Petaluma Tomorrow

Open Government • Responsible Development • Watershed Protection

Archives for January 2011

PT Update: January 28

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SPECIAL MEETING OF CITY COUNCIL ON JANUARY 31st WILL FOCUS ON FILLING THE OPEN COUNCIL SEAT

This is a critical meeting which will determine who, if anyone, will fill the vacant seat on the council.  This meeting will try to solve a short-term problem, the current vacancy, but leaves open the long-term problem – there is no defined process for filling vacancies, and recent practice does not reflect the will of the voters.

There is an easy short-term solution to the problem: appoint Jason Davies.  There are 6,719 reasons to appoint Mr. Davies, and at least 22 more than anyone else on the list – the votes of Petalumans. The current plan is for the Council to vet applicants based on Council defined questions. Voters have no say in what was asked and what criteria will be used to make the decision.

The long term solution: amend the city charter to reflect the will of the voters and put in place a reasoned process for filling vacancies.

Petaluma Tomorrow will spearhead a change to the charter, which will champion the role of voters and provide a reasoned and a consistent process for filling vacancies in the future.

While the voters are excluded from the process, we can at least see information about those who applied by clicking on applicants.

MASTERFUL LEADERSHIP BY MAYOR DAVID GLASS

The January 24th Council meeting was a test of whether the new City Council could agree on critical issues or would be condemned to consistent deadlock.  Fortunately, the masterful leadership of Mayor David Glass resulted in agreement regarding the appointment to commissions, including the coveted SCTA.

Glass, reintroduced, with minor revisions, the win/win recommendation for appointments he presented at the January 3rd meeting.  Those recommendations were rejected by the HAH coalition when Council Member Harris was not appointed as Director of the SCTA. The Mayor reiterated that the recommendation maximized the requests of everyone. He also made clear that he genuinely desired but did not need the cooperation of the HAH coalition. The Mayor commented that, he could and would be willing to stick with appointments as they were at last year, and fill open appointments at a future meeting.  Under this scenario not only would Council Member Harris not be appointed as Director to the SCTA but also several requests of others (including those of Healy and Albertson) would not be possible.

Mayor Glass’s leadership triumphed.  His success reflected a genuine attempt at cooperation on his, Barrett’s and Renee’s part, combined with a clear understanding on the part of HAH that getting almost everything you want is better than getting not much of what you want.  It is also likely that the pro developer coalition saw political disadvantage in continuing their obstructionism on this issue.

PT Update: January 21

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City Council Meeting – Monday, 7:00 P.M. January 24

A key item of interest at this meeting will be City Council Liaison Appointments. At the January 3rd meeting Mayor Glass presented a win/win recommendation for appointments. The gang of three – Healy, Albertson and Harris blocked movement on the recommendation because Harris did not get appointed to the SCTA. Of particular note was Albertson’s vote against the recommendation despite having received all of his individual appointment requests. This behavior clearly signaled that H/A/H are going to be uncompromising – our own local party of no. They have an opportunity this meeting to show us differently when the appointments are discussed again at this meeting. The full agenda can be viewed via the City’s website and Granicus. Look at item 4, Unfinished business.

Please welcome Jaimey Walking Bear to the Board of Petaluma Tomorrow. Jaimey brings a history of community service and political activism to the Board as well as needed skills in social media. Jaimey has been instrumental in updating and revamping the Petaluma Tomorrow website.

Thank you to Board member Bill Phillips for Chairing the campaign to defeat Measure U. Bill Chaired Petalumans for Clean Water and Fiscal Responsibility’s efforts which led the successful opposition to the irresponsible efforts of Bryant Moynihan to pass Measure U in 2010, and led the PCWFR door hanger campaign that helped defeat Measure K in 2008. Bill’s efforts help the city avoid the inevitable bankruptcy of the city had either of the measures passed.

Petaluma Tomorrow a Plaintiff in Suit to Stop the Dutra Asphalt Plant

Petaluma Tomorrow joined with the City of Petaluma and several community groups including the Petaluma River Council, Friends of Shollenberger Park, Madrone Audubon Society and Moms for Clean Air and individuals in the suit to stop the building of the Dutra Asphalt Plant. The plant was approved by the Board of Supervisors.

The decision to become a plaintiff was a logical next step in PT’s active opposition to the plant over the past several years. PT funded 70% of a full page add in the Argus opposing the plant and has contributed additional monies and participated in strategy meetings since 2009. Our activity and participation in the suit is in keeping with a key objective for 2011 and with protection of a sustainable watershed as part of our mission. The law suit was accompanied by a letter demanding a cure to several breaches of the Brown Act regarding the plant. It points out how the BOS operated with little regard for the basic fundamentals of open government.

Click the images below to download the letter to the BOS and the full text of the law suit:

Petaluma Tomorrow 2011

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Thank you Mayor Torliatt for your service to our community. We look forward to your continued involvement.

Congratulations to Petaluma Tomorrow endorsed candidates David Glass for Mayor and Teresa Barrett for City Council for their successful election.

Petaluma Tomorrow Initiatives for 2011-2012

The board has identified several key initiatives for the next two years.  These include:

  • Amending the City Charter to fill open council seats with the next highest vote getter.  Three times in the last ten years voters have lost out to a less than transparent process of selecting members to fill open seats.   It is time to change the system to honor the wishes of the voters.
  • Strengthening the city’s campaign finance ordinance.  Recent flagrant violations by former Council member Rabbitt as well as a series of violations by other candidates make clear the need to strengthen the ordinance.
  • Stopping the Dutra Asphalt Plant.  Petaluma Tomorrow has been active in its opposition to the Dutra plant approved by the Board of Supervisors.  It will remain active with other community organizations in what will be a successful legal challenge to the county.
  • Initiating a Board of Supervisors Watch.  The approval of the Dutra plant highlights the need to keep the public informed on the activities of the BoS, particularly with the addition of David Rabbitt.  We will be instituting a “watch” with reports similar to Council Watch.

The outcome of our local and countywide election combined with the signals sent by developer funded members of council – the Healy/Albertson/Harris Cabal – make these initiatives all the more important.  Please contact us if you are willing to help!

Process over People – The Healy/Albertson/Harris Cabal wants to ignore the voters.

Anyone present or watching the January 3 council meeting learned that H/A/H have no respect for the voters of Petaluma.  H/A/H voted against a simple and elegant solution to the open seat – appointing the next highest vote getter, Jason Davies.  Healy and Harris who have been critics of “process” when it worked against their developer interests want process over people if it means appointing someone who is unlikely support, lock step, their agenda for the council.  For a great summary see PT Board member Andrew Packard’s LTE in the Argus.

Take the Survey regarding the open Council seat

The current Petaluma 360 online poll concerns appointing a member to the open Council seat based on the “next highest vote getter.”  Take the survey and let the community know that voters count.

Petulance over Progress – H/A/H Set a Negative Tone for Council

On the first issue of significance to come before the council on January 3 Healy/Albertson/Harris voted against the recommendations of Mayor David Glass for liaison appointments to the city and county commissions/committees.  Glass, with the cooperation of Council Barrett who put aside her preferences, was able to maximize the preferences of other council members.  The recommendation provided Albertson with 100% of his requests and met most of the competing requests of others.  Despite maximizing the requests of all, Council Member Harris stopped progress when he did not get one of his requested appointments – to the SCTA.  Healy and Albertson (despite getting everything he asked for) joined Harris in voting against the recommendations and made clear that they are unwilling to compromise.  This vote set the tone for their discussion of filling the vacant council seat.  Don’t look for compromise from our local party of no.

The next Council Watch report will provide a full description of the activities of the Council at the January 3 meeting.