Excerpt:

Even the most fervent supporters of SunCal Companies’ proposal to turn Alameda’s rotting former Naval Air Station into a new, mixed-use community admit that the company was its own worst enemy in its quest to win support for its plan.

The company routinely ignored advice from city staff, politically active locals and even its own highly paid political consultants, angering Alameda voters and local policymakers, who sent them packing on July 20.

“They thought we were just bumpkins. That we were just urban city bumpkins that they could roll through,” said Vice Mayor Doug deHaan, who voted to bring SunCal to town but dropped his support of the developer when they failed to seek his input on their project.