5 responses to “Let’s Fix Samtrans”

1. Patrick Jensen

   January 17, 2005

   I am with you… Here are links to two letters in the Daily Journal on point:

   January 7, 2005
   http://www.smdailyjournal.org/article.cfm?archiveDate=01-07-05&storyID=38486

   and

   Wednesday, January 16, 2002
   http://www.smdailyjournal.org/article.cfm?archiveDate=01-16-02&storyID=10222

2. Rosaline

   January 18, 2005

   Does this really just come down to cronyism? Say it ain’t so?

   Or bullying?

3. politicalblunder

   January 19, 2005

   It does, but that’s business as usual in this county. This is just the tip of the iceberg. If folks really follwed the wheelings and dealings of some local officials, I think the folks would be really shocked. It’s just that so few folks tune in.

4. Fiona

   January 19, 2005

   political blunder, I do not know if you are familiar with Burlingame politics, because it truly is shocking. We sometimes wish we had not tuned into it, because the radio station plays garbage and quite often you need to change the station!

5. politicalblunder

   January 23, 2005

   Fiona, I am more familiar with regional politics than Burlingame but this blog is interesting and has much to do with the region, it’s all connected.

   On the larger scale, the county pols, a la the dominant machine which relates to Burlingame, have some fast footwork as of late.

   Of course you have seen the neat swap Mike Nevin, Galligan’s buddy, made on the SamTrans board — leaving his seat on that body as a Supervisor and taking a vacated seat reserved for a member of the “public” in the same month.

   But it gets so much better.

   1) Nevin, being the chief of architect and one of the five county supes to place Measure A on the November Ballot pushed very hard fro some of that sales tax money to support ferry service in South San Francisco –meaning our money to help run ferries for the biotech folks. Why? Because they were paying him while he was a Supervisor, $4,600 a month to help grease the wheels.

   2) SamTrans spokesperson Jayme Maltbie Kunz, landed the job without much public notice and limited posting. Why? She’s John Maltbie’s daughter, the County Manager.

   3) The SamTrans board, via Kunz, stated that the seat swap wasn’t against the baord’s bylaws in several articles. Guess what? They have no bylaws, and haven’t for 30 years. How is the public supposed to scrutinze processes that are only known to the insiders?