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As I Was Saying… Publisher | Steve Penna Behind the scenes in the Save The Bay (STB) versus Saltworks battle is the issue of whether councilmember and SAMCEDA CEO Rosanne Foust has a conflict of interest if she chooses to participate in the discussion and vote on the proposed Cargill Salt property development. The folks at STB think that she does and are trying to convince her of that. Recently Foust received an e-mail from sknight@savesfbay.org, which belongs to Stephen Knight, the political director of the STB organization. The e-mail was addressed to “Council-Rosanne Foust” with the subject line “Your conflict of interest re: SAMCEDA and the Cargill proposal.” The letter in the body of the e-mail, however, was from “Tester” and contained the return address Tester1 Tester2, 350 Frank Ogawa Plaza #900, Oakland, CA 94612-2016. What actually happened was that the letter was sent out to members of STB by Knight, who urged them to sign the letter themselves and then forward to Foust. Many groups do this because their members are too lazy to write their own letters and feel comfortable being sheep instead of leaders. Since this is an important issue, I am publishing the letter and Foust’s response just to let you know about the issue and whether you think there is a conflict or whether this is just another effort from STB to interrupt the process and distract Foust. Dear Councilmember Foust: As your constituent, I am concerned about the apparent conflict of interest between your position as President and CEO of SAMCEDA and your duties as an elected Redwood City public official. As a City Councilmember, you are responsible for impartially approving or denying the Cargill development proposal. Yet your new job is to be the chief advocate for an organization that has publicly and enthusiastically endorsed this project. How can these dual roles not be in conflict with each other? As a Redwood City resident, I appreciate that you exercised good judgment to abstain from voting on this project when it came before the Chamber of Commerce — and I encourage you to apply that same reasoning and recuse yourself from any and all matters related to Cargill/DMB’s proposed development before the Redwood City Council. Taking this step will illustrate your respect for your public position and those you represent. Sincerely, Tester www.SpectrumMagazine.net Foust then fired off an e-mail to several city elected officials and staff as well as to Knight. Dear Save the Bay Email List: It is my understanding that you have received an email from Save the Bay containing a sample email that could be sent to me regarding a potential conflict of interest related to my council position and my full-time job outside the council. Some of you chose to send the sample letter while others personalized it as they saw fit. When I received the first email from one of you, I sent it directly to our City Attorney as I felt the time for a formal response was necessary. As you are aware, I have been very sensitive to the potential that some citizens of Redwood City may think I have a conflict of interest in the Cargill matter. I have spoken at length with the City Attorney about the technicalities of the conflict of interest laws as well as the perceptions of potential conflicts and he has informed me that I do not have a conflict of interest. Nevertheless, I wish to assure you that I did not participate in discussions or make recommendations to the SAMCEDA Board of Directors about the Cargill project. The decision of the Board to endorse the proposed project was first made by the Housing & Transportation committee and then recommended to the entire Board. The Board also is sensitive to my position as a City Council Member and has not, and will not, ask me to represent the Board’s views on Cargill. Since joining SAMCEDA in July of 2008 and taking over as President & CEO on May 1st I have been extremely careful about this issue and will continue to exercise the appropriate caution. If you would like to discuss this matter further, please send me a number where you can be reached. Rosanne Foust Wow, she did not even sign it “fondly,” “regards,” “yours truly” or anything like that — how rude! .… Speaking of Foust, at a recent council meeting she addressed the issue of city staff and whether there is someone responsible for reaching out to the business community. Ummm, yes, there is and she obviously knows this but was in my opinion being polite. She questioned whether anyone was “checking in” with business owners, visiting them, encouraging retention and also attracting businesses to our community. I think what she was trying to state is that it is not happening rather than whether it is supposed to be. At a time when sales tax dollars are so important, you would think that this would be a given and a system would be in place. There is not. In fact, one of our most popular businesses, Savvy Cellars on Broadway, recently closed after opening up a new location in another city. Oh, and who can forget San Carlos getting a goldmine when T.J. Maxx moved there? One would have to think that if someone was “minding the shop” if you will, maybe, just maybe, relationships would have been formed and concerns discussed and ultimately a business saved. There are a lot of similar stories, but I think you get the picture and what I think Foust was getting at. .… The newly formed Redwood City–Woodside Democratic Club recently held a “Save Our Schools Action Meeting” at the Red Morton Community Center. Those invited were to be “engaged community members like you, and a panel of leaders” that included Hema Sareen Mohan, district director for State Senator Joe Simitian; Alisa MacAvoy, board trustee, Redwood City School District; Shelly Masur, board trustee, Redwood City School District; Jo-Ann Sockolov, president, Redwood City Education Foundation; Kay Louie, Redwood City parent leader; and Jared Boigon, partner at TBWB Strategies. The reason for the meeting was “because our schools are facing heartbreaking budget cuts, and we as informed citizens have the power to improve the situation.” It is great that community groups (even special interest ones) are starting to discuss this issue and how we are finally going to unite and pass some sort of tax to help our elementary schools. What is missing is any real action. Hopefully someone will decide that it is time to start the process of putting something on the ballot soon. .… I absolutely engage in any and all elections and this June is no different. Here are my predictions for the issues and races Redwood City voters will be deciding on. (continued on page 28)
CITY OF REDWOOD CITY HOME IMPROVEMENT LOAN PROGRAM Paint Your Home’s Exterior Spring into Action Before Summer Did you know that Redwood City’s Home Improvement Loan Program provides a FREE EXTERIOR PAINT JOB (up to $5000) to qualified loan applicants? Spring is the best time to paint your home; after winter rainstorms but before hot and sunny summer days. Redwood City will pay a local professional painting contractor to perform the work. So don’t wait, apply today. Protect your investment and keep your home in great shape! Take Advantage of Redwood City’s Home Improvement Loan Program Low interest home improvement loans are available to eligible owners of single-family homes and owners of rental property located within incorporated Redwood City. Single-family homes include structures of 1–4 units, one of which must be owner-occupied. Rental property owners must rent 51% of their units to low-income tenants. Rehabilitate your home and take advantage of these generous loan terms — 3% interest fully amortized over 15 years. There are no points and no “out-of-pocket” expenses for loan fees. Call us for more information: 650.780.7290, or go to www.redwoodcityhousing.org. Spectrum_full.indd 1 5/26/10 5:08:29 PM The Spectrum 7
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