The San Bruno Beacon

According to the latest numbers published by the San Mateo County Elections Office, the final vote tally for Measure F is:

YES
1,934 (50%)

NO
1,934 (50%)

On another note, last night, before all of the votes were counted, in an article titled:

Burlingame's schools, San Bruno's coffers get a big boost

San Mateo County Times Staff Writer, Christine Morente filed and published a factually incorrect report stating that, "Measure F, a half-cent sales tax that needed only a majority vote to pass, garnered 53 percent". In my opinion, Morente's misstatement of the facts, caused by her failure to wait for all the votes to be counted, was not only a great disservice to Times readers, but an excellent example of embarrassingly bad, inaccurate reporting. "Dewey Wins" style journalism. Journalism students take note.

As Ms. Morente does correctly point out in her article, Measure F needs a majority of votes to win. If this tie remains, Measure F loses.

In Ms. Morante's incorrect article, San Bruno's Mayor, Larry Franzella stated, "I think the voters in San Bruno understood the measure, the need for it and elected to support it". Poor Larry, he is so out of touch with the voters in San Bruno, he actually believes that San Bruno's residents buy the garbage that he, his Council cronies, and San Bruno's City Manager are trying to shove down their throats.

Of course, this is not the the end of the Measure F fiasco. San Bruno's City Council and Manager now know that Measure F has not passed. The question is, how far will they go, how much more San Bruno taxpayer money will they spend, and how much will they put at risk to deal with this present situation?

On another Measure F related note, it appears that the City of San Bruno, under the direction of San Bruno City Manager Connie Jackson, may have violated California Government Code section 8314 which provides in part:

(a) It is unlawful for any elected state or local officer, including any state or local appointee, employee, or consultant, to use or permit others to use public resources for a campaign activity, or personal or other purposes which are not authorized by law.

The City of San Bruno publishes a booklet titled, “FOCUS _ REPORT FROM CITY HALL”. This booklet is created, printed, and mailed to San Bruno residents at taxpayer expense. San Bruno’s City Manager and Council created and are promoting Measure F, which appears on the November 2007 Election Ballot, and will be voted on by San Bruno’s voters in the Tuesday November 6, 2007 election.

The FALL 2007 edition of the “FOCUS” appears to be little more than a thinly veiled campaign brochure promoting Measure F to San Bruno’s voters. It appears to be a more detailed version of the Argument in support of Measure F published by Measure F's supporters in the ballot arguments appearing in the ballot material being sent to voters.

My observation is that the creation, printing, and mailing of this edition of the “FOCUS”, by the City of San Bruno, using taxpayer money, may be construed as an unlawful campaign activity as defined by California Government Code section 8314.

There's more. We also have an unconfirmed report that San Bruno City Council Candidate and Measure F opponent Migueal Araujo and his family's business are being targeted for more harassment by San Bruno City Officials for Mr. Araujo's high profile opposition to Measure F. We certainly hope this is not true. Enough is enough with the harassment of Mr. Araujo, his family, and his supporters.