Vice Mayor Ken Bukowski Dodges Censure Vote

Bukowski Brings "Disrepute" to City,
Says Council Member Ruth Atkin

by Marc Albert and Tracy Schroth

A resolution aimed at censuring embattled Vice Mayor Ken Bukowski ended up going nowhere when Council Member Ruth Atkin withdrew the resolution she had introduced at the City Council's Jan. 20 meeting. The strongly worded resolution criticized Bukowski for bringing "disrepute" on the city in general and the City Council in particular. The censure sought to publicly condemn Bukowski's actions and invite "the reaffirmation of his oath of office and commitment to govern his activities as an elected official ... in full compliance with ... all laws of the State of California and the City of Emeryville."

Atkin's resolution offered up a laundry list of recent offenses by Bukowski, including:

• Failure to pay business license tax on his Doyle Street rental property.
• Disclosure to the public of confidential closed-session items discussed by the City Council. There is speculation that the disclosure had to do with the firing of a city staffer who alleged that the firing was racially motivated. Bukowski sided with the employee, publicly criticizing the handling of the case by then City Manager John Flores and City Attorney Mike Biddle. The city ultimately settled the case for $3.6 million.
• Failure to file the necessary campaign finance reports between October 2003 and 2006, "despite repeated reminders and requests from the City Clerk’s Office and referral to the Fair Political Practices Commission." Bukowski has since been fined by the Fair Political Practices Commission, according to the resolution.
• Soliciting and obtaining personal loans from individuals that exceed limits and terms set by the Political Reform Act and not repaying at least one of those loans. It was disclosed at a public meeting several months ago that Bukowski received a loan from Emeryville developer Francis Collins.
  
• Entering into a consulting contract with Paxio, Inc., an Internet service provider that also has a contract with the city to supply services, and failing to disclose that consulting agreement to his fellow City Council members.
  
• Participating in and influencing decisions of the City Council regarding Paxio while on Paxio's payroll.

Bukowski has "flouted and violated the law governing his activities as a local business owner and as a member of the office of the City Council on several occasions," the resolution said, noting that "these violations are not limited to an isolated incident and have brought disrepute to the City of Emeryville" and the City Council. The resolution went on to say that the Council has "grown weary of Council Member Bukowski's pattern of violating the law, followed by promises of reform once violations have been publicly exposed, and thereafter followed by further violations after some period of relatively 'good behavior' ... "

But after about 20 minutes of discussion at the Council's Jan. 20 meeting -- during which Council Member Nora Davis accused Atkin of introducing a "self-serving" resolution -- Atkin withdrew the resolution, preventing a vote.

Bukowski declined to comment for this story.

As readers of The Secret News know, Bukowski is no stranger to controversy. In addition to the offenses listed above, he recently fell behind on his property taxes for one of the two structures on his Doyle Street property to the tune of $1,719.56. In addition, despite repeated notices from the city for health code violations at that same property, Bukowski failed to clean it up, ultimately requiring the city to do so (at taxpayer's expense).

Finally, the Vice-Mayor is being sued by the widow of Michael Smela, a Novartis security guard and former San Francisco police officer, who was struck and killed by Bukowski's vehicle minutes after Bukowski drove away from a community meeting at the Novartis complex on Hollis Street alittle more than a year ago. That suit is pending.

Open Letter to the Emeryville City Council

To Mayor Dick Kassis and members of the City Council:

I heard that Mayor Kassis recently warned the Emeryville Chamber of Commerce about "outside forces." Exactly who are these "forces"? I presume he means the East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy, and those of us who live in Emeryville and criticize the decisions of the City Council.

We have not had any local, in-depth news coverage for the 11 years I have lived here. The only "newspaper" has been the The Emeryville Connection, put out by the Chamber of Commerce. Finally, several residents have started The Secret News, which informs residents of city developments, and our mayor has the nerve to call us "outside forces"?

Some council members have been in office far too long. They have become accustomed to calling the shots and paying only lip service to those who dare speak out against them. One member of the City Council does not pay his business license tax, is in arrears on his property tax, and fails to clean up his own property, thus forcing the city (the taxpayers) to foot the bill for the cleanup. That same council member was on the payroll of a company doing business with the city, yet sees no conflict of interest. He says he is broke. My suggestion to him is that he should, like the rest of us, look for a job. Yet his irresponsible behavior is supported by the City Council majority. Why? I suppose so they can hold on to that majority.

Residents are cordially invited to attend meetings (myself excluded. I often don't receive notices about meetings on crucial issues concerning the north Emeryville area, where I live. I am either omitted from the mailing list altogether, or told that the city had the wrong address for me), yet when they do, their suggestions and concerns are not heeded. No wonder many residents, myself included, have stopped attending meetings.

I am presently trying to raise money from family, friends, and neighbors to obtain bookcases on wheels for the Anna Yates School library, where I have volunteered for the past four years. In my plea for money, I explain that if the City of Emeryville provided more money for the schools (we only have two), instead of giving Starbucks $60,000 to cover move-in costs, an undisclosed amount of money to Pac N' Save so they can "upgrade" to a Safeway, and tens of millions of dollars in taxpayer subsidies to developers, I would not have to beg my friends for money. Why should Emeryville taxpayers subsidize publicly traded corporations? The City Council sees that the city will get revenue from development, but none from the schools. But what they fail to see is that the children who attend these schools are the future of Emeryville, if they can actually afford to live here when they grow up.

It's time for change in Emeryville.

Shirley Enomoto
Emeryville resident

City Council Orders Woodfin to Pay Workers $200,000 in Back Wages

by Brian Donahue

Current and former Woodfin Suites Hotel workers, cheated out of $200,000 in wages by the company, won a major victory Thursday when the Emeryville City Council ordered the hotel to make good on its debt. The Council rejected Woodfin's appeal of the city manager's finding in 2006, ordering the hotel to pay the additional wages to comply with city ordinance. Failure to comply would result in the Woodfin being denied a renewal of its permit to operate.

In a 2-2 vote, the Council rejected Woodfin's argument that it is in compliance with Measure C, a 2004 initiative that established a "living wage" for workers at Emeryville hotels, and also set guidelines for working conditions. The hotel needed a majority to win its appeal.

The Thursday council vote capped a marathon five-day hearing -- yet another skirmish in the war of attrition between supervisors and hotel room cleaners that has dragged on since activists began gathering signatures for Measure C four years ago.

"Its bad business," Council Member John Fricke said after the meeting. "They've already spent more on fighting this than what the workers are asking for."

Fricke and Council Member Ruth Atkin voted in favor of the workers. Mayor Dick Kassis and Council Member Nora Davis voted against the workers, and in favor of the Woodfin and its owner, Sam Hardage, former chairman of the San Diego County Republican Party and major Republican fundraiser.

Drama reached a crescendo when Woodfin attorneys accused Fricke and Vice Mayor Ken Bukowski of a pro-worker bias and asked them to recuse themselves. Bukowski agreed, but Fricke refused, stating that he harbored no such bias and could vote objectively.

The Woodfin has consistently argued that room cleaners are not owed the $200,000 in pay because they received help with their work from supervisors. When asked to elaborate, Woodfin attorneys said that supervisors helped clean the rooms "with their eyes and their heads," and therefore the wages owed to rank-and-file employees are considerably lower.

Woodfin Suites Hotels, a privately held company, was founded by CEO Hardage, who earned the rank of "pioneer" in the 2004 George Bush re-election campaign by raising more than $100,000 in contributions. In 2008, Hardage raised about the same amount for Arizona Sen. John McCain's presidential bid. Hardage also was a major contributor to the re-election campaign of Randy "Duke" Cuningham, now serving time in federal prison for accepting kick-backs from military contractors.

A Christian evangelical, Hardage may wish to re-read the biblical story of David and Goliath and discern its meaning.

Please Attend City Council Meeting to Oppose Demolition of Historic Brick Building

Edited version of email to residents from Council Member John Fricke (sent Jan. 13 2008)

On Tuesday, Jan. 20th, Barack Obama will begin restoring Lincoln’s promise of government for the people. But in Emeryville, Tuesday will mark yet another day when the City Council grants developers whatever they ask, with little concrete benefit to the residents.

The City Council majority is poised to grant another demolition permit so that a developer can tear down an old brick commercial building on Adeline Street at 39th Street:
http://www.johnfricke.com/39th-Adeline1.jpg

Last November, the Council granted a demolition permit to tear down an old brick commercial building at Doyle and Powell streets:
http://www.johnfricke.com/Doyle-Powell1.jpg

Two years ago, the City Council passed an ordinance prohibiting the demolition of a significant structure absent Council approval. Both the buildings cited above both meet the criteria of a significant structure. One would think that passing such an ordinance would result in significant structures being preserved.

Please attend this Tuesday's meeting and urge the Council to save the building at 39th and Adelines streets. Please contact your neighbors and urge them to join you at the meeting:

Tuesday, January 20th, 7:15 p.m.
1333 Park Avenue (@ Hollis Street

If you are interested in helping contact neighbors, please email jfricke@johnfricke.com

Comments From Our Readers

We had a chance last year to significantly change the composition of the City Council, when 3 of the members were up for re-election. Why Emeryville residents did not do so is a mystery to me. I support any effort to make our council more accountable to the people who live here - not just the people who build here.

K.H.
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Open Letter to the Emeryville City Council

I would like to voice my protest of the apparently inevitable issuance of a demolition permit that would allow the destruction of the historic buildings at the corner of 39th and Adeline as well Powell and Doyle.

Emeryville has a wonderful stock of older buildings that could be parleyed into a successful marketing approach to attract potential residents, tourists, and businesses. The apparent over-willingness of the city government to destroy the unique cultural resources which separate Emeryville from surrounding communities only serves to diminish the future potential for economic growth in the city. The potential for growth in Emeryville, as elsewhere, will lie in differentiating itself from other communities, as shoppers, businesses, and families decide where they want to spend their time and money.

Emeryville needs only to package their heritage resources properly to take advantage of the enormous opportunity it possesses to tap into the niche-appeal of unique communities. I encourage you to peruse the National Trust's Main Street Program website at http://www.mainstreet.org/ to see what so many other communities have accomplished by using the “Main Street Approach.” This is a program begun by the National Trust over 30 years ago. It has been incredibly successful, benefiting cities both small and large across the country by showing them approaches to set themselves apart from other cities by highlighting their cultural and architectural uniqueness and desirability, and combining it all into a marketable package. This can lead to enormous economic opportunities using many resources that the city already has, along with opening up state and federal grants to rehabilitate and rejuvenate historic neighborhoods, as well as individual buildings. Emeryville has used a similar approach in the past by taking advantage of Brownfields grants to bring many contaminated parts of the city back to useful operation. Emeryville can do the same thing with the Main Street Program to improve its other residential and commercial districts. This is especially important during these trying economic times.

I would direct you to Pleasanton, Berkeley, and Livermore as some examples that illustrate the success of this program. All of these cities are participants in this program and have benefited greatly. The Book, “Main Street Success Stories” has more details on how many cities around the country have very successfully utilized this approach in both good and bad economic times: https://www.mainstreet.org/content.aspx?page=4327.

Thank you.

Douglas Bright
Environmental Planner (Architectural History)

To Ring in the New Year, Emeryville Poised to Drop the (Wrecking) Ball

Two of Three Buildings Slated for Demolition Designated by City as "Architecturally Significant"

by Tracy Schroth and Marc Albert

City Hall is poised to issue a flurry of building demolition permits to ring in the new year, hastening the extinction of Emeryville's architectural and cultural past -- for a future filled with -- you guessed it -- more retail, residential rental units, and parking.

Plans for three particular projects have much in common. Each violates one or more city laws restricting density, building size, and height. Each is being pushed by three of the city's most well-connected developers. Each requires the destruction of some of the city's few remaining architectural gems.

Two of the endangered buildings are designated as "architecturally significant" buildings worthy of protection under Article 67 of the city's own preservation ordinance. Adding insult to injury, the proposed projects turn prime locations for a pedestrian-centered renaissance into more auto-centric development, exacerbating Emeryville's traffic woes.

For what it's worth, preservation figures prominently in the city's General Plan. The document declares that historic industrial-warehouses found "in many parts of Emeryville should be preserved," and that, "the City strongly endorses the reuse of heritage buildings." These buildings, if saved, not only provide a tangible link to the past and an aesthetic sense of place lacking in much new development, they serve as affordale space for small, entrepreneurial ventures for which Emeryville has long been known.

Many Emeryville residents have asked the City Council again and again for development that cultivates real neighborhoods and provides services to the community -- independently owned retail and restaurants, light industrial, and small start-ups. To no avail.

The Alder Building at Powell and Hollis

One of the three buildings slated for demolition is the Alder Building at Powell and Hollis streets. It will be torn down to make way for a 139,000-square-foot office building and parking structure to be constructed by Wareham Development. The property has the dubious added distinction of being acquired in a hostile land grab, orchestrated by the city. The property was sold by the owner only after the city had begun legal proceedings to take the property through eminent domain and give it to Rich Robbins, owner of Wareham, the city's biggest and most influential developer. The property was sold to Robbins and eviction notices were served to the occupants -- a small law office and an architectural firm.

While the Alder Building is not designated by the city as "architecturally significant," the other two buildings are -- the brick building at Doyle and Powell streets (photo, top left), and 3908 Adeline Street, at the intersection of 39th Street (photo, top right).

The building at Doyle and Powell streets will be torn down to make way for 14,000 square feet of mixed use including retail (10,500 square feet) and "flex space" (about 3,500 square feet) which can be office or retail, and residential (170 rental units), which exceeds the density allowed by city ordinance. The developer also wants to chop down 12 mature street trees.

The building at 3908 Adeline, which straddles the line between Emeryville and Oakland, will be replaced by more than 100 apartment units and 1,000 square feet of retail/restaurant space. The height of the new building will reach 49 feet in areas where 30 feet is the maximum height allowed. The project also requires a parking variance to allow 6 guest parking spaces where 23 is the required minimum. The building to be destroyed has also been designated as "historically significant" by Oakland's Cultural Heritage Survey.

For more information on these and other projects, click here.

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The City Council is sacrificing pieces of Emeryville's past for a future of more retail and rental units. Didn't they get the memo?

Channel 5 CBS News Reports on Emeryville's Threatened Economy

On the evening news last night:

Emeryville Struggles As Shopping Lags
EMERYVILLE (CBS 5) ― The economic downturn has spelled trouble for many Bay Area cities, but one of the hardest hit has been the shopping enclave of Emeryville. Click here for the story.

Is Emeryville's Retail Economy Sustainable? Check out today's New York Times

by Marc Albert

A lengthy story on the front page of the business section of today's New York Times suggests that Emeryville's renaissance as a big box mecca may backfire -- as worried consumers drastically cut spending.

The story, A City That Shopped Till it Dropped chronicles the waning fortunes of local retailers and the repercussions for a city dependant on sales taxes.

The Times describes Emeryville as having "hitched its wagon over the last several decades to what seemed like the limitless ability of American shoppers to spend money." The strategy is suddenly a poor bet. The Times said 25 percent of the city's revenue comes from sales taxes and "'collections fell 23 percent in the third quarter this year from the same period last year, among the steepest drops in the state."

With the expansion of the Bay Street mall (pictured above) looming on the City Council's agenda, the article asks, "Did a city that worked so hard to clean up the mess left by abandoned steel mills and rubber plants ultimately trade one kind of urban blight for another, more modern variety?"

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The City Council majority continues to promote big development (and millions of dollars in taxpayer subsidies to build these developments) with promises of big tax revenues in return -- to pay for parks, child care, sidewalks, and better youth and senior programs. All of those promises may turn out to be nothing more than pie-in-the-sky.

Vice-Mayor's Decision Not to Pay Tax Ranks Among "Worst Ideas of the Week" in SF Examiner

Emeryville Deserves a Mayor "who strives for solutions, not one who stoops to excuses," says Examiner

Ken Bukowski's failure to pay business taxes to the city of which he is now vice-mayor and formerly mayor has received a place among the San Francisco Examiner's "Worst Ideas of the Week" for the week of Dec. 7, 2008.

Here's what the Examiner said (for full list of the week's Worst Ideas, click here):

Bad example

Emeryville mayor doesn’t pay his business taxes

The details: The mayor of Emeryville, a small city on the east side of the Bay Bridge, says he can’t — and won’t — pay his business taxes. Mayor Ken Bukowoski has told reporters that he is not only opposed to Emeryville’s business tax license fee, but he couldn’t pay it even if he wanted to. Bukowski, a 21-year-veteran of the City Council, is apparently trying to live off his small stipend for being a city official and some rental income. He says he’s a victim of the poor economy, but Emeryville deserves a leader who strives for solutions, not one who stoops to excuses.

Taxpayers Foot Bill for Clean Up of Vice Mayor's Property

by Brian Donahue

After Emeryville's vice mayor was cited for health code violations at his Doyle Street property due to excessive trash and other debris, and failed to clean it up, the city ordered crews to haul away the garbage - at taxpayers' expense.

An abatement order was issued in May, requiring immediate remediation of health and fire code violations at Vice Mayor Ken Bukowski's property at 5876 and 5878-1/2 Doyle Street, just south of 59th Street. The order was issued in response to neighbors' complaints of garbage spilling over the property line and onto the sidewalk. There are two structures on the property, Bukowski's home, and a six-unit apartment house that the vice mayor rents out.

After Bukowski failed to comply with the clean-up order, despite several extensions, the city was forced to take matters into its own hands, according to Assistant City Attorney Michael Guina. "The City of Emeryville had to clean it up," Guina said. He did not say what it cost, but did say that "Mr. Bukowski has been made aware that he must pay back the City." As of last week, Bukowski had not done so.

The abatement order was sent via certified mail to Bukowski, citing five code violations, including fire hazard, maintaining a rodent harborage, garbage accumulation, unlawful property nuisance, and unlawful open storage of materials. Before the clean-up, liquid that appeared to be antifreeze was seen flowing from the property into a nearby storm drain (see above photo). Local storm drains empty directly into San Francisco Bay without treatment.

A woman employed by a neighboring business, who asked not to be identified, said it appeared that some of the tenants of the property were conducting an automobile salvage operation. "They drop off truckloads of oily, greasy parts on to the sidewalk and proceed to take them apart right there, blocking the sidewalk," the neighbor said. She also complained of noise at the site.

Bukowski blames the problem on irresponsible tenants, and believes that the tenants, not he, should have received the abatement order.