Body Politic
That’s ironic, given Half Moon Bay’s small-town, neighborly feeling; you would think that a town with such a strong bond between neighbors would be a place where people work together to get things done.
But here on the coast, divisiveness can easily derail good intentions. We saw this phenomenon recently, when the school board was sailing toward a decision to break from Wavecrest and finally get the new middle school built – a decision that was building a tremendous amount of community good will, and a decision that was scuttled and delayed at the last minute for political purposes (that is, a few divisive, behind-the-scenes people didn’t want good news about the school to make the current City Council look good right before the Nov. 8 election). This divisive element also stymied the process for updating the Local Coastal Plan, and it even denigrated and scoffed at the idea of acquiring and building a new 22-acre park in town.
The point is, it’s easy to be negative and angry and derisive, it’s easy to make snide comments about whatever the city is doing. It’s easy to slightly twist the truth and get people worked up about the city’s plans, no matter what those plans might be.
What is more difficult in this town is bringing people together, building something, making things happen.
In the City Council election Nov. 8, the contrast between candidates is striking. This election is crucial, because the two styles of politics vary so wildly.
One candidate in particular, George Muteff, is the epitome of divisive politics. His recent appearance on inflammatory “Hot Talk” radio showed what he was really about — lots of talk about how “crazy” things are in Half Moon Bay, and bad-mouthing current Council members with the nastiness and derision that are the hallmarks of his speech.
Naomi Patridge supports this guy by passing out his campaign literature. She may be a nice lady, but her politics are not always so genteel. (Patridge, during her previous terms on the Council, from 1985 to 2001, was not known for her inclusiveness; she did not build bridges with opponents. And during those years in office, she managed to approve the building of 1,500 new homes, too. That many homes would have meant about 4,500 new people in Half Moon Bay, and in a town of 12,000 people that’s a pretty significant jump.)
In contrast, there are two City Council members running for re-election, Jim Grady and Mike Ferreira, and a community activist, Steve Skinner, who do things in a different manner.
• The current Council, with Grady and Ferreira leading the way, managed to resolve lawsuit after lawsuit that stemmed from all of those large-residential- subdivision approvals from the Patridge years.
• The current Council, with Grady and Ferreira leading the way, managed to build bridges and settle with Wavecrest Partners – a significant testament to their ability to work with everyone, and made more significant by Wavecrest’s endorsement of the two of them for this election.
• The current Council, with Grady and Ferreira leading the way, also bridged the wide gap with the Cabrillo Unified School District board, to the point where the city and school district are working together on plans to build the new middle school – wherever the school board decides it should end up being built.
• The current Council, with Grady and Ferreira leading the way, have worked with the California Coastal Commission to resolve the Kehoe Ditch problem. Grady and Ferreira have worked with county officials and farmers to fix the failed wells problem. Grady and Ferreira have worked with the Transportation Authority, the county and the state to secure funds for the widening of Highway 92.
All of those accomplishments have come about because the current Council works with neighbors and government officials to resolve problems. It’s a laborious process, building consensus, but it ends up with good results. Extreme politics of divisiveness, however, only succeeds in bringing plans crashing to a halt. The my-wayor- the-highway approach may work with football coaching and with dictatorships, but in democracies, it just makes problems worse.
This election is vitally important, for that reason. We have a similar dynamic in the Coastside County Water District race, as well, where Jim Marsh takes a reasoned, listen-to-all-sides approach – while Chris Mickelson is one of the most divisive, snide and close-minded officials on the Coastside.
No matter how you vote, please make sure you do vote on Nov. 8. This election is important, and we urge you to vote for Jim Marsh for the CCWD water board, Gary Burke and Ron Taborski for Half Moon Bay Fire Protection District, Vince Williams for the Point Montara Fire Protection District, and Jim Harvey, Paul Perkovic and Bob Ptacek for the Montara Water and Sanitary District.
And please vote for Mike Ferreira, Jim Grady and Steve Skinner for Half Moon Bay City Council.