I wanted to comment on two letters to the editor that appeared in last week’s Beacon (Jan. 3 edition, page 6) about the Peninsula Community Planning Board (PCPB).
I believe Mr. [Harris] Steiner’s letter (“Says PCPB disagreement not necessarily bad,” Jan. 3 edition, page 6) was a perfect illustration of what I said in my guest commentary a few weeks ago, that the people in this community are intelligent, discerning readers for whom demagoguery has no appeal.
Mr. Steiner saw the guest commentary (“Born from the winds of change,” Dec. 7 Beacon, page 6) from Suhail Khalil for what it was. I also was happy that Mr. Steiner pointed out something I did not include in my previous commentary: that, despite his touting of his “400 constituents,” Mr. Khalil was not elected during the first election. He was swept in on the slate of candidates that was put forward by the development and real estate interests and as not much more than a seat-filler.
Mr. [Howard] Jones’ letter (“Aghast at behavior of governmental body,” Jan. 3 edition, page 6) was heartening because his curiosity about the PCPB was piqued enough to attend a meeting ” and that is a positive thing. While the account of how things went was not flattering, I think it was informative and shed a light on the board’s behavior that needed to be shed.
His commentary on the person who wanted us to incorporate the pledge of allegiance in our procedure was especially perceptive and well-written. What he did not mention was this was the same person who wrote the commentary Mr. Steiner commented on, Suhail Khalil.
I will say, in defense of local politics only, that this type of grassroots democracy in action is often quite messy and can appear chaotic. That is because the issues are important to people, and that brings out passion.
But while passion from the public attending is one thing, the board members themselves need to strive to conduct themselves in a professional manner. As with any such body, some do better than others.
Somebody once said even bad publicity is better than none. At least some interest has been generated, and I hope that continues. Mr. Jones’ comments notwithstanding, please don’t let that discourage anyone from coming to a meeting. The next one is Thursday, Jan. 17 from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. at the Hervey/ Point Loma Branch Library.