Millbrae recall election: Sign of things to come?

The La Quinta dogfight in Millbrae described a year ago here that pits the city against the county over tax revenue and homeless housing has given us an unintended view of the future.  The move to district elections at the city level was clearly voter suppression--taking away 80% of any individual's votes for city council and creating tiny little districts supposedly to improve "equity".  Couple the two issues together and we now see that recalling elected officials gets easier.  One hot-button issue can spin up enough people in one (or in this case two) tiny districts easily enough to qualify for a recall election.

I will skip the personalities involved, but the Daily Journal piece also shows the cost of these efforts at municipal self-determination and running special elections:

Millbrae is also embroiled in ongoing litigation against the county for choosing to move forward with the project — which the county intends to fund through still in-flux Project Homekey money, as it has done at several other locations throughout the county.   The lawsuit, which has cost the city $230,000 as of May, City Manager Tom Williams said previously, alleges that Millbrae residents have a right to vote on whether they want the housing project in their community under Article 34 of the state Constitution. 

(Councilmember) Cahalan said she’d wait to see the results of the lawsuit — which the presiding judge said would be returned by June 26 — before commenting further on the project.

And on the cost front:

The special election will cost the city approximately $143,000. The councilmember will be recalled if more than 50% of the votes are in favor. Once they are removed, the positions will be vacant until it is filled by appointment or an election to the unexpired terms.

While that sounds like a lot of money, remember Millbrae would stand to lose $750,000 every year in perpetuity from the lost hotel tax.  One wonders if the Malibu attorney behind the move to tiny little districts had this in mind? 

Comments

[Joanne]

Just couldn't fathom why we were going to district elections? And every city bowed down due to fear of a lawsuit.

Never made sense,

[Paloma Ave]

I cannot understand why the council members in Millbrae and Burlingame seem so determined to follow their own agendas instead of representing the best interests of their constituents?

[Jimby]

The good guys won!

https://www.yimbylaw.org/millbrae-ca-homeless-housing

Hopefully the recaps will fail too

[Facts]

Millbrae recall will be moot if Regional Measure 4 passes, as the $20 BILLION BAHFA bond contains a poison pill that removes your constitutionally protected right to vote locally on certain housing projects.

Even if your whole county voted against it, as long as it passed the nine regional counties, it would be law. BAHFA will have the power to make and break cities simply by removing their TOT Tax.

[Joe]

It appears the recall effort was a blowout sending the two council members out to pasture and perhaps sending a message to the county supes about stepping on other peoples' toes. From the DJ:

With semiofficial results now showing a sweeping recall against Millbrae councilmembers Angelina Cahalan and Maurice Goodman, the city is now looking toward the future.

(Councilwoman Ann Schneider) laid the blame squarely on the Board of Supervisors for moving forward with the La Quinta Inn project without listening to the people of Millbrae, who were hurt and angry at the decision, she said.

Those concerns translated successfully to a 70% yes vote on recalling Cahalan, who represents District 2, and 78% yes vote on recalling Goodman, who represents District 4.
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Losing 4 out of 5 constituents is a sure sign of being tone deaf to the desires of your district.

[Peter Garrison]

“I’d rather stand for myself and for my beliefs.”
Goodman District 4

Stand for your people and their beliefs.
Be a public servant.

It’s the civic government telling us citizens what they think we should do, believe, and vote that bugs me. Even to the point of those bossy banners in the streetscape telling me to “Play” “Rest” even “Live” for crying out loud.

Get out of my kitchen, fireplace, garden and inner dialogue.

[Grace]

Is anyone aware that last Friday at 4:48 pm the Board of Supervisors announced a Special Meeting to discuss a ballot initiative to override Title 34 voting by Cities regardless of whether shelters/housing is built by the County, State or any other govt entity? (I doubt it is legal but you never know with our crazy courts). The Special Meeting took place on Tuesday wherein they decided to get each cities input before they more forward with a vote on August 6th. So because a lot of City Council's are on summer break they plan to ask for letters from City Managers, without any input from constituents. Please remind me when I voted for the City Manager? As a side note, Brownrigg spoke as a rep of Heart and of course he is all in for removing constituents' rights. I am disappointed that they are trying to slip this on the ballot at the last minute and without a chance for meaningful input.

[Cassandra]

Big government.
Teeny democracy.
As with district elections it’s all a ploy to divide and conquer the voters’ will.

[resident]

It looks like Maurice needs to replace his government health care benefits.

Two former elected officials, who have both served extensively on school boards, are both looking to win the Area 5 seat, which largely represents Pacifica, Millbrae and Burlingame.

Maurice Goodman is racing against Mike O’Neill, both with intentions to address equity and their own ideas on how to mitigate financial concerns.

Goodman, who was recently recalled as councilmember in Millbrae, said his experience serving two terms on the San Mateo County Community College District and two terms on the South San Francisco Unified School District equips him for the job.