Sausalito Divided by Fight Over Development,Peter Fimrite, April 6, 1998-San Francisco Chronicle Staff Writer

Sausalito Divided by Fight Over DevelopmentPeter Fimrite, Chronicle Staff Writer

Monday, April 6, 1998


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POLITICS '98



(04-06) 04:00 PDT SAUSALITO -- In Sausalito, where small-town matters are often big-time controversies, a seemingly run-of-the- mill political campaign has turned into a spite-filled donnybrook over the town's future.

The folks in this waterfront hamlet of 7,000 are at war over two open seats on the City Council and an accompanying ballot measure.

The April 14 election has become a lightning rod for the hostility and resentment that has apparently been percolating for years, pitting the old-time liberal activists who have dominated local politics against a new generation of power brokers. And the cozy, small-town appeal of Sausalito is in the balance.

``I can say this is the most divisive time I've ever seen in Sausalito, but I also think there is the most at stake,'' said Marin County Supervisor Annette Rose, who has lived in Sausalito for 35 years.

Incumbent Bill Ziegler is among the six candidates vying for his seat and the seat being vacated by Glendon Miskel. Ziegler was among the minority on the City Council when he was elected in 1994. But a powerful new majority was formed two years ago, when his allies, George Stratigos and Paul Albritton, won seats on the council.

Since then, the three men have attacked the former ruling clan of local preservationists as do-nothing naysayers whose preoccupation with art and culture has left Sausalito deteriorating and badly run.

Candidate Douglas Power, a local businessman and planning commissioner, is another ally of Ziegler's. Richard Aspen, a parks and recreation commissioner for Sausalito, also supports Ziegler's positions but is something of a dark horse in the race.

The three self-described ``progressives'' support ``renewal'' projects, such as a new downtown waterfront plaza, a sprawling fitness club on rundown school property and a viable business and boating community in the Marinship area. Ziegler is a former trustee of the Arques property along the Marinship waterfront, but has sold his interest.

Their chief rival is Sandra Bushmaker, a family law attorney and mediator, who claims that Ziegler and Power are little more than shills for developers. She and her backers fear that if the Ziegler group maintains its majority, crass, tourist-serving developments will turn Sausalito into another Fisherman's Wharf.

J.R. Roberts, an architectural consultant, is another challenger who wants to preserve the character and historical background of Sausalito. Douglas Storms, a commercial diver and chaplain, also supports preservation.

According to the Bushmaker/ Roberts camp, the Ziegler group continually makes decisions without public input.

``They are just railroading decisions through,'' Roberts said. ``People are afraid we're going to lose that character, that funkiness, that makes Sausalito special.''

Ziegler, Power and Aspen claim that fear is misguided. ``All we want,'' said Power, ``is to work with property owners to fix up, care for and improve the town and create access to the waterfront.''

Perhaps the most bitter disagreement is over Measure F, which was proposed by Ziegler and is supported by the council majority. It would modify a city ordinance preventing the sale or leasing of public property without a vote, allowing the City Council to ``take necessary actions to facilitate public access and enjoyment of public properties.''

Opponents claim the measure is an underhanded attempt to negate the right of the public to vote on decisions about public property, an allegation that proponents staunchly deny.

All the council candidates agree that a new waterfront plaza is desirable. They also agree that the police and fire departments need new buildings and that something must be done about the rundown 17-acre former site of Martin Luther King Jr. school.

But the two factions disagree on how to go about fixing these problems.

The candidates also agree that the public schools need improvement, but the chasm that separates the two factions extends into education as well. The Sausalito School District spends three times the statewide average on each student, but test scores are the lowest in the county.

Ziegler and Power blame the group that used to run city politics for instituting failed programs on the school board. Bushmaker and Roberts claim that the Ziegler group is using board members as scapegoats for problems that have existed for years and which worsened after military bases closed, reducing the number of students by at least 100.