Disqus - Latest Comments for Rgreen

Re: REYES URANGA WILL SEEK WRITE-IN ELECTION TO THIRD TERM IN SEVENTH DISTRICT

CA supporter — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:28:32 -0000

I would hope there would be a campaign on issues such as hotel unionization, pension reform and affordable housing, etc.. Let the informed voters decide on these issues. I suspect that the results in the 7th district may not be what you would hope they would be.

It is much more likely that the campaign will not turn on these issues, but on experience and change vs. status quo candidates. The character and qualifications of the candidates often trumps specific policy positions in times like this.

My point is that the policy differences you have with Tonia will not matter in the end. I do not believe that the issues you care so much about are compelling enough to the average voter to risk their electing an untested and inexperienced candidate.

The voters in the impoverished 7th district are different than the voters in the Carroll Park and Belmont Heights neighborhoods. Anti-poor people arguments and complex pension financing discussions will not convince most of the voters in the 7th district to elect an untested and unknown change candidate. These voters know Tonia's positions and have reelected her before. It will take much more than policy differences to motivate a movement for change in this economic climate.

Re: REYES URANGA WILL SEEK WRITE-IN ELECTION TO THIRD TERM IN SEVENTH DISTRICT

CA supporter — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 13:27:23 -0000

Ideological differences aside, Tonia is a steady hand in turbulent times. She will hit the ground running and is experienced and requires no on-the-job training. Even though a write in campaign is very difficult, Tonia enters the race as a tier one candidate and with great name recognition, an on-the ground operation, practical experience and a fundraising ability that few others will be able to match. Elections are generally about change vs. status quo. Given the current crisis, and absent some scandal or significant political upheaval, the voters will vote for the status quo. My guess is that while a few of the usual suspects will post their recriminations and line up to call for change, most reasonable people know that in this time of crisis, stable and experienced leaders are the best choice for the city. I expect the voters to ‘stay the course’ and not risk an unknown and untested candidate in this difficult economic climate.

Re: CITY ATTORNEY CAUTIONS BLOGGERS AGAINST RUSH TO JUDGMENT

CA supporter — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 12:29:00 -0000

Shannon is doing his job protecting the City. However, the right thing to do (and is very common in these situations) would be to place Broc on an immediate leave of absence (paid or unpaid) pending an investigation. Leaving a person, accused of harassment, assault and creating a hostile work environment in a position of authority would be irresponsible.

Before we all fall into the legal restrictions of "the right to remain silent" and the understandable 'circle-the-wagon' approach recommended by Shannon, we should also consider the politics of this situation. Broc is a political appointee and serves at the request of the Councilmember. Politically, she is the responsible party here and should immediately demonstrate leadership and strong principle in this matter.

Hiding behind a lawyer and legal procedure is the right of every accused person, but politically the right thing for Suja to do is to cut her loses and avoid a long-protracted distraction from her otherwise worthy political priorities. If you can't run your district office, how can we expect you to help run the City?

Re: A LOWENTHAL STAFFER LEAVES CITY HALL

CA supporter — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 12:08:15 -0000

Sounds like a good time to clean house in this district office. Entrenched staffers with a sense of self-importance and power can quickly undermine the good work of someone like Councilmember Lowenthal.

White male in position of authority physically threatening and shouting at an Asian female employee? This in an office of a highly respected progressive Asian female political leader?

Basic management and/or diversity training might help, but formal anger management may be required in this case. Broc -- it's time to go for the sake of your Councilmember.

So long and thanks for all the fish!

Re: LIKE A HOLE IN OUR HEAD

CA supporter — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 12:09:41 -0000

The debate on redevelopment cannot be complete without discussion of its role in providing for affordable housing. State law requires 20% of all redevelopment set-aside tax increments to be used in developing or preserving affordable housing. Without Redevelopment funds, this investment in under served communities, very-low and low income residents would not exist. In a city with 34% of the residents earning less than $25,000 a year and another 28% earning between $25,000 and $45.500 the need for affordable housing and investment in these neighborhoods is immense. In 2004, LB had a median income of $61k, but it’s estimated that an average family would need an annual income of $128,000 to afford an average priced ($462k) single family home in Long Beach. This is an affordability gap of $438,900 for very-low income households and $411,900 for low-income households.

The opponents of redevelopment rarely want to discuss the issues of redevelopment from the perspective of the poor, or even to acknowledge the broader policy problems resulting from the shift of local property tax revenues to state coffers under proposition 13 and the local dependence on sale tax revenue as a result. It is this local sale-tax dependency that drives the desire to attract more and more retail in redevelopment projects. If you run the pro-forma’s, you will see that the best “return on investment” for an RDA is often to invest in these corporate chains, as they will generally generate the best sale tax revenue for the city.

A policy discussion on redevelopment cannot be honest or complete without a discussion of the current benefits of redevelopment to poor communities, or discussion of alternatives to the current redevelopment-offered levels of affordable housing investment. Also required in this debate is an analysis and recognition of the contributing role played by prop-13 in creating increased local sales-tax dependency, which has contributed to the need for sales tax revenue as a primary focus of commercial RDA projects.