2 in Millbrae facing recall

The catalyst for the recall effort is Millbrae’s hotly-contested La Quinta Inn and Suites, that San Mateo County is attempting to purchase as housing for homeless families and seniors amidst community dissent and a legal battle between the city and county. 

Cahalan abstained and Goodman voted no on sending a September 2023 letter from the Millbrae City Council expressing concerns about the upcoming hotel purchase, which they didn’t sign — a decision that some Millbrae residents say they haven’t forgotten. 

Recall campaign volunteer Albert Yam said that the effort “boils down to representation” and that Cahalan and Goodman ignored community opinion that the purchase would take away a much-needed revenue source for the city and create public safety concerns. 

“Both councilmembers were notified and were reached out to during the process of several months. … We felt that when there are overwhelming voices from the community about the desire on a specific matter, that a representative did not represent our voice,” Yam said. 

Goodman said he’s always been, and continues to be, a clear advocate for the unhoused community, a position some community members also stand by. “Whether a minority or not, they have a voice,” he said.

“For people to say that they want recall because of that, or because of a vote we really had no control over … myself [and Angelina] were on the losing side of that vote,” he said. “The democracy won. What exactly are they upset with, that it wasn’t unanimous? No community is unanimous.” 

While Cahalan concurred that not all Millbrae residents are unhappy with the hotel sale, she’s also spoken to some who don’t like the purchase agreement, but think a recall election isn’t an appropriate way to address their concerns. 

“I’ve had people that I know who aren’t happy with the hotel, but they’ve seen the work that I’ve done overall, and they appreciate and feel the impact of the work that I’m doing, and want to see me stay,” she said. 

Both councilmembers voted to approve the recall and move forward with the process once petition signatures were ratified. 

For residents like Yam, criticisms of a recall — like its motivations, cost or time required — pale in comparison to what he believes are now-fundamental differences between the two councilmembers and the community they represent.

“Their actions do not align with our views. Their actions are not aligned with addressing residents’ concerns,” he said. 

Goodman, however, emphasized that he’s been hearing calls for his recall from office since his swearing-in ceremony, when many residents knew little about him “other than how I presented,” he said. 

“I do believe there’s some residents who really believe this is about La Quinta. I don’t want to diminish those voices, but I do believe there’s a bigger picture at play that [began] the very night I was elected,” he said. 

While Millbrae’s three other councilmembers have remained mum on the recall itself, they’ve been outspoken in their concerns about La Quinta being purchased by the county, a move city staff asserted in recent figures could cost Millbrae around $750,000 a year in hotel tax and other revenue sources. 

“Thankfully, the La Quinta is still operating. We appreciate that, because it is helping our basic financing,” Councilmember Gina Papan said at a May 14 City Council meeting. “This is a governmental agency coming in, which wipes the slate clean here. We don’t get other taxes, we don’t get other revenue from that. What we do get are more residents, more burdens on infrastructure, more burdens on police.” 

Millbrae is also embroiled in ongoing litigation against the county for choosing to move forward with the project — which the county intends to fund through still in-flux Project Homekey money, as it has done at several other locations throughout the county. 

The lawsuit, which has cost the city $230,000 as of May, City Manager Tom Williams said previously, alleges that Millbrae residents have a right to vote on whether they want the housing project in their community under Article 34 of the state Constitution. 

Cahalan said she’d wait to see the results of the lawsuit — which the presiding judge said would be returned by June 26 — before commenting further on the project. 

Goodman maintained that the city doesn’t necessarily have the jurisdiction to interfere in a transaction between the county and a local small business. 

“When leaders start to shift the conversation to try to control or direct small businesses on what they can or cannot do, that becomes a detriment, especially at the cost of supporting our most vulnerable community members,” he said. 

Both councilmembers said they’re hopeful they will be able to continue the work they’ve been doing in office and want the community to overcome the divisiveness that the La Quinta project has brought. 

“I think I’ve been off to a good start, and I’ve had some successes in these first 17 months, and I want to just continue doing that work and continue growing for our city,” Cahalan said, citing increasing community engagement, work on the park and Eastside master plans and relationship-building with other municipal entities. 

“When it’s all said and done, that’s what we have to focus on — who are we as a city,” Goodman said. “You cannot like somebody but that doesn’t mean you can try to hurt them. We have to come out on the other side of this.” 

But residents like Yam are also optimistic. The group Recall Councilmembers Goodman & Cahalan has raised over $21,000, per campaign filings, and fundraising efforts for the pair came in at over half that at $12,713. 

“We feel that you are acting against the majority of the people, and I think this recall will kind of show who the majority is, what the sentiment of the people is,” Yam said. “The signatures collected for the petition is more than the votes they received for [the] election campaign.” 

The special election will cost the city approximately $143,000. The councilmember will be recalled if more than 50% of the votes are in favor. Once they are removed, the positions will be vacant until it is filled by appointment or an election to the unexpired terms. Both Cahalan and Goodman were elected to a four-year term in 2022. Go to https://www.ci.millbrae.ca.us/554/July-23-2024-Special-Election to learn more.