Former HB Mayor Keith Bohr’s comments RE: Kim Kramer
From the HB Talks Google forum https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/hbtalks
Keith Bohr
3/9/11
HBDRA – Kim Kramer and the truth about both…
In preparation and in the spirit of “sunshineweek” I will continue to shine a little bit of sun on some of the many unethical if not illegal things HBDRA’s Kim Kramer (KK) has done since becoming active with the resurrected HBDRA. My council colleagues were not comfortable with me doing so in the public setting of a televised city council meeting on Monday, fair enough I will take it back to the blogs. KK has booted me off of HBTALK, so I am thankful another HB resident that dared speak his mind and was also booted by KK from HBTALK, created this venue for us that dared cross KK. Thanks Barry!
One of my council colleagues suggested that I should not call Mr. Kramer out on his antics, that as an elected official I should just turn the other cheek so to speak. I usually do turn the other cheek and even did so with KK after he filed his complaints against me with FFPC and OCDA after they subsequently cleared me I chose to let it all be bygones. Until that is KK then started crossing the lines with how he tried to strong arm some downtown business owners and property owners. Further, he brought my family into it again this time with the spreading of malicious gossip! No, I will not be turning the other cheek until I feel KK has been properly exposed for what an awful representative he is of what otherwise could be a constructive voice in our local politics. If he will not admit the errors of his ways, maybe his fellow HBDRA members through peer pressure can convince him that he is out of line. If they don’t the HBDRA has not real credibility.
My contention is that KK lies, exaggerates, bullies and attempts extortion in an effort to be revered as some kind of power broker in local HB politics. The points I was trying to make at Monday’s council meeting before being filibustered by KK and then cut off by my council colleagues were as follows.
When KK states he is the spokesperson of the Huntington Beach Downtown Resident’s Association (HBDRA) and that the organization consists of more than 1,600 members he not being completely truthful. What you really have is KK, an individual HB resident basically speaking on his own behalf. HBDRA does not have dues paying members, an elected board of directors, nor does it even hold an annual meeting of the general membership like most community organizations do (e.g. HB Neighbors and Huntington Beach Tomorrow, HBT).
HBDRA Membership
KK use to state that HBDRA had 6,000 members/supporters,I believe he based that on the signatures that were gathered on petitions that were labeled something to the effect of “save our park and/or library.” The more recent number of 1,600 that KK stated on Monday night consists of a list of email addresses. I do not believe by any stretch of the imagination that 1.600 HB residents have signed up to be “members” of HBDRA on their website. My guess is the emails have been collected over time, for various reasons at various events and and then entered into their database. Since Mark Bixby recently gave/sold his HBTalk Blog database to KK, I would bet all of those email addresses are counted towards the 1,600 number, but as with all of that I opine here tonight on this blog, KK or whomever can correct me via this blog, until then as Mr. Bixby recently challenged “you be the judge.” In any case KK confirmed one does not have to pay any dues to be a member so there is zero financial commitment required to join. HB Neighbors for example charges $25 and HBT has a sliding scale from $15 for an individual all the way up to $250 for a lifetime membership.
General Membership Meetings
Most legitimate community organizations have a least one annual General Membership meeting where they actually elect their board representatives. When I asked KK on Monday when HBDRA last had a General Membership meeting he stated “um about 6 months ago October?, you were there Keith the one at the Shorebreak Hotel”. I responded that I didn’t think that was a HBDRA General Membership meeting as many if not most people there were not likely members, KK disagreed. Well, with members like that who needs enemies?
First off the meeting was not held six months ago, but a little over a year ago on March 4, 2010. The meeting was advertised as follows: “Town Hall Meeting regarding Residential Parking Zones” at that meeting the majority of attendees strongly voiced their opposition to KK’s proposal to implement a residential parking zone program in the numbered streets. So even if that by some stretch was a general membership meeting of the HBDRA, it does not appear to be one that is held even annually and there was no election by the membership of the HBDRA board of directors.
HBDRA Board of Directors
Seeing how the board is not elected by it’s membership, how are they selected? According to Blair Farley a recent board member now listed on the HBDRA website as “Retired Board Member” (along with Mark Bixby and Joe Shaw), Blair says KK informally invites/appoints all of the board members. No elections, no term limits, no minutes taken at meetings, no treasurer’s reports, no accountability, no transparency…
In fact, apparently one does not even have to live anywhere near downtown to be a board member of the HB Downtown Resident’s Association?!? Less than a couple of months back, in late January the following people were listed on the HBDRA website as Board Members. Gloria Alvarez (wife of KK and downtown resident), Kim Kramer (husband of Gloria Alvarez and downtown resident), Blair Farley (a sitting Planning Commissioner and not a downtown resident) Mark Bixby (a sitting Planning Commissioner and not a downtown resident) Jill Hardy (a former recent City Council member and not a downtown resident). So of the total five board members of the Downtown Resident’s Association a grand total of one (1) downtown household is represented!?!
KK has stated that the HBDRA is a more broad based group that is concerned about more issues than just downtown, okay then maybe they should consider changing their name to more accurately reflect their board and membership? If they are not just focused on the downtown I would also be curious what their stance is on broader HB issues such as the Senior Center in Central Park, the Poseidon Desal Plant, Annexation of Sunset Beach, the Beach Edinger Corridor Plan. However, what would that really tell us, KK’s stance or the majority of KK’s self appointed board’s stance? Certainly not that of the general membership!
HBDRA Stances on Issues
When self appointed HBDRA spokesperson KK attends a public hearing of the HB Planning Commission or City Council and states that the HBDRA is “for” or “against” an application agendized for consideration, how was that HBDRA position of advocating decided and who does it represent? For example, KK was the only one to speak at the January 25, 2011 P.C. public hearing for Bomburger’s application requesting to serve beer/wine from 11am – 10pm. KK introduced himself as Kim Kramer, Spokesperson for the HBDRA and stated that the HBDRA was adamantly opposed to Bomburger’s not only getting to sell alcohol in strict accordance to the City Council Resolution 2010-05, but to sell alcohol at all period. I asked KK on Monday night if his board voted on this position of opposition and he stated in the affirmative, I then asked if it was a unanimous vote of the board and he said he thought so they usually were. Please remember that the board at that time consisted of Kramer, Alvarez, Bixby, Farley and Hardy.
In an earlier email (dated Feb. 22, 2011 at 9:51am) some of you may have seen from Mark Bixby addressed to “Keith Bohr and all” (on HBTALKS), Mr Bixby stated “I did not participate in the formulation of the HBDRA position on Bomburger.” I called Blair Farley today to ask him if he participated in the formulation of that HBDRA position, he stated unequivocally “No”, that he was very careful not to participate in discussions that related to anything that would be brought before the Planning Commission for their formal consideration. Earlier today I also called Jill Hardy, who according to her is still on the board, but plans to resign soon, strangely enough the website as I type does not list her as a board member nor does it list her as a “Retired Board member?” I asked Jill if she voted on the issue of opposing the Bomburger application and she said she was present for the discussion, but was not comfortable taking a stance without hearing the other side and therefore abstained from the vote. So let’s do the math here, without calling KK or his wife, I will assume they both voted and voted the same way; to oppose the application for a total board vote of 2 for opposition (Kramer, Alvarez) – 0 for support, 2 that were absent from the discussion (Bixby, Farley) and 1 abstention (Hardy). If that is all accurate then less than a quorum of three decided the HBDRA stance on this issue. So when KK stands up and states he is the spokesperson for the HBDRA consisting of 1,600 or so members and board he appoints, he really seems to be representing his position and maybe that of his wife’s at least in this example anyway.
To further complicate the issue, Jill Hardy stated that Blair Farley and Mark Bixby were at that board meeting and they did participate in the formulation of HBDRA’s opposition to the Bomburger application. Wow! Who is being honest and who is not? Farley and Bixby both disclosed at the P.C. public hearing on Bomburger that they were HBDRA board members, both had spoken to KK about the Bomburger issue (Bixby stated on numerous occasions) KK testifies that HBDRA is opposed to the application and then shortly thereafter Farley made a motion to go against the staff recommendation for approval with conditions on the operating hours, Bixby immediately seconded Farley’s motion to deny the application and it passed on a 4-3 vote. First off, I will point out that disclosing one has a conflict does not mean they are then free to vote, in my opinion they should have both recused themselves from voting due to their stated conflicts.
In closing Kim Kramer’s lack of honesty, his tactics of bullying business and property owners (whether it be entering with clipboard in hand and demanding city documentation, threatening employees with physical harm, marching into Bomburger with a video camera in hand, telling people he “owns” certain members of the P.C. and C.C., or squeezing applicants for a monetary donation to the HBDRA in exchange for HBDRA support of their C.U.P. application) all are completely unacceptable and some in my opinion illegal; for all of those reasons I have no respect for Kim Kramer, HBDRA or anybody that continues to associate with and or apologize for him after becoming aware of his ways.
KK apologists please take me to task on any of the above. Let the shine in!!!
As always any and all reading this are welcome to call me directly to discuss any of the above further and or to reply to my email versus via the blog.
Coming to you soon!
Do Kim Kramer and Gloria Alvarez hate homeless people and those that provide the homeless basic services? If not, why are they working behind the scenes to get the City Council to terminate the month to month lease of Beach Cities Interfaith Services, a non profit that has been serving our homeless brothers and sisters from the Main Street Library for the past 21 years? They provide lunches to the homeless on weekdays, bags of groceries and provide referrals to other service agencies.
I have blind copied a bunch of HB residents that I am guessing are not signed up for HBTALKS, if you are interested in following the retorts et al., please go to this link to sign up to receive them.
http://groups.google.com/group/hbtalks
—
Thank you,
Keith Bohr
In a message dated 7/22/2014 10:34:44 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time, hbt…@googlegroups.com writes:
The fact may very well be that there is no longer a “board” per se, it wouldn’t surprise me if it is just KK and his wife working behind the OZ curtain. Candidate Bixby has chosen to be less than transparent, he drank the KK Koolaide and now has chosen to go mute. The board was never elected by the membership as there was never a formal membership or general membership meetings to do so. So, KK picked the board members and then self appointed himself President and Spokesperson for this phony 4,000 member group…all so KK can falsely boost his sense of being a mover and shaker in downtown. Unfortunately enough of the council fell for it and KK has had some success, like getting the Council to kick out Beach Cities Interfaith Services, (bcis-hb.org) a non profit group that had provided services (food, toiletries and referrals) for more than 20 years to the homeless from a back room located in the Main Street Library. Sound familiar? Yes, KK’s front yard, he apparently didn’t like seeing the homeless folks that came and went Monday-Thursday mornings and talked the Council into booting them, I helped keep him from doing so when I was on council, but he got his way with the newly elected council. They are in the process of creating a new location for BCIS up on Gothard where day worker trailer use to be located. Meanwhile BCIS has not had a home for more than a year, at a minimum I would have hoped the council would have kept BCIS in place until the new facility was ready to go. KK is both the OZ and the Tin Man (no heart)! Nonetheless, as I stated before Kim Kramer has been properly exposed, my only purpose of continuing to beat the drum, is to insure the candidates he supports are not elected so he can not negatively influence them into implementing more bad policy like I described above. Speaking of which, we know from Mark Bixby’s website that he was endorsed by the HBDRA, even before the closing of filing of candidates, I am guessing once again this endorsement did not come via a vote of the HBDRA membership, nor even its mystery board, but solely by KK. I could not find current candidate websites for Connie Boardman or Joe Shaw, so not sure if they have been “endorsed” by HBDRA, their Facebook pages do not list any endorsements. I did however, receive an email stating that Boardman, Shaw and Bixby are running as Team HB as they did in 2010, where Blair Farley was the odd man out, so it would seem likely KK, I mean the HBDRA will endorse the whole trio. Voters beware…
Keith Bohr
—