CommentsALPERN AT LARGE--Normally, when a vote is held in Sacramento on a Sunday, and at 11:30 pm on the Monday before a vote is finally due and on extremely short notice, there are some serious shenanigans involved that have NO business in a functioning democracy.
This is particularly true for SB 1120, which required the citizenry of California to go into overdrive and call repeatedly over the last week to stop the madness of over zoning and the destruction of environmental law.
Yes, the predictable and typical dogma of the AH-types (Affordable Housing) and YIMBY's who are either fools, tools, and/or ghouls of the overdevelopment craze abounded, but the destruction of single-family neighborhoods (and for that matter of multi-family neighborhoods), and with NO enhanced affordable housing was all on the line.
So when Senate leader Toni Atkins (who has so much conflict of interest and political stakes on overdevelopers that it merits investigation) rammed this through last week and over the weekend, and when Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon brought up the bill for a final vote on 11:30 Monday night (that is NO typo), the citizens have the right to get MAD.
Even worse is that the bill passed, and with the intention of not having enough time at 11:57 pm on Monday, August 31st, the last day that a bill can be voted on to be sent to the governor for signing, prior to going to the Senate.
Clearly, there was a "straw poll" with no legal ramifications and with no operational consequences, and either the poll was meant to please the developer lobbyists and/or satisfy the citizenry.
But SB 1120, yet again another horrid bill (under the guise of "affordable housing" and "transit-oriented development", despite blatantly doing neither) which would virtually end local/city/county control of zoning and environmental law, did pass.
And Senate leader Toni Atkins will continue to push for this bill in the next legislative session.
There were both Democratic and Republican electeds who stood by their constituents, and there were both Democratic and Republican electeds who whored themselves against the best interests of those who they view as constituents in name only.
Some voted NO, and some voted "no vote recorded" which was effectively a "NO" vote without sticking their necks out, and they all deserve credit--albeit some more than others, because taking a stand is always more honorable than "playing it safe" when it comes to the Economy, Environment, and Quality of Life in California.
So, it's up to US in November--regardless of who or how we vote with respect to Washington politics, the future of California is equally at stake. Clearly, State Senators Toni Atkins and Scott Wiener don't give a rat's tail about those who ARE paying the taxes, and who DO want REAL affordable housing...but in a way that is scientifically sustainable.
And affordable housing that obeys the immutable laws of biology, math, physics, and environmental law that is the reason behind the decades-old laws created to avoid our state becoming a shambled, chaotic, dangerously-environmental nightmare.
SB 1120, and all the bills like it (think SB 50 and a slew of others) are a combined litmus test for voters who are both adults, law-abiding, and who respect both the rule of law and the reasons why we have laws. Perhaps all politics is ugly and sausage-making at its worst.
Yet this was one vote that will require US to choose this November. Either we have to endure another two years of defending ourselves against a Sacramento that is out to destroy California, or to empower politicians--be they Democratic or Republican--with the ability to create better and more infrastructure...and real middle-class housing, to boot.
We all should demand NAMES. Who voted for this, who abstained, and who opposed this violation of democracy this last weekend, and against all rules of fair, representative politics?
It's time for US to take names, and kick some butt with respect to Sacramento this November.
(CityWatch Columnist, Kenneth S. Alpern, M.D, is a dermatologist who has served in clinics in Los Angeles, Orange, and Riverside Counties, and is a proud husband and father to two cherished children and a wonderful wife. He was termed out of the Mar Vista Community Council (MVCC) twice after two stints as a Board member for 8-9 years and is also a Board member of the Westside Village Homeowners Association. He previously co-chaired the MVCC Outreach and Planning Committees, and currently is Co-Chair of the MVCC Transportation/Infrastructure Committee. He was previously co-chair of the CD11 Transportation Advisory Committee, the grassroots Friends of the Green Line (which focused on a Green Line/LAX connection), and the nonprofit Transit Coalition, and can be reached at [email protected]. The views expressed in this article are solely those of Dr. Alpern.)
-cw
