Letter: Candidate Kosel Throws Darts to Hide Poor Record

To the Editor:

This is the first letter I’ve ever submitted to a newspaper but I feel it’s important to share a few facts on the Kensington Board election choices.

There's a reason that we have seen such a negative campaign from Cathie Kosel and her supporters: When you don't have a good record on positions valued by most Kensington voters and your strategy is to “throw darts” rather than do the real work to create positive change, you create fear and distract the voters by making accusations and saying things that are simply not true.

Ms. Kosel seeks to steer voters away from her own poor voting record and performance:

 1) She signed the ballot argument and actively campaigned against Measure G, a parcel tax measure in 2010 which was crafted to ensure the continuation of our independent police force, yet now she says she has always supported an independent police force;

2) She voted for the contract with the Kensington Police Officer’s Association but now distances herself from that vote at every opportunity;

3) She filed many unfair allegations against the Chief of Police that resulted in delays to completion of his required annual performance evaluation. She walked out on two meetings related to his evaluation;

4) She does not fulfill her committee responsibilities. For instance, she was appointed to, and agreed to serve on, the original ad hoc Park Buildings Master Plan Committee. However she attended only one meeting and didn’t even bother to attend the public workshops. She was also on the Solid Waste Committee that changed its meeting time especially to accommodate her personal schedule and she still didn’t attend those meetings! What does it take to get her to fulfill her basic commitment to public service? 

In short, it appears Cathie Kosel likes to “throw darts” and create chaos around any real public process and doesn’t think she needs to actually participate in the dedicated sustained work to create the change she claims to strive for.

Join me in voting for Patricia Gillette and Chuck Toombs. They will consider the various viewpoints of Kensington residents, focus on efficient and effective use of existing resources, and do the real work to keep Kensington moving toward a safe and fiscally responsible future. No more dart games. It is time to move onto real participation, civil discussion and responsible decision-making.

– Lisa Caronna
   Kensington 

----------------------------

El Cerrito Patch welcomes letters to the editor (up to 450 words) and guest columns (more than 450 words) from members of the community. Those interested in contributing can write to elcerrito@patch.com. To see past letters to the editor, please click here. Past guest columns can be found here.