One of the tactics Mayor Bates has used often, in a feeble attempt to quell public discontent is this notion that we can all sit down and have a civilized discussion just as soon as we procure funding from state and/or federal coffers.
So for example, when hundreds of concerned citizens rallied against the Mayor’s grant proposal to CalTrans to fund what they were concerned would be a behemoth development over the Ashby BART station, the Mayor dismissed their concerns. And in a tact familiar to corrupt bureaucrats everywhere, Mayor Tom Bates told everyone that the finer points of the development could be negotiated after we get the CalTrans money.
For another example, turn to his treatment of the proposed Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), in the City Council meeting on the night of 10.23.2007 Following public comment on and overwhelming support for item #27, "Developing a City Preferred Alternative for Bus Rapid Transit," Mayor Bates reluctantly voted with the people, only after making clear that "while we're fiddling around" with public comment, "San Francisco and other parts of the Bay Area are moving ahead quite rapidly [with BRT]. So we could find ourselves after a protracted, long, knock-down, drag-out for the route, and by the time we do it, the money is not there to even do anything" (See full statement here).
Once again, the primacy of obtaining federal monies for Bates' projects becomes the central focus, and having public discussions about the viability of such projects becomes secondary.
Why recall the Mayor of Berkeley?
Mayor Tom Bates...
- does not listen to the constituents of Berkeley
- suppresses the concerns of citizens to satisfy developers
- takes federal HUD Section 8 money (that should be used to help qualified tenants with rents) and slots it for developers so they can build high-density, modern apartment buildings in the heart of downtown, that will either remain empty, or be filled with students and young professionals. ( They are primarily filled w/ individuals NOT from Berkeley-- you might also want to know how units were left unfilled once people had died and the City continued to pay the developers rent on behalf of the deceased.)
- Uses the "Green" movement as a pretext to overdevelop town, cut down trees, and transfer city, state, and federal funds to developers.
- voted to rid Berkeley of Iceland, a landmark skating rink.
- Does not notify the public in advance of important meetings
- Provides no evidence for the claims he makes
- No accommodation of those who wish to express dissent
- Says, "Let's focus on obtaining federal/state funds now, and we'll worry about the final plans later," whether he's talking about procuring funding for the Ashby transit village or the BRT
- On the Warm water pool--he should be supporting adaptive reuse and sustainability--the City's own letter to the BUSD stated that the building should be saved. Bates could apply for federal and State dollars to develop a preservation program vs using City GF dollars. He looks to us to carry the entire burden vs leveraging our dollars
- another recall site is: http://berkeleyrecall.com/
Monday, December 3, 2007
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)