John Gaccione

Date: 06/12/2022
Subject: Midsummer Report
From: The Memo Desk

Six years ago the first “Memo to the 1200 Club Faithful” was posted on nextdoor. The post generated a few reactions and a lot of suggestions. One thing was clear, some folks in Kensington were not happy with the use of humor or satire when discussing political foibles in our serene hillside village.

At the time the Kensington Police Protection & Community Service District was plagued by police personnel scandals, lax financial oversight, poor leadership, police harassment of residents and runaway legal expenses. A majority of the past board directors didn’t see these as major problems. After all, it had been this way for many years, so why change?

One influential political group in our hillside village announced they had 1200 votes which meant they could influence a vote and/or an election. The idea one small group could impose its views on a community caught my attention and became the inspiration for the first memo. It was like their own private K-Club. Their schemes always seemed to require an awful lot of lawyers and hard sell.

The intent of the memos was to interject some humor into the frequently caustic exchange of opinions. The form of the memos was a mix of club newsletters, corporate directives, religious tracts, investment scams and political broadsides. Along with just a pinch of Jim & Tammy Faye Bakker’s 700 Club vibe.

The memos would outline the authorized position the Faithful should take on current political issues. The memos often used the vernacular to deflate the pompous language used in many of the Faithful’s posts. A typical memo might include a gospel reference or two. Like referencing the apostle Paul’s letters to the Corinthians for example.

For those new to the Local Issues group this brief overview will give you some background on the origins of the “Memo to the 1200 Club Faithful”. Those who are familiar with the posts might like to look at how they developed over time, a collection of the memos can be found at: https://kensingtonca.org/humorous-tidbits/ .

Our community has gone through a number of hard-fought changes since those troubled days of yore. Thank our lucky stars and a host of community members the changes were for the better. Can I get a healing?

“…I command you.” (Cyrus Modavi, ex-KPPCSD Director)

Note: Put Kensington first; always so serene, locally controlled and sovereign. Satire alert!