Community Blogger Who Objects to City Housing Bond Bought Affordable Unit
in 2003
in 2003
Emeryville’s Most Vocal Opponent of Measure C Took Advantage of City Program to Buy Swanky Condo
at 40% Off
at 40% Off
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| 1500 Park Avenue Luxury lofts for the well heeled ...and Rob Arias. |
Emeryville blogger Rob Arias taps out tweets protesting the city's affordable housing bond from his upscale loft in one of the city’s most fashionable buildings. With it's soaring ceilings, giant windows and large shared roof deck, it’s the kind of place low- and middle-income people only dream about. Including Rob Arias.
But unlike many aspiring homeowners in the Bay Area, Rob got lucky. He was able to realize his dream thanks to the city of Emeryville, which required the developer of 1500 Park Avenue to include affordable units. That's right. Rob Arias lives in the kind of moderate-income housing he now thinks is a bad idea ... for everyone else.
Mr Arias, a self-proclaimed community booster and family man, has been working hard for the past few weeks to crush support for the city’s proposed housing bond, designed to help families just like his afford to own a home in Emeryville. According to Mr Arias, the cost – at least to his family – is too much.
But the cost to many other families who struggle with skyrocketing rents and home prices edging toward $1 million is much higher. They live in cramped apartments, work multiple jobs, and are eventually forced to move away or become homeless. According to the City of Emeryville, $83,000 in annual income is needed to rent a one-room apartment in town.
"Measure C will give us tools to prevent the displacement of vulnerable people, including seniors and young families, already living in the community," said former mayor and current City Council Member Dianne Martinez.
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In addition, the $50 million of bond funding will generate as much as $500 million in matching state and federal grants and funds. The money will be used to build affordable housing on City owned land as well as provide low-interest loans to first time homebuyers.
Emeryville Mayor John Bauters, an affordable housing expert and champion of the measure, said the funds raised would be used primarily for those already living in the city. He said residents would provide about 35 percent of the funds and businesses the remainder. He emphasized that the tax increase paid by homeowners would be based on assessed value of property, not market value. Mr Bauters declined to be interviewed for this story.
Measure C is unanimously supported by the Emeryville City Council and has been endorsed by the Alameda County Democratic Party, and the East Bay Express , which lauded the City for its ambitious effort to increase affordable housing:
Measure C is unanimously supported by the Emeryville City Council and has been endorsed by the Alameda County Democratic Party, and the East Bay Express , which lauded the City for its ambitious effort to increase affordable housing:
"… No other jurisdiction in the East Bay has gone all out like this to raise money for affordable housing and anti-displacement programs. Measure C bonds will be paid back over 30 years through a 4.9 cents per $100 of assessed value property tax, meaning that the tax is relatively progressive and shouldn't be an undue burden on the average Emeryville resident".
In 2003, Mr Arias applied for and got, a Below Market Rate (BMR) condominium at 1500 Park Avenue, a six-story warehouse conversion by award winning San Francisco architect David Baker. The price break given to Rob, who lives there with his wife and young child, was substantial, amounting to about $180,000 based on the price of a comparable unit sold in the building that same year.
Mr Arias has consistently taken a stand against reform that helps the less fortunate, railing against an increase in the minimum wage and fair work practices for retail workers, and proposing that a homeless encampment under the 40th Street bridge be replaced with a dog park.
In 2003, Mr Arias applied for and got, a Below Market Rate (BMR) condominium at 1500 Park Avenue, a six-story warehouse conversion by award winning San Francisco architect David Baker. The price break given to Rob, who lives there with his wife and young child, was substantial, amounting to about $180,000 based on the price of a comparable unit sold in the building that same year.
Mr Arias has consistently taken a stand against reform that helps the less fortunate, railing against an increase in the minimum wage and fair work practices for retail workers, and proposing that a homeless encampment under the 40th Street bridge be replaced with a dog park.
Ha! What a hack this guy is. Good sleuthing Tattler! Did you get a tip or just assume Rob is a f***ing hypocrite? Safe assumption.
ReplyDeleteAs a senior living on Social Security in Emeryville , my income will be severely affected by measure C . There is no allowance for seniors like myself to be exempt from this tax increase , unlike the Emery Unitified School District Tax which exempts senior citizens. Mr Arias was able to afford his home because of redevelopment funds in 2004 which had no financial impact on Emeryville residents. Measure C will have a significant impact on me, as one of the " vulnerable people, including seniors said former mayor and current City Council Member Dianne Martinez " . This is a poorly written measure and I will vote no.
ReplyDelete
DeleteActually, Measure J, the school bond initiative that enabled the building of the Emeryville Center of Community Life (ECCL) was a $95 million bond ballot that seniors were not exempted from. Perhaps you're thinking about the school parcel tax (which was much smaller). Seniors could apply for an exemption to that one. If you simply can't afford the few dollars per month you'll likely have to pay if Measure C passes (almost certainly less than $13 depending on when you bought your home) or if you don't care about average people being able to afford to live in Emeryville anymore, then it's understandable you might be against it.
The cost Emeryville had to absorb to help Rob pay for his affordable unit is hard to quantify. The City negotiated with the developer and had to give up certain things in order to sweeten the pot for the developer to include the BMR units. Rob got City Hall assistance in purchasing his affordable home. Now he wants to pull up the ladder and not help other less fortunate people. There are plenty of people in America like that but Mr Arias is a person in the public eye and so this is newsworthy.
Correction: A reader informs me Measure J has a senior exemption as well as the parcel tax. Presuming this is correct, I stand corrected. Thanks to the reader.
DeleteSeniors are not exempted from this and neither are low/moderate income families like Rob’s. But you know who are? Nonprofits like the Artist Coop where the Donahue’s live. In fact, they don’t pay ANY property taxes because of a loophole, right? What’s the old expression? People who live in affordable houses shouldn't throw …
DeleteWho's the hypocrite Mr. & Ms. Donahue?
I won’t have to pay? GREAT! I believe you, but can you please notify Alameda County the Artist’s Co-Op is exempt from paying for Measure C? Because they’ve got this silly idea the Co-Op is not exempt. Please set them straight for us. Thanks!
DeleteOh and our property taxes?!?! WTF?!? We’ve been paying for 29 years! We thought all this time our checks were going to the County but now we come to find out, thanks to you, it’s some interloping criminal that’s been cashing the checks! Boy, I wish we had known about the loophole 29 years ago. We’ve been so stupid to pay all this time when as it turns out we never needed to. And who is the resourceful criminal that’s been cashing the checks?
This is most certainly a big Tattler story! I thank you for the tip, Mr Anonymous.
Expect to see a huge Tattler banner headline on this soon. If you don’t see a headline featuring this story, it means I looked into your claims and they didn’t amount to anything but instead just represent the blathering of another Rob drone.
It's public record. 29 years? If you do pay property taxes you must have an extremely low assessment thanks to Prop 13. How much will measure C cost you? $60, $75 bucks a year? Come out with it Mr. & Ms. Donahue. Don’t deflect. Don’t hide. Answer the simple question. Oh yeah, because your an “artist” you're part of a vulnerable population. I’m sure you’ll get a good chunk of that $50MM.
DeleteMr Anon, you're quite a unique interpreter of law. Next time I'm audited by the IRS, I want you defending me. Maybe I'll save a lot on taxes.
DeleteTo wit: I'm gunna get a chunk of the $50 million! I like your thinking on this...can you just make sure I get a good sized chunk and send it to me? I'll pay you, what, say 25% of my take? Sound fair?
Now onto your unique use of the language...everybody else defines hypocrisy as: The practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one's own behavior does not conform; pretense. You've redefined it as somebody advocating for public policy that would benefit them. Nice. When you re-define words, you're not held to account...That's pretty creative. No way to be proven wrong for anything, ever....I like it!
Now, to check the public record...I'll save you a trip to the County Assessors Office: read my June 3rd article entitled, "Measure C Beckons..."
It must be nice being you...able to snap your fingers, to so cavalierly change the language every time you find yourself in a pickle. The rest of us are jealous because we're constrained by the truth. It makes it much more difficult to comport ones self when you're on a level playing field.
OBTW, who is Ms Donahue you refer to?
This measure will be to expensive for me. I will be voting no.
ReplyDeleteFixed income people should be exempt. Straight up.
ReplyDeleteJust because Mr Arias got assistance in buying his unit in the past doesn't mean he has to support every housing bond, no matter how bad it is. You act like he's locked in and has to mindlessly vote for it because Bauters supports it. We happen to like Rob's alternative take on the Bauters career helping tax. Somebody has to present the other side. Are you going to do it? Didn't think so.
ReplyDeleteWell, you are correct: we're not going to present the side that thinks nothing can or should be done. Affordable housing is Emeryville's existential problem and we look to solve problems. Waiting for the private sector to fix this is a fool's errand; they're the ones that got us into this mess in the first place.
DeleteRob is not wrong. We will vote "NO".
ReplyDeleteRob Arias has this one right. Again.
ReplyDeleteHe should run for City Council. We need at least one rational voice on the council that makes a serious effort to represent the community and keep the current lot in check.
A $50 million regressive tax on the very people struggling to pay some of the highest rent and housing costs to pay housing costs for another group of people is probably the worst idea this city council has come up with. TAX THE POOR!! Great thinking. And stick a bunch of politicians and bureaucrats between those you are taking money from and those you are giving it to. Oh, and put almost no limitations on how the money is spent because politicians and lobbyists and lawyers are incredibly trustworthy people.
Throw in loan interest, money thrown at pet projects, money wasted on excessive staff salaries and pensions, money paying for political favors, and money that takes advantage of how vague and unregulated the bond is, and the people of Emeryville are getting shafted in a major way, yet again, and will be getting shafted for the next 20 years, to the tune of $100 million by this same city council that keeps shafting the residents and businesses.
And to have the nerve to put this on a June ballot rather than November. Just sneak it through like everything else.
This is truly the worst call this council has made. And that's a pretty high bar.
Vote NO. Bring a friend. Get them to vote NO. And then get some new blood on city council come November.
Rob is not wrong? Rob is right? What's with you people? Rob is a hypocrite. He's not against government programs like you guys are, he's against government that helps somebody other than him and his family. If it helps him he's for it. How many of you got government help buying your home like Rob did? Either you didn't read the story or you don't care about pure hypocrisy. I thank the Tattler for revealing this. It's not very surprising though, knowing Rob Arias.
ReplyDeleteIt's not hypocrisy to support a bad bond.
DeleteIf you receive a benefit, you are not required to support EVERY lousy version of anything that appears outwardly similar for all time.
This is a poorly written, excessive bond doing the wrong thing at the wrong time with the wrong people's money without the proper controls. If you believe in intelligently supporting first time home buyers, this is absolutely the wrong way to do it.
If you believe in a program that makes sense, if you took advantage of a program that made sense, you support programs like it that make sense. Only.
Because you once called the police, you don't have to support calling the police on everyone.
Because you once went to public school, you don't have to support every school bond no matter how large or poorly constrained.
Because you once lived in a house that was developed by a developer, you don't have to support every development by every developer no matter how big, ugly, or costly to the city it will be.
The whole premise of this article is symptomatic of what's wrong with the current city council and their way of thinking. If X is good, 10X must be better.
We can't do the reasonable thing that carefully balances the interests of everyone. Instead, we need to do the unreasonable thing that goes too far and hurts everyone.
What great fun it is to tell people that fight for the reasonable thing, that they are hypocrites.
"You had a dessert once as a child? How dare you oppose children eating as much dessert as they want whenever and wherever they want. You are a hypocrite."
This isn't progressive. It's stupid.
You seem to be seriously confused. ‘Reasonable’? Really? Rob is a hypocrite because he wants to pull the ladder up behind him. He was able to climb the ladder of housing attainment in Emeryville because he got help from City Hall. Now he wants to stop others from also getting help. That’s not just a hypocrite, it’s a right wing hypocrite.
DeleteRob is casting himself as a reasonable community minded person…it’s all over his blog. He claims the great center of the greater community doesn’t he? But are his views on public policy in Emeryville really what the people want or is he an interloper, claiming the reasonable center while actually representing the right wing side? Should we take him at his word on this or should we look at his record?
He takes no umbrage in charges he represents the business community in Emeryville. But what about the citizens? With the latest dust up with Measure C, he’s taking the NO for government action side for dealing with the housing crisis. That’s right wing. How about previous elections and policy decisions? How centrist has Rob been? Emeryville people are registered in the Democratic Party by a wide majority. And Rob Arias has been against every policy decision, election and elected official endorsed by the Democratic Party of Alameda County. Every time he’s against what the Democrats are for. Each time he’s endorsed the person or policy, to the right, that the Democrats have found too conservative. Every group, person or suite of policy ideas he demonizes are those endorsed by the Democratic Party. That’s why his choices always lose.
Rob Arias is an extremist by definition. He does not represent the Emeryville community by definition. He isn’t progressive like Emeryville residents are, he’s …what did you call it?
I think it's less about being right wing but surely he is, it's more about him being a shameless self promoter. Rob Arias is only interested in Rob Arias. I never met a more conceited self aggrandizer than him. Our own Trump charlatan.
ReplyDeleteThe more he shakes his jar of needles the more he shows us how crazy he is. I was in the audience and people were looking at each other like "he's about to loose it for real". He hates Bauters with a passion because of the dog park thing. He's still butt hurt and lashing out. It's so obvious what drives him. He will not be disrespected. Credit to Brian for at least not being driven by such pettiness. You may not agree with him all the time but he's not doing what he does for self promotion like Rob is.
DeleteRob’s hypocrisy knows no bounds. When one of the authors of this story, Lillian Schroth, posted it on Nextdoor Emeryville, it was immediately taken down. Why? Because it reflected negatively on Rob Arias, who is one of the moderators of Nextdoor Emeryville. He touts himself as a journalist and defender of the First Amendment, yet he censors a story that paints him in a negative light. Meanwhile, he posts his blog articles on Nextdoor all the time, often attacking individuals and/or organizations that disagree with him. He uses his business logo, which is against Nextdoor rules because it constitutes promotion of a commercial business. He even publicizes his blog fundraising campaigns on Nextdoor, a blatant violation. But all that is OK because Rob IS THE MODERATOR. It’s a clear conflict of interest. Rob is using Nextdoor as his own private publicity (and fundraising) machine.
ReplyDeleteSo the fact that Rob would oppose an affordable housing bond while living in affordable housing is so consistent with who he is.
Thank you for the tip. This is revelatory as to Mr Arias's character and will be added to a story we're already working on about his censoring reader comments critical of the content on his blog. He's not a believer in free speech, this "journalist" (an oxymoron if ever there was one). Rule one for journalists: don't shut down speech, encourage it.
DeleteMore stories by Lillian please! This is wonderful and makes me smile. It's great to see self important blowhards be held to account like this. Anyone who's not part of the cult will love this.
ReplyDeleteYour commenters have nailed it. There's a cult of Rob Arias. His followers fall right in line hating John Bauters. When Rob switched from loving Bauters to hating him after the dog park melt down so did his mindless droids. The troops even use Rob's preferred language on Bauters and everything else. Robs agenda is their agenda. That's how hatred on the right is expressed. There's a need for a leader. They'll follow Rob right into the voting booth as one of them said. I hope Rob does run, it'll make his program transparent for everyone to see even those not paying attention now. Ever noticed Rob never reports on the failures of the business community like the Tattler does? That's because of his love of business, a prime reason for his blog.
ReplyDeleteTo sum it up, Rob's cult is (in order of importance):
-The glory of Rob
-Hatred of John Bauters
-Love of business
-Hatred of outsiders (homeless, poor)
-Hatred of the Tattler and Brian Donahue
The droids all agree and will help promote the agenda without question.
Hatred of the Tattler might be higher on the list.
From our perspective, hatred of the Tattler seems pretty high up on the list.
DeleteYou're discounting that Rob might be interested in helping Emeryville. That's what I don't like about all this negativity both on this site and Rob's site. There's room for two community blogs. Why don't you guys lower your weapons? Rob is OK and so is Brian. They're both providing a service.
DeleteConsider it a compliment
DeleteI can't stop chuckling at someone's attempt to frame Rob Arias as the leader of a cult.
DeleteDon't get me wrong. A Rob Arias cult would probably be a load of fun, and would surely involve beer, and I think almost 100% of the City of Emeryville would be down as members (present company excluded), but of course and sadly, there isn't one.
This is just the usual, endless, Trumpesque, almost psychotic attempt by this site to spit on people the author of the blog has petty grievances with.
You know, you could have actually written about Measure C rather than trying to Mueller it by attacking the author.
No one believes in the 'glory' of Rob, or loves business generally, or hates Bauters generally, or hates outsiders at all, or hates the Tattler or Brian Donahue. Get a grip.
People just like that Rob supports the community and has devoted so much energy to creating a positive center point for Emeryville. He's not glorious and his spelling is sometime atroshus :-P. People just respect how much energy and effort he's put into being a positive influence including trying to keep our (highly broken) city council from doing completely outrageous things. That is fun to call 'right wing', but it's not. It's progressive. Rob often presents both sides of political issues (rare in this day and age) and while he definitely has his own opinions that come through on the blog, he normally makes a valiant effort to present alternative views. That's something very much lacking here.
The more this site attacks him, the more people like him. He often speaks for the broad community, says reasonable things, and gets beaten up unfairly right here. That takes a certain courage.
Rob and his staff and volunteers are frequently the voice of reason, the provider of useful information, and fairly consistently a positive voice about all of our local community from the residents to the small businesses to the local personalities and people who make the community rich.
The EvilleEye almost never attacks people personally (rare exceptions for those people who attack him personally over and over and over...eh hem...or ask for his help for years and then screw him over...eh hem #2)
This blog does nothing else.
If people want to use this blog and the comments as a place to crap on everyone and particularly someone who is a positive influence on the community, that seems par for the course and speaks volumes.
Maybe give it a rest, try taking the high ground for once, and talk about the issues rather than the people you don't like. Treating people respectfully is a new fad. Try it. You might like it.
And it would be a welcome change for a site whose relevance has pretty much hit zero except to the extent that people want to devote a lot of energy to disliking the same people the author dislikes.
I didn't call Rob's followers 'cultists' but considering the definition of a cult is 'a misplaced or excessive admiration for a particular person or thing', I'd have to say I agree with my anonymous reader's assessment. To check that assessment, refer to your own statement above where you express your belief that Mr Arias has the support of "almost 100%" of Emeryville residents. I remind you, Emeryville people are Democrats by a huge majority. You personally might not be a Democrat (the Mueller comment among others, is your give-a-way) but the fact that Mr Arias can't ever seem to find himself on the side of what the Democratic Party supports in Emeryville tells you he's an outlier. There is no opinion here, this is factual: Rob Arias has never endorsed any person or policy or ballot initiative in Emeryville endorsed by the people's Party. He, by definition, represents the (right wing) minority opinion. Having said that, you should know I have no problem with that. I only have a problem when he (or his minions) attempt to claim to represent the center position of residents views.
DeleteRegarding the Tattler: we see our role as truth telling and holding the elite to account. The elite refers to both those in politics or in the business sector. Mr Arias, insofar as he is a newsmaker, will be held to account by the Tattler. Don't like it? I advise you to stay within the soft and comforting confines of Mr Arias's right wing blog. He's got all the good news (and alerts to the movements of Democrats in our town) run through his filter for you to bath in. You should be fine over there. Good luck.
I think you misunderstood the Mueller comment. It's in reference to what Trump is doing to Mueller, attack the person instead of address the issue. It's identical to what you and your co-author are trying to do with Rob here. Try to discredit the source because the facts aren't on our side.
ReplyDeleteAnd Rob has indeed supported candidates and issues supported by the Democratic party. He actually does so pretty much all of the time. He just tends toward the non-extremist version of liberal policy.
In recent history, that means pushing back against Emeryville's City Council.
And it's surprising an independent thinker like yourself would judge a person based on his adherence to the Democratic Party's political whims. We've learned that, in this area at least, the endorsements are a political game that involves a lot of back room dealing, so why would you, someone who hasn't aligned with the Democrats himself, be so insistent that all democrats do what they're told by the party elites? It doesn't sound like you.
And wasn't Arias John Bauters's biggest supporter until after the election when Bauters reversed his support of the dog park? Wasn't Bauters endorsed by the Democratic Party? So isn't your statement just factually inaccurate Mr. Trump?
Seriously, write about policy. Report whatever news you think you've found.
But stop attacking people all the time. We have one annoying person doing this from the White House every day.
We don't need another one in Emeryville.
Rob supports politicians and issues in Emeryville the Democratic Party supports? Really? That’s news to us. But as Reagan used to say; trust but verify. So name them please. Should be easy for you since you said he supports the Democratic Party’s endorsements in Emeryville “pretty much all the time.” While you’re struggling with the answer, you need to know the Democratic Party endorsed the following:
Delete-John Bauters (the second time he ran, not the first)
-Ally Medina
-Christian Patz
-Scott Donahue
-Dianne Martinez
-Barbara Inch
-The Minimum Wage Ordinance
-The Fair Workweek Ordinance
-Measure C
Rob Arias was against every one of these endorsements (he only endorsed Bauters the first time). The Democratic Party in Emeryville is the non-extremist center ….by definition. BTW I’m not a Democrat…that party is generally too conservative for my liking but there’s no denying they represent the average Emeryville voter. The numbers of registrations prove it. Rob is on the right wing side of center, he is an extremist by definition. That is undeniable by his advocacy to the right of the centrist Democratic Party.
Rob’s attempts to demonize RULE only proves how extreme he is. RULE, like the Democratic Party, represents average Emeryville resident’s interests. Every single RULE endorsement has won their election. Rob’s have not won. He keeps losing and losing. That’s the mark of an extremist. He should just own it and try to get us to abandon the Democratic Party en masse and go with him.
Oh and sorry, saying the Democratic Party is corrupt and therefore doesn’t represent the average Emeryville resident is demonstrably false. Your tactics are desperate and an obvious attempt to make Rob appear to not be an extremist.
Remember, the Tattler holds the elite to account. Rob is up against this Tattler raison d'etre.
So now you're admitting that when you said "Rob Arias has never endorsed any person or policy or ballot initiative in Emeryville endorsed by the people's (Democratic) Party", you were wrong and/or misleading people.
ReplyDeleteHe strongly supported Bauters, and Bauters is clearly a "person...endorsed by the people's Party". He even supported Bauters campaign during his second attempt.
If you knew what you were saying wasn't true, then why write it?
Or are you just playing with the word "endorsed" to mislead your readers?
I don't believe Rob formally endorsed anyone in the last election and generally hasn't done endorsements in the recent past. Ok, so yes, you can say he didn't endorse the Democratic candidates. He didn't endorse anyone. He simply told everyone that Bauters was a great candidate.
Perhaps given your statement that the Democratic party is too conservative for your liking, your readers and you should just recognize that your scale is calibrated differently so the words you use don't line up with common usage.
I will agree that if you view the Democratic party as conservative, then Rob is probably conservative by that definition. Rob and Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are all right wing I suppose.
Can't wait for that headline on the Tattler: "Barack Obama and Rob Arias Outed as Conservatives!"
Tiresome and pointless this site has become. Rob Arias has different opinions, a successful local news site, and the guts to stand up to you. You don't like that.
We all get it. You should too.
Soldier in the PR campaign of the project to make Rob Arias’s hard right politics rebranded as centrist... It’s a tough job and I’ll say you have fought valiantly for your leader. Tough because as I’ve shown, the views of the Democratic Party of which most Emeryville people are a member, have to be cast as too far left to be considered center, too far left to be consistent with the average voter’s values. Virtually the entire electorate has to be deceived. Democrats in Emeryville, have to be convinced they’re really more Republican…that’s the work of Rob’s project. He has to get the vast majority of Emeryville voters to reject the endorsements of their own political party and vote more like a Republican; the Rob way.
DeleteWhile the Democratic Party is generally too conservative for my liking, they represent the center of Emeryville politics. I’m not the center, rather just a little left of center in Emeryville. I say a little because every thing/candidate I listed in my previous reply to you I supported….me and the Democratic Party. Rob supported nothing on that list. That makes him extreme right wing. Me 100% support= a little left of center, Rob 0% = extreme rightwing….he’s not a little right of center.
And to answer your question, again, when Rob endorsed John Bauters is when Mr Bauters did not have the Democratic endorsement.
Still waiting for Rob’s list when he also supported what the Democratic Party supported. Remember, you said Rob agreed with the Democrats “pretty much all the time”. So give us a list please. It doesn’t have to be formal endorsements, just support like he does pretty much all the time. Please be a good soldier and give me the list. And please tell us how it is that Rob has support of "almost 100%" of Emeryville residents as you say when Rob votes against what they vote for almost 100% of the time. That's really some twisted logic but I'm sure it somehow makes sense in the cult of Rob. Please do tell.
Brian. why do you bother going on with guys like this? His first answer showed us all he's here only to defend Rob. He's not interested in a real dialogue. It's beneath you to continue. You don't need to show us all how he's using tactics to achieve the goal you correctly identified. It's obvious to everyone.
DeleteI gave you a list of one counter-example, John Bauters. We don't need to go further. You were wrong. Proof by counter-example.
ReplyDeleteBut what the heck...
As I understand his position, Rob supported increasing the minimum wage regionally (but not to the highest in the nation with 30 days notice) and went so far as to publish signs supporting this and organizing the local small businesses to support it as well.
He has supported the development of housing. Something you consistently seem to oppose. Very left wing and unlike your consistent position opposing development. You NIMBY Republican, you 8-P
I believe he favored two people running for city council during the last election that were running as Democrats. Not a very Republican thing to do.
He generally has favored transparency in government. Definitely not right wing.
He actively promotes small local businesses over large ones. Very left leaning there.
Our local city council and this blog have been consistently antagonistic to small, locally owned, and particularly women run enterprises (see the top right corner of this web page), and Rob has consistently defended them and called you out for attacking them. You right wingers really suck.
He has indicated his support for bonds like Measure C but only if it they have guarantees of how the money would be spent rather than allowing politicians to make that determination to their personal benefit. That's a much farther left position than supporting the current Measure C.
He has actively supported and promoted artists in the community on his blog, something you never do. I find support for the arts very left leaning.
And I believe he recently mentioned that he received a grant to report on the endorsement process of the political parties. Wonder if that has anything to do with your recent interest in endorsements and the importance of getting in line behind them.
Anyway, political corruption is a fantastically left leaning thing to investigate, and something I imagine will flesh out dirt that some in Emeryville might not want swept out. How these endorsements are decided and who decides them and the backdoor dealing that goes on is something your new amigo Mr. Bauters complained about pretty openly for some time to anyone who would listen. Achieving real transparency and change in the face of corruption, that's super-progressive.
Let's see, Rob's opposed the interference of well funded outside parties in our local elections and major decisions. Very left leaning.
He has quite a few publications on the breaking of color and racial barriers as well as actively and publicly supporting businesses owned by women and people of color. Pretty darn left leaning there and very much in contrast to the Tattler.
He has regularly covered homelessness on his blog including the Compassionate Communities program, Bauters' guest articles, and others, something I haven't seen much of here.
And he tries to promote a sense of community and diversity by engaging voices from all over Emeryville. He often publishes and encourages guest authors from people who disagree with him. This is much more liberal than the Tattler's approach of trying to limit the site to one perspective, and an older white male's perspective at that.
Face it, Rob consistently demonstrates a liberal, left leaning approach to topics, but he also is not a lemming. He doesn't religiously assume that the Democrats are looking out for Emeryville (they clearly aren't), and he's willing to speak up against politicians who see a benefit to taking things too far and making headlines for themselves personally.
You ought to get to know the guy. Go have a beer.
I don't know all that much about him, but if you read the EvilleEye regularly, you get a sense of how community minded he is, how trusted he is by the local community, and how the vision of community he is promoting is so much more inclusive than the vision we see here.
You might like the guy if you could ever get past the fact that you compete with him.
OK I got it: Emeryville residents are mostly Democrats but that party sucks because it's much more right wing than Rob, the pro-business guy that's against a livable minimum wage, fair work week legislation and who doesn't like unions or homeless people. I guess the Democratic Party and the people of Emeryville had it backwards all this time. How silly we've been. All silly except Rob and his followers. Thanks for setting the record straight.
DeleteThis guy says Rob supports what the Democratic Party supports pretty much all the time but when you ask him to prove it he can't. But he still insists? That's a cult member.
DeleteActually, he did prove it. He went point by point and laid it out. Pretty impressively too.
DeleteWhen you think everyone who disagrees with you is a member of a cult, guess what you are a member of.
This is quite a string of comments. Unfortunately, they have focussed primarily on Mr Arias, rather than the details of Measure C, which was the original intent of the article. My own take is that the community did not have much opportunity to get involved once it became well known after the Council put it on the June Ballot. It would have been wiser to take some more time and hold meetings like the Parking Plan has done. By not doing this, Council invites misunderstandings, rumors, inaccuracies and simplistic conclusions.
ReplyDeleteA bond measure is complex and requires more explanation for the average community resident to fully understand and reach a wise conclusion. This means that if it loses, it may be due more to lack of understanding and a fear of taxes rather than the merits of the issue.
Please see the Tattler endorsement of Measure C, posted today.
DeleteNaysayer proxies like Rob Arias are always there saying no when the business community is looking to reduce their costs and maximize their profits. It'd be NO in June OR November. It's part of the trickle down mantra.
Thanks for your comment.