Today's Daily Journal Guest Perspective comes to us from Rebecca Oyama who hails from "Housing For All Burlingame".  She also apparently serves on the San Mateo County Commission on the Status of Women.  Not sure if there is a Commission on the Status of Men, but we will leave that for another day.  Oyama went to a Jackie Speier Townhall about "affordable housing" and had issues with Dennis Zell's comments about the Peninsula Health Care District's mission in life.  Zell is an elected Board member along with a couple of other B'game locals, Frank Pagliaro (former councilmember) and Helen Galligan (married to former councilmember Joe Galligan).  As you can see from the link, there are five Board members–I only know of these three as active, informed locals.

Zell was on a panel with Speier, Sen. Jerry Hill,  Assemblyman Kevin Mullin, and county Supes Don Horsley and B'game supe Dave Pine.  The issue is whether our, emphasis on "our", health care, emphasis on "health care" should build affordable housing on Health Care District land–i.e. the big plot of land that the hospital sits on in North B'game.  Dennis Zell had the temerity to swim against the prevailing tide and assert that the District "is not an affordable housing developer"!  Imagine that?  A Board member who is asserting that a Health Care District is only in the health care business?  Oh my.

My favorite part of Oyama's screed is when she invokes the health care district's taxpayers "that paid for the land, many of whom now clearly need their support".  Well, Rebecca, as one of those taxpayers for 28 years allow me to say You Don't Speak For Me.  Dennis Zell notes the "silver tsunami" that is coming as the Baby Boomers age and what support they will need.  I have first hand experience over the last five years on what seniors need locally and I can assure you that what we have is good, but we are going to need a lot more of it.  You call it "exorbitantly-priced assisted living"–I call if covering the costs of living with dignity in your community as you get old.  Rebecca, you don't get to decide that "affordable housing" displaces what the Health Care District was founded and funded to do.  Sorry.  You are misguided.