Next, please: the expectations, hopes and fears of Ayatollah Balico.

Chris, it is obvious Boulanger has no intention of resigning.

Yeah but I can hope, cant I...?

Mr. Kuehne,
I believe our new city manager has already made up for the city council's lack of experience and knowledge. Just look at the strategic plan document. That alone is a roadmap out of the mess we have found ourselves in as a result of actions of the previous city government, complete with specifics-tangibles. I believe this document is evidence that real solutions are on the way. We are lucky to have Mr. Duran. He will lead the way.

Comment?

Lack of experience and knowledge? Mayor Dan has been immersed in Hercules government affairs for 9 years now. Myrna served (very well indeed) on the Planning Commission before running for Mayor. Bill Wilkins has had a lifetime of muni experience in Oakland. John Delgado is excellent. The current council has NO lack of experience and knowledge.

You want ignorance? The idiotic, thought-free votes of Kuehne and Valstad and Ward, and those of the drunk-driving pistol-packing Joe Eddy, were stupid beyond conception. If Valstad had learned anything in his years of ribboncutting, he sure didn't put it to much use when he was in office. Yes, a few of the more slithery types connected with the Valstad Council knew EXACTLY what they were doing...but they sure didn't use that knowledge for the benefit of Hercules.

Kuehne's council was totally lacking in competence and commitment and ethics. The Romero Council is knowledgable, experienced, engaged, competent, and I trust them completely. It's good that Kuehne has such a low opinion of the current council...given his delusional conception of good governance, we are fortunate to have a council which earns two thumbs down from Dr. (how can that be?) Kuehne.

G.C. - Thanks for your interest in wanting to discuss some of the points I made in my commentary. Here are my responses to your questions:

I recommended fundamental organizational changes, like election of a City Clerk and City Treasurer, because too much power is concentrated in the position of City Manager, which can lead to some of the abuses we have seen in the past. We need a more democratic form of government where important decisions are made by a leadership team. I have suggested one of several ways this can be accomplished.

“Special interests” refers to those who think only about what is best for themselves and their group, organization or business and NOT what is best for Hercules. These people are usually narrowly focused and intolerant of other viewpoints. The money trail is often difficult to follow because the details are buried in financial records not readily available to the public or Council members. Better financial controls and increased reporting requirements are needed.

Lack of experience and knowledge of how government works is true for anyone first elected to the City Council, regardless of their previous community service. There is a steep learning curve for those new on the Council.

Having a new Strategic Plan is good. I commend the new City Manager and Council for making this a top priority. The challenge, as always, will be in executing the plan.

Thank you, Mr. Kuehne, for helping me better understand the governance of our city. Take care.

Mr. Kuehne,

It seems to me as well that the city manager has had too much power in the past, but haven't we always had a leadership team in the form of the city council to make the crucial decisions for our city? You say that we need a more democratic form of government, but isn't the real problem that the democratic form of government we've had in recent years (i.e., an elected council to represent the will of the people), failed in its leadership responsibilities (for example, by approving profligate spending on Red Barn, NEO Consulting, HDR, and Field of Dreams, by spending tens-of-millions of dollars in money borrowed for waterfront development on unrelated, boondoggle land purchases, by the Sycamore North fiasco, by failing to work toward the implementation of the popular Waterfront Initiative, and perhaps most notoriously, by the firing of Charlie Long for bringing sense to this city and then the rehiring of Nelson Oliva in order to give him a sweetheart severance package)?

You define "special interests, but I think that most readers here know what the term means. I think that the question was asking you to name the specific group(s) indicted by your claim that "special interest groups have taken over City Hall" and defend that position.

Well put, on all points.

Recalled (by about 85% of the electorate) Councilman Kuehne has responded only to the softball questions of his solitary fawning supporter, and his "answers" are mush. WHICH special interests control the Romero Council? Kuehne makes the accusation but identifies no specific organizations or individuals, in the great tradition of Senator Joseph McKuehne's long ago Wheeling Speech: "The State Department is infested with communists. I have here in my hand a list of 205...."

I can name a few special interests in Hercules politics: the Oliva Gang, the Balico Gang, the Sakamoto consultancies, the Weigel SpendingSpree Party Season...special interests, and dangerous, but dating from the Valstad Council, KUEHNE'S bunch, and not the current council. Is Kuehne finally ready to renounce Balico? Or does he just wish to have a special definition of "special interests"? And then there's those out-of-town trades unions which helped finance his Don'tRecallMeYouIdiots campaign. People "who think only about what is best for themselves and their group, organization or business and NOT what is best for Hercules"? Like that union in Martinez?

-------------->

More Kuehne!:

"The money trail is often difficult to follow because the details are buried in financial records not readily available to the public or Council members. Better financial controls and increased reporting requirements are needed." You're referring to the Red Barn records, right? And the two city employees responsible for auditing and approving those records, Steve Lawton and Gloria Leon: right? And the others who had to approve Weigel's expenditures, the city councilmembers serving at the time of Weigel's Party. That was you, right?

Mr. Kuehne,
Some of the items you mentioned, such as better financial controls, should be consistent with some sort of auditing standards or criteria for accreditation of local government, yes? The members of the city government and the citizens should be knowledgeable of such standards in order to help ensure maximum oversight.

Any "strategic plan" document should be consistent with such standards. I do not know if ours is, although I found the document very impressive. During your term, your request for the audit was truly a step in the right direction.

Other than Robert's Rules, were you were aware of any such standards for local government operation? Such standards could have provided a template of sorts to guide council members with their duties.

Can our city government pursue any sort of accreditation? This would provide additional assurance to the citizens that our city is on the right track. I need to review the Grand Jury report. Perhaps, such standards were cited in this document.

Thanks again,
Giorgio

Mr. Kuehne,
In the following article, Mr. Boulanger promised to implement a new procedures for the purpose of ensuring a more ethical government.

http://hercules.patch.com/articles/city-council-candidate-profile-gerard-boulanger

What one key procedural change in your mind would visibly raise the bar for ethical standards of our city government?

Glenn: Your comment about the source of my campaign funds is incomplete, misleading, and unfair to labor, which is an important constituency in our community. It is true that I received some contributions from labor organizations; however, nearly 80% of my campaign expenses were paid from personal funds that I contributed to my committee. All of my campaign finance statements are on file at City Hall and available for public review.

The June 2011 election results are old news but you misrepresented the amount of support for my recall. ‘Electorate’ is defined as “all those qualified to vote in an election,” not just those that actually voted. Based on a total of 12,035 registered voters, only 3004 voted for recall, which is 25%, not 85%. Voter turn out was relatively low at 31.6%.

The first place to look for special interests is in the mirror. We all have our special interests and there is nothing wrong in pursuing them, unless we violate the rights of others in the process.

I just want to hear him out. I even read-listen to your comments.

Many thanks, Tim. The Donald always brings out the best in me.

@G.C. - That sure is a lot of supposition and condescension! Do you really think that people here don't know what the word "prominent" means? What is the basis for this mean-spirited and unwarranted personal attack?

Susan,
Jeffrey misunderstood me, so let me rephrase it by placing the emphasis on me instead of you, ok? I apologize for using you as an example, but you were the first subject. By the way, I liked your interview, but the last part brought me down so low. Your dark predictions hit me hard because I respect your intellect, so I fear that your predictions could possibly happen.

Back to Jeffrey's misinterpretation of my post, substituting me instead of you. Here goes.

If "I" had been featured last week, I would have been flattered. I would have believed I was selected because the Patch found me credible or something along those lines. Then, the following week, I see that they interview a recalled councilman, so then I wonder to myself "What's up?" What is the criteria for selection?

That is when I took a closer look at the definition of the word "prominent." I was teaching myself in the process. I apologize if I offended anyone.

Whew!

Phil, things will never again be as interesting as in the years when the Balico Bunch ran this town (into the ground). All we have now is ethical and competent governance. That's great, but nobody does comedy like Valstad & Co.

Susan,
But it still remains. City Hall is an especially interesting group. Perhaps not as interesting as the previous group but interesting in their own special ways.

Dunno. Gloria Leon is a tough act to follow.

Good one, Sue.

I expect that there are a lot of people from the balicoliva era who are giving a lot of thought to the location of their suitcases and passports. Does anyone know the number for Aladdin Bail Bonds?

Laila,
Nothing for you to defend here. I think it is a good idea to hear and understand what the political winds may bring and this discussion offers a message for all concerned.
Thanks, good job.

Steve Lawton still lives here. Gloria Leon fled, but we could try to get her extradited from Napa. Most importantly, balico is still lurking about. I would like to know balico's expectations, hopes and fears for 2012. Something to do with bail, appeals, and the Fifth Amendment. Valstad, too. For someone who had so much to say for so many years, he has been remarkably silent this past year.

Laila,
Well stated. I'm pretty shocked at the negative rxn this article has elicited . Actually, I'm pretty bummed by some of the posters, here. Hateful, approaching a nasty mob mentality. Our city needs to heal, not be angry and nasty.

Deep breaths.

@G.C. - Stop with this "vetting" nonsense! This silly criticism has been made now dozens of times. Do average citizens normally have investigative teams to verify the resumes of contenders for a small town City Council? Have you ever contacted the universities of those you support for local office to verify that they actually graduated from those institutions? Why would you expect others to do that?

Jeffrey,
Our city was just pilfered for millions of dollars and you call "vetting" nonsense? Are you kidding me?

@G.C. - Answer the three questions that I directly asked you and then repeat your scoffing at what I said, then address whether these seem incongruent to you.

@G.C. - Did you read his whole post? Jeffrey was calling the expectation that average people had a capability, much less responsibility, to "vet" Boulanger nonsense. He was not calling the need to vet candidates nonsense. Let me add in some words that Jeffrey left out of his initial sentence (probably because he felt they were redundant, given the obvious nature of his post) so that you can understand - "Stop this 'assumption that average people have the time or resources to independently vet every claim made by candidates" nonsense!"

Thank you for the defense, Douglas. Yes, that was exactly what I was trying to say. It is not like the supporters of Boulanger were the Democratic National Party, with thousands of people seeking office and a short list of dozens of contenders and a team of detectives to investigate the backgrounds of each. Many believed that Kuehne had to be recalled and Boulanger was the one person who stepped up out of commitment to the well-being of our city to tackle this very difficult job for little reward. (I wouldn't have been willing to do it, and apparently neither were any of those who are consistently attacking and ridiculing Boulanger on the Patch.) I and an handful of others believed (and I still believe) that he was the better choice over Kuehne, so we volunteered to hand out some yard signs and door flyers on his behalf. This is the team of supporters being vilified for not contacting a university in France to see if he actually finished his degree when he was a student there. This much-repeated accusation that this handful of citizens was irresponsible by not doing so, specifically, is what I'm decrying as nonsense.

Laila is the trained, qualified person responsible for preventing the possible posting of ethnic slurs as it his her responsibility to ensure such are not being posted on the Patch. Perhaps someone can get her input on this.

Glenn,
Possibly, he meant the following use of "Pinocchieaux" Boulanger. I am of Italian and Polish heritage. If you had written "Pinocchini" or "Pinocciasky" with respect to an Italian or Polish candidate who had lied, I might be offended. I am sure you would not have intentionally used such a "slur", as you have shared with us your fondness of the French culture as a result of your experiences living in France.

Having said that, I respect you for being consistent with your seeking his recall, unlike myself. You have not wavered. Although I filed a complaint against him, I backed off in order to prevent further disharmony with our citizens. Our city council censured and fined him, so I believed letting him remain for his term can do no harm.

I acknowledge that at a later date, someone might cite my stance on this matter as an example of being "fickle" or "waffling" or even "lacking judgement." You will never be accused of being fickle or waffling.

Giorgio

Pinocchieaux = racism? He had better have something better than that.

Glenn, I am referring to your reference at Valstad and the one at McDonald. I am upset with their management of the city as councilmen but being from Norway has nothing to do with it. All of us have ethnic backgrounds we are proud of. I know Kris is proud of his Norwegian background. I would not be happy if you said I was the Jew in the same context. The council should not be identified by nationality or religion. Rather, they should be know as good legislators and caring citizens and honest.

Dave: I called Valstad "the Viking". Is that racist? Valstad is also an American. If I called him "the Yankee", would that be racist? An ethnic SLUR? I referred to MacDonald as "drunk-driving pistol-packing Joe Eddy." What they hell do you see as racist in that? Where is the ethnicity in driving drunk with a concealed loaded gun and withot a permit? He "had a loaded handgun in the glove compartment of his car when El Cerrito police arrested him on suspicion of drunken driving, El Cerrito police Lt. Paul Keith said Friday" (Patch, Councilman McDonald May Face Drunken Driving, Concealed Weapon Charges By Laila Kearney and Charles Burress, November 12, 2010; http://hercules.patch.com/articles/councilman-mcdonald-may-face-drunken-driving-concealed-weapon-charges). This is a man who was arrested for drunk driving and for having "a loaded handgun in the glove compartment" without a permit, and I referred to him as "drunk-driving pistol-packing Joe Eddy," and you were able to find an "ethnic slur" in that? How DARE you? And when did a reference to Scandanavian heritage become a "slur"? Dave Fields, you are ABSOLUTELY OUT OF LINE, and you owe me one helluva apology.

Laila: Dave Fields accused me of using ethnic slurs when:

(1) I referred to Joe Eddy MacDonald, who was arrested for drunk driving while carrying a concealed weapon without a permit, as "drunk-driving pistol packing Joe Eddy." That is NOT "name-calling". That is a description of what he actually did. And DUI and illegal weapon carry are not in any sense ethnic.

(2) I called Valstad a Viking. So what? Is that a slur? Are blue-eyed blond Scandavians a hated and persecuted group, so that any reference to their background is seen as a coded ethnic slur?

I am happy to follow your caveat against name-calling. Nothing I said involved name-calling, beyond the cuteness of "Viking". The only name calling was implicit in Dave Fields' claim, FALSE claim, that I used ethnic slurs.

Glenn,
You know Odin would not appreciate you disparaging the Vikings that way. You'll never make it into Valhalla that way ( - :

Yeah, Phil, except that calling Valstad a Viking is not a disparagement of anyone...but I know that you know that. Only one person here seems capable of extracting an "ethnic slur" from a reference to someone's Norwegianness. But, sure, someone has to stand up against further reference to the humiliating and much-maligned status of being a huge, rich, overeducated, blue-eyed blond Scandanavian living in the most advanced countries on the planet.

Yep, I implied that Valstad "maximize[d] one's personal incompetence when applied to public service." That's a slur, and it is well-deserved. It is NOT, no matter how Dave Fields interprets it, "ethnic".

Are ethnicities now proscribed? Will the Fil-Ams have to be dissolved because they recognize an ethnicity. Will their members be glad that they can no longer think of themselves as Flipinos, but rather, only as engineers, nurses, and councilmembers?

@Glenn Abraham - Are you really making the case that you do not mean the terms "the Viking", “Ayatollah Balico”, “Le weasel” “Father Nelson Oliva and Sister Taylor”, “Brother Balico and Sidekick Sakamoto”, “Pinocchieaux Boulanger”, and “balicoliva" (etc., etc.) to be belittling and disparaging? I do not see your ridicule as an ethnic slur, but it is certainly childish, inappropriately personal, and tedious, and although you might think these are clever, I think that it undermines what are otherwise your many cogent, reasonable, well-thought out points.

@G.C. - So you are directly saying that despite your repeated deriding of Boulanger and your repeated defenses of Kuehne (as here), you prefer Boulanger to Kuehne on the city council. There were exactly two choices on the ballot. So you and I are in 100% agreement about which person to have voted for back in June. I would not have guessed that from the 10,000 or so words you've posted on this subject so far.

Incidentally, it is not true that "many" people demanded that Mr. Boulanger step down. A handful of people demanded it loudly, rudely, and repeatedly. But a very large number of people supported his becoming a city council member and recognize his hard work and commitment to our city. Some of those people were misinformed, admittedly, and his resume embellishment is not to be taken lightly, but in terms of the actual voters choice, I'd bet not a single voter would have chosen Kuehne instead just on knowing that Boulanger didn't actually finish the college degree that he'd been pursuing.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Dave, that wasn't exactly the "helluva apology" I was looking for, and I'll never understand why you chose to mix "ethnic slurs" with my name, but I won't let this ruin a decade-long friendship with someone who I value as much as I do you. I could dispute this...Joe Eddy's DUI and concealed carry arrest should matter as much to Hercules as Ross Mirkarimi's domestic violence arrest does to San Francisco...but, if there's anyone I don't want to fight with, it's you. Please do, in future, be much more careful in deploying toxic phrases like "ethnic slurs".

So Glenn Abraham chastises someone for "deploying toxic phrases." Wow! I am flabbergasted. Isn't it apparent that Glenn Abraham prides himself above all else on his deploying of toxic phrases?

@G.C. - What you have received is cogent rebuttal to nonsense you have stated and chastisement for your mean-spiritedness. It is outrageously self-flattering for you to describe this as an intolerance for your "differing opinions." And it is needlessly hostile and ad hominem to use phrases such as "keep your yaps shut." Is civil discourse unimportant?

Jeff,
Thanks too!

@selina, I'll wait for it to come out on video!
@jeff, thanks.

Phil, it's very polite of you to invite Mr. Kuehne to participate in forming Hercules' future, and we all value politeness and empty formality; but, if he had anything productive to contribute, he would have done so while on the council. What he actually contributed is not, I think, what we need going forward. 85% of the electorate chose to remove Mr. Kuehne from interference in the affairs of the town. I suggest we leave it at that, and stop pretending that he has something useful to say. That pretense cost us dearly in the past.

Glenn,
I suppose you are right. If only way back during the Waterfront Initiative or even during the first 5 months of the task force.......
Or even now........
As you know, I just don't give up easily, even regarding the possibilites of other folks actions.

Phil, I'm not suggesting that you give up, but I do suggest that we not give Kuehne a credibility which he does not deserve, by using hollow decorum to suggest, so politely, that this is a person we should listen to. Kuehne has never apologized and never really accepted responsibility, never indicated that he's even aware that he did something wrong. We should remember the very expensive lessons we've learned, and never rehabilitate Kuehne, nor Balico, nor Valstad, nor any of the assorted clowns and criminals who have not given any indication that they understand what they did wrong, or learned anything from it.

I'd don't believe the buildings that are rotting on the Waterfront were ever placed on the National Register. The homes that were placed on the National Register seem to be well maintained and all occupied at the moment. But I do hope that the Hercules Historical Society will take a more proactive role in making sure that those historic buildings along the waterfront do not fall apart from neglect.

Douglas,
If you don't believe the building are rotting down (a euphemism for falling into such disrepair as to render them useless or at least far to expensive to repair), then I ask you go over to railroad and have a look at them.
And a lot of you have completely missed the point I was making. So....
I was asking why the folks that cared so much for making these building historic now are not involved in the effort to support the waterfront project. That effort is what it will take to restore the houses. No one is going to put the $millions it will require to save them without the rest of the area being improved as well. As I recall the one that has been repaired (Sala) cost roughly $3Million to improve. Even at 1/10 that cost no one will invest in them until the waterfront project is at least underway, if not finished. My discussion is about the waterfront development and those that support it not about the houses.

Phil, I understand your larger point and agree that those with an interest in historic preservation should be advocating for the Waterfront project that includes the restoration of the historic buildings along Railroad Avenue.
I was referring to the National Register-listed homes between Bay Street and Pinole Street. I didn't realize the buildings along Railroad Avenue were also listed on the Register.

Douglas,
Yes there are three on Railroad, there is also one hidden by trees just as you begin the walking trail at the Chelsea wetlands, and there is the large building across from Sala (called the Masonic Lodge). There is also the Queen Anne over by the City corp yard that has been sawn into to pieces. These are all "historic". These are occasional occupied as well. Although by vagrants and homeless.

I have long been mentioning the dilapidated buildings on the waterfront. I hope that no one has thought that I meant the neighborhood of preserved historic home in the neighborhood along Santa Fe Avenue. Those are well-done and an asset to our community. The buildings I've referred to are unoccupied collapsing shacks along Railroad Avenue owned by either David Cury or the city and the two that have been moved to near the intersection of Santa Fe and Railroad and to the Baywood neighborhood.

Annie,
Be careful. Someone might take you up on that offer. I've seen inside. You might want to withdraw the offer.

Susan,
One more try, more directly to my point....
I am trying to get anyone that may still be around, living, and living in Hercules, that was involved in helping with getting the houses on the Historic Register to step up and volunteer their efforts to help with public support of the waterfront. If they are all dead or gone, so be it. But if they are not, it would be nice to have them step up and lend support to the public effort. I do not know how many years ago the Historic registration was done but I can only guess that there must be someone left in the city that cares. For that matter if there are people that are interested in the recovery of these houses but have not been involved in the rest of the project I encourage them to participate in the public dialog to support the waterfront effort for both HBL and eventually for Curry's needs to proceed.
Susan, I am trying to encourage concerned citizens out of the woodworks...so to speak.

Susan,
My question wasn't targeting the owners or the historic society. It is asking where are the people that original did the work and effort to get historic register done. There certainly must have been some special interest group supporting the effort. Who were they and where are they now?

So, who are those original members and are they on the Task Force or did they participate in the Waterfront Initiative?

Very interesting read.
One thing seemed left out. Had the RDA areas been left with there own bonds so that the Waterfront Development had started as desired (planned) then the size of HMU would have grown to reach the critical mass needed to make itself profitable. All roads lead to the failure to advance the waterfront and the ITC years ago even if HMU was a bad idea to begin with.

Seems to me that the RDA was first and foremost a money laundering center in colusion with unscrupulous banks.
Don't forget that the formation of HMU was in response to the false "energy crisis" that was created by Enron for financial and political gain, which resulted in the recall of Gray Davis, the fall of the accounting giants, the creation of Sarbanes Oxley and the reign of "The Governator".

David,
Though I was a Davis supporter, as I remember it the reason he was recalled was because as you stated "nothing had really changed".