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About this blog: I am a native of Alameda County, grew up in Pleasanton and currently live in the house I grew up in that is more than 100 years old. I spent 39 years in the daily newspaper business and wrote a column for more than 25 years in add...  (More)

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A judge will rule on ballot statement

Uploaded: Aug 30, 2016
Mayor Jerry Thorne will have some competition for re-election after all thanks to the last-minute candidacy of long-time council critic Julie Testa.
Julie filed late on deadline day and has run into some problems. The city clerk’s office refused to accept her statement for the voter’s handbook because it was delivered after the deadline. There’s lots of moving parts, but the issue has shifted to the courts where her attorney, Matt Morrison, has filed a suit challenging the city clerk’s decision.
It will be interesting to see how the judge rules. There are arguments on both sides—it appears Testa failed to meet the rule of handing a hard copy to the clerk’s office by 5 p.m., but it had been emailed and thus city officials could have printed it out. .
No doubt, a statement in the voter’s handbook will help the challenger and give her the opportunity to broaden her platform.
Julie has harped on the council for years about over-crowded school (she sang the same refrain recently at the Planning Commission). So she likely can be expected to give the folks who want no more housing in Pleasanton a choice come November.
It appeared that Thorne was going to get a free pass as San Ramon Mayor Bill Clarkson has along with John Marchand in Livermore. Dublin Mayor David Haubert faces a token challenge from Shawn Costello who has been running for council and mayor seats in Dublin since Pete Snyder was mayor in Dublin back in the 1980s and early ‘90s.
Interestingly, Danville, which has its share of development squabbles in the current council’s terms, will not have an election. Only incumbents Newell Arnerich and Renee Morgan filed for re-election (long-time incumbent Mike Doyle decided to retire) and are joined by Lisa Blackwell. She had been endorsed by both incumbents.

The Legislature has produced a lot of whacky bills, but there is one with some common sense that has gone to the governor’s desk.

The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender community’s agenda has captured both Sacramento and Washington D.C. to the dismay of many Americans who simply believe boys should use the men’s room and girls should use the women’s room. Incidentally, it is mind-boggling to see the public policy agenda attention paid to a population that makes up a rounding error on the second number after the decimal point. Remember, in San Francisco, the number of self-identified LGBT folks was 6.7 percent.

When Target bought into the agenda position that a person is free to use the bathroom they identify with that day, it sparked a boycott that now has resulted in a $20 mllion plan to retrofit bathrooms for single users.

The bill before the governor is that simple: let anyone use single-user restrooms. It does not deal with the much more difficult problem of locker rooms on school campuses, but it will take care of the issue with smaller restrooms.

It might even reduce the lines for women.

Community.
What is it worth to you?

Comments

Posted by Long Time Resident, a resident of Pleasanton Valley,
on Aug 30, 2016 at 8:38 am

While competition in the mayoral race is good, do we really want a candidate that waits until the last minute to file the needed paperwork? She then blames others and sues when she is just incompetent. This shows me she doesn't have the capability to be the mayor of our city.

While many people hate Mayor Thorne, Ms. Testa isn't a very good alternative.

Looks like Pleasanton's race is a mirror image of our presidential race - people holding their noses and voting for the "lesser of two evils".

Pretty sad situation.


Posted by Thorne needs to retire, a resident of Birdland,
on Aug 30, 2016 at 8:57 am

Pleasanton doesn't need a mayor like Thorne who fails to recuse himself from appointing a task force to approve a Costco development, who fails to recuse himself in appointing Planning Commissioners to approve a Costco development, who fails to recuse himself in negotiation a huge financial deal for Costco where the city taxpayers will involuntarily be beholden to a commercial enterprise banking and loan scheme, all the while having a financial interest in Costco.


Posted by Quail Run Parent, a resident of San Ramon,
on Aug 30, 2016 at 11:26 am

Quail Run Parent is a registered user.

Anybody who literally waits until the last minute deserves exactly what they encounter. Things really do go sideways when you A) wait until the last minute or B) rush
Portion of Murphy's Law I believe....

As to restrooms: All for single user rest rooms. In schools? Not really feasible unless this is an additional room.

As to a Mayor owning a few shares of Costco via a mutual or managed account....who cares. Bring a Costco to Pleasanton, please.


Posted by Thorne needs to retire, a resident of Birdland,
on Aug 31, 2016 at 10:44 am

The Chamber of Commerce seems to not support local businesses and want them to fail. This would explain their unwavering support of big box retailers. When the Home Depot And Regency Center shopping center was proposed near Shadow Cliffs, a back room deal was struck so that some of the last retail shops at the then in decay shopping corner of Vineyard and Bernal would be given spots, emptying the shopping center so that James Tong and Martin Inderbitzen could succeed in rezoning the bulldozed shopping center to residential for residential development.

Costco will put a number of grocers and retailers in Pleasanton out of business, with the long term effect being empty retail space, shopping plazas shuttered, and applications for rezoning from commercial to residential.

The long term impact of small cities with a number of big box stores is: small businesses and small grocers and Big chain grocers with small retail footprints close up shop, shopping centers are bulldozed, and housing takes the place of former retail centers. What is left are overcrowded schools bursting at the seams. Big box retailers don't advertise in local newspapers so when there are no more local businesses, there are no more local newspapers.

Hope Testa succeeds in stopping this degradation of our quality of life.


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