In conjunction with the last Chico City Council election, I
took the liberty of “grading” the candidates – you know, A, B, C, D, F like in
school, and sharing my thoughts in a post. I also offered some comments which I
believed supported my perspectives. I have been asked many times during this
campaign cycle if I would similarly grade the candidates. I made a conscious
decision not to, but I do have some 11th hour thoughts I need to
share about the election and the current candidates…..so here we go:
First, I have to say as I often do when I talk to anyone
about politics, I am registered to vote as “Decline to State.” Why? In short,
because I equally detest some of the extreme and all or nothing perspectives of
both parties. In truth, I think I lean politically as much to the left as I do
to the right. I share this with you because partisanship is relevant in
relation to the comments I will now share.
Mayor Scott Gruendl has made it very clear that the current
City Council election is about sides – his side (liberals, Democrats, the left
– whichever you prefer…I WON’T call them “progressives, because I detest that
term too in this context) versus the other side (conservatives, the
Republicans, the right). And, true to his expressed perspective, his and the
liberal left’s campaign has absolutely been conducted as side vs. side. There
will be those who will challenge this observation, and I say bring it on. The
so-called conservative candidates in this campaign have all run independent
campaigns….that is, as individuals….each putting himself or herself out there,
and encouraging the voters to make their choices based on the cases made by the
individual candidates. However, the liberal left from day one has asserted
themselves as a de facto, all or nothing slate. This is evidenced most with the
en masse deceptive mailers the libs have all paid to have their names listed on
together to create the false perception that they support or are supported by
law enforcement, or they are the Republican recommendation for Chico. Since
this thing about sides has been made so clear and has been so strongly
reinforced throughout the campaign, I will take the liberty of addressing some
of my own thoughts and perspectives about the campaign similarly.
Here’s some random, general things I think you need to know
about the election and the candidates before you cast your vote this Tuesday
(if you have not done so all ready):
RIGHT vs. LEFT IN CHICO – Some of the antics pulled by the
liberal left during this campaign have really served to illustrate the true
character of the Mayor’s side:
-
A ridiculous fake newspaper called the Chico
Gazette which was a feeble attempt to be humorous, but the false information
contained therein illustrates how low the left will go to protect their “side.”
-
The local Democrats have openly endorsed their
support of the for profit marijuana cultivators with their endorsement of
Proposition B. This organization (side) actually supports letting the dopers
make their own rules for marijuana, which, by the way is still a crime!
-
Just today, a posse led by lib-master Bob
Mulholland from the local lib HQ on Mangrove crashed a Republican event with
their pro-Dem campaign signs (how juvenile is that?). Then, adding insult to
injury, the woman in the picture below started accosting Republican staff and
calling names. Apparently, she has a blog (http://karenlaslo.com/2014/11/02/local-republicans-host-kashkari-get-unexpected-guests/), and illustrating the warped perspective of the Mayor’s side, she
seems to imply that the Republicans were out of line when the Dems crashed
their party. I’d like to say this kind of logic surprises my, but it doesn’t.
-
Not really campaign related, but important
perspective on the Mayor’s side….which has Council Member Randall Stone as a
member. Coinciding with the final weeks of the campaign, Stone as one of the
most visible members of the Mayor’s side has again publicly disrespected the
Police Department. He has slammed the Chief personally and also the Chico
Police Officer’s Association. In doing so, he reinforces what we already know:
that the Mayor and his “side” do not support our police…..but also, consider
this: In the context of his position as a Council member, Stone is not an
ordinary citizen. In fact, he is essentially in the chain of command for the
CPD. Do we as a community want the top levels of the Police chain of command
publicly bashing them? Is that how we want leadership demonstrated in Chico?
Chatter among the libs is pretty open about Randall Stone being Mayor in
December if the Libs “maintain control” of the City Council. Now is not the
time for this kind of ego driven, self aggrandizing feeble attempt at
leadership. In fact, now is the time Chico will have a choice about taking the
“power” away from this kind of perspective by delivering a strong message about
what the community really wants with a vote for a change from the Mayor’s side.
PROP 47 – This is a Proposition that will further water down
the provisions of AB109. Essentially, it will decriminalize, and/or lessen the
criminalization of a bunch of crimes. Between this and AB109, very few people
will ever go to jail at all for lower level or less serious crimes, and jail
and prison will be reserved for those who commit violent assaults or murders
only. This will absolutely result in people who would have otherwise been
arrested for such things as stealing your car or breaking into it at your home
from ever going to jail. The California Police Chief’s Association calls this a
dangerous and radical package of ill-conceived policies. As a career law
enforcement professional I simply cannot support or encourage support of this
proposition.
- Vote NO on Prop 47!
MARIJUANA/Prop A & Prop B – People, people,
people….please don’t be fooled. The folks that campaign in support of Prop B
and against Prop A could care less about patient rights and access to medicine
for sick people. The sick people are able to get their medicine. They were able
to do it before Prop 215, and they have certainly had no difficulty since. The
truth is that the marijuana proponents are more concerned about money than
anything else. And since they have so much of it at their disposal, the source
of which doesn’t need to be accounted for, they have spent liberally in this
campaign. Why? Because the difference between A and B really comes down to one
simple thing; control over who gets to make the rules regarding marijuana
growth in Butte County. A yes vote on Prop A allows our elected
representatives, the Board of Supervisors, to continue to legislate as we
elected them to do in relation to marijuana. A yes vote for Prop B takes the rule
making regarding marijuana out of the hands of our elected legislators and puts
it in the hands of the weed growers themselves. Please, please, please….do not
be fooled by the heavily financed pro marijuana campaign. Remember, Prop A is
AWESOME for Butte County, and Prop B is BAD for Butte County….yes on A, no on
B.
-
Vote YES on Prop A
-
Vote NO on Prop B
THE PAST vs. THE FUTURE – A reminder that the mayor has made
this election about sides. Also a reminder that his “side” has been the
majority on the City Council for the last 12 years. This is the side, the
mayor’s side, that led (by act or omission) the City to the brink of
bankruptcy. Before you cast you votes this time, remember which side led us to
this place….you have a choice to give the Captain of the Titanic and his crew
another chance to drive the ship…..or its time for a new captain and a new
crew. I hope you will choose the latter.
GRUENDL – Speaking of the captain of the ship, some
important things you need to know:
-
He has been on the Council for the last 12
years, the same period of time the City was nearly completely destroyed
financially….and his “side” has been in charge all 12 of those years.
-
He has been in a formal leadership most of those
12 years….either as Mayor, Vice Mayor or the Chair of the Finance
Committee…..yes, you read it correctly: the Chair of the Finance Committee. In
fact he has been the chair for most of the last 12 years.
-
He wants everyone to believe that he is a big
supporter of public safety, and law enforcement in particular. But alas, this
seems to be a delusion. The truth is that his actions do not and have not
reflected that support he believes he espouses. In fact, his deeds indicate
quite clearly the opposite – that he does not like or support Chico PD, his own
police department, in particular.
-
He desires that he be seen as he characterized
himself in a self-narrated description of his work-related efforts in another
county during a once in a lifetime horrific tragedy, and in public
presentations he toots the horn about the successes of his social welfare
programs….in another county. In other words, his greatest successes are….over
there…..not here. He would be hard pressed to identify any legitimate successes
of his tenure, especially as they relate to the crisis still faced by the City.
-
As a member and a leader of the leading faction
of the City Council for the last 12 years, the wages and benefits he is
silently allowing the employees of the City to be berated, belittled and
ridiculed about, he is responsible for giving them. Have you noticed how he has
not said anything publicly about this? Instead, he lays low, and allows his
employees to suffer the wrath of the public from the decisions HE made.
-
In relation to the City’s financial debacle, he
is being credited for stepping up to the plate with Vice Mayor Mark Sorensen to
bring the issue in the public eye. The truth is that Sorensen tooted this horn
for a long, long time before Gruendl, the Chair of the Finance Committee
stepped up. And then, lo and behold, it was discovered that Sorensen was
correct. Gruendl would have been a fool at that point to not jump onboard.
Don’t let yourself believe that Gruendl had any kind of leadership in this
righting of the ship. He had a comfortable place on the Council for 8 years before
Sorensen showed up and started rocking the boat.
-
He is a true politician…..as I understand it, a
year ago he was not gonna run again, but now he is. Months ago, he was pretty
openly accepting responsibility for the financial debacle and even publicly
apologizing, but now….travel forward a year or so…in the last speech I heard
him give he made it pretty clear that he does not see what happened as his
fault at all, and he placed blame squarely on the shoulders of the for Finance
Director and the Former City Manager. You tell me, is that a true leader or a
shifty politician? Methinks it’s the latter.
-
The bottom line with Scott is this: He is a
smart man, he is well educated, he seems to think he does a great job….at his
day job…..but he has failed at his night job as a Chico City Council member.
That anyone, regardless of political perspective, would allow a key member of
the side that almost sunk the ship to have another turn at driving the ship is
unbelievable to me. He’s shown us what he can do, it didn’t work, now its time
to move on.
-
I do not recommend a vote for Scott Gruendl
SORENSEN – Clearly it is because of Sorensen’s tireless
efforts that the City’s fiscal problems were brought out into the open. It
seems that he spent the first two years of his term trying to convince everyone
there was a problem, and the last two years work as part of the team to try to
fix it. He has demonstrated true leadership, and appears to have worked well
with “the other side” once he got them onboard. Although I have wondered about
his limited presence during the current campaign, I still think this is the
kind of leader Chico needs right now to keep us digging out of the hole.
-
I recommend a vote for Mark Sorensen
COOLIDGE – I will be the first to tell you I wrote Andrew
off the first time he ran for Council two years ago….but I will also be the
first to tell you he has now changed my mind. Two years ago, he was lacking
understanding about how things work, and he took some positions that were in
conflict with my pro-law-enforcement biases. Not only has he now done his
homework, and developed a greater understanding of City operations, but he has
instilled in me a great sense that he is his own man. In other words, while he
will undoubtedly appreciate those who supported his campaign, I think he is
capable of making the tough decisions even if they are in conflict with any
partisan perspectives that may exist. I think Andrew is a man of integrity, he
has demonstrated that he is willing to work hard to be able to make a difference
by serving, and I think he now deserves a chance. In fact, more than that, I
feel very strongly that we need his level head and his perspective on the City
Council.
- I recommend a vote for Andrew
Coolidge
WILLIS – I have never actually met Rodney, but I have heard
him speak several times and I like him. To me, he is “Joe the plumber.” I mean
that in the most complimentary way. He says what he feels, he is a man of faith
and integrity and he’s not much into sugar-coating his opinions……which, by the
way, seem to sway from the far right to the far left. This is why I think I
like him. He absolutely has a heart for Chico…..but….I have come to realize
that the City Council is not a place for people to go to learn what they need
to know to do the job effectively. I feel like Rodney has a great citizen
perspective, but does not have a strong sense of how government actually works.
My sincere hope is that he will stay in the limelight and seek opportunities to
contribute and to develop and even contribute his perspective. I’d love to see
him back in 2-4 years as a Council candidate, but I can’t see him doing the job
right now.
- I do not recommend a vote for Rodney
Willis
MOLINA – When I first heard Forough Molina speak, I could
not help but have an image in my head of the best soccer mom ever (who also
happens to be a teacher – also probably one of the best). She speaks of all the
volunteer efforts she has been involved with but she offers little in the way
of substantive detail. I think I can say with certainty I would love to have
had my kids in one of her classes, if for no other reason than her enthusiasm,
but enthusiasm alone is not enough to be a good Council member. Additionally, a
perpetual volunteer at all of her children’s activities, while commendable,
does not prepare one to be a Council member. Unfortunately, Ms. Molina’s status
as a newcomer is evident in this campaign, and the manner in which it is
evident does not suggest that she could be an independent thinker on the
Council. Rather, it suggests that she will simply follow what her “side” tells
her to do. As a “soccer mom” newcomer to politics, I would not expect Ms.
Molina to be aware of the implications of deceitful slate mailers….but
unfortunately for her, the rest of the people on hers and the Mayor’s side have
allowed her to now be cast as willing to engage in deceit to get the vote. In
short, she’s simply not ready to do the job, and I cannot support her.
-
I do not recommend a vote for Forough Molina.
FILLMER – Reanette Fillmer is a breath of fresh air in this
election! She has private sector HR experience, public sector HR experience,
and is now a small business owner working as an HR consultant for various
private and public sector organizations. She clearly conveys a level of energy
and enthusiasm, and most importantly, a passion to serve. In fact, she
emphasizes that she is not a politician….rather, she is a Chico local who has
watched the degrading of our city and is now in a position to bring her
relevant skills and experience to attempt to make a difference. She has run a
clean campaign, she has done her homework, she understands local government and
she is sophisticated enough to have a sense of the full context of the
operation of a local government agency. I think Fillmer brings the right set of
skills and experience to the table, the right level of enthusiasm and is ready
to do the job.
-
I recommend a vote for Reantte Fillmer for City
Council
ARIM-LAW – Lupe is also from the Mayor’s “side. From the first time I heard her speak I had
concerns. While the entire community, at all levels and both ends of the
political spectrum, seems to recognize that we have some major public safety
problems, she has consistently dismissed them. At one event, as other
candidates talked about the well recognized problem, for a moment I actually
had a sense that she was going close her eyes, shake her head NO, put her
fingers in her ears and say, “Na, na, na, na,” so she couldn’t hear everyone
talk about crime. I can’t tell if she’s just a very positive person, or her
rose colored glasses have wrap-around lenses and she is unable to see around
the edge of the glass to get a look at what is really going on in Chico. Either
way, this perspective cannot work for a City Council member. Additional concerns
about her are based on her name being placed on all the deceptive slate
mailers, and her public comment in response is that this is a non-partisan
election and she can put her name where she wants. This is also a bad
perspective for a City Council member to have. Finally, I have noted that there
is only one Chico City Council candidate to accept campaign contributions that
are closely tied to the pro-marijuana people of Butte County. Yup, it was Lupe.
For this reason alone, I would not recommend her….but the addition of my other
reasons makes it clear in my mind that she is not City Council material.
- I do not recommend a vote for Lupe
Arim-Law
