https://n2v.almanacnews.com/square/print/2014/11/09/full-investigation-of-role-of--city-staff-regarding-specific-plan-and-measure-m-needed-now


Town Square

Full investigation of role of City Staff regarding Specific Plan and Measure M needed NOW

Original post made by We need answers, Menlo Park: Felton Gables, on Nov 9, 2014

The recent articles and communications regarding possible bias of the City Staff and spending of public funds to hire Malcom Smith to support a No on Measure effort are very very disturbing.

See:

Web Link

City billed for letters to the editor (from Daily Post)

Daily Post Nov 8th article:
"Did city help campaign"? (sub title "Councilman wants answers")

Questions regarding Malcolm Smith May 5, 2014 Agreement with the City and City Measure M talking points, news releases, letters to editors, comments to Almanac Online,, Measure M strategy and City website preparation.

see: http://ccin.menlopark.org:81/8617.html

A full investigation is needed. There is something going on here for sure, when work product (Malcolm Smith billings) paid for by our City cannot suddenly be found.

Councilman Cline, for one at least seems interested in seeing exactly what has happened here. Good for him.

One often reads about City Governments using various tactics to defeat citizen promoted referendums and initiatives, but I surely never thought Menlo Park would be put into that category.

The evidence seems to be building that indeed this may well be the case.

Please Councilman Cline and others on Council, get to the bottom of this, and if necessary take whatever actions are necessary to stop this kind of activity for ever happening again.






Comments

Posted by Peter Carpenter
a resident of Atherton: Lindenwood
on Nov 9, 2014 at 8:04 am

Peter Carpenter is a registered user.

"The evidence seems to be building that indeed this may well be the case."

There have been lots of accusations but no evidence that the City did anything improper or illegal. It is certainly appropriate to investigate the Smith issue but it is not appropriate to suggest or reach conclusions before such an investigation has been completed.


Posted by No more blight
a resident of Menlo Park: Linfield Oaks
on Nov 9, 2014 at 9:27 am

The City manager may have thrown the answers in the trash. Clearly he is not going to cooperate with any investigation. He isn't even competent enough to produce his own propaganda and he had to go and outsource the job. Then claims he threw away the material that was paid for - with taxpayer money. Talk about a blight on the city.