Business as usual?

By Jonathan Paul "Jon" Linder

This is the sad situation that currently exists on the Commission with incumbents flagrantly pandering to special interests, knowing that they have complete control, and are comfortably shielded from the public eye.

At this meeting, the San Mateo County Harbor District, "represented" by 5 Commissioners, 4 of whom were present, had a second opportunity, since the original 28-37 million dollar blunder was first committed, to re-examine the lease, as it came again before the Board for their approval, based on late changes the lessees wished to make. As pointed out by Commissioner Lundie at the meeting, not only is the lessee screwing over the County's Taxpayers to the tune of tens of millions of dollars, but at the last meeting they altered the design of the hotel dramatically, offering a completely different structure than the one that had been previously agreed upon. The new hotel they proferred is larger, yet still with insufficient parking, in a typical rectangular shape instead of the handsome triangular structure that had been agreed upon. They've also downgraded the quality of their building materials and as Commissioner Lundie cited, it seems questionable whether they ever intended to build the other structure at all, instead planning on giving us this cheap, ugly knockoff all along to maximize their profits. This translates into a far inferior structure the Taxpayers would inherit at the end of their 75 year lease which doesn't seem like any kind of bargain to me!

The Current Harbor Commission once again bungled this second opportunity they have had to assert themselves in the name of their constituents. They continue to leave the Taxpayers shortchanged by over 28 million dollars. They have allowed this blunder to take place on their watch and have taken no steps to correct it. The vote passed in the usual 3-1 fashion, in favor of rolling over and allowing the developers of the Oyster Point Hilton to have their way with the Taxpayer's assets with Commissioner Lundie the only voice of reason. All of this took place in the first ten minutes of the meeting, and now for the most intriguing part of this story: at this point, again, ten minutes into a meeting which takes place once every 2 weeks, Commission President Sally Campbell, currently up for re-election, gaveled the meeting, declaring a recess so that she could run after the Oyster Point Hilton Developers and huddle with them in the hallway for a number of excitedly animated minutes. Unfortunately, as there were no cameras rolling we can only conjecture as to the nature of their discussion, but it should definitely be noted that not 48 hours later the entire County was blanketed with nice, new, shiny, "re-elect Sally Campbell" placards, printed and posted without regard for expense. Now whether or not there was mutual back-scratching going on, to the detriment of the Taxpayer, is anyone's guess, but the coincidence does seem striking to this concerned voter.

This is one excruciatingly current account of how the Harbor Commission conducts business and will assuredly continue to do so unless the incumbents are ousted. So please listen to your conscience on November 7th and let me represent You on the Commission in all future matters, I promise to do better and actually represent Your best interests instead of merely my own.

Keep in mind please that the minutes of all Harbor District meetings must first be approved by the Harbor District Manager before being released to the Public. This gives him free reign to tailor the minutes as he sees fit so as to show the Commission only in a positive light. Also keep in mind that 2 of the incumbents are seeking a third term in office. This would grant them extended health benefits, three terms being the minimum to receive this special consideration. Commissioner Lundie and Harborchange are speaking out vocally against these extended benefits, as the District heads for bankruptcy under its current leadership. These sitting Commissioners are "considering" repealing these extravagant "pensions" only with the provision that they get to retain their "prizes" of hard-earned taxpayer money under a granfather clause!

Another case in point is the Post Office Lot in El Granada. This is a 2.5 acre parcel of unobstructed view, oceanfront property. The Commission intends to lease this for 55 years to the same developer who currently holds most of the District's assets in El Granada for a paltry 1,500.00/month. He will build an 11,500 sq ft office building there and the Commission takes his word as gospel when he tells them 1,500/month is all it's worth!

This is business as usual inside the Harbor District.