I supported Corky in most, if not all, of his campaigns for City Council because I believed that we had a common vision of Richmond’s future. I am optimistic that we will return to that some day, but for now I am dismayed that Corky not only opposes projects I have worked on for years but has taken that opposition to the level of attacking me personally.

The last two City Council meetings, Corky has made inaccurate and erroneous accusations about my relationship with Alten Construction in an attempt to discredit me and my point of view about the Port Security and Operations Center project.

On April 17, Corky acknowledged the inaccuracy of his accusations made on April 3, only to follow up immediately with additional inaccurate accusations.

On April 17, Corky made the following inaccurate statements.

He said, “You have a bone to pick with Alten Construction.”

“ I checked the record of Alten Construction.  They have been in arbitration with only one person in their entire career, but they have been in arbitration three separate times with you.”

“You lost in your arbitration with them.”

“If I am incorrect, please tell me.”

“What you did do … you shouldn’t even be voting, you are a principal [of Rosie the Riveter Trust].”

“Last Friday night, you told me, black folks don’t vote for me anyway, therefore you could care less.”

Let’s break these down one at a time.

• I have no bone to pick with Alten Construction.
• I have never been involved in an arbitration with Alten Construction.
• I have never lost an arbitration with Alten Construction.
• Corky is incorrect.
• I have no conflict of interest with activities involving Rosie the Riveter Trust, on which I serve on the board of directors. Click here for an opinion from the attorney general.
• I never told Corky, “black folks don’t vote for me anyway, therefore you could care less.” As I recall we had a conversation about the upcoming election. I told him that predominantly black precincts typically have not been my biggest supporters in the past, which is a fact. I did not and would never say that “I could care less.” I represent all of Richmond, and I have a record of supporting every resident of Richmond and every neighborhood of Richmond, regardless of location or demographics. I care about everyone in Richmond, and I could not have been elected without broad support throughout Richmond, including from the African American community.

 

There is something about historic buildings that is like fingernails on a chalk board to certain city council members. I have pursued these preservation projects in Richmond as economic development initiatives that ultimately attract millions of dollars in grants and result in the creation of thousands of jobs. For example, Nat Bates, at one time or another either advocated or voted to demolish:

• The Plunge
• The Civic Center
• The Trainmaster Building/ Santa Fe Reading Room (Mechanics Bank in Point Richmond)
• The Ford Building.

 

Bates and Booze are now opposing initiatives that would not only preserve but derive revenue from two historic buildings owned by the City at Point Potrero Marine Terminal. On February 28, they unsuccessfully opposed a proposal to lease the historic General Warehouse building to the National Park Service:

This item was heard before Item I-1. The matter to authorize the city manager and the port director to negotiate and execute all required contractual documents with the General Services Administration (GSA) on behalf of the National Park Services for the lease of the General Warehouse located at the Point Potrero Marine Terminal provided that the lease is for no less than 10 years, the leased premises is approximately 85,000 square feet, the price per square foot is no less than $1.07 per month, and such other terms as directed by the City Council was presented by Port Director Jim Matzorkis, Michael Williams, and City Manager Bill Lindsay. Following discussion, a motion was made by Councilmember Ritterman, seconded by Mayor McLaughlin to approve the item as presented. Discussion pursued and a motion by Councilmember Beckles, seconded by Mayor McLaughlin to call for the question. The motion failed with Councilmembers Ritterman, Beckles, and Mayor McLaughlin voting Ayes; and Councilmembers Bates, Boozé, and Vice Mayor Rogers voting Noe; and Councilmember Butt Absent. The original motion to authorize the city manager and the port director to negotiate and execute all required contractual documents with the General Services Administration (GSA) on behalf of the National Park Services for the lease of the General Warehouse was approved by the following vote: Ayes: Councilmembers Beckles, Ritterman, Vice Mayor Rogers, and Mayor McLaughlin. Noes: Councilmembers Bates and Boozé. Abstentions: None. Absent: Councilmember Butt

Bates and Booze continue to oppose the effort to evaluate the Riggers Loft as a location for the Port security and Operations Center where a Homeland Security grant could be used to rehabilitate it.

Survey Comes Back to Bite Richmond Councilman as Critics Pile On
Public polling can be a useful tool to test what your local constituents think about the most pressing matters of the day or even the performance of city council members. In the city of Richmond, the Chronicle is calling Corky Boozé’s method of gauging public opinion “one for the books” ...and not in a good way. Boozé’s fellow council member Tom Butt runs an e-forum so that residents can interact with the elected official and receive updates about Richmond city business. Boozé previously asked Butt to conduct a survey through his e-forum to see what residents though of Boozé’s job performance on the council. But according to Butt, no time frame was ever set for when he could conduct that survey on his online platform and he happened to release the test at a time when Butt and Boozé are not seeing eye-to-eye on a proposal to redevelop a historic building. The bottom line: the survey results weren’t too pretty.

In introducing the survey results on his site, Butt wrote the following: “I have worked well with Corky in the past, and I look forward to working with him in the future, but I have been dismayed and disappointed of late at the way he has taken to opposing projects and policies I have worked on for years. […] I may not be the smartest City Council person around, but I do have a history of successfully turning rehabilitated historic buildings into economic successes that create jobs. Corky not only didn’t listen to me; he called me out and made seriously erroneous statements about me, personally.”

The Chronicle notes that “More than 100 people responded, and the overwhelming and oft-repeated sentiment was that Boozé is a grand-stander who talks too much and accomplishes too little.”

Boozé has commented that he is taking the criticism in stride by calling it unreflective of the community as a whole and has accused Butt of purposely doing the survey at a time when they are “in disagreement over an issue.” As for throwing Booze under the bus, Butt commented, “I thought it would be good for him.”

Curious about what survey participants actually had to say about Boozé’s performance? You can find the full results here. Participants included rankings with 1 as the lowest score and 5 as the highest. Here are a few excerpts from the results:

• “I voted for him, but he has been a HUGE disappointment and I will never vote for him again.
• “He is an embarrassment to the city of Richmond.”
• “Corky is the most divisive councilmember we have, and that's saying a lot. I believe he should be ranked at -1 at best. He is racist, egotistic, and opportunistic--especially opportunistic.”

Read the full results here. As the saying goes, if you can't stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen.
A Man Named Butt And A Man Named Booze Are At War

Corky Boozé (left) and Tom Butt.
Sometimes it takes a minute for big news in the city of Richmond to reach us over here across the Bay, but today we bring you a developing story involving two city councilmen over there, one named Butt, and the other named Boozé. Corky Boozé is something of a legend in Richmond political circles, having run unsuccessfully for City Council nine times before some people took pity on him and voted him into office in 2010. But Boozé appears to be naive to the political game in this, his first elected office, and a new online poll of over 100 citizens gives the rookie Councilman an average score of 1.8 out of 5. The guy who ran the poll? Veteran Councilman Tom Butt, who supported Boozé's run for office, but now finds himself regularly at odds with him in council chambers.
As the Chron's East Bay columnist Chip Johnson reports, Boozé had actually repeatedly asked Butt to use the popular e-forum on his website to gather some local opinion about Boozé's performance so far in office. The reviews are, largely, bad, and while these may mostly be coming from Butt supporters, they appear to represent a good cross-section of Richmond city wonks who are regularly paying attention to, and disapproving, of Boozé's grandstanding and general divisiveness. One person writes, "Corky is the most divisive councilmember we have, and that's saying a lot." You can read them all here, if you're still intrigued.
Anyway, Butt admits that the timing of the survey was meant to send a message to Boozé, to maybe knock him down a few pegs. "I thought it would be good for him," he says.
We'll be sure to let you know if this story blows up.
[Chron

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By Jay Barmann in News on April 18, 2012 2:50 PM 1