Letters to the Editor, Sept. 19 edition
Pulling a Bobko
Dear ER:
In the world of spin and PR, there is a tactic known as the non-apology-apology. When a public figure is faced with an inescapable embarrassment, that person is instructed to make a statement that sounds like an apology but falls short of an actual apology. Hermosa Beach Mayor Kit Bobko has added his name to the list of non-apologizers, and, in doing so, he has made our lives easier. We can now call the non-apology-apology a Bobko.
Here are seven easy ways on how to pull a Bobko:
1. If everyone disagrees with you, blame everyone.
“I believe we must put aside our political disagreements and come together to do the work the residents of Hermosa Beach elected us to do.”
2. Say you didn’t mean to do it.
“It was never my intention to take our focus as a Council away from the important issues facing our City.”
3. Sound like you’re the only one acting responsibly.
“I offer this letter as a first step in that direction.”
4. Define your misconduct in your own words.
“I certainly did not mean to surprise or embarrass anyone by airing my opinion publicly.”
5. Never really admit that you actually did anything wrong.
“I very much regret if I did.”
6. If you must say apologize, dilute it by making it conditional.
“. . . and to the extent that my press release has allowed that to happen, I wish to apologize.”
7. Characterize the reaction to your misconduct as more damaging than your misconduct.
“With this in mind, I ask that you reconsider the Motion of Censure because it has become a distraction for us and taken our attention away from our work on behalf of our residents.”
Pulling a Bobko has worked for Mayor Bobko. He has gotten rid of his censure; he has succeeded in changing the dialogue; and all this without a real apology. We should reject this kind of behavior and call it like it is — that’s no apology, that’s a Bobko!
Gavin Rubin
Hermosa Beach
No apologies
Dear ER:
Councilmember Kit Bobko failed to apologize in his recent letter to city council.
His ego-driven publicity stunt he recently put upon Hermosa Beach during the police chief hiring deserves a true apology. Prior to last Tuesdays city council meeting in Hermosa Beach, Bobko held private meetings with councilman Peter Tucker to circumvent the public process and the intent of the Brown Act. Under the Brown Act, councilmembers are not suppose to lobby votes or horsetrade with other councilmembers outside the public view. Mr. Bobko feels the laws of this state do not apply to him. His backroom conversations with councilmember outside the public meeting laws to discuss removal of items on the agenda is wrong and deceitful.
His carefully worded censure letter was not an apology, but an insult to the city council and the intelligence of both the city council and Hermosa residents. Why could he not just send a press release admitting he was wrong? We know he controls a well paid public relations firm that works under his council’s direction to the tune of $120,000 annually. That PR firm could have easily assisted him or maybe they wrote his convoluted letter at taxpayer expense. His manipulation of his colleagues is deplorable. He needs to apologize to the people he serves for his self-serving behavior and his lack of remorse.
Michael Keegan
Hermosa Beach
Keep Hermosa Hermosa
Dear ER,
A recent letter to the editor displayed a shocking misunderstanding of the phrase Keep Hermosa Hermosa. Rather than narrow NIMBYism, the Keep Hermosa Hermosa concept serves as the basis for the very best of the City’s recent past. It’s the resident’s clarion call to face down repeated attempts to destroy the residential nature of the community with high-rise apartment buildings and condominiums, high-rise hotels, excessive commercial development, and, now, oil & gas drilling.
It was the Keep Hermosa Hermosa concept that motivated those of us who got involved in Hermosa’s Good Government movement of the 1970 and 1980s to take on Real Estate interests and the Old Guard, to change the City’s General Plan, and reduce zoning density and building height throughout the city. General Plan and zoning provisions at the time would have led to a population density of 30,000+ residents!! Ocean views would have been obliterated. Forty years later the population of Hermosa is below 20,000 and you can still see the ocean. That’s still a lot of residents in a 1.2 square mile area, but it’s not the 30,000+ envisioned back in the day. In that case Keep Hermosa Hermosa meant rejecting the status quo by lowering density and reducing zoning. It was a grass roots effort and definitely not NIMBY. Residents 1. Developers 0.
The acquisition of the AT&SF right-of-way, now called the Green Belt, which offers a shady respite from the noise of the City was not donated by an enlightened railway company. On the contrary, most of today’s residents take the open space for granted, but AT&SF had formal plans to develop the right-of-way for single and multiple family residences from one end of town to the other. It took the concept of Keep Hermosa Hermosa to motivate a City Council and newly environmentally conscious residents to zone the right-of-way as open space. This very controversial action at the time was followed by many years of negotiations with AT&SF. In the end the voters had to vote to tax themselves to acquire what is now considered one of Hermosa’s most outstanding features. Residents 2. Developers 0.
Many of the parks that we all take for granted; South Park, Prospect Heights, the eastern sections of Valley Park, didn’t just fall into the City’s hands. It took many long years of difficult negotiations to acquire these properties from a School District that was looking for ways to meet the challenges of a declining K – 8 population. Each one of these properties was considered for residential development. Some small sections at Hermosa View and South School were actually developed. But School Board and City Council members motivated by the concept of keeping Hermosa Hermosa found the ways and means to retain these properties for public use. Without the driving force and logic of Keep Hermosa Hermosa these properties would be completely developed today. Residents 3. Developers 0.
The Pier Avenue School, once the site of the District’s 7th and 8th grades, and at the time the only auditorium and gymnasium in Hermosa Beach, was rapidly deteriorating and slated for commercial development. Again, in spite of controversy, and threats of law suits, the District and the City Council found the ways and means to retain the property for the public. It is now at the center of the City’s social and cultural life. It provides meeting rooms, facilities, and other resources to the residents. It houses the Senior center, and the city’s Emergency Control Center, and it provides recreational facilities to young and old alike. Keep Hermosa Hermosa was the driving force behind the retention of this extremely valuable property. Residents 4. Developers 0.
Each time the concept of Keep Hermosa Hermosa appeared it was met with those who said “No, we can’t retain the South School site. We need the money.” “No, we can’t afford to acquire the AT&SF right-of-way. We can’t stand in the way of the developers. We need the tax revenues. We’re going broke.” “No, we can’t acquire the Pier Ave. School. Where will we ever get the money? What we need is a used car lot with lots of sales tax revenue.” “We don’t need more parks. What we need is a high rise hotel. Just think of the revenues it would bring in.”
Well, as you and I both know, the City “always needs more money.” There is never enough. But a City is more than revenues. It’s about a place to take a walk without being run over by a truck. It’s about a place for kids to put on or see a musical or a dramatic performance on stage. It’s about a place to play basketball, baseball and tennis. A place for parents and grand parents to take their kids. A place where we go to sleep at night with the sound of the ocean, not the sound of a drill or of gas being “flared off.” A place where there’s no “trade off” between the health and safety of our children and the so-called need for more money, and where a messy oil spill refers to someone dropping a bottle of Greek olive oil not an environmental disaster.
Keep Hermosa Hermosa is the driving concept behind Stop Hermosa Beach Oil. SHBO has members of all ages, all walks of life, and all areas of the City, families with kids, and families without, seniors and surfers, long time residents and the newly arrived. Those of us who have been around for a few years know just how fragile this all is and we know that we must work together to conserve it. Powerful forces seek to upset this very livable community. They’ll talk about the revenue we can’t do without. They’ll talk about all of the goodies we can have. But I think the residents know better. It’s up to all of us to Keep Hermosa Hermosa. Let’s make it Residents 5. Oil & Gas 0.
George Schmeltzer
Hermosa Beach