive and takes a lot more signatures than putting a measure on the ballot. I think most of the recall efforts of the past have been thoughtless and ended up strengthening the very people they were trying to recall.
I'd be happy to simply have a city-wide vote on highway widening to see what people want. If it loses, so be it, and the issue is off the table. If it wins, then council gets a clear indication that they're going down the wrong path by trying to stop highway widening. The only reason the NIMBY majority on council are avoiding a vote is because they think they'll lose. That demonstrates a contempt for Pacifica voters.
What bugs me is you have a 3-person NIMBY majority on council that wasn't chosen by Pacifica voters. The NIMBYS have a majority because of the way Martin and her supporters selfishly gamed the election process for their benefit, rather than allowing Pacifica voters to choose who would be on council. Now they act like they have some kind of mandate that allows them to cram whatever they want down people's throats.
11:13 is a NIMBY trying to get people to give up on highway widening.
Sour grapes being tossed around by the Rogue Realtors.
The rogue realtors and the "yessie's" have failed tremendously.
Now back to your 30 pack of Budweiser.
Sour Grapes.....very stupid statement.
You have yet to see the ire of normal Pacificans who are getting fed up with the NIMBY agenda and the dirty tricks of Deirdre, et al. Enjoy your couscous and your weed while you can.
This party is going to end.
It seems to me that a lot of factual issue have been brought up regarding the last election and the results which is leading this current council to do many things for their small group of supporters. I believe in the process of elections and voters to choose their representatives, didn't happen last election. there are ways to deal with officials who are not abiding by the residents will.
Overall, the aptitude of the council members is shown by their actions and words. Our council members feel that they are embolden by their gaming of the system. They continue to push and believe that they are immune from being called out. Time will certainly tell where this will all lead.
I agree with you, Frank.
It seems that several individuals on our current council forgot that they represent ALL of Pacifica and not just the narrow interests of their core supporters. Compromise isn't in their vocabulary and they're chasing some ideologically pure dream of theirs. It's noble in some way I guess, but it's no way to run a city.
Keener, Martin, and Digre think they've got a mandate, but they forget that they're only in power due to an active voter disenfranchisement effort by the Martin campaign. They're reaching too far too fast and are throwing monkey wrenches into the very machinery that keeps a city running. They really don't have a clue what they're doing, because staying true to their ideology trumps all other reasonable actions.
What actual, substantial plans do any of these three have to move Pacifica forward and to ensure our city's solvency? I'm not talking airy-fairy "our environment is our economy" stuff, but what REAL (not imagined) projects or initiatives can they point to and support that will generate revenue? Name one. Just one!
Keener voted no on the hotel project at Beach Blvd. Keener voted no on the Palmetto streetscape project. Keener voted no on a SIDEWALK on Palmetto! Keener and Martin voted no on pursuing a new library at Beach Blvd. Keener, Martin and Digre voted no on improving Hwy One. There are dozens more NO votes from this trio on multiple projects that would move this city forward. What are they for??? Oh, right, they want to cap how much property owners can charge to rent their property.
This crew couldn't find it's own butt with both hands.
I am commenter at 11:13. It appears that all I said flew over some heads. Let me take your hands as you are still pointing to the "factual issues" of the 2016 election "shenanigans" or "hijinx"........Carefully read the instructions for recalling public officials, including local officials:
http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/recalls/procedure-recalling-state-and-local-officials/
Frank's 1:34 comment would make a great elevator speech to get Pacifica voters to sign a recall petition. You would need to get 6000 signatures in 90 days. That is 67 voters a day if you do it yourself, 6 voters a day if you find 9 freinds to help you. 3 voters a day if you find 19 freinds to help you, so and so forth. It would seem to me that there had to be at least 20 Pacifica realtors and mortgage brokers who would help out with this issue. Therese Dyer could not get enough signatures to recall Sue Digre as she was just working by herself.
Which Fix Pacifican is willing to begin or start this campaign?. (Hint: No Fix Pacifican or noone in Pacifica for that matter).
Science Fact: There is a probe of miniature explorers transmitting to you from deep inside the bowels of Pacifica Nimby Central. They are saying, "I dare you, I double dare you, I triple dare you to try to recall Deirdre!". You can't handle the truth. If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything. E Pluribus Unum. For those about to rock we salute you. Never Say Die. Put up or shut up.
The Hwy 1 sabotage gang has a new chant-- 1) we want a vote before council supports widening. 2) opps, no we don't want a vote, we might lose it 3) let's wait for alternatives. 4) opps, we don't want to discuss alternatives, but they are out there somewhere 5) the 2016 council vote was a proxy for hwy 1 support and NO side won. 6) opps, I guess the yes side won: Bill Collins wrote: "Since City Council elections have been a proxy for a public vote on the widening..."
(2016) Total votes cast for Vaterlaus + Nihart = 16,194
(2016) Total votes cast for Martin + Duffy = 12,120
bummer.
3:13: Why don't you step up to the plate instead of complaining about others who won't?
3:13 really seems to be into the whole "probing" thing.
not judging, but maybe keep your fetish out of your political discourse?
Petition signers galore if gathered at Old Mori Point road between 3-6pm most weekdays.
At the council meeting tonight, Keener said the only way highway widening would get onto a ballot would be if people got the 2500 or so signatures needed to do it.
Bolsheviks are in charge. Fall in line or end up in the gulag. No collecting signatures. No door to door. Only the Bolsheviks are allowed to do that.
No candidate on city council ran on a platform of widening the highway.
No candidate on city council ran on a platform of widening the highway.
Correct. Widening the highway was just one of the issues they were running on, but keep on digging that hole!
no candidate explicitly said keep clean beaches, or libraries open or ball fields open. But we have all three operational. Any more evasions and twisted logic?
I'm guessing that Sue Vaterlaus and Mike O'Neill have the same attitude towards highway widening that I do. Nobody's in love with asphalt, and if someone can convince us that there's a different option that actually works, then we'd go for it. But hearing widening opponents say that buses, carpools, pedestrian overpasses, bicycles, roundabouts, working from home, changing school hours, retraining drivers to not leave space between cars, and intelligent traffic systems are the solution to traffic, isn't too convincing. Caltrans, the county, the companies offering those intelligent traffic systems, and common sense all say those won't work.
In the council meeting last night, Sue Digre was talking about how an intelligent traffic system that stretched all up and down the coast using satellites and GPS would be the solution. There's always some technology that's just around the corner that will solve our problems, isn't there? I was waiting for her to mention flying cars as a solution to traffic jams.
BTW - Deirdre Martin was still trying to claim that the last two elections showed that people don't want highway widening. She still seems to think she was put onto council by a vote of the people.
"The candidates didn't make it publicly clear where they stood on the highway widening," said a complete dumbass.
SUE VATERLAUS
Chamber of Commerce Candidates Q&A - October 17, 2016
10. What is your position on Highway One widening and why?
I support the Chamber’s August 25, 2011 endorsement of the Hwy 1 safety widening.
We all recognize Pacifica is a commuting town and we need 2 added lanes to get turning cars out of the main travel lanes. Current congestion delays emergency vehicles, school drop-offs and work commutes. We are paying added sales taxes into a county transportation fund, so the funding is being set aside. We will lose those tax dollars to other towns if we do not move forward.
Moreover, hwy 1 opponents hope voters are not paying attention. We do not use buses and do not bike to work. Wishful thinking will not solve our AM and PM commute congestion in this area.
MARY ANN NIHART
City Council Meeting - September 26, 2011
There are enough people who want to have additional time, and 15 days is not completely unreasonable, but you have to recognize at some point that the city council in 1999 voted to move this forward and it has been going on for a very long time.
City Council Meeting - June 25, 2012
We've heard a lot of things about traffic and I don't want to dismiss that, but my biggest concern is safety. The reason this got pushed was because when they completely clog one of those sections, you cannot get safety vehicles through without shoulders. I want to get this completed and I'm willing to make a motion on the funding.
City Council Meeting - July 23, 2012
[Nihart votes in support of resolution for TA funding of the design phase for the highway widening project]
City Council Meeting - March 25, 2013
[Nihart refuses to offer a second on a motion that would call for a community "listening session" about the highway project and alternatives. Motion dies for lack of second.]
Deirdre Martian was put into office by approximately 7,000 votes. Those votes were ill gotten by her dirty tricks and manipulation of the Hatch Act. She guaranteed her win by eliminating Mary Ann Nihart and smugly encouraging Bridgette Duffy to babble on incoherently about evil realtors, developers, greedy rich people and nasty landlords.
Her election was NOT a mandate to kill Highway One widening. It only emboldened the rest of her puppet masters to drive the stake though a progressive and pragmatic Pacifica by killing all future development.
Even if her 7,000 votes were legitimate, that is NOT a two to one majority mandate by nearly 25,000 eligible Pacifica voters to kill Highway One.
She is lying.
Her supporters are lying.
She's enlisted the Trump strategy:
keep lying until people confuse it with the truth,
keep throwing diversions to cloud the real issues,
keep acting like the smartest person in the room,
keep bullying the weak minded.
Pathetic.
Her stupid letter to CALTRANS will only remove Pacifica from their list of projects.
CALTRANS is NOT going to say "Oh golly so you don't want a new highway, that's fine we'll just give you the money instead and let you spend it the way you see fit".
Deirdre is either a total dim-wit about how government projects are let or she is lying again.
This is our tax money allocated to fix our regional traffic problem.
A lying, conniving import from Philadelphia should not have the right to destroy our city's economy and future. Vreeland, the carpetbagger from Florida, did the very same thing until KARMA finally caught up with him. Thank God.
Go home DRAGON LADY! Just like you, I am sure a two to one majority of Pacificans want you to go away.
Deidre won and all your whiny snivel won't change thing. The Yesies are an absulute mess. An embarrassment.
7:45,
ZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzz......
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