Council members Kernighan, De La Fuente, Brunner and Quan,

I have closely watched the increased media attention to the very loud campaign of Alameda resident and Grand Lake Theater owner Allen Michaan to force a role-back of the recent adjustments to parking meter enforcement times and rates. The purpose of this e-mail is to urge you to please stand firm in the face of what appears to be largely manufactured hysteria.

While I have often been critical of City Council action and inaction over a variety of issues, I was very impressed with the way the council recently addressed the extraordinarily difficult budget decisions it faced. The four of you, in particular, filled the city’s leadership void in forcing the difficult decisions that were necessary to balance the city’s budget. A small but important component of this balancing process was the change in parking regulations. As thanks for your efforts, you are now faced with hysterical meetings, fake recall petitions, and counterproductive proposals that damage local businesses and hurt their employees. Neither Mr. Michaan nor any of his followers have suggested an alternative revenue source, nor have any of them made a convincing case that folks who go out to dinner in the Montclair and Rockridge neighborhoods or Park or Piedmont Avenues cannot afford to pay $2.00 per hour to park while they wine and dine.

Media reports over the last 48 hours suggest that Council members De La Fuente and Kernighan, among others, may consider the parking adjustments to have been a mistake. These adjustments were not mistaken, were necessary, and I urge all of you to stand by them.

When you return from your well-deserved summer break, I’m sure you will be faced with a barrage of heat from Mr. Michaan’s followers and others. You will be confronted with supposed poll results showing how unpopular these changes are (the current Oakland Tribune on-line poll gives participants 5 options — 4 of the choices are anti-parking meter adjustment). As I am sure you realize, when voters are asked “would you like to pay higher taxes or fees?” with no alternatives presented, (i.e., “Would you like us to reduce fees and lay off 10 police officers and close the main library 2 days per week”) everyone says”no.” But in a vacuum, that information is pretty meaningless.

Bottom line is this: you all made very hard decisions to balance the city’s budget. The comparison between the city’s recent performance and the State’s in this regard was stark. The compromises you made were hard, painful and essential. Please don’t go squishy on us when you come back from your recess.

Bruce Nye
Member, Make Oakland Better