tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36664676797431557132024-03-05T23:15:50.636-08:00Mike Maloney MusingsThoughts, observations and reflections about what is happening in the North Valley...Mike Maloneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05481835124929751653noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3666467679743155713.post-77665922869116008752019-03-04T22:19:00.002-08:002019-03-05T09:41:17.748-08:00Chico’s Mayor and Police Staffing: Is he still stoned?<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Cambria; margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
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I’m really getting tired of Chico’s Mayor blabbing his chops about our “fully staffed” Police Department! Recently, he hasn’t stopped there with such claims, but he instead continues and pontificates about National police staffing standards as if he’s some sort of expert. As per his usual, he has absolutely no idea what he is talking about, and so he has again relied on MSU (Making Shit Up) when talking to citizens or the media about this important community issue.<o:p></o:p></div>
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This is not the first time I have felt compelled to offer factual perspective on police staffing in Chico (since the public narrative on this issue seems to be routinely devoid of such factual information). If you want to know more, take a look at the Mike Maloney Musings post from May 7, 2015.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Here’s what has prompted my latest:<o:p></o:p></div>
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In a January 28, 2019 Facebook exchange related to a March 2018 USA Today article about 25 cities where crime is soaring (Chico was ranked #19 in the article), the Mayor said to a local realtor and other commenters, “Back of the napkin National figures show one police officer per 15,000 residents… our sworn staff is full staffed as of two weeks ago (which would have been approximately January 14, 2019) but using population figures from before the Camp Fire… under the presumption that Chico has increased by 20,000… that’s two officers, back of the napkin. One has been fully funded for the next three years (apparently the one funded at the request of a North Valley Community Foundation donor), allowing us the flexibility to hire another.” He continued, “Regardless, <b><u>I</u> </b>proposed and passed a doubling of police officer hiring and training rate to ensure we had a solid pipeline of recruits… Officer numbers are within reasonable ranges, the Camp Fire notwithstanding. And, that is moving forward, thankful for the bandwidth jumpstart <b><u>I</u> </b>gave the hiring process last year.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i style="font-family: Cambria;">What exactly did he do – I mean very specifically? What "doubling" of </i><span style="font-family: "cambria";"><i>hiring</i></span><i style="font-family: Cambria;"> and training did he make happen? I ask because the CPD </i><b style="font-family: Cambria; font-style: italic;">still has less sworn officers then in 06-07!<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Then, in media reports on his State of the City address on Friday, February 15, 2019, we read: “With regard to addressing crime, the Mayor suggested getting creative and possibly funding more Downtown Ambassadors and Social Workers. He noted that Chico has adequate policing levels relative to its population size.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>Who, that knows anything about professional policing, says so? Is it according to population size, or population served?<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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Stone next shares on his Facebook page, a Chico ER article from March 1, wherein City Manager Mark Orme is reflecting on the impacts from the Camp Fire on Chico. Stone specifically highlighted: “While Chico was ready to celebrate having a fully staffed police force for the pre-Nov. 8 population, that’s no longer the case.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>What <u>exactly </u>is “fully staffed?” Does it mean that all authorized positions are filled? I ask because a couple years ago when the Council turned their backs on the PD and let it dwindle to 82 authorized, it could be said that they were fully staffed then too. Or, does “fully staffed” mean restoration of what was taken away starting 12 years ago? That still has not happened.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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And finally, in comment to one of his own Facebook posts on March 2, 2019, Stone speaks to only being “in control” for 12 weeks, and he mentions that the previous Council was “dithering” for 4-6 years in a Federal Disaster Zone, and some “didn’t even bother to show up for work months and years at a time.” He said it will take more than 12 weeks to right 4+ years of ineptitude. Then, after ridiculing the commenter he responded to, he finished by saying, “… PS, <b><u>I</u> </b>moved the Police Staffing Plan that brought these officers here. <b><u>I</u> </b>moved the *<b>doubling* </b>of police staffing. Both of those have had the single greatest impact on police staffing and *<b>I</b>* proposed both.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i>Wow….the Mayor thinks it is about him “being in control?!” Dithering, ineptitude and not showing up for work (at Council?) for years? This guy has an out of control ego/sense of self importance, and to use such terms to blanketly describe all his past colleagues on Council? Just wow!!! And then we have the big misrepresentation: “I moved the Police Staffing Plan and doubling of police staffing!” Do tell Mr. Mayor….please provide the details of exactly what you did. And while you are at it, please let us all know specifically what you did to support/enhance/increase police staffing while the other Council ineptly dithered?!? What did YOU double from/to?<o:p></o:p></i></div>
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Let’s be very clear about a few things:<o:p></o:p></div>
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1. The Mayor has no idea what he is talking about when he speaks of National police staffing standards (his “back of the napkin” reference). How do I know? Because no such thing exists! It appears his perspective is that only two additional officers would be needed to service what is believed to be an additional 20,000 people in Chico. Even if his numbers did constitute a standard (one officer per 15,000 population), Chico with its current population of about 92,000 would only need 6 officers, or only 8 TOTAL if we assume 20,000 more people in Chico after the Camp Fire……REALLY? I think not!<o:p></o:p></div>
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2. Chico <b>DOES NOT</b> have adequate staffing levels relative to its population size. Off the record conversations with any line level CPD employee will confirm this anecdotally, but there other facts which will also help to illustrate why. Unsolved crimes, delayed officer responses, non-responses, deprioritization and non response to quality of life calls, increases in traffic accidents are all functions of not having enough people to do the job. The shuffling of people around to new units and assignments (like the announcement of 4 new people going to the Street Crimes Unit within the last couple weeks) is tantamount to rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic or moving walls around in a house of cards. This is what has been going on for years as CPD has struggled to get by. Its very simple: CPD does not have enough people to do the job that; 1) Needs to be done, and 2) The citizens of Chico want them to do<o:p></o:p></div>
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3. Chico <b>DOES NOT </b>have a “fully staffed’ police force! In fact, Chico still does not even have as many police officers as it did in 2007. If we are going to call CPD “fully staffed,” it would seem that the starting point would at least be restoration of the previous (yet inadequate even then!) staffing levels. If not, I would opine as a 37 year veteran of law enforcement, the last 20+ of which were as an administrator in CPD, that “fully staffed” would at the very least be to be consistent with “average.” Currently, Chico can claim neither. By the way, the addition or deletion of even one of two sworn officers or non-sworn support staff can have a profound impact on CPD when they have been struggling for so long to keep their heads above water.<o:p></o:p></div>
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4. Randall Stone may have been the person to make a Council motion when presented with a no-brainer proposal by City staff to increase police staffing….. but….be very clear: Randal Stone is in no way responsible for “doubling” or having “had the greatest single impact” on police staffing. His delusion, misrepresentation, self-aggrandizing and outright lies continue. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Lets take a moment to talk <b>FACTS </b>about police staffing levels from a National perspective – the REAL facts – not the Mayor Stone “facts.”. The first, and perhaps most important thing, to know is that unlike the fire service, <b>there are no staffing level standards in the USA for policing</b>. Generally (per US DOJ COPS Office Newsletter, Volume 5, Issue 11, November 2012), agencies and communities take one of four approaches to determining staffing needs: per capita (generally, # of sworn officers per 1000 population), minimum-staffing, authorized level, or workload. There is however a singular, universalized annual assessment that can serve as a <b><i>point of comparison </i></b>of police staffing levels between communities based up their size and geographic location in the country. That assessment takes place every year and is reported as a component of the FBI Uniform Crime Report (UCR). Specifically, Table 71 of the UCR reports the average number of officers in various communities based on how big the communities are or where in the country they are located.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Typically, UCR reports are about a year behind when it comes to publication of nation crime and police staffing stats. As an example, when the previously referenced USA Today article was written in March 2018, the most recent complete UCR stats available were from 2016. Currently, the most recent full UCR report available is from 2017. The FBI only recently released the preliminary 2018 crimes stats (not yet the complete report). <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3666467679743155713" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a>For perspective on how cities throughout the nation compare in relation to police staffing, consider the following excerpts (with analysis related to Chico) from the 2017 UCR, Table 71:<o:p></o:p></div>
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Now, lets take a look at the history and actual staffing levels of the Chico Police Department, and one will then be able to make a comparison between them and the points of comparison reported in UCR Table 71.<o:p></o:p><br />
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<b>SIDENOTE PEEVES<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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Before suggesting some conclusions about police staffing in Chico, there are a couple other things I feel compelled to get off my chest and share:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3666467679743155713" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a>1. The City’s senior appointed leadership and the elected Council in Chico have a long history of selectively disregarding the opinions, assertions and professional recommendations of their professional police leaders when it comes to addressing issues related to policing. This historical circumstance, which I personally experienced for at least two decades, is exacerbated by the fact that people in key positions of leadership in the City and in the Police Department actually change quite often. The unfortunate result of this change is that history is either disregarded or forgotten. It is absolutely maddening to me that as a police administrator, I had a personal hand in FY 04-05 in making recommendations for what ultimately became reductions in police service, and here we are 14-15 years later. There seems to be no understanding or regard for what has happened historically, and as a now outsider it feels like the current leadership is only able to speak to what has happened in the last 2-4 years. The indisputable truth is that Chico has been struggling with providing adequate policing services since 04-05, and <b>NOBODY </b>in a leadership position has had the balls to assertively propose a strategic solution to the problem. I’m tired and disgusted with the handwringing….true leadership is sometimes uncomfortable….it would sure be nice to see some – anywhere – in Chico.<o:p></o:p></div>
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2. One of the most essential jobs of senior leadership in a police (or any other) organization is to plan for the meeting of future needs. Prior to my retirement from CPD in 2012, we had compiled several different iterations of a future staffing plan (based at the time on the assumption that the City would grow, and City deficits would not be eliminated on the back of the PD). Its all well and good that after the Council and the appointed leadership of the City gutted the Police Department a group of citizens came together in June 2014 under the name “Clean and Safe Chico” to present a “Police Staffing Strategic Plan,” but truthfully, it kinda rubbed me wrong for two reasons; 1) The basic plan at that point should have been to simply replace the 20 plus positions that had been eliminated – to restore what had been taken away (this <b>STILL HAS NOT </b>happened); and 2) Beyond the 20+ reduced positions, the PD should have already had their own plan, which they should have asserted/presented. Then now, five years later, reeling from the impact of the Camp Fire, we have the Chamber of Commerce presenting the public recommendation for additional police officers. Don’t get me wrong, I love it that we (finally) have businesses and citizens that are interested in policing in Chico – it just frustrates me that with an entire staff of professionals in the police department, we don’t seem to get a whole lot of public discourse on the issue of police staffing until people from outside of the police department speak to it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3666467679743155713" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3666467679743155713" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3666467679743155713" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a>3. The sad, sad truth for Chico is that we have a well documented history of steady decline in police staffing, and steady incline in crime, calls for service and population served. The PD apparently elected not to continue keeping this data after 2012, but the graph below illustrates the trend. Based on my knowledge of the related measures, I would assume these trends have continued since then.<br />
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<o:p> </o:p><span style="text-indent: -0.5in;">4. For years, I have debated with people about how many citizens are actually served by the Chico Police Department. My experience is that Council members and the senior City leadership prefer to hang their hats on the Department of Finance (DoF) annual population figures. Others want to assume that the 17,000ish FTE students at the University should be added to the base population number. Most forget that most of the students from Butte College also live in Chico. The bottom line is that it is actually impossible for </span><i style="text-indent: -0.5in;">anyone </i><span style="text-indent: -0.5in;">to determine what the actual service population of the City is. Between CSUC and Butte alone, there could easily be 20,000 people above and beyond the DoF numbers who the PD serves – some are permanent Chico residents, some are not, some are counted in the census, some are not, some are registered to vote in Chico, some are not – there is simply no way to know for sure how many Butte or CSUC students are counted in the DoF number. On top of that discussion, there are an untold number of people who come to Chico 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for work, to attend school, to engage in commerce, to avail themselves of recreational opportunities and to seek medical care. Since Chico is a regional hub in the State, this number has to be big, but it simply cannot be determined. The bottom line is this: in Chico, discussion about police staffing has always been based on the reported DoF population (now with an estimated addition of 20,000 people displaced from the Camp Fire). The truth is that the CPD has for decades and decades provided services for 10s of thousand more each day than are reported on the population sign at the entrance to town.</span></div>
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5. I was once asked by a Council Member in a Council Meeting how Chico compares to other communities when it comes to police staffing. I bring this up now because if it has not yet been asked in the current discussion police staffing, it very probably will be. The short answer is: Chico does not compare with any other community – in or out of California. Our nature as an urban hub, our position as a large city between Redding and Sacramento, the existence of the community college and the university, and all the other reasons described in #4 above make Chico quite a unique place. This means that long-term plans for police staffing will have to be similarly unique. If resources can’t be provided to do all that Council members and citizens want done, there have to be honest conversations between City and Police leadership, and then Council must support the PD. When the PD cannot do what somebody thinks they should because they have no resources, and Council remains silent and/or turns their backs on them….or worst yet, criticizes them publicly (all of these things have happened consistently with the Chico City Council and the PD, regardless of who was “in control,” as the current Mayor says).<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>OPINIONS AND CONCLUSIONS</b> <o:p></o:p></div>
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Based on the foregoing facts and historical tid-bits, it is now appropriate to suggest some conclusions and/or informed opinions regarding police staffing in Chico:<o:p></o:p></div>
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1. In order to be considered “fully staffed,” the Chico Police Department should, at a minimum, have as many officers as it has before staff reductions started taking place in FY 06-07 – That number is 102. They are currently authorized for 98 officers + one “overhire” who will fill one of the 98 that is anticipated to become vacant.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3666467679743155713" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a>2. Ideally, to be considered “fully staffed,” CPD should at least have enough officers to be considered average when compared to cities its size. Currently, that ratio/level for cities the size of Chico in the Western/Pacific states is 1.1 sworn officers/1000 population. At the current DoF population of 92,348, in order to rise to the level of average, would need to have an authorized strength of 101, which is only one less than the peak level of 102 in FY 06-07. If Chico wants to be average with an assumed population of 20,000 more than the current DoF population of 92,348, they would need to have 123 sworn officers, or 25 more than are currently authorized. This is generally consistent with the Chamber of Commerce Camp Fire report and recommendation. Even better would be "average" level staffing based on a reasonable estimate of the actual 24/7 service population in Chico.<o:p></o:p></div>
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3. Chico has a well documented history/trend of decreased police resources at the same time as all typical measures of police activity have trended an increase. Its time for leadership in the City to get some nads, take a strategic look at what is desired for the culture of safety in Chico, and take some action – assert a vision and philosophy, and then develop and implement a real strategic plan to get the City to that point. Chico needs to quit treating policing as an afterthought or a means to balance the budget during difficult times.<o:p></o:p></div>
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4. Finally, it is well established that the Mayor likes to hear himself talk, and that there is no greater fan of the Mayor than the Mayor. My suggestion to and for him is that when he really doesn’t know what he’s talking about (like police staffing standards) or he’s trying to get people to believe he’s a champion for policing and public safety (his extensive record indicates otherwise), it would behoove him to call on his subordinate professional leaders to speak to the issues. That sir, is the sign of a true leader……instead, your perpetual “I’m the one who took care of this,” and “thank God for me (and all my accomplishments as evidenced by the posting or my resume front and center on my FB page)” is absolutely nauseating and wearing thin on many of Chico’s citizens.<o:p></o:p></div>
Mike Maloneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05481835124929751653noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3666467679743155713.post-3074847806604904732018-06-25T21:56:00.001-07:002018-06-25T21:56:18.427-07:00AB109, Prop 47, Prop 57 and the Rest of the Story<div class="MsoNormal">
A number of recent editorials in various publications and
news stories, postings from law enforcement and community leaders, and postings
of anecdotes from real California citizens have lamented the idea that
California’s AB109, Prop 47 and Prop 57 “have not worked.” As a result, crime
in California has increased, and the overall quality of life and culture of
safety in our State has decreased. Well folks…..hold onto your britches….. I’ve
got some news for you: The fact is that all three of these pieces of legislation
HAVE worked. In fact, they have done exactly what they were intended to do.
Anybody know what that is? Honestly (and with respect), I believe many of our
community leaders either simply don’t know (because they never did), or they
have forgotten what they were supposed to do. One more thing: Pundits on
various sides of this whole issue/discussion speak to the presence or absence
of responsibility of the current Jerry Brown Administration in allowing
California to fall into this condition. The truth? The circumstances that
precipitated this whole mess actually began in 1990 when George Deukmajian (R)
was the Governor of California.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Here’s the rest of the story:<o:p></o:p></div>
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April 23, 1990 a class action lawsuit was filed by
representatives of a number of California State Prison inmates. The suit
alleged that mental health treatment in the California prisons was so poor that
it constituted cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the 8<sup>th</sup>
Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The lawsuit began to wind its way through
court, and in June 1994 a judge found that the mental health treatment in
California prisons was just as alleged, and that it did in fact violate the 8<sup>th</sup>
Amendment. This lawsuit became known as the Coleman lawsuit.<o:p></o:p></div>
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A few years after Coleman was filed, on April 5, 2001
another class action lawsuit from within the California prison system was
filed. Re-filed on August 20, 2001 with an amended complaint, this lawsuit,
which became known as the Plata case, alleged that medical treatment in the
California prisons was inadequate, also in violation of the 8<sup>th</sup>
Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Gray Davis (D) was the Governor at the time
this lawsuit was filed.<o:p></o:p></div>
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As the Coleman and Plata lawsuits wound their separate ways
through the California court system, there became a sense by the respective
courts that the inadequate medical treatment and the inadequate mental health
treatment alleged in the two cases was as a direct result of prison
overcrowding. At the time, the California Prison system was operating at almost
190+% of its maximum capacity.<o:p></o:p></div>
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July 26, 2007, the courts combined the Coleman and Plata
cases, and they became known thereafter as the “Coleman-Plata” case.<o:p></o:p></div>
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August 4, 2009, while Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) was
Governor, the court issued an order for California to come up with a plan
within 45 days to reduce the California prison population to 137.5% of its
capacity. This meant that the State would have to figure out how to get 40,000
inmates out! A plan was submitted to the court on September 18, 2009, and on
October 21, 2009 the court rejected the plan. The court then gave California
until November 12, 2009 to come up with a new plan. The plan was submitted on
November 12, the court eventually approved and accepted it, and it was entered
into the court record as an order of the court on January 12, 2010. California
had now been given a firm and clear order to get rid of 40,000 state prison
inmates!<o:p></o:p></div>
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With the finalization of the order to reduce the prison
population, the Schwarzenegger administration decided to appeal the court
decision to the U.S. Supreme Court, asserting that the court’s order was
unconstitutional. When the Supreme Court looked at the case, they, on May 23,
2011, essentially said that California needed to go do what the lower court had
told them to do in January 2010. The Supreme Court upheld the decision of the
lower court. It is important to note that by this time, Jerry Brown was now the
Governor, and was only 5 months into his administration.<o:p></o:p></div>
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With the Coleman-Plata lawsuit having been in the courts in
various forms for as long as 12 years (through the administrations of four
previous Democrat and Republican Governors), and with the U.S. Supreme Court
having issued a ruling on the case, the Jerry Brown administration was now left
with the task of developing and implementing a plan to satisfy the court.<o:p></o:p></div>
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October 1, 2011, AB109 was passed into law after winding the
legislative process and being signed by the Governor. Although the bill was
called the “Public Safety Realignment Act,” its very specific intent was to
significantly reduce the California prison population in order to meet the
requirements of the court order…..PERIOD! It’s interesting to note the basic
meaning of “realignment” in this legislation. In short, realignment essentially
meant that responsibilities for prison inmates and parolees that had previously
been the State’s would now be “realigned” and become the responsibility of the
individual counties instead of the State. This meant that the counties, which
were not equipped to keep long-term inmates like the prisons were, would have
to come up with their own plans on how to deal with an increased jail
population and how to deal with higher level criminals who would previously
have gone to State prison. It was hoped that by 2014, it would result in the
release of 25,000 inmates, and put California well on its way to compliance
with the court order it was now operating under. Unfortunately, AB109 not only
fell short of its goals by almost 10,000 inmates, the California prison
population actually increased while the Coleman-Plata reduction of 40,000
inmates was being pursued. The court gave California an extension of two more
years to reach the goal.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The impacts of AB109 have been widely and fairly accurately
reported. It is in this reporting that we have seen the first round of failing
to understand the real purpose of this piece of legislation. This had
absolutely nothing to do with the efficiency of the State, saving money,
efficient operations for counties, or anything else. This law was about nothing
more then reducing the prison population to comply with a court order in a
lawsuit that California lost!<o:p></o:p></div>
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As noted, AB109 did not do what California, which was
currently operating under the Brown administration, needed it to do. There had
to be another plan, and this awareness provided the genesis for the next step
in the trifecta of debacle, Prop 47.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Prop 47 was pulled over as a con on the California voter.
Entitled the “Safe Schools and Neighborhoods Act,” it really had no provisions
whatsoever to make schools or neighborhoods safer. Relying on the fact that
most voters won’t take the time to learn about all the propositions, and
knowing that everybody has to want safe schools and neighborhoods, the authors
(who represented the Governor) knew they simply had to get this passed in order
to further reduce the prison population to be in compliance with the court
order. All Prop 47 really did was to make the sentences for crimes that were
previously felonies into misdemeanors. Again, the real purpose of this law: get
more inmates out of State prison….PERIOD!! The voters passed Prop 47, and it
became effective November 4, 2014. One of the noteworthy pieces of this new law
was that it was retrospective (unlike AB109) in that it allowed for people who
had already been sentenced for certain crimes to petition the court for
resentencing based upon the new rules. Many in the law enforcement community
viewed Prop 47 as nothing more than a “decriminalization of crime act” proposed
for the sole purpose of reducing the prison population. Prop 47 would have
expired November 4, 2017, but Governor Brown signed a different law that made
it continue to be in effect until November 4, 2022.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Although a November 2105 study found that Prop 47 had
reduced the California prison population by 13,000 inmates, with the ongoing
ebb and flow of criminals going in and out of prison, there were still more
that needed to be released, and the court-ordered 137.5% capacity of the
prisons had to be able to be sustained. This circumstance then provided the
basis for the final piece of the trifecta of debacle in the California criminal
justice system; Prop 57.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Prop 57, the Public Safety and Rehabilitation Act, is just
like AB109 and Prop 47 in that its primary purpose is to further reduce the
California prison population, and to help sustain it at the lower level. Prop
57 was also sold to the voters with a complex campaign of misinformation. It
did two significant things when it became effective November 8, 2016; 1)
Allowed for early release of all State prison inmates; and 2) Allowed for
“non-violent” offenders in State prison to be eligible for release earlier.
Conspicuously absent from the public information about this proposition during
the campaign was specific info about what constitutes a “violent crime” in
California. If the voter’s knew the real answer to this question, there is a
good chance they may not have passed it…… but, they did. In doing both of these
things, again, the ultimate goal was to reduce the California prison
population.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Soooooooo……we can banter about and back and forth about all
of these pieces of law, and their impacts. But as we moan and groan (with
appropriate legitimacy), its important to understand there is a “rest of the
story.” Unfortunately, when it comes to issues like this the attention span of
the typical citizen is very short. In this case, that short attention span
leads to an absence of awareness of what has happened and why it has happened
and resulted in us being faced with what we are as Californians.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
I have tried to be as factual as possible in this, but I
can’t help adding a bit of editorial spin here and there. Regardless, I hope
y’all now have a greater sense of…<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">the
rest of the story.<o:p></o:p></i></div>
Mike Maloneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05481835124929751653noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3666467679743155713.post-2651696377628944332016-11-06T18:41:00.000-08:002016-11-06T20:47:27.488-08:00Chico Has Been Stoned Long Enough and Needs ABS<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>stoned –
(stohnd)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: 1.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.5in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->To be put to death by pelting with stones<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.5in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Not behaving or thinking normally because of
effects of a drug or mind altering substance<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 1.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.5in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Subjected for long periods of time to the
nonsensical, self-aggrandizing, egocentric, “I” and “me” oriented delusions of
Chico City Council Member Randall Stone<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
ABS – (ay be es)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: 1.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.5in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Anti-lock braking system<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l2 level2 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">a.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->An automotive system which helps to prevent
vehicles from skidding out of control and resulting in a costly accident with
both financial and bodily harm<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l2 level2 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">b.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Allows for the ability to maintain directional
stability and reduces or eliminates the absence of control<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 1.5in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.5in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Anybody But Stone (Randall)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It has been said that we learn from our mistakes.
Unfortunately, we have had to suffer for the last four years as we have worked
through the mistake of electing Randall Stone to the Chico City Council.
Fortunately, with this election we now have the ability to correct the mistake
(by voting him out) and to reflect on what we have learned. Soooooooo, what
exactly <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">have</i> we learned?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.5in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Randall Stone is all about Randall Stone. To
review his list of “accomplishments” one could quickly begin to wonder if he is
in fact by himself on the City Council (it would take pages and pages of
detailed facts to present the complete truth about Randall’s stated
accoumplishments). I mean, it appears that he has taken credit for pretty much <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">everything</i> that has occurred in Chico
during the last four years. Are there any other Council members who do
anything? Well of course there are, but you wouldn’t know it from Randall’s
representations. The truth is that Randall, with an absolute absence of
humility, has a perpetual propensity to claim responsibility for things that
others do all the time. Even fellow City Council members who are of his own
political persuasion will quietly and privately lament about his rude habit of
taking credit for everybody else’s work! It is especially noteworthy that in
the 10<sup>th</sup> and 11<sup>th</sup> hours of this campaign cycle others
besides Randall’s foes in City government have spoken out denouncing Randall’s
absence of leadership in the Special Olympics and other areas. As the editorial
staff of the Chico News and Review has pointed out: “There’s a fine line
between noting your accomplishments, and sounding self-congratulatory. Stone
crosses the line too often.” Not only has he crossed the line in sounding too
self-congratulatory, he has also crossed the line (lied) about taking too much
credit for everyone else’s work. A real leader give’s credit to those who got
their hands dirty making things happen. Randall is clearly incapable of this! <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.5in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->You know how every Fall you and the neighbors
all around you begin to notice the aroma of herbal medicine in your
neighborhoods? You know how worrisome it is when you think about calling the
cops because you have a sense that nothing can be done, and you fear that your
call may prompt an awareness among the dope growers that it was you that
called? You fear retaliation? You know how when you did call the cops, they
essentially told you there was nothing that could be done about the dope
growers in your neighborhood that are affecting your quality of life? Well get
this, Randall Stone is fully connected with that pro-dope community. He is the
only Council member who has taken money from widely/publicly recognized members
of the pro-marijuana/anti-marijuana-regulation community, and he even shared an
office with the former president of what publications in the public domain have
called “ the Butte Marijuana Grower’s PAC (political action committee).” Some
would say this is an old connection before Randall knew better, but check out
his Facebook page and his advertising….this marijuana guy, Andrew Merkel, is
the author of a recent letter that Randall has been sharing which touts Randall’s
alleged accomplishments. Honestly, I don’t believe for a minute that Randall is
a stoner, pothead, doper, but he is absolutely connected to and taking money
from the pro-marijuana community – the same community that is ruining the
quality of life for many Butte County residents. BTW, all of the foregoing regarding
Randall’s connection to the marijuana community is not speculation, rumor, or
ugly innuendo. Rather, every bit of it is gleaned from public records or
documents available in the public domain.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.5in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->I have spoken again and again about what a liar
Randall Stone is. Let me elaborate: Like the Chico News and Review, he lies,
misrepresents the truth, fails to present the complete picture or the rest of
the story, and he loves to lob partially true kernels of info without fully
providing context. Consider these most recent examples:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level2 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">a.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->At a recent candidate forum, Randall was asked about Laura’s Law, a law that allows for compelled
medication and treatment of those who are seriously mentally ill (there’s more
to it than that, but suffice it to say those who are aware of mental health
treatment problems in communities are aware of it and how controversial it is). He did not know anything about it, and the emcee of the event briefly explained what it is. Upon hearing
the explanation, Randall volunteered aloud, “ Oh ya…we’ve got that…we do that
already….we do that at the place down on Rio Lindo.” The only problem is that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">we don’t</i> have Laura’s Law in Butte
County. Randall lied. But interestingly, as per his track record, he did so
quite confidently. Therein lies the problem with this guy….because he is so
confident in the lies he tells, the sheeple believe him.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level2 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">b.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->A video recently emerged of Randal
misrepresenting the salaries of Fire Department employees at another candidate
forum. In response, and in an apparent effort to defend himself, Randall posted
another video on his Facebook page. I’m not sure what the point was because in
both the old video and the new video, he blatantly misrepresented what Chico
Fire employees make in pay. Again, he lied. Apparently, it’s his nature….and
considering he uses one of his lies to justify another lie is terrifying!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level2 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">c.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->In a recent post, Randall claims that “80% of
Chico police officers” have personal cameras “installed,” and then he goes on
in his post to make it sound like he has been an active participant in making
this happen and in developing the related policies. The truth is, nobody at the
Chico Police Department has camera’s “installed,” nor is anyone equipped with
them. Additionally, Randall has not been any part of any discussions that have
taken place regarding the development of related policy. Again, he very
confidently lied to give the impression that he is large and in charge!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level2 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
d. Interestingly, the linked article about everyone's favorite entertainer Kanye West kind of elucidates what kind of liar Randall is:</div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level2 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
<br /></div>
<a href="http://fortune.com/2016/10/21/kanye-west-success/">http://fortune.com/2016/10/21/kanye-west-success/</a><br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level2 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level2 lfo3; text-indent: -.25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -.5in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Public safety – obviously, it is now popular for
elected leaders in Chico to say they support public safety because our citizens
have clearly made it a concern. Randall will tell you he supports public
safety, but I would argue that he does not – at least in Chico. Here is what he
will cite as evidence of his support: 1) He went to a conference on human
trafficking within the last couple years, and then proposed a local ordinance
that would impact some aspect of the issue. He neglects to tell everyone that
human trafficking is and has been a crime, but he makes it sound like human
trafficking will continue to occur in Chico because the Council majority shot
down his proposed ordinance; 2) he went to an event where Butte County
Probation officers were doing some really cool community service thing (which
they really were), but he has yet to attend, participate or even regard in any
way anything that the Chico PD or CPOA does in the community; 3) He claims
responsibility for some sort of an ordinance related to banning butane honey
oil (BHO) in Chico….and in doing so, he again disregarded the collaborative
work his police chief was already participating in to insure uniform bans
county wide on certain BHO precursors. Essentially, he claimed credit for the
work of the police, but, by the way, the way he represents it you could easily
believe that BHO was legal in Chico until he saved the day; 4) This one just
galls me….did you see the random picture he posted a few weeks back of himself
standing in front of a podium with a Chico PD logo on it? There is no question
this was intended to create an impression that he is all about public safety.
BTW, the picture is from a CPOA event for Special Olympics where he actually
called the Chief and demanded to be involved – this guy is consumed by his ego!
5) In all his years on the Council Randall has done nothing but bag on public
safety (specifically, Chico Police and Fire). He has made no effort to
establish relationships in either department; he has made no effort to learn
from anyone in either department about the inner workings, issues or how the
respective industries work. Randall appears to have actually taken pride in
bagging on both departments, making sure they maintain a standard of being
sub-standard, and never giving anyone in either department credit for the good
things they do. Be very clear, Randall Stone is not a friend of, nor does he
support, public safety!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
Here’s the bottom line: The things I have written about this
guy in the past remain true (check out previous blogs), <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>he is a self-aggrandizing ego-centric narcissist,
he is a liar and blatant misrepresenter of truth, he is in the pocket of the
pro-marijuana movement in Chico (which continues to diminish our quality of
life) and he does not support public safety. We need somebody on Council who
can work collegially with the other Council members, who can work with public
safety and who can be a credible leader and representative for the City. We’ve
been Stoned long enough. Time for ABS (anybody but Stone).<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
Mike Maloneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05481835124929751653noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3666467679743155713.post-55711571563949601102016-10-28T21:17:00.001-07:002016-10-28T21:20:08.248-07:00Thoughts on Election 2016<div class="MsoNormal">
I was hoping to present some profound analysis of the issues
and candidates in this year’s election, but alas, time has escaped me so I’m
just gonna share some very direct thoughts on what I think about those issues
and candidates which are believe are the most significant or relate to public
safety:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">President of the U.S.</b>
– I can’t in good conscience advocate voting for Clinton or Trump. I could go
on and on about the issues with each, but that would start its own debate. The
bottom line is this: We have a current vacancy on the Supreme Court (the swing
vote), and are likely to have others in the next 2-4 years. Vote for what you
want the complexion of the Supreme Court to be. Are you a flaming liberal? Vote
Clinton because she will pick a liberal for the current vacancy in the Court,
and the next ones as well. Are you a staunch conservative? Pick Trump, and he
will insure that the court is conservative, now and for the next couple of
likely selections. Selecting a POTUS based on the character of the current top
contenders? I can’t even think about it without getting a little bit of vomit
in my mouth! <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Vote for what you want the
complexion of the Supreme Court to be beyond the tenure of the next President.<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">U.S. Senator from
California</b> – <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Vote for Loretta Sanchez</b>.
Kamala Harris is of the Jerry<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Brown,
Gavin Newsome, Clinton, Obama ilk. I cannot let go of the fact that Harris
refused to seek the death penalty on a guy who shot two cops (killing one of
them) in San Francisco a dozen years ago. Also, she is the one that approved
the deceptive title of California’s Prop 57, which will release thousands from
prison if passed. Sanchez is a Dem too, but she only converted after she could
not get elected to office as a Republican. This makes me want to believe she is
at least a bit more toward the middle of the road.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">U. S. House of
Representatives – YES, re-elect Doug LaMalfa<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">California Assembly –
YES, re-elect James Gallagher<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Proposition 57</b> –
This is bad, bad, bad for California and it is opposed by every major law enforcement
organization in the State. The sole purpose of this proposition is to reduce
the California State Prison population. It is not about public safety and it is
not about rehabilitation of prisoners as the proponents have indicated. AB 109
and Prop 47 did not do enough to reduce the prison population to a level that
is satisfactory to the Appellate Court after California lost the Coleman-Plata
class action lawsuit from inmates, so this is next in the Governor’s effort to
comply with the order of the court. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Do you even know the history? Well, to make a long story
short, two lawsuits by prisoners were combined years ago – one related to
overcrowding and the other related to poor medical care in the prisons. After
years of going through the courts and being appealed multiple times, California
lost. The Governor needed to reduce the prison population very quickly, and he
decided AB 109 was the answer. In short, this bill simply took a bunch of
crimes that were previously punishable by imprisonment in State prison and
“realigned” them to make them the responsibility of the counties (which reduced
State costs, but increased county costs and provided no extra money).
Essentially, the State said, “We are no longer responsible for these people.” It
was a promise of AB 109 that serious, violent or sexual offenders would not be
released. Thousands were subsequently released from State prison, including
serious, violent and sexual offenders, but it wasn’t enough. Then came Prop 47.
Prop 47 essentially redefined a whole bunch of crimes in such a way that they
were no longer felonies or State prison eligible. It was sort of a
“decriminalization of crime” proposition. This one was a gut puncher because it
was blatantly misrepresented to the public as the “Safe Neighborhoods and
Schools Act.” The problem is that there were no provisions for either in the
proposition. Hoodwinked, the California voters, who of course wanted safer
neighborhoods and schools, passed it. Thousands more were released from prison,
but it still was not enough. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Then came Prop 57. This Prop indicates that it will change
the rules for whether or not juveniles will be prosecuted as adults, and it
will change the rules related to sentence credits and parole for “non-violent
felonies.” What the Proposition (and its proponents) don’t tell the voter is
that, by law (Penal Code 667.5) there are only 15 categories of crimes that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">are</i> considered violent crimes in
California. By virtue of being excluded from the list, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">all other felonies</i> are considered “non-violent.” Check out just a
few of California’s “non-violent” felonies for which Prop 57 will allow early
release from prison:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.5in;">
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Assault with a deadly weapon (245 PC)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.5in;">
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Corporal injury of a spouse – domestic violence
(273.5 PC)<o:p></o:p></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Solicitation to commit murder (653(f)b PC)<o:p></o:p></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer
(245c PC)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.5in;">
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Rape, sodomy, oral copulation of an unconscious
person or by use of date rape drugs (various PC sections)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.5in;">
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Many other violations that are inherently, but
not legally defined as violent<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The proponents also say this will save millions of tax
dollars at the State level. This is because the State will again be saying they
are no longer responsible for certain crooks – these people are likely to
become the responsibility of counties. The problem is that its impossible to
determine the anticipated millions of additional tax dollars it will cost
counties. In truth, this will not save any money for taxpayers.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The bottom line? This proposition will release more very bad
people from prison, and contribute significantly to the already increasing
crime rate. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">VOTE NO ON PROP 57!!!!<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Proposition 62</b> – This
is all about the death penalty. Do you want to keep it like I do? If so, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">VOTE NO</b>!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Proposition 63</b> –
There is no state in the nation that has tougher gun laws than California. The
additional laws proposed in this measure do nothing but target the law abiding
citizen and diminish 2<sup>nd</sup> Amendment rights. Most importantly, this
Proposition does nothing to enhance public safety or keep weapons and ammo out
of the hands of crooks. As a sidenote, as written this bill will even make it
so a young person who decides they want to put themselves through a police
academy as an unsponsored recruit cannot buy ammunition in the volume needed to
complete the program or train with the weapons they would utilize as a peace
officer…..ridiculous!!! My thought? <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">VOTE
NO ON 63!</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Proposition 64</b> –
If passed, this Proposition will legalize recreational marijuana use in
California. The problem with it is that when Lt. Governor Gavin Newsome and his
dope smoking buddies promised 4 years ago that they would bring forward a
legalization proposition that was comprehensive and addressed all of the
associated legal and social issues, they actually failed to do so. I, like
many, believe in the inevitability of the legalization of marijuana in
California eventually (which I also predict we will ultimately
regret)…..but…..this Proposition still leaves too many unanswered questions.
Additionally, by the way, all this crap about the sick people needing their
medicine is absolute BS. The sick people that really need marijuana can get it
now. The truth is that all the chatter about increasing access by way of
legalization is about money. Most of the illicit growers are making unreported,
undocumented, untaxed money hand over fist. This Proposition will do nothing to
reign that in. Also, the suggestion that legalization is going to result in
lots of revenue for the State is also BS. This is a sham. I say <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">VOTE NO ON 64</b>!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Proposition 66</b> –
This is another death penalty initiative. This one is intended to reform the
currently screwed up death penalty process in California. It is supported by
law enforcement, prosecutors and crime victims. My opinion: <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">VOTE YES ON 66!<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">CHICO CITY COUNCIL</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Karl Ory</b> - Nice older gentleman. Uhhhhh…..<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">NO</b>!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Sean Morgan</b> - Part of the team that dug Chico out of the hole the
last liberal majority left. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">RE-ELECT
SEAN MORGAN</b>!!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Tami Ritter</b> - Tami has been an occupier of space at the front of
the Council Chambers, and nothing more. Time for her to move on. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">NO!<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Jeffrey Glatz </b>- A newcomer to Chico’s political scene, not
beholding to the nasty partisanship of Chico politics, sincerely passionate
about doing what is necessary to support public safety…..I like this guy, and I
think he would be great for Chico! <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">VOTE
FOR JEFF GLATZ!<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Ann Schwab</b> - I have not always agreed with Ann, and truthfully she
disappointed me greatly when she was Mayor and did not assert herself more to
support public safety……but……in her 12 years on the Council she has remained
singularly focused on serving Chico in a very passionate way. She has not
engaged the bitter politics or mudslinging, she conducts herself with dignity
and she is in my estimation one of the most appropriate to be on the Council to
insure that there are diverse political perspectives. I say <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">VOTE YES FOR ANN SCHWAB!<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Mercedes Macias - </b>Seems to be a very nice, albeit unrealistically
idealistic, young lady. Maybe in a few more years once she figures out how
things really work in life and the world. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">NO</b>
for now<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">!<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Randall Stone</b> - A well established narcissistic liar……more on him
in a couple days….but in the meantime: <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">NO,
NO, NO….HE HAS GOT TO GO!!!<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Lisa Duarte</b> - I’m sure that she too is a very nice lady.
Unfortunately, she is clueless. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">NO!<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Loretta Torres</b> - I am mindblown at all of those, including the
Chico ER, who have endorsed her. Again, appears to be a very nice lady, but I
just have a hard time taking her seriously. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">NO!<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Jon Scott - </b>Seriously? <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">NO!<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Jovanni Tricerri<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>- </b>What a
breath of fresh air to Chico politics….a demonstrated and respected community
leader, not a puppet of partisanship, an experiential history that suits him
well to represent and serve as a Chico City Council member!! <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">VOTE YES FOR JOVANNI!<o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Measure J - </b>Butte
College Bond Initiative. Passage of this measure will support critical
infrastructure repair, new facilities for welding, public safety and the
sciences, and will help the college in their support of vets and the regional
job market. This is a definite <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">YES</b>!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Measure L – </b>This
is brought to you by marijuana growers with illicit marijuana money, and it is
all about them having more freedom to grow more weed to make more illicit
money. The rules Butte County has work, and they work well. No changes needed. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">VOTE NO!</b><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I have only shared my thoughts and opinions about measures
or campaigns I have strong feelings about. You’re gonna have to figure out on
your own which direction to go on condoms in porno videos, Chico Unified’s
request for a bond and all the others. Good luck!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
PS - Stay tuned for more on why Randall Stone needs to go……<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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Mike Maloneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05481835124929751653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3666467679743155713.post-91315359571491409182015-09-17T12:36:00.002-07:002015-09-17T12:36:33.885-07:00Policing, Pay and Retirement...<div class="MsoNormal">
Soooooo…..a very reliable source of mine tells me that an
instructor in a general education course at a local academic institution has
been baggin’ on me by name in his class recently. He has apparently told his
students that “former Police Chief Mike Maloney” has been raping/screwing the
California taxpayer with his (my) retirement. He then goes on to criticize me
for retiring from PERS, and then taking a job in education with STRS from which
I will also eventually retire. He chuckles as he notes to the class what a hard
time he has getting people like me to return his calls and e-mails, and then he
brags about the great story he has coming out where he will discuss and expose these
issues in great depth. And then, catch this, he turns right around and tells
the class that <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">he</b> works for the two
local colleges so he can access the same “government” type retirement that I
have or will be getting because it is such a good retirement. It turns out that
this particular instructor is also a regular contributor to a local weekly
newspaper that has previously established a clear record of hating the Chico
Police Officer’s Association and bagging on former Chief Kirk Trostle and I for
taking, what they call, “early retirement.” Coincidentally, this very same
weekly paper called my current employer, Butte College, last week to make a
public records request for my current salary amount and information about what
retirement system I am in with them. Of course, I am very aware that this is
public information. It also happens that this is the same guy who sent me two
e-mails during the last week asking to meet and interview me regarding my
recent involvement with a PAC during the last election and an e-mail sent by
the Police Department’s recent Interim Chief to the Chico City Council
regarding the condition of the Police Department – two subjects that have
nothing to do with my current salary and retirement system and nothing to do
with “raping the taxpayers” with my previous retirement from 32 years in law
enforcement, 31 of which were in PERS.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Hmmmmmm……gee…..do you think this guy might have an ulterior
motive? I do! Do you think he is being sneaky or disingenuous about why he
really wants to interview me? I do…..and that is why I won’t meet with him. I
have previously seen the results of what the CN&R proudly calls this guy’s
“investigative reporting,” and in my estimation it was not investigative at
all! Rather, it appears to me that what this guy does is he decides what his
(usually controversial) conclusion will be first, and then he very carefully
and in the most biased way structures bits and pieces of partially factual
information together to support his predetermined conclusion.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Not having any idea what this guy has up his sleeve, but
anticipating that in some way he is “investigating” my work history and
circumstances, as well as my post-retirement employment and community
involvement, I thought that I would share my own thoughts and story before this
guy starts spewing his slanted spin.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Here it is:<o:p></o:p></div>
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I continue to note over and over again that the liberal left
(I detest referring to them as “progressive”) and the haters of public safety
and their pay and benefit packages have no room in their positions, messages or
public communications for the following:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.5in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Truth<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.5in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Honesty<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.5in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">3.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Context<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.5in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Facts<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.5in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">5.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->The rest of the story<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.5in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">6.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->The big picture<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.5in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">7.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Accuracy<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.5in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">8.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Complete information<o:p></o:p></div>
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Rather, when these things don’t fit their story line, their
default is to lie overtly, make stuff up, or just omit the truth. As such, and
in relation to the ongoing banter being perpetuated by the cop, Chico Police
Officer’s Association, PERS-hating and retired-CPD-chief-hating editorial staff
of the Chico News and Review and their “investigative reporter(s),” I will take
the liberty of addressing a few of the above categories of misinformation as
they relate to public saefty salaries and retirements in general…and as they
relate to me personally.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I recall that by the time I was 4 or 5 years old I wanted
nothing more than to be a police officer. My dad was a motor cop for the CHP,
and a highlight of my day was waiting out side and watching him ride his
motorcycle down the street toward home. On a couple of occasions, us kids even
got short rides. By the time I was in second grade, my teacher wrote in the
comments on my report card: “Even now it is evident that Michael wants to be a
policeman like his dad when he grows up.” By the time I was in third grade,
after my dad told me that a police officer’s most important tool was a notebook
and a pencil, I carried my own notebook and pencil everywhere. By the time I
was in seventh or eighth grade, I had occasion to be a pertinent witness in a
significant arson and insurance fraud investigation. I wanted to be a police
explorer, but a back surgery and confinement in bed in a body cast for nearly a
year derailed that plan. By the time I was done with high school, I was aware
of two young men in the area I lived who had gone to the police academy and
become police officers at age 18. I vowed to do the same.<o:p></o:p></div>
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My parents weren’t real keen on the idea of me becoming a
cop, and especially at such a young age. By the time I graduated from high
school, I had availed myself of a Federal job-training program called CETA. Two
weeks after graduation, I was a uniformed police trainee at the Willows Police
Department, and two months after that I was attending the police academy. When
I graduated from the academy, I was placed into a field-training program, and
within a few months I was working as a solo police officer. I made $666 a
month, and was thrilled to be making that much money.<o:p></o:p></div>
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By the end of my first year on the job, the CETA Program
ended (thank you Ronald Reagan) and I moved over to the Glenn County Sheriff’s
Department, where I would spend the next four years working as a deputy. Soon
realizing that it was not terribly desirable to be a police officer in the
small town where you went to high school, I began to look for employment out of
the area. I applied to several Bay Area agencies, but was not successful for a
variety of reasons. Eventually, I applied at the Chico Police Department. The
first time I put in an application I was not even invited to take the test or
participate in the process because a high number of white males applied, and
they only allowed 40 to take the test each time. I applied again the next year,
and after a hiring process that took another full year, I was hired.<o:p></o:p></div>
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As a CETA employee at Willows PD, I was happy to be making the
$666 a month. I made a bit more at the Sheriff’s Department, and just a bit
more than that at Chico. I remember the early 1980s when I took home $1000 a
month for the first time, and I was on top of the world – doing a job I loved,
and making great money at the same time.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Somewhere along the line, I learned something really cool
about these jobs: it seems that between the employer and the employee, each
sets a bit of money aside every month for the day decades later when I would
retire. As an 18-23 year old, between starting my career, and moving
departments a couple times, I could not even fathom the idea of retirement. I
would hear older officers speak of something called “PERS” and something about
“2% at 50,” but because I did not know what it was or understand what they were
talking about, I would quietly excuse myself from those conversations. Frankly,
this continued until I was in my early 40s with over 20 years on the job.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Until the last 3-5 years of my career, I could not recall a
time where I found myself thinking about retiring. Rather, all throughout my
career, I recall thinking of such things as becoming a training officer, then
earning my AA degree, then becoming a traffic officer, becoming a detective,
earning my BA degree, becoming a sergeant, becoming a lieutenant, beginning
work on my master’s degree, getting promoted to captain, and then setting my
eyes on the top job as the Chief of Police. By the way, of all of the hundreds
of police officers I had known in my career, I had only ever met one other who
started at the very bottom of a department, and over a full career worked himself
or herself through every rank to the very top. It’s just not something that
commonly happens. In fact, I came to observe that it was not all that common
for <u>anyone</u> to actually serve a full 30 years on the job and retire with
a full retirement benefit.<o:p></o:p></div>
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So why do I even mention any of this? Well, the truth is
that I am just like many or most who go into policing. When we signed on, we
did not sign on for the money or for the retirement. We signed on because we
were passionate about wanting to the job, and the department(s) we selected had
something to offer – some more than others. In fact, to be very clear, I can’t
recall any point or period of time where I recall thinking, “How can I take my
interest and desire to work in law enforcement, and use it to hold taxpayers or
elected officials hostage so I can get as much money out of them as I possibly
can as the CN&R Editor seems to believe. Additionally, even when I was a
Board Member, then eventually the President of CPOA, I don’t recall ever having
pounded on a drum demanding more wages.<o:p></o:p></div>
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One of the other things I came to learn about this job, as
well as from my friends who are firefighters, is that sometimes, after you have
worked all of the scheduled hours they make you stay at work….whether you want
to be there or not. I have a relative who is a firefighter, who is on his 32<sup>nd</sup>
day without going home as I write this. I have other former co-workers who were
on their days off yesterday (after having worked their 40 hours for the week)
and they all received phone calls telling them to come back to work for a big
emergency. Now, here was the really cool thing I learned as a young officer:
when they make you stay, or they make you come back from being on days off, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">they will actually pay you</b>. The law
requires in these cases that they pay you overtime (1.5 times your normal rate
of pay), so they do. Sometimes they know that other people are going to be away
from their shifts because they are sick, they are taking their earned vacation,
they are going away for required training, or they are taking time off to take
care of a sick relative. In those cases, they select from other employees who
have already worked their 40 hours and ask them to work extra to cover what
would have otherwise been a vacant shift. Again, when folks do this they are
paid….<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">overtime</b>. Some people like to
work lots of overtime, so they do. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Here’s the really interesting thing about overtime: in the
35+ years I have worked in the business, I have yet to run into a co-worker or
colleague who is of the perspective that when they are working overtime they
are consciously fleecing the taxpayer who pays their salary. In truth, overtime
in public safety (absent a very significant depth of staffing) is the
difference between people being there to answer the call and people not being
there – that is, if you don’t fill the vacant shifts, there is nobody to work! For
those who live in an 8-5, Monday through Friday world (like newspaper editors),
this concept is hard to understand. In Chico, there are some police officers,
for example, who get their 40 hour shift done on a Friday, Saturday and Sunday
night during the 12-13 hours of darkness. This means that their time off will
be Monday-Friday during the day, and they may be available to be ordered in to
help meet other requirements of the police department. When they work these
extra hours, most often not by their choice, they have to be paid. Again, the
law says they need to get overtime. Here’s another truth: most often, there are
so many shifts, assignments and special details to be filled that they simply
don’t get filled.<o:p></o:p></div>
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One more important point about overtime: All of those
firefighters who are on the front lines of California’s wildfires right now and
who have been away from home for weeks and weeks on end are all being paid….. lots
of that pay is overtime! Nobody cares right now, but I have predicted before
and will now say it again; the haters are going to be bagging on them in January
or February when the local daily publishes their annual salaries again, and the
public sees how much they really make when they work all those hours. Their
work of the last few weeks will be forgotten. I have come to believe that the
public and the haters don’t really care how many hours those in public safety
work. They don’t even care that they get paid overtime. The thing that they
just can’t get over though, is the isolated (no context) thought of a
government employee who, for any reason, makes over $100,000….which is what
many of the firefighters will make this year.<o:p></o:p></div>
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What continues to blow my mind, and frankly anger me, is
that that those who appear not to like police and fire seem to just make up the
story about pay and overtime, rather than seek to be educated about the truth.
I see some who are given lots of print time in the local media who like to talk
about how the jacked up overtime contributes to final salary for retirement of
public employees, and that the employees will intentionally “spike” their
retirement so they can make more when they are done. Nothing could be further
from the truth! Overtime DOES NOT count toward retirement….EVER!!! PERS
retirements in California are based upon the <u>base salary </u>of the
particular public employee. The lefties and haters won’t ever report this
though, because it does not fit with their contrived BS message and dilutes
their biased messages.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Speaking of making things up, and the contrived message,
here’s a couple tidbits about how the retirement system works. In the Public
Employees Retirement System (PERS), which hundreds of local governments
throughout the State participate in, the employer (city, county, state, etc.)
pays an amount of money toward future retirement for each employee and each
employee pays an amount toward their retirement. In many cases, governments
historically, through the collective bargaining process, have elected to pay
the employee portion of retirement in lieu of otherwise giving a raise (because
it cost them less to do so overall) – Chico did this several times over the
years. The result for the employee was that their base pay (on which their
retirement is based) would remain the same, but their monthly take home pay
would increase. This occurred to such a degree throughout the state that many
government employees ended up with their entire contribution paid for by their
government employer. By the way, when this happens it is not because the
officers held their city council or board of supervisors hostage. Rather, it
happened because the persons elected by the citizenry to those bodies voted to
allow it to happen – yes, the elected officials approved it – long before it
became public and long before it was ever realized on a public safety employee
pay check.<o:p></o:p></div>
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When it comes time for a retired employee to collect their
retirement benefit, the formula for their monthly pension pay is based upon
three things: 1) What is the highest base salary the employee ever made (not
counting overtime)? 2) How many years does the person have in the PERS system
(NOT how many years the person has been in the profession)? 3) What retirement
formula does the employee’s work group have? As an example, lets say that a
police officer has 25 years on the job, her highest base salary was $75,000
annually, and her formula as a public safety was 3% at 50. This means, the
soonest the employee could retire and collect any pension is age 50, based on
the 3%, she would earn 3% of her highest salary for each year of service
(3%/year x 25 years = 75%). Doing the math, this officer would earn 75% of
$75,000 for the rest of her life, or $56,250 of taxable income. The more money
you make, and the more years you have, the more you will make in retirement. If
you are a public safety employee, they most you can make is 90% of your salary
if you have worked a full 30 years. To be very clear, the only way a 50 year
old can retire from public safety in California and collect a 90% pension is if
they worked 30 years …. In PERS! One additional benefit that elected official
sometimes give employee groups through the collective bargaining process is
called EPMC (Employer Paid Member Contribution). Under this benefit, the
elected officials approve the employing entity reporting that portion of
employee share of retirement that they pay as “special income” to PERS, which
means a maximum retirement benefit can go up to 97-98%. This can only happen
though if the elected body in charge of the government entity approves it, and
consents to giving it to their employees – like happened in Chico (and many
other California counties and municipalities).<o:p></o:p></div>
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There is a lot more too it, including a number of nuances
that help to paint a complete picture, but the lefties and the haters don’t
typically like that complete information thing. Instead, they like to bag on
guys like me who probably make up less than .5% of PERS employees. Why am I a
less than 1%er…..an anomaly? Well: 1) Very few people begin making their PERS
contributions at age 19 like I did. The result being that by the time I was age
50, I had maxed out in the PERS system with 31 years. 2) Very few start at the
very bottom of an agency, and over their 30 years work their way up to the very
top, highest paid position which receives the highest salary and which salary
is the basis for calculating the retirement benefit. In truth, most public
safety retirees from PERS are like the 25 year $75,000 example I gave above.<o:p></o:p></div>
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There are many in our community who want the average,
uniformed citizen to believe that all Chico Police officers are screwing the
taxpayers with their exorbitant pay and benefit packages. Nothing could be further
from the truth. Among those most vocal about this are at least one ignorant
Chico City Council member (more about him in future episodes!), a variety of
gadflies who hover at City Council meetings and the CN&R editorial staff.
The truth is that the market for police officers in California is the entire
State. In fact, currently the Chico PD employs individuals who have come to the
Department from Crescent City to San Diego, and everywhere in between as the
Department sought to avail itself of the very best from that market. In order
to be competitive in this statewide market to attract and hire the highest
quality employees, a competitive wage and benefit package must be paid….and it
must be maintained. For many years, the City elected leadership made a
commitment to paying competitive wages and benefits. They provided packages
that were consistent with the best departments in the State. As a result, the
Department was able to attract the best employees….and it was because of the
high<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>quality of the employees, that,
when there were not enough of them to keep up with the activity of the rapidly
growing City, they were able to keep their heads above water. Then, the
economic downturn hit. Officers were laid off, then restored. Other positions
were eliminated, and over time, nearly 30% of the Department’s sworn strength
was lost through attrition and a failure to approve rehiring to even the
reduced staffing levels. At the same time, in response to the unprecedented
number of vacancies, the Department reduced or eliminated staffing in key areas
and special assignments, and struggled just to keep up with emergency calls for
service. Over a concurrent 2-3 year period, officers took pay cuts that
resulted in up to 20% reductions in previous base pay levels. Overtime became
mandatory for basic shift coverage, vacations and other time off was cancelled,
and ignorant current and former City Council members led the charge in baggin’
on the Department because they simply could not keep up with the service
demands. Crime began to rise, and the quality of life throughout the City
diminished noticeably. And throughout all of this, certain current and former
members of the Council and members of the local liberal media actively assigned
blame for it all on the members of the Chico Police Officer’s Association, most
of whom, in truth, are guys and gals just like I described myself previously. <o:p></o:p></div>
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It just chaps my ass when Chico’s cops are made to be the
bad guys for what the City’s top appointed and elected leadership made happen.
It was mismanagement and incompetence, not the paying of competitive wages to
get quality employees that brought us to the brink of disaster as a city. Even
though a reduction in those wages and benefits helped to save the City, it came
at a significant cost. The most experience employees bailed – some could see
the writing on the wall, and bailed sooner than others. There were changes in
what the City had to offer replacement employees, and the City was no longer
the attractive place to work that it once was. Salaries and benefits were reduced,
and frankly, at least for a period of time, that was reflected in the quality
of applicants the City was able to attract for various positions. Fortunately,
it now looks like the City is on its way out of the hole….but please be very
clear: this was not a hole caused by the employees, by the unions or by public
safety specifically. Everything that happened is the result of decisions,
action and/or omissions of top appointed and elected leadership of the City.<o:p></o:p></div>
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A former Council candidate naively suggested a few years
back that Chico could hire a whole mess of cops if we reduced the wage to $12
an hour. You know what you get for $12 an hour? You get $12 an hour cops. As
the mayor once made very clear, “If you want to pay for amateurs, you’re gonna
get amateurs,” and he noted, “we have been there before.” I would suggest that
as a community, we don’t even want to go there with the police. We need to make
a commitment to remaining competitive in the statewide market, and paying a
wage and benefit and offering opportunities that will allow us to do so. We
also need our leaders to show that they have the nads to take responsibility
for making the decision to keep Chico competitive in the market for quality
cops, and they need to be openly accountable for their decisions when they do
so.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Who knows what the big investigative reporter has coming
down the pike, or what or whom it is about….but I feel better getting some of
these things off my chest!!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Mike Maloneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05481835124929751653noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3666467679743155713.post-67716896980646911002015-05-07T20:47:00.001-07:002015-05-07T20:47:12.949-07:00Chico Police Department - The rest of the staffing story...<div class="MsoNormal">
Between the local daily newspaper and postings here and
there in the social media, as well as e-mails to constituents from local
elected officials, it seems that there is an air of giddy-ness about all the
new hires in the Chico Police Department. With all of this chatter, I’m
surprised that one Council member in particular isn’t gloating about his prior
assertion that the Chico Police Department doesn’t need to recruit. One could
easily pick up on all that is being said and quickly develop the sense that all
is now OK with public safety in Chico.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Unfortunately, all is not ok. There is still a long way to
go. Consider the following:<o:p></o:p></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->In approximately 2007/2008/2009, the Chico
Police Department had 102 police officers. Although there is not a State or
National standard for police staffing, there is an annual survey done by the
FBI which compares police staffing throughout the Nation based upon a
consistent standard of police personnel per 1000 population. Under that
comparison standard, cities the size of Chico (50,000 – 100,000) had an average
of 1.3 officers per thousand population. During this period, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Chico had between .85 and .99 officers per
1000 (or between 7 and 11 officers LESS that what was necessary to be
considered average). Anybody who knows anything about policing (for the record,
Juanita Sumner, Michael Jones, and Randall Stone do not) would quickly point
out that Chico IS NOT AVERAGE when it comes to the myriad of issues this
community wants and expects its police force to address. Nor is it average when
it comes to the number of incidents and calls for service in comparison to
other cities of similar size – Chico has much, much more going on. With this
thought, although to be average would have been nice, Chico had a clear need to
be above average in relation to police staffing.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.5in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->2009ish began a reduction in police officer
staffing in CPD that eventually took the Department to an authorized strength
of only 82 officers – a 20% reduction in sworn staffing (there were additional
reductions in non-sworn staffing), and an eventual actual strength of much less.
By FY 14-15, Chico was at .92 officers/1000, or 32 officers less than what
would be needed to make the Department rise up to the level of average based on
the increased population of the City.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.5in;">
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->The impact of the police reductions became
readily apparent. Crime rose (as predicted by many), and anti-social behavior
took a stronghold in Downtown. It was no longer possible for the police to
respond or help in any way with low level, quality of life type community
problems. Citizens became angry and frustrated. Meanwhile, uncertainty about
the fiscal position of the City continued. Even though the Police Department
was authorized 82 officers, City leadership allowed the level to drop woefully
below that number. As people who know about policing spoke to the numbers of
officers needed, they were criticized by those who don’t know and dismissed the
comparison standard used by the FBI.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.5in;">
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->The political persuasion of the majority of our
elected leaders finally changed, and they did in fact quickly make bolstering
the PD a priority, but there is a lot of ground to cover. With the multitude of
new hires described in the recent Chico ER news story and editorial, the
Department is still only authorized has 87 police officer positions, 85 of
which are filled…<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">a.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Of the 85 filled, as of this week, 10 are in
various stages of their 6 month training program. This means, in effect, that
they cannot and are not considered as solo police officers – not until they
complete training. Between the 10, they have anywhere from one week to six full
months before they will finish their training.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">b.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->4 officers are currently attending the police
academy at Butte College. They have 1 month of the academy left before they
will begin their 6 month field training program. In a best case scenario, these
officers will not be ready to solo until around Christmas 2015.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">c.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->2 officers are off on long-term medical leave
right now, but this changes day to day. On any given Monday morning there can
be 2-3 additional officers off with injuries. Whether and when the two who are
currently off is not known and cannot be predicted.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Again, there are 2 current vacancies.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.5in;">
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->With the foregoing in mind, it should be noted
in summary, that as of today Chico effectively has only 69 officers (from the
Chief on down) to provide 24/7 coverage and protection to the City of Chico and
it’s visitors who take the actual daily population thousands of people more
than the recently reported population of 89,614ish. That is, 87 minus the 10 in
training, minus the 4 in the academy, minus the 2 on medical leave, and minus
the 2 vacancies.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.5in;">
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Ya, its exciting that cops are finally being
hired….but Chico is nowhere near where they need to be to get out of the woods.
Thank our elected officials for getting cops hired, but don’t rest easy and
return to ignoring the CPD or taking it for granted. Don’t direct your
attention away from the additional needs of the Department and our community. CPD
will not be in a position to serve and please all the masters until at least
that point in time that they return to their highest past staffing level. Its
great to see that groups like Clean and Safe assert a plan for getting staffing
up to where it should be, but the bottom line and truth is that the PD already
had a staffing plan, and has for years….they just didn’t have support from
appointed or elected leadership, there was no money and they were not a
priority until crisis stage was reached.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Stay vigilant Chico. Be involved, and be vocal. Do not stop.
You want a cop to address the issue of stolen bikes downtown? You want a cop to
conduct an investigation related to the iphone that was stolen from your car?
You want the cops to help address and resolve the issues with the homeless in
Downtown? You want CPD to respond to crimes and conduct investigations? Well,
sorry….even with all the recent hiring, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>there
just aren’t enough officers</u></b> (and it will still be months before the
ones that are hired right now will even be ready to function as solo officers).
The CPD is doing the best they can with the minimal staffing they have. The
recent hires are only token compared to the needs and demands. If the Council
maintains its current momentum, we may eventually get to where we need to be in
the next half dozen years or so….but its still all about how much money is
available. And apparently, it is taboo in this City to talk seriously about the
expeditious generation of new revenue to support the police. So just be patient…<o:p></o:p></div>
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Until the police can be what this community wants and needs,
what can you do? Lock your doors. Eliminate opportunities for crooks. Be a good
witness, and be willing to call the cops when you think there is a need to do
so (don’t feel like you are burdening them – they still need to be called). Get
to know your neighbors. Watch out for each other. Buy and install a video
recording system at your home or business. Attend a Council meeting, and make
sure your elected official know that you want adequate police staffing to be a
priority. Support your police, and be patient with them – they did not choose
to be understaffed – again, they are doing the best they can with what they
got!<o:p></o:p></div>
Mike Maloneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05481835124929751653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3666467679743155713.post-57759361689320909612014-11-02T22:17:00.002-08:002014-11-02T22:20:26.493-08:00Thoughts about the Chico City Council election<div class="MsoNormal">
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 11<sup>th</sup> hour thoughts I need to
share about the election and the current candidates…..so here we go:<o:p></o:p></div>
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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. <o:p></o:p></div>
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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.<o:p></o:p></div>
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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): <o:p></o:p></div>
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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:<o:p></o:p></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->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.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->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!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->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 (<a href="http://karenlaslo.com/2014/11/02/local-republicans-host-kashkari-get-unexpected-guests/">http://karenlaslo.com/2014/11/02/local-republicans-host-kashkari-get-unexpected-guests/</a>), 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.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRzHGFv3WFxEWHuG6qlTpk5Vt3IYlYEsbtML0PP5v8ZAPY5tKDZ2QwNKcAtIkfQVwflb-dNz6gOAxgLmfu6kQI2zeG9r86Wvh973eEzC9ZFbOH9Cv4kT6M4VA1MCQqRAthH2cy24cSBWQ/s1600/photo-4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRzHGFv3WFxEWHuG6qlTpk5Vt3IYlYEsbtML0PP5v8ZAPY5tKDZ2QwNKcAtIkfQVwflb-dNz6gOAxgLmfu6kQI2zeG9r86Wvh973eEzC9ZFbOH9Cv4kT6M4VA1MCQqRAthH2cy24cSBWQ/s1600/photo-4.JPG" height="320" width="203" /></a></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->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.<o:p></o:p></div>
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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.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>-<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><b>Vote NO on Prop 47!</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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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.<o:p></o:p></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b>Vote YES on Prop A<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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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.<o:p></o:p></div>
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GRUENDL – Speaking of the captain of the ship, some
important things you need to know:<o:p></o:p></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->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.<o:p></o:p></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->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.<o:p></o:p></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->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. <o:p></o:p></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->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.<o:p></o:p></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->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.<o:p></o:p></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->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.<o:p></o:p></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->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.<o:p></o:p></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->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.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal;">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->I <b>do not recommend</b> a vote for <b>Scott Gruendl</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
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. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.5in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal;"><b>
</b></span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b>I recommend a vote for Mark Sorensen</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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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.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
- <b> </b><b>I recommend a vote for Andrew
Coolidge</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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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.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>-<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I <b>do not recommend</b> a vote for <b>Rodney
Willis</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
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.<o:p></o:p></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->I <b>do not recommend</b> a vote for <b>Forough Molina</b>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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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.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.5in;">
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b>I recommend a vote for Reantte Fillmer for City
Council</b><o:p></o:p></div>
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ARIM-LAW – Lupe is also from the Mayor’s “side.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>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.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>- <span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>I <b>do not recommend</b> a vote for <b>Lupe
Arim-Law</b><o:p></o:p></div>
Mike Maloneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05481835124929751653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3666467679743155713.post-88098125706660278942014-10-23T18:16:00.000-07:002014-10-23T18:19:51.318-07:00Desperation leads to deception...<div class="MsoNormal">
It is well established that public safety is the top
priority in Chico for this City Council election, and acknowledged by all that
Chico does not have enough police officers. Chico voters should be aware that every
candidate will want the voters to believe they support and/or have knowledge or
understanding about public safety issues, and policing specifically. Some of
the candidates will be able to easily establish that they know what is going
on...because they really do! They have taken the time to do their homework, to talk to people at all
levels of the Police Department, they have done ride-alongs with officers, and
they have studied the issues. Others, who by the way have already demonstrated
publicly that they don't have a clue or really even care about CPD or their
ability to do a good job, are going to have a harder time convincing the voters
they are supporters of public safety. Some of these have records of up to 12
years that clearly indicate an absence of support, and others have only
recently spoken publicly in such a way as to convey they don’t know what is
going on. The latter will resort to deception, like is described in the
following blog post from 2010, to convince voters they are connected and in
tune with law enforcement:<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
*********************************************************************************<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Beware of paid slate mailers<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
By Josh Richman<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Friday, May 28th,
2010 at 2:01 pm in 2010 election.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A copy of the “COPS Voter Guide,” a slate mailer urging
votes for certain candidates and ballot measures, recently landed on my desk,
reminding me how wary voters should be of such things. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Use of the word “COPS” in big print, and the badge logo that
accompanies it, seem to imply that law enforcement is endorsing these
candidates and measures. That’s not true.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The COPS Voter Guide is a business: It sells endorsements.
Its online “endorsement form” simply asks a candidate check a box to “agree
that public safety is a top priority for public service. As an elected
official, I will uphold the laws and work with California Law Enforcement on
issues of mutual concern. This pledge does not commit me to any issue
positions, nor does it mean that the COPS VOTER GUIDE agrees with me by
endorsing all of my issue positions.”<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s run by Moran & Associates, a Folsom-based political
consulting firm; I left messages for company President Kelley Moran, but
haven’t heard back from him.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This one – designed for Democratic voters – looks to me as
if Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown is the only candidate who
didn’t pay to be on it, as he’s the only one without an asterisk next to his
name; the mailer’s fine print says “Appearance is paid for and authorized by
each candidate and ballot measure which is designated by an *”<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So the mailer urges the recipient to vote for Gavin Newsom
for Lieutenant Governor. Yet when I look at Newsom’s endorsement page under the
heading “public safety,” I see three firefighters’ organizations but not a
single police group. His rival, however – Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice
Hahn – has been endorsed by the Peace Officers Research Association of
California (PORAC), Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca and several LA-area
police groups.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Similarly, Democratic candidate for Attorney General Pedro
Nava, an Assemblyman from Santa Barbara, is on the mailer. The only law
enforcement endorsements he lists on his website are Ventura County Deputy
Sheriff’s Association and the Ventura County Peace Officers Association, plus a
few local sheriffs and police chiefs. Yet Ted Lieu, the Assemblyman from Torrance
and one of Nava’s six rivals for the Democratic nomination, actually has the
endorsements of the California Peace Officers Association, the California
Police Chiefs Association and nine other law enforcement groups.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It’s not illegal for a candidate to pay a slate mailer for
an endorsement, or for a mailer to solicit such payments. But voters should
read the fine print and discern the endorsements that a candidate has bought
from the endorsements that a candidate has earned.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
*********************************************************************************<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Here’s the bottom line folks: It is a regular part of the
political process that candidates will use slate mailers like described above to
create perceptions about themselves. Usually, they are deceptive. In our local
race for the City Council, an experienced politician/incumbent (our Mayor) has
paid this very same outfit referenced in the blog above to have his name listed
with their logo in a mailer to Chico voters to create the perception he is supported by law enforcement and
that he supports law enforcement. Since he has established this race is about
“sides,” he has apparently persuaded the novices on his “side” to join him. In
the case of the mayor, his well established record of the last 12 years
demonstrates that he <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">does not</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">has not</i> supported the Chico PD or the
job they do. Sadly, the two newbies on his side have stumbled and bumbled as
they have feebly attempted to convey that they know about and/or support law
enforcement. As a result of this cumulative situation, with awareness of what
the top issue facing candidates in this election is, these candidates have had
to initiate an act of desperation to convince the voters they really support
public safety. Public records in the Chico City Clerks Office indicate they all
paid money to this outfit, and now that the mailers have been received we know
it was to get their names out their as supporters of law enforcement. <o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So what about the “COPS Voter’s Guide?” This is in fact a
front for a guy in Folsom, Ca who has spent the last 30+ years as a public
affairs and political consultant. He does not now, nor has he ever worked in public safety (although it appears he may have formerly had a public safety client who "discontinued their relationship" with him). He is also the owner of the “California
Energy Voter Guide.” With either one, it doesn’t matter what your party or what
your position on an issue is, if you pay him he will put your name on a flyer
and mail it to voters in attempt to create a perception in your favor as a
candidate. Research on this guy’s COPS guide in particular indicates that for
at least the last dozen years it is widely used to perpetuate deception in
elections.<br />
<br />
If you receive one of these mailers locally, recognize it as a clue that the candidate(s) listed thereon either know nothing about public safety, they have demonstrated that they do not support the CPD and that if they are willing to resort to deception to convince you they are all about public safety, where else will they deceive you if they are elected???<br />
<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<br /></div>
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Mike Maloneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05481835124929751653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3666467679743155713.post-74605794126706046822014-09-29T00:20:00.003-07:002014-09-29T08:56:00.123-07:00Chico: We have a problem....with our Mayor....<br />
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During the last election cycle I elected to exercise my
right to share my opinion about the Chico City Council candidates by way of a
narrative wherein I issued grades to each candidate…you know, an A through F
kind of thing. I will likely do the same this cycle, but I have realized that
there is a more pressing issue that cannot wait until I have fully considered
my perspective on all of the candidates for purposes of expressing <u>my</u>
opinion of their grades. Specifically, there are some pressing issues with our
Mayor, Scott Gruendl that our public needs to be aware of.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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In my 34+ years of public service, 18 as a
manager/administrator I have had occasion to be exposed to a variety of
individuals who held formal leadership positions….like mayor, chief of police,
city manager, city council member, etc. I have observed a commonality between
many of those to whom I have been exposed, and am experiencing the same
commonality during this election cycle. The commonality is this: when their
feet are being held to the fire….or when they are feeling threatened for
whatever reason, they will openly expose their fear by lashing out at critics
and they will misrepresent, mis-state or even lie about how things really are.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In relation to Chico’s current Mayor, Scott Gruendl, who is
running for re-election this cycle, I have these concerns specifically:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.5in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->It is frequently emphasized that Chico is a
“non-partisan City Council. Yet, at a League of Women Voters Forum the other
night, when asked why he would run for Council at this time, Mr Gruendl’s first
and very emphasized response was to the effect of: “ I don’t want to give up my
seat to a conservative.” Really? Not, “Because I want to serve our citizens,”
or “Because I want to make a difference,” or “Because I want to make things
better.” It’s all about my political affiliation. Holy crap!!!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.5in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->In a number of recent published news stories, it
is noted that Mr. Gruendl has been on the Council for a dozen years or so.
Coincidentally, this is the same period of time during which the City of
Chico’s finances absolutely fell into the gutter. Also during this time, Gruendl
was the Mayor, a member of the Council Finance Committee and even the Chair of
the Finance Committee. News reports indicate that Gruendl has indicated he
wants another term on Council because (essentially) he was a part of the City’s
demise, and now he wants a chance to help fix it. While his limited acceptance
of responsibility is noble, it seems like allowing him to have another 4 years
(as has been pointed out by at least 1 other citizen) is tantamount to
re-hiring the captain of the Titanic!!! Do we really want to do that???<o:p></o:p></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->This one just kills me….Gruendl brags about how
he is the department head of so many departments in another county, including
the Public Health Department and the Behavioral Health Department (mental
health)….yet, the other night at the previously mentioned Chico City Council
Candidate’s Forum he declined to express an opinion about medical marijuana
because he had not yet talked to the different factions advocating
marijuana-related positions in our county. Really?! He is the head of Public
Health and Behavioral Health, but he does not yet have a position on medical
marijuana he can speak to publicly. I call BULLSHIT!!! This guy is a slick and
slimy politico. He knows exactly how he feels about the marijuana issues….his
professional position mandates it. The fact that he would be less that fully
transparent on this on this front and center issue is at a minimum suspect. And
I for one suspect that he is waiting to see which way the Dem/lib machine tells
him to go on this issue. In the current election cycle, Butte County will
decide if we want our identity to be based on marijuana and letting the stoners
for profit decide our community culture, or if we are going to let the voice of
reason prevail. I don’t believe we want our identity as county to be based on marijuana
(like Mendocino County). If Gruendl doesn’t have the ‘nads to be clear about
his position on this very public issue, that alone is sufficient to cause me
concern about his suitability as a community leader.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->In response to a question about the hiring of
private security in Downtown Chico, Gruendl indicated very firmly and very
assertively that effective 9-23-14 there would be “additional officers
downtown, including bike officers.” Hmmm….how can I put this without being
harsh….uh….well….Gruendl is wrong. In fact, based on the context, he’s a
liar!!! In fact, public records will reveal that it was not until 9-26 that the
City Manager communicated to Council a plan for diverting cops to downtown, and
this was based on a memo that was submitted to him by the chief (also on
9-26).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This issue has additional
concerns that I consider very serious….<o:p></o:p></div>
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The Police Department is
authorized 84 sworn personnel (down from 102 at the peak level 4-5 years ago).
Of the 84 authorized, they are down another 16 due to vacancies, personnel in
field training, personnel in the academy and personnel off on injuries. That
means that effectively there are a total of 72 officers to police this City
24/7. Believe me, you don’t want to know the truth about what this translates
to in cuts to services (30% staffing decrease from the previously understaffed
police department). My point is not what the numbers mean, but what is really
happening. There are simply not enough officers to assign people downtown right
now!!!!<o:p></o:p></div>
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There is in fact an effort
underway to assign officers downtown. It DID NOT happen 9-23 as the Mayor said
(he’s a liar, and he is desperately trying to cover his tail). In order to make
this happen, officers who have already covered their 40+ hours per week are
going to have to be ORDERED to come in for extra time to cover downtown, and
because they are already so burned out trying to keep up with minimum shift
coverage there is a proposal to pay them, not time and a half overtime, but
double time!!! Hello!!??!! What is wrong when you have to entice burned out
employees to come in on double time? By the way, the double time proposal is based
in part on the fact that minimum shift coverage is not occurring…..folks: That
means they can’t get the cops to cover enough shifts to provide the basic
services….THAT is why you don’t often get a cop when you call one in Chico!!!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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The bottom line is this: There are
not enough cops to staff basic shifts in Chico. The heat is on, and the Council
is feeling<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>pressure to get cops downtown
on a dedicated basis….so much pressure, in fact that the Mayor is willing to
lie about what is actually happening. I’m not saying the sky is actually
falling (but it is close) but if it was, do we want one of our leaders to be a
guy who stands out in front and misrepresents or lies about whether or not it
is? I think not!<o:p></o:p></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Now, here’s a biggie: At the League forum the
other night, it was apparent to the whole room that Gruendl walked into the
room with a chip on his shoulder. He was angry, and initially it was not clear
why. But soon, it became apparent that a bit of his ire, if not all of it, was
directed toward another candidate. Based on my experience, his attitude and
demeanor were based on the fact that he perceived a significant threat in the
room….he was afraid! At every given chance, without mentioning her name, he
snidely alluded to things candidate Reanette Fillmer has posited or said during
this campaign. My read? He sees her as a threat, and he should, and he is
afraid she will beat him. She is a solid, no nonsense contender with real public
and private sector experience. And she has voter appeal. His conduct, his
demeanor, his attitude?…hardly what I believe we want to see in this city in
the way of leadership!<o:p></o:p></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Oh gawd….here’s another on this guy! It clearly
illustrates one of the concerns that I have had for years. While the rest of us
experience the real world on a daily basis, he lives in some fairytale utopia
where people don’t have to acknowledge or deal with the very real stuff that is
going on. In a published news story tonight regarding the opening of the Democratic
Headquarters in Chico, Gruendl is quoted as saying,” We are re-hiring employees
that were once laid off, and we are getting back to work.” Really? Who are we
re-hiring? Do you really have a clue? I think not!!! If you actually check, you
will find that his assertions are not true. He may like them to be….I mean,
after all, the City did come in with record sales tax revenue this year….but
hiring back laid off employees? Uh no. Nor is the City hiring back the dozens
of critically necessary employees whose positions were eliminated due to
mismanagement. It’s true that things are looking better for the City, but this
guy’s perception is clearly skewed. Perhaps if he were to remove his rose
colored glasses….but until then, my clear sense is that he is wrong, off base,
and no longer what this City needs.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Here’s the bottom line with Scott Gruendl. He tried for
years and years to get elected to a position where he could make a difference.
Eventually, he was elected. He actually did a fairly good job as a leader in
his first term as Mayor. But, alas, reality set in. Things got dicey for the
City, and the City’s circumstances exceeded the capacity of his capabilities.
Now, as the City digs out from the mess his acts and omissions helped us get
into, he dares to ask for one more chance…to fix what he helped screw up!? I
think not. His public positions and reactions to other candidates during this
campaign clearly illustrate that he feels threatened….and rightfully so. His shit
is weak, and he knows it. He’s grasping at straws, hoping that he can get
another term. But here’s the dealio: Do we want to reward one of the “leaders”
who led us into the mess we will be digging out from for the next several
years? I think not! </div>
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Time for Scott to go……<o:p></o:p></div>
Mike Maloneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05481835124929751653noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3666467679743155713.post-89634885334045607882013-11-19T22:01:00.004-08:002013-11-19T22:01:40.796-08:00What's next Randall Stone?<div>
I think, in light of Randall's flagrant mishandling of this matter, there is only one thing for him to do (that is, until the inevitable lawsuit from Officer Boothe hits him)...he needs to step down from the Police Advisory Board. Here is a letter I sent the Mayor and the Council tonight....my thouhgts echoed the words of the CPOA President, Peter Durfee and a citizen who also called for his resignation or removal....</div>
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November 19, 2013</div>
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Mayor Scott Gruendl</div>
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City of Chico</div>
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P.O. Box 3420</div>
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Chico, California 95927</div>
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Dear Mr. Gruendl,</div>
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I am sure you are aware by now of the flagrant mis-step by Council Member Randall Stone during the last week or so in relation to an employee in the Police Department and his alleged off duty conduct. In short, by way of what was likely a self-initiated media blast that served no other purpose than to fuel Mr. Stone's starving ego, Mr. Stone disregarded and violated the privacy rights, civil rights, employment rights and Peace Officer Bill of Rights of Officer Todd Boothe by disregarding established rules and process and making public allegations of misconduct against him. Although there are many disturbing aspects to what has taken place, one of the most disturbing is that now Officer Boothe and his family have been targeted as a result of Stone's inappropriate actions, and it is fair to say their safety has been jeopardized.</div>
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Equally disturbing, and the basic purpose of my letter is this: Mr. Stone is the Mayor-appointed member of the City Council assigned to the Police Community Advisory Board. Mr. Stone's actions have violated the established rules of the Advisory Board in relation to allegations of police misconducthere is only one thing for him to do, and are inexcusable. For someone who purports to be so knowledgable about so many things, the mere suggestion that he didn't know he should report allegations of misconduct to the Chief of Police is ridiculous and absolutely unbelievable. As a result of his misguided actions, and in addition to the harm he has caused Officer Boothe and the Police Department in general, he has violated a trust and respect that is essential for those who serve on the Advisory Board to possess. Mr. Stone is no longer worthy of serving in that role, and his continued presence would be a distraction, counter-productive and absolutely in conflict with the goal of cultivating positive relationships.</div>
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Mr. Mayor, please recognize what has already become so clear to so many in our community as a result of Stone's self-aggrandizing calamity: He needs to be removed immediately from the Police Community Advisory Board. He has demonstrated over and over again that he is not supportive of the Police, and his latest blunder only serves to reinforce what everyone already knows. Please replace him immediately with a Council member who can provide service that is fair, balanced, objective and absent of bias against our Police Department.</div>
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A concerned citizen,</div>
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Mike Maloney</div>
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c: All City Council Members</div>
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CM Brian Nakamura</div>
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City Clerk</div>
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Media</div>
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Police - Chief, CPOA</div>
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Mike Maloneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05481835124929751653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3666467679743155713.post-23154552233448879402013-11-12T17:38:00.001-08:002013-11-12T17:38:55.263-08:00Randall Stone(r), Incompetence and Racism<div>
The following is my OPINION. If you don't like it, it doesn't mean that I'm a racist or that I'm wrong. At the most, it means you simply don't agree with my opinion. That's your right...but be clear....this is MY OPINION!!</div>
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I am so angry right now...heart is pounding, head is spinning....I could just spit. I just heard a news story last night where a City Council member, Randall Stone, was blasting a Chico Police officer who he accused of being a racist and calling him incompetent in a Facebook posting. I'm not gonna reiterate the details of the news story, but if you wanna see it here's the link:</div>
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<a href="http://www.actionnewsnow.com/content/localnews/story/Chico-City-Council-Member-Accuses-Police-Officer/ponRBT6w_0SufUclfK6BdQ.cspx">http://www.actionnewsnow.com/content/localnews/story/Chico-City-Council-Member-Accuses-Police-Officer/ponRBT6w_0SufUclfK6BdQ.cspx</a></div>
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So, the question of the day is: Is Randall Stone incompetent?</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>INCOMPETENT (in-com-pet-tent) - Not having or showing the necessary skills <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>to do something successfully; amateurish, blundering, bungling, inadequate, <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>substandard, inferior.</div>
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How 'bout if we take a look at a few "Stone-isms," and you decide:</div>
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1.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Did you watch any of his presentations during the campaign where (tragically for the City of Chico) he was elected? On a number of occasions, Stone was asked for perspectives about policing and the Chico Police Department in particular. On one occasion in particular, he was asked what he knew about the Chico Police Department. If you look at the record of his responses, you will quickly see that this guy knows nothing about policing in Chico, nothing about the Chico Police Department and nothing about those who provide policing services in Chico. His best references about policing issues were "members of Butte County law enforcement. Randy even declined, by way of a failure to respond, an open invitation for Council candidates to go on a PD ride-along, which would have taught him loads about the Department. Translated: he made no effort to connect with Chico PD to learn anything about them or their issues. In fact, in carefully worded excuses and rationalizations, he clearly sought to justify his absence of effort to learn anything about the Chico Police Department all throughout his campaign. What does that tell you about a politician who purports to place policing as a priority? Does this make him incompetent? Perhaps mendacious or disingenuous, but not necessarily incompetent.</div>
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2.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I realize that marijuana is in the forefront of contemporary issues in California today, but it is clear that the people of the State want to take baby steps as we venture into that realm. Even though the indication is baby steps, are we at the point where we want to put leaders in office who are overtly supported by marijuana money? Look at the public records on Randall. At least 3 of his campaign contributors are marijuana people: Andrew Merkel, M. Max Del Real, Western Plant Science Association....folks, you can't even sugar coat this....these three donors are all about marijuana, and, as they perpetuate the blurred lines between what is and isn't legal in California in relation to marijuana, it is highly likely that the money they contributed to Stone(rs) campaign was dope money. Really Chico? Is that what we are about? I think not! So, does this make Stone incompetent? Maybe not by itself. In this case, he is either subtly exposing some of who he really is (spuriousness) or he's a hypocrite.</div>
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3.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>This guy inserted himself into a recent conversation about what is going on with the homeless and mentally ill in Chico. At one of the very first Clean and Safe meetings, Randy was bragging about how HE had "taken care of" the problem with the mentally ill on the streets of Chico by calling Behavioral Health and asking them to take care of it. He then took his token cruise Downtown, didn't see and mentally ill people, and proclaimed the problem solved. He continued, then indicating he would next handle the homeless problem. Really Randy? He appears to even believe himself. He was most embarrassed when my wife, who actually is in touch with what is going on with the homeless on the streets, called him out. Of course, now he awkwardly but arrogantly acknowledges her in public meetings because she called him out on his BS. Does this make him incompetent? Self-aggrandizing, yes.........but incompetent, I'm not sure.</div>
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4.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Here's one I just love: During his campaign he repeatedly claimed credit for "creating 75 jobs." Really? Where are those 75 people now Randy? When called out on it, he changed his tune a bit and said "well, thats what the economists said I did." Hmmmm......if you tell me that you created 75 jobs, I'm gonna be thinking that you are single handedly responsible for putting 75 people who were not previously working to work. Ideally, the opportunity would be a sustained opportunity. But thats not what happened with Randall. What he did is consult with economists, engaged a series of calculations and determined, based on how many hours were spent on his construction project, how many jobs FTE he created (but did not necessarily sustain). Seems slimy to me....but I suppose in a technical sense Randall'scharacterization is accurate. Even though it is technically accurate, the way that Randall continually portrayed it is more in line with what I suggested people would believe if you said you created 75 jobs. Sooooo, does this slimy spin and disingenuous characterization make Randal incompetent. No, not really. He's clearly inclined toward deceit and arrogance, but not incompetence based on this story.</div>
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5.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Oh! Speaking of his propensity to be misleading, here's another one for you: A few weeks ago Randall happened to go to a meeting where the Jail Commander from BCSO was present. The Jail Commander, on his own initiative, came to this meeting to offer his idea about how to help with the maintenance of Caper Acres. His idea was to use inmates who were on a special release program to do the work. Ultimately, this idea was embraced and approved by the full City Council....but here's the kicker: Have you heard Randall talking about it at Council Meetings? Have you read the news accounts of what took place, or seen the TV news stories? To hear Randall talk, one would easily come to believe HE is the savior of Caper Acres because HE made the arrangements for the prisoners to do the work. In fact, ironically, HIS Facebook page claims that "Councilmember Randall Stone brought this program to Chico..." Clearly another spin, potentially a lie, on his part, but is this incompetence? Probably not....just more of Randall's typical delusions of grandeur.</div>
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5.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>This is the one that takes the cake, and pisses me off more than anything. Apparently Randy is butt hurt because a CPD officer called him a name on his Facebook page and hurt his feelings. Randy investigated further, found some politically satirical images on the officer's page, and decided that the nature of the images makes the officer a racist in addition to a name caller. Following this, Randall apparently takes his discovery and info to the Human Relations Network of Butte County, and as a result of that contact the media learns of the incident (its not clear if the media learned of it on their own, or if Randy notified them himself). From there, there story linked to above comes out in the news. In his standard haughty and pontifical tone, Randall (apparently aghast at what has taken place) purports to be concerned about the safety of the Chico Police officers as a result of the postings....ahem.....I call bullshit! He also refers to CPD as "HIS" Police Department. Ummmm Randall, be very clear: CPD is NOT YOUR Police Department. In fact, you are an embarrassment to the Department. Let me list the reasons why:</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>During your campaign, apparently knowing that the folks at CPD think very little of you, you steered clear. When asked what you know about them, you couldn't answer....because you didn't know anything, and you made no effort to learn anything. In their world, this failure on your part contributed significantly to the reputation you now have as being generally anti-police. Your absence of action is deafening on this one!</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Stone cites the Pickering case from 1968 as the basis for an absence of 1st Amendment protections for the comments posted by the officer. He apparently failed to read or understand the case. In truth, it is this case which lays the foundation, indisputably, for the officer's comments to be protected by the 1st Amendment. Although the line is fine, it is pretty clear: public employees are in a position to know things that are of public interest, and their speech about such things has qualified protections under the 1st Amendment. It is well established that Randal is often inclined to speak publicly about things he knows nothing about....he did it again here!</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Speaking of not knowing, Randal apparently does not know that the basis for whether or not an employer can address off-duty conduct of employees depends on whether or not there is a clear nexus to the employment. This is surprising, considering what a loud mouth know-it-all he is. Said differently, in order for CPD to address the Facebook conduct of the involved officer, the officer would have to have said or done something to establish a connection to CPD. If he had his picture in uniform..... or if he posted "I am a CPD officer and I think Randall is a buffoon," then there would be a clear nexus to employment. But, this does not appear to be the case this time. Again, Stone has stepped in it!</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Randall is apparently the appointed Council member of the Police Community Advisory Board. This is most disturbing!! As such, it would be expected that he know allegations of police misconduct are confidential personnel matters and officers accused of wrongdoing are entitled a variety of due process right. Mr. Supercilious should also know he is potentially in the chain of command for the officer, and has certain responsibilities as such. By taking his complaint to a public venue instead of the Chief of Police and perpetuating it with his inflammatory Twitter and Facebook posts, and then taking it to the media with the officer's name, Randall has disregarded and compromised the responsibilities of his position, violated the officer's rights to privacy, his rights to due process, his right to a fair and impartial investigation into the facts, he has slandered and defamed him, and much, much more. In short, he has established that he is not worthy to be sitting on the Advisory Board. The Board is not intended to be adversarial, but Stone has now established that he cannot be trusted to abide by the rights of police employees or the intent of the Board. His mere presence will be counter-productive he needs to be removed. To keep him will undermine the ability of the PD to have their own relationship with the community, and will detract from open and honest communication. Stone has demonstrated amply that he will spin, misrepresent, mischaracterize, etc. He cannot be trusted to be a participant in open and civil conversations involving the PD.</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>-<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Even today, presumably with no effort to understand the issues related to salaries and benefits in policing, Stone has a post on his Facebook page that is clearly intended as a shot across the bow of the cops and police management as he questions their salaries. I would suggest that this is divisive, and undermining. This fits with the flagrant misrepresentation he made at a Council meeting in July in relation to salaries of public safety employees. He demonstrates over and over that he is not a friend of public safety, and that he is willing spin the truth or even lie to reinforce and perpetuate his disdain for the police in Chico.</div>
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So, back to the original question: Is Randall incompetent? Well, we know he is mendacious; disingenuous; either a stoner or a hypocrite; self-aggrandizing; deceitful; arrogant; he has delusions of grandeur; he shows over and over again that he will speak authoritatively about things he knows nothing about, giving the appearance that he is quite comfortable with lying; he now has a well established anti-police, especially CPD, record........I think I would say YES.....it appears with all of this together, he IS incompetent. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I'm not done yet. What about this issue of racism and the accused officer? Are satirical images of the president in and of themselves racist? Does display of such make one a racist? Or, is it only when these things occur in relation to an African-American President that they are racist? It's ironic that as I peruse the names of people in public postings who have commented on this story and crucified the officer, some of these very same people and their ilk are among the first to propagate unfavorable speech and images about the police. Sounds like a double standard to me, and it's typical of what I have come to expect from the likes of Randall Stone. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Randall: Here's the bottom line. You stepped in it this time. It's time for you to man up and buck up. Grow some nads, take off your tighty whiteys, put on some big boy boxers, and admit that you screwed up. Just because somebody works for the City doesn't mean they can't have and express opinions about you as an elected official. In this case, opinions about your incompetence (which is now determined to be a factual statement). You owe the officer a public apology, and you owe it to this City's Police Department (NOT yours) to step down from the Community Advisory Board.</div>
Mike Maloneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05481835124929751653noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3666467679743155713.post-40835510861714168282013-10-21T20:34:00.000-07:002013-10-21T20:34:04.876-07:00Homeless....Part II....So here we are Chico. Tomorrow night, all the cats are going to gather in the City Council Chambers, and shit is gonna get real. There will be lots of angry people, lots of nervous people, a disjointed attempt at herding the cats, lots of choreographed attempts at having meaningful discussion (but no real decisions), perhaps a bunch of intimidating guys in red berets, Council members who will (again) fail to assert ANY leadership, and when the evening ends, many will be wondering what the heck just happened.<br />
<br />
So Chico, what are we going to do? What should we do?<br />
<br />
Well, I have my own opinion (surprise!)....here it is:<br />
<br />
To deal with all the crap that is going on with the miscreants Downtown, there needs to be a two prong approach. Prong #1 is the short term. In the short term, key agencies need to come together, form a multi-disciplinary team, and hit the street making personal contact with the problem citizens. The teams should be comprised of police, behavioral health, VA, perhaps the Jesus Center and/or Torres reps who know the citizens, other activist/advocates, and some kind of direct liaison to the DA's Office. These folks need to start working with street people one at a time, establishing relationships quickly, determining the nature of their challenges or anti-social problems, and referring/urging/compelling them as appropriate based on the circumstances. Prong #2 is based on re-establishing a culture of relative safety in the community. To do this, a well staffed, robust police department will be essential. As there is no money to pay for more police, there needs to be a firm plan to enhance the City revenue while preserving what is currently allocated to policing. In short, the best way to do this is a dedicated sales tax. Foes will argue all the reasons this won't work, but the bottom line is that it will if the citizens really value policing.<br />
<br />
I, of course, have lots to say in elaborating on Prong #1 and Prong #2. I will be there tomorrow night, and may or may not speak. But either way, I hope there will be folks among us who can really look at our situation strategically, realize that whatever we do as a community must have a realistic immediate action component, and then it must be sustained. Its time for the talk to stop. For anyone to suggest that the City Council needs more citizen input by way of a herding cats meeting to determine the exact nature of the current problem is asinine! If they don't know at this point, they are truly blind and absolute idiots. Everyone can see what is going on. Lets make something happen Chico!Mike Maloneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05481835124929751653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3666467679743155713.post-36346625252757512572013-10-20T16:17:00.001-07:002013-10-20T16:17:27.366-07:00Chico Homeless and Orchard Church
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Have you
ever heard someone talk about herding cats? Usually, the conversation is
referencing a chaotic situation, and the herding piece alludes to a point
person trying to bring order to the chaos. The reason I bring it up now is that
the cats are running amuck in Chico right now, but there isn't anyone who has
asserted any effort to establish any sort of order.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
To be a
little more specific, I'm talking about what is going on with the homeless and
crime problem in Chico and the disjointed attempted responses. For a few weeks
a group called Clean and Safe Chico, who seems to have really good intentions,
has been having meeting after meeting, but they haven't accomplished anything
in relation to addressing the problem. Another group, who has been laying low
thus far, will be introducing their quasi-vigilante approach. This seems to be
a group of people who have strong financial backing, who are not used to be
told "NO," and who apparently intend to force the (ones they decide
are) miscreants to leave Downtown Chico. This group, who calls itself R Town,
has even had conversations with the famous Guardian Angels, who accomplish much
of what they do through threats and intimidation. Then there are others who speak boldly about what
they are getting ready to do....but again, they have really done nothing.
Tuesday night there will be more talk at another community meeting at the City
Council Chambers. It is already agendized in such a way as to almost guarantee
nothing will come out of it but more talk. Clean and Safe will talk about all
the people they have talked to and how everyone is mad about what is happening,
R Town will assertively list their demands, City Council and the Police reps
will sit there quietly, a few cat callers will throw out there own one liner
editorial criticisms. But that<span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">’</span>s all that gonna happen, talk.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
In the
meantime, the Police Department continues to be gutted. They have virtually
checked out of anything and everything that requires extra effort or money. In
doing so, they are disintegrating what ties they have had with the
community....not because they want to, but because they have to and they are
getting their butts kicked by the team of three outsiders who are currently
running the City (who, by the way, will likely be gone in 1.5-2 years). The
DA's Office has asserted that they will not waste time prosecuting the low
level crimes typically committed by the homeless (trespass, unlawful lodging,
etc.). There is nobody from Behavioral Health to deal with the street level
people who are in need of services, the VA has established that they are like
any other Federal agency: bureaucracy first, and helping clients is way down on
the list. And while this is all going on, the City Council endeavors
perpetually to ignore the problems that are so obvious to everyone else, to
keep their heads buried in the sand, and to avoid at all costs making any
decisions or asserting any leadership that is even the least bit suggestive of
a plan to address community concerns. Sadly, the City Council is the only thing
in this mess we can count on as a community<span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">…</span>we can count on them Not
making a decision and NOT taking any action!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
And all
of that represents the cats running amuck with nobody attempting to herd them.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
And while
all of this has been going on, very quietly, very discreetly, not looking for
attention or pats on the back, the Orchard Church has been trying to make a
difference through their Sunday evening Church on the Street. Unlike Clean and
Safe Chico, who has meetings to talk about "those people," unlike R
Town, who wants to disregard their civil rights and herd them away, and unlike
the City leaders, who are doing nothing, Orchard has been connecting with the
homeless for 5 years. They have established relationships, built trust and
helped many of those people off the street. Orchard has helped 3 people get
back to their families, 3 more into rehab and 3 more into their own homes this
year alone (so far). In addition, they run a men's house with ten residents,
all of whom faced homelessness, addiction or other circumstances in their past.
They have helped dozens of others over the years. Orchard makes their
connection with people on the street by giving them a meal....once a week...for
about an hour...in the downtown Plaza. This happens Sunday evenings, and has
been going on for over 5 years...right across the street from City Hall and
right outside the window of the Police Substation.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
Now,
because the order has been issued to "crack down" on the homeless, it
seems the first focus of the crackdown is Orchard Church. The Parks Commission
clearly does not like what they are doing, the poor kids they have working as
park rangers seem to have taken Orchard's efforts as a personal affront to
them, and dozens of uninformed citizens have written angry emails to Council
members, left them calls, and publicly blasted (by way of social media) the
efforts of the Church. And all of this, and the current efforts to revoke the
ability of the church to continue their efforts, has occurred without a single
person taking a moment to ask Pastor Jim Culp or others at Orchard exactly what
it is that they do. Instead, Jim has been called a "ghetto preacher"
by downtown business folks. Others have angrily and hatefully labeled the
church members as co-dependent pseudo do-gooders who are causing harm and
perpetuating the problem.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
The
response to Orchard has been disturbing to say the least. Nobody else is doing
anything. They are, and they are being vilified. To me, this is disgusting! If
anything, the other entities could learn from the example set by Orchard, and
the efforts related to helping these folks off the street could be expanded.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
Don't get
me wrong...its not that I'm a bleeding heart who thinks that we should leave
the homeless to be. On the contrary....I'm as angry as everyone else. I was
pissed as I saw the crowd of vagrants who has now set up camp on the front lawn
of the Council Chambers when I drove through Downtown today. I am pissed that
Council after Council has let the charming culture of our community slip
away....and now, while it is staring us in the face, they still refuse to
assert a position against what we have become. I'm pissed that they have
disregarded the benefit of having a well staffed police department to help
solve the kinds of community problems like we are now facing. We once had a
department that could do that, but years of neglect have left us with a
department that struggles daily to staff shifts and keep up with calls for
service. In fact, as a side note, I believe a big part of the solution to the
problems this community is facing is to restore and then enhance the police.
I'm pissed there are those in Chico who would even for a minute consider
bringing a group like the Guardian Angels here, and sad about how many high
profile Chico people have gone on record as being supportive of this. I can
tell you for certain: Chico IS NOT a Guardian Angel type town!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
But more
than anything, I am pissed that this community and its leaders would attack
Orchard Church for trying to make a difference. I support what Orchard Church
is doing. Until somebody else in this town steps up to the plate and takes some
action (instead of talking tough about what they would like to do), Orchard
Church should be left alone.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
Here is
the letter I sent the City Council sharing my thoughts:</div>
<div class="Body1">
<br /></div>
<div class="Body1">
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<span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">October 14, 2013<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">Chico City Council<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">411 Main Street<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">Chico, California 95926<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">RE: Orchard Church, Church on
the Street<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">Dear Council Members,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">Much has been said recently
about problems caused in downtown Chico by homeless vagrants. In response,
different groups of citizens with good intentions have formed or attempted to
form responses, which are hoped, at some level, to help mitigate the problems.
Street Pastors are out there on the street actually serving citizens in need,
homeless and otherwise, and making a bit of a difference as they attempt to fill
a void that has increased as of late due the diminishing presence of the police
in Chico. Another group, Clean and Safe Chico, seems to have some great ideas
in relation to dealing with the homeless vagrants specifically, but to date
they have really been unable to accomplish anything other than having lots of
meetings and talking about all the great things they would like to do….if they
had money….lots of money. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">While all of this attention
and these different discussions and responses have been taking place, there has
been something else going on that most Chico citizens are totally unaware of.
In the furtherance of their mission to serve others, the Orchard Church has
been conducting Church on the Street on Sunday evenings in the City Plaza for
at least the last five years. In doing so, they have established relationships
with many of those who are viewed as the problem in Downtown Chico, and they
have, one at a time, helped many of these people out of their circumstances. In
the last year alone, through contacts made and relationships established at Church
on the Street, Orchard Church has helped 3 homeless people into housing, 3 more
addicts into rehab and 3 more to return to their families. Chico hasn’t heard
about any of this because the church is not doing it to get attention or
credit, and they don’t make an announcement every time they are able to help
somebody. They are just quietly working to make a difference.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">As community discussion takes
place in relation to the homeless, everyone seems to be full of ideas about
what to do… drop-in centers, wet shelters, job training, etc. are all suggested.
Unfortunately, what is missing from the community conversation is actual
understanding of the variety of reasons people are homeless, an understanding
of who these people are as individuals, and an inclination by the masses to
come to know these people. Absent relationships with those who are actually
existing in homelessness, it is likely that all the great ideas everyone has to
take care of the problems will go nowhere. Well, the very things I have
suggested a missing in general are not missing in relation to the works of
Orchard’s Church on the Street. Jim Culp, his family and the members of Orchard
Church, through Church on the Street, have helped countless people off of the
streets over the years by having relationships with them, taking personal
interest in their circumstances on a case by case basis and holding them
accountable. They are doing exactly what this community wants done with “those
people,” but does not otherwise know how to do.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">Now, we are hearing that the
City is attempting to stop the work of the church. This is most disturbing! We
have an entire community wondering what to do, a City Council that seems to do
everything it can to avoid making a decision or taking a position on community
issues and nothing is being done by the City to solve the problems related to
the homeless in Downtown. And at the same time, we have this apparent sudden new
awareness of the work of Pastor Jim Culp, who now has downtown business people
calling him “ghetto pastor” to his face, and an unexplainable desire to stop
his work. He and his congregation are doing, and have been doing, what the
leaders of this City have failed to do. So, why is Church on the Street being
targeted? At this point, the most anyone can provide in the way of a response
to the question is, “Well, what you are doing is unprecedented.” I guess that’s
what we do in Chico when we are a City leader and we face unprecedented
circumstances: We retreat to a bunker, bungle our own rules, and attempt to
dismantle that which is unprecedented? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">The Orchard Church, by the
way, with the full awareness of each and every mayor for the last 5 years (whom
Pastor Culp has met with personally), has implemented a solution (one of many
possible) to help address the problems of homelessness in Chico. For that, they
should be embraced, and the community and its elected and appointed leaders
should seek to understand how Orchard has been successful. Stephen Covey spoke
of the importance of seeking first to understand before seeking to be
understood. Church on the Street has been happening quietly on the corner
across the street from City Hall for over five years. Now, all of the sudden,
in a keystone cop-like response, the Parks Commission and Park Manager are
attempting to shut them down….and all of this is happening without any apparent
effort whatsoever to learn about what they are doing – there has been no seeking
of understanding. Rather, they appear to have become a target for blame about
the problems in City Plaza. That is just wrong.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">We support Orchard Church and
what they are doing to make a difference. To force them to stop would be a
travesty, as would allowing them to be blamed for the problems caused by
homeless vagrants in Downtown Chico. They are doing exactly what this community
needs (and needs more of), they are doing it on a shoestring, and they should
be commended for their efforts. Please embrace their unprecedented activities,
and acknowledge the benefit to our community. If they are forced to stop what
they are doing, yet another void in the community response will be created, and
the City will have taken a giant step backwards.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">Sincerely,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">Mike & Laurie Maloney<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 11.0pt;">Chico, California<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<!--EndFragment--><br />
<!--EndFragment-->Mike Maloneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05481835124929751653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3666467679743155713.post-9167140415622165012013-06-15T07:50:00.001-07:002013-06-15T07:51:36.380-07:00Slimy: Addendum<br />
Further reinforcing my concerns, and my observation that there may be some sort of shell game or empire building going on, I open the local paper this morning only to see this advertisement for a newly created management level position in the City of Chico. Again, either we are in financial dire straits, or we're not. We don't eliminate management positions to save money, and then create new management positions....and if that is our intent, it should be done all together at one time with the other proposed changes....not quietly, and out of context with the other changes.<br />
<br />
Here is the link to the job (cut and paste to your browser):<br />
<br />
<span style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19px; white-space: nowrap;">http://www.chico.ca.us/human_resources_and_risk_management/</span><br />
<span style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.296875); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19px; white-space: nowrap;">job_opportunities/EconomicDev</span><span style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19px; white-space: nowrap;">elopmentManager.asp</span><br />
<span style="-webkit-composition-fill-color: rgba(175, 192, 227, 0.230469); -webkit-composition-frame-color: rgba(77, 128, 180, 0.230469); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(26, 26, 26, 0.292969); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 15px; line-height: 19px; white-space: nowrap;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Now, this makes me wonder what other similar moves are pending. Again, it's time to stop this train and put everything on the table before anything is finalized. I remain concerned!!</span>Mike Maloneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05481835124929751653noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3666467679743155713.post-68116188080180066132013-06-14T17:04:00.003-07:002013-06-14T17:04:49.294-07:00Something Slimy....
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Something slimy is going on in Chico right now. Actually, it
looks like its been going on since the Fall of 2012. Here’s some components of
the sliminess:</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.5in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Repeated appearances by the City Manager before
the City Council with new proposals for “rightsizing” the City, concepts with
little or no detail presented, eventually <i>some</i>
associated dollar figures, but always with relevant or complete information
left out.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.5in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Lots of talk from the three new guys running the
City (CM, ACM, ASD) about how broke the City is, and how it has been run into
the ground by past leaders.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.5in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]-->A City Council that continues to receive the
City Manager appearances in this manner, and echoes in agreement that the City
is broke.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now that’s just the foundation of the sliminess. Here’s
where the head scratching starts:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.5in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]-->The fact that the City is broke has apparently
been well known for some time, yet the current City Council brings in a new
City Manager at $27,000 higher than the last one was making. He came in at
$217,000, and with his $400 per month car allowance will make $223,008 +
benefits annually after July1.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.5in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]-->The Assistant City Manager who “retired” shortly
after the new City Manager took over was replaced with a guy who started at the
top step of the pay scale, which is $27,000 more than the previous guy. This
guy came in at $185,000 and with his $400 car allowance (because the ACM needs
a City car????) he will be at $190,318 + benefits after July 1.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left: .75in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.5in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->-<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Then, the Finance Director makes a quick exodus,
and within 24 hours of her resignation announcement the new City Manager hires
a guy without doing any recruitment….and get this: He starts the guy at
$130,000, which is slightly higher than the previous Finance Director…..but the
City Council then approves a contract guaranteeing that June 1, 2013 his salary
will bump up to $160,000 annually <i>whether
or not he is promoted to the new Admin Services Director position!!!! </i>This
guy started in March at $130,000, June 1 he was bumped up to $160,000 and July
1 he will be at $161,048 + benefits.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
These three things alone just stink……but there’s more. Guess
how many of the “new” rightsized city department heads got the new top step of
the salary range? Only one: The guy that got the $30k annual raise guaranteed
after only three months on the job. If the other 4 department heads are going
to get one, it hasn’t happened yet. A review of documents related to the City’s
proposed budget for next fiscal year suggests that all 5 of the Department
heads will be at the new max July 1…..which of course prompts the question: Are
we really that broke if we can not only increase the salaries of the top 3, but
we increase all the rest of the remaining department heads as well?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There’s more…..<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Have you really dug into this whole layoff notices given to
53 employees thing? Well, as with the smell associated with the new department
head salaries, there is additional stench….there is a very clear indication
that crafty manipulation of the personnel rules is taking place in order to get
rid of those employees in City Hall who are not liked, and to retain those who
are. There is a plan afoot to layoff several employees, reclassify their
positions, and then speculation is that in some cases the positions will be
refilled. It’s not clear whether there will be recruitments or simple
appointments to fill the new jobs. Examples: in HR, 3 people received layoff
notices (there are only 3 HR employees), yet that would virtually eliminate the
department…..and at the same time there is a move to create two new job classifications
in the City; Human Resource Analyst and senior Human Resource Analyst. In the
City Clerk’s Office, the plan is to layoff 2 people, one FTE and one who is
shared with another department…then to create a new “Deputy City Clerk”
position at a rate HIGHER than the person being laid off. And then there’s the
City Manager’s Office…the two Admin Analysts, who presumably are not in favor
with the CM, are being laid off and a new position of Executive Assistant is
being created. Word is that this is happening in other departments as
well…Finance for one. It is obvious this is based on favoritism and a desire to
derail any due process rights of employees when it comes to bumping. These re-creations
of positions that are being forcefully vacated will eliminate the ability of
future incumbents to bump if the City is forced into layoffs again.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’m sorry, but that whole series of moves stinks to high
Heaven. Apparently so much that the Chico Employees Association (one of the
employee unions – the one that represents a lot of the people in City Hall who
are being laid off) has already figured it out and communicated their concerns
to the City Manager.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This is how business is done in corporate America. But,
really? In Chico? Chicago, yes…Chico, no.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Somebody with some gonads on the Council needs to bring this
trainwreck to a grinding halt, and bring it <b><u>ALL </u></b>out in the open in one place at one time. To realize all
that I have just described has taken place in our City government in less than
one year causes me to question how seriously the Council takes our financial
dire straits and whether or not the new hired gun has succeeded in seizing the
opportunity to empire build. Either way, I am absolutely blown away that this
kind of stuff would be stood for in this town.<o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Mike Maloneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05481835124929751653noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3666467679743155713.post-59362206888060820722013-06-08T10:16:00.000-07:002013-06-08T10:16:47.907-07:00Mentally ill in Downtown ChicoA couple weeks ago at a Chico Clean and Safe Stakeholders meeting, City Council member Randall Stone boldly announced that he had prompted Butte County Behavioral Health to "deal with" the mentally ill in Downtown Chico. He bragged that it was among his top priorities as a new Council member, and that as a result of his efforts the mentally ill had "been taken care of." He specifically pointed out that in dealing with problems in Downtown, the mentally ill would no longer be among them because he had "handled it." He actually inferred that "they" had been herded somewhere else, as he hadn't seen any of "them" for awhile. Most disturbing was the fact that this guy really seemed to believe the drivel he was spewing!<br />
<br />
So last night around 9, as we drove home through Downtown Chico, we saw 2 of Chico's most well known homeless mentally ill....James and Jason. Within a block of each other, they were actively engaged in talking to whichever of the voices in their respective heads was active at the time. No doubt, they were each also beginning to think about which bench they would curl up on for a few hours of sleep. I was evident to anyone that the demons who haunt these two men are still at work in this continuing manifestation of their illness.<br />
<br />
Uh Randall? You either missed these two guys when you had everything taken care of, which is strange because they are two of the most prominent Downtown fixtures, or you just don't have a clue what you are talking about. Methinks its the latter. Before you assert yourself so strongly on something like this, it would behoove you to not only know your audience (as you also failed to do in this meeting) but to know something about the topic as well. The "problem" has NOT "been handled."<br />
<br />
Oh....James and Jason? They are still around. We'll drop off something for them to eat every once in awhile, as many others do. They are hanging in there....but "taking care" of them will take much more than an ignorant elected official trying to look important proclaiming them "handled."Mike Maloneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05481835124929751653noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3666467679743155713.post-83796724272571048552013-06-03T20:04:00.000-07:002013-06-03T20:04:45.369-07:00Budget and Police in Chico
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Here I go again. I’m mad…again….still…. This time, I’m mad
about the complexion of public safety in our community. I’m going to put my
thoughts down here because the ER will only allow me 250 words, and the
majority of the City Council will delete the letter when they see its from me.
I’m prompted now by the recent news of the City of Chico’s fiscal condition,
and the additional news about the related proposed impacts on our local Police
Department.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Budget<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Having been exposed to and experienced the process of
managing the City’s budget, I’d like to say that I’m surprised at the news that
is now coming out….but I’m not. I don’t know enough about accounting to
challenge the awards regularly received by the City Finance Department for
their high level of competence, but I do know that some of the things I
experienced when I managed a $22 million budget for the City did not pass the
smell test. I also know that I shared my concerns with both elected and
appointed leaders (my bosses) about the absence of checks and balances in
budget management since the City’s last Budget Officer was ushered into
retirement. Well, I guess we now know what’s really been going on. Its bad. So bad in
fact that the “B” word is being used (bankruptcy), and there is talk of the
need for the City to get a loan to make it through the fiscal year that has not
even started yet. That’s really bad. In fact, I would concur with those who
have characterized this condition as “dire.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So what do we do when things are dire? Do we try to keep all
the balls in the air (as City Councils have for years) or do we as citizens assert
strong opinions about what the priorities should be and deploy our new team of
hired guns (who have no real investment in the City) to make stuff happen. I
would suggest we do the latter. But…..I would also suggest that as a community
we make it clear that safety is our top priority. Specifically, that an
adequately staffed Police Department is our priority. In the event that the
Council can actually get this, maybe they will direct the hired guns to make it
happen.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Police<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Where do I start? The Council and appointed leadership have
been warned for years about the impacts
from the failure to maintain a Police Department that is staffed adequately for
a community our size with the activity we have. Well, now it’s all coming home
to roost. The warnings have consistently been disregarded. The Council’s eyes
glaze over when their appointed leadership in policing repeat the warnings….and
instead of talking about what to do, the majority elects to focus their
discussion for hours and hours on end about climate action plans, plastic bags,
and funding for paper mache’ horses to run down the middle of Main Street every
October….and other equally ridiculous, non-priority stuff!!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Well….now we are in the midst of a perfect storm, and the
safety of our community and the overall culture of our community is in
jeopardy. We have the opportunity right now, as a community, to avoid becoming
a Salinas or a Vallejo…..or, God forbid, virtually insuring that we will be the
next similar community. The perfect storm is based on a convergence of several
factors:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.5in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->1.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]-->The repeated disinclination of leadership
(Council) to actually deal with the budget problems.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.5in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->2.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]-->The repeated disinclination of leadership to
make the real difficult prioritization decisions.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.5in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->3.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]-->The repeated focus by leadership on
non-essential, low priority, feel-good initiatives (like plastic bags), instead
of core and foundational issues like public safety.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.5in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->4.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]-->The failure to increase the size of the police
department in proportion with community and activity growth. This has now
resulted in a Police Department that is horribly, grossly understaffed to keep
up with the demands of the community.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.5in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->5.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Increased crime, and increased violent
crime….things are so bad that as a joke the Police Department has a placard in
the briefing room indicating how many days its been since a stabbing. It was
all the way to 5 days….until today….back at zero!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.5in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->6.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]-->And here is the biggie….the one thing that
almost totally changed the complexion of safety in California: AB 109, the
Prison Realignment bill. They call it realignment, but what really happened is
that, with very little warning, the State washed its hands of any
responsibility for many people who belong in prison….and then delegated that
responsibility to the counties….with very little money, and almost no available
jail space. Ya, the article in the paper this week said Butte County is
handling the impacts well….but relative to what? Ask any cop what’s really
going on: violent and sexual offenders are on the street, and it’s virtually
impossible to send somebody to jail.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.5in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->7.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Of course, the sad state of the economy is a
component of this perfect storm.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
All of these things have come together at one time, and the
result is bad news for our community of Chico.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Chico has always bragged about being a “safe community.”
Relatively speaking, this had been true for many years. But times are a
changin’! In order for a community to be safe, one of the most essential
components, like it or not, is a robust and well-staffed police department.
Notice I said “one of the components”? I don’t believe for a minute that police
are the answer….but if there is no police, or if what you have can’t do the
job, it is an absolute foregone conclusion that that quality of life in a city
will diminish. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What is a well staffed, robust police department? Its one
that has the ability to maintain order, while at the same time the ability to
give attention to specialized needs. The core order maintenance piece is Dispatch
and Patrol. They are the guys and gals who answer the calls for service 24/7.
Beyond that, the unique problems of a community must be taken into
consideration. Gangs, crowds, alcohol problems, juvenile problems, neighborhood
quality of life problems, traffic….these are all the kinds of issues that
require specialized resources. Patrol officers can’t keep up with all the
calls, AND provide these kinds of specialized services. Chico used to have
specialized units to deal with all these issues. Now, not only are those units
gone, but the Department can’t even staff enough people to cover all of their
Patrol shifts.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Consider this recent posting from the wife of a Chico police
officer:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<span style="color: #2a313d; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 13.0pt;">“I just love worrying about my
husband when their shift is so understaffed. No sleep for me again tonight.
Four officers patrolling the streets of Chico. Four. At one point last night,
due to something happening to one of the officers there were two people
patrolling the streets for quite a while. TWO! For the whole city of Chico. I
pray for the safety of the officers. This is just wrong. God forbid anything
happen to any of them.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Most people don’t know this officer, or his wife. As such,
they may not really care about the individuals related to this
message…..but…..wouldn’t you think, as a community, we would care that this
condition is allowed to exist? I’m gravely concerned! A single call for service
can immediately tie up every single one of these officers! And then what? I’ll
tell you what: there are no cops on the streets of Chico protecting you!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
At its high point, the Chico Police Department had 103
officers total – 103 sworn. Today, that number is in the low 80s. Of those, at
least 4 are due to retire soon with no plans to replace them, at least 7 are
off on disability with a likelihood that several won’t return, and at least 4
more are in the final stages of seeking employment elsewhere (why continue to
work in a City where the top elected and appointed leadership does not support
them?). This means that by year’s end, there will be 60-70 cops to protect the
City 24/7. Do the math. This number of people gets eaten up very quickly!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
While the fire service has clear national standards for
staffing of fire departments, law enforcement does not. All law enforcement has
is a study done by the FBI every year to compare law enforcement agencies
throughout the nation to each other in relation to staffing. For more than a
decade, CPD has been staffed below average for cities our size in the western
United States. According to the FBI, the average staffing level in cities
50,000-99,999 in population is 1.3 officers per 1000 citizens. If you assume
that CPD only serves the reported population of 88,000 in Chico, we should have
114 cops…..to be comparable to average. As we don’t, we are woefully below
average!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
City managers everywhere will tell you that the FBI standard
is not a “standard,” and that communities need to staff police department’s
based on a demonstrated need….blah, blah, blah…. If you compare the activity and/or crime in
Chico to other communities our size, our cops have to handle much more.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I could go on and on about police staffing. In particular, I
can speak for the specific need for all of the special units and employees that
have been eliminated over the last few years to balance the budget. But to
spare you (for the moment), I won’t…<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
What do we do?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That’s the question of the day! What has prompted me to
compile my thoughts is the news reports of plans to further reduce staffing in
the Police Department to offset a significant anticipated budget shortfall in
the City. What that really means is that the various City departments are given
a budget reduction target, in most cases it will be unrealistic, and the
Council will then validate the department head’s proposals.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Folks, let me remind you: Things are dire budget-wise in
Chico! What this condition necessitates, now more than ever, is that the City
Council, before they rubber stamp these compelled plans, really evaluate the
top priorities of the community.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There’s a lot of nice people that work for the City. I like
a lot of them personally. Others were co-workers for many years, and I just
don’t know them that well. My thoughts about what the City should be doing when
faced with the most dire of fiscal circumstances have nothing to do with how I
feel about those people as individuals….rather, it has more to do with the
positions and the context of what are our core priorities as a community.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It is my perspective and opinion that as a city, Chico needs
to start with a focus on its core priorities, and build from there. This means
some of the things we’ve had for a long time won’t continue to exist if the
Council and the Manager can really roll up their sleeves and make the hard
decisions.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Here we go:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.5in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->1.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]-->One of the most feel-good positions the City
staffs is that of Park Ranger. Do we really need them when we can’t staff the
Police Department? Cops have to respond to all the serious calls anyway, we
have a strong volunteer program in the Park….let the volunteers be the face of
the City, and eliminate the Park Rangers.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.5in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->2.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Everyone in City management will say: This
position is funded out of a different account….I say, get rid of the management
level public art position. Even though it’s funded out of a different area, you
don’t have such a position when you can’t fund cops.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.5in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->3.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]-->The big reorganization included big raises for
the remaining 5 department heads. As such, they can take on additional
responsibility – even when the City Manager is out of town. Have one of them
fill in when the CM is unavailable….get rid of the Assistant City Manager
Position.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.5in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->4.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Tree trimmers….do you know how many such
businesses there are in town? Reduce the attention given to trees, delay the
trimming, eliminate the staff, and hire private businesses when necessary.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.5in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->5.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Parks Department – how many people does it take
to clean toilets and empty trash in the park? Reduce to bare bones (1 or 2
people to do only what is absolutely essential).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.5in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->6.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Road department – When circumstances are dire,
you don’t get to have everything. Given the choice of being safe in my home or
taking a couple minutes longer to get to my destination because of potholes, I
choose safety….reduce to absolute minimum staffing. Delay filling the potholes.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.5in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->7.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Planning, building and engineering – every
article we read in the local news talks about the reduction in workload for
these folks for the last several years. The jobs they all do are privatized by
many local governments. Reduce to only 1-2 people to coordinate outsourcing,
and get rid of the positions.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 1.0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.5in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]-->8.<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Finance – 12 people….really? There is room for
reduction here!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When things are dire, and you are hanging onto the edge of
the cliff by your fingernails, these are the kinds of decisions you make to
preserve a community. Yup….they are hard. Yup….they will hurt. But….eliminating
these positions now, and preserving public safety will help to maintain a
foundation that may allow us to return to the charming City we once were.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Was I not clear with where the money should go from
eliminating these positions? To the Police Department. We need a robust,
well-staffed police department in Chico….and we need our citizens to tell our
elected Council this is what we want.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Mike Maloneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05481835124929751653noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3666467679743155713.post-9510365465140958022012-10-30T19:23:00.000-07:002012-10-30T19:24:08.905-07:00Election EndorsementsAt election time I frequently find myself in the position of being asked about how to vote on a proposition or who to vote for to fill various positions. Well, this year the same thing is happening, and I thought I would just share my opinions. Speaking of my opinions, by the way, THEY ARE MINE! Elsewhere in my musings, it has been suggested that I am angry, bitter, biased or wrong. Be very clear: I AM BIASED! I AM ANGRY AND BITTER, and MY OPINIONS ARE <u>MINE</u>. If you don't like what I have to say, don't read it, or delete it....but don't tell me I'm wrong. If you disagree, that's fine...<br />
<br />
So, having been asked about the propositions and the Chico City Council, I thought I would speak to both separately. First, the State propositions. While I have an opinion, there are others too. So I have included perspectives on the propositions from the largest organization of peace officers in the State, PORAC (over 63,000 peace officer members), the California Police Chief's Association (which represents over 300 municipal police chiefs in California) and the California Sheriff's Association (which represents the State's 58 sheriffs). For additional local perspective, I have included the typically conservative Chico Enterprise-Record endorsements and the the liberal Chico News and Review endorsements (they call themselves "progressive," but that word makes me gag in this context). Finally, I have included my opinions about the propositions. Here they are:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-JWqOO20vSLdME_3nmryio2WfCgZew76D44CLkq_Pjpz6NUV-NPs3x8mADVr4JDNfOjtVm6rLsqhWFhr3eajxmyNDKwqi3ZATd2YG_jXiWty7fR-wo28vPAB5mmkCKVCWwzVjU16epLY/s1600/Musing+Endorsements.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-JWqOO20vSLdME_3nmryio2WfCgZew76D44CLkq_Pjpz6NUV-NPs3x8mADVr4JDNfOjtVm6rLsqhWFhr3eajxmyNDKwqi3ZATd2YG_jXiWty7fR-wo28vPAB5mmkCKVCWwzVjU16epLY/s320/Musing+Endorsements.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
In addition to several perspectives on the propositions, I have some thoughts about the Chico City Council election. I have included the Chico E-R, the Chico News and Review and my own endorsements for your consideration:<br />
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An important thing to note about my thoughts on the Council...elaboration on the small print...I think the City is facing very dire circumstances as far as public safety is concerned. My endorsements reflect MY BIAS for public safety, and my observation that these candidates are supplementing their bigger picture perspectives with a prioritization of public safety, and policing in particular. In good conscience, I can only unconditionally endorse two candidates: Schindelbeck and Morgan. At the opposite end of the spectrum, there are four candidates we need to avoid at all costs: Stone, Ritter, Rudisill and Kelley. In the middle are: Donnan, Evans, Coolidge and Schwab.....choose from among them at your own risk....all seem to have some favorable qualities, but I do not have the confidence that any one of them is a solid, well rounded candidate. Oh ya....there's some other person who hasn't bothered to really involve herself in the campaign...her conspicuous absence from the process makes her unworthy of me even trying to investigate and find out what her name is.</div>
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There you have it folks. If you want to know more about what I think about each of the Council candidates, you can check my last two postings...</div>
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<br />Mike Maloneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05481835124929751653noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3666467679743155713.post-79142480942516059442012-10-16T14:32:00.000-07:002012-10-16T14:32:00.775-07:00Council Candidates - Part 2<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The League of Women Voters had their regular Council candidate forum the other night. I couldn’t make it, but had a note-taker and a videographer in the audience. Based on what was conveyed by the candidates, here’s some highlights and additional on the impressions I previously spoke of (supplemented by the article in the Chico ER about the event):</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Kim Rudisill – Supports Prop 215 marijuana use, and says the businesses that have left Chico wouldn’t have made it anyway. Regarding Walmart being run off by the current Council, Kim whined, “I don’t even like shopping there anyway.” Regarding community safety, she wants to educate the college students on where is safe to go, and where is not….but not scare them….really? It sounds like she, Ann and Randall have a great new idea for Chico instead of a Police Department: Nannies, who are service oriented ambassadors (without an enforcement aura)….ya, that’l do it Kim! Kim also wants to move ahead with the Chapman annexation…and we’ll “figure out” how to deal with the financial piece. It’s that kind of action that has put us where we are now….we annexed all of this area through the 90s, made plenty of plans to accommodate the extra poop that would be generated (two multi-million dollar sewer plant expansions), but no plans whatsoever to meet the other increased service demands. Finally, Kim also noted that she prefers Chico Fire arriving first at medical calls over ambulance-based EMTs….I guess that explains why IAFF is endorsing her. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Kim sounded like she met with some of her Prop 215 friends again on the way to the forum. Her grade stands.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Andrew Coolidge – Redeemed himself a bit after my harsh evaluation from the other night, but I’m still suspicious of this guy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m told that this evening, he appeared to have “waken up,” both literally and with his perspective on the issues. He opposes medical marijuana, and he correctly observed that the City failed to plan forward back when the economy was good. This has been one of my complaints about the City for years: There is an absolute absence of forward thinking in the top leadership! Coolidge acknowledges that the City permit process must be streamlined (I have seen it in action, and agree!), and recognizes that “the bleeding” of businesses leaving the City must stop. I still have a concern though: If budget wasn’t an issue, his #1 priority would be roadway infrastructure. He needs to get more in touch with what’s really going on in Chico. His grade stands.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Tami Ritter – She’s OK with marijuana collectives because they mean less crime….uhhhh….I don’t think so ….the only people who really believe this are (drum roll please) …the people who run the marijuana collectives. This kind of thinking is wrong! Tami also wants to use student volunteers and “Butte College police cadets” to help protect the City. WHAT!?!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most feel gooders (like Tami) have no clue how policing is accomplished in a community. Her suggestions reinforce that perspective. I can see it now: Let’s get a bunch of college students to deal with the armed suspect who held his wife in the house and shot at the cops a few weeks back. And I’m sure the Police Academy students would love to volunteer their time to cover shifts after they have spent 40 hours that week in class and another 20 at home studying. Nevermind the fact that they haven’t completed their police training or police field training. It is nice that Tami wants better radios for the police, but if there’s nobody there to use them, the nicest radio system in the world doesn’t get calls for service handled. Tami’s grade stands.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Sean Morgan – As with the other night, Sean demonstrated that he knows and understands the issues. Public safety, and policing in particular, would be his top priorities, and he appropriately recognizes that if marijuana is to be legalized for medicinal purposes, it should be treated like other medicines: Distribute it via prescription from a pharmacy. Morgan continues to emphasize business and economic development, and clearly recognizes that fiscal stability in local government is dependent upon a solid local economy. He’s all about realigning City priorities, and no more feel-good initiatives. And he gets that we should not annex the Chapman area until we have enough staffing in the Police Department. Sean’s grade stands.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Dave Kelly – Not sure if Dave is having second thoughts about this City Council thing, or if he’s really in the game. He was again lackluster. Of note, he wants a committee to address Downtown issues….really? And what exactly will they do? His top priority of funding wasn’t an issue would be downtown parking and tourism….really? Dave’s grade stands….and since he really has nothing of substance to say about the real issues, I have nothing more to say about him as a candidate.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Bob Evans – Bob let some of his real views get exposed when he suggested that the cops should be asked to take a pay cut in order to help the City afford more cops…..All I’m gonna say about that is they have already taken pay cuts, and be careful what you wish for because it is proven over and over again: you get what you pay for. I don’t want to disrespect our area agencies by using them as examples, but the truth is that there are very few in policing in our region outside of CPD that could make it at CPD. CPD has always paid well, and that has allowed us to attract and retain the best people. Attrition based on people seeking greener pastures is very low at CPD. If you reduce pay further, there will be in increase in departures to greener pastures, and a decrease in the quality of people policing our community. As much as Bob seems to want to believe this, a cop is not a cop wherever you go. In terms that Bob can understand: Would you expect a guy to be a lieutenant colonel on first lieutenant wages? If the answer is no, I would point out that you aren’t going to have good Chico cops if you pay Orland PD wages. And regarding pension reform, I’m not sure what is going on at City hall, but the two unions at PD have been pursuing a second tier of retirement for the last two contract cycles….it is the Council and top City management that has resisted it. It’s disingenuous to make it sound like the unions are at fault for us not having it. Sorry Bob, your politics concern me. I’m dropping you to a Grade C.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Ann Schwab – Ann remains most comfortable in reading from her resume, and in that regard this forum was more of the same. The things that Ann is now speaking are not totally consistent with her demonstrated actions of the past. She advocates now for more cops, downsizing events and keeping them local….I like these things, but Ann has not demonstrated leadership in these areas historically. She says her top priority would be public safety. I really, really hope she is committed to these things, and is not just giving lip service. Ann understands the issues related to annexation of Chapman as well, but the wishes of the citizens in that area cannot prevail if they are pushing for annexation and the City does not have arrangements to meet the increased policing demands. I’m glad Ann is saying her top priority will be public safety…I hope it really will be. Her grade stands.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Toby Schindelbeck – Toby has done his homework, and understands the issues the cops are faced with in trying to police this community. I like that he’s not afraid to say what’s on his mind…too bad that he ruffles a few feathers…it’s time that people in this town started getting comfortable with straight talk…it’s the only way we will make progress in addressing these difficult issues. Toby’s commitment to not wasting any more time on feel good initiatives until we can get our public safety needs taken care of is also much appreciated…obviously, his perspective is in line with my personal bias. Toby keeps his Grade A.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Dave Donnan – Dave spoke again about priorities, and making decisions…two things our recent Councils have been reluctant to do (does anybody remember the Council priority setting debacle a few years back with the colored dots and the charts? It was such chaos that they ultimately abandoned the effort, and established none!). Dave talked again about taking away from Fire. This has made him a clear enemy of the IAFF (fire union), but his ideas should not be totally dismissed. As this community discusses future priorities (if they do), they should decide if they really want the Fire Department responding to all medical aids. I don’t deny that it saves lives, but in the scheme of all we do, do we want to continue the practice? When I came to Chico in the mid 80s, Fire did not respond to medical aids. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dave mirrored his performance from the CPOA forum, and his grade stands.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Randall Stone – With his responses tonight, Mr. Stone reinforced that as a City we should do everything in our power to insure he is not elected to the Council. He is pompous and arrogant, and showed his true colors tonight. Recall a week ago when he clearly demonstrated no knowledge of policing issues in Chico and that he had made no efforts to contact anyone in the CPD before the forum? Contrast that with tonight, where the topic of medical marijuana came up. Stone’s response? “ I have spent extensive time with owners of marijuana collectives, and I support them.” He doesn’t have time to talk to the cops, but he has time to talk extensively to the owners of the marijuana stores that are operating in violation of federal law….ya…..that’s the guy I want sitting as my City Council member….NOT! He must have been fresh from one of those visits with the collective owners when he made one of his next comments: “The people coming out of Chico State are not prepared for employment.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And his priority if elected: “Corporate personhood.” Un-flipping-believable!!! This guy clearly demonstrated tonight that he is a snake in the grass. His grade stands.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Do I have emotion and passion about this election, and the state of the City? You betcha!! Are my opinions difficult for some? I would expect so…but they are my opinions. I’ve been called bitter after my first posting on Council Candidates. I’m no more bitter than the CSUC professor who didn’t get his way and the university went ahead and built a parking structure. Just as he is passionate about community gardens, riding bicycles around Chico and no parking structures, I am passionate about policing and public safety. If you don’t like what I have written, you are welcome to hit delete….and I promise I will have no hard feelings.</span></div>
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Mike Maloneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05481835124929751653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3666467679743155713.post-85433926548065979952012-10-14T11:30:00.002-07:002012-10-14T11:30:30.441-07:00Chico Council Politics<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Well, after attending the CPOA City Council Candidate Forum the other night, I am feeling compelled beyond imagination to share a few feelings. But, before I do, let me state unequivocally that I am not a partisan politics guy. In fact, I despise and am disgusted by both parties equally. I am registered as a “Decline to State” because I cannot stand the thought of attaching my name to one of the two prevailing parties. Sooo, my thoughts are not based on any inherently partisan perspective I have. Rather, they are based on the emotions stirred within me as I have considered what I have read and heard about each of the candidates. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The other thing I have to say is based on my own recent 32 years of being in the public spotlight and taking criticism because of my position as a police officer in general, and the chief specifically. When you step into the public spotlight, you have to expect to be criticized. It’s not personal; it’s just the way it is. I am personally acquainted with many of the candidates. My comments about them are not personal. It’s just how they made me feel with what they have said, done or portrayed. For a lot of years, I have had to with-hold or water down my opinion because of my position. Now I don’t have to. So ladies and gentlemen, this isn’t personal, it’s what happens when you choose to step into the public spotlight. If you don’t like what people have to say, maybe you should just go away.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Having said all this, I thought I might grade the candidates, based upon what I heard the other night, and add some additional commentary based on my overall impressions. Of course, the grades (and associated editorial) are on the “Mike Maloney Scale” (in case anyone gives a rat’s tail-end).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Hold onto your seats….here we go:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>Kimberly Rudisill – Grade: F</strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Kim seems like she must be a very nice lady, but over and over again throughout the evening, she demonstrated that she lives in a fantasy world, and she is unable to conceptualize or understand the day to day realities in what Chico has become. She’s one of those who views Chico like Mayberry. With regard to policing issues in particular, she again demonstrated her ignorance. It’s obvious she has never made any effort to connect with CPD, to learn the issues they are faced with, and it’s especially clear that she made no effort whatsoever to prepare herself to speak to public safety issues. It really bugs me that she was so quick to criticize the university police without making any apparent effort to understand what they do or how they and CPD work together (which they do a lot, routinely and well!) If she fails to educate herself on what the City is currently faced with, and she fails to prepare to speak publicly about public safety issues, and she continues to live in her own little fantasy world how can we believe she won’t continue this head –in-the-sand (or clouds) pattern as an elected Council member. In terms of an overall impression for this evening’s forum, Kim was a flat line, and totally lacking of substance. She was the one candidate that left my 13 year old son with an unsolicited impression that she was under the influence of something during the forum. She should not be on the Council.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>Dave Kelly – Grade F</strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">As with Kim, I’m sure Dave is a nice guy and wants the best for Chico… but you wouldn’t have known it from his presentation at the forum. He too was lackluster and flatline. In fact, there was a bit of nonchalance about him that almost made it feel like it was inconvenient for him to have to talk about policing and community safety issues. Lots of “I suppose…,” “I sense…” from him makes me wonder if he has a firm position on any issue. Again, if he does, he didn’t communicate it that night. He did speak to priority-based budgeting, which I like….but when he spoke about the noise ordinance, he said, “I think the warning is fine…” C’mon! A warning for conduct that we all learned as kindergarteners was wrong…it is this kind of thinking that demonstrates no awareness of the problems citizens in our community are faced with. Speaking of that, it was overly clear this guy knows nothing about the PD…he said, “A couple of Target Teams were reduced…” A couple? There is only one, and it hasn’t been reduced (although it will go away after the first of the year if the Council doesn’t take affirmative action to insure the PD is properly staffed)….When Dave speaks non-chalantly about an issue like the “Target Teams” and kind of fills in the blanks as he sees fit, it makes you wonder how much he will pay attention to the detail of issues coming before the Council. Word is that Dave and his wife have made it their campaign mission to focus on where the other candidates have their signs, the sizes of their signs and how that all fits in with the CMC Title 19 regulations. This is small-minded, little picture thinking, and exemplifies what we could expect if was on the Council. Dave should not be on the Council.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>Tami Ritter – Grade D+</strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The thing I like about Tami is her passion for humanity…it is evidenced in her responses to questions, her work and volunteer experience, her education….she exudes it. I just don’t think we need that right now on the City Council. It is these kinds of councilors that focus on the feel-good issues (plastic bags, sustainability plans, funding for paper mache horse races in October every year, and light parades) instead of making the difficult decisions related to providing core services. Feel good people like this also focus on making events like the regional Labor Day debacle a revenue generating event for the City (Tami said she wants to do this). The problem with this kind of thinking is manifold. First, as a community, we still have to deal with the crime, social deviance, and drain on the taxpayer dollars to respond to the chaos of the event and undo what has been created through omission. But that’s not even the big one…the biggie is that somebody needs to OWN the event. In order to promote this kind of thing as a revenue generator, somebody has to be responsible. I can’t think that any entity in their right mind would want to take on ownership of a Halloween, Labor Day or St. Patrick’s Day in Chico. Doing so opens to door to acceptance of responsibility, and being liable for whatever happens. It just makes no sense. This, and Tami’s desire to focus on and promote the arts, recreation and tourism as funding mechanisms to meet public safety needs is pure fantasy. If we had a robust economy in Chico, we could spend more time focusing on that kind of stuff to supplement basic needs. Right now we don’t. When we do, it might be a good time to bring Tami on the Council. We have enough feel good councilors right now, and don’t need any more.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>Sean Morgan – Grade A</strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I like this guy. He’s smart, articulate, and he exudes leadership. He knows the issues, and he understands them. Additionally, he is quick witted…when confronted with the nonsense of some of the other candidates, he was quick to respond in an appropriate and well thought out way. That tells me he is very familiar and comfortable with the issues. I like that. He’s also no nonsense. He spoke of a “shock and awe” approach to dealing with Halloween and Labor Day….this kind of thinking is shocking and uncomfortable to the feel-gooders (we don’t want to hurt anybody’s feelings or make them mad, after all) but it is what is need to restore order to the chaos in Chico. Three other things I like about Sean: 1) He has clear awareness that allowing endless debate makes a mockery of the Council and process of governance in our City; 2) He recognizes that the paid experts on policing and safety in the community (the staff and leadership of the Chico Police Department) need to be trusted to do their jobs…which they are not currently; 3) Sean speaks of bringing ourselves back into line with the notion of Chico being a safe place to raise a family….an adequately staffed police department is integral to this. The bottom line? Sean is exactly what we need right now on the City Council….it’s been a long a long time (if ever) since I have seen this kind of competence and leadership in the realm of current and potential City Council members.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>Dave Donnan – Grade D</strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I like Dave. How can you not? He is a no nonsense, what-you-see is what-you get kind of guy. He wasn’t always accurate in his responses, and he’s not highly polished….but the thing that really stands out with him is the frustration over the frequent demonstrations of indecision or kicking the can down the road by the current City Council. Dave emphasized over and over: “Make a decision!!” He also has some controversial (but not without merit) ideas about how to radically restructure public safety in Chico. In his closing, Dave said, “It’s time for new leadership, and I’m not afraid to make decisions.” I agree. We need both. Take a close look at Dave before you dismiss him as a choice. Given the alternatives, Dave <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>should be considered as part of the new leadership for Chico.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>Ann Schwab – Grade C-</strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">They either lover her or hate her. There’s no in-between when it comes to how you feel about Ann. I love her passion for Chico, and the pride she has in representing the City as the Mayor. Ann knows some of the issues, but she is sometimes hard to take seriously…I think it’s because her core is that she’s a feel-gooder, and its’s kinda weird to hear a feel gooder try to talk tough. My big disagreement with Ann is her perspective that the % of the General Fund budget dedicated to policing clearly demonstrates a level of support and that it is a priority. Nearly two years ago, in response to my carefully worded criticism for the Council’s failure to routinely engage discussion about policing and public safety, Ann patronizingly met with the City Manager and I, and assured me that this circumstance would be rectified. As the mayor, it is her responsibility to insure these circumstances were rectified. A basis for such discussion could have been the comprehensive report on policing activity I provided the Council every six months. But alas, not such discussions ever occurred. Instead, our Council discussed climate action plans, Frisbees and paragliding in the parks, plastic bags, sustainability task forces, general plans and more….but not the very thing that takes up half of the City operating budget every year. It is amazing to me that we spend so much money on policing, but spend less time talking about it than anything else. In my mind, that does not constitute support or placing the police as a priority. Having said that, I absolutely appreciated that Ann seems to understand police overtime. It was nice to hear it that night, but it would have been nicer to hear when PD staff was having their feet held to the fire over what were not unreasonable expenditures of OT. In fact, as we have been asked questions over the years from Council and other staff, we have provided reams of documents detailing tracking and analysis, only to be made to feel like the bad guys for spending money in an attempt to provide service. To hear at the forum that she understands it was a slap in the face for me and the Police Department. Here’s my bottom line with Ann. I like her. She’s a feel-gooder though. That is her core, and her default in voting. I think she has been a good representative of the City as Mayor – especially in the feel good settings. But I think we need something different right now. The City is in crisis, and we need somebody to lead us through the difficult issues. The current leadership has failed to do so, and it’s time for them to move on.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>Andrew Coolidge – Grade D</strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I don’t know who this guy is, or where he came from, but as a career police officer and student of human character and behavior, there is something about this guy that rubs me wrong. I have picked up that those on the right side of partisan politics seem to like him….but I have to throw out a caution. For you partisan folks, this guy gives me the feeling that he is veiling his leftness with a right side mask. As far as the forum, he came across as a very experienced politician. Specifically, he masterfully avoided answering lots of questions directly and saying anything that was too controversial for those who are generally uninformed. For those who are informed (I consider myself to be), there are a couple concerns. He said some things that just bug me, and make me wonder what his real perspective is. Example: He spoke of “people with backpacks” hanging in the city plaza. So, what? Is it now illegal to wear a backpack in the Plaza? Or is it the backpack that helps us to identify “those” people (you know, the dirty ones we don’t like hanging around our town). News for you Andrew: Be careful about this kind of characterization because the Constitutional rights that your police officers endeavor to uphold applies to the dirty people with backpacks too. Then, I heard him question why government should be helping business – he said business needs to “do it” by themselves. Seems pretty hard-line. I think that business and government should work together to insure that business profits and communities are viable. If this is what Andrew meant, he didn’t say it. Regarding the PD, Andrew said he met with officers….really? Who? Did you meet with officers to discuss policing issues, or did you say HI to an officer when you guys were picking your kids up at school. I’m sorry, but you weren’t convincing when you offered this. Andrew closed by saying we need to “keep this a family friendly community.” Upon hearing this, and reflecting on his new radio commercial, I have to say again: I think this is a smart guy who is trying to fool partisans on the right with a mask that conceals his leftness. This concerns me, not from a partisan perpective, but from a core character and integrity perspective. At the very least, this guy does not instill confidence in me as a candidate – not even as a default candidate based on eliminating some of the others. Be careful if you throw your eggs in this basket.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>Toby Scindelbeck – Grade A</strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Toby is the real deal. He’s a business guy that will tell you exactly what he thinks, and he’s not worried about ruffling your feathers. His agenda is serving and making a difference. He is definitely not a “me oriented” guy. I like that. I like plain talk. I also like people who do their homework, and know what the hell is going on. Toby has demonstrated that he is, and a willingness to enhance his understanding when necessary. Toby spent an afternoon a few weeks back wandering the streets of Chico with my wife “meeting” some of the mentally ill homeless. Laurie was prompted to reach out to him after reading some of his perspectives on the homeless. I think his perspective changed after his tour, and that is good, but even better is the fact that he was willing to put himself out there to do it. I think this demonstrates what we can expect of him as a Council member. Although much different than the kind of guy Sean is, I think Toby also exemplifies what we need on the Council right now: Somebody who will take on difficult issues, develop understanding of them and make the hard decisions. This guy gets it, and should be on the Council.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>Bob Evans – Grade B</strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">As a career military officer who had a second full career in business management, and now having been on the Council for awhile, I have expected a lot more of Bob. To be clear, I have been disappointed. After his late entry the other night, I noted more of all that I have seen in his months on Council: Nothing remarkable. If forced to characterize him, I would describe him as wishy washily in the middle of the road. I say wishy washily because Bob never asserts a strong/firm position on anything. Much of what he said the other night was semi-accurate from my perspective, but because he did not say it with conviction I am left wondering if he really believes what he said. Bob does not give an impression that he is what I have described as a feel-gooder. He has a solid military background and a solid business background. Although his demonstrated record on Council is ….ehhh…ok, his background and absence of focus on feel good stuff earns him my support. I hope if he gets elected to his own full term that he will step up to the plate, take some firm public positions and make things happen. I had heard he suggested at one point that we could pay cops $12.50 an hour and have people banging down the door to take the job. I hope he really didn’t say that, and I hope he doesn’t believe it deep down inside. I think we need to keep Bob on the Council.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><strong>Randall Stone – Grade FFF</strong></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This guy bugs me…everything about him bugs me. I think he’s deceptive, disingenuous and is inclined without hesitation to stretch the truth or omit relevant facts in telling the truth. He’s also a guy that is going to open his mouth without making any effort to find out the complete story. I didn’t like him even before this event. I spoke to somebody who heard him criticize the PD at the Board of Realtors meeting a couple weeks ago. He represented then that Butte County Behavioral Health had been “begging” CPD to get training on how to deal with the mentally ill homeless in Chico. I believe I know who fed him with that crap, and if it was that person and he believed it, I have even greater concern about this guy. The first impression this guy casts is that he is pompous and arrogant. He appears to be very “me” oriented, as evidenced in part by his “I love me” web page. A few tid bits from the forum: 1) He doesn’t want the cops to have an image as enforcers (WTF?), and he thinks we need to bring on more annuitants and volunteers before we hire more cops. If this bozo had made any effort whatsoever to learn about the PD, he would have learned that CPD has approximately 100 uniformed volunteers in 3 different categories. All of these folk combined provide thousands of man hours of service each year to allow the cops to focus on higher priority issues. I wonder where Stone expects to get all the additional volunteers….we can seem to find enough…how does he propose doing it. And annuitants? Where will those come from? The people who used to work there, have retired and now want to come back? I don’t think so. Annuitants from other places? They still have to pass the CPD background and meet our standards….or do you propose we do away with standards of integrity Mr. Stone…or maybe we should lower our standards to get some retired cops from other agencies? Here’s where Mr. Stone really shed light on his willingness to withhold portions of the truth (because he knows they won’t fit with the context)….when asked what he did to prepare to speak in the Chico Police forum he said, “I spoke to a law enforcement officer in Butte County and VIPS.” Translation: He didn’t talk to any officers or management at CPD. Although VIPS are integral to the CPD operation, they are not in tune with the issues faced by CPD in the management of the department and in providing services. Ya, they have opinions, but Stone knows better. He then spoke, apparently seeking to endear himself by demonstrating interest in a police issue, about “an event” he went to where he heard a presentation made about police complaints. Again, only part of the truth. The rest of the truth is that the event was an American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) event, where they brought a cop-hating speaker from out of the area to talk abuse abuses of the police and how to make complaints against the police. Realizing he was at this event, as his Facebook page indicates, causes me to wonder if the “Butte County law enforcement officer” he spoke to is the former line-level Oroville officer who is now actively involved with the ACLU. By the way, regarding the ACLU, aside from it’s roots being tied to the Communist Party (I’m not makin’ this stuff up folks – do your own research!), I have never met a bigger bunch of cop haters then this group. Their baseline perspective is that cops are not to be trusted. So Stone seemed giddy as he told of attending this event (although, as noted, he did not completely disclose the nature). Soooo, in response to a question about what he had done to prepare to meet with CPD, he met with somebody who doesn’t work at CPD and went to an anti-cop event with the local chapter of the cop-hating ACLU. Ya, I really want this guy on my City Council – NOT! But wait, there’s more. Did you hear his spin on the 75 jobs he created, and catch the crafty “annualized” benefit to the local economy? Translation: He and his family developed an apartment complex using Redevelopment money, the equivalent of 75 FTE worked on the job, and had those 75 people remained employed after the short-term project was complete, they would have generated millions of $$$ in the local economy. Classic political spin, and another indication of this guy’s unrestricted willingness to spin the truth. More on the cops: He doesn’t want our cops to have “an enforcement aura,” he wants service oriented officers. I think he must live in the same fantasyland as Kim Rudisill. He wants us to have a bunch of Boy Scouts patrolling the streets and helping little old ladies. Well Randy, Randall, Mr. Stone, I got news for you: the current Council, and several before this one, have neglected policing in this community for so long that the police are fighting a losing battle with our small city and its small city crime and problems. Maybe after a period of catch up, we can hire a bunch of Boy and Girl Scouts, but right now we just need to be able to keep up on the enforcement front. Stone spoke again about the absence of training at CPD on dealing with the mentally ill….if he had done his homework on this one, he would have learned that for years we have had a seat at the table of the Behavioral Health Board of Directors with CPD folks serving either as Board Members or direct liaison between the two organizations. He would have also learned that we were an active partner in bringing premier training to the region for helping those in mental health crisis, and that the training for law enforcement and first responders has been held in City of Chico facilities each of the last three years. CPD remains an active partner in planning the next session of training, which will be held in February. Finally, in his closing, Stone made reference to CPD not working together with other entities in the community. Again, if he had bothered to do his homework, he would have found that there’s not another law enforcement agency in the region that works better with other entities in addressing and solving community problems. Bottom line with Randall Stone? He is bad news, and would be bad for the City of Chico. It would be a cold day in hell before I would encourage anyone to even think about supporting this guy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">As I reflect on what I have written, some of it seems harsh. Although, as I also think about my years of government service, I have heard much worse. I’m a passionate guy, and emotional. These are my observations and opinions. You don’t have to like them, and you don’t have to like me. I just wanted to share…</span></div>
Mike Maloneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05481835124929751653noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3666467679743155713.post-44574345479621167872012-10-01T19:38:00.001-07:002012-10-01T19:38:23.393-07:00I'm here!I periodically feel a strong urge to comment in relation to my perspective on the happenings in the North Valley. Figured that this would give me a different kind of message than Facebook, and allow those who don't want to hear my ramblings to disregard them if they so choose.<br />
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Soooo.....stand-by! I'll be coming your way with my strong feelings about stuff, and with sharing other stuff you might not know is going on. Looking forward to sharing!!Mike Maloneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05481835124929751653noreply@blogger.com0