UNABLE TO CRACK THE COUNCIL MAJORITY, CASSIDY IS PULLING THE STRINGS IN OTHER PLACES
By Steven Tavares
steven.tavares@eastbaycitizen.com
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San Leandro Councilwoman Pauline Cutter has seemed like a fish out of water since winning a seat on the council last November despite spending the last decade on the city’s school board. On numerous occasions she has voiced confusion during certain points of discussion while claiming she felt her knowledge of the subject was deficient or maintaining unfamiliarity with some sections of issues about to be voted upon.
San Leandro Mayor Stephen Cassidy |
Some have chalked it up to inexperience that comes with being a rookie on the city council. Council members say it takes at least a year to get into the swing of things, but Cutter is not neophyte to local government. So what gives? Where does this feeling of being kept in the dark come from?
In the past month, Councilwoman Diana Souza has also begun to voice a similar complaint regarding the perception of certain voices and information being swept under the rug by the new mayor.
During Monday night’s approval of the fiscal budget for next year, Souza asked a question regarding an amendment to the budget referring to the hiring of a city liaison to the Alameda Fire Department with costs defrayed by the participation of neighboring cities. Mayor Stephen Cassidy interrupted and ask her to ask the question at a later time, which lead Souza to this objection:
“The problem I have,” said Souza, “if we don’t talk about it now, as Councilwoman Cutter says, when is the appropriate time then is it already done and we really feel like we don’t have a say and then when we get to the these meetings it’s like, well, our hour-and-a-half is gone, ask your question at the next meeting. When we keep pushing off these important questions to deal with, it’s frustrating.”
The general confusion among some council members over input and the process of decisions at the committee level is growing and points yet again to Cassidy’s constant inability to, as Councilman Michael Gregory is want to say, count to a majority of four votes on the council.
This isn’t the first time Souza has voiced this complaint in council hearings. Last month she uttered nearly the same comment even making allusions to the finance committee’s switch to work around Cassidy’s work schedule to an early morning session starting at 8:15 a.m. and ending promptly 90 minutes later.
Along with the Cassidy’s failure to hire a new city manager through the less transparent ad-hoc committee process, quite a few decisions are being made outside the view of the full city council, if the repeated comments by Cutter and Souza are true.
This is how Cassidy’s uneventful four years on the school board ended with nary an agreement save for fellow trustee Mike Katz and appears to be growing into the common thread running through his first six months on the job at City Hall.
Fake Manuel is back! YAY. Back to the story…Pauline Cutter is about as sharp as a ball, almost the same for Souza. Cassidy, while I like his views on many things,is not so hot at getting consensus from his fellow council members, he needs to work on his political skills and relationship building.
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Manuel–learn how to spell and capitalize. I can tell you didn't graduate.
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my agenda had i been mayor which was never truly realized due to the liberals and the niggers was to get this city back to it's heyday as the first Pleasanton of the east bay. We need to have city border patrol to keep the spokls and wet backs out as well as racial deportation of any non whites from the city. People said I was crazy but if a true beautiful safe utopia would have been born from my craziness people would have worshiped me!!
Manuel
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Manuel, show some class. Paul Vargas was better than this.
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I'm as serious as a cross burning on your lawn.
Manuel
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Manuel, you have got to be kidding
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no shit, libtards and faggots are indoors who wouldn't know a good thing if it poked them in the ass. Pun intended
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Damn Manuel–they didn't vote for you either! xoxo
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I love men.
Manuelxoxo
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Cassidy was supported by SLCAN–the most liberal group in San Leandro.
p.s. Why do you put down the LGBT community by using derogatory terms?
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Good explanation! making us wonder!
That's what Sarah Palin was doing when she claimed Paul Revere was warning “the British that they weren't going to be taking away our arms, by ringing those bells and by making sure that as he's riding his horse through town to send those warning shots and bells…”, and that's what Mooselini was doing when she insisted she was right and doubled down on the stupid when asked by reporters about this mangling of American history.
She's making us wonder, all right.
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Cassidy is the real deal no bullshit mayor this city needs. He doesn't pussy foot around or worry about what PC liberal faggots say or think. I hope he bought that house on purpose just to make you all wonder! let the man do his job, cleaning up after Santos
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Anon above–please say something intelligent if you can. Why waste our time if you don't have anything to add to the topic.
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too bad neither one of the above posters fathers were gay…. Wed have 2 less communist pussies in the world
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The homophobic projection in these comments is wonderfully hilarious.
Thanks, silly people- I needed the laugh! Try not to think about George Clooney in the shower…or maybe you're bear lovers!
Not that there's anything wrong with that…
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Do you think you're a real man because you can swear! You are not! It makes you look childish and not very intelligent if that's the only way you can express yourself. Grow up and start acting like an adult. Just saying.
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Wtf…. You must be a faggot. No real man gets fake and bake or uses pussy shit in his hair. Cassidy is a real fucking man not a bitch commi libtard
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Check your facts … There is always a balanced budget … It's the law. Cassidy is a disgrace. He's never going to gain confidence if he keeps dividing the council.
And nice photo … Bozo in a bow tie! Ever heard of hair conditioner or a self tanner?
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Santos must have butt fucked all you whiners so bad that you can't see that we have a balanced budget and every council member except starosiak was happy.
Cassidy sweats a bunch and doesn't play well with others he has been useless.
His first major project hiring a city manager has been embarrassing to watch
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Santos' butt-boy.
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More whimsy baby talk from Steven Aka “santos's private ball handler”. You have to come to grips that Santos was fucking horrible mayor who had no spine or conscious and Cassidy is the Viking dragon slayer this city needed to shut up all the pussy liberals! give em hell mayor ginger!!
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Tavares – give it a rest. You're like Chip Johnson to Ron Dellums; only your arguments don't have any merrit.
It's common knowledge that Cutter and Souza are dolts who barely understand the concept of city government. I was at a Sentinels breakfast where council candidates had to give a speech – Souza read hers without looking up.
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Great job Mayor Cassidy. A HR consultant was brought in to help oversee the CM hiring process at who knows how much, you apparently did not like any of the applicants for the position, of which only 5 or 6 people applied for. Now you want an outside firm to bring in more candidates. How much is that going to cost? Your promise of a transparent government was a lie.
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