Agenda Setting
My colleague Matt Grocott raised an interesting issue the other day when he released a letter to the Palo Alto Daily Post urging the Council to hold a meeting to examine, and take a position on, global warming (the Post normally waits awhile before making its material available online, but
The ICLEI Saga
At last Monday’s Council meeting (1/23/2012) there was an intense discussion about San Carlos’ $600 a year membership in an organization called ICLEI. Why was this such a heated topic? Few people in San Carlos are even aware of what ICLEI is, let alone why membership in it should be
The Game
On Friday, January 27th, I and the four other newly-elected council members from around San Mateo County were interviewed by Mark Simon and Kevin Mullin on The Game, a local TV show. Questions included why did you run, what’s different about being elected, and the like. San Carlos was well
Trees and Community Relations
There’s an item coming back to the Council on Monday which touches on my strong desire to see the City improve its relationship with the community it serves. Even though you probably wouldn’t think so based simply on the item’s title. That’s because it “only” involves replacing trees in Burton
Cell Tower Lawsuit
This coming Monday the Council will consider a proposed settlement of a lawsuit brought by AT&T against the City as a result of the company’s cell tower proposal being rejected. I wrote a letter to the editor to the San Mateo Daily Journal on the proposal as a follow-on to
Eschewing Abstentions
I rarely abstain from votes because I consider it part of my duty as a public official to make up my mind on issues brought before us for action. Last night was a personal record for abstentions, though, as I opted out of four items. In three of those cases