Mr. Gordon is extremely knowledgeable about activities, events, facts, figures, comments, and all other aspects regarding past and present development plans for Marymount College, Rancho Palos Verdes.
Mr. Gordon and I have shared information and it is relevant that I acknowledge that I have communicated with him on many occasions.
Mr. Gordon offered an Email partly dealing with Dr. Michael Brophy's (President of Marymount College) comments and also a fairly detailed history of a "straw poll" or "Straw vote" taken by members of the Rancho Palos Verdes Planning Commission, well before any official votes on elements of The Marymount College Facilities Expansion Project were taken.
The 'straw poll' was done by all members before the majority of the membership of the Planning Commission created the final votes and recommendations to the Rancho Palos Verdes City Council.
Three of the seven members of the Planning Commission recused themselves from voting on The Marymount College Facilities Expansion Project.
Here is Mr. Gordon's information followed by a scanned article from The Palos Verdes Peninsula News:
"Dr. Brophy's short presentation last night at the CHOA meeting was illustrative of a certain ambiguity regarding the truth of important matters relating to Proposition P and his interpretation of why the College is now seeking an Initiative measure to "restore" Residence Halls to the College's Project.
It is significant that this College President, in an off-the-cuff "rebuttal of remarks made earlier in the meeting by Councilman Stern and SOC III President Ken Dyda, that Dr. Brophy misrepresented the circumstances surrounding the infamous PC (Planning Commission) "Straw Poll" that resulted in a unanimous "NO" on dorms. I was there at that fateful December meeting, Dr. Brophy certainly was there as well, but got a bit "hazy" last night about critical details of how that straw vote actually happened.
I am still wondering just why he would be so forgetful of this matter's details when in his presentation last night he apparently stated that the reason Marymount is now seeking dorms via the Initiative process is because the PC (Planning Commission) review process was improper in not fully proceeding to consider dorms. Further, Dr. Brophy specifically omitted the fact that it was the College that (later) withdrew those dorms (he did acknowledge this fact upon questioning - as being on April 15, 2009).
I have attached the PV News account of this Straw Poll - the article is dated December 11, 2008.
The key point that Dr. Brophy debated last night was that it was solely Paul Tetrow who suggested conducting the dorms straw poll. I seriously questioned Dr. Brophy on this point, stating that while it may have been Paul's motion to have a straw vote, it was only at Dr. Brophy's own personal request and urging: It was an constructive attempt by the PC (Planning Commission) at an accommodation to the College President to give him the requested "direction" as to where this key component of the Project stands so that the College could change their plans appropriately. Dr. Brophy personally forced that vote.
But last night, Dr. Brophy seemed completely ill at ease on this and actually denied that it was in fact himself that had requested such a straw vote to be taken. As also noted, Dr. Brophy made no mention in his brief remarks last night, of the fact that Marymount College was the one who voluntarily took the Residence Halls off the table. He is sensitive to both these key points. His reluctance/reticence to not acknowledge that it was his own request for a vote - up or down, on the dorms issue is simply stunning now. The context was that the College claimed (Dr. Brophy made this clear) was losing $250,000 for every month that the PC (PLANNING COMMISSION "dithered" and Dr. Brophy had been banging on that same "drum" for many prior months in 2008.
Then, when the PC (Planning Commission) accommodated his request to have a straw vote in December of 2008, Dr. Brophy is now unwilling to accept responsibility for that in 2010.
I trust that the attached will bear me out as to what actually happened and we still have further recourse to the Video of that Planning Commission meeting to transcribe his remarks if and as appropriate. "
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