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City Council Meeting Minutes November 19, 2019 <br />or city councils to present on land developments. <br />I don't say all this to suggest I have any special expertise, only to add some <br />texture to my comments. I have a personal commitment to affordable <br />housing, the quality of development in San Marcos and some experience in the <br />field of development. <br />I'm here to comment on a recent tweet by a city council person which I'd like <br />to read: <br />"All the developers seeking to make big profits in SM from `affordable <br />housing' all have the same look: White, male, tall, wear blue blazers, money <br />hungry, and emotionless... AND It feels damn good to vote against their <br />proposed developments." <br />There are a few things that are disturbing about that tweet. It seems to be in <br />violation of San Marcos Code of Ordinances 2.421 (a) General policy <br />statement. It is the policy of the city that all city officials and employees shall <br />conduct themselves both inside and outside the city's service so as to give no <br />occasion for distrust of their integrity, impartiality or devotion to the best <br />interest of the city and the public trust which the city holds. <br />This is the very first sentence in the Code of Ethics section of the ordinances. <br />The bias expressed in this publicly shared tweet makes it impossible for anyone <br />to believe this council person is objective, and the ethics review commission <br />should investigate appropriate action. We can no longer be sure that an <br />applicant has received or will receive an impartial assessment of their project, <br />regardless of their race. <br />Also concerning is this person's criticism of "big profits" being made on <br />affordable housing. The issue of affordable housing is extremely complex and <br />is one being dealt with in cities all across the country. If we remove or <br />marginalize profits for housing developers, we've eliminated an important tool <br />in our effort to bring affordable housing to San Marcos. <br />I realize that an example has been set in this country for impulsive tweets. I <br />just wonder if emulating our tweeter in chief is really where this council person <br />wants to go or where we want to be as a city. <br />I urge you to take this matter seriously. The image of our city is an asset to be <br />guarded and when one of us puts that image at risk it's the duty of those <br />around that person to hold them accountable." <br />City of San Marcos Page 2 <br />