Defunct Chamber Newsletter Gets School District Nod

A Weird Way To Look For A New 
School Board Member

Opinion / News Analysis
After the May 10th resignation of Emery School Board president Cheryl Webb, the School District went to work distributing notice of the vacancy in area newspapers including the defunct Chamber of Commerce newsletter the Emeryville Connection the Tattler has learned.   The public notice of a school board vacancy and search for replacement is mandated by the State Board of Education for any school board that would appoint a replacement of a resigned board member; it's part of the requirement to "widely circulate" the search for a viable candidate.  The Tattler received a document that shows Emery School District sent request to advertise in the San Francisco Chronicle, the Oakland Tribune and the Chamber of Commerce defunct news blog.

A review of the Emeryville Connection shows that the newsletter stopped publication in April 2009 but it briefly started back up in March 2011 after the Chamber of Commerce received $25,000 from City Hall in early 2011 to advertise the city's Economic Development Program in the news letter blog.  The Emeryville Connection has not published any material since March 2011.  The newsletter has a circulation of zero.

If the School District's goal is to widely circulate the search for a new School Board appointment, as the law requires, we wonder why they selected an organization with a defunct news blog with no circulation.  We wonder why, if the School District is not just playing politics, wouldn't they advertise the search request with the news blog with the largest circulation in the city?  Is it because the news blog with the largest circulation is also the one that has been critical of School District policies?  Is it because the proper news blog to sent notice of the search is the Emeryville Tattler, and the School District is ready to subvert its mandate to properly conduct the search instead of heaven forbid, acknowledge the existence of the Tatter?  We think that's the case here.

The Chamber of Commerce, a private company, has received money from the city for many years including $40,000 per year to produce The Emeryville Connection and ten years of free rent for their office.  In May, the city council gave the Chamber another $15,000.  They've obviously earned the respect of this council...enough to engage in a little mutual pay to play.

It's illuminating that of the two Emeryville organizations, the Chamber of Commerce and the Emeryville Tattler, the one that carries water for the city council majority, the one that gives re-election money to the council majority through its political action committee, versus the one that's critical and offers a dissenting view; it's the one that's a sycophant for the council majority that's routinely offered cash from the public coffers by this council.  That political patronage model may be an efficient way to maintain power for the council majority but it's not a proper way to conduct a widely circulated search for a school board appointee.

In Print, 'Emeryville Connection' Dead & Gone Says Chamber

Chamber Claims It's OK To Receive Public Money: 

'Emeryville Connection' Print Version Gone, To Restart In Digital Form

In the topsy-turvy world of Emeryville politics, apparently it's A-OK for public money to be doled out to a private company for the production of an on-line newsletter nakedly assisting favored council members but a print version could be problematic.  The Emeryville Chamber of Commerce says public monies given to the organization for its newsletter to help promote certain City business does not constitute a "restart" of its formerly printed newspaper the 'Emeryville Connection'.

In response to inquiries from Councilwoman Jennifer West, The Chamber's president Bob Canter insists that the defunct Emeryville Connection, published on newsprint and "mailed monthly to every address in Emeryville", will not be restarted but instead a new on-line newsletter will be produced, maybe with a different name.  For purposes of receiving public money, that, apparently is a critical difference.

The response letter sent to Councilwoman West and forwarded to the Tattler appears to attempt to put to rest concerns that the Chamber will receive taxpayer money to further its partisan politicking displayed by the Emeryville Connection because it will not be printed in "hard copy format", Mr Canter noted.  He said that the Chamber intends on enhancing their digital communications and he stressed, "The fact is that the Emeryville Chamber of Commerce does not have, and never HAS had, any plans whatsoever to restart the Emeryville Connection in any form other than digitally".

A $25,000 contract between the Chamber of Commerce and the City stipulates that the Chamber help forward the business promotion scheme the City has started called an 'Enterprise Zone'.  The contract mandates the Chamber must, "assist with the Enterprise Zone implementation" and to  "Disseminate information about the Enterprise Zone to the business community through Chamber newsletter".

Mr Canter insists the Chamber "does not require any sort of up-front capital investment from any source" to produce the digital newsletter, however the City will, in fact pay the Chamber to do exactly that.  The arrangement provides that the Enterprise Zone promotion earmarked for the newsletter over a one year time span, combined with organizing a seminar, represents 30% of the paid contract work to be performed by the Chamber.

Apparently, president Bob Canter isn't the only one who thinks that the new digital format for the Chamber newsletter is somehow salient to the question of public money supporting a private organization's partisan politicking and influence peddling.  A city staff member who wished to remain anonymous stepped into the fray, "The contract does not include paying for the Connection", the staffer told Ms West in a letter to the councilwoman .  Mr Canter was more definitive, "NO restart of our old newspaper, period".

The Emeryville Tattler first reported the story of the public money going to finance the Chamber's newspaper in a December 27th edition.

The Emeryville Connection: Bringing Anyone Together? Not!

Who's REALLY Trying To Buy Emeryville?

Opinion
Since last week's city council vote to fund the Chamber of Commerce and their newspaper the 'Emeryville Connection' with public money, it's instructive to see just what we're going to be buying.  How far is the Chamber of Commerce willing to go with our money to make sure their candidates for city council are elected?

Below is a story from October 2007 when the Chamber endorsed Ken Bukowski, Nora Davis and Ruth Atkin for the council.  Reading the story, it is readily apparent the Chamber doesn't limit itself only to endorsing candidates, negative attack pieces are part of the agenda as well and they have not shied away from using lies in furtherance of their political goals.

The story below illustrates the Chamber of Commerce's outrage that out-of-town labor interests are behind the election of challenger Shilen Patel.  An interesting comment coming from the president of the Chamber, Bob Canter, himself an out-of-towner from Martinez. What the Chamber isn't telling Emeryville voters is that their candidates are funded almost entirely by out-of-town corporate developer interests.

The Chamber discredits the Emeryville resident grassroots campaign that Mr Patel garnered, not letting on that their candidates truly had virtually no grassroots support.

The Chamber claims Mr Patel is not qualified to be on the council since he had not sat on any committees in town.  They retell this same old concoction from Mayor Davis, heard every election cycle that only "experienced" candidates are permissible.  What they don't say, conveniently, is that only by getting in the good graces of Mayor Davis are residents allowed to sit on any committees.  It's a perfect system for getting only their preferred candidates elected.

Bob Canter thinks
Emeryville is so nice,
he lives in Martinez

Interestingly, while the Chamber of Commerce is telling readers that labor support disqualifies candidates for the city council, they fail to mention that two of their own; Ruth Atkin and Kurt Brinkman both received labor support.  Had they done so, it might have tended to discredit their oft repeated claim that those supported by labor won't work in Emeryville's interests.  At least working people live and work in Emeryville unlike the corporate CEOs the Chamber seems to love so, another fact they don't mention.

We have no problem with the Chamber of Commerce supporting the candidates they want and even denigrating those they don't (as long as they're not engaging in deception).   The problem is they should do it on their own dime.  It is dead wrong for the city council to force the taxpayers to support this naked politicking, regardless whether they think they will be helped in their re-elections by the Chamber.

The Chamber of Commerce asks the readers of the story below to investigate for themselves and then decide, knowing that without a newspaper in town virtually none will.  So we repeat; read the story below for yourself and then decide, is this really where we want our taxpayer money spent?    

Reprint from the Emeryville Connection:

WHO’S TRYING TO BUY EMERYVILLE?

October 2007

It’s no secret that it takes money – often lots of it
to run for political office, so it was no surprise
to see that most of the candidates running
for Emeryville City Council this year are busy
raising funds.

But more than the amounts raised, those who 
care about the future of our City need to 
pay close attention to the sources of the 
monetary, and in-kind help, being funneled 
to the various candidates.

Apart from our inability to endorse Shilen Patel 
for the Emeryville City Council based on his 
lack of experience, lack of community 
involvement and lack of demonstrated 
knowledge of the local community and issues 
facing it, we note something else disturbing 
about his candidacy.

Based on the latest campaign filings, as 
of September 27th, the vast amount of Mr. 
Patel’s funding comes from outside of 
Emeryville. In addition, Mr. Patel has 
received the endorsement of the Alameda 
County Central Labor Council (CLC), and 
should he be elected we believe his actions 
will be directed by outside organizations that 
do not have Emeryville’s best interests at 
heart. To quote from a letter dated September 
26, 2007 and sent to voters in Emeryville, 
the CLC is backing Mr. Patel because he 
will: “…solicit our input, listen to our ideas, 
and promote our values.” We need an 
independent-minded councilmember who will 
vote to keep Emeryville on the healthy and 
prosperous track; NOT one beholden to 
outside organizations which do not have the 
best interests of THIS community at heart. 
Accepting a huge amount of support from 
outside organizations which are looking to 
drive a stake through the economic heart of 
Emeryville is not acceptable. Other than 
incumbent Councilmember John Fricke – who 
has formally endorsed Mr. Patel and is listed 
as an in-kind contributor on Mr. Patel’s most 
recent campaign filing, we can discern no true, 
meaningful grassroots support for Shilen 
Patel from within Emeryville.

Emeryville can take care of itself. We do not 
need outside forces foisting unqualified candidates 
on the electorate. You may have already received 
a letter, phone call, or visit on behalf of Mr. Patel 
for City Council. But beware: The “Friends of 
Shilen Patel” are not friends at all – perhaps friends 
of the Central Labor Council, but not friends of 
Emeryville. Trace the money, letters and phone 
calls, decide for yourself, then decide to whom 
Mr. Patel will owe his allegiance: the Emeryville 
electorate, or his out-of-town supporters.

Post Published: 01 October 2007
Author: editor
Found in section: ViewPoint

Patronage Politics At Play: Opinion

Bukowski, Davis & Brinkman Play Politics With Public Money

Opinion

An anonymous Tattler commenter got it right: The recent vote by council members Ken Bukowski, Nora Davis and Kurt Brinkman to extend public money to restart the Chamber of Commerce's newspaper sounds like mutual backscratching.

The newspaper produced by the Chamber, The Emeryville Connection, can't make it on its own.  The last issue came out in October of 2009 just before the last Emeryville election where they strongly endorsed Chamber member Kurt Brinkman and Planning Commissioner Frank Flores.  They called subsequently elected council hopeful Jennifer West, "inexperienced" and "against growth" and urged voters to reject her.

Just that offensive and those endorsements alone should automatically disqualify the Chamber of Commerce and their Emeryville Connection from receiving any public money.  But the Emeryville Connection also strongly endorsed the re-election of Ken Bukowski and Nora Davis in the previous election while they ran a campaign of disinformation and smears against challenger Shilen Patel.

In addition, Mr Bukowski, Ms Davis and Mr Brinkman all took election campaign money from the Chamber of Commerce's political action committee before they voted to grant the Chamber free rent at their headquarters at 3980 Harlan Street, a property leased by the City. The fact that the Chamber of Commerce even has a political action committee should bar the organization from taking public money.

Distressingly, the one year contract with the City voted on by the three council members will enable the Chamber and the Emeryville Connection to smear some candidates and endorse other candidates for council, all with public money in the November 2011 election,  a point undoubtedly not lost on the Chamber.

This all smacks of old fashioned patronage politicking, perhaps not illegal but it certainly lacks transparency.  We call on these three council members to call back this arrangement with the Chamber of Commerce.  We feel it is OK for the City to spend money to try to attract business to town but funding a partisan newspaper produced by an organization so heavily involved in Emeryville elections is beyond the pale.  We say this public money for the start-up of the defunct Emeryville Connection is dirty politics.  The people of Emeryville deserve a better kind of politics than this.

Council Grants Chamber Of Commerce $25,000

Public Money To Fund Sectarian Private Business:

City Gives $25,000 To Chamber Of Commerce, Newspaper To Restart

The same newspaper that has endorsed the elections of Ken Bukowski, Nora Davis and Kurt Brinkman will now receive public money courtesy of Ken Bukowski, Nora Davis and Kurt Brinkman.

The city council voted last Tuesday to grant the Chamber of Commerce, a private company, $25,000 for consulting services related to certain economic development programs and the city's Climate Action Plan. Included in the economic component of the agreement is funding to restart the defunct Chamber newspaper for one year to "disseminate information" about the city's 'enterprise zones', a business promotion scheme.  The vote was 3-1 with Jennifer West dissenting and Ruth Atkin was absent.

For years, the City paid outright to print the Chamber of Commerce's highly biased newspaper, the 'Emeryville Connection' but the controversial funding ultimately was discontinued after mounting public outcry ensued over the inappropriate use of public money for such a partisan purpose.   The Emeryville Connection sputtered along on its own for several months before it finally stopped production in 2009 do to lack of money. Now the shuttered newspaper is to have new life breathed into it once again; like before with Emeryville taxpayer's money.

The Chamber first approached the City with the funding idea, drawing an enthusiastic response from the city staff who exclaimed the Chamber's "excellent working relationship with the city" in the accompanying report to the council.  The approved agreement pays the Chamber of Commerce $100 per hour, its billing rate based on monthly invoices until the $25,000 is used up.  The Chamber would then be free to renegotiate another contract with the City.

The Emeryville Connection newspaper, with its logo "news that brings us together", endorsed many city council candidates over the years including Mr Bukowski, Ms Davis and Mr Brinkman but it also devoted pages against other candidates including council member Jennifer West and former councilman John Fricke. In addition, the newspaper  urged readers to vote for or against many local Measures including No on Measure C, the living wage ordinance for hotel workers.  Legions of critics of the Emeryville Connection say the newspaper was very hostile against workers and routinely favored business at the expense of the residents.

Council support for funding the newspaper last Tuesday night followed partisan lines with those members that have received favorable treatment by the Chamber over the years supporting it and the one member that received Chamber condemnation opposing it.

Council member West inveighed against the funding, citing the considerable largess already bestowed upon the Chamber of Commerce by the City including the rent free office space the Chamber enjoys at the City's expense.  The staff however said in their report that the Chamber should receive the money since the agreement between the Chamber and the City will "enhance the City's ability to achieve goals and objectives related to the Enterprise Zone, its Climate Action Plan and business attraction, retention and workforce development programs".