Lloyd was first to embrace ULL, so there
By Lisa Vorderbrueggen
Thursday, March 20th, 2008 at 4:44 pm in 2008 June primary, California Legislature, Republican politics.
Assembly District 15 GOP primary candidate Judy Bivano Lloyd of Danville says that she, not opponent Scott Kamena of Livermore, was the first to publicly go on the record in support of Contra Costa County’s urban limit line.
In an earlier blog entry, I wrote that Kamena jumped first on the ULL bandwagon.
Let no one say that I fail to correct my mistakes:
Kamena signed his own “Urban Limit Protection Pledge” on March 6.
Lloyd sent a letter on the subject to Martin McNair, chairman of the Contra Costa Costa Local Agency Formation Commission, on March 5.
Lloyd sent her letter a whole day before Kamena signed his pledge, folks.
In my meager defense, however, note that Lloyd sent her letter to McNair and Kamena sent his pledge to me. Kamena was undoubtedly grandstanding but hey, it worked, didn’t it?
Here’s a portion of Lloyd’s letter to McNair:
Dear Martin,
I hope this note finds you well! I haven’t talked with you in a while and wanted to get in touch regarding the issue of the City of San Ramon’s “sphere of influence” application as it relates to the Tassajara Valley and the Urban Limit Line.
As a resident of Danville at Alamo Creek, I am concerned about this action and its perception as a “power grab” for the Tassajara Valley. I have taken the opportunity to meet with and talk to stakeholders regarding this matter over the last few weeks when I first learned of this issue. It concerns me not only as a Danville resident but as someone who cares about smart and efficient growth, preservation of open space and natural resources, and upholding the urban limit line which the voters have consistently approved.
I am aware that Assemblyman Houston and others have gotten in touch with LAFCO to also express concern.
I hope you will keep me apprised as LAFCO begins the process of considering the City of San Ramon’s application. I will be monitoring the issue closely not only as a resident of Danville but also as your future Assembly Member in District 15.
Who knew the urban limit line, the bane of conservative property rights activists, would see Republicans trampling all over each other to be the first in line to embrace it?
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March 20th, 2008 at 6:39 pm
This is just like Judy to grandstand. She will do anything to self-promote or call attention to herself. What a phony.
Does she even live in the District???? Can she even run?
March 20th, 2008 at 6:44 pm
Oh come on…isn’t this just a little bit petty? She doesn’t stand a chance to get elected in this district even if God suddenly causes a miracle and she wins the primary. Go ABRAM
March 20th, 2008 at 8:00 pm
Sounds to me like Judy Lloyd and Scott Kamena don’t believe in property rights.
I wonder what their positions on the use of eminent domain is going to be and whether they support the League’s Prop 99 or the HJTA’s Prop 98?
Seems like they are both going to be good friends with other anti-property right supporters like Democrat State Senators Tom Torlakson and Darryl Steinberg.
Looks like more “top-down” governing of the cities to me.
March 20th, 2008 at 9:32 pm
Well…then I guess none of the voters in Contra Costa COunty are for property rights since they all voted to protect the urban limit line. Although I do hear that Judy is the RINO in the race…
March 21st, 2008 at 1:30 pm
The urban limit line is an unnecessary limitation on the right of a property owner to utilize his/her property for the highest and best use. If the county and cities want a ULL they should pay the property owners for the loss in value of their property if it is impacted by the ULL.
It is also unnecessary since we have a 35/65 ordnance in the county where no more than 35% of the land can be developed. The last number I saw was that about 28% has been developed.
As to the voters approving the ULL, the renewal was buried in Measure J, the renewal of the half-cent sales tax for transportation in the county. In my travels around most of the folks I talk with haven’t a clue what a ULL is and what they voted for. But the property owners outside the line sure know.
The ULL is just one more socialist idea to seize private property and one of the outcomes of the ULL is that it helps drive up the price of housing by limiting available land for building.
If I was Lloyd or Kamena, I sure wouldn’t stake my political fture on claiming to be the power behind the ULL.
March 21st, 2008 at 2:37 pm
Ken,
I actually completely disagree with you. People know what the ULL is. If they didn’t know what it was, it wouldn’t have so much support. How come every time there is a development proposal in that area it gets shot down? How come people were so outraged when they found out San Ramon was trying to incorporate the Valley? The answer is that people ARE aware and DO care about preserving that valley. Kamena and lloyd are right on this (although I don’t know who lloyd is or where she is even from). Kamena and Lloyd shouldn’t stake their entire election on this issue, they will need to work hard and earn the voter’s trust. I have already had my house walked twice by Kamena so I know he is doing the work.
March 21st, 2008 at 9:12 pm
Antioch and Pittsburg voters approved annexations which expanded their city limits and the County was obligated to modify the County ULL to respect what the voters of Antioch and Pittsburg approved.
The County ULL is arbitrary and the only reason a majority of county voters approved the new County ULL was that they considered privately owned undeveloped land to be “open space” which is totally false. In effect, it was a confiscation of privately owned land which could not be used at its highest and best use by their owners; effectively a form of eminent domain!
March 22nd, 2008 at 9:50 am
One thing is for sure from these pictures… There are no beautiful people in politics.
What is interesting here is the contrast in styles that is offered here. First we have the measured and professional response to the ULL issue used by Lloyd. She is a long time political professional who understands how to approach other leaders and work behind the scenes. She wrote a direct and professional letter to LAFCO. Kamina the amateur and patricians son fires off a press statement that gets Lisa and the CC Times attention. Do your homeowrk Lisa!!
The net result is Kamina is a grandstander and Lloyd is a professional.
I also have to laugh at the Simonson and Hambrick duo who hate the ULL. Oh yes wave the bloody shirt of sociaism Ken baby!! Maybe if regular folks who did not want to see their communites overrun by developers who buy off politicians (See San Ramon Mayor Wilson and Tom Koch love affair) there would be no need for the vox populi to take matters into their own hands and create a ULL. The ULL is not the best way to preserve communities but given the power and money of the development community it has become the axe the pucblic uses.
Left out of this discussion are the land owners whose property values fall. As the axiom goes. You never want to be the last land owner in a city. Add to that you never want to be the last significant land owner in the county.
March 22nd, 2008 at 12:52 pm
Well, I agree with Renegade GOP on one thing, it’s a good thing this election isn’t a beauty contest (of course that might be Abram’s only hope to win).
Renegade, here is where i think you are wrong. Lloyd was obviously going to go public with her letter because that is the only point in having something like a letter or a pledge, so that you can prove an action was taken and release it to the media. How do you know that Kamina didn’t talk to a few of the council members on the phone before he released his pledge? I mean, the fact that lloyd felt compelled to come back out and prove that she was actually the one who came our first in support of it just proves that point. So what you really have is two people who were trying to get media attention out of their positions to distinguish themselves with Abram and align themselves with Houston…ooooohhh huge surprise in politics. On that note, there is just something in the way that Lloyd felt the need to prove that she was the first one to come out on this issue that annoys me…
March 23rd, 2008 at 10:35 am
Well right or wrong a campaign can be a tit for tat match. I don’t really see how ULL matters for the Assembly race. I just like the behind the scenes approach of Lloyd rather than the grandstanding of Kamina.
Had Wilson not ventured San Ramon into the ULL difficulties and had his poorly timed developer love festival with Tom Koch not happened at the same time he actually would be a leading candidate. But I still think he has a learning curve. As mayor he is fine. But at a recent stump speech I was falling asleep listening to him. He is not transcending to the next level. So the battle between Wilson, Lloyd and Kamina will drain everyone and Joan Buchanan will benefit.
Oh yeah…. I forgot. Robert Rao the super businessman. Where the Joe Rubay candidacy was the nice-guy-raise-no-money-inexperienced-go-nowhere candidate. Rao is the dark angry side of conservatism who is just blowing money for nothing. There is nothing appealing about his amateur candidacy. Although Robert your consultant will love charging you fees. Remember Darrell Issa blew lots of money running for Senate before he found a lesser seat to run for. (House of representatives). Maybe you should have run for Congress against Andal. That would have been exciting! Or just save your cash and wait for Andal to lose!
March 23rd, 2008 at 7:46 pm
Oh man…Robert Rao is a crazy man. If he won the primay, he would lose this seat for Republicans.
March 23rd, 2008 at 10:12 pm
CCRebel in case you did not know the registration is now about even in the district. This race is no longer a slam dunk for the GOP.
March 24th, 2008 at 3:58 pm
Which is why if Rao wins…we are doomed.
March 24th, 2008 at 4:58 pm
Andrew, in regards to the RINO comment, Judy has worked to elect more Republicans to office than ALL the other candidates in this primary combined. I believe that half the campaigns that Scott has worked on were for Democrats.
March 24th, 2008 at 9:48 pm
Um, where have you been. The Contra Costa Times even called Judy “the moderate” in the race. She’s pro choice (check), pro gay marriage (check) and has been endorsed by tons of liberals (mostly from ones outside of the district) (check).
I’m sorry to say GOP Dude (paid Lloyd staffer) that Judy is indeed the RINO in the race. Rao and Kamena will battle for the conservative title (although i would give the street cred to Kamena there)
March 25th, 2008 at 10:22 am
No, I’m not paid by Judy. Are you employed by Joan Buchanan? I’ll bet she’d much rather face Robert or Scott. It’s pretty clear that neither of them stands a chance in the fall. Let’s remember that the margin in this district is mighty close and the assembly democrats are very close to a super majority. It’s pretty funny to hear someone decide that a woman with decades of service to the Republican Party nationally and in the tri valley, who has supported Republicans across the spectrum isn’t a “real” Republican.
March 25th, 2008 at 2:38 pm
Judy is a carpet bagging Bush appointee, or at least she will be if she wins in June.
Voters don’t care about decades of service to the GOP, they care about decades of service to the community. Having just moved to the community, has Judy really done it any favors?
March 26th, 2008 at 3:40 pm
Didn’t Lloyd move to the 15th in 2000? I think Houston sold her a place in Dublin. Before that I think she lived in Pleasanton. That’s a long way away.
NOTE FROM LISA V. Lloyd moved to Danville recently from Dublin, where she lived in a home she bought from Assemblyman Guy Houston. She and her husband’s business is located in Pleasanton. At the time she and her husband bought the Dublin house, she told me, it was in Assembly District 15. The state Legislature subsequently changed the district boundaries in 2001 after the Census.
She has suffered from the “carpetbagging” charge from some folks but it’s not an uncommon practice in areas where the lines have moved every 10 years. Houston, for example, moved from Dublin (where he was mayor) to Livermore in order to run for Assembly District 15 the first time. He then moved to San Ramon in order to stay in Assembly District 15 when the boundaries moved in 2001.
March 27th, 2008 at 12:47 am
Lloyd has suffered from it…and prbly will continue to suffer from it. nobody likes a carpet bagger. She reminds me of Hillary Clinton moving to New York to run for Senate.
March 27th, 2008 at 5:50 pm
Suggested headline for Lisa’s next entry: “Kamena operative compares Dublin to Arkansas”