Grass Roots Democracy At Work..The Battle To Save Sharp Park Golf Course In Pacifica, California

Hello everyone! What a night October 22nd turned out to be at Sharp Park Golf Course. The cars were overflowiing in the parking lot, the rooms were overflowing in the clubhouse and the money was overflowing in the coffers! Over 300 community supporters, from both San Francisco and Pacifica, walked through the doors at the stroke of 6 o'clock. And why, might you ask? The answer was a fundraiser given by theSan Francisco Public Golf Alliance (SFPGA) to help support the efforts of the Sharp Park Golf Club(SPGC) and the newly organizedPacifica Community Coalition To Save Sharp Park Golf Course(PCC), in their joint battle to save the embattled Sharp Park Golf Course. Co-Chairs of the SFPGA, Bo Links and Richard Harris, appointed SF Supervisor, Sean Elsbernd, and SF Assemblywoman Fiona Ma as Honorary Co-Chairs of the event, with the winner of the 1964 U.S.Open, Ken Venturi, as the Honorary Chairman. In a matter of minutes the lines to get into the rear meeting room of the Sharp Park Golf Course Restaurant wound peripatetically throughout the dining room and spilled into the restaurant's bar area... It had become very apparent that these folks came with a definite purpose in mind and check in hand...They were "stepping up to the plate" and declaring their support for keeping the golf course an 18 hole golf course, as well as restoring the habitat for any endangered species...This battle for Sharp Park Golf Course has come a long way since a group of golfers and non-golfers got together at a Pacifica Democrat's breakfast meeting to listen to speakers voice their concerns, one Saturday morning 2 and 1/2 years ago, about the fate of Sharp Park Golf Course. From observing the fervor of Thurday night's crowd, the effort to help save Sharp Park Golf Course appears to be catching on substantially. The phrase, "Save Sharp Park Golf Course!", could be heard on everybody's lips as one walked through the crowd... A quick scan of the audience looked like a page from "Who's Who" in both San Mateo and San Francisco Counties political circles. Standing in the front of the room off to the side was Supervisor Sean Elsbernd from San Francisco (One of the most important Supervisors in San Francisco, if not the most important, as far as the golf course issue is concerned) He was in deep conversation with the City Attorney of San Francisco, Dennis Herrera, who is rumored to be running for Mayor of SF next year. Both gave very strong speeches. In the same location in the front of the crowd could be seen San Mateo County Supervisor Carol Groome from San Mateo County's 2nd District, Don Horsley, San Mateo County Supervisorial candidate for the 3rd Supervisorial District seat, Joe Galligan, San Mateo County Treasurer Candidate, Mark Hershman, District Director for Assemblyman Jerry Hill of the 19th Assembly District, along with a number of Administrative Supervisorial staff from both San Mateo County and San Francisco County, in attendance. And to top it off, the meeting was also graced by the presence of "that venerable grand old man of golf" and past President of the PGA, Sandy Tatum, himself...There were so many people in attendance that it was difficult to get an actual head count, at any given time. Only at the end, did the registration data tell the tale of how many actually arrived. They were practically "hanging from the rafters", as they say, while flowing out the doors and standing against the walls . The crowd became so large early on that the room(s) could not comfortably contain them. They spilled out the back door on to the periphery of the golf course, out the side door and out the dining room door into both the restaurant's dining room and bar area. In addition to the attendees who gave donations, absentee donations were also sent in from those that could not be there in person that evening, but were definitely there in spirit. And speaking of spirit, it was apparent that the spirit and fervor of saving this historical golf course had gained momentum in recent months, not only in Pacifica and San Francisco , but also in other areas of San Mateo County, as well.. Looking around the room(s) and listening to the speeches, it could be seen that this was clearly a coalition of players, environmentalists, youth advocates, senior advocates, neighborhood activists, organized labor, preservationists and other allies, who were demonstrating a remarkable affinity for one another, while building a bridge of cooperation among themselves for the upcoming battle of not only saving Sharp Park Golf Course, in particluar, in the City of Pacifica, but of also saving municipal golf, in general, in the City of San Francisco... Several speeches were delivered, the most notable by: Pacifica Mayor Julie Lancelle, Golf Author Bo Links(Co-Chair of San Francsico Public Golf Alliance), Barbara Arietta (Chair of the Pacifica Community Coalition To Save Sharp Park Golf Course), Dave Diller (President of the Sharp Park Golf Club), Elaine Harris(youth golfing advocate), San Francisco Supervisor Sean Elsbernd and San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera. A number of attendees were listening to the impassioned speeches, while standing outside the meeting room's windows, which overlooked the golf course, because they could not get within several feet of entering the room where the meeting was being held...However, with the help of a PA system and their ability to press their faces against the windows, those on the outside were able to understand what those on the inside were saying... SF Supervisor Sean Elsbernd, after the meeting, commented that the newly created organization, Pacifica Community Coalition To Save Sharp Park Golf Course, a citizens group that encompasses everyone, man, woman, young, old, golfer, non golfer and multi-cultural, was an absolutely fundamental and instrumental addition to the campaign for saving the golf course. He remarked that it will be very important for all supporters to stand up and be counted in the very near future, when the fate of Sharp Park Golf Course goes to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors for their decisionmaking. Elsbernd indicated that some very important meetings will be taking place at both the San Francisco Recreation and Parks PROSAC Committee level and the Board of Supervisors level in November and December of this year. Please direct all community members interested in joining the local grassroots effort to save the Sharp Park Golf Course to contact: Pacifica Community Coalition To Save Sharp Park Golf Course, P.O. Box 941, Pacifica, CA 94044 or contact me directly by callling 415-246-0775 or emailing me at barietta2006@yahoo.com.