Debate Recap - One Man's Opinion

I was pleased to stumble upon a nice jazz trio playing at Barracuda last night after I left the City Council candidate's debate because I needed dinner and some relaxation.  For someone who follows local affairs very closely, it was frustrating to hear some of the candidates' erroneous positions or lack of understanding of how things run.  The two incumbents (Brownrigg and Keighran) did very well.  If you are reading this you know that Russ Cohen and I have worked together on the Voice, Highspeedboondoggle, CBB, and several other local initiatives over the last 16 years so I am biased in his favor.  Not that he needs my biased review because it was obvious to plenty of people that he was far and away the strongest non-incumbent.

The Daily Journal has a melange of the statements here, but to get the real essence of it you need to watch the stream on www.burlingame.org here.  Let's go left to right.  This was my first exposure to Nirmala Bandrapalli and I was underwhelmed.  A statement like "high density is inevitable" on Question 1 is just naive in the face of zoning codes, CEQA and our intense community involvement (remember Safeway?).  This gives me real pause as to why she was recently appointed to the Planning Commission nevermind a City Council seat.  Most of her answers were content-free.  High profile supporters like Terry Nagel and John Root had to be embarassed by the poor performance.  For me, Nirmala became Nomala in two quick hours.

Steve Duncan reminded me of Paul Prendeville from elections past.  He sounded like a genuinely nice guy who basically thinks things are going well as they are and didn't have any real suggestions for improvement.  The two realtors (Alex Kent and Andrew Peceimer) were very focused on the budget and unfunded pension liabilities.  I certainly see those as important--just go here, here and a dozen other posts.  What was lacking was what to do about it beyond the current council's actions over the last 18 months.  Peceimer's mail piece was similar and got me wondering how he can rail against excessive city bond issues and spending and pension liabilities on one hand and advocate for a new parking structure (price tag $30M+) in the same mail piece.  It got no clearer last night.  His criticism of the Avenue streetscape was short a few facts (which the incumbents provided) and the school crowd will remember his high-profile opposition to the last two school bond measures very clearly.

I was a little surprised by Ricardo Ortiz' responses last night as well.  Knowing Ricardo over the years I can definitely agree with his basic message that he works well with others.  I thought he really struggled beyond that to articulate a clear vision of what he thinks should be different.  My quick survey of the room showed I was not alone.  Robert Schinagl also surprised me.  He listed himself as a store clerk on the ballot, but noted a long career in senior roles at Security Pacific Bank and Oracle followed by law school and a law enforcement career.  Who knew?  He came never quite warmed up to the proceedings and two attendees saw him as "angry".  My guess is he would agree and that alone can drive someone to throw their hat into the ring just to have a say for one night on TV.

All I can say is thank goodness for that jazz trio at Barracuda and a nice tuna roll.

Comments

[fred]

Are you going to post my comments from this morning?

[hillsider]

Nirmala actually got a break from having so many candidates this time. If she had had 2 or 3 minutes per answer instead of just the one the shallow experience would have been even more obvious

[Holyroller]

Is it to late for Elder Cathy Baylock to reconsider retirement.

[old guy]

The Broadway question made me realize how many of these people live near Broadway. Now I get why most of them have no problem screwing up Burlingame Avenue with giant parking structures and condos and Washington Park too. To them is just like going to San Mateo 3rd avenue but closer.

[Alexander Kent]

Mr. Joe Baylock-Cohen, I am not a "Realtor". This title pertains to selling homes. I've never sold a home for a client, but I mostly (90%) work with Public & Private Schools and Faith-based organizations on real estate strategy, financial analysis, and contract negotiations. The other 10% is data center real estate acquisition work for clients like The Carlyle Group. I also train Wall Street equity analyst about the Telecom/Data Center industry. Thank you! Alexander Kent www.alexkent.org

[Joe]

Did you not mention some topics that you and Andrew had both heard about when you went to Realty Association meetings? Since when does "realtor" strictly apply to residential. If that is the case, all the "commercial realtors" in the world must be confused!

[JimBobster]

Joe, you missed Peceimer's point. Why would you spend 17 million on Burlingame Ave. and have reduced parking? His point was the current council did not care and that parking considerations should have been taken in to account first, he was not necessarily advocating 30 million for a garage. Others seemed to remark as such too including Schinagel.

[Wha?]

Dude. Your occupation is SCHOOL REAL ESTATE on the ballot. Wha?

[JimBobster]

As for Schinagl, he did seem angry, which is why I liked him. If every candidate is just supposed to smooch the rears of the incumbents then why have an election at all? Why not just one person making all of the decisions for the city as clearly there is no existing alter-ego to those on the council. After some of the stats and points I heared, I think Schinagl's anger is warranted, and a fair motivation to get involved in this thing. I'll leave the negatives about the candidates to you fine folks. BTW- can anyone tell me what actor Schinagl looks like? I was trying to place it the whole night.

[Joe]

Oh Jim Bobster, I do enjoy when some newbie shows up on the Voice suggesting I missed something. Pardon me if I find that funny. Perhaps you can spend two weeks reading the last few years of posts first?

I also enjoy when some newbie quotes back the $17 million figure. You apparently missed the whole discussion about the Avenue landowners paying 25% ($5.2M) of the tab. That money was not going to be otherwise volunteered so please save 25% of your angst right off the top.

As to the parking loss, during your week reading the back posts on the Voice you will find the educated opinion from Pat Giorni about why parallel is better than angled. You may disagee--after you have educated yourself, but plenty of people agree with her. By the way, these spaces are longer than required to accomodate Bgame and Hborough SUVs. Do you have a problem with that? Does it not make sense to you? The rest of the argument--sewer replacement, digging up the gas tanks from the '20's, new AT&T conduit, four times as many trees as before with built-in irrigation makes Andrew's little tirade seem....little.

Look I found Mr. Schinagl somewhat refreshing except for the part about how Hillsborough did parking and street width things. The last I checked Hillsborough doesn't have a downtown. So that was.......confused on his part. He might also want to check out the new street light standards. I bet he will like them since they are just what he was pining for on Thursday night!

Thanks for your comments. Welcome to the informed forum for Burlingame affairs. I hope you spend the time to come up to speed so I can look forward to your future comments.

[fred]

I would take Schnagl over Cohen any day of the week. How is losing 10 to 13 parking spaces on the Avenue an improvement? It isn't. He spoke common sense and he was right, what to do on Broadway get the fire hoses back out there and clean the sidewalks. Cohen's suggestion the usual: nothing.

I would take Ortiz over Cohen any day of the week. He can work well with others and Cohen was polarizing, that's why he didn't win re-election.

Jim Bobster doesn't need to spend weeks reading the same diatribe found weekly on this blog, anybody can tell some things are amiss in town.

[fred]

Another reason Russ Cohen didn't get re-elected the Tom the Tree debacle.

http://www.sfexaminer.com/sanfrancisco/will-tom-the-tree-get-the-ax/Content?oid=2154381

It made Burlingame a joke in the eyes of many in the Bay Area. Dragged on forever what a waste of time and manpower and if JimBobster does go back and re-read these posts, I suggested at the time concerned Burlingame residents should form a group to help with the trees in Burlingame similar to what Palo Alto has with Canopy.org. Only responses I got were crickets and I'm too busy for that so I will continue to complain on the internet instead.

[fred]

JimBobster, he looks like Bill Murray's brother John Murray. He was the caddy boss in Caddyshack.

[fred]

Or Brian Doyle Murray, one of the brothers.

[Joe]

Fred, love your opinion because it is an informed opinion. Most of the time. When you write:

He can work well with others and Cohen was polarizing, that's why he didn't win re-election.

You conveniently omit that Cohen got outspent by Jerry Deal 4 to 1. 4 times the campaign expenditures--and lost by 82 votes. Maybe it was 81. In any case, outspent by thousands on direct mail, 40 people were swayed to go the other way. Your conclusion is wrong.

[Russ]

OK, Time for me to weigh in and correct some factual errors by Fred. It is clear that I will not sway Fred from his entrenched position, but the facts deserve to be evident here.

a.) I never wavered on my position re: "Tom" the tree. From day one I was opposed to removal and my position of simply putting a sign that read, "bump ahead" would not have only saved the tree, but saved the city $ and help to slow traffic on Easton. Let's put this issue from 6 years ago behind us, but know that the debacle came from one council member changing her mind mid stream.

b.) It is illegal to simply wash the sidewalks down with a hose in commercial districts. Contaminated water then runs to the bay and pollutes it. Steam cleaning is the suggested method. Not my rule, state law.

c.) I have achieved a great deal in the best interest of Burlingame. These achievements are a testament to all the folks who helped along the way. This demonstrates my ability to communicate and develop action plans in a team environment. I would request you ask anyone who has ever worked with me as a volunteer or on a professional level and you will get a clear answer regarding the ease by which I work with others.

Fred, I am available to chat with you over a cup of java or a mug of beer anytime. And as I have said before on this forum, I encourage you to express your opinion here, even if means that I take a lump or two from you. Keep on blogging, brother.

One more note: I have tried to stay away from rendering opinions or defending my positions here during the campaign, so it's unlikely I will enter into a debate on these issues or any other, unless, as in the case, the facts are unsubstantiated.

[fred]

Thanks for the kind words, Joe. That is a significant disparity in spending, however Russ was an incumbent and they always have an advantage. I think the two incumbents are very hard to beat this election even without a lot of spending and such a large field.

Also, Russ works in the marketing field and has a lot of volunteer hours by himself and others that mitigate that difference in spending. Bonus is having your own website like this to promote your candidacy and get back-up from others while trying to tear down the competition.

[Poppy Guy]

"The Broadway question made me realize how many of these people live near Broadway. Now I get why most of them have no problem screwing up Burlingame Avenue with giant parking structures and condos and Washington Park too. To them is just like going to San Mateo 3rd avenue but closer."

Well, that's an awfully jaded view of human nature and Burlingamers. I for one have more faith that we here in Burlingame aren't making up our minds about this just because it's "the other guy's problem."

I live in Easton, and I for one care very much how the Avenue gets re-developed, hopefully in a thoughtful way that keeps B'game a great place to live.

[been here forever]

And just to add to that. It was Nagel who flip flopped on the Tom tree issue, hence the "waste of time." She was up for re-election as he article states and couldn't decide which community group to support, which would garner her the most votes.
Cohen stuck to his guns, whether you agree or not and was not the cause of the so called waste of time. It was Nagel and her inability to make a decision and stick by it.

[fred]

It was the right call, late, yes. I remember the Mayor Fence Post thing. But it was Cohen and the CBB and the ridiculous notion of a one way street. Again, another land grab. It wasn't Nagel who named the tree 'Tom the Tree'. At the time the experts said if you want to save the Eucalyptus for as long as possible cable them to prevent them from splitting as they age. Has that happened for a single Eucalyptus in Burlingame? One tree countless hours and dollars wasted, two years, he had a huge part in that. Guns and all.

Very similar to the disruption to construction to the new San Mateo High School. How long was that delay and how many hudreds of thousands of dollars did that waste?

[fred]

The historical museum, the one that's open for only 30 or so hours a year in a prime Burlingame location, does it still house a slice of Tom the Tree or is it in storage? I know some members of the historical society didn't think that was appropriate considering how contentious and goofy the issue was.

[been here forever]

And Cohen was only on the council for two years, which would not really be the equivalent of a true incumbent. Word on the street was that Deal was the chosen choice of some people who think they are influential, but they do apparently have money to dump into someone's campaign who suits their purposes.
I have been around for a long time and thereby hear a lot.
You are very informed Fred, and I love reading what you have to say, but there are some inaccuracies this time.
I gather you have been around for a long time as well?

[fred]

Yes I have. I know for sure the 'influential' don't get together and decide who is their golden child for city office. There are a lot of different players in town, most know each other at varying degrees and pretty much all of them want what's best for Burlingame. What that is exactly, is not always clear and there is no huge consensus. Except perhaps for this post office. I'm pretty certain the Grosvenor plan is not approved by the majority of residents, property owners or business owners in Burlingame.

[been here forever]

Also Fred, I don't recall CNN having much to do with the Tom the tree debacle. Maybe there were just people involved who also had had some ties with CBB? I don't really even recall Cohen as being extremely vocal other than wanting to save the tree. But there were many citizens who came forward with plans as to how to save the tree. Seems like the one way street idea was posed by a citizen??
All I do know is that Nagel was responsible for the lengthy "negotiations" of that one due to her inability to make a decision.

[been here forever]

Oops. CBB !!! Too old to not make typos. Sorry.