Philip A. Ginsburg and Mark Buell blow hot air at Neighborhood Parks Council Meeting

On Saturday, Sept. 30, 2010, the Neighborhood Parks Council held a meeting on the status of the parks following their agenda.

The Recreation and Parks Department has no plans to hold their own community meetings. They have privatized the community meetings!

The Neighborhood Parks Council was gracious enough to grant those citizenry who were fortunate enough to be able to be present at this poorly publicized event the privilege of standing in line and speaking their mind for half an hour (or 25% of the meeting).

We begin with one such individual. She is obviously reluctant to speak out, yet she finds herself ignored by Mark Buell (Commission President), Tom Harrison (member) and Philip A. Ginsburg, Gavin Newsom's gofer who was apparently (judging from his actions) appointed to help privatize the department.

Buell says absolutely nothing of substance The fact that he still expresses respect for the job that Philip A, Ginsburg has done speaks volumes in and of itself. Buell himself is the man who developed condos on Mount San Bruno. His other claim to fame is as a "war hero" in Vietnam. He is married to Susie Tompkins Buell, the legendary founder of the sweatshop-based Esprit. They both live on a 55-acre (same size as the Arboretum) estate in Bolinas but hold fundraisers in their lush Pacific Heights condo. He raises a lot of money, thus his position.

Ginsburg also says nothing substantial, but nobody is permitted to question him, and he can maintain his smug, superior demeanor. Even for an exceptionately chipper sort of guy (on the outside at least) Ginsburg seemed very happy, as though he had a score lined up for a plush job in Sacramento. Escape at last!

In any event, at least he did not need to answer any questions from the hoi polloi!

I shot this in HD video, so my card ran out before the windbag ended. So you are spared the full force of his customary meaningless rant, which the department must have hired some speechwriter; now he just regurgitates!

Category:

Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• San Francisco Botanical Garden
• Strybing Arboretum
• Hall of Flowers
• Philip A. Ginsburg
• Meagan Levitan
• Mark Buell
• Phil Ginsburg
• Recreation Park Department
• Inner Sunset
• nonprofits
• Neighborhood Parks Council