[CPEO-MEF] Marie Gilmore comes to city council at a pivotal time for Alameda

[CPEO Moderator <cpeo@cpeo.org>]

California
OAKLAND TRIBUNE
Island official eager to start
Marie Gilmore comes to city council at a pivotal time for Alameda
By Kristin Bender
September 19, 2003

ALAMEDA -- When Marie Gilmore was appointed to the Alameda City Council
earlier this month, she made history as the first African-American woman
to hold the job in the city's 150-year history.

But more importantly, she impressed her son and daughter, who initially
had pre-teen and teenage indifference about her appointment.

"They are a bit jaded," she said. "I've been on the Planning Board for
so long and their dad is on TV every Friday night during football season
(he's an ESPN football analyst), so it was no big deal to them."

The swearing-in ceremony, however, made an impression. "Then they
realized it was a big deal, and they both said they were very proud of
me," she said.

She hopes to make the rest of the city proud too.

Gilmore, who replaced the late Al DeWitt, comes to the new seat at a
pivotal time for Alameda. The former Navy base -- one-third of the
Island -- is being prepared for development. Plans call for a small city
with thousands of homes, stores, offices, parks, a school and a golf
course, hotel and conference center.

But the Navy still needs to clean up the land -- contaminated by toxic
waste -- before any new construction gets under way. This summer, the
Navy dismissed the city's proposal to spend $558 million, more than
three times the Navy's clean-up estimate of roughly $150 million to $180
million.

The wide disparity in the cost estimates prompted the Navy to scrap
plans for an early transfer of roughly 1,000 acres of the base. Instead,
the Navy will clean up the land and transfer it to the city on its own
time schedule.

This article can be viewed at:
http://www.oaklandtribune.com/Stories/0,1413,82~1865~1642434,00.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CPEO: A DECADE OF SUCCESS.  Your generous support will ensure that our 
important work on military and environmental issues will continue.  
Please consider one of our donation options.  Thank you.
http://www.groundspring.org/donate/index.cfm?ID=2086-0|721-0