Turn that Brown upside down

I think it’s worthwhile to draw attention to a comment made by Mayor Johnson over the whole question of whether to allow the Campaign Finance Reform ordinance to go before the Sunshine Committee as opposed to simply adopting it as is.    Last Thursday there was a Special Meeting of the City Council where the Mayor placed a Council Referral on the agenda to discuss attempting to vote on moving the Campaign Finance Reform ordinance forward again.

The premise the Mayor used to bring back the ordinance was that one member of the Sunshine Committee wrote a late night email saying that she wasn’t comfortable with this issue going to the Sunshine Committee.   While the one member was not speaking for the entire group, apparently one individual is enough to start the Referral process in this case.

Retract!

So, although I had intended to write about the School Board meeting tonight because it really is super important, I just can’t get off this whole Parade-gate thing.   So, if you want to know all the grim depressing details both Susan Davis and Michele Ellson are all over the issue.   To essentially sum up the aftermath of Measure E are cuts, closures, and cuts.  It’s not going to be pretty and the first closures are due  in 2011-2012 with the secondary schools and the elementary schools come later.

But I’m not ready to face that reality quite yet, so I’m going to write about the parade issue again.  So it turns out it was more than one candidate whose “Vote for Me!” entry was declined.   Yesterday, Tony Daysog issued a press release saying:

Last week I spoke with the Chairperson of the Mayor’s Fourth of July Parade, Barbara Price, who relayed to me the news that campaigning would not be allowed in the parade per a memo issued by the City Attorney.  Begun in the 1970s, the City of Alameda’s Fourth of July parade is a much beloved city and Bay Area event, where ordinary citizens and organizations walk through town celebrating the birth of our nation.

Management has the right to refuse service to anyone

File this one under: you’ve got to be <expletive> kidding me.

I recently learned that a candidate running for City Council attempted to walk as part of the 4th of July parade this year.  He was not allowed to do so.

Why, you may be asking?

Because the City Attorney says so.

That’s right, this year there are limitations on free speech with regards to Alameda’s 4th of July parade.   I would be laughing my ass off at the irony of this if I weren’t so outraged by the notion that we are arbitrarily excluding certain groups because the City Attorney says it’s okay.

Money grows in raised planting beds

More fun with contracts!

Seriously, I never knew how interesting reviewing a list of contracts would be.   So here’s a little one — little as in a fairly small contract — but one that I found fairly amusing.

So I asked the City Clerk’s office for a listing of all contracts below the $75,000 threshold.   It’s all fairly standard stuff, but there were a few that jumped out at me, this was one.   It’s for a “Farmer D Organics” as part of the “urban forest & garden issues.”

According to the contract, we only have $5000 to spend for this consultant from Atlanta to come out and — from what I assume given the type of work Farmer D does — to show us how and where Alameda can plant its very own urban farm.   Look, it’s not that I am against doing this sort of work, there is a fair amount of open space in Alameda and with the Beltline turning over to Alameda’s hands for minimal cost, that would be a perfect place for an urban farm or garden of sorts.

I want it now!

The City Council is holding a “special” meeting tonight, for what purpose you may be asking?  Well, there manages to be several items on the agenda for tonight, but the only one that really requires immediate attention is the item that made for a fair amount of drama at the last City Council meeting.   That’s right, the bond issue.

After the back and forth between the City Council, Interim City Manager, suited guys, and the public, the City Council voted to move forward with the plan to refinance the bonds for Harbor Bay and Marina Village.  But now, the item is already back up for a revision.

According to the staff report, the bond rating is lower than the financial advisors anticipated so City Staff and the “co-financial advisors” have decided to allow for two series of bond, a senior and subordinate series.  The staff report claims that this will allow for a better rating for “a portion of the bonds” so that the combined interest rates for all the bonds will be less than the interest rates if they sold the bonds in one series.   Did you get all that?

E for The End

So the results are, tentatively in, but the math is just too far of a stretch to even hold out much hope that the tides will turn.    It’s a disappointment to say the least, but not entirely unexpected.   Let’s just say that I had wished and hoped and prayed for the best, but really braced myself for the worst.

YES   13,789   65.39%
NO     7,297     34.61%

However, in true Alameda fashion, it is close.   Just like Measure H was.   Because of the economy and so many people really feeling the hurt in their wallets, I assumed that the spread would be more, but Alamedans, at least 65% of us said: the schools need our help, and voted accordingly.   For that, I sincerely thank you.

APLUS ran a really strong campaign given reality of the world we live in today, many more folks could have said, “no” to Measure E or any parcel tax, but understood that what they could give to the schools could go to help fund one of the foundations of what makes Alameda, Alameda.

Tee time

So don’t forget that ballots are due today for Measure E.   They must be into the County Registrar’s office today, so no postmarking.  If you want to make sure that your ballot was received, you can use this nifty look-up tool to make sure that your vote counts.

Vote Yes!

But speaking of doing something good for the children, I know in the past I have been fairly critical of keeping the Mif Albright course open.   It appeared to be a huge money drain, the private operators selected by City staff couldn’t seem to find a way to make it all pencil out in the end.   I was on the “shut it down” side of the fence when it came to the Mif Albright.   I was also highly skeptical that the Alameda Junior Golf Association  (AJG) who volunteered to find a way to run the Mif Albright by themselves could actually do it.   But it appears that I was wrong.

Yes on Measure E!

Vote Yes on Measure E.

Please!

Don’t forget that if you have not yet voted you will need to drop your ballot at the Alameda County Registrar of Voters office at 1225 Fallon Street in Oakland.

And you say he’s just a friend

When I read Michele Ellson’s report on what should have been a really ho hum agenda item, I have to admit that I was itching to watch the video feed of the City Council meeting.   It’s these sorts of items that perk you right up after listening to a few hours worth of City Council meetings.   Particularly if the meeting involves CalPERS actuaries talking numbers, lots of numbers.

Because generally when you see lots of guys milling around in suits, you know you are in for a mind numbing conversation.  Not so this time.

So the gist is this:  some Community Facility District bonds for Harbor Bay and Marina Village need refinancing/refunding — I am unclear what the difference is, the speakers talked about refinancing the bonds, the staff report refers to this as refunding.      The big to do has to do with who gets the fee as the “Financial Advisor” on this deal.   According to one of the suited speakers (too lazy to find his name but let’s just call him “Sequoia” since that is the company he is with) Sequoia and another company, WCH (Westhoff, Cone, and Holmstedt) get to split this fee 30/70.  The 30% goes to Sequoia and the 70% goes to WCH for “specialized services.”   The fee, by the way is $196,000.

Truth allergy

No surprise but the Committee Against Measure E seems to be either hesitant to tell the truth about basic issues or like to bend it to their will.   Case in point, the most recent “No on E” mailer.   I didn’t get a copy in the mail, but it often takes me a few days to actually get out to the mailbox unless I’m expecting something.

Anyway, this mailer which attempts to shove every bit of information at you in the most disjointed manner possible, lists all the groups that “oppose” Measure E.   They include the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association.   Seriously though, has there ever been a tax increase that the Howard Jarvis Taypayer Association has ever supported?   I mean their name is virtually synonymous with a knee jerk “no.”

But I think that the Alameda Chamber of Commerce, West Alameda Business Association, and Alameda Association of Realtors are all surprised to learn that they are actively opposing Measure E.   While it’s true that they are not supporting Measure E, none of those groups actually took a formal position on Measure E (yes, no, or even maybe so)