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Commentary: What Don’t You Understand About Democracy?« Thre

Daily newsbrief journal for July 2007, also see http://www.usdemocrats.com/brief for a global 100-page perpetual brief and follow twitter @usdemocrats


Commentary: What Don’t You Understand About Democracy?« Thre

Postby admin » Sat Jan 28, 2012 2:18 pm

Commentary: What Don’t You Understand About Democracy?« Thread Started on Jul 6, 2007, 10:53am » --------------------------------------------------------------------------------Commentary: What Don’t You Understand About Democracy?By David Eslerread at source> http://www.berkeleydaily.org/text/artic ... D=27462The administration swept aside laws it didn’t like or found inconvenient and ignored citizens’ protests as it catered to the commercial interests of its supporters. Sound familiar? No, we’re not talking about the Bush/Cheney administration but, sadly, Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates and some members of the City Council.Call it trickle-down. Not the financial kind but the trickling down—all the way down to grassroots Berkeley, the alleged bastion of progressive politics and uber-democracy—of Bush administration-style bullying tactics as seen in the Bates administration’s attempt to ramrod through its approval of developer John Gordon’s proposed 5,000-square-foot restaurant and bar in the former Wright’s Garage near the intersection of Ashby and College avenues, smack in the middle of the city’s historic Elmwood District. First, the Zoning Adjustments Board recommended that the project be approved in contravention of sitting ordinances regulating commercial growth and limiting the number of certain businesses—including restaurants—in the Elmwood. Mayor Bates, who ran as a progressive but, once in office, apparently never met a commercial developer he didn’t like, favors granting Gordon a use permit for his upscale eatery and watering spot, which would be sited against a residential neighborhood and open seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekdays and to midnight on Fridays and Saturdays. The matter will come to a final vote at this Tuesday’s City Council meeting where Elmwood residents and merchants will make one more impassioned effort to convince the Berkeley solons to either deep-six Mr. Gordon’s proposal or send it back to ZAB for much-needed revision.
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