League of Women Voters of Piedmont

                        Holiday Luncheon

 The Rollercoaster of the US-Russian Relationship

 Guest Speaker  Anastasia Edel

               Friday, December 7, 2018

                       11:00 am – 2:00 pm

               Piedmont Community Center

            711 Highland Ave, Piedmont CA

The League of Women Voters annual Holiday Luncheon will feature Russia Expert, Anastasia Edel on the Rollercoaster of the US-Russian Relationship. Ms. Edel is a Russian-born American writer and social historian who teaches in the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at UC Berkeley.

In her early life in the Soviet Union and later Russia, Ms. Edel witnessed the ascension of Mikhail Gorbachev, the introduction of perestroika, the fall of the USSR, and the ascension of Boris Yeltsin.  In 1995, she moved to England, and in 2003, to the Bay Area.  She has a unique cultural perspective on Russia and has explored the myths, beliefs, and historical developments that feed Putin’s anti-democratic ideology.

Ms. Edel is the author of Russia: Putin’s Playground, a concise guide to Russian history, politics and culture.  Her writing has appeared in The New York Review of Books, The New York Times, Project Syndicate, Quartz and World Literature Today. She’s a staff art critic for the Piedmont Post and is currently at work on a new book, The Gone Empire.

The speaker and lunch is $30 in advance or $35 at the door. Members of League of Women Voters receive a $5.00 discount.  To reserve your spot, visit LWVPiedmont.org, select the Russia Expert link and click the RSVP box. Payment via credit card, debit card or PayPal is accepted. Payment via check should be payable to LWVP and sent to Ward Lindenmayer, 40 Highland Avenue, Piedmont, CA  94611.

There is no fee for the speaker portion of the program.  Lunch following the speaker at 12:00pm.   Please reserve your spot December 1, 2018.

UPDATED: The following are results from Piedmont voters as of 5:04 p.m. on November 9, 2018.  Those elected and measures approved are noted with an *.

School Board:

* Megan Pillsbury    2662    32.19%

* Amal Smith      2243    27.13%

   Julie Caskey     2091    25.29%

   Hari Titan      1265   15.30%

   Write-in       8    0.10%

City Council:

*Betsy Smegal Andersen   3714   34.55%

*Teddy Gray King     3367    31.32%

*Tim Rood     3276    30.47%

  Sunny Bostrom-fleming    348    3.24%

  Write-in    45     0.42%

Measure BB

*Yes     3049     65.21%

   No      1627     34.79%

Measure CC

*Yes     3013    66.62 %

   No      1510    33.38 %

Final results are pending until completion of all ballots counts and the election results have been certified. The results should be considered firm.

Readers can view any updated Piedmont results at:

https://www.acgov.org/rovresults/236/index.htm

Win or lose on November 6, I want to say thank you.

First, thank you to everyone who supported me in this school board campaign. My biggest thanks to my couldn’t-have-done-it-without-him, uber-campaign-volunteer husband, Rick Smith, who brought his own expertise to the campaign, took on all tasks with good humor, and has been fully and selflessly supportive throughout my time in public service. Deep appreciation to Mary Ireland who, amidst all the work she is involved in, found time to develop and manage my website and design some of my materials.

I am grateful to my campaign committee who signed up early and provided insight, support, and wise counsel: honorary co-chairs Doug Ireland, Valerie Matzger, and Sue Smegal; and committee members Conna McCarthy, Cathie Geddeis, Hilary Cooper, Charlotte Ero, Anne-Marie Lamarche, June Monach, and Rich Raushenbush. And I am honored by the Piedmonters who publicly endorsed my campaign, sent in contributions, agreed to lawn signs, hosted events, voted for me, and were gracious and generous with their encouragement.

Thank you to my fellow candidates. Campaigning with you made me reflect more fully on what I want to accomplish, hone my message, and up my game. It is so important for our democratic process to have choices for open seats and our community is well served by your participation.

It is a privilege to serve this community and to work alongside smart, dedicated, savvy, direct, thoughtful people, from co-school board members, to district leaders/teachers/staff, parents and students, and
civic volunteers. It is my experience that we all work with integrity and honor, keeping our commitment to our true north principles of “kids first” and “all means all.”

I am honored to have served this community for 18 years and, if things go the way I hope, will be honored to serve another four. And if they don’t, then I wish the new board members all the best, knowing they will bring their best selves, as well as their unique perspectives and expertise to this board and this incredible community.

Respectfully,
Amal Smith, Candidate for Re-election, Piedmont School Board

Funding in the amount of $548,333 is coming from the State of California in a program termed “Citizens’ Option” to Piedmont’s Police Department.

There have been no noticed meetings regarding a “Citizens’ Option” public hearing to learn from Piedmonters how they want the $548,333 to be used. It was on the November 5th City Council agenda.

The staff report states in part:

In FY 2018/19, the Piedmont Police Department expects to receive $140,000 from the COPS grant into the SLESA. In addition, funds in the amount of $408,333 are being carried forward from prior years resulting in total funds available of $548,333. Such funds will need to be spent or encumbered by June 20, 2019. 

FISCAL IMPACT:  The funds must be spent or encumbered by June 30, 2019. There are no matching requirements for this grant, and no direct impact on City resources for the fiscal years associated with the action in this staff report. This plan may be adjusted in the future and by no means represents Council approval for non-routine, large-scale procurements such as the license plate readers. Future purchases will be made in accordance with the City’s adopted procurement policies and, prior to any such purchase, staff will provide Council with a full report and detailed request of any proposed procurements that exist within the spending plan.

City Administrator Benoit’s Recommendation at the November 5 Council meeting:

Adopt a resolution accepting the 2018/19 California Citizens Option for Public Safety (COPS) grant in the amount of $140,000 as allocated in the Supplemental Law Enforcement Services Account (SLESA) for the Piedmont Police Department and approve the spending plan to purchase items supporting frontline law enforcement services. 

Read the full staff report including the spending plan by clicking below.

http://www.ci.piedmont.ca.us/html/govern/staffreports/2018-11-05/FY18-19COPS.pdf

For more information on COPS grants go to > https://www.sco.ca.gov/ard_payrments_cops.html

The City of Piedmont and the Piedmont Unified School District are joining together to collect books for children who lack access to reading materials.

The drive will benefit the East Bay Children’s Book Project, which helps build literacy by putting books into the hands of children who have little or no access to them.

The Book Drive is focused on books for younger children, but we are happy to collect new or gently used books for students up to eighth grade. Textbooks, religious books, encyclopedias, magazines, adult books or library discards will not be accepted.

Books will be collected at the Veterans Hall between 3:00-5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, November 21.

Residents can bring books to donate as they collect their bibs for the Turkey Trot!

Between now and then, books can also be dropped in a box on the porch at 147 Arbor Drive.

“As we prepare for Thanksgiving and the holidays, it feels good to share the joy of reading,” said Board of Education President Sarah Pearson. “By donating books for young readers, we hope to foster a love of reading that will last a lifetime.”

“The Thanksgiving Book Drive is an opportunity for the City, the School District, and our community to join together in the spirit of giving,” said Mayor Bob McBain.

For more information on the Thanksgiving Book Drive, please contact the Superintendent’s office at (510) 594-2614.

Community Hall, 711 Highland Avenue,

Thursday, November 8  – 7 pm

On November 8, 2018 at 7:00PM, the City of Piedmont will host a community workshop on how residents can achieve climate action goals at home. The workshop will help residents determine how they can do their part to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions through electrification of home appliances combined with electricity from 100% renewable sources.

The workshop will include presentations from East Bay Community Energy (EBCE), StopWaste, and Community Energy Services Corporation (CESC). These presentations will provide information on EBCE, Piedmont’s new local clean power provider, benefits and ways to electrify your homes, and on electric heat pump water heaters.

An EBCE representative will talk about the 100% renewable energy plan residents are automatically enrolled in. Following EBCE, a representative from StopWaste and CESC will present information on ways to make your homes more energy efficient. It is essential for residents to learn more about EBCE as they are the new community choice aggregation (CCA) for Piedmont that will provide 100% renewable energy to your homes. The 100% renewable energy plan will go into effect this November.

For more information about this workshop or to be added to the climate action email list, please contact Assistant Planner Mira Hahn at mhahn@piedmont.ca.gov or (510) 420-3054.

The following Letter to the Editor of The Piedmont Post was sent to the Post, but was not published in the Post.  It is published here for PCA readers.

VOTE NO on CC – Unacceptable City Charter changes.

CC  – the “hire, but can’t fire” proposal –  would unacceptably change Piedmont’s successful government by prohibiting the City Council from acting to retain or terminate their chosen Department Heads – Fire Chief, Police Chief, Finance Director, Recreation Director, etc. 

Piedmonters should not enact this law. It promises problems found in other cities where councils have lost their authority and ability to act.  A new government layer will separate Piedmonters from Council authority. 

Only one person, the unelected City Administrator, would be allowed by Charter to evaluate, direct, retain and terminate Council-hired  key employees -Police, Fire, Finance, Recreation, etc.  

Piedmont’s current Charter works and is coveted by others. 

With 22 years in elected office – Mayor, Council Member, Planning Commissioner, AC Transit President and Director, I have reviewed the Charter proposals and found proposals not in the best interest of keeping Piedmont a great place to live. 

The Charter merits updating, but NOT as proposed by Measure CC.  

Keep Piedmont’s Council strong. Await appropriate Charter change proposals.

VOTE NO on CC at the end of your ballot. 

Alice Creason,

Former: Piedmont Mayor, Council Member, Planning Commissioner, AC Transit President, Director, Piedmont Beautification Foundation Trustee