Candidate for
Mayor; City of Pismo Beach

Sierra Club Endorses Rabenaldt for Mayor of Pismo

The Santa Lucia Chapter of the Sierra Club has endorsed Bill Rabenaldt in
His run for Mayor of Pismo Beach.

The Chapter notes Rabenaldt's ten years of service as a member of the Pismo Beach City Council. We have paid attention to his positions and have realized His evolving positions on development, to the extent he now sharply disagrees "with cities and our county giving away the farm in favor of development." He was part of the successful fight to deny annexation for the aquifer-busting Los Robles del Mar project, has become a champion of water reclamation, and was the city official who stepped up when the trees of the rapidly diminishing Shell Beach heron rookery started falling. The acceleration and frequency of denying the habitat for our natural inhabitants for the benefit of "view shed" is deplorable and Bill gets it.

"When it comes to environmental concerns, Rabenaldt is clearly the best
choice on the ballot," said Santa Lucia Chapter Chair Karen Merriam.

The Sierra Club notes Councilman Rabenaldt's famously contentious
relationship with the City Council, climaxing in a vote of censure last February over the effort to install downtown parking meters.

"Rabenaldt should wear his censure by the City Council over the issue of
paid parking as a badge of honor," said Merriam. "The primary, but mostly
ignored and misunderstood issue behind his censure was that he communicated with the California Coastal Commission. From where we sit, a tacit policy of
elected officials not talking to Coastal Commission staff is criminal. Their input and suggestions are valuable. In our opinion, elected officials that do not avail themselves of conversation and suggestions from the Coastal Commission have contributed to the years of needless delays of the county's Local Coastal Program and expensive miscalculations on numerous public infrastructure projects.

The City of Pismo Beach would be served well by a Mayor that understands the issues and is willing to debate both sides of any issue. We support and endorse Bill Rabenaldt for the Mayor of Pismo Beach.