"The San Mateo County Harbor Commission has lost its way, and constituents are paying the price. The most disappointing fact of all is that violations of law, breaks in decorum and offenses to the practice of good governance are too numerous to mention in this space."
Clay Lambert, Editor, Sept. 26, 2013
$38,000 in tenants' checks were missing. The 37 checks, some dating as far back as early 2012, were never deposited and had been sitting for months in an employee's desk drawer. The checks were first discovered in July by the district's newly appointed finance director, and the incident was related to the commission two months later.
Mark Noack, Oct. 31, 2013
Commissioner Sabrina Brennan criticized Scott Grindy and other top harbor staff for not reporting the leak to board members. She said she learned about the problem only because an anonymous emailer sent her messages between harbor staff about the December leak.
In those emails, Assistant Harbormaster John Draper warned Grindy and General Manager Peter Grenell that a segment of pipe was rotten and leaking. He recommended the entire line should be replaced. Grenell agreed, and he recommended staff should contact Valentine Corporation, an engineering firm in San Rafael.
Brennan was outraged that she was learning about the leak 11 months later.
“Our own Harbor Patrol made clear that pipe had to be removed, and it shouldn’t have taken this long to do it,” Brennan said. “We have a Clean Water Act, and it’s critical that it’s enforced, and we’re not doing our due diligence.”
Mark Nowack, Nov. 14, 2013
Whatever the rationale for replacing video with audio, the perception will be that commissioners are afraid of the light that comes with those cameras. Good politicians know better than to court that kind of perception.
Clay Lambert, Editor, Aug. 21, 2013
“This seems like an odd time for document destruction to be on our agenda,” Sabrina Brennan said. “It would be unseemly to go forward with this at this time.”
Mark Noack, Jan. 23, 2014
Jim Tucker said, "I could sell you a washing machine in five minutes."
Mark Nowack, Dec. 5, 2013