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Assembly Member Jerry Hill District 19
Hill's Half Moon Bay Bailout Bill Fails
Freshman Assemblyman Jerry Hill’s quest to bring home $10 million in the form of a state loan to the City of Half Moon Bay has come to an expected and obvious halt.
Half Moon Bay owes developer Charles “Chop” Keenan approximately $18 million as the result of a judgment stemming from a federal lawsuit against the city over the so-called Beachwood Property in Half Moon Bay.
According to a settlement deal reached last year between Keenan and the City, the City will pay Keenan $18 million for the property – with the note coming due next month. The City will then own the property outright, but what can be done with the parcel remains to be seen as the development of the property which is host to wetlands was the subject of the lawsuit and much political combat.
Over the past year, the City has attempted to arrange for alternate means of paying off the debt through a series of bills introduced by Hill, former Assemblyman Gene Mullin and Senator Leland Yee all to no avail.
Hill’s latest attempt, Assembly Bill 650, was a curious last ditch effort that would have diverted various bond funds including as much as $5 million that fund the State Coastal Conservancy, a non-starter for many in the enviro.JPG)
nmental community.
Oddly, Hill, in a prepared statement sent to the media, blamed the demise of the legislation on Half Moon Bay’s City Council for their own contingency actions in preparing to pay the debt.
“Unfortunately, the collective actions of the City Council last week and the recent announcement that the city would not file for bankruptcy, coupled with the $20 billion state budget deficit impacted the willingness of my legislative colleagues to support AB 650.”
Hill was referring to the fact that at last week’s Half Moon Bay City Council meeting the city council agreed to a $15 million bond to pay the settlement, a seemingly prudent action to take which will now be the only option available to the City.
According to City reports, at anticipated rates, the $15 million worth of bonds will cost Half Moon Bay an estimated $32 million over the next 30 years.
Watch Fiona Run!
SF / San Mateo County Assembly Member Fiona Ma
A couple of weeks ago, San Francisco Assemblywoman Fiona Ma announced at a Democratic women’s event in San Francisco that she would soon be making a bid to be the next Speaker of the State Assembly.
The current Speaker, Assemblywoman Karen Bass of Los Angeles, is in her third and final term in the State Assembly, having been elected Speaker by her colleagues in May of 2008.
It is not clear when Ma would make her move but there are rumblings from Sacramento that Bass may out of the Speaker’s post as early as the end of this Legislative Year.
Ma, who also represents a portion of San Mateo County including Daly City, Colma and the unincorporated community of Broadmoor, is in her second term. Ma made an unsuccessful bid for Speaker in 2008 but moved aside in favor of Bass.
Ma’s political mentor is the still powerful former State Senator and Congressman John Burton who was recently elected chair of the California Democratic Party.
With such backing, Ma may be in a good position to take the Assembly’s top spot.
Such positioning may be useful for Ma if she considers running to succeed Senator Leland Yee when Yee leaves office.
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