Citizens Oversight Committee: No Oversight

Cheerleaders in, Overseers Out

$95 Million Oversight Committee To Be Handpicked By School Board

$95 million ain't chump change. 

Anytime a government agency is given the authority to dispense funds of that magnitude, history tells us it's a good idea to build in safeguards to ensure proper fiduciary diligence.  However, the Tattler has learned that the "oversight" to be performed by a Measure J mandated 'oversight committee' will be staffed by cheerleaders of Measure J, not disinterested overseers.

The Measure J campaign literature assures us oversight is well taken care of and point to the enactment of an 'independant citizens oversight committee' should the measure pass but what the literature fails to mention is the fact that the committee would be hand selected by the very institutions that have been pushing the measure and that have shown intolerance for independent dissenting voices in the past: the city council and the school board.  
These are the same two institutions that have moved to shut out dissenters from the deliberative committee for the Center of Community Life called the Partners Committee several years ago.  In October, they reconfirmed their tight control of committee membership and disallowing of dissent. 

Emeryville residents have been barraged by Measure J campaign literature in a $50,000 blitz selling the idea of building a 'Center of Community Life' school rebuild by spending $95 million in bond money added to $25 million in general fund money from City Hall.  The total cost of the bond will be at least $383 million with three out of every four dollars paid by taxpayers going to interest.    

The Center of Community Life is the name of the building project that will receive the $95 million from passage of Measure J.  Measure J watchers have noted the claims of  "citizens" in 'citizens oversight' is meant to blunt criticisms of the elitist culture surrounding the building of the Center of Community Life.