Beresford Hillsdale Neighborhood Association

Last month I was approached by the current president of the Beresford Hillsdale Neighborhood Association to write a column on its 25th anniversary. I replied I would be happy to do so and sent Lisa Taner, the current president, a list of questions which included the number of active members in the club, the dues, the boundaries of the club, the major issues before the club and some details about the anniversary celebration. She replied that she had to check with her board before sending me any information. She sent me some answers and then when I had further questions she sent me new information to clarify her original, now supplied by a longtime club member (Daily Journal 6/15/15). While I was writing the column, I heard that the organization had invited Mimi Steele, a member of the Tea Party to be a featured speaker. There was also the dissemination of fliers similar to ones the local tea party has been distributing to organize protests against Plan Bay Area, a regional plan for locating new housing near transportation and jobs. I also recalled some Facebook postings about a nasty encounter Councilman David Lim had at the association’s meeting. I did not know all the details until Lim wrote a letter to the Daily Journal explaining what had happened that night (Daily Journal 6/22/15).

“On Feb. 17, I did verbally challenge Ms. Steele during her presentation. Three other members of the audience also confronted her. We did not challenge her because of her party affiliation. We responded to a specific comment made by Ms. Steele. In justifying her “no growth” position for San Mateo, Ms. Steele stated, “What is the end result of all this ‘smart growth’ and ‘stack and pack’ housing? You end up with different people living here. People different than you and me. People with different cultures and beliefs.” After confronting Ms. Steele about her prejudiced comments, some of her supporters called me a “Communist.” That type of red-baiting harkens back to the days of McCarthyism, and I confronted that bullying head on. I respect people’s party affiliations. I respect healthy debate on the scope of development in our city. But statements of intolerance and prejudice are never welcome in San Mateo. I will continue to speak out against intolerance whenever and wherever it occurs.”