INC NEWS - Many thanks from the development industry...

[John Schelp]

Dear Mike, 

On behalf of the development industry, we'd like to
thank you for your lobbying efforts over the past
week. Your support of our cause has exceeded our
wildest expectations.

And, your strategy is to be commended: take a couple
soft pot-shots at the Neighborhood Advocate proposal,
try to bury it in another department, raise some
"important" questions, and then call for a long delay
until after the budget is decided. Ha. :)

The other lobbyists were all smiles when you
fabricated a new position that would act as judge and
jury over planning decisions (something the proponents
never suggested) -- and then questioned the idea of a
Neighborhood Advocate acting as judge and jury.
Brilliant!

Our favorite was the fabrication about the
Neighborhood Advocate holding "trump cards" over the
mayor and City Council. That was a classic!

So, many thanks for sowing these seeds of confusion
and doubt. We can now focus on "streamlining" the
development process even more -- so those pesky
neighborhoods can't delay our projects. 

And, the best news is we just got five NEW planners
and another planning staffer inserted into the City's
new budget -- to help speed our projects through
faster. 

(In this case, we'd really appreciate you not asking a
series of "objective" questions about those SIX new
salaries -- especially with so many other 'needs' in
our community...) ;)

Job well done. Really, we must invite you out to the
club one of these days.

very very truly yours,
Nick & George