My wife and I are in favor of a new Costco, and Johnson Dr is the perfect place. I don't understand the objections. We look forward to joining this store, and hope they will build a gas station. There may have to be some traffic mitigation at Stoneridge,
but that could be written into the deal.
Sincerely, Mike Moreno

Yes to Costco and anything else on Johnson Drive.
Make sure that the final plan includes an area for Black Tie employee parking.
Re-configure the lanes, build the facilities and let the tax revenue begin.
Maybe Pleasanton will not need a special school bond if we use our resources
that we already have to create jobs and tax revenue and improvement to an "armpit" area
that is now vastly under used.
Sounds like a win win for most everyone.

Lots of uninformed comments out there! According to the city's EIR, there ARE alternatives to Costco that would bring in tax dollars and jobs without the traffic mess and need to commit to long term loans and tax incentives for the privilege of having Costco nearby. Think people! And go to the meeting and listen!

Let's get a Costco if only to avoid 300 more apartments mandated by the state after we were no growth for too long.

Put it on the ballot and let us vote!!

NO COSTCO for me. I don't want the traffic, pollution, shuttering of our small businesses. The tax revenue is a myth. With the infrastructure costs, borrowing, tax revenue sharing -- it could take 20- 30 years to break even. There are better alternatives.

Let the citizens decide! Put it on the ballot!!!

Some inaccurate reporting here. According to the Registrar's certification, 5,039 signatures were certified--more than needed. Also, if the Council accepted the Initiative, it would not stop the plans for the JDEDZ, just change them to not include Costco. Other retailers with smaller stores, such as local businesses, could be included. Also, the EIR for the project presents alternatives to Costco, some of which would bring more jobs and while not quite as much in net annual income (but still significant), would not involve the millions in tax incentives and loans that Costco would bring. And the city still hasn't adequately determined what the fiscal impact of Costco will be on local businesses and support services.

I hope the Council does the right thing and does not play politics. The citizens want to vote.
With Costco at full buildout
12,000 ADITIONAL CARS ON WEEKDAYS
15,000 ADDITINAL CARS ON WEEKENDS

I SAY NO WAY. You may say yes. We need to vote.

From what I have learned, the JDEDZ plans never included any residential units, just hotels, offices and retail. If there isn't a Costco, there would just be different retail and no huge gas station. The project rezoning would still proceed, just with better alternatives. The housing issue is a red herring scare tactic!

Absolutely put this to a vote as it most probably will be done as the city council members would probably not have the bravery to make it happen
without a citizen vote.
As with measure K this will pass as well and probably closely.
The majority of Pleasanton residents want convenience and amenities closer to them
than having to drive to other cities for those services.
We are no longer the hop growing, cattle grazing backwater city of yesteryear.

Yes Cheryl. Inaccurate reporting. Over 5000 were certified. Many more were collected. People want to vote.

There should be a recall if this is denied.

"We are no longer the hop growing, cattle grazing backwater city of yesteryear!"

Amen to that Mike!

Let's see...an election year for two Council seats.
The Council will play politics and ask for a study and not allow us to vote in November.
They do not want Costco to be an election issue.
Come to the meeting. Demand out rights.

If we don't get them, I like Ted's idea : RECALL!

I have been following this issue and I would be very upset if the city delays our ability to vote in November. I want to vote. I'm not in favor of building a "Big Box" Costco on Johnson drive. No Costco!

I say NO on Costco.
I am concerned about the building of any more apartments and housing. I can't get around the city as it is without dealing with an excessive amount of traffic. Can you imagine the traffic disaster we would have if the Costco plan is approved. The traffic down Stoneridge, 680, Foothill, and other side streets would be a daily mess. The mall brings in a lot of traffic as it is. Cant imagine how it would be if we had to contend with Costco, Hotels, and the Mall traffic all at once, every day! No Thank You!!

We are not just talking about Costco. Costco will come with what is being called the largest gas station, ever. And do you know why it will pump over 1,000,000,000 gallons a month?? Because about 50% of volume will come from outlining areas. These are the people driving 10-20 miles just to save an extra 15 cents a gallon. They will be coming from Oakland, Bay Point, Pitsburg,
Some have worked all night and may park their car to rest in nearby neighborhoods. Some will play absurdly loud music as they roll into "P Town", as they call it. Some will get enraged while waiting in line, because the local soccer mom or high school teacher is taking to long to pump and grab a healthy snack. If the average fill up is 15 gallons, this equates to about 1,200 customers a day from outlining areas. Abut same number will be local.
Do you think the value of my home will go up because a Costco will be moving within a 1/2 mile? If given the choice, I sure wouldn't want to live near a huge Costco with a mega gas station. In fact, if I had a young family, I wouldn't even consider it. Are you telling me that with over 15,000 additional cars a day, none will get lost or want to rest at the park near my home? I thought Pleasanton was known for embracing small businesses and keeping values that focus on quality of life, not simply making more money for City.

Ted, are you talking about a recall of the council if there is no vote allowed in a November? I hope it does not come to that. I believe the council will be reasonable and put it on the ballot in November even if they ask for a study. I think that they can do both simotaneously on Tuesday night.
If they delay the vote and we cannot vote in November, it will cost the city $300,000, and anger thousands of people. I think that is political suicide. So, I'm hoping for a good outcome.
The council may be for Costco, but I think that they will respect the mandate of the people.

If Pleasanton Weekly wants to do its job as an objective media organization, why doesn't it interview a lot of the small business owners in Pleasanton who are going to be affected by Costco, like tire dealers, booksellers, gas stations and smaller grocery stores, and then do a real story about the effects of Costco? $16 billion company with no stake in the city, just trying to get a high-visibility store so they can make another $150 million a year off of us!

Have seen some pretty silly comments on here.... People will come from Oakland to get gas? Really it that cause they want to drive past the Costco in San Leandro or not go to the closer one on Berkeley? These are ridiculous statements. And parking overnight on your street? At your park? Really? Hope this was being sarcastic.

I am for a Costco in PTown. Let's keep the dollars in PTown instead of Danville or Livermore.

I will be at the meeting!
I do not want to borrow $6,000,000 from Costco @ 4% interest for 30 years. Total payments $10,312,170.
I do not want to deplete our $5,000,000 infrastructure reserve on Costco. Costco or the developer should pay these amounts for infrastructure just like all other developers and businesses pay.
I do not want to do sales tax revenue sharing with Costco.
I do not want the extra traffic. Even if its 7000 additional cars from Costco on weekdays and 10,000 on weekends-- that's almost 3,000,000 additional cars per year.
I do not want our small businesses closing.
I do not want the pollution from an equivalent of 10 gas stations in one spot.
I do not want to drive up I-680 and see this monstrosity as the marquee of our City

I love Pleasanton. This is not who we are.

YES to COSTCO. It is good for Pleasanton. Brings more revenue to City. Any kind of growth or progress always brings out ignorant & selfish people to oppose. I see Black Toe is opposing it - why ?? Just because they are next door. They don't care for rest of us. And they have brain washed many in the community with their false propaganda. City needs to continue to grow and continue to add various revenue sources. Small businesses will come & go. But COSTCO will be there for a long time.

I hope City Council does the right thing and does not get under the political pressure to stop COSTCO. Traffic can be solved. Why give our dollars to Livermore or Danville when we can keep it here in Pleasanton.

If y'all want to suggest a recall if this issue does not go to the voters in November, y'all need to be prepared to run for the City Council yourself.

I dont want to drive to Livermore or Danville when I can go to Costco in Pleasanton. What ever is built there will cause traffic but it is next to the freeway any ways. I think a lot more smaller retail and office building would have more traffic than a Costco which is busy on the weekends instead.

YES TO COSTCO. Remember when all the naysayers said WalMart and Stoneridge Drive would cause mayem? WRONG. And probably the same people voted No on Lund Ranch and now Costco. From what I read, Costco is only a portion of the car trips and they would mostly be outside of the commute peak periods. But if this initiative passes and CostCo goes to Dublin, then we should build condos there off the freeway so our adult kids can afford to live here and commute to Dublin for work.

Black Tie limo should not have the right to lead the opposition to a Costco in Pleasanton which will serve the needs of the majority of Pleasanton residents who will make the drive to Livermore or Danville for their purchases if there is not a Costco in Pleasanton. Why give the tax revenue to those communities rather than have it benefit our own?

Small business owners will not loose business to a Costco because people are going to choose to make their purchases where they can get the best products for the best price anyway and if that means driving to the neighboring cities and polluting the air further while driving there and then fighting for the limited parking they have to now when they get there, they will do that.

How many of the people who were convinced to sign that petition based on the false information they were given by people reportedly paid to get each signature? I think it is reasonable to assume that some of those signatures were obtained under false information.

Hopefully the council will vote not to allow this to go to a ballot and waste any of our taxpayers money putting it there. A Costco in this location is good for the greatest number of taxpayers in Pleasanton.

Mr. Wheeler is motivated by trying to save on street parking for his employees, not for the greater good of Pleasanton. Remember, he is a business owner not a resident of Pleasanton.

I strongly favor Costco. Some of the arguments I've seen against having Costco here don't make sense including the argument the 50% of the people would be from outside the area. I know Pleasanton is a lovely City but I can't see people driving by the San Leandro, Livermore and Danville Costcos to shop here. Sounds like more of the misinformation handed out by the people hired to collect signatures. The traffic issue is also overstated. I shop at the Livermore Costco and have never seen a traffic problem. Seems like this is more of an issue of Black Tie wanting to conserve City street parking spots for their employees and getting motel business than it is about a Costco

It's very simple--the required number of people signed the petition to get the initiative on the ballot, so it should be placed on the ballot. If all those who love Costco want it, they need to put their words into action by getting to the polls and voting. The City Council is acting like they are afraid of the outcome. They just want to bury their heads in the sand and hope it all goes away.

Listen, Sheeple! The Black Tie parking issue was invented by those who wanted to make Nearon and Costco happy and cloud the true issues. Same with the thing about misleading petition gatherers--we heard the exact complaint with Measure K. The point is that a big multibillion dollar corporation looking to make more money is determined to locate here, and doesn't really care about whether they are creating a traffic mess, lowering property values, and hurting local businesses. But they want the taxpayers to pay for the privilege of this. And residents are responding that they don't want it, and they want the right to vote on the issue since the city planners don't seem to want to listen.

Whoever wrote the article seems very biased for the Costco. I am voting NO and it should be on a ballot. Hopefully the city council didn't already make promises that they shouldn't have made and yes, I wouldn't mind if many of us ran for City Council to help oppose this growth!

We don't need the revenue of a big box store. Get real. Think about the community before your own convenience.

No to Costco on Stoneridge Drive: Simply put we are already in more gridlock on our main city streets. Now that Stoneridge now connects to Livermore, the learning of this by more and more will continue to add traffic to Stoneridge. We surely do not need another big traffic producing store on Stoneridge. We have lived here long enough to know that traffic in Pleasanton is getting WORSE NOT BETTER!

Pleasanton takes away Coldstone from Downtown because it attracted too many “problem teens”. Now Tully’s has left Downtown Pleasanton because they were pushed out by raising their rent. If you don’t want these companies in town, why would the city want a huge Costco?

Our town is not known for having big name stores and restaurants. I honestly want to know why we have to make such a drastic jump from mom and pop stores to a $65.8 billion company. Is there no in between?

Let's start by getting better food choices and hang out spots rather than another grocery store. A lot of you talk about how Pleasanton needs to stop giving away money to Danville and Livermore and get our own Costco. But, I can bet that most of the money us “Pleasanton people” are giving away is going out to eat with friends and family. Everyone who is for Costco, where do you go out to eat? Because I know that any time I go out it is to Dublin's new area off of Hacienda and the new and improved Downtown Livermore. Let's bring our revenue back into Pleasanton by giving people what they actually need... restaurants, shops, and pubs. Not a place where only members are allowed in. Heck, isn’t the Iron Horse Trail right there? We could even incorporate that and make it an exciting and fun way to have a family outing.

You will definitely be seeing me at the meeting tomorrow!

Did you know that GasBuddy is one of the most popular apps, EVER. It says on the description: "community of over 56 million drivers". The app claims it it will save you money and time. As you drive through different communities, It is quite easy to find the cheapest gas. This community of 56 million drivers is passionate about saving money and time. It is based upon the honor system, and is updated by others (or yourself) posting the price of various gas stations, as they drive by them.

So, ya, if someone lives 15 miles away or even from out of state, and passes through Pleasanton, He or she may very well enld end up at Costco in Pleasanton. This app is wildly successful because it works and it's easy. Bottom line: Costco will bring tens of thousands from outlining areas, in order to hit the huge number of 1,000,000,000 gallons a month, which IS equal to 10 gas stations.

Homestly, with 15 gas stations already in one City, do we need 10 more, wit an app that will make it the most popular spot for miles?

I completely agree with you, Rebecca.I think that the downtown landowners should improve how they charge and deal with tenants to promote good business. There is a lot of money to be had if we had good restaurants that could afford to stay here.

I do not mind driving 20 min to a Costco and it means more to me to have it somewhere else than in Pleasanton and yes, it will greatly impact our traffic all through town!

I will be at the meeting and I'm voting No to Costco.

Mary,
You summed it up in one sentence: "think about the community before your own convenience."

Many good points today: Never have apartments ever been considered (red herring). Paying a $16 billion company to come here. Borrowing from the future. TRAFFIC. Pollution of 10 gas stations. Using our entire $5 million reserve fund. Other alternatives. Negative effect on small businesses. Politics! Politics! Politics! Just to name a few.

Two Costco's in the area is plenty. As stated already, but wanted to put in my two cents (worth about 1 cent) the growth here is out of control. Over at Bernal and Stanley a new mixed development coming in that is going to snarl traffic so bad....we are so congested....I worry for a small town that still cares and where we are headed. $$$ is all that big guys care about...NO TO ANOTHER COSTCO!!!!!! And a Super Gas Station? GROSS.

@Mike says -- "If Pleasanton Weekly wants to do its job as an objective media organization, why doesn't it interview a lot of the small business owners in Pleasanton who are going to be affected by Costco, like tire dealers, booksellers, gas stations and smaller grocery stores, and then do a real story about the effects of Costco?"

Wrong on so many levels. Costco does NOT put small businesses out of business. The cheap residents of this town can do that just fine without getting Costco involved. Want to see the Main Street businesses stay around? Then stop using them for nothing more than free entertainment when you want to walk around in our "quaint little downtown". Put away your cell phones cameras and stop trying to take photos of stuff that you want to buy, then go onto Amazon to find it cheaper. You complain that there are nothing but banks, botox shops and nail salons in downtown. Why might that be? Uh, you cannot buy those things cheaper online. The only thing killing the little businesses in this town are the cheap jerks in this town who will not part with a single dime more than the Amazon price for anything.

Bill Wheeler has his own interest for free parking, paid for by all of us taxpayers. Why should he be able to place anything on a ballot that is, once again, at the expense of the taxpayers?

My vote will be a resounding YES for Costco, YES for better prices on gas. And I will still shop -- and actually PURCHASE -- things downtown that don't come in the Costco sizes. I support our downtown businesses and restaurants, how about you?

1,000,000,000 (one billion) gallons of gas/month, that's hilarious. For 15 gallon fill ups that 66.6 million cars/month or 2.2 million/day, doesn't match up to the EIR. Nice try at the scare tactics. Big numbers impress and scare simple people. I'll still probably buy my gas in Sunol where it's cheaper or just plug my next car in at home. As for Costco I look forward to having one in town.

What misinformation? I was approached by a nice young lady at Lucky's. She asked if I wanted to vote on the Cistco issue at Johnson Drive. I asked what side are you on? She said I'm against Costco, but you can vote either way.

I like having the right to vote. She was very nice and I was not misinformed.

Why the mean, sarcastic tone by some? Why the accusations? We have the right to vote at a minimum cost in November. I thank those who worked so hard to allow us this right. It is a big decision. One of the biggest in years.

Did anyone from the City ask your opinion?

Hi Eric. I agree that 1 billion gallons is bad info. To give the bloggers a break- I don't think it was intentional, they just added too many zero's.
Here the real numbers from the SEIR:
20 dispensers x 157.3 fuelings per dispenser x 15 gallons per fill-up (your number) x 365 days = 17,224,350 gallons per year.

The average gas station sells 1,440,000 per year.
So Costco would equal the sales of 12 gas stations.

Be careful what you wish for:

Remember the Home Depot request to build at Valley and Bernal at Stanley Blvd. To much traffic, high density and did not need another Home Depot. Take a drive by Valley and Bernal at Stanley Blvd and look at what is being built there now. Very high density apartments above many retail stores. Traffic generation at that intersection will be big compared to Home Depot, the city gets very little in terms of revenue from the project with small retail stores, and the visual aspect is a high density construction. How would like to live near this development?

I think Costco on Johnson drive is a great location and provides high revenue to the city. For those who complain about traffic congestion please tell us honestly how often you have had problem getting to or leaving the Costco stores in either Danville or Livermore.

Please understand what this is all about. An individual, Bill Wheeler, a non resident of Pleasanton who is having his employees parking space compromised by the addition of Costco next to his Black Tie limousine business. I would think that a good business strategic would be to try to work with Costco developers and plan to park his employees cars on the Costco lot. Mr Wheeler I think it would been have a lot less expensive and a lot less stress to try to work with your neighbor rather then fight them.

The ideal solution would be to kick Walmart out of town and put a Costco in its place.

Looper...I am thankful for Mr Wheeler spending his time and money to allow us to vote. Yes, he had other choices- but he chose to listen to the people who wanted to vote.
This is more than the Council has done. They have asked no one.

Many talk about Mr Whheeler's parking. He could easily find other solutions, as you have mentioned.

I think of Pleasanton as a quaint small family town with a cute downtown and unique family owned restaurants and shops. It is being turned into a town just like the next. No character or charm. Costco will just make it worse!

Thousands of Pleasanton residence live off of Santa Rita. I'm not sure what the percentage is, but tens of thousands. There are hundreds of apartments over by Pimlico, too.

The proposed location for Costco in Pleasaton, from Santa Rita, is 3.1 miles. In other words, if you live near Santa Rita, it will take about 3 miles to get to Proposed Costco in Pleasanton. For these same residents, the Livermore Costco is only 4.7 miles away. (Feel free to use Mapquest).

We are talking about building another Costco for about 1.6 miles less of driving for tens of thousands of Pleasaton residence. We don't need another Costco, with 2 so close, and we certainly don't need more traffic.



FOLKS, WE ARE TALKING ABOUT 1.

I support a Costco in Pleasanton. I don't understand why people oppose having a Costco here when you see new apartments/condos/townhouses being built everywhere. If people are concerned about traffic and congestion then you should limit building these housing projects. People who are shopping at Costco are the same people causing the traffic and congestions in our streets but no one seems to realize that. Besides Costco is located in a non-residential area, so what's the big deal? This will make it easier for Pleasanton residents by not having to drive to Livermore or San Ramon/Danville.


Costco will bring tax revenue and jobs to the City. Think of it, Pleasanton residents - this is good for the city. Enough about traffic and other BS. This sounds more like an underlying political agenda than what the city really needs. Some people are probably getting bribed to stop this from happening. Another corruption in the city council. Good grief!!!

Looking at the initiatives Pleasanton has had over the past few years, I think this shows a real problem with city governance. If they would actively solicit opinions and put our community first, they would not have to be forced into restrictions and confines that the voters feel we have to put on them. Did they ever ask Pleasanton citizens if they wanted a Costco? No, they just joined the first developer who came to them with a plan, and all jumped on the bandwagon, fighting their own residents. Now they are joining forces to elect a council that will keep them on this same path, to the detriment of our community. Let us vote! And vote thoughtfully not just about Costco, but who we want governing us!

The requirements to put this Initiative on the ballot have been met. All that is left is to decide when it will be voted on. Putting it on the November ballot is the most cost effective option. Any delay comes down to Self Interest, Self Interest of the Mayor and City Council Members. They want to avoid putting the Initiative on the November ballot because they don't want their position on this issue to impact their re-election efforts. Clearly this is about what is best for them and not about what is best for Pleasanton or what the Citizens of Pleasanton want. Self Interested efforts by the council to delay the vote beyond the November ballot could end up costing the city and tax payers hundreds of thousands of dollars extra.

I think the Livermore Costco is sufficient and is close enough for both Livermore and Pleasanton communities. I'm surprised that Costco would want to build so close to it's Livermore store and hurt their sales. Pleasanton has the Safeway gas which is usually pretty close in price to Costco so that's a wash.

Hello Pleasanton,
I have been working and briefly living in Pleasanton for nearly a decade. I currently reside in Oakland, and commute to Pleasanton everyday for work in Hacienda. I certainly cannot speak for the residents, but can for the thousands of employees of the Hacienda Business Park that go in and out via Stoneridge Drive on a daily basis.
In the last couple years, we have experienced growth at an unprecedented pace, unlike anything I've ever seen. The city has brought many of us to our knees, trying to navigate all of the construction in the entire business park, as they've re-worked the under ground utilities, as well as re-configured roads for at least the past year. It is all quite cumbersome, annoying and quite frankly pretty shocking. I've never seen so many multi-family units being built at the same time.
What worries me the most, is there is already a good flux of traffic NOW. What will happen, when all these people move in? Now, factor in a 100,000 sqft, very popular shopping center, and quite frankly, I think the city will be setting itself up for traffic gridlock and failure. They will never be able to keep up with figuring out how to deal with the onslaught of additional traffic. It will make working here a very undesirable place. I think our company would likely consider leaving the business park for another community.
Is it really that big of a deal to travel 5 miles either to Livermore or San Ramon to the same store? I feel like this is being rammed through, because of greed of revenue, more than anything, without much thought to handle the additional traffic.
Its really quite unfathomable that this is even being considered.
~A concerned Pleasanton employee.

I'm for the Costco. Almost all of the arguments against don't seem to hold water. What additional traffic? There's a Costco in Fremont to the south, Livermore to the east, Danville to the north and Hayward to the west. The traffic we have right now is Pleasanton residents driving on 580 and 680 all weekend to go to Costco in Livermore. How does having a Costco in town create MORE traffic? It simply means residents need to drive less, and not on overly crowded 580 to get basic goods at a cheaper price. Likewise for pollution. Fewer miles driven by residents to get to and from a local Costco leads to less pollution, not more. I also don't get this notion that somehow hordes of people are going to come to Pleasanton Costco from random cities. There are Costco and Safeway gas stations in other cities. No one loves Pleasanton so much to drive out here to get goods and cheap gas. But it will save Ptown residents time, gas money and pollution having something we all use close by. As for the location, Stoneridge Drive traffic is not horrendous, can be easily managed with proper lane management. If you want to talk about traffic, look what's happened in the Stoneridge loop with Workday's growth. That's traffic. But I'll take that any day having a great, growing employer right here in town. Pleasanton isn't a quiet farm community anymore. If you want to have Fortune 500 companies, high paying jobs, and good schools this is part of the deal. Remember the core purpose of a city: to house, employ and serve residents. If you don't have housing for people to live, and don't have services for those people to use, what in the world is the city for?

Just got out of council meeting. Can you believe Mayor Thorne has owned Costco stock this whole time?? Since 2014 when this whole thing started with Costco. How many times in the last 2 years did he say he was unbiased.

Recused himself tonight - but he wants to sell his stock and get back in the fight for Costco. The City Attorney was skeptical that campaign laws would allow this. More to follow.

What do you think?

Rod,

At around 6 minutes per fill-up (ave 15 gallons), I calculate that the Costco gas station would have to be open 15 hours per day to be able to meet the SIER report numbers. The problem is that Costco is, at most, open only 10.5 hours during the weekdays, and less on the weekends.

Again, given the average of 15 gallons per fill-up, that would mean the numbers you presented are too high by over 1/3.

Also, you are not comparing apples to apples; Costco is not a average gas station. They happen to be cheaper than the Shells and Chevrons of the world. The fact that Costco generates more traffic is not the reason so much outrage is directed at this topic. It's because the owners of the competing gas stations won't be enjoying their monopoly any longer and they fear going out of business so they are screaming the loudest.

Competition is a good thing and if they can't lower there prices and streamline their costs like Costco has, good riddance to them.

@Val
I was shocked tonight when Mayor Thorne recused himself and left the room. Shame on him! He should've been honest from the beginning.

Yes on Costco!! No on Thorne and his cronies, shocking that he had his hands in the "cookie" jar? Not really!! Build our Costco then get rid of that entire city council before every speck of flatland and hillsides are built on, enough of the mini-mansions and the stacked and packed condos and apartments.

I agree with every word "Map" said!!
Thorne with his hand in the cookie jar....you think!!
Wouldn't surprise me if he had a hand in every cookie jar of
every developer that is over building this city!

The growth is coming, whether we do it thoughtfully or let the state demand it . . . again. And Measure PP protects the hillsides. It would be worth asking if Thorne's stocks were part of a diverse portfolio. However, if it is true, as mentioned by others, that Thorne has been pushing for the pay down of unfunded liabilities, that alone may be reason enough to keep him in office. Today's editorial in the East Bay Times notes CalPERS is underfunded by $139 billion; yes, a B. That's $11,000 for every household. At least our mayor, for one, is addressing this very large problem.

Wow! That is pretty crazy news on Thorne. Secretly, he's fought for Costco for two years, and owns part of the company. Now, you say he wants to "sell" his ownership and start campaigning and voting again for Costco? I say no, Mr Mayor. You had two years to tell us. Apparently, someone uncovered it. You had no choice, but to recuse.
How can we have confidence in what you tell us? For two years, you said that you were unbiased.

Kathleen,

Conflict of interest and potential insider trading by the mayor is ok because he is "pushing" for pension pay down?

I got that right?

BTW, I am not accusing the mayor of anything, I'm only responding to what's been alleged by another poster. I'll hold my opinion until I see something reported by the PW.

So what was decided at the meeting last night?

I wasn't able to attend last night, and am shocked at the Mayor Thorne/stock ownership revelation. PW, please get an article out about the meeting last night ASAP.

Was this meeting televised or recorded so that those that weren't able to attend can view it?

Dan, I asked what the circumstances were about the stock ownership. It would make a difference. I personally believe unfunded liabilities are a much bigger concern than a Costco.

Ok, I looked it up like any citizen can do. Here is the link to the Ca. Fair Political Practices form 700, where Thorne had to declare his financial interests. This form was filed in April 2015, and he signed it. Note the entries for Costco on page 4 and 7.

Web Link