9/28/2025
Hi Shounak,
Ive tried multiple times to get Keith to sit down and talk with me, both
before the election and after he was sworn into office. He wont respond to
my emails or call-outs at city council meetings to answer my questions. I
would be happy to sit down with Keith and cross-examine him on his views re
the critical issues of the day.
Did you ask Keith what his stand is on all the innocent children being
killed with U.S. bombs in Palestine? Why he has so far refused to call out
from the dais the ongoing genocide in Palestine? Call for a cease-fire in
Palestine? Has he once expressed sympathy or remorse that so many innocent
Palestinian children have lost their entire families? Their limbs?
Their chance to grow up with a sense of psychological well-being? Have you
asked Keith if during his decades of work for Lockheed Martin if he has
assisted in developing weapon systems used by by IDF to
exterminate innocence Palestinian children? Their mothers? Their families?
These are some of the questions I would like to ask Keith. I think the
voters, and the community of Palo Alto, should be entitled to know the
answers to these questions.
Peace,
Avram Finkelstein
Gunn class of 1967
state-bar # 80215
P.S. Lost my older brother to
suicide here in Palo Alto
in 1970
On Sun, Sep 28, 2025 at 10:36 AM Shounak Dharap
wrote:
> Palo Alto has had a few recent tragic youth suicides. In the past weeks
> I’ve seen Keith thoughtfully and openly engage in conversations about youth
> mental health. None of those youths pay property taxes. Most don’t vote.
> He’s also been quick to approach me for insight and conversation about the
> issue—even though I’m also not a homeowner, and there are a least a few
> folks who’ve called my own policies a suburban blight degrading property
> values! Keith, for that, I appreciate you.
>
> We should disagree on things--often and vociferously. But I wonder if we
> don’t limit our ability to effectively advocate for issues important to us
> by attacking people as proxies for policies, usually before sitting down in
> a room and getting to know them. I’ve certainly been no stranger to that,
> and I’m always striving to do better on that front.
>
> That’s all I’ll say without risking a Brown Act violation with so many
> quora of elected bodies on this thread. Hope you all have a great rest of
> your Sunday.
>
> Best,
> Shounak
>
> *From: *board@pausd.org on behalf of Aram James <
> abjpd1@gmail.com>
> *Date: *Saturday, September 27, 2025 at 3:59 PM
> *To: *Roberta Ahlquist
> *Cc: *keith.Reckdahl@cityofpaloalto.org ,
> Henry Etzkowitz , Lotus Fong ,
> Linda Jolley , city.council@gilroy.org <
> city.council@gilroy.org>, citycouncil@mountainview.gov <
> citycouncil@mountainview.gov>, CityCouncil <
> city.council@cityofpaloalto.org>, Lori Meyers ,
> Sheree Roth , assemblymember.berman@assembly.ca.gov <
> assemblymember.berman@assembly.ca.gov>, Jessica Speiser, Educational
> Leader for California Democratic Delegate, Assembly District 23 <
> jessica@speiser.net>, Gerry Gras , Liz Gardner <
> Gardnerjaqua@gmail.com>, Kaloma Smith ,
> planning.commission@cityofpaloalto.0rg
> , ParkRec Commission <
> ParkRec.commission@cityofpaloalto.org>, Palo Alto Renters Association <
> info@paloaltorenters.org>, Josh Becker , Vicki
> Veenker , Mila Zelkha ,
> Peter Drekmeier , Dave Price ,
> Enberg, Nicholas , Emily Mibach <
> emibach@padailypost.com>, EPA Today , Braden
> Cartwright , board@pausd.org ,
> Jay Boyarsky , Jeff Rosen ,
> Jeff Conrad , Human Relations Commission <
> hrc@cityofpaloalto.org>, Friends of Cubberley <
> friendsofcubberley94303@gmail.com>, Palo Alto Free Press <
> paloaltofreepress@gmail.com>, WILPF Peninsula Palo Alto <
> wilpf.peninsula.paloalto@gmail.com>, Nicole Chiu-Wang <
> nicole@dreamcatchersyouth.org>, Sean Allen , Yusra
> Hussain , michael.foley@cityofpaloalto.org <
> michael.foley@cityofpaloalto.org>, Binder, Andrew <
> Andrew.Binder@cityofpaloalto.org>, Anne Cribbs , Cari
> Templeton , Patrice Ventresca <
> patriceventresca@gmail.com>, Yolanda Conaway ,
> BoardOperations , boardfeedback@smcgov.org
> , eric.figueroa@cityofpaloalto.org <
> eric.figueroa@cityofpaloalto.org>, Eric.Jensen@cityofpaloalto.org <
> Eric.Jensen@cityofpaloalto.org>, April Wagner <
> april.wagner@cityofpaloalto.org>, Diana Diamond ,
> Gennady Sheyner , Burt, Patrick <
> pat.burt@cityofpaloalto.org>, George.Lu@cityofpaloalto.org <
> George.Lu@cityofpaloalto.org>, Jasso, Tamara <
> Tamara.Jasso@cityofpaloalto.org>, Steve Wagstaffe ,
> editor@paweekly.com
> *Subject: *Re: A friend’s comment on Keith Reckdahl
>
> Indeed! Youve hit the nail on the head!
>
> On Sat, Sep 27, 2025 at 3:47 PM Roberta Ahlquist
> wrote:
>
> Just the kind of leadership qualities that ordinary people don’t need!!🐸
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On Sep 27, 2025, at 2:16 PM, Aram James wrote:
>
>
> A friend’s comment on Keith Reckdahl
>
> My impression of the likes of Mr. Reckdahl is that a) they seek to serve
> the community by improving real estate values and thus the tax base
> available to fund municipal services and b) they wish to facilitate this by
> excluding from "the community" people who tend to not vote, who tend to not
> pay property taxes, and whose presence is regarded by their neighbors as
> suburban blight degrading proprty values.
>
>