PRESS RELEASE

Partisan Politics, Gamesmanship and Obstructionism Handcuff County Efforts to Address Homelessness.

Geof Bard, Advocate Member of the South Coast Homeless Advisory Committee of Santa Barbara County had conducted a one man crusade against obstructionism for staff at the City of Santa Barbara who falsely claimed that California's Brown Act forbid committee members from making any statements on topics concerning the committee. Yet a full quorum of City Council members attended a closed private meeting of opponents to an eight bed housing facility for the poor, and Councilman Dale Francisco, a stark persecutor of the poor and very poor, had coordinated a Quixotic attempt by the City Council to overthrow the Brown Act. Despite the fact that cities have no jurisdiction in the matter, the naked attempt to blame the Brown Act for all of the dysfunction which has characterized the conservative-dominated City Council backfired, leaving Francisco and his Republican/Independent cronies with egg all over their faces.

As the July meeting of the SCHAC approaches, yet another attempt to grab power has been instituted by staff in an attempt to falsify the committee record and create, by staff fiat, legislative pronouncements which were never motioned, never voted on and never agreed to by the committee as a whole.

Mr. Bard announces that he intends to file a formal complaint to the city attorney, the county attorney and possiblly the District Attorney if what he calls "this fallacious and fraudulent minutes are ratified by the full SCHAC."
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The objected- to minutes read: It was
concluded [by who?? City staff, only, and their co-collaborators in obstructionism] that items should [may] come on the agenda through the co-chairs, via staff who can receive requests
from members. Materials in connection with an agenda item should [may] be sent to staff tolbe sent out with
the meeting packet (agenda, draft minutes, approved minutes, and supporting materials for agenda items).

If Emily Allen is not present it would be inadvisable to proceed on the Report.
Furthermore, I have objections to the language of the report. Due to the mythology perpetrated by city staff and apparently connected to Santa Barbara City Council's Theater of the Absurd regarding the Brown Act, I have not been permitted to communicate in an appropriate manner to provide input on this report as such the report is incomplete. Among other problems it (1) conflates homelessness with criminalilty (2) does not cover under the rubric of property recovery the importance of musical instruments owned by homeless who may lose these instruments which (a) can be their sole source of income and (b) be family heirlooms. This report was written by a narrow type of social service worker without proper input from homeless nor were the formerly homeless representative and advocate representatives fully and properly consulted. Ratification of the report today would be a sham and I reserve the right to file an independent dissent.

Geof Bard - Advocate
Posted at LA Indymedia