The VOSD Podcast crew took the show on the road and hosted a live recording at Soda Bar with special guest City Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera.
They discussed the election results of Measure A, now a failed attempt to tax empty second homes. Our hosts also asked him about the trust crisis in City Hall and whether he is considering a run for mayor.
Below is a short transcript of our discussion. Elo-River spoke about the effort to repeal the city’s trash fee, which proponents dropped after reaching a deal with the city that lowered the fee. (Edited for length and clarity.)
(37:47) Sean Elo-Rivera: “Let’s actually talk about the effects of what fully repealing it would mean.
It would be like the entire library system and then like our Parks and Rec gone. Or keeping some of that and significantly defunding firefighters. So when I hear those things, I hear about my constituents lives getting objectively worse and people being put in danger for a political stunt, that makes me mad, and I’m not going to apologize for that.
I’m never going to apologize for taking care of my people and for fighting for my people. So yeah, it was wrong to propose that.
Why are they allowed meetings? I’m having a conversation with you about about raising the minimum wage for low wage hotel workers. And you want to put repealing a trash tax that would that would tank the city’s finances on the table. Get out of my office. And you are no longer welcome at City Hall because you are demonstrating a complete lack of concern.”