Time for Mayor Hall to Step Down?
By Richard Riehl / The Riehl World
Three days after the San Diego Registrar of Voters announced the defeat of Carlsbad’s Measure A, Mayor Matt Hall was interviewed on KUSI. When asked how he and the city Council would deal with the fallout over an issue that had been unanimously approved by the Council before the people said no and called for a public vote, here was his reply:
“The city council, our role, is to process projects. And obviously there’s more than one way to process a project. We’re very knowledgeable about the CEQA way of doing things (the California Environmental Quality Act). Mr. Caruso chose to use the 9212 Report, which the city is very unfamiliar with. So part of the difficulty was trying to work our way through a 9212 Report and get clear understanding. Most of the people I’ve talked to leading up to this, that was their biggest concern, that there was this sidestep of CEQA. And I think that’s one of the things we really need to look at. And I know, from my personal belief, that anybody coming forward that want to use a 9212 Report I would say, (long pause, nervous chuckle) not my idea…”
Let’s take a closer look at what Hall said. To say that the role of the city Council is, “to process projects,” suggests a clerical, rather than a leadership responsibility. That’s an easy excuse for what he agrees was a bad idea, the sidestepping of CEQA. It was a clerical error. Nothing more than a Council vote typo!
Hall’s excuse calls to mind Bart Simpson’s standard way of escaping responsibility for his dirty deeds. “I didn’t do it, nobody saw me do it, and I won’t do it again.” It would be funny if it weren’t for the $750,000 taxpayers paid for a special election and the community divisiveness caused by a mayor who refused to listen to the people.
If the mayor is more than a visor-wearing, sleeves-gartered clerical bureaucrat, what are his duties, job description and mission? The city’s website has a detailed list of qualifications and duties of city employees, including City Manager. What I couldn’t find is what the mayor and city council are held accountable for, rather than meeting regularly. Nor could I find a City Council Mission Statement. Oceanside has one, as does San Marcos. Vista has a description of the Mayor and City Council’s duties. The City of Carlsbad has a fine Mission, Vision and Values Statement, but no explanation of how the Mayor and City Council are expected to practice them.
And this time around they seem woefully out of practice. Their blind support of Caruso’s lagoon mall campaign reveals how they skirted city organizational values.
Stewardship: “We responsibly manage the public resources entrusted to us and provide the best value to our community.”
So why did they agree to pay $750,000 for a quickie special election in February, instead of $35,000-$50,000 to place it on the ballot of either the Primary or General Election?
Empowerment: “We help people achieve their personal best by creating an environment where they feel trusted, valued and inspired.”
Tell that to the long line of residents attending the August 25 meeting, waiting to explain the shortcomings of the 9212 Report, expressing outrage for avoiding state and local environmental reviews. Without even allowing a 30-day delay for further consideration, the council voted unanimously to approve the project.
Tell that to the hundreds of citizen volunteers carrying “let the people vote” referendum petitions while being harassed by the developer’s paid operatives.
Tell that to the recipients of a developer’s mass mailing, graced by the smiling faces of the five council members, urging voters not to sign the referendum, with a mail-in form to city hall attached, demanding their names to be removed if they’ve already signed.
Communication “We communicate openly and directly. Promoting engagement and collaboration makes our organization better and our community stronger.”
Tell that to Cori Schumacher, who spoke in opposition to a February special election at the November 17 meeting. Mayor Hall ordered the assistant city manager to provide an on-the-spot rebuttal of her presentation, a first in interrupting a line of speakers at a Council meeting to allow time for a mayor’s rebuttal.
Mayor Hall now promises to reach out to those “in the middle or opposed” to the project to see what they want to do next. It’s too late, Mayor Hall. Begin with an apology, then step down. The people of Carlsbad deserve more than a self-described project processor for their leader.
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A breathtaking reveal of your Mayor’s own view that he’s in office “to process projects”. So, it’s come to that; we have no direct connection to our government and must follow the very indirect and arduous route of recall to put the scoundrels in their correct place, a little office with a stamp pad that reads, “okay” when the meal is delivered to them.
Obviously, the Carlsbad Mayor and City Council were lobbied to death by Caruso and his minions. Don’t you know that we have government by lobbyists? The Mayor and Council are just whetting their appetites for higher political office where constituents are totally ignored and getting all schmoozy with lobbyists on a golf vacation is de rigueur. How many delicious meals did the Mayor and Council enjoy at the 5 star Aviara resort before they were persuaded to fast track the mall builder.
Lobbied = bought, but vote = power. Voters have to use their power more often…
Carlsbad cares and we are tugging at the first exposed thread of a very ragged fabric that is the current city council.
Matt Hall’s comments are so revealing regarding his complete and utter incompetence as the Mayor of Carlsbad. I won’t stoop down to name calling – but it’s sooo hard to resist! It’s simply shocking that he would say these things in public. He is the CEO of our City – What in the world is going on here ? He and the City Council(CC) knew exactly what they were doing. They would not listen to anything factual that we presented back in June, July, and August (and many other meetings) that revealed the countless number of SERIOUS negative implications that were hidden in the Caruso AHSP. He and the CC are 100% culpable and responsible for the entire Caruso fiasco that costed Carlsbad taxpayers $750K for NO GOOD REASON…NONE! The mayor and CC should be held liable for their gross negligence and violation of their fiduciary duties as stewards of our City. They are an embarrassment to our fine city… at a minimum. The 5 of them would not last a New York minute in my Fortune 50 company.
Mayor Hall is incompetent. Furthermore, he has forgotten that he works at the pleasure of the people of Carlsbad. He really should resign.
The mayor and city counsel didn’t listen to the people from the start and is now backpedaling (very poorly) to smooth things over. #2little2late
The mayor has to go and I am ready to vote for a new one along with new city council reps. How about a special election for that sort of thing. Something we really need.
Thank you for your excellent summary of the situation. Mayor Hall campaigned excessively, included his name on false advertising, and then after the vote, told us he had no idea how to handle this kind of election. Since he had no idea how to handle it, he should have stepped back and allowed the voters to decide. Certainly the city’s “unbiased” voter information should have been less biased. I agree 100% that Mayor Hall should step down. And at tonight’s council meeting, I became convinced that Councilman Blackburn should also step down. We learned that Mr. Blackburn appeared outside a “NO ON A” party with uniform and squad car (apparently he is a reserve officer), and hassled NO ON A party-goers. This is highly inappropriate, and if the party were out of control (which I doubt), regular police should have dealt with it. The council does not seem to be representing the citizens of Carlsbad, and it is time for new city officials to take their place.
Furthermore, Mayor Hall is refusing to meet with concerned citizens about the puppy mill store that is currently operating in the mall. Just this month, 3 military families have bought very sick puppies from this store. Two of these puppies died within a month of being purchased. Fortunately, we have the support Blackburn and Wood. Both have met with us. They want to stop the sale of puppy mill puppies in Carlsbad. It appears Mayor Hall could care less about the negative impact this store is having on the community.