Watching last week’s City Council meeting wind down on Channel 6 was a surreal experience. With the exception of the feather-boa-festooned ladies of the Red Hat Society, who were there to receive a proclamation (and joyously bewilder the rest of us), City Hall’s chambers were nearly emptied by 6pm, with the meeting adjourning soon after – virtually the council equivalent of a half-day. But judging from the pileup in chambers earlier that morning, you can’t blame everyone for escaping the wreckage. The council schism solidified in the taxi franchise debate, which returned for still-tentative passage on second reading, while dueling Eastside opinions debated the controversial men’s shelter controlled by the Push-Up Foundation.
Push-Up’s problems are numerous: Their buildings have been cited with dozens of code violations – electrical, infrastructure problems, and more – while the fundraising car washes they sponsor haven’t sat well with some neighbors. With this history of problems, staff presented to council a four-month funding extension for the foundation – albeit to be renewed on a month-to-month basis.
Finding themselves on opposite ends of the argument were two Eastside political institutions: Push-Up received a scathing attack from Lori Renteria, saying that the car wash and code violations had been a blight and that the organization skirted scrutiny by changing its business status, most recently to some sort of faith-based agency – where, according to Renteria, you can’t go without getting a Bible waved in your face. On the other side was El Concilio veteran Gavino Fernandez, who’s recently adopted a jaunty fedora for his appearances before council and who said the shelter does a yeoman’s job. While this writer is somewhat of a neophyte to the impenetrable politics and long-aged beefs of the Southeast neighborhood’s political scene, methinks it no mere chance that Renteria and Fernanadez were pulling opposite ends of the Push-Up. Foundation director Ben Ogbodiegwu seemed almost oblivious to the political fireworks, content with making his own case to the council.
It seemingly worked, for despite the decidedly mixed reviews – the repeated violations, Renteria’s case, and the foundation’s history of receiving cash advances, not a terribly popular occurrence for a nonprofit, said Health and Human Services director David Lurie – council proceeded with the tentative contract, thinking it sends a strong enough message that the group needs to resolve its problems or lose funding. Just as long as they stay out of the bikini-car-wash business.
Dispatcher Dunkerley
The potholed road to a new taxi franchise was traveled once more, with the lines between Mike Martinez and Betty Dunkerley drawn even more sharply. Martinez led the insurgency on first reading, awarding the franchise to cab co-op Lone Star, while Dunkerley, a former city staffer accustomed to looking under the taxi businesses’ hoods, wanted to stick with staff-recommended Capital City Cab. On second reading, Dunkerley made an amended motion for continuing with Lone Star but adding language to “clearly state” 51% of the company be owned by the co-op’s owner-operators – seemingly to make certain a few big funders don’t swoop in and buy up most of the company’s shares, or at least to confirm that the business delivers on its promises to the council.Martinez bristled somewhat at the new requirements, which would also codify the computerized dispatch system promised by Lone Star – indeed, if the other company were awarded the franchise, would it have to hop through the same hoops? “I’m not sure we can change criteria for awarding the franchise in middle of the game. … I’m curious as to how we’re able to issue additional criteria at that point,” he said. Nonetheless, the franchise award again passed 4-3, with Dunkerley – the very motion’s sponsor – voting no with Sheryl Cole and Brewster McCracken. No doubt the rumor meter keeps running until third reading, scheduled May 17, when Cap City CEO Zak Foto returns from family matters.
Council won’t return until next week, May 3, when Lee Leffingwell’s citywide water-conservation initiative will be presented. Start the waterworks!
This article appears in April 27 • 2007.