A Moragan Writes About Tuesday's Parks and Rec Meeting

Editor's Note: The accompanying video was taken at a recent Town Council hearing on Rancho Laguna Park. It is not from the Parks and Rec Commission meeting.

Editor:

Too bad someone hasn’t posted a recording of Tuesday night’s Moraga Park and Rec Commission meeting. It would’ve been a smash hit!

The standing-room-only meeting at the Hacienda included much talk about the dog park at Rancho Laguna Park. One citizen made a presentation, followed by public comments – all of which were civil and intended to provide information to the commissioners. That is, until the commission chair, Liz Faora, became agitated in the midst of one of the speaker’s comments. Ms. Faora began waving her hands in the air and yelled, “There will be NO blame in this meeting, do you understand, NO blame.” 

Until that moment, there had been no mention of “blame.”  This was just the beginning of the meeting’s fireworks.  After another speaker’s comment, Ms. Faoro suddenly rose from her seat at the commissioners’ table, came towards the center aisle and approached Bill Carman (active with Lamorinda Dog Park), leaning toward him in an intimidating way, and yelled, “I hate you people!”  Yes, she yelled.

She then stomped up the aisle and out the door.  The standing-room audience was shocked. After a semblance of order was restored, the meeting was reopened for public comment.  When I raised my hand and attempted to speak, the town manager (seated in the audience), thrust her hand in front of my face and said sharply, “You can’t talk now.”  I was stunned and my immediate response to her was “You can’t tell me what to do.  If you were my mother, I’d listen.  But you’re not.”  After that, she kept her hands to herself.

The behavior of the commission chair (and the town manager) is juvenile and clearly a blatant attempt to stifle public comment.  Shame on the commission for tacitly condoning such actions.

Steve Smith,
Moraga

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