Mr. Silverfarb's article (Daily Journal)

Burlingame residents are being asked to approve $44 million in bonds for flood control and facility improvements. Bond Measure H needs 67 percent approval to pass. Burlingame's storm protection system needs major fixing and councilwomen Rosalie O'Mahony and Terry Nagel have teamed up with John Root to co-chair the Committee to Fix Our Flooding. The committee has sent out mailers to Burlingame residents stressing the need for a yes vote and also asking residents to contribute money to help educate the public on the need for these improvements. I'm not sure I would donate money to a cause so that I, in turn, could be taxed. It seems like an odd request but I'm sure there are those in Burlingame more than willing to donate money so the city could avoid the flooding it suffered in 2002 when Grove Avenue was under water. Besides, wasn't a consulting group awarded a contract to help educate the public on the need to pass this bond measure? I remember the group being awarded $50,000 to gauge how much an individual would be willing to pay each year for these facility improvements. I also recall the consulting group being awarded additional money but the minutes of recent council meetings posted on the city's Web site do not indicate this. The city does not post old agendas, which it should, so I can not determine how much money the consulting group was given to educate the public with all those fancy fliers I've seen circulating about. It is clear the council wants this measure to pass. What's interesting to me in this process, however, is O'Mahony and Nagel teaming up with Root to co-chair the flood committee. Root just narrowly lost to Councilwoman Cathy Baylock in the last election and I'm guessing he is poised to run again for a council seat in 2007.

Two seats will be up for grabs in Burlingame in next year's election those belonging to Nagel and Councilman Russ Cohen. Cohen ran for the two-year seat vacated by Mike Coffey and recently butted heads with his council colleagues on the image of Burlingame being seen as an elitist? city. My guess is that Root has his eyes on Cohen's seat and is looking to chum up with O'Mahony and Nagel to vault himself onto the council.

It's just a guess.

– Written by Fiona