A couple of weeks ago, we discussed the Renaissance Blob, the strange cutout in SanTana's Renaissance Specific Plan that conveniently excluded the family businesses of Mayor Miguel “What's my Nickname?” Pulido and councilmember Vince Sarmiento from its boundaries. SanTana planning commissioner Sean Mill says city planners told him that the Renaissance Blob came about so both Pulido and Sarmiento can vote on the RSP without violating SanTana's conflict-of-interest laws. Even if the gerrymandering accomplished such a feat, Pulido and Sarmiento would be violating their own precedents.
On August 6, 2007, both Pulido and Sarmiento abstained from Item 25.E from that night's consent calendar. The item at hand was a contract for All Access Entertainment to operate the annual Fiestas Patrias on Fourth Street. Minutes from that meeting show Pulido “declared a conflict of interest…due to the proximity of his family business to the proposed September Fiesta site,” meaning Ace Muffler on First Street. Sarmiento also abstained from that vote because “he represents the owner of a property in close proximity to the project site,” the owner being Festival Hall, which his family has operated for years. Congrats on those non-votes, guys: make sure you do the same for the RSP, m'kay? Otherwise, ustedes are a bunch of hypocrites.
