It's a serious charge but it's a serious issue: Norman La Force, who is running for the board of directors of East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD), Ward 1, is lying when he claims to have "led the campaign to double the size of Point Isabel Dog Park."
This isn't about whether you like dogs or think North Point Isabel should allow off-leash dogs. It's about a breathtaking spin to mislead voters.
La Force actually lobbied for two years to REDUCE off-leash dog walking at Point Isabel by more than 50 percent. He lost. Now he's taking credit for something he tried to prevent.
The only thing true in La Force's claim is his own name. Here are the facts, which are well-documented. (See links to source docs below.)
La Force led a campaign to reduce recreational dog walking (from about 50 acres to 23 acres, by requiring dogs to be on-leash on North Point Isabel).
There is no "Point Isabel Dog Park." (EBRPD doesn't operate dog parks.) Point Isabel Regional Shoreline is a multi-use park that allows dogs off-leash.
The off-leash area never doubled. The state park planners authorized existing off-leash recreation, to continue.
La Force was still fighting against off-leash recreation AFTER the state park planners included it in the Preferred Park Concept on March 21, 2002. In July 2002, he tried to derail it on environmental grounds. (With the false assertion that off-leash recreation would be expanding and the Environmental Impact Report hadn't taken that into account.)
In October 2002, the park planners published the General Plan that preserved off-leash recreation at Point Isabel/North Point Isabel. La Force simply never got on-board -- let alone actually led the effort. Now he's claiming credit for EBRPD's most popular park. Don't let him get away with it.
This slide show walks you through the paper trail. You can also download source documents (many obtained through the Public Records Act) and review publicly available documents online. There's no wiggle room on this.
You may not walk dogs in the parks, but you probably still agree that facts matter and misleading voters is wrong.