“I want to see a waterfront planning process that is grounded in citizen input,” read the campaign literature Atkinson handed a woman who came out onto her front porch on Carmel Avenue. “Doesn’t sound like a good idea, not having a mall on our waterfront?” Atkinson asked.

Atkinson says the Golden Gate Fields owner, Magna, will find a way to convince the city to approve any project: a mall, a casino, or both. While Atkinson’s opponents say there is no way around the protections of the city’s 1990 Measure C, requiring a two-thirds majority to change zoning, Atkinson sees it differently.  “We think that Measure C is not enough to protect the shoreline,” she said.  

Atkinson says she strives for an open process that involves the city in decisions about the waterfront. She opposed the projects of Southern California developer Rick Caruso, who was hired by Magna; Atkinson organized meetings in private houses last year. Caruso invited citizens to express their preferences about a project for the GGF parking lot. “Caruso is saying ‘Hi! What kind of mall do you want?” Atkinson said. 

Atkinson said she saw Caruso’s approach as an attempt to manipulate the city’s attitude towards Magna’s plans before citizens voted under Measure-C. “Let the people of the city decide without letting Caruso be around,” Atkinson said. Caruso dropped the project earlier this year.

“The decision is whether you want a mall or you want a shoreline,” Atkinson said.
When asked about possible sources of money for tearing Golden Gate Fields, moving the debris, and building new hotels to benefit from a newly created park, Atkinson said “I don’t know. I suppose that’s what you have to study.”