Time to change the state law and make it retroactive. Overly wealthy "non-profits" do not need tax exemptions. The robber baron lives on.

Every time Ray Mueller faces a choice between:

A. Pose a question to the rest of the council, build consensus, acknowledge hard choices and tradeoffs, reach a "good but not perfect" solution, and share credit
B. Throw out the "solution", position self as savior, talk to reporters, stand in front of cameras, and annoy more self-effacing public servants who do work behind the scenes

He will ALWAYS choose B. Stop getting played, Almanac!

Also, why not mention that the 2017 Council approval of the Stanford project was unanimous, including Ray's vote to approve? I don't give anyone extra credit for solving a problem that they helped create.

Word in the school district is Mueller made the suggestion in a City Council meeting on the budget, and that actually the school district spread the word to parents about the suggestion, not Mueller. In fact the District's Measure X campaign alerted parents, not Mueller. The emails they sent in to the Council caused the reporter to write the story, not Mueller. Word is then a certain Councilmember started complaining. Looking at those facts, all Mueller did was make a suggestion in the Council meeting and now apparently get attacked for it.

The article says Mueller made the suggestion to the Council at a Council meeting:

"At the Feb. 13 meeting, Mr. Mueller suggested that the city put $1.5 million of that surplus toward the project – he later indicated he wanted that number to be $1 million – enough to cover the funding gap between what Stanford has committed and the $2.5 million the district says it would need.

"We have an opportunity here now to kill that bird with this stone," Mr. Mueller told the council at the time."

The article sets out exactly what happened, despite the sideswipe by "statues crumble." Apparently so do fragile egos.

After reading the article the attack on Councilmember Mueller in the comments seems petty.

It's that time of year again. With the City Council's district election vote just weeks aways, the political season officially has begun in Menlo Park again. Look forward to attacks and smears with anonymous posts on the Almanac Town Square by angry pseudonyms, thinly veiled, hoping to furthering their political ambition by insulting others.

The attack here is preposterous.