Tonight, at the resident speak out portion of the CA Board
of Directors meeting, Alan Klein testified as the spokesperson for the
Coalition for Columbia’sDowntown (CoFoCoDo). He continually used the collective “we” as he leveled attacks at the
CA Board and staff for the new proposed plans for Symphony Woods. “Nothing we've seen or heard…as far as we can tell…we know…we do not agree…we
oppose this plan,” and so on.
Who is this “we?”
Alan claims CoFoCoDo has "almost 500 supporters" yet when Dorsey’s
Search board member Tom Coale asked if there was an actual list of these supporters, Alan
admitted that the only public list was “a little old” and numbered
closer to 400.
That’s an understatement. The list of supporters is over
five years old, going back to the fall of 2006. It’s never been updated. There is no way of knowing whether any
of these original supporters support the current statements and positions put
forth by its spokesperson.
But that’s not the worst of it. Alan makes a big deal about
what he perceives as a lack of transparency on behalf of CA but his own organization
is downright opaque. The website lists no officers or board members. There are no minutes
of meetings where the organizations positions are discussed and consensus
reached. While Alan claims CoFoCoDo supporters oppose the Symphony Woods plan there is no evidence that the organization even met to discuss it or that these 500 supporters were polled.
In other words, the Coalition for Columbia ’s Downtown does not have any
attributes of a legitimate community organization. It’s a sham, nothing more
than a hollow shell. Any positions put forth by such a group should be
considered in this context.
