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By Beatrix Geaghan-Breiner
The increasingly frustrating traffic in Menlo Park has incited residents to urge the City Council to take action. The city has plans to initiate public infrastructure projects to ease traffic, but these projects require additional outside funding. One of the city’s targeted projects is a costly reconfiguration of the Dumbarton Corridor, which would more efficiently move drivers between Alameda, San Mateo, and Santa Clara counties.
California’s needs rank low on President Trump’s priorities, so it is unlikely that Menlo Park will get the necessary federal funding without an insider connection. According to Menlo Park’s 2017 mayor, Kirsten Keith, a goal last year was to hire a lobbying firm to represent Menlo Park in Washington, D.C., to garner federal funding for projects. However, when city staff proposed hiring Mercury Public Affairs in a Nov. 2 report, the council received more than 70 emails from Menlo Park residents objecting to these plans.
Mercury Public Affairs is a D.C.-based lobbying firm managed by conservatives. The City Council responded to the negative public reaction by postponing a decision on the plan, pending more discussion. Nevertheless, hiring Mercury is still very much a possibility.
Let’s take a look at the Mercury team. A team leader could be Mercury partner Vin Weber, a former Minnesota Republican congressman and a person of interest in the FBI’s Russia investigation. Robert Mueller’s grand jury is looking into Mr. Weber’s communication with pro-Russian Ukrainian politicians and how that might tie into Trump’s relationship with Russia.
The firm proposed Mercury Managing Director Bryan Lanza to work with the city. Mr. Lanza, deputy communications director for the Trump-Pence campaign and director of communications for Trump’s transition into office, was also the communications director of Citizens United, a right-wing nonprofit that was the successful plaintiff in the 2010 Supreme Court case that gave advantages to moneyed interests in campaigns.
Through Twitter, Mr. Lanza bashes Democrats, especially Hillary Clinton, and retweets President Trump. Following the Nov. 5 Texas church massacre, Mr. Lanza posted a video of Ms. Clinton, dismissing her opinion on gun laws and her presence in the national conversation. He avidly supports the president’s notions of “fake news,” opposes NFL anthem protests, and defends repeal of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) act.
In contrast, Menlo Park, along with Redwood City and San Francisco, is a sanctuary city. City officials, including police, are not to assist Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in their investigations into the immigration status of residents.
Mr. Lanza is against nearly everything the Menlo-Atherton High School community stands for. Our community came together at the sit-in DACA protest, where M-A Dreamers struggled through tears to tell of their hopes, dreams, and fears following repeal. Our football team recently “took a knee” during the anthem at the Sacred Heart Preparatory game. Last November, 1,000 M-A students walked out to protest Trump’s election, waving Mexican flags and posters reading “#SiSePuede” (“Yes We Can”), “My Body My Choice,” and “Brown and Proud.”
From my experience at M-A, I submit that our student body and staff unite against hate and collectively support the minority voices that the Trump administration is trying to silence.
Do we want to align our city with the Trump administration? On one hand, D.C. is dominated by Republicans. Conservative lobbyists will be more effective in making connections — arranging meetings, phone calls, and access of every kind.
However, hiring Mercury does not sit right with much of the Menlo Park community. Residents writing on the City Council email feed and Nextdoor sharply criticized the plan. One resident wrote that she would rather “sit in traffic for the next 8 years than sell [her] soul to the man who has divided this country.” Alternatively, some residents offered a utilitarian perspective, focused on securing funding, regardless of Mercury’s political bent.
To me, and to many other residents, hiring Trump supporters to represent us undermines our city’s values. Our neighborhoods and surrounding cities are home to undocumented citizens, and members of the LGBTQ+ and other minority communities. What will it say about our city if we hire people who advocate against these people’s rights?
Councilwoman Keith says that this topic may be reassessed in January, during the council’s 2018 goal-setting process. When the matter does return to the City Council for discussion, public opinions will be important.
Let the council hear your opinion — email it to city.council@menlopark.org.
Beatrix Geaghan-Breiner is a senior at Menlo-Atherton High School, and a writer for the M-A Chronicle.
“Mr. Lanza is against nearly everything the Menlo-Atherton High School community stands for.”
Maybe the MAHS community is out of touch with how the silent majority in the area feel. Thank you Ms. Beatrix Geaghan-Breiner for your opinion but you do not speak for all of the residents in the area; especially those that voted for DJT and feel he has done his best to bring back common sense to government despite the Democrats continuing roadblocks.
Thank you Ms. Geaghan-Breiner. You speak for me.
MA resident — “…but you do not speak for all of the residents in the area; especially those that voted for DJT and feel he has done his best to bring back common sense to government despite the Democrats continuing roadblocks.”
Uhhhhhhh…the Republican party controls both the House and the Senate. The only reason nothing gets done is that -45 has NO clue about how to govern. All that he has done is to tell Congress, “I want this. Go figure out how to do it.”
But I guess if you’re happy with turning over your government to a Russian agent, that doesn’t matter.
The “silent majority” is a tiny and not-exactly-silent minority. Most Menlo Park residents agree with Beatrice, support the first amendment, believe in protecting the environment, want to help Dreamers have equal opportunity to education and work, and are proud to live in a diverse community.
Thanks, Beatrice, for speaking up. You and your peers will have a mess to clean up, so I hope you can retain that energy and passion as you will need it.
Being linked to Trump doesn’t guarantee that Trump will be friendly to you. Look at the way Trump is treating his former friend and mentor Steve Bannon.
Fake News?
Actually a lot has been done. Travel ban implemented, a conservative on the Supreme Court, Obamacare coming to an end, taxes going down, tax money coming back to workers pockets, Sessions nixing Obamaplan for Feds hands off stand on state marijuana laws and now a fresh look at drilling off the coasts. He is doing a fine job. I may not be in the majority in this area but I am part of the majority in the US. He is upsetting the status quo; not could for the nanny state supporters. And regarding the “Russian Agents”, no indictments that relates to collusion. That shiny object is slowly fading as a distant memory.
“I may not be in the majority in this area but I am part of the majority in the US.” Um, actually, you are neither. The majority of the voters in the US did not vote for your hero. In truth, he came in a poor second in the popular vote and you probably know that but it seems you have drunk the kool-aid being dispensed from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
Bob:
We can agree to disagree. DJT won by a majority of electoral votes, the ones that count. He is President, will be for 3 to 7 more years. You all may dislike it but it is a fact. I enjoyed the comments but I am bringing this to a close for me. Looking forward to discussions in Nov when CA turns into a red state.
How about we debate the central question of Ms. Geaghan-Breiner superbly written and researched article? Do Menlo Park residents have the courage of their convictions or are they willing to let their government make a deal with the devil to make their easy lives slightly more pleasant?
Thanks to Trump maybe congress will enact a legal and permanent plan for the Dreamers,
His predecesor #44 did nothing legal or permanent on their behalf. Finally something will
happen and it will be good for them as well as everyone involved. So many things, like the situation
in North Korea festered for decades gradually getting worse. Again, maybe something positive
will finally happen. For a President with no experience and a lot of opposition he actually managed
to get a lot done during his first year. I think in time even Californians will see the light and be Happy.
Let’s tone it down to a small town discussion. WHY do we need to go to the federal govt for assistance? Why are we going ‘Big’. Maybe we should hire a firm to tell us that the city govt is screwing MP by trying to hard to grow. We’re looking at the corruption of big govt right in our own back yard… dont lose focus and start worrying about WHO the lobbying firm is or who they support – let’s think about the fact that we are getting screwed in our own backyard.
Wow…it seems there are quite a few residents(?) who actually drank down the -45 Kool-Aid.
Can’t wait to see their reaction when the Mueller investigation publishes its final report.
Then again — you can’t convince fanatics…
I am truly surprised by those who believe that Trump has done good for the country, but I respect their right to think that way. Many more folks believe that Mueller’s committee will find incontrovertible proof of involvement with Russia as well as years of money laundering. If you read various sources of info, I think those conclusions are reasonable. However, the question is not our political beliefs, but rather, should we hire a lobbyist to get federal funds for Menlo Park? First, I think there are more desperate communities that could use federal money. I would like to see Flint, Michigan, for example, get funds so the residents of this depressed area could get clean drinking water. I would like to see money go to Puerto Rico. I think it is not morally just to ask for federal money for our rich community. I think state projects which impact everyone like clean water or keeping up interstate roads or international airports are more apt projects for federal monies. I also believe that MP is getting too overbuilt. I believe that well meaning but aggressive council members are getting carried away.
The corporations who benefit by having all the workers commuting to their places of business while screwing up the local and Bay Area traffic should be the ones to pay for all the reworking of the roadways and rails. They’ve been benefiting from their free ride(s) long enough at our expense.
535 members of Congress refuse to communicate or negotiate with each other for a common good & hold this country hostage under the current reality show – beauty pageant operator- several times bankrupt developer -twitter maniac now sitting in the White House. PAC money from special interests & giant corporations rules elections now. The days are sadly gone when conscientious public servants can get elected without having already sold his/her soul & principles to the Deep Pockets who paid for their campaigns. I wish the #MeToo women would speak up about 45’s behaviors, which he brags about. Where are the politicians with spines? Time for a third party rising!
Btw, I’m sick & tired of KK & other past & current council members looking for ways to hire expensive consultants. It hasn’t done much good so far. MP might be better served by settling down to seriously discuss mutual & similar concerns with Palo Alto, Atherton, & Redwood City and negotiating ways forward to solving shared problems.
Downtowner, You said,
“PAC money from special interests & giant corporations rules elections now.”
How much pac money contributed to Clinton, and how much contributed to Trump?
Include the RNC and the DNC campaign contributions,
I don’t know that’s why Im asking, You made the statement, if you know please enlighten us and quote your source,
The floor is yours,
@ The truth please,
Clinton got pac money – I don’t remember how much.. She did have to pay back some that she got for her primary run against Obama. Of course candidates get money from their respective national committees. Duh.
Who contributes money to these? Besides some “regular folk,” pick just about any big bank/corporation/institution or wealthy individual you’d like. There were lots of fund-raising dinner parties thrown in SF, Atherton, Los Altos Hills & Woodside in 2016 for HC. Getty, Whitman & Simpson did, among others. Same thing happens in Los Angeles, NY, CT & lots of other venues.
Campaigns for any office cost money. Big donors often expect something in return, whether it’s access, publicity, or another perk. Some major donors have even gotten ambassadorships.
My point is that the vast amounts of money it takes to keep a national candidate on the road for months, with staff, private air & ground transport, paid advertising, campaign HQ, PR consultants, etc., often incur obligations to the most generous individual & corporate contributors. Scale it back to state levels. Still costs a ton.
Every morning I take a moment to appreciate how fortunate we are that there’s not a Hillary Clinton administration in Washington.
We are blessed for having dodged that bullet.
Thank you Beatrix for speaking out about the ill-founded idea that our little city might spend money on a lobbyist in Washington. Numerous residents objected to that idea, too, pointing out that funding is more likely to come to a coalition of agencies and organizations, not to just one.
It took courage to write, and energy to write a thoughtful piece. Never stop doing that. Our democracy needs its residents to speak their mind and justify their own positions. Sorry that some chose to point fingers at others or change the subject.
Neighbors, trump supporters commonly post with fake names, including the above. They don’t show up in the white pages, linkedin, or a general email search in the area. Probably more russian trolls. don’t take the bait.
I am just curious about the connection of Mrs. Keith to that particular Lobbying Firm.
Who is the connection and what is the “finders fee”?
Sure, there is no connections and she just used the DC Yellow Pages, right?
But I guess the Baylands Swamp is too deep to drain.
Downtowner,
According to the Washington Post reporting as of Dec. 1st 2016, Donald Trump received total contributions of $957M
Clinton received $1.4B, Yes that’s w/ a B, 50% more than Trump and she still lost.
The Super Pacs contributed $79M to Trump and are you sitting down, Clinton received $204M from Super Pacs,
2 1/2 times more than Trump. and she still lost. Getting away from the numbers for a moment,
Everyone in the Democratic camp are telling her to go away. The republicans are begging her to stay in and run again.
She keeps saying she’s not going anywhere, I pray she runs again.
As for her book, She blamed everybody except herself,
Everyone knows “What Happened”, including Bill has stated she took middle America for granted. She just got tired of carrying that large derrier up the campaign plane steps. Who could blame her, those dumb hicks didn’t matter.
Please run again Hillary.
And right on cue, yet another of the -45 trolls shows up.
I guess they must really need the vodka money…
Personally I don’t drink,
But it’s typical, to attack the messenger when you can’t dispute the facts.
Go ahead give it a shot for once.
Start with What Happened?
Then try for the numbers
“But it’s typical, to attack the messenger when you can’t dispute the facts.”
You don’t have facts, Sergei. What you have is babble — and lots of it.
But that’s what you get from the troll factory in Saint Petersberg…
Menlo Park slashed public employee pensions and tries to privatize services whenever possible, keeps its wealthy districts free of affordable housing and “those people”, and now is planning to build a parking garage that’ll incentivize driving in the face of climate change. Sounds pretty Trump-y to me!
Fake,
He just posted facts yet you just go back to ad hominem attacks. Please self reflect to understand better why Trump is President.
Commenter from (supposedly) Menlo Park: Downtown — “He just posted facts yet you just go back to ad hominem attacks. Please self reflect to understand better why Trump is President.”
1) The commenter in question deals in “alternate facts.”
2) The reason that -45 is “formally” the president is due to two factors: One, the fact that due to the anachronistic nature of the Electoral College, the votes of 70,000 people in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania managed to override the will of 65 million Americans who wanted nothing to do with the carnival barker; and second, the nature of -45’s campaign appealed to the basest instincts of voters who want this country to go back to a time that never really existed.
Those are ACTUAL facts. Learn them, you will benefit from them.
To quote a recent President,
” I won didn’t I”.
“I have a phone and a pen”
Hint his name sounds like yo mama
And once again, the -45 cult strikes again.
What Obama and -45 have in common: Holding the office of the Presidency.
What Obama and -45 do not have in common: Obama was actually a competent President.
I’ve just read through the previous comments, which are mostly about (1) Trump is GREAT or (2) Trump is TERRIBLE. The issue is neither. The issue is do we need to hire a firm to lobby for extra funds to handle our traffic issues. I think this is a misuse of funds. If we want to solve the traffic problem, hire traffic experts. Then do what they recommend. There will be people who disagree with the proposed solution. If they disagree, they need to propose a BETTER ALTERNATIVE. If the can’t, it make possibly mean there is no better alternative. I’ve lived here since 1970 and have seen many changes, most of which I’m not crazy about. However, Menlo Park is no longer a suburb of Palo Alto. We are a city in our own right. Have you noticed that Sand Hill Road has nearly the same cache as Wall Street? Yeah, we are not podunk corners, folks. And for better or worse, we have to live with it.
I wish there were some way that the VC’s of SHR, Face Book and other big employers who are the reason our traffic is so bad could be forced to help with the solution. They employ some of the smartest people in our country. Why aren’t we asking them?
Trump lied about giving himself a billion in personal tax cuts.
Do not use a trump related lobbying firm.
Can’t wait for the Mueller investigation and go back and read all these trolls. So many comments yet Trump only got 13percent of the MP vote.
Fake,
Only fact from your response is you have no clue why we have an electoral college to begin with. The crafters were way smarter than you can ever imagine yourself being here on a very local comment board.
And I’m a 40 plus year MP native.
@Redpill — Your insistence that you somehow have some sort of wisdom due to the fact that you are a 40-plus year native of Menlo Park only proves that you can’t make an actual argument.
Remember: There was a time when the Founders insisted that members of the United States Senate be elected, not by the voters of a given state, but by the legislatures of the states in question (which led to some very interesting scenarios). Guess what? That is no longer the case.
Circumstances change. Which is more than one can say of certain people.