GSD challengers’ endorsement claim is not even a half-truth

UPDATE: Judy Taylor says that she has sent an correction to the original recipients of her email, saying in part "I was able to talk with the sewer plant management this morning and confirm that there is no connection and that the closures were a result of other causes." See this comments on this story for her full statement and a link to Jim Larimer’s original misleading article.

In the waning days of the 2009 election season, the challengers for the GSD board and their supporters have apparently decided that facts are not enough.

Placards have been added to at least four of the GSD challengers’ billboards declaring "Endorsed! HMB Review". That’s not even a half-truth. Write-in challenger Charlie Hall has been endorsed by the Review, but so have incumbents Gael Erickson and Ric Lohman. They’re on the other sign. The one without the endorsement claim.

The Review singled out challengers Bill Griffis and Lisa McCaffrey as potential puppets of development interests.

As if on cue to confirm the Review’s fears of pro-growth puppetry, Half Moon Bay Realtor Judy Taylor has been circulating a photo of a sign that the county has posted on unsafe beaches, claiming that GSD is responsible for the mess:

The above photo, taken 2 weeks ago, is the reason why the Granada Sanitary Election (Frenchman’s Creek to Clipper Ridge), this coming Tuesday, November 3rd, is so critical.  The incumbents have had 12 years to fix this problem and have not.  Our sewers are still polluting our beaches.  We need GSD Board Members who will address our most pressing needs.

Taylor suggests that GSD’s sewers are responsible for the current bacteria problem on local beaches. This is simply false. The county health department has trying for years to find the source, but it has turned out to be elusive.

Meanwhile, the GSD has a solution to the serious, unrelated problem of wet weather overflows. GSD’s solution is not only elegant, it preserves crucial El Granada green space. Pro-development forces have been trying to delay the project, putting the health and finances of the community at risk for political gain.

If you’re undecided about whom to vote for in Tuesday’s Granada Sanitary District election, this should be a clarifying moment.