I wanted to thank you David for all of your work you’ve done on the city council and this oommunity.  I’m not sure how the current majority is planning on filling the vacancy, but I certainly hope we get some solid representation via an election and not any heavy handed appointments. 
Dana Kimsey

Dana,

“...but I certainly hope we get some solid representation via an election and not any heavy handed appointments.”

You do realize that Mr. Gorn was appointed, right?

Taken from the March 28, 2005 Council minutes:

A motion was made by Councilmember Ferreira to adopt the resolution appointing David Gorn as a
Councilmember to serve for the remainder of former Councilmember McCausland’s term. The motion
was seconded by Councilmember Taylor and upon a voice vote, the motion carried by a vote of 3-1,
with Councilmember Fraser voting no

The third vote FOR was Grady.  How does that not fall under the category of “heavy-handed?”  Why wasn’t there a vote that time?

I thank Mr. Gorn for his efforts in support of Measure S and truly hope that he continues to “work toward helping the schools, finding a permanent home for the Boys and Girls Club, parks, trails, and open space and other community projects.”

David Gorn, who was appointed to replace Sid McClausland, did McCausland proud. David, like Sid, brought to the job professional experience outside Half Moon Bay, which made him an unusually informed member of the City Council.

Like Sid, David tried to work with the then-minority on the City Council to get things done. They, now the majority, would do well to appoint someone in the McCausland/Gorn mold. They also would be following a recent precedent; no, make that two: 1) to appoint, rather than to elect, a replacement (which Brian Ginna recommends), and 2) to replace the retiring councilmember with someone who shares the values and positions of the person he or she replaces (as happened when Gorn was appointed to replace McCausland).

And then there’s the third way: to give the residents of Half Moon Bay the opportunity to choose Gorn’s replacement in the next election. This too has a precedent. I don’t know if “bginna” lived in HMB in early 2000 or if he even remembers when Toni Taylor was elected to fill a suddenly vacant spot on the City Council.  Toni’s election brought the city one of the smartest, savviest, advocates for the city and its residents that I saw in 28 years of living there.

In a community as politically divided as Half Moon Bay and as stressed by the closure of Devil’s Slide, I hope the Council’s current majority will look beyond the pure politics of their supporters and decide to do something that will draw everybody, the whole community, together. It seems to me there is a place for leadership that presents itself here. Are there leaders among the elected councilmembers?

Ms. Zich,

I trust you mistakenly assumed that I “recommended” anything and did not try to put words in my mouth.  I merely questioned why a vote did not take place at the time.  Of course, it was a rhetorical question the motion to appoint was put forth by the person formerly in control.

Should they appoint someone in the “McCausland/Gorn mold?”  Based on the law of averages, I guess they would indeed get someone who would probably only be able to serve for the year and 1/2 left on the term.

“Are there leaders among the elected councilmembers?”  Yes, and it would behove them to pick someone who can represent the community as a whole, not just the part that you feel needs representation.

I’ll just pick two events from Mr. Gorn’s term which conveniently overlapped with Ms. Taylor’s term.  Let’s see if they represent the city as a whole:

1. 144 Kelly “conservation”

2. $3MM credit card purchase for parkland

In a city with more open space than it knows what to do with (or, better yet, what NOT to do with), why was that roughly $3.5MM spent without regard to public opinion?

Brian:  We all know that David Gorn was appointed to the City Council, and my suggestion remains the same, another even handed representative like David was, hopefully via an election.  Not to rehash old stuff, but considering that the recently elected city council wanted “balance” on the planning commission and got it, I think it is reasonable to ask that the vacant city council seat be an offset to the current majority and support David’s constituency.  This could be an opportunity to help both political sides be better represented.

And by the way, how can a coastal community have too much open space when this hard-fought to protect natural resource is the exact reason people not only live here, but travel from all parts of the Bay Area to spend their money in our city?  The answer is that this stretch of the Bay Area needs to protect every square foot of open space we have.

If you look at other recent posts, you will note that I am in favor of open space.  The more the merrier.

Problem is, $3.5MM of general funds spent on open space?  POST should be buying the land, not the city.

(a) It’s intended for a city park, not for open space, and (b) POST buys land for resale, not to hold it.

I’m really sorry David’s employers couldn’t have been more open to the notion that a journalist can also be a public servant/decision maker.  It seems to me they could rather have asked him to use his conscience to recuse either from a public policy standpoint or from a work assignment standpoint in cases where a conflict might arise or be reasonably perceived as arising. I’m not comfortable with the notion that journalism is in conflict with public service. In this case, that notion has cost us a good one. A very good one.

Mike Ferreira

POST does not purchase land within an urban boundary. 144 Kelly is a part of the Ocean Shore Railroad Right of Way which does not have a single house on it from Santa Rosa to Ocean Colony. You can stand at Sweetwood Park (across from Frenchmen’s Creek) and look south along an uninterrupted span of open space, part of which is the Coastside Trail. lani ream

I stand corrected.  POST also is not a bank, and should not be lending funds to a city in that manner.

Do you still think $500K to buy open space is a good use of the City’s general funds?

Any plan in place to find that $3MM?