Northwest San Pedro Neighborhood Council and Central San Pedro Neighborhood Council will be having elections to their Boards, soon.
Northwest has slated their election for June 25, 2007 beginning at 1:00 PM at the Peck Park Community Center. A candidates' forum has been scheduled for June 19, 2007, again at Peck Park.
Central has scheduled their election for July 10, 2007, I believe at the Harry Bridges Institute. Their first candidates" forum has been announced for June 12, 2007 at 6:00 PM, before their regular Board meeting. I just received word of this candidates' forum late Monday afternoon.
Along with the two candidates' forums the individual Councils have scheduled, R Neighborhoods Are 1 has invited all candidates to their meeting/rally/forum scheduled for Tuesday June 12, 2007, beginning at 7:00 P.M. at the Peck Park Community Center.
The Bisno Development Co. has decided to not involve themselves with the two upcoming elections, according to a highly placed source. I hope that is true and we all can let the real will of the people come out, instead of manufactured votes coming in from individuals who have been offered some kind of "support" for their votes.
What is important about these elections is that it shows democracy working at some of the lowest levels possible. These elections can alter San Pedro's stance on a wide range of issues, not just Ponte Vista.
Besides calls for moving and/or adding another cruise ship terminal in the outer harbor, there may be talk of a new terminal for the largest tankers on the planet to call on San Pedro's port.
Major issues about the real future of Knoll Hill will come up in a few years and development is never on the back burner.
With Central San Pedro Neighborhood Council, any member of R Neighborhoods Are 1, are considered stakeholders, and allowed to vote in the upcoming election. I talked to a member of their board and also to the representative of the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment (DONE) who informed me that, according to the bylaws of Central, members of R Neighborhoods Are 1 is allowed to vote.
Signing the R1 petition means you support R Neighborhoods Are 1's position and that makes those individuals, members of the group. R Neighborhoods Are 1 is an identified organization within all three Neighborhood Council's areas, but Central's bylaws allow for the members of the group to be classified as stakeholders.
I am sure there will be many individuals who will call me on this fact, but I checked it out before I wrote this.
When Coastal San Pedro Neighborhood Council has its elections in October, simply being a member of R Neighborhoods Are 1 will not automatically make you a stakeholder in that Council, because of their much more strict bylaws for membership, or as a stakeholder.
With Northwest San Pedro Neighborhood Council, several members of their board and the representative from DONE believe that members of R Neighborhoods Are 1 are classified as stakeholders, but I cannot say, for certain at this time, whether this is an actual part of their bylaws.
At this time, it is my impression that members of the R1 group, who do not fit into any other stakeholder classification for Northwest may vote on a provisional ballot, unless and until I get back information from their elections officer on the final ruling.
At the last election for seats on the board of Northwest, Bob Bisno and the Bisno Development placed themselves into the picture. In these elections, the Bisno Development Co. is staying out. This information was provided to me by Ms. Elise Swanson at the Ponte Vista site office.
I have heard of a slate of candidates, possibly created by Mr. Joe Gatlin, to run for seats in Northwest's area. Mr. Gatlin is also the President of Central and may also be running a slate of candidates in that Council area, too.
Whether the candidates who are members of the slate(s) support Ponte Vista may be an issue. If Mr. Gatlin, a strong supporter of Mr. Bisno's Ponte Vista, is putting up candidates that favor his positions, then it is democratic for folks in opposition to any candidate(s) to show up at the polls and vote their preferences.
Do all of the candidates who favor a permanent home for Eastview Little League support Bob Bisno's plans? I sure hope not. It is very fair to ask each candidate whether they support Bob's plans, whatever they are, or if they support keeping the current zoning at Ponte Vista.
I need to spin that for the best interests of San Pedro and the surrounding areas, having more folks on the Boards that support keeping Ponte Vista R1, is better than having the majority of the members of the Boards supporting Mr. Bisno and his plans for the over-development of Northwest San Pedro.
Am I biased? Yup. Might there be another blog spinning support for candidates who support Bob? I don't know and I should not wish to visit any such blog.
Do R1 supporters have the right to vote in both elections? I know so in Central, and I believe strongly so in Northwest.
Do supporters of Bob have the right to vote in both elections? Yes, if they are qualified. Does anyone claiming to have signed any supporter cards can be thought of as a stakeholder? I fear perhaps yes, in terms of Central's bylaws. I don't know about Northwest's bylaws.
This could be a real shootout.
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