Comments by Kevin J. Lansing

Video: Supervisor’s legislative aide lowers the boom on MCC over letter to LAFCO

Rich Gordon strikes again.

Supervisor Gordon plans to defer MCC appointments to Jan 27 meeting

It looks like Supervisor Rich Gordon is once again trying to silence the local MCC voice, perhaps to appease the pro-builder lobby, one of which is a member of the MCC.

Some may recall that one year ago, Gordon tried to abolish to the MCC, claiming that the elected body did not represent the views of citizens even though the Fall 2007 election has placed three new members on the council.

A quick refresher:

January 2008: Rich Gordon’s last attempt to silence the local MCC voice

January 2008: My letter to the HMB Review

Thankfully, Rich Gordon is termed out after this year and will be moving on to other things.

Letter: Doorbells, and sleigh bells, and isn’t schnitzel bad for my cholesterol?

It seemed like last night’s “Night of Lights” was well attended, if that is any indication. It was actually “snowing” at the corner of Main Street and Miramontes. First time I have ever seen that.

Mountain lion sighted at Ocean and Bernal in Moss Beach

Actually ,I think the proper name is “Serramonte del Boca Harbor Vista.”

Coastal Commission approves MWSD public works plan

Fresh off his recent school board election victory, CUSD trustee Gardner resumes his meddling in areas that have nothing to do with improving our local schools.

The voters have spoken I suppose. Maybe the all-knowing majority voters would also like to see our elected water board officials start meddling in school issues. 

Letter: Big Wave wellness center and office park scoping meeting, Tuesday Nov 18

Below is the link to the project tracking information in the County’s online permit center. Notice that it is described as being located at the “Pillar Point Marsh.” So, the typo “Bog Wave” in the online posting is actually not far from the truth. 

County Online Permit Center: “Bog Wave”

Letter: Big Wave wellness center and office park scoping meeting, Tuesday Nov 18

This is not the first public meeting for Big Wave. The previous one was held over two years ago (see link below).

Big Wave Public Meeting June 2006

Since then, what was already a huge project seems to have morphed into something even bigger. An excerpt from the EIR notice:

“Proposed utilities and energy systems for use at the site include...wind turbines and generators...bio-diesel filling stations…
and/or a desalination plant located at Princeton pier...”

I have emailed Barry a pdf of the EIR notice. Perhaps he can post a link to it with this story. 

Coastsider endorses John Moseley for school board

It’s kind of interesting to recall the 2004 CUSD election.

The big issue back then was the Wavecrest Middle School which both Gardner and Moseley were supporting. And of course, the HMB Review did its best to slant things in their favor.

2004: The Review’s Bias Shows in CUSD Election

Gardner and Moseley won the election, but Wavecrest was not to be. I can’t think of anything that the two incumbents have accomplished in the last four years, yet they are asking to be re-elected. 

Coastsider endorses John Moseley for school board

One other historical note:

In 2004, Lew Cohen (then the campaign manager for CUSD candidate John Moseley) had Amity Scholars from the Hatch Elementary Spanish Immersion Program doing precinct walking to pass out campaign materials for Moseley and Charles Gardner.

The Amity Scholars program is sponsored by a 501(3)c non profit organization which is not supposed to engage in political activities.

The precinct walking continued even after a Hatch parent called Mr. Cohen to point out that it was not appropriate (or even legal). At the time, Mr Cohen was a member of the advisory board for the Amity Scholars program.

So that’s our local school board. And people wonder why five straight parcel tax votes have been defeated?

I disagree with Barry on the endorsement. It’s time for some new blood on the board. Ken Johnson obviously knows the facts regarding the serious academic achievement problems at CUSD--much more than the current board members.

Ken would bring a different perspective but would still remain a single vote against four entrenched, beholden school board members.

Coastsider endorses John Moseley for school board

Barry forgot to mention Charles Gardner’s complicity in the sleazy anonymous attack advertisement against Jonathan Lundell in the 2004 school board election:

Gardner and Anonymous Attack Advertisement

Video: School board candidates debate

Let’s review the basic facts:

(1) We have an incumbent school board trustee (Charles Gardner) who has demonstrated repeatedly that he cares more about lobbying for big development projects than doing the job he was elected to do, which is to improve the local schools.

(2) The local schools are in terrible shape both academically and financially.

(3) Having Gardner on the school board does nothing to help solve the problems noted in (2). In fact, his presence makes things much worse because his polarizing, right-wing, Texas-Republican. extreme property-rights political viewpoint ensures that no parcel tax can ever be passed while he is a member of the school board.

(4) The only hope to improve our local schools is to get some new blood on the school board. That is why people should vote for Ken Johnson.

Video: School board candidates debate

By the way, I’m not the only one who has noticed that school board trustee Gardner is spending lots of time lobbying for development projects.

Here’s what HMB Review Editor Clay Lambert had to say about Gardner in his December 12, 2007 editorial:

HMB Review Editorial (Dec. 12, 2007): “Gardner should leave lobbying over development to others”

“...[W]e simply think [Gardner] is wrong. The potential to drag CUSD into costly litigation and the obvious conflicts of interest are obvious. Elected officials like Gardner must remember their primary concern is the best interest of the people who put them in office, and sometimes that conflicts with their own grand plans for the Coastside. Clay Lambert”

Video: School board candidates debate

Charles Gardner writes:

“...The school board’s vote of solidarity with the city council...”

This proves my point perfectly. Gardner was elected to serve as a trustee of the CUSD school district--not as a member of the Half Moon Bay City Council.

Why can’t the school board just stick to the job is was elected to do? Obviously, boared member John Moseley understood this concept and so he had the integrity to vote against Gardner & Co. on the AB 1991 fiasco back in June of this year.

Gardner then says that meddling in HMB land use politics via AB 1991 “did not change the district’s finances.”

Well maybe not this year. But when people see that elected school board members like Gardner are are spending their time trying get new subdivisions built, rather than trying to improve the schools, they are very reluctant to support a much-needed parcel tax.

CUSD has had five straight parcel tax defeats since 2001. Local schools are currently not meeting federal standards.

As I said above, I’m not sure why people who live on the Coastside keep re-electing the same people to the school board while the schools are performing so poorly, But then again, George Bush was re-elected in 2004, so go figure. 

Video: School board candidates debate

Hopefully the voters will see that the school board’s meddling in land-use politics, led by Charles Gardner, has harmed the finances of not only the school district, but also the entire Coastside that depends on the City of HMB for many services. 

It’s way past time for some new blood on the school board. Ken Johnson is a reform candidate who will push for needed changes. 

My HMB Review Letter to Editor, June 11, 2008

Video: School board candidates debate

Ken,

Thanks for setting the record straight (again) in what amounts to Gardner’s intentional distortion of the facts.

Gardner wrote:

“...if you check your records, I think you will find it was me who made the motion to proceed with the construction at Cunha.”

I guess he didn’t expect anybody to check the records to find out that he actually voted against the Cunha site 2 weeks earlier. A clear attempt to gamble on the outcome of the 2005 City Council election.

Basically, school board trustee Gardner was playing politics instead of making the right decision for the school district. Same thing happened with the AB 1991 fiasco. 

Video: School board candidates debate

Charles Gardner writes:

“The $7.4 million dollars is your fault, and could have been used for our childrens education...”

Typical politician behavior to blame others for their own poor decisions.

Whose fault is it that the schools are not meeting federal standards. Of course it can’t be the school board’s fault. Oh no.

And the school board was perfectly justified to meddle in Half Moon Bay land use politics with AB 1991. After all, the board was just “showing support for our community leaders” a.k.a. the pro-development Old Guard City Council who tried to get around every environmental law on the books.

Video: School board candidates debate

Well yes, the school board (including Charles Gardner) finally did vote in 2005 to build the new middle school at Cunha.

But that was after they had already wasted ten years and tens of millions of dollars in escalated construction costs trying to play the development speculation game at Wavecrest.

They were told way back in 1996 that Cunha was the best option:

1996 Opinion Piece Reprint

Once again, with AB 1991 this past spring, the school board tried to play the development speculation game with the Beachwood project.

I’m not sure why people who live on the Coastside keep re-electing the same people to the school board while the schools are performing so poorly, But then again, George Bush was re-elected in 2004, so go figure.

Video: School board candidates debate

Charles Gardner ran for school board 4 years ago with one goal in mind: get the 220 house Wavecrest/middle school development approved. He failed in that, thankfully.

Then Gardner tried to help the Old Guard City Council pass AB 1991 that would have gutted every state and local environmental law on the books. He failed in that, thankfully.

But, to be fair, Gardner has been successful in accomplishing one thing: guaranteeing that no CUSD parcel tax can pass in the forseeable future. Good job Charlie! 

Outsiders are not to blame for the Beachwood bailout failure

I have to say that City Council member Marina Fraser sounds like a spoiled little girl who did’t get a pony for her birthday.

She claims: “20 or 30 people from outside our community who are working against us.”

The reality: Hundreds of people both within and from outside our community who recognized early on that the Old Guard City Council was trying to subvert statewide environmental laws. 

Quiz: What was the HMB city council majority’s biggest mistake?

Some additions:

J.1 Spending tons of money on high priced spinmeister Lanny Davis (Bill Clinton’s ex lawyer) to lobby for AB 1991.

K.1 Harming the City repuation with the embarrassing “Truth Squad” press releases. 

M.1 Not spending any significant money, as far as we know, on lobbying to get SB 863 passed.

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