Larry Kahle is a good man and a good neighbor. Thank you for your service Larry.

Larry is a practicing architect plus there’s all the experience gained only by seeing dozens of projects, learning how staff works and the reasonable and unreasonable expectations of residents and developers. Lots of knowledge capital out the door here. Camille will do a good job but it’s wrong to suggest the PC needs new blood or somehow where she lives makes a difference. The PC is hugely constrained by projects as they come forward and building regulations. That said, she’ll be a good voice.

It sounds like Combs was only reappointed because he's African American. A better argument would be that the quality of his character and his dedication to the residents of Menlo Park trump the fact his employer is Facebook.

Character:
More was said regarding Comb's performance than what was quoted in the article.

Drew Combs by working for Facebook has a conflict of interest for sure. As to development, traffic is probably the biggest problem. With all the expansion on the east side of Menlo Park, due to the growth of Facebook, we are gridlocked during the morning and afternoon, evening commute. No solution period.

Why would the council appoint Facebook employees??
Facebook is in the pocket of the council anyway, the chamber of commerce, and other social groups within our area.
Facebook is so invested in Menlo Park.

The decision to appoint Drew was a bad one. There are many persons of color on the east side of Menlo Park that could be appointed because of race. But wait, Facebook has given monetary awards to some of those that represent that area too?

Politics....a real problem for us in Menlo Park....no easy fix. We here will always be victims.

If Carlton has financial conflicts voting on Facebook issues, she could recuse herself from voting when Facebook employees apply to city commissions. As it stands, Kahle is now the first commissioner not to be reappointed because he's caucasian.

Conflict writes: "Kahle is now the first commissioner not to be reappointed because he's caucasian."

See you at the Trump Make America Great Again rally!

Facts are pretty clear that Larry lost his seat because the Council majority voted to put the new person on the commission.

Cline's comments make it obvious as he appears to regret it by saying he voted to show support, and he would revote if it made a difference.

Kennedy was appointed because her past affiliations and experiences let the council know that she would not ask too many questions about future developments. Kahle may have been doing his job too well!

The council bought Combs' allegiance by making sure that he got a job for which he was not qualified. Granted, he can't vote on Facebook expansion, but he can vote on everything else.

It's all about greenlighting development and generating profits, not about vetting projects properly or about doing what is best for city residents and our city's future.

Peter Ohtaki's comment about Kennedy living closer to downtown and El Camino Real than Kahle is baffling as a rationale for not voting to re-appoint Kahle. Larry Kahle is my neighbor in Suburban Park, so I know that he lives a 10-minute drive from downtown and El Camino Real. I can attest that we're just as cognizant of the issues facing the downtown corridor as anyone living in West Menlo. Larry is a talented, experienced architect with deep knowledge of how the planning process in Menlo Park works, and for him not to win reappointment, I have to believe something is going on beyond what was discussed in this article. It simply makes no sense.

Since Cline voted for winner may be possible for him to ask for ‘reconsideration’ of vote under council rules.

so really not an upset, just one incumbent commissioner moving commissions.

Had the vote for Kahle come before Combs, Mueller may have only cast one vote... for Combs.

• Kennedy: Ohtaki, Carlton, Cline, Keith
• Combs: Ohtaki, Carlton, Mueller
• Kahle: [Mueller], Cline, Keith

Kahle just doesn't have the votes.

No mojo, your post is confusing.
The actual vote cast by the Council was as follows:

Combs: Cline Ohtaki Mueller
Kahle: Mueller
Kennedy: Keith Carlton Cline Ohtaki

Carlton and Keith each only cast one vote for Kennedy.
Mueller voted twice, for Combs and Kahle.
Cline and Ohtaki voted twice, for Combs and Kennedy.

Any way you slice it, Kahle just doesn't have the votes.