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(2/15/10, CEAV Letter to the Bee (not printed:)
Dear Editor,
The people of Sacramento were able to put aside their
distrust of city politics for a rare moment. We
accepted the process that the Mayor had put into motion
with the 'Sacramento First' task force on arena site/design
selection that they are to forward to the City Council for
review. Sacramento First may not have been an 'official
body' , but Council went along with the process (or so we thought)
and the citizens accepted it as fair, open and impartial,
as far as anyone could tell. Sacramento First seems to be
doing its job. But, the posturing of City Council last
week, and the revelations of manipulation and back-room
dealing brought that trust to a screeching halt. The
particulars of the breach of faith can be read at
www.ceav.us. and reveal it was the same-old familiar
politics after all; posturing, manipulating and doing its
'done deals' out of sight. Sadder, by far, than the willingness
of Council to risk the arena on such maneuvers was its willingness
to risk an all too rare and fragile trust that the People of
Sacramento placed in its hands. It is that trust that has, once again,
been broken and will not so easily be repaired. Shame on our City Council.
[also see our
"Open Letter
To The Sacramento City Council"
for details on the events.]
Red Slider, steward
The CEAV Project
California Advocates for the 21st Century