Supervisor Adams: Taxpayers Should 'Think Twice' About Recall Election

A group of San Rafael residents have launched efforts to recall Marin County Supervisor Susan Adams because they don’t feel well represented.

“This is definitely not an attack on Ms. Adams’ personally, this is an attack on how she has been representing her constituents in the last 10 years,” said Alissa Chacko, spokesperson for the grassroots group of 27 San Rafael residents who filed a formal notice with the county on May 1 to circulate recall petitions.

“We don’t feel like we have a voice,” said Chako, a Mont Marin resident.

Chacko said many of the group are concerned about local land-use issues, including the controversial Plan Bay Area and affordable housing allocations proposed for northern San Rafael.  Residents who signed the notice live in San Rafael neighborhoods that include Marinwood, Mont Marin, Terra Linda, Peacock Gap, Marin Lagoon and Los Ranchitos, according to Chacko.

Chacko said the residents started talking about recalling Adams roughly four months ago. The final impetus, she said, was the denial of their requests to have large meetings with Adams.

“We’ve been told we can have small meetings or we can talk individually with her,” she said. “There is no dissemination of information to the public and no asking the constituents their opinions or views or desires for the community.”

Adams told Patch she has engaged in a variety of meetings, including large, medium, small and individual, over the past 10 years.

However, at two large meetings held in the last year in Marinwood Village “a few members of the community dominated the conversation and spoke over others,” Adams said. She has since been attending small house meetings of 10 to 20 people, at the request of some neighbors, “so that those who felt intimidated or shut out of expressing different opinions in these larger venues could have a safe place to discuss concerns and hear the information,” she said.

She said she’s accessible and her constituents have her home number.

“I attend annual meetings of many of the homeowners associations where I provide updates. All of our board meetings are audio-visually web cast and archived. I have held public forums at the civic center on a variety of topics,” Adams said in an e-mail to Patch. “I have recently worked with members of the community to create a panel forum for May 30, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the Board of Supervisors chambers entitled “Plan Bay Area: Is it good for the region? Is it good for Marin?” I distribute a monthly email newsletter which provides updates.”

If the recall petition is certified, the group will have 120 days to gather signatures of 6,368 registered voters in the supervisorial district.

While Adams’ seat will be up for re-election in June 2014, Chacko said the residents “don’t want to be misrepresented” for another year and are therefore pushing for a special election next spring.

Adams said Marin’s taxpayers “will want to think twice” about spending $250,000 for a special recall election. “Why not just launch one or more candidates during the upcoming regular election cycle and let us debate the issues?” she said.

The recall group’s statement listed following reasons (verbatim) for the recall:

• Over 70% of the county’s allotment of affordable high density housing is currently proposed for Lucas Valley and Marinwood. Supervisor Adams has failed to ensure these allocations are pro-rata with the other areas in Marin and has instead held meetings to tell the community we have no choice, we must comply with state requirements, and accept a grossly disproportionate share.
• The Marinwood/Lucas Valley area has become a pawn of the County of Marin’s spineless deal with Housing and Urban Development (HUD). They have agreed to ease zoning restrictions, allow high-density low-income housing in quiet suburban communities and boost public transit all in order to eliminate discrimination in housing.
• Most affordable housing developers are exempt from local property taxes and therefore, will not be contributing to the schools. Most of the funding for the Dixie District originates from local property taxes .
• When concerns were voiced to Ms. Adams about the Dixie School District, Ms. Adams replied that the issue had just recently occurred to her, yet the County has been planning these proposed developments for years. The District was not notified of the proposal or asked to participate in the planning process prior to announcement by the County. The Dixie School District will be required to absorb the residents of more than 550 proposed units with little additional revenue.
• Supervisor Adams denies that the Marinwood area is a Planned Development Area (PDA) but she is splitting hairs. It is crystal clear on the County’s website that Marinwood is right now a “Potential” PDA and can move to “Planned” PDA status if the right infrastructure and traffic enhancements are put in place. It will then be eligible for transportation dollars. The community did not have input as to whether or not to designate Marinwood as a PDA – this decision was made by the County.
• Supervisor Adams offers assurances and promises with no explicit authority to enter into or enforce such actions. One specific example would be Supervisor Adams promises that if certain areas are supported for development, others will be removed from inventory sites. This “prisoner’s dilemma” approach aims to split our community, rather than represent it.
• There has been no community input with respect to the current design or proposal presented to our community by Supervisor Adams and Bridge Housing in late 2012. The plan for development of the Marinwood Plaza went from an accepted maximum of 70 units with 20% affordable housing component (developed by a for-profit developer), to a 100 unit with 100% affordable housing development developed by a non-profit entity.
• The County Wide Plan and the Marinwood Plaza Conceptual Master Plan call for community input in the planning process for the site. The previous plan was arguably vetted by the Collaborative in 2008 and early 2009 and was comprised of Marinwood residents chosen by Supervisor Adams. The current proposed plan was not vetted by the community. It was presented as a done deal.
• Requests for large public meetings have been ignored in favor on small 10-12 person “coffee meetings” in individual’s homes with an exclusionary invitation list, preventing dissemination of the information to the larger public.
• Issues are discussed verbally, with no written public record. This campaign of information control has worked as many people still are unaware of what is being proposed for our community.

In response, Adams wrote in an e-mail to Patch that her record speaks for itself:

I brokered a very challenging deal between the San Rafael Rock Quarry and their neighbors. I launched a Medical Reserve Corps for first responders in a disaster, which has become nationally awarded and recognized and which has been operating with amazing key volunteer health care professionals. I pulled together our criminal justice and health teams to create and improve therapeutic justice approaches which have reduced the jail population and significantly reduced the recidivism rates. A watershed program has been launched in Santa Venetia, flood zone projects have been implemented, a community plan is being developed and I helped the community achieve a workable solution to a controversial land use issue in their neighborhood. We now have a Health and Wellness campus where comprehensive services are provided, our children are covered and nobody has to go bankrupt because they don't have access to care. I am working with San Rafael to address homelessness. I chaired a transit subcommittee which brokered a deal with Golden Gate Transit which allowed millions in savings and improvements in our public transit service. I have been working on veteran's issues. We have bike and pedestrian improvements throughout the district and I was the swing vote on Marin Clean Energy. And our board has worked toward our current structural budgetary balance where we received a AAA bond rating from Fitch as well as Moody and are paying down the pension obligation. And I do this without taking the pension plan or the car allowance.

I listen to all voices in my community. I and others in the 1st District believe that we do not have enough affordable workforce housing for hardworking people in Marin whose families earn less than $65,000/year. I think it's a conversation worthy of continuation. I also realize that not everyone will be always be happy with each of the decisions I make. I believe recall elections should be reserved for those who conduct themselves illegally or unethically. I have done neither. There will be many opportunities to comment on specific land use issues if and when they are submitted to the county for initiation of a public process. Until then, I will continue to operate with the same commitment to community engagement and process that I always have.

Adams said since the recall efforts were announced she has been hearing from San Rafael residents who said they do feel represented by Adams. (One of those residents thanked Adams for helping to pave the way for the Marinwood market years ago.)

What's your reaction? Do you think there should be a recall election? Tell us in the comments!

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