Rob Silano, a director of the Menlo Park Fire Protection District and a resident of the Suburban Park neighborhood, has taken the first steps to launch a recall campaign to oust Menlo Park City Councilman and Mayor Drew Combs.
Silano and others in Suburban Park have opposed the development of teacher housing on the former site of Flood School at 320 Sheridan Drive.
Specifically, Silano wants a second full access to the development, and Combs opposes it.
“The developer has committed to an emergency second access, and the project complies with applicable fire and building codes and has been reviewed by the Fire Marshal,” Combs wrote in his email newsletter to constituents. “I have been open to discussing a full second access, but have been skeptical of this option in part because it would require the creation of a new street. To be frank, a full second access seems to be a disingenuous effort to have the future residents of this project mostly access it through the Flood Triangle neighborhood instead of the Suburban Park neighborhood.”
In 2023, Menlo Park voters indicated they supported housing on the Flood School site when they defeated Measure V that would have blocked the project.
“This current recall attempt appears to be the latest effort by some who have a disappointingly myopic view of our community and who should be included in it,” Combs said in his newsletter. “I look forward to the discussion of my record as a member of the City Council that will occur in the weeks and months ahead. I also look forward to demonstrating to my two children that leadership, at its best, has to be about being grounded in core values such as inclusion, empathy and fairness.”
Silano explained his reasons for the recall in what Combs said was a confusing email he received on Friday.
Silano, a member of the five-person board that runs the Menlo Park Fire Protection District, claims the second access point is an issue of fire safety.
“I cannot stand by while my home and so many other homes are put in peril due to government incompetence,” Silano wrote in his email to Combs. “Suburban Park will not become a burnt down Malibu while I’m alive. In our hearts we understand the need for low income housing however it cannot rise above the commitment to ensure safety to our residents and first responders responding to emergencies.”
Combs was elected in 2018 and re-elected in 2022. His term expires in 2026. Silano has been on the fire board since 2011. He and Virginia Chang Kiraly were re-elected in November without opposition.
Well I was not a fan of this development in the first place the voters have been the park chose not to allow the residents of suburban Park to block the development. Therefore it is moving forward. Silano seems to be upset that there is no support for a second entrance which is essentially just people in Suburban Park trying to push the problem on to another neighborhood. If this is what he thinks is worthy of a recall maybe one should be started against him.
Silano is a Bozo. Drew has nothing to worry about.