{"id":93,"date":"2008-08-22T17:00:00","date_gmt":"2008-08-22T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/terragrafix.com\/blog\/?p=93"},"modified":"2008-08-22T17:00:00","modified_gmt":"2008-08-22T17:00:00","slug":"all-this-development-is-good-for-you-just-ask-the-city-councils-pricey-pr-expert","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.thesecretnewsonline.com\/?p=93","title":{"rendered":"All This Development IS Good for You: Just Ask the City Council’s Pricey PR Expert"},"content":{"rendered":"
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$15,000 PowerPoint to “Hone in on Certain Messages”<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/div>\n

PROPAGANDA n. Any widespread or systematic dissemination or promotion of particular ideas, practices, etc. to further one\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s own cause or to damage an opposing one. Often used disparagingly to connote deception or distortion. <\/span><\/div>\n

by Brian Donahue<\/p>\n

There has been a lot of talk in Emeryville lately about all the new development, and whether or not the community has benefited. Mindful of growing public concern, the City Council is moving to head off public disapproval — not with a change in direction, but with a pricey public relations campaign aimed at convincing voters that the Council\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s development-at-any-cost strategy is paying huge dividends to residents.<\/p>\n

The campaign, by the way, is being paid for with your tax dollars . At a Council meeting June 17th, the Council voted (4-0) to spend $15,500 on a PowerPoint presentation extolling the virtues of all the new development and, perhaps more ominously, to smooth the way for increasing the pace of development to come. Helen Bean, the city’s Director of Economic Development and Housing, urged the Council to craft the presentation to \u00e2\u20ac\u0153hone in on certain messages\u00e2\u20ac\u009d.<\/p>\n

City Council Member Ruth Atkin stressed that residents need to know how they have benefited, and characterized the PowerPoint as an educational tool. The comment came just moments after Mayor Ken Bukowski and City Council Member Dick Kassis debated whether the proposed presentation should include any mention of the negative impacts recent development has had on the city. Kassis wondered aloud whether the public should receive a more balanced report for their money. However, Bukowski was unequivocal: <\/p>\n

“The purpose of this is to put out the positive. What are we going to do, start <\/span>criticizing ourselves?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d
<\/span>Mayor Ken Bukowski
<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Siding with Bukowski, Council Member Nora Davis took umbrage at the idea of producing an objective \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcproduct\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 for the taxpayers money: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153EBASE<\/a> (the local community benefits\/labor alliance group) will be glad to provide the criticism. We don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have to do that ourselves,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d she said.<\/p>\n

Once again, disinformation won the day at City Hall. Educational outreach efforts by EBASE<\/a> were cited by City Council members as justifying their decision to omit any negative impacts of development in the presentation. During deliberations, this reporter asked council members: If all this development is so great, why would the Council need to spend taxpayer money to convince the taxpayer of something that should be readily apparent? Kassis complained that \u00e2\u20ac\u0153EBASE has been running around all over town\u00e2\u20ac\u009d telling people they should expect more community benefits from development than they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been getting.<\/p>\n

City staff recommended hiring the Oakland-based public relations firm, T<\/a>he Place Making Group<\/a>, to produce the \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcproduct\u00e2\u20ac\u2122, citing their expertise in effective \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcbranding\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 and advertising. The PowerPoint presentation will be played repeatedly on ETV Channel 27 in lieu of other programming, and will be presented at various civic events the City Council is planning to further this pro-development campaign. <\/p>\n

Brian Donahue<\/strong> has lived and worked in Emeryville for 28 years. He and his wife, and young daughter, live in the Emeryville Artists’ Cooperative. Brian has been a longtime activist, working for transparent government and better of quality of life for the residents; he’s not very popular with the City Council majority. <\/em><\/p><\/p>\n