An Open Letter to the Citizens of San Ramon

The San Ramon for Open Government (SROG) would like to thank all the people who participated in and those who added their names to the referendum drive to place the City Center project on the November ballot. This cause was worth every minute of time we spent collecting signatures and listening to the concerns of the residents of San Ramon. 

Though we have settled the lawsuit and terminated the signature drive, we have not stopped the effort to get the City Council to stop and listen to the people who voted them into office. We will continue to be here to watch and comment on the future of the City Center. This is only the beginning of SROG’s presence as an organization in San Ramon.  Our objective is to be a watchdog for our citizens, to get the San Ramon government to be more open, transparent, and accountable. Whether we just speak to the issues or have to bring lawsuits to get the city to be accountable, we will do it.

We are a grassroots citizen’s organization of people who love San Ramon and care about what happens here. We are a group who also care about our quality of life and want to protect the environment we and our children grow up in. Growth does not need to be anti-people, growth can be good if the people are the center of concern and decision making. The City of San Ramon should exist to service the people of San Ramon. When a city seems to service other masters or acts in an arbitrary manner, it should be called on it. This City Council has done both when it came to the City Center project. 

With the lawsuit and the referendum we have been able to get the City Center project to be less harmful than it would have been. But more importantly we have called to the attention of the City Council and Mayor that they will run the risk of direct or indirect action if they don’t listen to the concerns and take heed of their citizens. 

Jim Gibbon