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In which His Majesty fires up the TIVO and throws a bag of popcorn into the microwave

It was a dark and stormy night [oh, come on, Your Majesty]. Ok, it wasn't stormy, but it was dark and windy and unusually chilly [Your Majesty, ALL our weather is unusual]. It was approaching media noche when the Royal Valet rushed in and shouted, "wake up, Your Majesty. The Council is still meeting and Mr. Healy just announced there is going to be a Naked Power Grab."

It's popcorn time...

Well, if anything will get His Majesty out from under the covers and fire up the TIVO, it's a Naked Power Grab. We figured this one would be called Councilmembers Gone Wild. Sure to be one to burn onto DVD. Mr. Healy, Mr. Rabbitt, and Mr. Harris, the sourgrapes Council Minority were pouting and blaming the It's-Our-Turn Council Majority of a Naked Power Grab.

Councilmembers Gone Wild: order your copy now!...

Either way, His Majesty was ready with the remote to catch the skin action of this naked power grab. One doesn't get much opportunity on basic cable to see naked councilmembers stepping up to the microphone and groping for power. [Oh, Your Majesty, you're making us sick just imagining it.]

Rained out game, folks...

But alas and alack, it wasn't, as Mr. Healy promised, a Naked Power Grab [truth in advertising, Mr. Healy. Truth in advertising.] It was just an old fashioned fully clothed power grab. Precisely the same old boring fully clothed power grab performed by the former Council when Mr. Healy's buddies, the Unholy Five, Mr. Rabbitt, Mr. O'Brien, Ms Freitas, Ms Nau, and Mr. Harris stacked the Planning Commission with their buddies. Guess it's all in the motive, isn't it, Mr. Healy. When the Unholy Five did it, it was Greasing the Skids for Progress. When the current majority does it, it's those damn greenpeace, long-hair, tree-hugging, hippie freaks stopping progress and profits. Like they say on Sesame Street, Mr. Healy, "That's about the size, where you put your eyes. That's about the size of it."

Still, it would have made paying the cable bill more acceptable to have seen some X-Rated action on Channel 28.

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Posted June 22, 2009 9:30:00 AM
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Comments | Add Comment

Posted By: dan h (01/07/2009 9:27:39 PM)
Comment: was there bullying or dominating going on? it was never brought up at the time? if one felt this was happening it should have been mentioned. i noted (pretty much full/unanimous support) so there were a couple items that were not unanimous. BUT, the fact remains, that what was done by the DCAC R

Posted By: dan h (23/06/2009 8:18:34 PM)
Comment: please clarify? how did things go on the R&R subcommittee, i would like to hear it in your words? i know the R&R subcommittee came up with a strategic plan that has pretty much full/unanimous support from all subcommittee members. that plan is being totally disregarded! please, tell me how you think things went? i would love to know?

Response: They went swimmingly. There was complete agreement on everything. No one dominated or bullied the process. If only they could speak up and make themselves heard by those horrid council majority.

Posted By: kkrimmer (23/06/2009 10:36:47 AM)
Comment: I had read that the money for the planning dept(?) salaries come from the developers fees... now that some have been laid off can we change that so there is no shenanigans in the future... Petaluma planning/board/council bends over backwards for developers and the citizens end up bending over forwards.

Posted By: Kathy Miller (22/06/2009 3:05:43 PM)
Comment: The difference is that this "power grab" (your words, not mine) involves dismissing six community volunteers whose terms are not yet up - four Planning Commissioners (including me) and two SPARC members. The other difference is that the majority of the Council is disregarding suggestions made by The Roles and Responsibilities Subcommittee of The Development Code Advisory Committee without a sufficient public vetting of those recommendations. This subcommittee, which included Council Member Rabbitt, Council Member Barrett, Council Member Renee, your wife and quite a few others (including me) worked for almost two years on a regular basis trying to streamline and make the development process in Petaluma more efficient and reached a consensus on quite a few means for doing so. However, we never recommended or even discussed eliminating SPARC and reassigning their duties to a new Planning Commission.

Response: Don'tcha just hate it when the shoe is on the other foot? "Naked Power Grab" were Mr. Healy's words, which His Majesty appropriated, but they do have a ring to 'em don't they? We're all gonna miss those buddies of the Unholy Five who are being shown the door. And we all know how things went on the R&R subcomittees. Remember, if ya wanna end the war 'n stuff, ya gotta sing LOUD.

Posted By: John Maher (22/06/2009 3:03:21 PM)
Comment: Novato Ned? Sacramento Sam? Peteluma Pete? Where will it all end? - ;-)

Response: Probably when we get to Sebastopol, Mr Pete, when we get to Sebastopol.

Posted By: Sacramento Sam (22/06/2009 11:56:36 AM)
Comment: Your Highness, with all due respect the Petaluma Council are small potato power grabbers. You should come to Sacramento and watch the NBA of power grabbing.