Council Conduct and Public Perception

by Bonnie Donovan

Presence of a child at the dais: Several comments focused on Council Member Meagan Harmon’s child being present, with reactions ranging from confusion to critiques of perceived privilege. These remarks reflect broader tensions around decorum, accessibility, and expectations in public service.

An Eastside Neighbor’s View on Equity and Respect

As someone who lives on the Eastside and cares deeply about our community, I attended the appeal hearing to support my neighbors and see how decisions are made. What I saw was hard to ignore. One Eastside father sat through four long hours with his children, doing his best to keep them quiet and respectful in the pews. He didn’t have help, and he didn’t ask for special treatment—he just showed up, like so many of us did, because we care. Meanwhile, Councilmember Harmon had her child at the dais, receiving what looked like informal babysitting from city staff. The contrast was striking. It felt like a reminder that some people get accommodations and others are expected to endure. If the city truly values equity and inclusion, it needs to show that in how it treats working families—especially those from neighborhoods like ours, who often carry the weight of civic engagement without the benefit of institutional privilege.

And Then There Were More

I was forwarded the following text from neighbors who went to the appeal on Tuesday August 12th on Milpas Garden project. (418 Milpas Street).

Direct Quotes from Neighbors (Texts & Emails):

From Neighbor 1:

• “Why was that child sitting up at the dais? That was strange and distracting.”

• From Neighbor 2:

• “Much as I'm all for women's rights I found myself distracted when her daughter walked around. I found myself watching her and wondering what she would do or go. Meanwhile our neighbor didn't have a choice but to bring his children. He didn't have benefit of publicly funded daycare, while our Council member displayed her privilege on the dais.”

• From Neighbor 3:

• “It looked like Meagan Harmon could not afford a babysitter, so we had a new minor underage City Council Member on the board???”

Back to the Appeal

The following came through email:

“Our politically correct Council would never do anything about it.”

• “Just finished watching the hearing. I had to leave when Sneddon kept talking about the Builder’s Remedy confusion.”

• “Natasha: Did an incredible job. Many moons ago I teamed up with Gil Barry to fight City Hall. He’s a talented guy and gave a compelling presentation.”

• “Sad to say, Scott Weiner has convinced other Sacramento politicians to back us into a corner. They’ve screwed us. Our city leaders are fearful of the financial consequences of pushing back. Our planning staff, I feel, agree with Scott Weiner, and are not inclined to be helpful.”

• As for the Council: my opinion on Sneddon improved. Not so much on Harmon and Friedman. They folded. And Jordan really irritated me. He asked questions knowing full well he was never going to uphold the appeal. I look at his actions as disingenuous and cruel.

• That’s my take (for what it’s worth).

• We should be screaming at the state politicians for creating this nightmare.

• Note: The developer’s attorney tapped the ABR member on the shoulder to prompt him to speak at the podium on behalf of the project. Pretty sleazy if you ask me.

• And what was with Harmon’s kid up there? –Joe Guzzard

Credit Due Where Credit Earned

I’m a critic of council member Sneddon all the time. But I’ll give credit when credit is earned. During the appeal Kristen questioned staff regarding the solar study and good for you Kristen!

Here’s why she questioned the staff:

Neighbors of the project have said many times and again at the appeal “So now the sun rises in the West and sets in the East”.

You have to believe this now because it was on the plans. The approved plans! Why didn't the staff catch this during review? Why didn’t the Planning Committee or ABR?

When I questioned the appellant about this, she gave me the following response.

“The story on that ... I was looking at the "solar study" the ABR praised the applicant for providing on the plans. As I looked at the shadowing at 9am, noon, and afternoon it was clear that it wasn't accurate. It was totally backwards!

So, I told a couple of neighbors, "These guys think the sun rises in the West and sets in the East."

The bigger point being that Staff and ABR overly rely on the applicant's research without questioning it, without verification, and without doing their own due diligence – all at the expense of the residents.

I believe Britta Bartels used that line in her public comments because she and Joar will be so impacted by the loss of sunlight.

The bigger problem is how inaccurate the developer's solar study is when it comes to their loss of sunlight. Joar has a palm tree that is a bit shorter than the 4-story building. It is exactly at the property line where their wall will be. Its shadow moves across his roof showing the lived, daily shadow study. Meanwhile, everyone on ABR, PC, and the applicant ignored that reality. The dismissal of lived daily experience shows how disconnected they are and how little they care for the neighbors.”

Again, Thank you Kristen, please follow-up on this.

The appeal, led by Natasha Todorovic, was ultimately denied in a 4–3 vote, allowing the Milpas Gardens project to proceed. Although [the appeal] is in Natasha’s name only, small donation funds were raised by a GoFundMe and volunteers walking the eastside neighborhood. Now that’s grassroots.

Natasha thanks Mayor [Randy] Rowse and Councilwoman Wendy Santamaria for their follow-up after the appeal.

Our City Budget Gets Hit Yet Again

Recall last week's column on the city’s proposed budget with a possible projected deficit of $8,052,695.00 for fiscal year 2026.

This week's city council meeting was short, starting at 2:00 PM and done by 3:25 PM.

Within that short period of time, they approved the $500,000.00 for migrant services and an additional Three MILLION dollars to SB Housing Authority for Carrillo/Castillo Commuter Lot housing project that they had already given $7,000,000.00.

Fiscal Accountability Scorecard: Tracking Council Votes Ahead of the 2026 Election

With the upcoming election for Mayor and three City Council seats, it’s time to start keeping track of how our elected officials vote—especially when it comes to spending decisions that impact our city’s financial health.

We are launching a Fiscal Accountability Scorecard to document votes that either support or oppose responsible budgeting, transparency, and long-term sustainability.

Points Awarded for Fiscal Responsibility

Council Member Action Take

Mayor Randy Rowse

Voted NO on two major spending items:

• $500,000 for migrant support

• $3,000,000 additional for Carrillo/Castillo Commuter Lot Housing Project (on top of $7M already allocated)

Randy Rowse cited the city’s projected deficit as reason for opposition.

• Randy Rowse | Vote record, opposed | +2 |

• Eric Friedman | Vote record, approved | -2 |

• Kristen Sneddon | Vote record, approved | -2 |

• Meagan Harmon | Vote record, approved | -2 |

• Mike Jordan | Vote record, absent | absent |

• Wendy Santamaria | Vote record, approved | -2 |

• Oscar Gutierrez | Vote record, approved | -2 |

More on Budgeting and Fiscal Oversight

Last email to share this week:

Subject: City budget and the zero- based budgeting process.

Bonnie. It appears to me that the city is on a track of continuous overspending that makes budgeting the way it is done a pretty useless exercise.

• There appear to be two tracks of concern. Operational spending and legal obligations, liabilities.

• Have you asked whether the staff management have ever explored introducing zero-based budgeting, which forces every city department to justify all their spending proposals going forward, in particular the need and performance justification for the highest cost items?

• And, if justified by excessive costs, or poor performance, why these functions cannot be eliminated, or contracted to outside suppliers at lower costs?

• If not, why not?

• The same standards should be applied to the members of the city council when decisions or actions by the majority of the council propose new unbudgeted spending.

• Under the legal obligations heading, is there a quarterly public review of assets versus obligations?

• Is there an investigation into whether an insurance policy solution is available to maintain an adequate pool of resources to meet the needs of those legal obligations?

Derek

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