Please share this with your neighborhood association email aliases as well as any other Mtn View group aliases you are on. Thank you.

This is good news. I think recalling is warranted here. They turned their back on the people who put them in office based on their promises regarding this most crucial point.

It's like an investment counselor saying "I'm going to put your finances in a well balanced portfolio" Then when you give them the job, they put all your money in risky penny stocks. I would FIRE a financial planner who did that. I think we should recall the council members who figuratively did the exact same thing to those who voted for them.

Naive or not, you don't go back on campaign promises. Recall is definitely in order.

Lemming 1 tells Lemming 2, "Follow me! I know where to go!" They walk and suddenly Lemming 1 tells Lemming 2, "Whoops! Went the wrong way, let's turn around!"
Lemming 2 shouts "You PROMISED this is the right way to go!", pushed forward, sending them both over the cliff....

Let's not listen to these crackpot anti-busing "Lemming 2's" that are trying to push us all off a cliff. Let's take the advice of a leader that can see what is ahead!

Mr. Wesley, we can't find your petition link at the MV Voice. Maybe they've taken it down because we all know that the MV-Voice is just a voice for the Planning Commission and City Council! Can you please re-post your petition link at THIS thread??? My wife & I and some of my neighbors want to "sign" it. I know it's not legally binding. When will there be a legal recall petition that we can sign to recall "The Three Turncoats"

I have no respect for council members who lie to voters. I will help in any recall effort 100%. I have a few neighbors ready to sign the recall petition today!

Insults usually come from the losing side when they cannot accept the facts.

Here's a direct link to the Change.org recall petition. I had to dig a bit to find it. You may have to cut and past it into your address line.

Web Link

To clarify, I am not involved with an online petition but have offered to receive emails confidentially concerning the prospect of a formal recall petition against Councilmembers Showalter, Rosenberg and/ or Kasperzak. The matter of the "dark money" that helped elect Showalter and Rosenberg could be among the reasons for their being recalled. Different persons have different concerns and ideas. The only hope at this point to forestall bus-only lanes on El Camino is to continue the debate and create political pressure. Councilmember Rosenberg has given interviews to the Voice and PA Daily Post trying to explain his change of position. He has stated that his support for dedicated lanes was and is conditioned on matters not (yet) part of any of the versions presented by VTA staff. Councilmembers Showalter and Kasperzak should also be encouraged or required to answer such questions - including precisely who talked to them about the project before the April 21 meeting. Showalter stated at the April 21 Council meeting that, after her election, she had been "approached" about the project. All three surely were approached by representatives of the special interests involved. At the April 28 City Council meeting, I asked Showalter who had approached her. Councilmembers may respond briefly to "oral commications from the public" under state law (Government Code section 54954.2) but need not. The press needs to follow up.

Has there been any notable progress on the recall efforts? I'd like to help gather signatures once the petition is ready.

Rosenberg is a coward for not showing up to last night's meeting. And showalter still hasn't made any statement on why she voted the way she did. This is what happens when special interest money is involved. We need to get them out as soon as possible. Mr Wesley, could you please give us an update on the recall efforts?

I have flyers that raise the matter of recalling council members. Many folks have responded by pledging to sign but more people ready to sponsor and circulate recall petitions will be needed. So, more information needs to get out and sink in. At the same time, opponents of VTA bus-only lanes need to reach residents and potential voters all along the El Camino corridor in Santa Clara County so that the part-time members of the VTA Board will see that voting for bus-only lanes would doom the VTA's planned 2016 sales tax measure. And opponents need to propose alternatives such as the HOV lane idea advanced in recent weeks.

Recall!

Ditto. Recall

Recalls on single issue hot-buttons extremely rarely even get the number of registered voter signature to qualify. If they get close, they "pressure" the politician. So if Rosenberg has lost his way (and credibility on this issue — which he completely controls) then 'twist his arm'! Email to the council is a gentle twist, live public comment harder, and sign a valid recall, the hardest. Actual vote or successful recall? (break his arm & extremely rare)

what is happening with the recall?

Besides the election untruth, did any one of these three genius elected officials decide how emergency vehicles would respond to an emergency on ELC during prime time of stop-and-stop? Image first responders': i.e. ambulance, police, fire trucks, will have a "special spot" on the new transportation system and leave their vehicles, police equipment, fire equipment, emergency survival equipment in their garages. Think I will pitch a tent and sell cool-aid. We are in for a great ride. I am also a registered voter who made a big mistake during our last elections. Recall all three.

Paula your voice is one of many who were outraged at obvious buyoff of those who would decide Mtn View's role in BRT, but the silver lining is the awareness we and so many of my neighbors now have regarding 1)The lying council members, and 2) The lying VTA and their plan to ruin Mtn View with BRT.

The snakes can no longer hide under their rocks. They are now in plain sight, ready to be hit with sticks until they are no longer a threat(figuratively, of course)

Hahahaha... Is this still being discussed? According to the trolls on this site, most of Mountain View is against having a dedicated lane for shared transit along ECR. However, months later and STILL the online petition failed to even garner even ONE PERCENT of residents signatures!!!!

Now we can expect the usual lame excuses why very few signed it. The most simple and believable reason is that most residents are FOR the project.

Now, I'm sure we will have anecdotals about how their neighbors agree with the trolls opinion against the project. But, here is the reality. A cranky, ill-mannered anti-bus zealot stalks up and down the street screaming their hatred for the project and accosting any neighbor that failed to duck and cover. Of course the neighbor will nod their head in agreement! You just don't argue with crazy--not worth it.

Council voted its support for the project and many people I know in town seem to support it. That's the reality, despite what YOU want to happen.

Lets see how many votes any VTA gets in the north county when they come begging for money again this election year. Should be interesting :)

seriously, is this going to happen??

Unlikely at this point, but permanent damage has been done to their political career here in MV. At least we're done with them when they time out.
The motivation now seems to be focused on not letting VTA nickle and dime our quality of life away with tax/bond measures.

Ah, yes. The recall petition! An online petition was launched to measure how interested the community was in recalling the council members that voted with BOTH their brains AND conscience to bring rapid and efficient bus service to El Camino. By numbers, over 99 percent of Mountain View DID NOT SIGN this petition! That is proof that the council’s vote truly represented the will of the people.

(Source: Here is the petition: Web Link
Only 689 online "signatures" were collected in over FIVE MONTHS! )

Of course, you will now read an explanation that very few residents read the Town Square posting, so it not at all representative of the community. I couldn’t agree more, BUT these same posters also claim that since most of the messages appear to against the BRT project, there must be broad community opposition against the project? Huh? Which is it? Town Square representative or not?

Truly, if most of the city was against this project, there would have been many more online signatures. It got passed around on social media and through the e-mail friends/family/co-workers network. In fact, I’m sure that quite a few of the “689” are from people who do not live in the area and are simply voting to help their anti-bus friend.

So, yeah. No recall.

That's a huge amount of signatures for such a tiny pool of people who even knew about such a petition. I agree that the battle will be shifted over to not letting VTA take any more of our money in their efforts to ruin MV.
The petition is not the voice of the people, that was heard on election day when they voted for candidates who stated opposition to the terrible idea of BRT. The city spoke loudly where and when it actually mattered. It will be heard again when it matters as well, on election day, not when some online crank makes a petition. Still, like I said, that really is a huge response to an online crank's petition considering how few people even knew about it.

I gather this subject was re-posted by someone concerned about the plan for bus-only lanes and the 3 Councilmembers (Kasperzak, Showalter and Rosenberg) who cast advisory votes for the lanes on April 21. So, here is an update. As I stated in my May 21 post, real recall petitions require at least 20 official proponents and many, many signatures to then compel a recall election. There is insufficient support to initiate a recall of Assembly candidate Michael Kasperzak who will be out of office in 15 months. Whether there will be enough outrage to initiate a recall of Showalter and-or Rosenberg may depend upon what the VTA Board does with the bus-only lanes plan later this year. So far, the only city council (plurality) to support the bus lanes along the affected road consists of the three from Mountain View. And Councilmember Rosenberg seemed to condition his advisory vote on the addition of a stop at Escuela and maybe use of the lanes by non-VTA buses. Rosenberg also admitted after April 21 that he should have voted against the plan as presented. But he never sponsored any further discussion or vote. Right now, bus lane opponents are awaiting the VTA's release of its own commissioned "third party review" of its (bogus) traffic and ridership projections. The planned "review" was cited by VTA staff at the April 21 City Council meeting. Last month, the Santa Clara City Council delayed consideration of the VTA staff's request for endorsement of the long bus lane plan pending receipt of at least the "third party review." However, some politicians do not vote based on merit but on how it could affect their future prospects. And the San Jose-dominated VTA Board will need to consider how voting for bus lanes could affect the vote on the VTA's planned 2016 sales tax measure(s). Delaying the vote on bus lanes until after the 2016 tax election would be tempting but would still draw opposition to the tax measure(s). The best thing Councilmember Rosenberg could do to attempt to regain public trust is to come out against the bus lane plan - at least unless it were changed to include the elements he discussed on April 21 - and hope the VTA Board kills the long plan presented. i do know what Showalter could do. I saw no explanation for her April 21 vote in any of the later post or press coverage or at a later Council meeting.

It seems that some do not understand that our system of government is a representative democracy and not a direct one.

We elect individuals to represent our interests, but that doesn't mean that locking the candidates into voting a certain way. As our elected leaders get more information, we want them to use their brains to make the best choice possible.

While some might want to per-determine each and every decision, that is not a representative democracy, rather a direct democracy. If you want to make this decision using direct democracy, then get your petition together. According to what I read, most of the community is against having a dedicated lane on BRT, so this should be no problem. Until this happens, then you have nothing.

From what I read above, it seems most everyone has not signed the online petition. That indicates that this overwhelming opposition to VTA's project is non-existent. That is the data we have today and all we have to go on. Speculation is worth nothing.

As the saying goes, "Put Up or Shut Up!" (with respect).

I'm glad no money to VTA will com without a vote from the people. Then we'll see who supports what.

BART up to Santa Clara and BRT down El Camino? Yes, please fund that!

We need good infrastructure yesterday and are just playing catch up.

In his SJ Mercury News column today, Gary Richards ("Mr. Roadshow") printed some letters regarding the lane closure proposal. Headline: "El Camino Real bus plan comes under scathing criticism".

Quote from the column:

"Dozens of comments roared in after my recent story. Nearly everyone was opposed to taking away a lane in each direction and reserving them for buses from Santa Clara to Palo Alto."

Here's the article: Web Link

@Gary Wesley - I agree that public trust for Rosenberg and Showalter is at a very low ebb. They came to the City Council already trust-impaired, due to the "dark money" funding of their campaigns by developers. Here's the Voice article from right after the election: Web Link

VTA and it's proposals are currently BAD for Mountain View. Giving more money to VTA is like paying someone to tear up your yard, rip the roof off your house and kick your kid. No VTA, I have better things to spend my money on than the destruction of our town and it's quality of life.