Abuse of Taxpayer Money – True or False

Some claim this recall will cost hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars. They point their fingers at recall proponents and ask where the money is coming from. To be exact, this recall will cost the City of Millbrae a total of $155,000, or a one-time expense of $7for each resident.

 But where do we see real abuse of taxpayer money?

Goodman and Cahalan supported La Quinta, even though they received emails from hundreds and thousands of their constituents telling them Millbrae could not afford the project. Goodman dismissed our concerns and actually opined during a Council meeting that Millbrae could not afford not to – thus showing both a lack of fiscal responsibility and disregard for the city’s ability to fund basic services. City staff - not us - projected a $30M deficit for the City of Millbrae from the La Quinta conversion. So, let us ask -where will this money come from?

How about the fact that this La Quinta conversion deal would cost more than building a supportive housing complex from scratch, based on numbers from a San Mateo Grand Jury Audit? It’s also a fact that the Millbrae transaction is far more expensive than purchasing a newer, nicer, and larger La Quinta Inn in SSF. Why do these politicians and county officials reject other locations? Is there still accountability? Are they aware of California’s budget deficit of $73 Billion!? Those who hypocritically accuse recall proponents of taxpayer abuse need first to recognize the far greater abuses that we are trying to prevent!

https://calmatters.org/politics/capitol/2024/02/california-budget-deficit-balloons/

Goodman and Cahalan have had ample time to work with their constituents and listen to them.  They chose to go a different route. That was their intention from Day 1!  They attempt to downplay or excuse their actions by claiming that Millbrae council members had no say in the decision, and that La Quinta was ‘a done deal.’  FALSE!  They both had a say – and could have voted along with our other council members to send a letter of objection to the County. They chose instead to align with outside interests over the welfare of their constituents. In fact, they both accepted Housing Leadership Awards from the Housing Leadership Council weeks after the 9/12/2023 vote. 

Note that all funding for the recall campaign has been at the grass roots level – 100% funded by residents. https://public.netfile.com/Pub2/AllFilingsByFiler.aspx?id=211013282

In striking contrast – the funding for their defense campaigns appears to derive fromwealthy philanthropists from out of town and activists. https://public.netfile.com/Pub2/AllFilingsByFiler.aspx?id=211567630