Ex-Ally Says Mayor Seeking His Ouster

Mayor Linda Parks will petition the City Council to remove former political ally Dave Anderson from the Planning Commission, according to those involved with the dispute.

Parks last week sought to halt speculation that she intended to seek Anderson’s dismissal, suggesting that her inquiries into possible replacements were on behalf of a council colleague.

But according to Anderson, Parks has now told him that she will lobby the council to revoke the final two years of his term when the council reconvenes after its winter break.

“The mayor has decided she would like to replace me and that her intention is to take it to a vote,” said Anderson, whom Parks had nominated to the board two years ago. “There was no actual reason given.”

If Parks seeks and receives council approval, she is expected to nominate retiring commissioner Marilyn Carpenter, whose term expires this month, to serve Anderson’s final two years. Carpenter had been appointed by Parks’ council ally Elois Zeanah, who did not run for reelection in November.

Parks declined to comment on Anderson or the controversy, other than to say that she endorses Carpenter’s experience as a 40-year veteran of city planning, including helping to write the city’s General Plan.

But the mayor drew quick fire from Anderson, who accused his former comrade of political gamesmanship and retaliation for the Nov. 3 election, in which Anderson ran against three candidates endorsed by Parks.

“It’s personal politics and retribution, plain and simple,” Anderson said. “She still blames me for the loss of two of her candidates in the November election. When you compare my votes to Marilyn Carpenter’s votes in the past two years, there have only been two or three times that we disagreed on anything. Our voting records are so similar that it simply cannot be due to philosophical differences.”

Most of Park’s council colleagues have yet to weigh in on whether they would support Anderson’s ouster, but Councilman Michael Markey said he would not consider replacing a planning commissioner unless the mayor showed good cause for removal.