Are you familiar with the myth of the Hydra? It was one of the labors of Hercules to fight this poisinous nine-headed water beast. The swamp where it lurked was filled with deadly gasses, but he covered his mouth and nose with a cloth, and carried a trusty scythe to battle. He soon found that every time he chopped off one head it immediately grew back two in its place. Fortunately, only one head was immortal, the others were just really really successful. In the end, the only way to keep it from getting stronger was to cautarize the neck to stop it from regrowing, and use the venom of the severed head to stop it from coming back. Smart work, but he was Hercules, and he had the help of gods, because Athena was really a sucker for a pretty face. So he killed the monster.
Malibu 83.AE.346, Caeretan hydria, c. 525 B.C.
Main panel: Hercules slaying the Lernean hydra
Collection of the J. Paul Getty Museum, Malibu, California
Martinez, of course, has its own Hyrda. The Redevelopment Agency. At last count it had been effectively killed seven times in the last 50 years. We are actually one of a handful of cities in California without one. (Make that a very small handful.) The RDA is self-governed body that has the power to take loans, declare blight and make decisions without any public input whatsoever. Don’t confuse “redevelopment” with an RDA. A cute new restaurant block or some satellite shops downtown isn’t the same thing. One is influenced by the will of the people, the needs of the community, and the demands of the city. The other is a wholly uncontrolled shadow government that operates without public input. Once any redevelopment area is defined, the RDA can expand its powers to any single part of the city. Although there are highly respected and successful RDAs, like in Danville or Lafayette, they usually occur in cities with strong voter representation, active neighborhood alliances, and government that is forced to be respectful of its citizens—a city council you can trust or at least control.
Tomorrow night our city council will vote on an ordinance to establish a Martinez RDA. The group “Open Martinez” sends this call to action. Learn more by reading their newsletter here:
It is, of course, the last item on the meeting agenda. But it is essential you attend. The city needs to see the reaction they create. Like Hercules I’d advise you wrap your nose and throat to ward off the toxic air.
