Mayor Lisa Gillmor’s secondhand blogger Robert Haugh, the wannabe journalist, was wrong again in his post about me being a lobbyist in Santa Clara.
In a desperate attempt to find something in the way of dirt, conflict of interest, or disparaging activity on me, Haugh miserably failed.
Writing on “tips” without checking the facts is not journalism. It’s not news, it’s not fact. and worse, it’s blatantly not the truth.
This does not seem to bother Haugh, who has demonstrated he has little respect for truth.
So here are the facts.
In 2015, I was approached by Lou Mariani, manager of the Mariani’s Motel and Restaurant on El Camino. I was asked if I would be willing to assist the Marianis in finding a suitable project to replace the aging property.
Since I thought it to be a worthy project, I agreed to assist Mariani on a part-time basis. I registered as a lobbyist since some of the work would include meetings with the City staff and City Council Members of Santa Clara.
Over the next year and a half, Mariani put together a team of well-qualified companies to design and engineer a best-use project.
Following the elections in 2016, I realized the political climate had changed and the Mariani project would face the impossible task of obtaining approval from the new City Council.
I did not feel any further involvement could be of any value to the Marianis and resigned from the team and resigned as a lobbyist with the City of Santa Clara, both in early 2017.
Shortly thereafter, the project was put on hold, and the property continues to sit dormant to this day.
I have had no contact with or from the Mariani family in more than three years. I was not a co-applicant on the project and I have not been involved since 2017.
How is it then, that Director of Community Development Andrew Crabtree speaks in front of the City Council on pending projects along El Camino on March 16, 2021 and states that Mariani’s is a pending project and lists myself as the co-applicant?
This is an error. I am not listed on the City’s list of current lobbyists. I am not a co-applicant.
The City, to their credit, published a correction as soon as we notified them of the mistake. I can’t say the same for blogger Haugh, who refuses to publish a correction. Even, worse, Haugh’s misrepresentations were based on a “tip” from an unnamed source, based on nonexistent “facts” that were not, could not, or can be, substantiated. He never bothered to perform the simplest check on the City’s registered lobbyists list.
Now that is news.
The Santa Clara Fake News Online blogger has tried and failed…again.
And, for those who are interested, you can trust The Weekly and The Silicon Valley Voice to print the truth, accurately, verifiable, and defendable.
Residents deserve honest reporting.
Truth has a wonderful way of winning the war.
