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Pointed Critique of Peceimer

Former County Supe John Ward is well known in B'game political circles having been involved for more than 20 years as an elected official and a paid consultant.  He normally sticks to development issues, but this letter in today's Daily Journal is apparently something he feels strongly about personally.  One of the challenges when someone runs for office is their past comments (especially those that are recorded) become fair game.  I'll let the letter speak for itself:

I arrived home to find a flier from Burlingame City Council candidate Andrew Peceimer, telling me he’d bring a “different opinion” to the City Council. Problem is, I remember Andrew’s opinions from comments he made to the council when he wasn’t running and I was appalled.

It was April 18, 2011. I was watching the meeting at home when he got up to speak. Just to be sure, I went to the public record to quote him accurately here. As he was criticizing public employees, Andrew said,

“Let’s talk about the firemen. Ever since 9/11 I think that there is a certain sympathy that people have for fire or police because of the action that they did. I understand what they were doing, but I don’t want to put them on a hero level. To me, a hero is somebody who jumps into the San Francisco Bay and they’re not being paid for it, and potentially they could die. When the firemen and policemen were running into 9/11, to the best of my knowledge, they were being paid. Nobody knew those buildings were going down. So I understand and respect what they do for a living, but they’re not heroes.” (minute 36.20)

Well, first responders are heroes to me, 9/11 responders especially. Does Andrew think our soldiers are not heroes because they get paid to do their job? Sorry, those aren’t my values. I am a 38-year Burlingame resident and home owner. I don’t think our council needs that kind of “different opinion.” 

John M. Ward

Burlingame

It's hard to say what the impact of this reminder will be on the election, but my guess is whatever the magnitude, the direction will be against Andrew Peceimer.

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52 responses to “Pointed Critique of Peceimer”

  1. Mark

    Surprise surprise…weird comments coming from his mouth. Think it’s pretty safe to say that together with the other things in these posts, good judgment does not appear to be this guy’s forte.

  2. James

    Firefighters and police are well compensated and at times perform heroic feats. But that doesn’t mean they are untouchable when it comes to pension reforms, etc.

  3. FIDUCIARY

    Hello everyone, my summary of the nine candidates:
    PECEIMER: As I like to call him Donald Trump without the big hair and billions. How high can he count, LOL? Oh, and he apparently knows Mandarin, maybe he should be running for city council in Millbrae.
    COHEN: A throw back from the 60s, straight up hippie. Drives a cool car. His campaign website video reminded me of something from Silence of the Lambs, scared the crap out of my kid. Russ, stop recording videos from the basement.
    NIRMALA: Imagine the People’s Republic of Burlingame. Peace, Love and High Density Housing! What next? Bollywood break dancing at council meetings?
    BROWNRIGG: Current council member. Claims to be a venture capitalist, Angel investor and a Middle Eastern diplomat. What next, salsa dancer and a nice body odor? Would love to see this guys tax return. Anybody need a Falafel recommendation? Please!!!
    KEIGHRAN: Current Queen of the council. She falls a little short of being the city princess… Seriously what kind of narcissistic person advertises with a crown on her campaign signs? Am I qualified to be her servant? LOL.
    SCHNIGAL: A GoodFellas throwback, works in a cigar shop. Rumor has it that Jimmie Hoffa is buried in the humidor. Word is Geraldo will be visiting Burlingame soon. Very Qualified!!! He’s got my vote.
    KENT: The best educated person in the race, just ask him. FUDICIARY His claim to fame is an astonishing 4.0 GPA from City College of San Francisco, oops I mean Northwestern… who cares… WTF? LOL. FIDUCIARY Can you say FIDUCIARY 10 times fast? How much wood could a wood chuck chuck…. FIDUCIARY, FIDUCIARY, FIDUCIARY.
    DUNCAN: Great Guy. Anyone need a 2 liter bottle of Ginger Ale or a home pregnancy test? I here there’s a sale on November 5. May infringe upon my voting ability. Next time I go to CVS I’ll know who to look up. Qualified???
    ORTIZ: Si se puede! List himself as a businessman with the proud support of a corporate giants such as the notorious MEGA Burlingame penny candy peddler. Swedish Fish and Beanie Babies for everyone if Ortiz wins!
    Who are you voting for…FIDUCIARY!

  4. Holyroller

    Dear James,
    If you were told in High School that being a Police/Fire/Paramedic/Sewage/ Park/ worker was going to pay a lot of money, plus benefits, and retire at 50 years old, would you have been interested?
    Hell Yeah you would have…
    So why do you have hard feelings towards the men and women who do the work?
    In my opinion, it is pure and simple..
    “You” are afraid of developing a collective bargaining unit.
    Afraid of losing your job, if you do, and not be able to make the $4-5000.00 mortgage payment.
    The people who get the water to your house, and keep the toilets working are invaluable.
    What do you do for a living James?
    How much to you get paid?
    What value to Society and contribution/skills to you make.
    If I was able to see what you do for a living, get paid-including benefits vs. people who keep this Country together, your “Stock” would be worthless.
    This is not a personal attack on James.
    Just an attempt to share the contributions that people like James have never seen, or considered.
    If your sewer is plugged at 1:00AM, your water is brown, you have a flat tire,a tree fell on your car, are you going to call James?

  5. Burlingame Mom

    I am APPALLED by the racist comments made by Fiduciary above. I can’t believe we have people in this community that believe that this kind of talk is acceptable. Even if it is meant as satire, it is completely unacceptable.

  6. James

    Holyroller, Guess what, this is a free republic and I’m allowed to have opinions which, by the way, are not out of the mainstream by any stretch. Of course I have respect for all working people and value everyone’s contributions. I didn’t say “fire them” or “take away their benefits”, did I? It’s reasonable to put everything on the table when discussing a balanced budget. Take a deep breath, comrade.

  7. alittlenird

    Ah FIDUCIARY, you are one funny guy/gal who seems to have a real take on each of the candidates. I got a real belly laugh out if your post. Thanks for that and couldn’t agree with you more.

  8. Debbie F

    I love the summary of candidates. Keighran and Kent’s comments were the best.

  9. Alexander Kent

    How many false names can Joe Baylock write comments under?
    The above comments are kinda entertaining, but then you have to actually do the work and prevent all the explicit conflicts of interest on the existing City Council and Planning Commission – woopsy.
    If you want to get real insight into Burlingame, please read my facebook page:
    https://www.facebook.com/pages/Alexander-England-Kent-for-Burlingame-City-Council/626053540750506?ref=hl

  10. Holyroller

    Thank you Commrade James for your thoughtful response.
    Dear Burlingame Mom,
    You are the person that is racist when you broadcast your interpretation of what is, and is not, a racist comment.
    As Comrade James suggests,”Take a deep breath.”

  11. Joe

    I’m thrilled to publish more of Alexander Kent’s increasingly wild accusations. He is turning out to be the most entertaining candidate in the race and I haven’t bothered to note some of his most entertaining actions around town. Here’s one taste: the two BRITISH citizens in Behan’s were quite perturbed when he wouldn’t leave them alone about voting for him. The whole bar got a good laugh about that. Blog on Alex, you are my sunshine.

  12. hillsider

    He thinks you are FIDUCIARY but we all know you are not nearly that funny. I bow to FIDUCIARY. He is also a GoodFellas throwback.

  13. Scooter

    FIDUCIARY where can I buy tickets to see your act? Abso-fiduciarily-hilarious. At first read I thought the Alfred Smith white tie dinner had come to Burlingame. I tell you what, tell me which candidates read this and laugh at themselves…and they get my vote. As for racism, give me a break. Every ethnic note is pure clean fun.

  14. Alexander Kent

    Ladies and Gentlemen and Joe,
    Your 4th-hand account of me talking to two guys from England at my local bar is not accurate.
    I’ve always politely asked people if they live in Burlingame, before I discuss my campaign.
    I was well aware that they were from Liverpool and also London. There were 7 people in the bar, and I was not trying to get them to vote for me.
    Rather, they claimed to work for the BBC, and we were specifically looking at The Daily Post article that conveniently left about my statements that
    #1) I am running to represent the 51% of Burlingame that rents their home,
    #2) I am running to stop the conflicts of interest on both the existing city council and on the planning commission.
    During my in-person interview with Dave Price of The Daily Post, Ann Keighran was right next to me, and she agreed that city council members and planning commissioners should not actively solicit payments (to serve as lobbyists for real estate proposals) based on their seat on our fiduciary boards, she admitted that this is happening and that it should stop.
    Yes, this practice is legal, but I believe that the law is intended in case someone accidentally finds themselves in a conflict of interest, not after actively soliciting payments to themselves.
    It’s still a conflict of interest to the residents who voted the person in. Isn’t this newsworthy and discussion worthy to our community?
    My points are real and truthful and in the spirit the long-term health of Burlingame (past conflicts of interest have greatly hurt Burlingame, like the city council granting free-health-care-for-life to a city worker and their spouse, after only 5 years of service and if their retire at 50 years or older, which helped to create our now $73M in unfunded pension health care liabilities).
    Most residents are aware that the conflicts of interest have been going on for years, and now, many of us are ready to stand up against the bullies – including yourself.
    Joe, we know that you and your wife endorse Russ, and that Russ is one of the editors of this blog. Perhaps the 29,450 residents of Burlingame should now endorse Ethics on the City Council, instead.
    The full details are also on my website, http://www.alexkent.org
    Cheers,
    Alexander Kent
    Residents to Elect Alexander England Kent for Burlingame City Council 2013

  15. Joe

    Interesting that you didn’t describe how you were “politely” asked to stop it…….
    #1. What exactly are the special interests of the 51% of the city that rents? Inquiring minds would love to know after hearing you say the same thing for months.
    #2. You have yet to back up this wild-eyed claim with anything. Your credibility on this is shot. And continuing to harp on a policy that changed years ago as your only example is downright humorous.
    Lucky for you the editors of this blog give you all the space respond you want, but yet you just keep harping on this irrelevant fact as well. Thanks, sunshine.

  16. Mark

    Sadly, conflicts of interest are pretty rampant in our city government, specifically the city council and planning commission. Architects, builders, real estate owners (who rent out property), real estate developers, brokers have all served or continue to serve on one or more of these bodies. When the architect on the planning commission has to recuse himself because he designed the house that is being rubber stamped by his buddies is just wrong…not illegal, but held to the standard of other industries would be a conflict of interest. And btw, the definition in most industries of a conflict of interest is one that is real OR PERCEIVED.
    I think the vast majority go into city gov’t because of one of 3 reasons..they have lots of extra time on their hands and really want to contribute to the community, or they view this as a way to improve their own real-estate related wealth, or this is a political stepping stone for something bigger in government/public service.
    One just has to look at the pro-development bias that occurs with local government in burlingame as evidence that this city is a developers dream. How about this city be a dream for residents and not developers.
    Granted single family residences the city has done a decent job but only since post 2000…after screwing up for years before the anti tract homes lookalike code was written-thank heavens for that and actually shocking that it passed-must have been divine intervention. But multi-family, high density, transit oriented mumbo jumbo spewing out of Nagel-NirmalaRiggs mouths every time they open up is just plain idiotic. And those aren’t for rental citizens that our city supposedly ‘cares’ about. No, its for million dollar condos downtown and everywhere else there is a vacant lot larger than 10000 square feet. The last thing Burlingame needs is the Millbrae look, especially if people care about single family real estate values and what makes burlingame different from other peninsula cities and the reason why our real estate is at a premium and our schools are so good. And to the extent that conflicts of interest occur in the city government that aid and abet bad decision making so obviously pro-dumb-development needs to stop ASAP. Any time I see anyone tangentally involved with real estate is an automatic NO vote in my book, and for good reason-its the last thing we need right now. Time for some real change in burlingame government.

  17. Alexander Kent

    Joe,
    Why do you continue to try to mislead your readers?
    I was never asked to ‘stop’ talking to the English guys, and I was never asked to stop highlighting the conflicts of interest that I’ve observed.
    What are you talking about?
    My credibility is not shot on anything, Joe. The evidence of the constant real estate proposals being presented by the planning commission and Jerry on the city council are part of public record.
    Further, Ann’s getting paid to rep unions on our council was stated to me by her. She was in front of your wife and the other city council members as I detailed above. The interview was video taped, and now it can’t be found by the last city council member that had it.
    Many old time residents already know about these conflicts of interest. Now, it’s time that we all stand up against the conflicts and restore ethics to our town.
    You’re simply trying to play a shell game with the truth.
    Sincerely,
    Alexander Kent

  18. Holyroller

    Dear Mr. Kent,
    The City of Burlingame Elders/Council also receieve “life time” medical benefits after serving 5 years at 50 years of age for themselves and spouse.
    If elected, would you refuse that benefit?
    Yes or No.
    If I may say so, building your candidacy on negitive, and “just the same old retorts” will never get you elected, or get anyone to listen either.
    Lead, follow or get out of the way.
    Sorry, if I offended you, you seem like a nice young man…
    By the way do you rent a home in Burlingame?
    What is the cost of rent?
    Do you own a home in Burlingame?
    What is the Mortgage?
    How much do you make a year and what are your benefits, including retirment plan?
    If you do not mind.

  19. Ron Fulderon

    Which of the people running is least inclined to want higher density housing in the downtown area?

  20. Joe

    Sigh. Et tu, Holyroller. I guess I would have thought you would be current on this benefits issue. Please go here:
    http://www.burlingame.org/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=8482
    See Section 2.1.4 through 2.1.7. The plan you quote ended more than 5 years ago!

  21. Ron Fulderon

    I’m going to rant a bit here and not bother to edit my post as I would normally do. Hopefully I won’t sound like an idiot like Holyroller so often does with her rants – although I doubt she sees them as rants and more thinks she is building a cogent argument.
    Please, Joe, I really doubt that Peceimer is trying to say that there aren’t heros in the police and fire department and that they sometimes don’t do extraordinary things. His point was pretty clear to me, whether you want to parse the words or look for meaning or not, that calling a policeman or firefighter a hero right off the bat CHEAPENS the concept of heroism. It cheapens a noble concept. Don’t you care about that Joe? If we start calling everyone who serves on a job that might sometimes get dangerous, if we start calling them all heros as some would here, what do we have? Answer: We have a degraded society, where real heroism is confused with doing the role of the job they are paid to do. And I think this destruction of the traditional values that made western civilization something wonderful is exactly what we are doing and where we are going, for infinitely more reasons than that.
    Surely this lack of perfect wording of the problem by Peceimer, this nitpicking of you politicos as if Peceimer’s was terribly flawed because he didn’t say things politically shrewd – This is why we are so screwed in trying to find decent people in our political process.
    Frankly I am just trying to get up to speed on this election and haven’t decided on three candidates, but if he saying that we compensate our city workers too much and wants to change that, hes got my vote.

  22. Joe

    Ron- I didn’t write the letter, I just reposted it. Those are his words–exactly. But Peceimer specifically called out the ones going into the WTC after a frigging commercial airliner had smashed into it 50+ floors up. Sorry. I have a decent vocabulary but no adjective to describe what I think about that.
    You are a regular reader so you know you and I are of similar mind on a lot of this (just read all the Friends With Benefits posts). But Mr. Peceimer has done a few things that give me pause as I take stock of the man.

  23. Alexander Kent

    All Burlingame residents and beyond that would like to communicate with me, please simply email me at alex.kent@symphonic-inv.com or call me at 650-793-0541. I’m more than happy to speak with you on the phone or in person over coffee or a beer.
    Thank you,
    Alexander Kent

  24. Mark

    Hollyroller, I wonder if the male city council candidates wear boxers or briefs? C’mon, why would any candidate in their right mind even answer such questions from your posts? I’m surprised Mr Kent even dignified your response by being kind enough to leave you his phone number. FYI, all candidate information is posted on the Burlingame web site with quite a bit of disclosure, and more than enough for anyone to make a decision. The US is actually very good about campaign disclosure, so don’t take this for granted and be glad you live in this country to access all this information with a couple of clicks, which is a lot more than you get from other places, let alone the right to vote.

  25. Joe

    Here is a local letter to the editor of the DJ also regarding Andrew Peceimer:
    Editor,
    Recently, Burlingame City Councilwoman Terry Nagel had this to say to her supporters: “If you vote for one of the challengers … that person will be out of step with the rest of the council and will not have a chance of getting support from his ideas.”
    This is precisely why I’m supporting Andrew Peceimer. The City Council should be a place for honest debate about Burlingame’s future, and Nagel’s email only exemplifies that existing members want nothing but a monolithic vote and no differing opinions about our city.
    We need new blood on the council, someone who has experience in the private sector creating jobs. During the last four years, our council has seldom considered differing points of view. When the Safeway project was approved, the current council did not plan for all the new employees. The new employees are now parking just on the west side of Burlingame Avenue. Instead of building a parking structure, the council voted to have two-hour parking on the closest streets, which only pushes the problem to other streets. As further lack of foresight, they approved the Burlingame Streetscape, which is supposed to bring more cars to the avenue, but without a parking solution.
    Our current council says it’s instructed the public works director to find a location for a parking structure, but no money has been set aside for this project.
    We need to change and I’m voting for Andrew Peceimer. He would protect our money and make informed decisions.
    Marsha Kunz
    Burlingame
    http://www.smdailyjournal.com/articles/opinions/2013-10-26/letter-change-needed-on-burlingame-city-council/1776425112264

  26. Scooter

    Kudos Joe for posting the letter to the editor that was complimentary to Mr. Peceimer. That was a very decent and fair thing to do.

  27. Joe

    There have been about a dozen letters on various candidates, so I haven’t gotten around to posting them all and I won’t, but this one was interesting for a couple of reasons.
    While I agree with Ms. Kunz about Terry’s Nagel’s misguided and inaccurate email (really emails plural since this is becoming standard practice for Ms. Nagel), I cannot say I agree that we should be spending $30-$40 million on a downtown parking structure that we really don’t need. Nor do I think Andrew criticism of the streetscape makes much sense. I had a chance to talk at length to a few plugged in Bgamers this week and they all agree the short-term pain on the streetscape improvement will be paying dividends for decades to come. But he (and you) are entitled to your opinions. It’s water under the bridge at this point, but if he wants to drop $50K+ of his own money to talk about it, that’s his business.

  28. Mark

    Joe, are you trying to get me on blood pressure medication? because you’re doing a great job at making my blood boil in posting these articles! I know the city council positions are essentially volunteer jobs, but does that mean that no hard work or tough decisions need to be made? Between making such asinine comments about a vote for challengers being a vote out of step with council and sending out mailers supporting charlatans like Nirmala makes me think Nagel is on a Kamikaze mission to torpedo her seat, which come to think of it, should I really be complaining–maybe I should just shut up and let her do her own damage.
    Such a statement of voting for challengers as being out of step with the council shows that she does not view her position as a privilege but as a right, kind of like an appointment to the supreme court–a lifetime office–or worse a dictatorship!!! Extremely dangerous view to have in my mind, and I think she actually believes in what she is saying which is even spookier. I’m sorry but there needs to be real checks and balances on the council and I want there to be debate, controversy, contention, shouting matches, profanity, anger, passion etc during the closed council chambers sessions so that the best decisions are made representing feedback and input from the the diverse views of burlingame constituents. Rubber stamping, groupthink consensus committees really should not occur in government that needs checks and balances, particularly given how pro-developer this city already is and how city council appoints planning commissioners at its sole discretion.
    And while I understand Ms. Kuntz’ anger and frustration at Nagel’s comments–which reflect egomania, entitlement, and a lack of desire to make some tough decisions–I think she really needs to understand the conflicts of interests in this city and how hiring a COMMERCIAL property developer who wants to relax zoning regulations for city council is not an experiment that I would like to conduct with our beautiful city. Sorry but there are a lot better choices who have unique diverse opinions that are not tied developers and real estate related cronies. Having someone who isn’t tied to real estate would actually represent a change for burlingame, in similar vein of Mrs. Baylock who was a positive force for burlingame as a whole whether you agree with her or not.

  29. alittlenird

    Wouldn’t you do the exact opposite of anything Terry Nagel tells you to do? Who does she think she is anyway?

  30. Scooter

    Joe, my comment had no ulterior motive, I was honestly thank you for including a more complimentary piece about Mr. Peceimer at the end of a post that started negative. If you look back from my post they are generally positive about all candidates, even though I prefer one to the others. Your views on Andrew are pretty clear by now which added to my thanks for the post. I do know many people who have been less than complimentary about the Streetscape. I’ve noticed some have compared it to Santana Row. As a frequent visitor (SR) as I have a few colleagues and friends in that area, I enjoy the restaurants, but find the place to be highly overrated, very pretentious and the parking stinks. I hope that is not Burlingame Ave’s destiny. As for the parking structure, I still believe the general issue is not the structure itself, but the foresight to plan for such problems before they arise. Again, I don’t make these comments at the expense of any other candidate, just pro-Andrew. I’m still liking your guy but struggling to find my 3rd. Heart has me going with one, mind another.

  31. dtn

    You sound surprised but I don’t know why. She has been finNAGELing with the truth for years.

  32. Holyroller

    I read an article this weeked that stated the amount of money spent by candidates running for City of Burlingame Council Seats.
    Does anyone have that information that can be posted here?
    Please?

  33. Joe

    Mark, no, I really enjoy your posts so there is no medical motive whatsoever–just “educate and inform”!
    Scooter, I took your thank you at face value as I do with your comments. While I like Santana Row in small doses our real historic feel is more critical than the latest clothing store. So I agree with you.
    dtn, where have you been???
    Holyroller, the full 460s are on the city site. I will get around to doing a round-up of the latest news sometime this week.

  34. Holyroller

    Dear Mark,
    I do not believe that anyone should have to provide their personal finacial information when atempting to become part of goverment.
    I do not believe that any Civil Sevice Employee should have their name and yearly salary printed in the “Local Community Newspaper either.
    What is the purpose?
    Fill in the blank __________________.
    City of Burlingame City Elders/ Council-Civil Service Employee’s should have to provide the same exact financial disclosures.
    Any arguments so far Marsha?
    Fill in the blank_____________________.
    Also, I am still looking forward to the posting of the amount of “monies” the City of Burlingame Candidates have spent on their elections.
    Dear Moderator, would it be possible to post that information via “Community Newspaper Reports?”
    I do not see or expect to see any City of Burlingame “Candidates” rushing forward to share who, and why they are getting their support from.

  35. Scooter

    Mark,
    I’ve appreciated your comments as much as anyone’s on this site, so please understand my respectful disagreement about Peceimer.
    If you are looking for candidates that have zero potential conflicts of interest in politics, it will be a long search.
    First and foremost, I know Andrew pretty well. He is not interest in higher public office. He wants to serve his hometown and that’s it. Unlike some of the incumbents and challengers who can’t wait to tell you about the “who is who” of upper level politics of the Democratic party (since there is really no upper level of GOP in CA) with the obvious intent of climbing the ladder.
    Consider this, at the League of Women’s Voters Forum, Ann Keighran said (paraphrase) regarding High Speed Rail… “The President wants it, the Governor wants it, San Jose wants it and San Francisco wants it.” At what point is someone going to get in her face and say… “What about what Burlingame wants?” She is not here to serve Burlingame, she is here for herself and for her party. The others claiming endorsements from the likes of Speier, Hill, Mullin are no different.
    Now back to Peceimer… at what point can we accept that not every career choice is what we personally would want for our politicians? Peceimer’s views of relaxing zoning includes making it easier for certain types of companies to move in to the Rollins, Bayshore type offices. Case in point, certain biomedical companies were told they needed to move closer to the hospitals. Could Burlingame not benefit from a billion dollar company like Genetic coming to our town? And how often do any of us lose sleep over what corporations move in to those areas just as long as their dollars are green? As a commercial realtor, he went to the hotels that most of us seem to think are a de facto separate city and did some research. Despite paying higher taxes, they are advertising San Francisco as the nearest shopping, not Burlingame. Can you blame them? In addition, the rumors that the existing council may be trying to push the CA Ave car dealerships to another part of Burlingame to make room for High Density Housing. Where do these people get the nerves? Would it not be beneficial to have someone who had bought, sold properties like this understanding the trouble shooting that must be done before planning big projects (like the Streetscape) instead of just going emotional and saying… “Let’s build Paris in downtown Burlingame?”
    I’m sure Peceimer is far from a perfect man, but by all intents he seems intent on protecting Burlingame’s fiscal house… and I’m in favor of that… no matter what he does 9-5.
    Hollyroller, when Joe posts the 460s we’ll all know Peceimer has spent the most, and everyone will criticize him for spending his own money to win an office in the town he adores. What a despicable man! Or, we can put class warfare aside and be thankful that there is actually a candidate not begging every Mom and Dad for $25 that they can better use for their own families.

  36. Joe

    Scooter, I continue to value your comments. Don’t get too upset with Holyroller–he sometimes takes 4 or 5 pointers before he figures stuff out.
    Here is the main point I will disagree with you on. You write:
    Would it not be beneficial to have someone who had bought, sold properties like this understanding the trouble shooting that must be done before planning big projects (like the Streetscape) instead of just going emotional and saying… “Let’s build Paris in downtown Burlingame?”
    The answer is a resounding No. He doesn’t know the first thing about street CONSTRUCTION. Nada. We went out to bid at the perfect time when things were slow and got a good price on a lot of work. It was well-planned on aspects like sewers, telecom conduit, irrigation and EPA stuff that he is blissfully unaware of. We had some much better design input on the aesthetics from people like my wife–people that Andrew cannot come close to on urban design elements like pedestrian routes, plantings and fixtures.
    The real issue is his stupid assertion that “the public should have gotten to vote on it”. That’s just plain dumb. The public knows little to nothing compared to Public Works staff and long-time council members who DID THEIR HOMEWORK. Sorry, he may be a smart guy in his element, but on this he’s just plain wrong. And time will show that in spades. But again, just my opinion. The voters will get the final say.

  37. Anne

    To me the interesting thing is nobody knows or cares what Ricardo Ortiz or Nirmala think about any of this. You have to wonder if this is coming down to Cohen vs Peiceimer for the last seat?

  38. Scooter

    I have no issues with Holleyroller. Like you I appreciate all comments on this site.

  39. Scooter

    BTW- Thanks Joe, one day we’ll have to meet… I do appreciate what you and Russ do with this website. I’m new to it and wish I had known more about it for the decade + I’ve lived here.

  40. fred

    “I cannot say I agree that we should be spending $30-$40 million on a downtown parking structure that we really don’t need.”
    The city keeps adding restaurants to the downtown without any additional parking and you don’t think there is a need for more parking? How about six million and buy the post office and the post office parking lot. Reconfigure and add it to the lot that is there.

  41. Holyroller

    Dear Commrade,
    Regarding campaign disclosure of any local, state, or Federal candidate, past present or future, there is no way you or I will ever be able to know the truth.
    Without the sacrafices “regular people” have made in the last few years-to their detriment, the disclosure of NSA, and who else knows what other US agencies take and give what they want, when they want, from whoever they want.
    The US has become everthing it has fought for and against.
    Those three people are National Heros, history will show that.
    As for documentation of local candidates spending and what they represent…
    Follow the Money.
    HR

  42. Holyroller

    I do not mind being considered the “Slow Learner.”
    I like to think of my comments as being open ended, and just demand simple answers to “what should be simple questions.”
    For example, what is good for our City and what is inconsquential?
    That is where Politics screw everything up.
    What the City Elders should concentrate on is what is the best for the majority of the City of Burlingame.
    If that means rezoning all of Rollins road for home/lite industrial use, do it. Bye bye “poor people.”
    If the salary/medical/pensions/ reason for employing the City of Burlingame Public Works Dept is draining the Coffers, privatize it.
    Police and Fire Depts all over the county are becoming Incorparated.
    No worries for Worker Comp Claims, Insurance issues, etc anymore.
    All City of Burlingame Upper Managment, Attorney, Finance, and HR could be cut bt 3/5. Private Civil Service Management Corparations are doing it all over the country, and from what I have seen on the NYSE, doing a pretty good job.
    We can have it all.
    What candidate is brave enough to support forward thinking?
    Just wondering what your thoughts are…
    Anne?

  43. Mark

    Scooter, I appreciate your perspective and unlike you I don’t know Peceimer personally. As I’ve stated in a prior post, the motivations for running for city council or planning commission for that matter are: a LOT of time–to give back to the community, to increase wealth related to real estate for themselves or cronies, or lastly, as you stated to climb up the party ladder–which is what Nirmala is so blatantly attempting. However, I’m quite suspicious of a person with a successful career and a parent who has to commit a LOT of time for basically a full time volunteer job–most could not do it let alone even contemplate all the juggling. Just doesn’t add up to me in terms of the red flag checklist, but again I don’t really know him personally. Actually a novel thought for everyone–I would like to see photos of the last 10 commercial property projects Peceimber had a significant hand in and see how Burlingame friendly they are–ie without burlingame rules or regulations, what people tell him to do etc, what does he and his company come up with on a regular basis when not burdened with burlingame rules? Who knows I may be pleasantly surprised.
    Anne, there are definitely thoughts about Ortiz and Nirmala that were addressed on other posts–where I have not minced words, so I don’t want to further hijack a Peceimer post and commentary. Actually he has gotten a ton of publicity on the BV website and big credit to Joe for allowing alternative voices to be heard, including Mr. Kents antagonistic, accusatory rants and conspiracy theories, which is so odd as judging by the debate video he seemed really likable. I personally would not be surprised if Peceimer placed 6th when all votes are counted–Cohen, Ortiz, and Nirmala are likely to get more votes so the publicity you are seeing with Peceimer here is likely overstated.

  44. alittlenird

    Scooter,
    Don’t you know that keighran is just playing the political game and has no intention of saying what she really feels or even more importantly, what her parents really feel about any issue? Particularly a hot topic like high speed rail? And she, like Nagel before her, will probably run for some higher office and lose. They have big heads and no heart and certainly don’t care about Burlingame and Burlingamers, only what is in each of their best interests. Sad but true. Ask anybody.

  45. Scooter

    Anne, I think you are right. Wish it could be both but I see the most challenger chatter about Peceimer/Cohen. Fred… you are 100% correct. BTW- I’m not going to pretend to be an expert on parking structures, but isn’t it likely they would have meters so at some point they’d be collecting revenue with a garage to help pay for it. The added parking would keep people in downtown Burlingame instead of downtown San Mateo or the waterfront.

  46. Scooter

    All, I have heard many complaints about downtown parking. Did the current city council do any studies about the projected new employees and visitors to coming downtown and if the parking availability will improve?

  47. Joe

    Holy, the slow learner comment refers to you asking for a summary of the campaign spending when I keep posting where you can find it yourself. The latest ones are here:
    http://www.burlingame.org/index.aspx?page=3362

  48. Scooter

    A little nird… yes I fully believe some of these folks care about nothing but their own advancement. One of the reasons I like Peceimer. Yes I know him personally, so on the one hand some of you see that as bias… on the other hand… I can vouch for his motivation and I know City Council is all he is focused on. Most of the incumbents are just style and no substance. The expenditures on Streetscape without any proper parking planning ahead is just downright foolish. I’ve commented that Peceimer’s commercial real estate experience makes it an advantage when it comes to planning for massive projects, of course I would think any knucklehead with any planning experience could have been able to foresee the parking issues.

  49. Alexander Kent

    Mark,
    Calling out the well-known conflicts of interest on the existing city council and planning commission might make you and others feel uncomfortable, but as both of these boards are primarily fiduciary boards for the 29,450 residents of Burlingame – my points are very relevant to “What would you do differently?”.
    I would like to invite any Burlingame residents to give me a call at (650)793-0541 or email me at alex.kent@symphonic-inv.com if you have any questions. I’d be happy to host a coffee or beer/wine on Burlingame Ave or Broadway Ave, if you’d like to meet me in person.
    Thank you,
    Alexander E. Kent
    https://www.facebook.com/pages/Alexander-England-Kent-for-Burlingame-City-Council/626053540750506?ref=hl
    Residents to Elect Alexander England Kent for Burlingame City Council 2013

  50. Holyroller

    Thank you Joe.
    Besides being a “slow learner”I am lazy too…To a limit.
    That is why it is always entertaining and very poor taste- to read the invasion of privacy that The Post Newspaper is very proud of publishing.
    Though it is legal to post this information, it is just mean spirted, and has little or no impact on the desisions made regarding Goverment Employees. The aticles never mention anything,ever, of the invaluable service provided to keep every City on the Penninsula viable. 24/7-365.
    Plus, I would really like to see, as well as Candidate Pecemier’s contribution to selling himself.
    Why?

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