Castro Valley could elect its Municipal Advisory Council (MAC) at a fraction of the cost asserted by Alameda County officials at recent Eden Area Livability Initiative (EALI) Governance Working Group meetings. Based on research of elections within Alameda County and throughout the State of California coupled with  publicly available information, something …

Time and again, we have been told that having an elected  Municipal Advisory Council (MAC) would be an expensive and pointless endeavor.  Last year, I wrote an article deflating the arguments floated at the time of an election for MAC costing up to $500,000 every two years.  Although completely without …

In previous blog posts, we’ve talked about the potential to have our Castro Valley Municipal Advisory Council (MAC) elected rather than appointed, as it is now, by County Supervisor Nate Miley. Many objections have been raised, one of which is the potentially prohibitive costs to potential MAC candidates. We’ve been …

On Tuesday, Castro Valley Matters formally asked the Alameda County Board of Supervisors to help create an elected Castro Valley Municipal Advisory Council (MAC). In a letter submitted to the Board of Supervisors, CVM’s Board of Directors asked that the Board of Supervisors “either pass a resolution changing the Castro Valley MAC to an …

Proponents for a “Town of Olympic Valley” in the Squaw Valley area of Placer County withdrew their petition for municipal incorporation last week, citing “hostility” to their proposal. Teton Gravity Research, a company that produces ski, snowboard, and surf films and blogs about the ski industry, traced the start of the Olympic Valley incorporation …

Since Castro Valley Matters started, we’ve researched and written a lot about Municipal Advisory Councils (and their equivalents) and the Castro Valley MAC. Here’s a sample of some of our stories: How the MAC has evolved since its inception Why the MAC has seven members Tracking down the MAC’s bylaws …

Back in 2012, as I passionately argued for an incorporated Castro Valley before a packed audience at the “Great Castro Valley Debate,” I had to concede that despite my dream for Castro Valley home rule, achieving municipal independence for our community was unlikely…all because of something called the “Vehicle License Fee …