CHARLES MCGLASHAN
He will be missed
The flags in Marin are flying at half staff to honor the life, all too short of Charles McGlashan, one of the most courageous, passionate, kind hearted, wise and wonderful political leaders this county has ever known.
He was my friend. He was everyone’s friend within five minutes of meeting him. His wit, smile and heart won you over even if you were at the opposing end of his political stance.
Charles was driven to save the world, his community, the children, the animals, our health and our planet. Those of us blessed to work with him knew what a tremendous champion for environmental justice he was and saw the vigor with which he fought injustice on behalf of all of his constituents.
The day I knew I would follow him to the end of the earth was the day he sat on a panel that Teens Turning Green and Marin Academy hosted together. He mentioned an initiative that he was starting to work on, banning single-use bags in Marin.
I saw the eyes of the students light up and offered an army of them to help him fight the fight. And so we started BYOBag Marin, with Charles leading the way and all of us right by his side.
I watched a policymaker as good as it gets; collaborative, humorous, inclusive, brilliant, informed and unwavering. He inspired us all to do the best work we were capable of and loudly acknowledged everyone for their work. He was in it to win for the earth and for all of us.
Marin County will miss this awesome man more than you can imagine.
Judi Shils, San Anselmo, Founder/Director Teens Turning Green
Helping to improve Marin
On behalf of Congregation Kol Shofar, situated in Supervisor Charles McGlashan’s district, we extend our heartfelt condolences to his family as we mourn the passing of a prototypical public servant.
Charles was a great friend of our synagogue. He visited with our congregation on many occasions, both during election season and in a Town Hall context, to inform our community on the issues of the day in the county.
He provided encouragement without hesitation during our building reconstruction as he believed fervently in the importance of churches and synagogues as fundamental building blocks of community.
He was inventive and creative.
As a congregation, and individually, we appreciated the perennial opportunity he extended to us — to brainstorm on any matter that would help improve life in Marin.
We will miss him terribly. May his memory be for a blessing.
Karen Hirsch, President, Board of Directors
Nancy Drapin, Executive Director, Congregation Kol Shofar, TIBURON
Lost a longtime friend
I attended middle school and high school with Charles McGlashan.
Back then, he was very bright, intellectually curious, passionate and gregarious — and everyone called him ‘Chuck.”
We lost touch after high school, but reconnected about four years ago. My move to Marin last year provided numerous opportunites to see each other.
As a result of our history, I did not experience Charles as a public figure. Rather he was a friend of very longstanding who just happened to be on the Board of Supervisors.
He was so much more than the elected offical, champion of SMART and the MEA for which he was so well known.
He was a good and decent man who loved his wife, his family, his friends and his community.
May his memory be a blessing.
Jon Friedenberg, San Anselmo
Green achievements
I think I speak for many Marinites when I say that I’m shocked and saddened by Supervisor Charles McGlashan’s untimely passing.
Supervisor McGlashan’s smart, energetic and heartfelt leadership and achievements on issues including clean energy, public transport, and plastic waste reduction — to name just a few — were a true inspiration for all of us who dream of and strive for a better Marin for all its residents, human and animal.
My wish is that his spirit will carry on in all who knew him and his work.
My condolences to his wife Carole Misseldine, herself an inspiration for her fine work on behalf of the environment.
Maeve Murphy, San Rafael
UNIONS
Unions benefit all workers
When Gerald Studier decries union wages (Readers’ Forum, March 31), particularly for those who put their lives on the line for us, as firefighters and police do, it is very disconcerting.
He seems oblivious to the history of unions, why they came into being and what they have done for all who must work for a living.
Unions were clearly the rising tide that raised all our boats and fought the robber barons who wanted to keep us as serfs.
But over the past 30 years union membership has been systematically and purposefully depleted in the U.S. (Where once union membership was 30 percent of workers it is now 6 percent.)
Thus, it is not surprising to see wages remaining stagnant and some actually going downward through that time frame, while profits for the multi-national corporations continue to rise.
And when one realizes that some of the most profitable of these multi-national corporations (GE, BofA, ExxonMobil) spend millions bribing and buying our legislators, and are paying no taxes for the use of our roads, our air, our water … it becomes quite apparent who really has the “stranglehold.”
Lee Lull, Corte Madera
A huge difference
Carol Whichard’s March 28 Marin Voice column is replete with hackneyed phrases that are, at best, misleading.
Her first assertion is that governors have a pact to strip unions of collective bargaining. Wrong. Governors across the nation are attempting to balance budgets that are in red ink as far as the eye can see.
Public employee union pensions and benefits — not those of private-sector employee unions — are the chief cause of these deficits and the most in need of reform in order for states to become solvent.
Ms. Whichard presents historical reasons for the creation of unions. I think most of us agree that unions played a huge role in making workplaces safer and workers fairly paid.
However, those of us who are not receiving a public-employee union pension are forced to pay for the union members. If Ms. Whichard is truly interested in fairness, tell me how this works.
She and others always cite teachers, policemen, firemen and health-care personnel.
Here’s an idea: Pay these people bigger salaries, much bigger if their performance is exceptional, and allow them to invest in their own pensions and benefits.
Let’s face the facts. There is a huge difference in private- and public-sector employee unions. In the private sector, those unions still have a valid role in assuring all the concerns they were created to protect. They serve as insurance that corporations and businesses will not discriminate, will provide safe working conditions and fair pay.
Public employees work for the government and are paid by the taxpayers, so we are their employers. The disappearing middle class Ms. Whichard refers to is us.
Jody Morales, San Rafael
san rafael
Outdated economic model
I am intrigued by the number of letters written to the IJ that continue to favor the building of a new Target store in San Rafael, the latest being written by a former mayor of a local town in Marin.
How long ago did this mayor serve? What may have worked in the past is clearly not working today.
Oil prices continue to climb, supporting the notion that peak oil is upon us dramatically impacting the world economy.
Global climate change is looking more and more plausible as each day passes.
With very different weather patterns right here in Marin, can any resident be oblivious to the effects of global warming?
Despite a rising economy that has already surpassed all previous peaks, workers continue to look for jobs and more and more people apply for food stamps.
And so what do we hear? Calls to build another Target store.
Target was doing very well in the 1990s. Today, the industry itself has not done well for some time. Has anyone heard about Borders? This is a new age.
Target is a buggy whip. Thriving communities today that performed well in the Great Recession are highly supportive and invested in the local community.
Yet, some Marinites have not yet learned this lesson.
They wish to continue to invest in the past.
Nolan Olhausen, San Rafael
We need the local jobs
As a former San Rafael Chamber of Commerce board member, I hear arguments from each side of the Target debate, and I am sympathetic with both.
As a small business owner, I know the struggle to keep afloat as bigger conglomerates and the dismal economy push in the way. As a Marin native, I understand the drive to keep the community as marvelous as ever.
I still believe that Target is good for San Rafael.
We have an opportunity to create new local jobs, allowing our residents to make money and put it back into the economy, produce full-time and part-time work, and give our people a secure paycheck. You think we have to out-source to the East Bay for hiring? Absolutely not.
Times are tough, and Marinites themselves have lost valuable jobs. We need work too.
We love small businesses and we are faithful to them. Big-box stores are already here, and these giants have not closed every other merchant’s door.
People who shop at Target already shop there.
Small stores are being put out by a terrible economy, not by Target.
Let’s draw people to San Rafael and have them spend more in our city. We will continue to keep each other afloat. That’s what we do in Marin: We fight for each other.
We need to fight for community jobs. We need to fight for our people who need work.
Target can be a great change for us — something to better Central Marin, not hurt it.
Melissa Prandi, San Rafael
Anti-Target demonstration
On Monday at 6 p.m., local MoveOn members will gather at San Rafael City Hall in support of workers across the nation and to oppose a Target Store in San Rafael.
Throughout the country, on this day, working people are standing together to call for good jobs, not middle class wrecking-ball policies.
Target is one example of a corporation that makes promises of jobs and tax revenue but doesn’t deliver on either. Target is the second-largest non-union retailer in the USA. Most of the jobs it creates are low-paying, part-time, with no benefits, thus requiring publically subsidized health care. Big-box stores like Wal-Mart and Target actually reduce the number of jobs and lower overall wages in other areas they have conquered.
San Rafael mistakenly believes Target would provide $650,000 annually in sale tax revenue. Many studies show that Target would rob sales tax from existing local businesses in San Rafael and neighboring cities.
We stand in solidarity with working people who have not given up on the American Dream. While it’s believed by some that Target would create 250 new jobs, the historical record across this country shows that at least two jobs are lost from local business for every new job “created” by a big-box store.
We must not let Target profit at our expense and that of our children.
Bernie Stephan, Point Reyes Station
Alternatives to Borders
While it is sad and unfortunate tht Borders will be closing in San Rafael, readers should know that there are a number of alternatives still available in the city and county.
The Friends of the San Rafael Public Library have a shop (Friends Books) at 1016 C Street in downtown San Rafael, where donated books in excellent condition and well-organized by category, can be purchased Tuesdays through Saturdays, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Income from this nonprofit shop benefits the library.
For those who liked to visit Borders to read (as opposed to buying) books, the main San Rafael library at Fifth Avenue and E Street now is open seven days of the week and four evenings as a result of the parcel tax, and the Pickleweed branch of the library has expanded hours as well.
Friends Books has music CDs, books on CD and DVDs. The library has all that and much more: Downloadable books and films, new databases for research, magazines and newspapers plus a friendly and helpful staff for advice and assistance!
Karen Nielsen and Pam Dixon, Co-managers, Friends Books, San Rafael