2 Publisher’s Corner 3 Subscription Form 4 Events Calendar. Past ,
Upcoming And Ongoing 8 Post Office Relocated To The Ravenswood Retail Center 9 City Of East Palo Alto And City Of Menlo Park Among California Cities With Low
Risk For Fiscal Stress State Auditor Report Concludes 11 East Palo Alto To Receive $1
Million For Climate Change Activities
14 What Does Your City Planning Commission Do? 16 Reorganization - An Opinion 17 East Palo Alto Sanitary
District Incumbents Face Challengers. Daughter Of A Current Serving Director Puts Her Hat In The Race 19 Elected Officials Terms
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From the Publisher
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an you be registered to vote in one jurisdiction, live in another and yet continue to occupy an elected office in your jurisdiction-ofregistration? To run for local political office, one must be registered to vote in that jurisdiction. In addition, they must also reside within the same jurisdiction. The County Elections Office verifies their voter registration and confirms that their voter registration address is within the jurisdiction for which they may be running for political office. There is however little evidence that the elections office makes any effort to verify whether the candidate lives at the address on their voter registration. Candidates can have an address of convenience in one jurisdiction and live in another raising the question as to what constitutes residency. Candidates running for office in San Mateo County must register their candidacy with the County Elections Office. In registering, they must provide their residential address within the jurisdiction they would be seeking office. The County Elections Office publishes on its website, the list of candidates who have been qualified to run for office. Candidates, however, can legally opt out of having their address published. Most surprisingly do! For elected officials who receive some compensation, however minimal, there may be a fiduciary interest in maintaining one’s voter registration in the jurisdiction in which they are serving as an elected official particularly if officials know that the County uses one’s voter registration address to confirm residency in the jurisdiction. In 2016, a Grand Jury Report revealed that the East Palo Alto Sanitary District expense per director was the highest among six similar agencies in the county. Directors were receiving on average $18,360 per year in direct and indirect compensation providing directors strong incentives to continue receiving those benefits despite spending most of their time outside of the jurisdictional boundaries of the agency they serve on. Allegations have been made against a current director of the East Palo Alto Sanitary District Board as to his residency in the District. While the director had lived in the community for a long time and at one time owned property, the director has for several years been residing primarily in another county. The Director has however maintained his voter registration in the District and is allegedly known to commute hundreds of miles to attend board and committee meetings. A trustee on the local school board was also alleged to have lived outside of the district while serving on the board. She allegedly owned properties in several places in California where she spent some time on a regular basis. Not so long ago, a director of the Sanitary board was forced to relocate back into the country after it was determined that she could not legitimately exercise her role as a director while working and living in a foreign country. All these examples raise the question as to whether an elected official can truly serve the public’s interest if they live or spend most of their time in a jurisdiction other than the one they are registered to vote in. The County of San Mateo voter registration rules are clear. One is required to re-register to vote if ‘you move, change your name, or wish to change your political party affiliation.’ The County Elections Office should go further and seek to verify that elected officials do live in the addresses they provide. The boards that elected officials serve on should also self-regulate itself and confirm the residency of their trustees or directors or at least create policies that would ensure they and their colleagues continue to truly represent the public’s interest in their residency. El Ravenswood will continue to seek confirmation of the residency of our elected officials and launch an effort to require that addresses of elected officials be listed on their agency websites. After all, any semblance of privacy is lost, or should be lost, as soon as one declares a desire to run for an elected office.
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/ / Yes I would like to subscribe to El Ravenswood Date: Please Print Clearly Name: First Name:
Middle Initial:
(If Business/Non Profit or Public Agency) Title: Type of Business: Type of Business: Address: City: State: Zip Code: We may share your information with our affiliates and other parties in order to fulfill your subscription request. For any questions, please contact El Ravenswood at (650) 323-4477 or email: info@eastpaloaltoinformation.com Terms and Conditions 1. Delivery will commence the second month following receipt of paid subscription. For example, if El Ravenswood receives your subscription in January, you will receive your first issue in March. 2. The subscription will terminate 12 months after you receive the first issue. 3. EPA Belle Haven Information Inc. reserves the right of the final decision on any dispute. Please post this form including check to: Circulation Department, El Ravenswood, P.O. Box 50849 Palo Alto, CA 94303 Write all checks to: EPA Belle Haven Information Inc. Telephone: 650-323-4477 Email: info@eastpaloaltoinformation.com Facebook: www.face book.com/eastpaloaltobellehaveninformation JANUARY 2020 EL RAVENSWOOD 3
COMMUNITY
PAST EVENTS
December 6, Friday 3:00 P.M. The City of East Palo Alto’s Inaugural Tree Lighting, Bell Street Park
Holiday Tree at Bell Street Park mistakenly referred as first ever. First Holiday tree decorated was done in 1989 using one of the large redwood trees in the park.
December 6, Friday 9:30 P.M. Memorial Services for the late Bernardo Huerta, St. Francis of Assisi, 1425 Bay Road, East Palo Alto. December 6, Friday Ana Pulido is elected President of the Ravenswood City School District Board, Sharifa Wilson becomes Vice President and Stephanie Fitch the Board Clerk.
December 10, Tuesday Regina Wallace Jones and Carlos Romero are elected Mayor and Vice Mayor respectively. Ana Pulido-President Ravenswood City School District Board.
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Regina Wallace, City of East Palo Alto’s new mayor.
COMMUNITY December 17, Tuesday The City of Menlo Park selects Cecilia Taylor and Drew Combs as mayor and vice mayor respectively. December 17, Tuesday The East Palo Alto City Council approves the proposed 7-story Office Building at 211 University Avenue, the former Drew Medical Center Property.
Cecilia Taylor-second person ever to serve as Mayor of Menlo Park from the Belle Haven community.
January 7, Tuesday 9:00 A.M. County Board Chambers 400 County Center Redwood City, County Board of Supervisors Reorganization, Warren Slocum, Supervisor for District 4 assumes the presidency of the Board. Warren Slocum
UP-COMING EVENTS January 20, Monday 9:00 A.M.-12:30 P.M. Mayor’s Tree Planting and MLK Day of Service, Martin Luther King Jr. Park 435 Daisy Lane, East Palo Alto
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EVENTS CALENDAR | PAST , UPCOMING AND ONGOING
ON GOING MEETINGS & EVENTS
1st and 3rd Mondays, Kiwanis Club of the Bayshore Community Club Meeting, 12:00-1:30 P.M. 1875 Embarcadero Road, Palo Alto Every Thursday, East Palo Alto Bayshore Rotary Club meeting 7:00-8.30 P.M. East Palo Alto YMCA 550 Bell Street. 1st and 3rd Tuesday, East Palo Alto City Council Meetings 7:30 P.M., 2415 University Avenue, East Palo Alto. 3rd Tuesdays, Menlo Park Fire Protection District regular board meeting 7:00 P.M. 170 Middlefield Street, Menlo Park.
1st Thursday of the month, East Palo Alto Sanitary District, 7:00 P.M. 901 Weeks Street, East Palo Alto 2nd and 4th Thursday of the month, Ravenswood City School District regular board meetings 7:15 PM in the District Office Board Room, 2120 Euclid Avenue, East Palo Alto
Tuesdays (varies), Menlo Park City Council 7:00 P.M. 701 Laurel Street, Menlo Park. 2nd and 4th Wednesdays, West Bay Sanitary District regular board meeting 7:00 P.M. 500 Laurel Street, Menlo Park. 4th Thursday, The Peninsula Clean Energy Board of Directors usually meets on the fourth Thursday of every month at 6:30 p.m. Meetings are held at the Peninsula Clean Energy office, 2075 Woodside Road, Redwood City, CA 94061. The San Francisquito Creek Joint Powers Authority (SFCJPA) Board meets monthly at the city council chambers of either East Palo Alto, Menlo Park or Palo Alto. Phone: 650-324-1972 Email: jpa@ sfcjpa.org 2nd and 4th Monday of each month. The East Palo Alto Commission Meetings are held in the City Council Chambers: 2415 University Avenue in East Palo Alto.
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COMMUNITY
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COMMUNITY
Post Office Relocated To The Ravenswood Retail Center
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id you know that the East Palo Alto Post Office located at corner of University Avenue and Bay Road has moved? The Post Office is now located at the Ravenswood Retail Center between Office Depot and Nordstrom Rack. The Post Office as of June 24th, according to documents posted on the doors of its old location had lost its lease and was relocated to its current location. The Post Office was one of the best kept secrets in town. Although it was open only a few hours in the day, whenever it was open the public would quickly access whatever postal services
The new Post Office at the Ravenswood Retail Center.
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The old Post Office at the corner of University and Bay. they needed. Its relocation was a surprise to me and probably to many others who may, however infrequently used its services. Unlike at its previous location, the Post Office at the Ravenswood Retail Center does not have a mail collection
box or mail slots for people that may want to mail anything outside of its Office Hours. The city has been planning to develop the four corners intersecting at University Avenue and Bay Road for quite some time. Referred to as the Four Corners there seemed to have been a general understanding that the United States Postal Service would maintain an office in whatever development was agreed upon at that site.
Ohlone Dedication Patio
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id you know that on the North-West corner of the Ravenswood Family Health Center parking lot, there is a patio dedicated to the Ohlone, a community that was indigenous to the area prior to the invasion and occupation by the Spanish. The patio is described on a plaque as “a place of reflection and breath and its design and construction was a collaboration between, Kanyon Sayers-Roods the artist who designed it, sculptor Johnaikan Roberson Beery and the Mural Music and Arts Project. The patio represents the clinic expansive few of health care that includes meditation and other strategies to ensure physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing. The patio is a hidden little secret that even the staff of the center, on recent visit to the Center by El Ravenswood did not know of its existence or location.
COMMUNITY
City Of East Palo Alto And City Of Menlo Park Among California Cities With Low Risk For Fiscal Stress State Auditor Report Concludes
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he cities of East Palo Alto and Menlo Park are among the 217 cities in California determined to have a low risk for fiscal distress. This according to the Local Government High Risk Dashboard, launched in October by the California State Auditor’s Office to report the ranking of California cities from the highest to lowest risk of fiscal distress. The office analyzed financial information for 471 California cities. California has 478 incorporated cities and towns. According to information on its website, the Office used “a set of 10 indicators that specifically measure each city’s cash position or liquidity, debt burden, financial reserves, revenue trends and ability to pay for employee retirement benefits.” The Office relied primarily on information for fiscal year 2016-17 including audited and publicly available financial statements and pension-related information from the California Public Employees’ Retirement System and the California State Controller’s Office. Using a weighted points system, cities were assigned points for each of the indicators ranging from 5 points for pension funding and 30 for General Fund reserves with 100 being the maximum a city could get. The conclusions drawn from the data however, according to the State Auditor’s Office, does not include other factors such as ”population trends, unemployment rates, or levels of household income and consequently a high fiscal risk designation does not indicate that a city will default on its debt or file for bankruptcy and similarly, a low-risk designation does not mean that a city is free of financial risk.”
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COMMUNITY
East Palo Alto To Receive $1 Million For Climate Change Activities
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he City of East Palo Alto has been selected as one of 12 California communities to participate in a program to help local governments secure funding for clean air, water, transportation, affordable housing and economic opportunities in alignment with the state’s equity and environmental goals. A press release issued by the City of East Palo Alto in December, indicated that the BOOST Pilot Program will help communities become aware of funding opportunities to address climate; optimize resources and help build local capacity; help identify new opportunities for regional engagement and collaboration in addition to helping strengthen key stakeholder relationships.
The city of East Palo Alto, according to city officials, intends to improve the community’s resiliency from climate change impacts through this grant by helping improve the community’s capacity to implement climate change policies. The BOOST pilot program is funded through a $1 million appropriation by the State Legislature in the FY 2018 from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. It is a partnership of the Institute for Local Government (ILG) and the California strategic Growth Council (SGC) to ‘help local governments build capacity to develop and secure funding for projects that provide access to clean air and water, clean transportation, affordable housing and economic opportunity in alignment with California’s equity and environmental goals.’ ILG is a nonprofit training and education affiliate
of the League of California Cities, California State Association of Counties and the California Special Districts Associations. It helps local municipalities officials and staff by offering training, technical assistance, and facilitation services tailored to the local agency needs. SGC is a cabinet-level body chaired by the Director of the California Governor’s Office of Planning and Research, tasked with working collaboratively with public agencies and communities such as East Palo Alto to achieve sustainability, equity, economic prosperity and quality of life. I t makes investments in infrastructure and conservation programs, conducts outreach and provides technical assistance to support communities seeking to make these investments.
COMMUNITY
First-Time Council Members Take Over Leadership Of Both East Palo Alto And Menlo Park City CouncilsCouncilmember Abrica Alleges Ethnocentrism In The 2018 Selection Of Vice Mayor
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ast Palo Alto and Menlo Park councils changed their leadership in their annual rituals in December. Mayor Pro Tem Cecilia Taylor was unanimously elected as Mayor and Drew Combs became the Mayor Pro Tem, also on a unanimous vote. In East Palo Alto, Vice Mayor Regina Wallace Jones was unanimously elected mayor while councilmember Carlos Romero was elected Vice Mayor on a 3-2 vote. Cecilia Taylor was elected in the first district elections in Menlo Park in 2018 and, in a surprising outcome for a first term council member, was nominated and elected Mayor Pro Tem. In East Palo Alto, Regina Wallace Jones who was also first elected to the East Palo Alto City Council in 2018 was also surprisingly nominated and elected as Vice-Mayor in 2018. Both municipal codes require a new Mayor and Vice Mayor be selected before the end of each year. At the December 17 Menlo Park City Council meeting, staff outlined a process that had the outgoing mayor relinquish the conduct of the meeting to the city clerk for the nomination and subsequent election of mayor. After her selection, Cecilia Taylor sought nominations for vice mayor. Drew Combs, another 2018 recent elect was successfully nominated and elected as Vice-Mayor the council having chosen to relinquish the term Mayor Pro Tem. Earlier in the month, East Palo Alto City Council’s reorganization
New Mayor of Menlo Park Cecilia Taylor.
Regina Wallace Jones
on December 10 was not as smooth. with outgoing Mayor Lisa Gauthier entering into a spat with councilmember Abrica who took the occasion to allege ethnocentrism on the council. Abrica alleged that last year his nomination of Carlos Romero as Vice Mayor was overlooked, and Regina Wallace Jones, a first-time council member’s nomination was successfully voted on thereby disturbing the “the order” of nominations that had been the council’s practice. He accused Councilmember Moody of ignoring the council’s pecking order tradition and accused the majority council of putting ethnic affiliation above tradition. Larry Moody had nominated Regina Wallace Jones for Vice Mayor, a nomination that
received a 3-2 with Abrica and Romero dissenting. Obviously exasperated, outgoing Mayor Lisa Gauthier cautioned against marring the council reorganization by dredging “old memories from the past instead of celebrating new leadership” and she reminded Councilmember Abrica that the issue had been discussed and resolved before, an assertion Councilmember Abrica vehemently denied. Insisting on responding, despite protestations from the chair, Councilmember Moody reminded the council that in his seven-year tenure on the council, he had been skipped twice during council reorganizations and took offense at his name being associated
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TRANSITIONS
Abrica alleges ethnocentrism on the East Palo Alto City Council in the 2018 council reorganization.
Outgoing East Palo Alto Mayor insists that issue around the 2018 council reorganization had been resolved.
Carlos Romero
Larry Moody -target of ethnocentrism accusation
Drew Combs
with a ‘racially tainted’ council decision. A call to the outgoing Mayor about the referenced meeting to discuss the issue got no response. In a violation of council practice, Mayor Gauthier opened nominations for mayor but immediately went ahead and nominated Vice-Mayor Regina Wallace for Mayor allowing little room for her colleagues to offer any nominations
Council practice, which was outlined in a staff report for the meeting, stated that the Mayor “shall ask the Council for nominations for the position of the new Mayor” and only if there are no nominations shall the Mayor make a nomination, In this case it was only after she had nominated, did she ask for nominations from her colleagues. Neither her fellow council members
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nor city staff called her on this misstep. With the new mayor holding the gavel and opening nominations for vicemayor, Councilmember Gauthier quickly nominated Carlos Romero for Vice Mayor, a nomination that was interestingly seconded by the nominee. The newly elected mayor Regina Wallace Jones in turn nominated Larry Moody for Vice Mayor with Councilmember Moody seconding the nomination and on a final vote, Councilmembers Gauthier, Abrica and Romero voted to select Romero as Vice Mayor. Romero was first elected to the Council in 2008, He has previously served as mayor and vice mayor. He left the council after his first term in a failed attempt to seek election to the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors, but was reappointed to fill a vacancy in 2015 left by the departure of Laura Martinez who was appointed to serve on the Sequoia Union High School District Board.
Player can write down words they find in the grid that match the following rules: • The letter in the works must be connected in the same order in the grid. • The letters can be connected by and edge or a corner • The word does not have to appear in a straight line. It can be tangled around • Each letter in the work must uniquely appear in the grid. The word cannot just loop back and reuse the same letter. • Words must at least 3 letters long Find at least three names of local leaders: from East Palo Alto and Menlo Park
Rain
A Theme Puzzle from Sandy Farley 1. How many days and nights did it rain to cause the biblical flood? 2. What color rain did you associate with the singer Prince? 3. Which of these words is least likely to occur next to the word “rain?”
Gauge
Fall
Sand
Drop
Barrel
4. Anagram the following rain-storms: NSNOOOM
CHAURINER
LECCONY
LAIRP WHOSER
5. Where does the rain stay “mainly on the plain” according to a Broadway song? 6. Complete this children’s rhyme
Rain, rain, go ______________, come ____________ some other ___________. JANUARY 2020 EL RAVENSWOOD 13
COMMUNITY
What Does Your City Planning Commission Do?
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he existence of a Planning Commission in municipalities is required by state law. That does not mean that every Jane or Joe Public knows what Planning Commissions do and how their work affects their well-being. Planning Commission regular meetings, both in Menlo Park and East Palo Alto, tend to be sparsely attended by the general public and even worse, planning commission vacancies in both cities tend to attract very few new applicants. Concerns over the unregulated use of land in the early part of the 20th century prompted the demand that government play a stronger role in ensuring that development was systematic and followed a plan than ensured that the public’s interests were safeguarded. As part of that movement, in 1927 the state of California passed the law requiring that cities and counties have a master plan that spelt out how the city or county was going to develop in a way that would protect as well as enhance the public’s health, safety and welfare. In 1928 the Standing City Planning Enabling Act (SPEA) was passed and it provided for the creation of the planning commission, a body so constituted as to take a long-range view of the development of a municipal
Menlo Park Planning Commission
(Information from City of Menlo Park website) Meetings 7 p.m. Twice a month on Mondays (varies) Menlo Park Planning Commission makes decisions in many areas of the land use process and also makes
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jurisdiction. The act provides that it shall be the function of the planning commission to prepare and adopt a master/general plan for the physical development of the municipality and in the case of counties, all its unincorporated areas. Planning Commissions have the primary responsibility for the development of a general plan, a road map that lays out a city’s or county’s long term (20-30 years) development plan. The plan provides a long-range vision for various elements and delineates the basis for local land use decisions. The plan also identifies important community issues and promotes community participation. General Plans primarily consist of the following elements that spell out how the city/county would propose to plan and coordinate: Land Use, Housing, Circulation/Transportation/Traffic, Conservation, Open Space, Noise and Safety. Over the years, particularly due to the rapid development that has occurred in California, other additional elements have found a place in general plans. These have included Community Character/Design, Public Health, Economic Development, Public Facilities and Services, and Parks and Recreation and Environmental Justice. Cities are encouraged to update their General Plan every 10 years. General recommendations to the City Council in other areas: • Considers and grants or denies use permits and architectural control • Considers and recommends action on environmental impact reports and subdivisions • Initiates special area planning and rezoning studies; monitors the changing needs of the
Plan element updates must be approved by the Planning Commission and the City Council. The City of East Palo Alto in 2012 launched the multi-year process to update its 1999 General Plan. Called the Vista 2035, the final plan was adopted by the City Council in March 2017. In November 2016 the Menlo Park City Council approved the General Plan Land Use and Circulation Elements after a multi-year process called ConnectMenlo General Plan and M-2 Area (also known as the Bayfront) Zoning Update. “The land use changes in the M-2 Area” according to a staff report to the Menlo Park City Council, “was expected to result in an increase in net new development potential of up to 2.3 million square feet of non-residential uses, up to 4,500 residential units and up to 400 hotel rooms.” In addition to general plan development and periodic reviews, planning commissions are responsible for developing zoning regulations. Such regulations implement the various elements of the adopted general plan. Planning commissions also review and recommend approval or disapproval of Specific Plans. These plans are a set of development standards that apply to a particular geographical area within a jurisdiction. city in relationship to the General Plan as well as the recommendations of the General Plan amendments • Recommends action on rezoning proposals and conditional development permits • Takes action on variances
COMMUNITY
California government Code 65103
East Palo Alto Planning Commission (Information from the City of East Palo Alto website)
Each planning agency shall perform all of the following functions: • Prepare, periodically review, and revise, as necessary, the general plan. • Implement the general plan through actions including, but not limited to, the administration of specific plans and zoning and subdivision ordinances. • Annually review the capital improvement program of the city or county and the local public works projects of other local agencies for their consistency with the general plan, pursuant to Article 7 (commencing with Section 65400). • Endeavor to promote public interest in, comment on, and understanding of the general plan, and regulations relating to it. • Consult and advise with public officials and agencies, public utility companies, civic, educational, professional, and other organizations, and citizens generally concerning implementation of the general plan. • Promote the coordination of local plans and programs with the plans and programs of other public agencies. • Perform other functions as the legislative body provides, including conducting studies and preparing plans other than those required or authorized by this title.
Regular Meetings are held on the 2nd and 4th Monday of each month at 7:00 p.m. The Planning Commission reviews development proposals on public and private lands for compliance with the General Plan and Zoning Ordinance. The commission reviews all development proposals requiring a use permit, architectural control, variance, minor subdivision, and environmental review associated with these projects.
The commission is the final decision-making body for these applications, unless appealed to the City Council. The commission serves as a recommending body to the City Council for major subdivision, re-zonings, conditional development permits, planned development permits, Zoning Ordinance amendments, General Plan amendments, and the environmental reviews associated with those projects. In addition, the commission works on special projects as assigned by the City Council.
Menlo Park Planning Commission Members Name Term Expiration Andrew Barnes - Chair April 30, 2020 Chris DeCardy April 30, 2023 Michael C. Doran April 30, 2022 Larry Kahle April 30, 2021 Camille Kennedy April 30, 2022 Henry Riggs - Vice Chair April 30, 2020 Michele Tate April 30, 2023
East Palo Alto Planning Commission Members Name Term Expiration Robert Sherard (Chair) 05/31//2021 Uriel Hernandez (Vice Chair) 05/31//2021 Andrei Garcia O5/31/2021 Robert Allen Fisk 05/31/2022 Kyra Brown 05/31/2020 Javanni Brown 05/31/2020 Ofelia Bello 05/31/2021 Michael Mashack 05/31/2022 Juan Mendez (Alternate) 05/31/2020
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COMMUNITY
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ouncil reorganizations in the City of East Palo Alto have been far from straight forward and predictable. They should not be expected to be. The five members of the council join and stay of the council with varying agendas, different perspectives on issues, unique professional and work experiences, and individually unique responses to pressures from outside entities including constituents. Ruben Abrica is the longest serving council member in the city’s history having been on the first council following the city’s incorporation. In addition, he was engaged in the fight for the city’s incorporation and particularly the city’s rent control legislation. Carlos Romero was also involved in the city’s incorporation fight and served on the city’s Planning Commission prior to being elected to the Council in 2008. Larry Moody, Regina Wallace Jones and Lisa Gauthier were never involved in the city’s fight for incorporation and in fact both Larry Moody and Regina Wallace Jones were not city residents in 1983. The three also never served in any governance capacity on any public
body prior to serving on the Council. This was equally true for Ruben Abrica prior to his becoming a council member following the city’s incorporation. The City Council has never been consistent in its reorganization process. Mayors have been reelected and have served for several years as mayor. Vice Mayors have been denied the mayoral position and some have inappropriately allowed their constituents to come berate the council about this alleged misdeed. The selection of Regina Wallace Jones, although unique, because in the East Palo Alto City Council’s history, no fresh(wo)man council member has ever ascended to a leadership position on the council, should not be surprising. To conclude that the election of Regina Wallace Jones in 2018 as vice-mayor was a break from tradition clearly ignores historical facts. To attribute the decision by the council to racial, ethnic and or gender bias was not only inappropriate but harmful in a community that has not only sought but proven to be inclusive of everyone. The School Board in 2018 elected Trustee Tamara Sobomehin, a first-time
trustee, as its President and the Menlo Park City Council elected Cecilia Taylor, a fresh(wo)man councilmember as Mayor Pro Tem. Councils and boards create traditions as well as break them. Each council and board is different and the majority on the Council or Board can and do indeed go any direction. Elected bodies should remember that they are elected because they got more votes than others and that voters are smart and do vote for those that would most represent their interests. Gender and ethnicity and or race may be considerations but voters do consider other factors as well. Regina Wallace Jones, Cecilia Taylor and Tamara Sobomehin won elections because voters may have felt that they brought perspectives that would bring about the changes the voters may desire. They got elected to leadership positions because the councils and the board of education may have also felt that they brought new and fresh perspectives. To think that gender or race had anything to do with their selections is to entirely miss the point.
Ravenswood Family Health Center 2018 Report Card
17,724
Number of patients served
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91%
Percentage of patients served with incomes 200% or below FPL
Comprehensive medical, dental and mental health services help prevent an estimated 8750 emergency room visits a year, saving hospitals and taxpayers millions of dollars.
COMMUNITY
East Palo Alto Sanitary District Incumbents Face Challengers Including Daughter Of A Current Director
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he East Palo Alto Sanitary District, a Special District that manages the district wastewater is finally going to have a contested election after several elections where incumbents retained their seats uncontested. On Tuesday, March 3, 2020, three slots on the East Palo Alto Sanitary District Board are up for election. Edrick L. Haggans, a veteran contestant, and two newcomers, Mark Dinan and Martha B. Stryker, are challenging incumbents Goro Mitchell, Glenda Savage and Betsy Yanez. The East Palo Alto Sanitary District (EPASD) is one of thousands of special districts in California established to offer a single municipal service. Districts offer services in recreation, fire protection, cemeteries, wastewater management, water and education. Special districts are public/ government agencies established by residents of a community to provide a service not provided by other public agencies. District elections are held every two years in March. Each Board Member is elected at large for a four-year
term. Elections are consolidated with statewide elections. This is the first time that the EPASD election is consolidated. Previously, the elections were held in November in odd-numbered years. For this one time, the Board extended their terms from the end of the year until the state-wide elections in March. Candidates for the District Board must be registered voters and must reside within the boundaries of the East Palo Alto Sanitary District. The boundaries exclude portions of East Palo Alto that are part of the Westbay Sanitary District and includes parts of the City of Menlo Park. Goro Mitchell who was born and raised in East Palo Alto has served on the EPASD Board of Directors since 2007. Glenda Savage, another veteran on the board, has served from 1990-1994 and again from 2006 to the present day. Both directors Mitchell and Savage were reelected uncontested in 2015. Betsy Yanez, another incumbent, has served on the board uncontested for three four-year terms. Mark Dinan, a ten-year resident, is seeking elective office for the first time.
Betsy Yanez is Sworn in after a previously uncontested election. Martha Stryker, also a first time aspirant, was born and raised in East Palo Alto and her father, Dennis Scherzer. is the longest serving member of the District board. She is currently a teacher at Beechwood School in Menlo Park. Edrick Haggans served on the board previously and was unsuccessful in his last attempt in 2007 to rejoin the board.
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COMMUNITY
The East Palo Alto Sanitary District
Glenda Savage-was first elected in 1990 for a four-year term .She rejoined the board in 2007
Goro Mitchell takes the oath of office after winning a previous election. He was first elected in 2007
Longest serving director who may be joined by her daughter on the Board.
Dinan, Mark
Director
Term Expiration
Date First Elected
Mitchell, Goro 2019 11/06/2007 Savage, Glenda* 2019 11/06/2007 Scherzer, Dennis* 2021 11/03/2009 Sykes-Miessi, Joan 2021 11/4/2003 Yanez, Betsy 2019 11/06/2007 18 JANUARY 2020 EL RAVENSWOOD
The East Palo Alto Sanitary District was formed in 1939 to provide sewer services to a twosquare mile area primarily north of Highway 101. Services are provided to approximately 6,700 East Palo Alto and Menlo Park residents and businesses. EPASD maintains approximately 32 miles of sewer mains and owns approximately 12% of the Palo Alto Sewer Treatment Plant. It pays the City of Palo Alto (owner of the Palo Alto Sewer Treatment Plant) a share of plant operating costs based on the volume of sewage flow. The San Mateo County Civil Grand Jury has recommended several times that EPASD be consolidated into the City of East Palo Alto and/or be absorbed by the neighboring West Bay Sanitary District. Although, in 1982, voters rejected a proposal that it be consolidated into the new City of East Palo Alto, derailing the effort to incorporate East Palo Alto. The City was successfully incorporated the next year without that consolidation on the ballot. Go to LAFCO San Mateo and get a map of the East Palo Alto Sanitary District and include in the article.
Both Glenda Savage and Dennis Scherzer served on the District board prior to the listed appointed dates. Dennis Scherzer is however the longest serving Director. He served for several years prior to 2009 as a director prior to resigning and assuming the role of General Manager.
COMMUNITY
Ravenswood City School District Name Term Expires Tamara Sobomehin 2022 Stephanie Fitch 2022 Maria Gaona-Mendoza 2020 Ana Maria Pulido 2022 Sharifa Wilson 2020
City of East Palo Alto Name Term Expires Regina Wallace Jones 2022 Larry Moody 2020 Ruben Abrica 2022 Lisa Gauthier 2020 Carlos Romero 2020
City of Menlo Park
A local resident was recently alarmed by the fact that little information had been provided to the public regarding the vacancies in the East Palo Alto Sanitary District Board of Directors. It was even more perturbing to him that the only persons that had expressed interest in the three vacant positions were the incumbents, a daughter of one of the directors and a person that had served previously and who had continued unsuccessfully to run for a director position in the District. El Ravenswood is providing a list of all the elected representatives serving on the boards of public agencies who have been elected with votes of the residents of the City of Menlo Park and the City of East Palo Alto in the hope that residents may take the opportunity to run for vacancies on those boards, councils and commissions. Please check out: www.smcacre.org/elections, should you be interested in running for office.
Name District Term Expires Cecilia Taylor 1 2022 Betty Nash 4 2022 Drew Combs 2 2022 Catherine Carlton 2020 Ray Muller 2020
Sequoia Union High School District Name Trustee Area Term Expires Allan Sarver A 2022 Carrie Du Bois B 2020 Georgia Jack/Allen Weiner C 2020 Chris Thomsen D 2022 Vacant E (East Palo Alto/ 2020 Menlo Park/ Belle Haven)
Menlo Park Fire Protection District Name Term Expires Virginia Chang Kiraly 2020 Robert Jones 2022 Jim McLaughlin 2022 Rob Silano 2020 Chuck Bernstein 2022
JANIUARY 2020 EL RAVENSWOOD 19
COMMMUNITY
San Mateo County Harbor District Name Term Expires Virginia Chang Kiraly 2020 Nancy Reyering 2022 Tom Mattusch 2020 Sabrina Brennan 2020 Edmundo Larenas 2022 Robert Jones assumed the presidency of the Menlo Park Fire Protection District effective January 1st. First appointed to the Fire Board to fill a vacancy in 2018, he was surprisingly the top vote getter when he successfully ran to fill one of two vacant elected seats on the board of this agency created in 1916. He served as the vice-president in 2019 The Fire District provides fire and emergency services to the Town of Atherton, Cities of East Palo Alto, Menlo Park and unincorporated communities in southern San Mateo County including the community of North Fair Oaks. It has seven fire stations spread across its 29 square miles servicer area. The Fire Board oversees $60 million dollar budget and a service population over 100,000 residents. Jim McLaughlin, also a recent-elect became the Vice-President.
20 JANUARY 2020 EL RAVENSWOOD
West Bay Sanitary District Name Term Expires Fran Dehn 2020 David Walker 2020 Roy Thiele-Sardina 2022 Edward P. Moritz 2022 George Otte 2020
County Board of Supervisors Name District Term Expires David Pine 1 2020 Carole Groom 2 2022 Don Horsley 3 2022 Warren Slocum 4 2020 David Canepa 5 2020 District 4 includes the cities of Redwood City, East Palo Alto, part of Menlo Park (east of El Camino Real and including Belle Haven)and the unincorporated community of North Fair Oaks
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EPA Belle Haven Information Inc P.O. Box 50849 East Palo Alto, CA 94303
Please Find El Ravenswood At These Choice Locations Want to be an El Ravenswood distribution location? Please contact El Ravenswood at info@eastpaloaltoinformation.com EAST PALO ALTO Above All Insurance, 907 Newbridge Street # B; | Boys and Girls Club-East Palo Alto, 2031 Pulgas Avenue; | Brentwood School, 2086 Clarke Avenue; | Cesar Chavez & Green Oaks, 2450 Ralmar Avenue; | Ravenswood Child Development Center, 952 O’Connor Street, | Community Development Department, 1960 Tate Street; | Costano School, 2695 Fordham Street; | County Services Building-Lobby; 2415 University Avenue; | East Palo Alto Academy, 1040 Myrtle Street; | East Palo Alto Charter School, 1286 Runnymede Street; | East Palo Alto Phoenix Academy, 1039 Garden Street; | East Palo Alto Police Department, 141 Demeter Avenue; | East Palo Alto Senior Center, 560 Bell Street; | East Palo Alto YMCA, 550 Bell Street; | Ecumenical Hunger Program, 2411 Pulgas Avenue; Gregory’s Enterprise & Barber Shop, 1895 E. Bayshore Road; | Jones Mortuary, 660 Donohoe Street; | Oakwood Market, 2106 Oakwood Drive; | Peninsula Park Apartments, 1977 Tate Street; | Rainier’s Service Station, 1905 E. Bayshore Road; | Ravenswood City School District, 2130 Euclid Avenue; Ravenswood Family Health Center, 1885 Bay Road; | Ronald McNair School, 2033 Pulgas Avenue; | San Mateo Credit Union, 1735 Bay Road; | St Francis of Assisi, 1425 Bay Road; | St Johns Baptist Church, 1050 Bay Road; | Stanford Community Law Clinics, 2117 University Avenue; | Starbucks-East Palo Alto, 1745 East Bayshore Road;
MENLO PARK Belle Haven Library, 415 Ivy Drive; | Belle Haven School, 415 Ivy Drive; | Esquire Barber Shop, 830 Newbridge street; | Job Train, 1200 O’Brien Drive; | Jonathan’s Fish & Chips, 840 Willow Road; | Markstyle Barber Shop, 828 Willow Road; | Menlo Park City Hall, 701 Laurel Street; | Menlo Park Senior Center, 100 Terminal Avenue; | Mt Olive AOH Church of God, 605 Hamilton Avenue; | Project Read-Menlo Park, 800 Alma Street; | Tony’s Pizza, 820 Willow Road; | Tutti Frutti, 888 Willow Road; Willow Cleaners, 824 Willow Road; | Willow Oaks School, 620 Willow Road