BREAKING Back to Back Mayor Term:
Two New Council Members Sworn In, Mayor John Bauters is Forwarded to Be Mayor For a Second Term
Tonight mayor John Bauters was elected mayor by his colleagues, skipping Ally Medina who had been Vice Mayor and in line to become mayor. The action makes Mr Bauters mayor two years running, an unprecedented thing in Emeryville history. The Council elected Cortney Welch as Vice Mayor.
The move was not without drama, Vice Mayor Medina invoked newly elected Council member Kalimah Priforce’s privilege as a “man” after he raised objections to the prospect of re-upping of Mr Bauters for a second term. Ms Medina called Mr Priforce “offensive” as he raised his objection, saying it didn’t “feel right” having the mayor go for a second round.
The name-calling came moments after departing Council member Dianne Martinez stated the most important thing the new Council needs to do moving forward is to maintain collegiality.
The 2009 General Plan of Emeryville took years of citizen participation to create and one of its most urgent issues was to create more parks for Emeryville. On November 28 of this year, John Bauters states that parks are not important, so years of citizen organizing are eliminated in one statement? Our present inventory of housing has met California governmental goals, so why does John Bauters keep pushing this topic? I have requested a meeting with Mr. Bauters FIVE times since September 29, 2022 and none of my e-mails and telephone messages have been answered. The Mayor and City Council work for us--they work for the citizens of Emeryville and as a 33 year citizen of Emeryville I would expect to be communicated with by John Baiters or any of the City Council in a timely manner. When the Mayor and the City Council begin making decisions on their own, that do not represent the voice of Emeryville residents, then it is time for the people of Emeryville to take notice and remind the City Council/Mayor that they are the voice of the aspirations of the residents not of their own interests. When the time comes that the personal interests of public office override the interests of the people that is when local government becomes corrosive and democracy loses its underpinnings and stability.
ReplyDeleteEmeryville has never had a Code of Ethics which is necessity in most cities. This issue was brought up to the City Coucil early this year and John Bauters commented that it wil be addressed by August of this year. Since then, there has been no discussion about it, and the City of Emeryville continues to have no Code of Ethics. The Code of Ethics and Conduct is intended to be self-enforcing and is an expression of the standards of conduct for members expected by the City. It therefore becomes most effective when members are thoroughly familiar with it and embrace its provisions. Could it be that our city council choose not to embrace standards of conduct? If so, why?
ReplyDelete[A copy of this commentary memo will be included on www.votepriforce.com]
ReplyDeleteUpon request, I am re-sharing (with revisions) my comment on another site regarding the December 12th, 2022 council meeting.
What I've learned about leadership is that great leaders develop other leaders. They seed growth in everyone around them but particularly those who they work closely with. For anyone to share that they are unprepared to take the mantle of leadership or that they do not have time for it when they were elected by their constituents to do the job is inappropriate. It is also a reflection of leadership dearth.
That would be like if V.P. Kamala Harris extolled that they were ready to take the role of Vice-President, but insufficient to be President or did not have time for the role. Can you see how problematic that would be?
George Washington was asked to fill a third term as the first President of our country. He declined. He did so, because morally it wasn't the right message he wanted to send to the American people - to be a king and create a culture of lifetime appointments. If you don’t think that matters then you aren’t a student of how democracies rise and fall.
My comments in response to the nomination process weren't for John alone. It was about the health of democratic institutions. It wasn't an ideation session wherein councilmembers were trying to convince John to be mayor again. It was clearly pre-planned and premeditated, as I mentioned in the video. So there were discussions among councilmembers, but not with the public.
If you know you are going to do something that would draw the ire of the public, have a conversation with the public about it. It's an anti-intellectual insult to our collective intelligence to persuade, through theatrics, that this process wasn't pre-determined, pre-planned, and that the public's interests were at the center of this process. It clearly wasn't.
I'm not intentionally being a dissident on the city council. I just ask the questions the public asks, because of mediums like these, I read everything, or at least I try to, and I try my best to respond, but I talk to the public, make notes, and bring them along with me. I interact in real-time, but for transparency purposes, I don’t respond to anonymous messages, comments, or tweets.
ReplyDeleteRecognizing the influence of lobbying powers like CA YIMBY on the city council was my biggest eye-opener along the campaign trail. I believe it’s what drove the rushed Housing Element update that prevented David and I from voting, and they have been guiding our housing policy for a number of years. All of the talking points consistently used by members of the city council are CA YIMBY.
If the plan was to secure and protect CA YIMBY’s interests in increasing market-rate housing at the expense of affordability, livability, and equity for Emeryville then the only way to succeed at that is to keep the status quo, and that is what we all witnessed at the meeting.
I believe that it’s up to the public if we want a repeat of the Kubowski era of municipal politics and if we do want to focus on housing compared to parks by choosing developers and developments that focus more on housing unit production than the quality of living for fellow residents.
That is why I agree with requests that councilmembers ascribe to a code of ethics that prevents dark money from creating an atmosphere of fear and trepidation in city hall where one voice, one personality trumps all.
As someone who has rented their home in Emeryville for over ten years, I am in the minority, yes, but if a CA YIMBY funded housing policy is what the people want then I won’t stand in the way. That is ultimately why I voted in favor of the motion to re-elect John in spite of my cautionary warning that it would erode public confidence in our democratic institutions. Also, it’s just morally and ethically not cool.
However, I don’t go against what people want and Ally Medina, Courtney Welch, and David Mourra all said that this is what they want. I recognize dark money and won’t be party to it, but I voted towards what they wanted. If the people do not want something to happen then my votes will stand with the people. I want to see Emeryville residents increasingly engaged in the political process, speaking up for themselves, and voting in numbers that will continue to shock our neighboring cities (as we did with this year’s election).
We are in a global era of political leaders wanting to hold on to power and remaining there by seeding apathy, not growth. We see bullying tactics on a daily basis from figures with money and power and democracy is our only way to fight against this tide. To be a public servant of the City of Emeryville is truly an honor that I do not take lightly and for those who voted for me and those who didn't, I will not respond to the call of leadership with, "I don't have time," or "I'm not ready."
Do The Right Thing (I’m from Brooklyn) and make room for someone who has the time and is ready.
[A copy of this commentary memo will be included on www.votepriforce.com]
Kalimah - don't you find it problematic to use Brian's blog as a space to present your views? You also cross-post snippets of his inflammatory, intentionally divisive blog on NextDoor. Have you aligned yourself with this person? Someone who openly intimidates people in our community? https://evilleeye.com/news-commentary/disturbing-body-worn-camera-footage-of-school-board-candidate-confrontation-provided-by-epd/
ReplyDeleteI only intimidate the City Council and the School Board (on my good days)....and that's the way it ought to be. People should not be afraid of their government. The government should be afraid of the people.
DeleteBut to your point, Council member Priforce appears to be a different kind of City Council member. By default it can be said he does not find it problematic to quote the Tattler. All the others are too intimidated obviously.
I forgot to say: Thanks for the comment Dianne Martinez. It's good to have former City Council members weigh in at the Tattler. Feel free to comment anytime Dianne.
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