Editor,
The procedures local boards and commissions use to add items for discussion to their agendas, and whether they stick to the agendas they set, may seem like a pretty dry topic. But we need to keep a close eye on this aspect of how our elected officials are behaving.
Why? Because unless the representatives you voted for can successfully raise the issues that you tell them are important, your issues may never get the attention they deserve. And likewise, if local officials can say one thing and then do another in running their meetings (ignoring their own rules and possibly state law in the process), then the public interest is likely to take a hit.
Take the problems recently encountered by Sabrina Brennan, a member of the Harbor District Board of Commissioners.
Commissioner Brennan seemed to follow all of the commission’s procedures when she put an item on the agenda for its Dec. 16 board meeting. She wanted to deliver a report on the serious flooding that has recently devastated much of the Oyster Point Marina.
But when her item was announced, members of the board seemed to fall all over themselves to “table” it, shutting off public comment and Commissioner Brennan’s entire presentation. It seems that only the presence of many members of the public kept the Marina item from being swept right under the rug. Public comments were allowed, but Brennan’s detailed presentation didn’t fare as well — it was quashed by the board.
Apparently, the Harbor District’s board has a history of this kind of flimflam. Still, this doesn’t mean that we have to put up with their behavior.
Paul Grigorieff
Half Moon Bay
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