So Kelly and Andy emerge from the election victorious. After a few weeks a group started to meet Saturday’s at Andy’s house – his kitchen cabinet. We would go over the weekly council packet and the agenda. We’d go over the history of issues. This group was not a residentialist love fest, but rather brought together people from a variety of backgrounds and Menlo Park locales. It was like a graduate school seminar. A couple of hours and you were mentally spent.
We’d disperse from these meetings assuming we’d know Andy’s thinking. However, frequently we were surprised to hear him afterwards on the council dais – huh? Where’s that come from? He could generate a lot of eye rolling amongst his own fans. I started to suspect that his thinking was greatly influenced by the last person to lobby him, or perhaps even an occasional astrologer.
The Saturday groups were educational, but disbanded after a year or two. It was really a lot of work, it was getting repetitive, and he absorbed all the parties, issues and nuance by then.
Andy really had a heart for the disadvantaged. One example was when Palo Alto was planning an opportunity center near the PAMF clinic, and he wanted Menlo Park to contribute in some fashion. This probably arose from his sensitivity to veterans. We had to bring his attention on Menlo Park rather than Palo Alto.
Andy was passionate. Occasionally Andy would enter a rant from the dais, such as the occasional theme of how the “Almighty Dollar” drove Menlo Park. This was Andy.
Andy was also a swimmer at Burgess pool, and was frequently accompanied around town by his dog Sheila. He grew up in the New York borough of Queens (Astoria, I think, like Archie Bunker.)
You done good, Andy.
