Date: 06/21/2024
Subject: Midsummer Update
From: The Memo Desk

Around this time of year at the summer solstice I usually post a description of how the “Memos to the Faithful” originated. Eight years ago, after attending several contentious Kensington Police Protection & Community Services District meetings I became curious how one small political group could claim they controlled a majority of their 1200 faithful voters. This allowed a small group to control any issue that came up for a vote in our hillside village.

At the time the issues were largely centered on the problems of the KPPCSD. The board directors of yore regularly took a see-no-evil approach to district business. For years sketchy budget figures, lax police discipline, financial irregularities and short-term planning were the accepted norm. The board and those who supported them resisted constructive criticism and were reluctant to make changes.

Citizens who questioned the situation were met with disdain from the directors. In some instances, the police were used to intimidate citizens who pointed out how poorly the district was being managed. It took a major police scandal to highlight how dysfunctional the KPPCSD had become. I became involved with a group of folks seeking solutions to these problems.

To satirize how good people could blindly follow the direction of others, I came up with the idea of posting memos from “Headquarters” outlining the correct position the faithful should take on critical issues of the day. The form of the memos borrowed elements from corporate memos, political broadsides, religious tracts mixed with a dose of humor and just a hint of the Jim & Tammy Faye Bakker’s 700 Club blasphemy.

Most importantly, I attempted to interject some humor into the critical issues of the day. But alas, not everyone enjoyed the use of humor in the memos. Many of the faithful objected to humor and satire when discussing current community issues, and they made their displeasure known. For many the foibles of Kensington’s politics were no laughing matter.

One police issue that still continues to stir controversy is whether Kensington can continue to afford to have its own independent police department. And like a lot of critical issues that face Kensington, the question has gotten bogged down in “analysis/paralysis”phase.

You can find all of the Memos to the Faithful at https://kensingtonca.org/humorous-tidbits/

“War has rules, mud wrestling has rules- politics has no rules.” (Ross Perot)

Note: Crime Stopper’s Notebook, save Kensington’s future by learning from its past.