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If you haven’t seen him before, Rich Cline is pretty easy to spot during Menlo Park City Council meetings. He’s the one with his hands folded over his stomach, leaning back in his chair and admiring the ceiling panels as his colleagues meander toward a point.
“Impatience is a problem for me,” he says. “I think, let’s shorten this; cut the number of words down, get to your point. You’ve had your time, you’ve done your research; come in prepared, and make your statement. … I get frustrated when I don’t know where (the speeches) are going.”
Mr. Cline speaks directly in both public meetings and interviews; from time to time, his honestly expressed opinions and frustrations get him into trouble.
So it’s a bit puzzling that he has also earned a reputation for being wishy-washy, afraid to take a stand. His refusal to vote to put the brakes on the downtown planning process or the massive office/hotel project proposed by developer David Bohannon has cost him the support of some of the people who backed his campaign in 2006, he said.
But “since that election, I haven’t changed, I swear to you,” he said in an interview, a week before he was sworn in as the city’s new mayor on Dec. 1. “I ran, not because I was against bigger buildings, but because the process had become too politicized. … I have a nice job, a good family — I’m not doing this to stroke my ego. I’m doing it because I feel that people should have the proper representation.”
The council is set to make decisions during Mr. Cline’s term on what would be one of the largest single land development projects in the city’s history, and on a project to develop what the city bills as a 30-year plan for the downtown area. Council members have been lobbied hard on both items by members of their political base, in public and in private.
Mr. Cline, however, says he doesn’t plan to change his approach as he steers the council through those decisions. As he has said over and over again, to anyone who will listen, he is committed to a transparent public process, rather than a specific ideology.
“If you’re going through a process and trying to do your best to stick to the feedback and data that you get, there are going to be some inconsistencies” in the council’s actions, he said. “If you’re doing it right, there should be a different outcome” from decision to decision.
While the mayor has no executive authority, Mr. Cline will be the public face of the council during a crucial period.
From his vantage in the thick of Menlo Park’s ever-tumultuous political scene, he stresses that it’s important to try to understand where peoples’ strongly held opinions come from, and to steer the conversation onto common ground. In a speech during the Dec. 1 meeting, he stressed his respect for Menlo Park’s history, couching the council’s current efforts as a continuation of past policies, rather than a redirection.
Mr. Cline comes across as a “moderate” voice on the council, though he tends to vote in lockstep with Heyward Robinson and Kelly Fergusson. Asked if he had ever found himself in the minority on a vote during his three years on the dais, he thought for a moment before coming up with two instances: the city’s decision to commit itself to allowing for a specified number of new housing units, and a housing development project on Willow Road, which Mr. Cline thought was too dense.
“Does that mean I’m soft?” he mused, before eventually concluding: “What I don’t do is take liberties in my votes. … I don’t believe in abstaining.”
Still, his conciliatory approach could influence the tone of meetings that have occasionally grown cantankerous. While Mr. Robinson once cautioned residents not to heed “naysayers and critics,” Mr. Cline welcomes and even encourages dissent.
He credits his approach as a politician to his background as a journalist. He worked for several Bay Area newspapers before founding a public relations company, Voce Communications (pronounced voe-che). His stepfather worked as a reporter and a journalism professor.
“As a newspaper reporter, the first thing you learn to do is to take your opinions, and stuff them in your pocket,” he said. “I admire journalists, and politicians who act like journalists. There are fewer every day, but those are the people I’m guided by.”
He thinks that approach will make for a smooth transition to the mayor’s seat, though he says he doesn’t relish the “limelight.”
Mr. Cline, 40, is married to Julie Pietrantoni, an attorney. The couple has two daughters: Chiara, 5, a student at Oak Knoll, and Gina, 3. They have lived in Menlo Park for 10 years.
Richard Cline- Soporific.
Hank, We’re all waiting for you to announce your 2010 candidacy for the council.
We’re eager to find out how you will fix all the problems that you say Rich and Heywood have created. And we’re especially interested to see how you feel when people hurl the kinds of infantile, gratuitous attacks at you that you’re so willing to throw at current council members.
So how about it, Hank? We’re waiting.
Joan,
Don’t hold your breath!
So Rich, keep on following your conscience, continue your commitment to transparency, and ignore petty critics who would rather attack than contribute constructively.
You won’t make everyone happy all of the time, but as long as your motives are good and you keep your ear wide open for legitimate, thoughtful criticism and suggestions, you’ll be a fine mayor who might even help reduce some of the rancor in this town.
I’m always gratified to see how we treat community service volunteers.
I think Rich Cline is just the right Mayor for this important year.
He’s a pragmatic, moderate who asks good questions, listens to all sides and thinks for himself with the long term best interests of the whole City in mind. We are lucky to have someone on the Council who runs his own business and has to meet a payroll but also brings a good grounding in City government from his many years as a reporter covering East Bay Cities.
Let’s give Rich a chance, people — he has barely gotten started! Better yet, let’s say “thank you” when he or others on the Council are doing things right. (Being on Council and especially being Mayor means putting in hundreds of hours to serve one’s community but too often is a “thankless” job or even one where most of what you hear loudly is from those with a gripe).
Even when we disagree, in a town this small we should strive to do so in a civilized and considerate way, by sticking to the issues rather than demonizing the person.
All well and good. But how can he perform with innaccuate accounting information? Palo Alto had the good sense to fire it’s budget manager after “forgetting” $4 million in expenses, what about Menlo Park’s budget manager?
MP doesn’t have budget manager, but thanks to councilman Cohen we now do have a finance audio committee. They have never been given much leeway. The council doesn’t want them stepping on council or City Mnaager’s toes. A really good idea would be to have this group investigate what is really going on here and give a report. We are never going to get the truth from staff.
I have nothing against Cohen, but anyone arguing this guy is a finance guy is crazy. He can be your friend and we can all respect Andy for what he brings to our city, but don’t start the budget and finance talk. Cline and Boyle have miles of experience in comparison. Andy should get credit for holding the line for over development and for looking out for those who cannot look out for themselves, and that is a great resume.
Not finance and never the guy who made the audit committee happen. It only happened after the past election when the new folks came in and voted for it as well.
No one is arguing that Andy is a finance expert. He’s not. But he is a savvy guy, and when he realized how sadly lacking our city was in financial expertise (ironic given how many residents make megabucks off their financial industry jobs) he assembled a budget committee.
That’s what a true leader does — doesn’t pretend to know everything, but knows how to pull together people who have the background and experience to get the job done.
No knocks on Rich, by the way. Thrilled that he is in the driver’s seat and Wayward is now just an ex-mayor.