What a yawner the council race is

W e find it amusing that the Chamber of Commerce cannot endorse a candidate for mayor and we cannot offer outright endorsements for city council candidates.

We really like Counselor Jerry Thorne. We have endorsed him a couple of times. After a year-and-a-half on the council, however, we had hoped for more. On several of the important issues, he is on the wrong path. He is opposed to extending Stoneridge Drive. He favors subsidized housing, and is willing to let the council renege on the ACE train station on the Bernal property.

Dan Faustina should serve on a city committee or commission and speak out on important issues more than just at election time. He is opposed to the Stoneridge Drive extension and supports workforce (subsidized) housing. His strong suit is his call for a business matrix but we would like to see specifics.

Cheryl Cook-Kallio, like Dan Faustina, is a newcomer who has not spoken out on the important issues except at election time. She supports the Stoneridge Drive extension and therefore the relief of traffic. However, she supports workforce housing (subsidized housing) for those government workers who earn as much or more than we do. We see workforce housing as a socialist program to transfer wealth from one group to a favored group. Schoolteacher Cook-Kallio feels that teachers making a starting salary of $50,000 should be in this favored group. Ms. Cook-Kallio also supports the housing cap that helps drive housing prices up.

Planning Commissioner Brian Arkin has been one of the most vocal anti business commissioners—many of his votes slowing down projects and driving up project costs to the point of being unworkable. Mr. Arkin opposes the Stoneridge Drive extension, supports workforce housing, and wants a vegetation-only Bernal park—he wrote the no-housing initiative.

Not one of the candidates has addressed the bureaucratic mess at City Hall. It is not just a matter of streamlining the planning and permitting process at City Hall it is a matter of the council taking back the establishment of city policy and directing the staff to carry out those policies. It is clear when dealing with city hall that the staff is left-leaning and anti-business. That is how they get employment in city government after an education in schools that favor environmental extremism and socialist programs. The field is open for the staff to pursue this kind of government because the last few councils have been elitist and hands-off.

There is no business matrix. Only one candidate has offered a general plan to identify businesses that would fit that matrix. Business, at buildout, will fund city government. Without a mix of big business and their pool of employees and small service businesses, there will be no funds to complete our grand plans on top of routine services.
No one has seriously addressed the housing cap issue. It appears that we are going to court because “affordable” housing advocates feel that Pleasanton has not done enough subsidizing. We may or we may not have done enough but we need a plan should the housing cap be struck down.

At some point, we will have a different housing cap to accommodate a court order or viable projects including those to complete the rejuvenation of our downtown. We need more from our candidates than we support the voter-approved housing cap. We need a plan.

In short, we just have that sinking feeling that all of the four council candidates will embrace the status quo and the inefficient and expensive city corporate culture will flourish.

News Opinion

 

Vote No on the Bernal Plan Measure P

T he Bernal plan does not include three very critical components: the promised ACE train station, a new city hall, and senior housing. Without those elements, we cannot support the Bernal proposal.

Vote no on Measure P.

Vote Pombo and Yes on Proposition 90

Congressman Richard Pombo has been a stalwart for property rights, an advocate for freeway building, and clean air. In fact, Mr. Pombo and Supervisor Scot Haggerty have done more for Pleasanton traffic relief, mass transit, and clean air than have the last few Pleasanton city councils.

Mr. Pombo has proposed a freeway link between I-5 near Tracy and US 101 in San Jose. Such a freeway would get Silicon Valley traffic off I-580. He has also spotlighted to the federal government the need for BART to Livermore and beyond.

When cars are running at speed on local freeways there is less air pollution.

Mr. Pombo deserves another term.

Proposition 90 would give property owners who are harmed by eminent domain just compensation. Since that is what the United States Constitution calls for, we cannot see any reason not to vote for 90. Because governmental entities from bottom to top are opposed, that is reason enough to vote yes.

It is speculated that project costs will escalate so much that some of the projects will become impossible to complete. Well, it had better be an important project then that requires imminent domain.

Land purchases to aid in the mitigation of environmental/habitat set asides will now cost more. Ya, so what?

Under Proposition 90, we will get to see the actual costs for projects requiring eminent domain. We also feel that 90 will head off taking private property for private development. Finally, we see 90 as a way that property owners who are not being displaced but harmed by imminent domain are given some standing. It is okay for every environmental extremist organization in town to sue to stop this or that project but it is not okay for property owners to sue for just compensation for their property degraded by imminent domain or even the threat of imminent domain.

Yes on 90.

Vote for Jill Buck even if you are a Democrat

While we viewed Jill Buck’s Go Green school initiative with a great deal of skepticism we cannot see that as a reason to vote for her opponent Mary Hayashi, Castro Valley, who supports forms of socialized medicine now called universal health care among other things.

 

Guest Opinion

 

Excuse me, your cool aid is all over your mouth

Charles Clark in his October 24 Tri Valley Herald letter to the editor is a perfect example of someone who slavishly adheres to talking points. He says, “Brozosky has supported Rep. Richard Pombo, and Pombo has supported Brozosky. If you are in the 11th District, you must have seen Karl Rove’s National Republican Congressional Committee mailers attacking Pombo’s challenger, Jerry McNerney. This is Pleasanton, and Pombo’s corruption and Karl Rove’s lies should never be allowed to infiltrate and corrupt our mayor’s office.”

Mr. Clark, that purple stuff on you chin looks like cool aid.

Shaky facts from Dave Richter

Dave Richter has his facts all wrong. In his October 24 letter to the editor of the Tri Valley Herald, he says, “he says that he cannot believe that one City Council candidate wants to open Stoneridge Drive to El Charro Road. He says, “This approach fails to address our current traffic patterns, exposes all of Pleasanton to more cut-through traffic…”

Oops, someone forgot to tell Mr. Richter that Pleasanton’s own traffic engineer (retired) developed traffic models that show traffic relief with Stoneridge Drive connected to El Charro Road. Some even believe that so-called cut-through traffic does not exist and may simply be another figment of our mayor’s imagination

 

 

-30-