I wrote a column in the Easy Reader in which I declared that I was the boating public’s conduit to city government in Redondo Beach http://www.easyreadernews.com/columns/harbor-lights-boaters-voice. I’d like to reiterate that here. If you are an individual boater who uses King Harbor for any reason from paddling a kayak to entertaining on a yacht, the city has a mechanism for you to have your voices heard within city government.
It’s me. I’m the boater’s representative on the harbor commission. I’m there to represent the interests of people who use King Harbor for recreational boating.
For the 5 years since I was appointed to the harbor commission, I’ve heard a number of representatives of groups of boaters speak to the harbor commission and the city council on behalf of their groups. That was the proper way the interests of groups with a particular opinion should be presented to city government.
That rhetoric had evolved over my 5 years on the commission. The voice of a few groups has begun to be presented as the voice of “the boaters”. As this false representation began to evolve, I began to become disturbed. A small handful of powerful boating groups were beginning to present themselves at the voice of the overall boating public. They were definitely not what they claimed to be and as much as I liked the individuals involved, I felt it was my duty as the harbor commission’s boater’s representative to point out that these representatives of specific groups did not speak for anything close to a majority of King Harbor boaters.
Allow me to prove it. If you are a King Harbor boater who is not affiliated with a particular club or organization, tell me your position on the boat ramp or a master plan for Mole B.
If you’re not connected to a boating club or group your response will almost certainly be, “what?”
The boaters of King Harbor are not screaming for a boat ramp or a master plan for Mole B (who even knows what Mole B is?). But if you attended a harbor commission or city council meeting you’ll walk away believing your boating future depends on these two things. It doesn’t!
I’ve asked the special interests involved in these movements to tone down the rhetoric. They haven’t so it’s time to come forward with the truth.
If you use the facilities in King Harbor for boating and you have opinions about the harbor and its future, please call on me to carry your thoughts to city government. That’s what I was appointed to do. Post a response here or email me at harry@munns.org.
