WER Oct 17 2006 - Eureka Civic Association is the new player on political scene

Eureka Civic Association is the new player on political scene

By , The Eureka Reporter
Published: Oct 17 2006, 9:19 PM · Updated: Oct 18 2006, 12:12 PM

There's a new player on Eureka's political scene, and though it's small in numbers and even smaller in funding, Eureka Civic Association co-founder David Ogden said, it hopes to help promote a big change in local government.

"What I feel, and have felt for many years, is missing in Eureka is an organization that comes together to promote the candidacy of well-qualified individuals who will reach out to the entire community and represent the whole community equally," Ogden explained.

After coming to know each other through the nonprofit Citizens for Real Economic Growth - with which the ECA is not affiliated, Ogden emphasized - he, Eureka residents Tom Peters and Neal Latt together decided to form the political action committee as a vehicle for their shared ideas.

No one thing prompted the decision, Ogden said, "but it was more the cumulative effect of watching years of what I call 'do nothing' council members."

Not surprisingly, one of the most pressing issues for the group is the city's beleaguered Balloon Track parcel.

"(Rob) Arkley owns it now, and we're excited to see a local developer take it over," Latt acknowledged. "But it doesn't change our demand for full clean-up of the property, not just capping."

"Why hasn't the City Council taken any leadership whatsoever on that very valuable piece of property?" Ogden added.

In considering the Balloon Track property, as well as Eureka's entire Waterfront, he clarified, the city needs to actively involve the community and provide open, transparent government - and not only for Eureka residents, but for all residents in the surrounding area.

"We need more public participation, not a charade of one," Latt noted, drawing a distinction between the public comment that will be taken as part of the environmental impact report process for the Balloon Track and the public involvement that could be realized through community workshops, such as the visioning forum hosted by CREG last Friday.

While Balloon Track talk maintains a significant presence both in the community and the November election, however, the ECA is also keeping a watchful eye on things like public safety, the Sequoia Park Zoo, recreation opportunities - "all of those things over which the City Council has direct influence and control," Ogden observed.

The group's mission statement notes that it is nonpartisan, "dedicated to the principle of government for the people and by the people."

It has endorsed Eureka 1st, 3rd and 5th Ward City Council candidates Larry Glass, Ron Kuhnel and Nan Abrams, respectively, as well as Eureka Mayor Peter La Vallee and Humboldt County 4th District Supervisor Bonnie Neely.

"We feel they represent the kind of values and commitment to positive change we support," Ogden said.
"And the commitment to public process," Latt added.

The Eureka Civic Association came into official existence on Sept. 15, when it started a bank account and the related tracking of all monetary and nonmonetary contributions and expenditures for the state Fair Political Practices Commission.

Between Sept. 15 and Sept. 30, according to the ECA's financial disclosure statements, it raised $2,500, $1,000 from Ogden and $1,500 from McKinleyville resident Dr. Ken Miller.

During that period, $700 was spent on the production of two television advertisements, some of which will begin airing soon, Ogden said.

With the November election looming, the ECA is coming into the race "kind of a day late and a dollar short," he joked, though he promised it will be putting its efforts into get-out-the-vote campaigns and advertising.

More information is at www.eurekacivicassociation.org.

Ogden, who is retired from his work at Strictly for the Birds in Old Town Eureka, is also serving in a volunteer capacity as the treasurer for the campaigns of Glass and Abrams.

Referring to the upcoming city election, he said, "This is the biggest thing I've seen go down in Eureka politics in all the years I've been here - which is close to 20 years now. ... And it's about time."
(Rob and Cherie Arkley own Security National, which owns The Eureka Reporter and the Balloon Track.)

Larry Glass, Mark Lovelace and CREG

Interesting looking back at Larry Glass' involvement and statements about the Marina Center... and look, there's Mark Lovelace in a prominent position... it's all the usual suspects, "Baykeeper" too...

From: "Mark Lovelace" mailto:mail@healthyhumboldt.org
Date: March 22, 2006 9:47:02 AM PST
To: "Healthy Humboldt Coalition" mail@healthyhumboldt.org
Subject: Home Depot poses economic, cleanup concerns
Reply-To: "Mark Lovelace" mail@healthyhumboldt.org


Development poses economic, cleanup concerns, group says
Thadeus Greenson
March 22, 2006

EUREKA -- Members of the newly formed Citizens for Real Economic Growth expressed concerns about the environmental and economic impacts of the proposed Balloon Tract development Tuesday night during a presentation at the Humboldt County Democratic Central Committee (HCDCC) headquarters.

About 45 people attended the presentation and the following question and answer period, both of which were rushed along due to the time constraints of a following HCDCC business meeting.
Citing an array of economic studies, as well as city and county planning documents, Citizens for Real Economic Growth members Larry Glass and Mark Lovelace argued that the proposed Balloon Tract development goes against city and county plans for development and would irrevocably harm the local economy.

Security National owners Rob and Cherie Arkley are proposing to build a 400,000-square-foot development on the Balloon Tract that will include shops, restaurants, office space, a Home Depot, the Discovery Museum and lofts on an adjacent parcel. The Arkleys will be asking the city to change the site's zoning from public to commercial and industrial to pave the way for the project.

”Why are we pursuing this?” Lovelace asked rhetorically. “It goes against everything that's on paper about economic development in Humboldt County and the use of this property and it goes directly against the will of the voters.”

The will of the voters to which Lovelace referred, was a 1999 ballot measure in which Wal-Mart tried to obtain a similar zoning change that was rejected by a 61 percent margin.

Lovelace cited a number of economic studies regarding the impact of Home Depot stores on competing hardware businesses. He said not only would a Home Depot take major amounts of business away from some 200 local retailers, but it would siphon that money directly out of the local economy.

”There's a wealth of information on the Web, and I would really encourage people to go out there and seek it out,” Lovelace said. “Don't just take my word for it, go out and do your homework.”

During his portion of the presentation, Glass said he feels like the public is being left out of the Balloon Tract decision-making process and lambasted the city of Eureka for not aggressively pursuing the clean-up of the site that was left contaminated by Union Pacific Railroads.

Pete Nichols, director of Humboldt Bay Keeper, was in attendance and said major issues remain surrounding the contamination of the site that will be addressed either during negotiations with Union Pacific in the coming weeks or ultimately with a lawsuit.

Security National Senior Vice President Brian Morrissey attended the presentation and said afterward that, while he didn't agree with everything being said, he thinks these types of public information meetings are important. He added that Security National is confident that the majority of Eureka supports this project.

Security National will hold an open house today focusing on environmental issues. Panelists who have worked on the site or have brownfield expertise will be available to answer questions at the open house, which will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Red Lion in Eureka.