Category: November Ballot

Council member Rick DeGolia

Update on Atherton Issues

November 7, 2017 No Comments

Dear Friends and Neighbors:

This is my periodic letter regarding Atherton and the City Council. If you have any questions or comments, please don’t hesitate to respond. I answer every communication.

The Council has been working in an extremely open and cooperative manner for three years. 2016-2018 is a period of unprecedented Atherton Capital Improvement Projects. That is what I focus on here, but I will start with a short note on the Parcel Tax.

Parcel Tax: Measure F
Measure F is on the ballot for this Tuesday. PLEASE VOTE. It is important that we continue this tax for three years so that we can continue to use its funds to afford two police officers (including our school resource officer) and continue to invest in our important road maintenance programs. This is only a three year measure because in three years we should free up the projected surplus that is fully committed to help pay for the town center. This $750/parcel goes 100% to our police and roads, plus some to drainage. We need your vote now.

Marsh Road Drainage Project
In 2016, we completed a $4m drainage project to rebuild the Marsh Rd portion of the Atherton Channel and install a new, award-winning safety wall to keep cars out of the channel. This was the most costly project in Atherton’s history. We also installed the first pedestrian-initiated streetlight on El Camino Real at Almendral, where a pedestrian was killed two years before. CalTrans is now installing two more in Atherton and 13 on ECR.

HPP Water Capture Facility
In 2017, CalTrans awarded Atherton a $13.6m grant to build a water treatment and retention facility. This is designed for placement under one of the fields in Holbrook-Palmer Park. It will enable Atherton to satisfy our storm water treatment obligations to remove road-based waste from the Channel. This is the first of 5-6 similar CalTrans funded projects around SF Bay to control storm water pollution. Atherton will support the Bay cleanup, we will get a very significant supply of clean water for our park, it will enable us to manage excessive flows during large storms and we will get significant upgrades to our entry bridge, our irrigation system and the field under which the facility is built. It will be very disruptive for two years during construction. The Council has the right to walk away once we have seen the design and can weigh the costs and benefits. There is no cost to Atherton.

Atherton Town Center
In 2018, Atherton will start construction on our new town center. This $52m project includes $17m for the new library and $1m or so from a proposed CA Energy Commission grant to pay for solar panels, which would make this the FIRST Zero Net Energy civic center in California, resulting in greatly reduced operating costs after completion in mid to late 2020.

This new town center will include a complete reconfiguration of the streets in the current parcel surrounding the train station. Ashfield Rd will end at our historic Town Hall (which will become part of the new library) and a new street will connect Ashfield to Fair Oaks Lane. If you or someone you know would like to name that new road, please contact me. There are several naming opportunities within this project.

The new town center is being paid for with a combination of private donations and 100% of our unreserved, unallocated general fund surplus; however, we would like to increase private donations to enable us to use the surplus for other capital improvement projects, so please support this important community improvement with a tax deductible gift.

Please Vote on November 7,

Rick DeGolia
​Atherton City Council​
Atherton, CA 94027
650.793.2800 (m)

Congratulations, Rick!

November 9, 2013 No Comments

Results of the 2013 Election, to fill the remaining one-year term for the seat of departed Councilmember, Jerry Carlson:

 

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Message from Rick DeGolia:

I want to thank everyone who has contributed to this campaign, whether by working on this website, hosting or attending one of the 15 neighborhood meetings, putting up a yard sign, donating to the campaign, expressing your concerns and opinions about issues facing Atherton or voting in the election.  Throughout this process, I have met more residents and made more friends than I thought possible when I began.  I am deeply honored by the depth of support that I received and I am thrilled to be able to join the Atherton City Council on December 4.

The experience of this election has strengthened my belief that Atherton is a truly special place and that people want to see change.  In addition, I want to give sincere thanks to Jerry Carlson for his exceptional service to Atherton and how seriously he represented our town in the many regional bodies in which he participated.  I am proud to count him as a friend and a mentor.  I also want to thank Greg Conlon and Diane Sandhu for their commitment to Atherton. I look forward to working with each of them on the issues facing Atherton into the future.

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DeGolia campaign takes high ground

October 8, 2013

LawnSignforWebSiteIn a development that is reminiscent of the bitter political battles characterizing the council era dominated by a circle of long-time political insiders, lawn signs placed by the “Elect Rick DeGolia” campaign around town have been reported missing.  All of the missing signs had been placed at the request of, and with the permission of, the homeowners.

Writing to supporters, Rick chose to take the high ground regarding these thefts.  He suggested that while he didn’t know who was doing this, that part of the possible motivation was to generate controversy in his campaign that they could then capitalize on.  Instead of responding with an approach that gets negative press, Rick wrote: “I think that the right solution is to replace the signs as quickly as possible . . . .  The best response to this theft is quickly increase the number of signs that were out there.”

“The reason that they are doing this is because they are threatened: I got my signs out early and I only put them in locations where I received permission from the property owner.  Someone obviously feels threatened by my candidacy.   I have been endorsed by a very broad range of Atherton residents.  I have been told that this is the broadest support that someone has had in 30 years.  I am proud of that.  The right way to fight back is to fight back in numbers, not in the press.”

Rick has now ordered and received another 100 signs and, while Rick is not willing to engage in the same old “fighting with accusations in the press,”  he continues to campaign with a very vibrant and active schedule of resident-hosted events where he meets and talks with an increasingly broad cross-section of the community.  We invite you to come meet Rick at one of these events and we thank those of you who have gotten to meet Rick for making contact with your friends and neighbors about Rick’s positive campaign.  We welcome all supporters and we will continue to provide those who would like a lawn sign placed or replaced at their home.  

Atherton voters to pick council member and consider renewing parcel tax Nov. 5

August 1, 2013

By Bonnie Eslinger, Daily News Staff Writer

Posted Online:   07/18/2013 08:18:15 PM PDT | [Re-posted here 8/1/13]

The Atherton City Council this week gave residents two reasons to go the polls Nov. 5 — to choose a new council member and decide whether to renew a parcel tax.

At its meeting Wednesday night, the council voted 3-1 to forget about trying to appoint a replacement for Jerry Carlson, who resigned mid-term on July 1. Council Member Bill Widmer cast the dissenting vote, saying “I don’t like to lose my options.”

Under state law, the council had only 60 days from July 1 to either appoint Carlson’s replacement or call for an election by July 15 to make the November ballot, according to City Attorney William Conners.

The council’s four remaining members called for the election July 11 after failing to select someone that a majority of them could agree on from among seven candidates.

Mayor Elizabeth Lewis suggested Wednesday that the council take another stab at appointing someone after Aug. 9 — the last day candidates can file to run for Carlson’s seat. Council Member Bill Widmer agreed, but Vice Mayor Cary Wiest opposed the idea, saying it would be “unfair” to candidates to effectively delay their campaigns for three weeks on the chance an appointment might be made after all.

Counci Member Jim Dobbie subsequently motioned to continue with the election, Wiest seconded it and Lewis cast a third vote, telling Widmer, “I changed my mind.”

Rick DeGolia, whose appointment to the council Lewis and Wiest had supported, told The Daily News he plans to run. John Ruggiero, whose appointment was backed by Widmer and Dobbie, said he “probably” would run as well.

[Click here to continue reading this San Jose Mercury News article.]