"Elect Judge Tony Brandenburg for Encinitas City Council"
It appears we have our first declared candidate for City Council: long-time Olivenhain resident Tony Brandenburg. Brandenburg would likely be more supportive of preserving community character than the current council, as we believe he voted to protect Desert Rose when it came to the Planning Commission (a decision later overturned by a government that had no pride).
Anyone know Brandenburg's position on Encinitas' financial mess?
He's not a "real" Judge.
ReplyDeleteDoesn't being an Indian judge count?
Deletehttp://www.smartvoter.org/2008/11/04/ca/sd/vote/brandenburg_a/bio.html
And how!
DeleteYes, he voted against the Desert Rose development and a thank you for that. His other votes on the commission agenda items should be considered as a usual go along with the group.
ReplyDeleteI think he would be an excellent candidate and a good representative of New Encinitas and all of Encinitas.
ReplyDeleteHe lives in Olivenhain, not New Encinitas.
ReplyDelete11:57 I didn't say where he lived, did I?
DeleteHe wouldn't be a good representative for New Encinitas nor for all of Encinitas.
DeleteBrandenburg has been, and always will be, a candidate put up by the special interest development crowd to split the vote and peel votes away from challengers giving incumbents like Muir and Gaspar a better chance to win. His entry in thd race is to keep the status quo - iI think he would be horrible for the city. He seems like a nice enough guy, but I will not be voting for him.
ReplyDelete11:59 AM
ReplyDeleteSo true. He seems like a nice enough guy, but I will not be voting for him.
I'd like to hear from him about is position on a lot of things. And, I'm sure we all will. I don't know him, so no comment from this peanut gallery.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate his vote on Desert Rose, but that's it. I informed him and also complained to the Register of Voters that he was listed as a judge on the sample ballots and the "real" ballots, when he is a retired commissioner, NOT a judge. Knowing that, he shouldn't be campaigning again as "Judge Brandenburg." His excuse before is that he is judge of a native American council. I don't know if he still is, but I agree, he cannot win, and is someone designed to split the votes.
ReplyDeleteIf Council wanted people to be elected by a majority of the voting public, they would agree to participate in the primaries. That would really be effective this year, as there is only going to be one Council seat open, and one seat for mayor. But it's too late for that, by their design.
Also, could that be an old sticker that someone slapped on his truck, from when Brandenburg ran before? I don't appreciate how Brandenburg, as Commissioner, showed so much favoritism to the hierarchy, the "powers that be." In our view (Russell's and my perspectives), he's not neutral and objective.
DeleteAgain, I was glad for Brandenburg's vote on Desert Rose. However, the Planning Commission failed to follow Government Code which requires a decision regarding a hearing related to a subdivision map must have a resolution of determination within 10 calendar days of the public hearing and the members' vote. The resolution came two weeks later, on November 14, when the hearing was on November 1. The PC needs to be informed of statutory code. Brandenburg, as a retired Commissioner, should have been more familiar with the law. Attorney Marco Gonzalez was given an advantage.
Also, if Brandenburg supported the Desert Rose neighbors, he could have appeared at the public hearing at City Hall, before Council, for the appeal, and asked that the PC's decision and the neighbors could be equally represented as respondent. As it was the hearing was ONE-SIDED and inequitable, because only Marco got to make an introductory statement, and rebuttal as appellant/applicant.
Had the Planning Commission voted against the Desert Rose neighbors, there would have been two sides, applicant and appellant. In cases where the PC denies a developer's application, Council needs to acknowledge the Planning Commission and the neighbors, by allowing applicant/appellant vs. respondent.
Lousy bumper sticker. You have to tailgate to read it. Should be readable from much farther back.
ReplyDeleteIf he's not really a judge, that shows he's a scammer.
He could use Kranz's old ones:
Deletetony.
Here comes the Judge! I don't know him, but he can count on my vote. A judge is taught to listen, evaluate and make critical decisions. We need that on our council.
ReplyDeleteThose who don't like him are the same ones that talked us into voting for the others council members who haven't done shit! I'll make my own decision this time - thank you.
GO JUDGE!
talk to Brandenberg about a local issue - you will see the last thing he is good at is listening - vote no
DeleteYou're the worst kind of voter 1:26. You know nothing about the candidate, but you'll vote for him. He's not even a real judge.
DeleteBrandenburg voted against Desert Rose and the current council voted for it.
ReplyDeleteI will vote for Brandenburg!
"Brandenburg has been, and always will be, a candidate put up by the special interest development crowd to split the vote and peel votes away from challengers giving incumbents like Muir and Gaspar a better chance to win." Sounds like a Mikey Andreen plant.
ReplyDeleteBrandenburg voted against the Desert Rose developer, saying in no uncertain terms that the project did not fit the community, both in scope and safety issues. Hardly sounds like the developers' dream candidate.
He's been active in Encinitas for many years and would be a better candidate than any of the lame ones we have now.
ReplyDeleteHe's got my vote and I hope he runs.
Brandenburg ran for council in 2008 and came in a distant seventh place behind winners Houlihan, Bond, and Stocks, and losers Doug Long, Rachelle Collier, and Bob Nanninga. He's a long time resident of Olivenhain.
ReplyDeleteHe ran an indifferent campaign and seemed uninformed about city issues. His age was a disadvantage back then and only more so now. There were three seats to vote on in 2008 and there will be only two in 2014, one of which is for mayor. The odds of his winning are very poor.
absolutley correct. I supported Brandnberg in 2008 - he was uninformed and my support was a waste of my money- he really was not not that interested in winning
DeleteIn the end Brandeberg was a political stooge set up to take votes away From Nanniga and Collier- and he did take votes - he will take more votes away this year as they hope to elect two pro-special interest people to the council
The more candidates to split the pro-development vote, the better. If the "judge" is pro-development, welcome to the race! Maybe he can get some of is same-stance friends to run too.
ReplyDeleteThe more choices we have, the better. If we keep electing the same old ones that have had their chance and have done nothing, it's time for replacement. Anyone who is tied to $tocks$ is questionable in my mind (Gaspar and Muir).
ReplyDeleteBoth worthless.
DeleteHis bio says he was a judge in the Superior Court in Vista for years. If he was 65 when he retired from that gig in 2004, he's about 75 now = too old for Encinitas City Council. He lives in Olivenhain, so of course he voted against developing Desert Rose. Does that mean he would be against density bonus elsewhere?
ReplyDeleteA few years ago I attended a planning commission meeting when all the local developers [Shea, et al] were failing to build low income housing in their permitted developments and they all dumped them together on north vulcan rather than following the requirements of their granted permits. These builders acted as if they were doing our city a favor by dumping these all in one location. Tony was the only one who questioned this practice of allowing these builders to violate their permits and at the time I thanked him for his efforts but since then I have not seen any indication that he would be of any benefit to our current situation. Silence is deadly to any progress we could hope for. I sure hope he isn't the one that is rumored to be in the wings of announcing a run. By the way Mo was up there at that time and not a word about these speculators who violated their permits with no accountability from her at that time. Too bad, she had a chance and although her efforts on the school board are admirable she failed us all at that time on the planning commission. I support her for her stance on PV and good on her for that. I truly hope she continues with that pursuit in the future to prove she is trustworthy for all of our future aspirations. cha ching
DeleteMo Muir? She has never been on the Planning Commission.
Delete2:58 PM
DeleteThe problem was that the original developer of the 2 Nantucket subdivisions, Barrett, went bankrupt. A new developer bought the second subdivision which had a house unoccupied because the below market rate (BMR) unit wasn't built yet and that lot was owned by the bank. The bank was asking a lot for it and those developers tried to weasel out of the BMR unit. The planning commission said no.
Shea came along after this and bought the remaining Nantucket properties whose neighbors were getting very frustrated with the unbuilt/unoccupied units. It was then that combining those BMR units along with other BMR units Shea owned into the Iris apartments.
Whether or not you agree with this solution, don't blame Shea for the problem.
The shea homes VP Shannon has a wife on the encibitas planning commisson , the pc actually said they wanted to get 'those people' (low income) close to schools - crazy see how it works?
DeleteShannon wasn't working for Shea by then and nobody said "those people'.
Delete9:49 PM
DeleteMore than one builder representative made reference to "those people" in comments.
9:49 - you are incorrect - I too heard them say "those people" and the wife of a former Shea Homes VP is on the Encinitas Planning Commission named Shannon - yes, I see how it works.
DeleteHe was a commissioner on the bench in Vista, NOT a judge. We saw him "operate" in small claims court and he did not give an objective, unbiased hearing.
DeleteHe purposefully trades on "Judge Brandenburg," because he knows people will assume he was a Judge in Superior Court, not just on his tribal council. I think he should be satisfied with his position on the Planning Commission. Although he voted correctly with the Desert Rose neighbors, he didn't follow through and, as a retired Commissioner, inform Council that the protocol for the appeal was incorrect, and one-sided, not representing the Planning Commission's vote, disallowing a respondent.
Wow, what I'm hearing is age discrimination. If he is too old, then "Wonder Woman" Gaspar is too young. She hasn't been around the block enough times.
ReplyDeleteValley Girl!
DeleteP.S. And to think that Ronald Regan was president when he was in his 80's -- go figure.
ReplyDeleteOh, excuse me, age discrimination, not politically correct. Bring back Jim Bond. As people age, they diminish. I hope you're not saying that Reagan was good as president in his 80s. He was terrible in his 70s and would have been at any age. The only president who made Reagan look even mediocre by comparison was George W. Bush. The Reagan image is pure bullshit created and sustained by Michael Deaver. Don't come back to claim that Reagan ended the USSR. He happened to be in the seat when decades of debacles brought that sorry state to its inevitable end.
Delete3:29 Couldn't stand Regan. I just made mention of his age. That is all. Other than that I didn't even vote for him.
DeleteGreatest president in last 50 years...but I understand your love for Jimmy " malaise" Carter...birds of a feather....
DeleteCarter was the second worst president of all time- believed in reducing american quality of life, security, competitiveness- Mr. Peanut
Delete3:29 What a profound statement "as people age, they diminish". May I remind you that you are no exception. So look forward to your diminished years. I hope you didn't throw your parents away because they aged. What a jerk!
Delete7:58, you moron, I'm saying that as an old diminished person. Get a brain!
Delete7:58 You are the moron since you didn't explain you were old and senile. See what happens in the diminished years. One can't articulate very well.
Deletethe above post should have read 8:12 not 7:58. Just reading your statement made me senile.
DeleteThis is what I found on the Net
ReplyDeleteCHIEF JUDGE ANTHONY BRANDENBURG
PROFESSIONAL BIOGRAPHY
Judge Brandenburg is currently serving as Chief Judge of Intertribal Court of Southern California. Brandenburg's career has included more than 16 years of service on the bench In both the Municipal and Superior Courts at the Vista courthouse. In addition, he has been a lawyer in private practice, an entrepreneur, and an educator.
Judge Brandenburg has served honorably in the United States Marine Corps. He received his Associate of Arts degree in 1965 from Palomar College and then went on to become a successful local entrepreneur. He later furthered his education, receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in Education and an elementary school teacher credential from Eastern State College, and then a Master of Arts degree in Instructional Media and Curriculum Development from the University of Connecticut. Returning to San Diego, he attended Thomas Jefferson University where he received his Juris Doctorate in Law.
After working as an attorney in private practice with a focus on criminal law, business contract, and labor, family, and juvenile law, Brandenburg was appointed to the California Municipal Court and later elevated to the Superior Court as a Commissioner. While serving on the bench in at the Vista Courthouse, he worked in a variety of capacities, handling both civil and criminal proceedings.
INTERTRIBAL COURT OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In 2004, having retired from the Superior Court, he was appointed as Chief Judge of the Intertribal Court of Southern California where he currently presides.
INTERTRIBAL COURT SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA ICSC
"The overall purpose of the ICSC is to provide members of the Native American community and their participating tribes with a cultural sensitive Judicial Forum in which to present and resolve disputes...".
Judge Brandenburg has established himself as a recognized leader in both the educational and tribal communities. He has received numerous honors and accolades in his judicial capacity, and has been active in several organizations. He has been a university professor for 29 years, teaching law and ethics as well as curriculum development, and has written several articles and publications on the law and related topics including authoring teaching programs for the California Administrative Offices of the Court. He has trained over 200 pro tem judges, and has received the Restorative Justice Award from the Amicus Project and a National Association of Counties Award for his efforts, as well as The Spirit of Luiseño Award from the Rincon Band of Mission Indians. He served for eight years on the Encinitas Union School District Board of Education, and is the past President of the Encinitas Facilities Foundation. He is also past President of both the San Diego County Judges Association and the California State Commissioners Association.
As a faculty member at the National Judicial College in Reno, Nevada, he teaches programs on Native American Tribal issues. He has published a host of articles and has written and presented several programs on subjects including Indian Law, diversity training, tribal community relations, and the legal and social issues facing Native Americans today. He continues to work closely with tribal leaders, our local state court and law enforcement and the Southern California Tribal Chairman's Association as a community resource, educator, and mentor. He travels extensively in a continual effort to improve the legal standing of Native Americans and is dedicated to improving the quality of life on our reservations.
Biography submitted by Nikki Symington.
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ReplyDeleteI'll try again, as I cannot type today. I was saying that I think he looks very impressive. He's intelligent, seems to work well with others, has mentored a lot of people, etc. However, just because someone looks good on paper, doesn't mean they are a good fit for our City Council. But, he sure has better credentials than anyone on our current council. That being said, I look good on paper and would be a terrible Councilperson. Now, you don't all have to agree at once:)
ReplyDeleteOn great another council person sucking at the govt teat..... Salary/Pension reform.....not in this lifetime.
ReplyDelete3:33-Give it a rest. Lot's of people worked hard and are now retiring. In fact if you look at our current council, everyone except Kranz and Gaspar are on at least one pension. It's not the end of the world. I personally do not have government pension, but if you look at history, it was only until recently that government jobs and pensions were considered too much money. And, if we really want to talk about who is sucking at the taxpayers teat, as you put it, try insurance company executives. For example, the CEO of United Healthcare makes $87,000 a day. Or take a pharmaceutical company, where I did work for 15 years. I made more as a salesperson selling drugs to veterinarians than I ever have made as a Ph.D. psychologist. Do you begrudge the armed forces getting pensions and free education after their many tours? Do you begrudge truly disabled people getting Social Security benefits so they can eat? You probably do, with that attitude.
DeleteDr. L
DeleteWith all respect our armed forces are putting their lives on the line for peanuts - and Obama is taking away benefits and pay
City employees on the other hand get paid more than the average private worker and live lives of luxury-
of course their SEIU Unions support the candidates like Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi and others -
Oops Dr. L got crushed by 4:46..... That had to hurt.
DeleteYes no one like Muir deserves that kind of pension, and stocks & co upping it 30 plus percent in one evening? What goes around comes around, stealing in a legal form perhaps but we taxpayers are taking the hit for the pension thiefs.
Delete35%...let's not minimize!
Deleteplease note the "with all respect' Dr. L adds much to this board- though I agree the comparison to the troops might have been misplaced- the troops are the ones who deserve the most pensions- but of course they don't ask for it and just gladly go where they are ordered- I love the troops, you ever seen them at airports in uniform- just little kids- so polite, professional, cordila, manners- love em
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DeleteAnd as Edith Ann would say "And that's the truth" Go Dr. L-you're on a roll today. Too much sun or too many marguerites or both?
Delete4:58-Afraid to disappoint you but I don't take anything too seriously on this blog-including myself. It's a blog for heavens sake. And when someone posts anonymously, it doesn't hurt at all. If I really have something I want to say, I say it in front of the Council or wherever appropriate. Let's see, how many of you were there when I took on Sabine in front of the Council. Now, that one did hurt. But when you are as old as I am, and remember all of the friends that have died via war, AIDS, the draft, well, this is nothing. At least I don't post anonymously:) Now, back to my regularly scheduled life. Taking my wonderful husband out for a birthday dinner.
Delete$176,000/yr for life for a career of eating donuts and shopping at Vons - pretty sweet.
DeleteYes, because as we all know, unions are incredibly strong in our country, going from a high of 26% of all workers in 1960 to about 10% right now. (Sarcasm intended). Public worker unions are about the only unions left in this country. Combine that with wage stagnation, inflation, housing price increases and the costs of basic food, gas and other necessities, and you have a hatred developing for city workers.
Deletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Union_membership_in_us_1930-2010.png
That said, we can't have unsustainable pensions for city workers, firefighters and everyone else. A change has to be made. Having said that, the hatefest is pointless. The truth is we as a nation don't give a rats rump for our vets, not under Bush, not so much either under Obama. Make the draft apply to everyone, including rich people's kids, and then we'll see how much of that rah rah crap people say.
A lot of the mentally ill and homeless on our streets are vets. Until we the people speak out, nothing will change. The chicken hawks like Newt, Bush, Chaney, Clinton and all the other people who didn't serve will continue to strut around.
-Mr Green Jeans
Sorry about the misrepresentation of Mo being on the planning commission at that time. Must be some old man brain recollections gone amiss. Sorry about that everyone. Is it possible it was the building commission and not the planning dept? If not, I apologize for my faulty memory but I seem to remember her from that meeting that allowed these developers to break their permits and dump their required low income housing on north Vulcan without a penalty like it was just the standard practice at that time to violate their building permits without being held accountable. Once again, sorry for the faulty memory of which dept. it may have been that was held to allow these developers free reign to violate their building permits. Thanks for the correction 3:19pm.
ReplyDeleteI called Mo is she said that she has never held a pubic seat or commission other than the School District.
DeleteAnother govt teat job.. What's her pension going to be ???
DeleteHey, I'm glad Mo is on the Board of Trustees. She is the ONLY "trustee" who is upholding the public trust!
DeleteLorri, I appreciate you, too. Glad you ignore the anonymous "blasters" who have nothing better to do than to make unkind, personal, untrue comments.
Check his voting record on the planning commission. He shouldn't have reapplied for the planning commission.
ReplyDelete4:23-Just because someone doesn't vote the way you might like them to, why shouldn't they reapply for a Commission? Your logic makes no sense.
ReplyDelete4:27 PM
ReplyDeleteLook up his voting record - then ask your question. Your logic makes no sense.
OK, I give. What is so terrible about his voting record?
ReplyDeleteHow about this: very, very close friends to this day with Dalager and Stocks. That trumps the odd vote here and there (sorry, Desert Rose) for me.
ReplyDeleteAre all rotary clubs filled with scoundrels? If the Rotary runs encinitas then it makes me wonder. Hopefully it's only in Encinitas they need to rotate their compass from such bad actors.
Delete5:20-And you know this how?
ReplyDeleteMutual friends ;)
DeleteI think The Sculpin would say it was inferred -
DeleteThanks 4:23 I stand corrected and apologize for thinking Mo was one of those 11 or so commission members that let the developers off the hook for violating their permits and dumping all their required low income housing on north Vulcan. Now who the heck was up there at that time that let Shea Homes and the others off scott free when they failed to include those units in permitted developments? Judge Tony was there at that time but the others are lost to me at the moment. Sorry Mo for thinking you were one of the 11 or so at that time and thanks for setting me straight about my faulty remembrance of just who else was sitting up there at that meeting.
ReplyDeleteshea homes? they wanted to do that high density mixed use development that got shot down in solana beach by the trains................the VP of shea was named Shannon and his wife is on the cardiff planning commission, see how it works?
DeleteIf he commits to firing Vina, I will vote for him.
ReplyDeleteThat's it?? That's all it takes?? How about a candidate that busts the staff and fire unions. Cuts staff, salaries and pensions..
DeleteThe society of actuaries has updated it's life expectancy for men and women. Men are expected to live until 86.6 years and women 88.8 years. How is this small city to pay tens millions of dollars of pensions in the coming years?? Firing Vina is simply a first step, cut staff by 50% reduce salaries and pensions by 60%.
Cutbacks are needed and necessary if this city is going to survive. They have overextended the spending vs the revenue. So, we little citizens are stuck paying for their mistakes. They keep spending millions without a clue as to where the money will come from. Not a good way to run a city.
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ReplyDeleteHow about 10 million that everyone wanted for PV? Legacy or just plain bulshit for a bunch of artists who are not the children I think Pitchard was referring to. Or maybe they are just kids.
ReplyDeleteI do hope the PV property is not turned into some kind of artists colony. Most parents want their children outside playing, getting exercise, enjoying the good weather. I can't imagine these kids wanting to sit in yet another enclosed place (like they have to during the day at school 5 days a week) to put together a bunch of colors or create a picture or a sculpture or some stupid thing that has no meaning except for the person who created it. We can and should do better than this. There has to be more public input so we don't have just a handful of people who get what they want. It should be for the whole community and put to better use.
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Delete9:50
DeleteName one thing in the room you're sitting in that wasn't designed by an artist.
I agree, release the children from school into the wilds. Ferrel children... More ferrel children.
DeleteFeral.......feral, feral, feral, feral.......
DeleteOne of my favorite signs on a fence was at the NE section of the Lake fields on the access road by the church going up to Crest.
BEWARE!
Loose Horses
Blind Dogs
Unruly Children
Pass at your own risk!
- The Sculpin
Jesusfuckingchrist, get it straight! Pitcher never said anything about children in the deed transfer. He didn't even mention a school. But since he gave the land to the school district and a school was built on it shortly thereafter, we infer his intention was a school for kids. And that's fine and dandy, but other conclusions aren't supported by facts. The bigger point is that the site had been public for 131 years before the sale, and now it still is. That's in keeping with the donor's intent. Any other fate for the land wouldn't be.
DeleteSculpin- how am I supposed to know the spelling?? I'm a ferrel, err feral child. Sheez.
DeleteHow about legacy and bullshit all wrapped into one package?
ReplyDeleteAgree 10:11. Was it Kranz that just had to have it. And, to make it even more insane he read something from a poet that I'm sure he didn't know or had no idea what it meant. God help us front he truly stupid people in this city.
ReplyDeleteEncinitas a simple town full of simple minded people.
DeleteYes, especially 10:21, 8:40 and people like him or her.
DeleteKranz read from a Robert Frost poem called the The Road Not Traveled. And that is what PV is. Those of you who wanted it so badly got it. And now all of the citizens of this community will have to come up with an extra 10 million for something most probably could have cared less about. Of course Tony wanted it. He's a home boy. And Baird played it well. Sorry Lynn. No one gives a 0 percent loan on stupidity. And that is what buying this was. It was sweet, sentimental, and stupid. The guy who left it for the children didn't leave it for artists so they could have their art galley. He left it for the children and unfortunately they are the ones who are going to have to pay for it. How sweet is that? Because Tony and company thought it would be nice for he and his Mustang friends to hang out in or whatever they think they are going to do. The property, if it can even be financed, will sit wasting away for many years because this city cannot afford it. There is a lack of fiscal responsibility in this city that will eventually bankrupt us. Yes, pensions will help it along. But so will a huge park that wasn't wanted, huge salaries and egos at City Hall and Council, as well as our new acquisition of Pacific View. When a couple of more fiscally conservative council members say NO you all get pissy. Can't have it both ways. Either decide that you want more taxes, which Vina and company will be happy to take your money, or get a few people on the Council that will man up and take the heat. Remember Stocks is the one that gave these huge raises. And he is supposed to be a fiscal conservative. I would hate to see what a fiscal non conservative person would do. The Council in general is not what you might call very smart. Only 2 of the members have college educations. That would be Shaffer and Gaspar. Shaffer has been in an ivory tower way too long and Gaspar is young and has ambitions far beyond our tiny town. So you don;t want Brandenberg-fine! Who do you want, or maybe you should run yourself if you have the balls to do it. Put up or shut up as my dad used to say.
ReplyDeleteGreat post. I agree. Now all those other projects and fixing the roads, just got kicked years down the road. The Hall Property was bad enough. PV was just insult on top of injury.
DeleteIf the Artist wanted it so bad and could make a revenue stream and business model work, they should have come up with a non-profit and bought the property themselves.
Council just screwed the future Encinitas Residents. Why does our City Council hate our children so much?
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
DeleteI took the one right smack dab into a pothole!
11:48 Gaspar and Muir are not fiscal conservatives. A few facts-
Delete1. Hired a $135,000 a year PR spin doctor
2. voted to raid $7M from funded capital improvement projects with no plan to pay it back in 2012.
3. voted to sp[end teh city's last ability to bond on another $10M in Hall park financing that added another $600K a year in debt service on the backs fo taxpayers
4. Voted to hire all of Gus Vina's overpaid "cabinet' turkeys sticking another $800,000 a year on the back of taxpayers- Before Pension costs.
5. Voted to hire more full time fireman and another full time code enfrocement officer sticking about another $400,000 a year in fast on the backs of taxpayers-
If you are arguing the Gaspar and Muir are financial conservatives give us facts?
The facts are the two are more than willing to bankrupt the city on the Hall Park because they wanted it. They play fast and loose with our money and they also fail to hold shifty Gus Vina accountable.
Pretty pathetic when you have to praise your own posts as "great," lol. You are just being a naysayer. Because the City is overpaying, because we are paying off two 30 year EUSD school bonds, Prop O and P, then we CAN demand a public agency to accept zero percent interest, to carry the loan for $10 Million over 30 years. This would allow the revenue stream all the Superintendents insisted they wanted when they said the Naylor Act didn't apply because the school site was to be exchanged for a commercial property, with a revenue stream.
DeletePublic schools are not in business to make profit off of land donated to taxpayers.
Actually Lynn, under your proposed scenario, the city is paying exactly what it's worth. First off, there is no such thing as an interest free loan (unless it's between family and we all know how that ends up). In this country, there is always an imputed interest charge. So let's assume that a credit worthy city can borrow money at 6% for 30 years, and all in the city doesn't want to pay more than $10M as purchase price. So effectively, the city is financing a $4.588M purchase price and paying $5.412M in interest over the life of the loan. The yearly nut on this loan is $333.333K, or roughly $28K per month. So you see....the city got the property for pretty close to what it initially offered - a win, I would say!!! Now they just have to make sure they can pay this thing off over 30 years.
Delete- The Sculpin
11:03 - thanks for sharing' the new math'
DeleteHere in Encinitas the Hall Park added to the debt service and Gus Vina never explained how he planned to service that debt. Did he again withold important finnacial information from residents -like he did with Lew Edwards?
During last year's budget meeting residents demanded the council and Vina explain how it planned to to pay for the new $600,000 dollar debt service increase AND the expected $500,000 annual operating costs to run the hall park-
As you might suspect Vina had no answers and the council led by Mayor Barth ignored the residents.
Under good leadership PV could have been bought for $3M- the council lacked the courage and leadership.
"They can pay this thing off in thirty years" they have no money today. Show us where the $500,000 to operate the Hall park annually is?
I fail to understand the reasoning why any one would purchase a piece of property that has a known lower appraised value. I would feel like I got cheated and the seller duped me. That's just my opinion.
Delete11:38 - Nothing new about it.....it's been around for a few, maybe more, centuries.....
Delete- The Sculpin
Wow, going to ASU counts as a college education? FYI, according to his bio, Tony went to CP SLO, but it looks like he may not have graduated.
DeleteI went to college, and while a great thing, it's not the be all, end all. Dallager went to UCSB, but that didn't help him a whole lot. I think everyone on council has the requisite smarts to do the job, the question is, do the have the cojones to make the hard, possibly unpopular choices of the moment?
-Mr Green Jeans
GJ-Strongly disagree, or we would not be in this financial mess.
Delete12:24 I strongly disagree also. We need smarts and it sure is lacking with this council. In "their own life" I doubt they would buy something they couldn't afford and then try to figure out a way to pay for it later. Not a smart way to do things.
DeleteFolks, we're talking city council here - of a small city no less. This is not going to attract "the best and the brightest". The problems here are either not that challenging or are to difficult and long term to solve to attract a retired senior executive of a large public company or financial services firm or even very senior people in the non-profit environment. We know they live here, they'd just rather go surfing, or ride their horse, or grow stuff in the yard.......face it - most people don't run for small time elected office with an ambitious agenda - they do it for fun, or do it out of a sense of community pride - both of which are not much of a foundation to rely on.....especially in an ever changing and complex financial world...
Delete- The Sculpin
Sculpin,
DeleteAgree entirely.
All the more reason to strictly limit the scope of their power so they can't go do something stupid like bury us in debt and unfunded pensions.
So many entries here are just dripping with arrogance yet no one steps forward. If it's all so obvious why aren't people here stepping forward? After all, if it's so damn easy being on the council should be a breeze.
DeleteSculpin, you don't know that there is "no such thing" as a zero interest loan. The State Allocation Board, which is who determines whether or not in monies from the sale of a surplus school site can go into a district's General Fund for a "one time purpose," have said that such a scenario, $10 Million over 30 years, at zero interest COULD be done; it is a possibility. The District could NOT put the money into its General Fund for investments.
DeleteIt is HIGHLY unlikely, that the money could go into its General Fund because the District will NOT be able to prove that more monies are not needed for capital outlay for facilities improvement and technology, another condition of any of the money going into the General Fund.
How many temporary classrooms does the School District have? Those alone show a need for facilities improvements. Plus the Quail Gardens site has never been declared surplus to my knowledge. Therefore, a possibility for future school construction on that site still exists.
The City and the School District should get together and make this thing work. This is a DIFFERENT SCENARIO than private industry, although Superintendent Baird seems to want to play with the high rollers, his development connections. From the articles I've read, although there was "interest" by developers in the school site, Baird NEVER said he had received ANY sealed bids. The quote from the UT said he "expected" to get sealed bids, not that he had received any.
Nice thought but it's not going to happen. Baird needs the money now. Teacher pensions, while not as generous as city worker pensions, are even more underfunded.
DeleteBaird just won the poker jackpot. No way he's leaving the filthy lucre to his successors decades from now when he needs it today.
1:38 sounds like a former council member. Could be Stocks or his buddy bossy Guerin. Two idiots for sure with no brains or experience.
DeleteAhhhh Lynn, Lynn, Lynn - I'm referring to basic financial concepts. No one works for free, and no one borrows or lends money for free - everything has a cost. If Baird agrees to an "interest free loan" then he basically sold the property under the terms I described. If he gets $10M today, and invests it at 6%, he will have earned approx. $11M in interest over 30 years. Why would he forgo that? If he has to use all of it today, for example to fund the pensions, he's actually making more because most pension funds are returning anywhere from 8% to 12% annually over the long term. This is not really about real estate this is about reallocating assets to get the most return against future obligations. In this area, the public sector does not differ all that much from the private.
Delete- The Sculpin
11:48, no one blessed with a working brain and the privilege of a good education would expect such a narrow-minded person as you to get the facts of the matter right, to understand the PV concept or even know the correct title of the poem. So you're OK. Keep operating on ignorance and prejudice. Stay small.
DeleteSorry 6:25 but the poem is: "The Road Not Taken" is a poem by Robert Frost, published in 1916 in the collection Mountain Interval. It is the first poem in the volume and is printed in italics. This is the one Tony used. Always a good idea to check your facts before making allegations against someone else. Although I didn't write the 11:48 post, I think you must be thinking of another Frost poem, or perhaps something else. Just sayin'. Too many people on this particular post are not using good judgement, in my humble opinion. Saying Mo Muir was someone she is not, calling something a conspiracy without any proof, and lots more. Come on we can do better than this, or we are as stupid as some of the people we are criticizing.
Delete3:03 PM The arrogance continues to drip, drip, drip. And no, I'm not a former or current council member
Delete8:14 why not put your name in the hopper? No guts? Slow drip problem?
DeleteI don't pretend to have all the answers unlike so many here. If you know it all then you should be running.
DeleteAloha Lynn,
DeleteNew guy again. Question for you: let's say you are right about EUSD not being able to put the PV money into the general fund. What makes you think that a capital improvement fund cannot be parked in a bond fund or other interest-bearing account? But again, for a moment I'll pretend to concede that EUSD is somehow legally blocked from earning interest on funds (cough, cough). Have you considered the affect of inflation on interest-free financing? The purchasing power of 2014 dollars is significantly higher than the purchasing power of 2044 dollars. While the nominal value of our payments would remain stable over 30 years, the real value of those dollars would decline significantly. This effect is easily calculated using long-term inflation assumptions, and it significantly reduces the present value of the City's accepted bid. EUSD would be foolish to accept financing terms that materially lower the already accepted price.
If you'd like to learn more about why your plan is a fantasy, google "time value of money."
Cheers.
--The New Guy.
WC, while pensions may be unfunded, through EUSD, the money from the sale of a surplus school property could NOT go into paying for pensions. It's HIGHLY unlikely it could go into the General Fund for EUSD.
DeleteNegotiations were fraught with complications, misinterpreting and misapplying both Education Code, including the Naylor Act, and Government Code, including the Brown Act. Closed session meetings didn’t help the City arrive at a better price. Councilmembers Kristin Gaspar and Mark Muir voted against more secret subcommittee closed-session hearings. Councilmembers Lisa Shaffer, Tony Kranz and Mayor Teresa Barth supported secrecy. Gaspar and Muir voted against offering $10 Million, but supported saving Pacific View’s legacy.
City Manager Gus Vina violated the Brown Act by releasing a confidential, irrelevant, higher appraisal to DEMA, through Dody Crawford. Shaffer also released both closed session appraisals through her online newsletter, but later publicly apologized at a Council Meeting. The higher appraisal should never have been officially accepted OR released. It was irrelevant because it used Los Angeles comps, including on Wilshire Blvd., without an ocean-view, contrary to Vina’s belated “explanation,” when asked about the four million dollar discrepancy between the high and low appraisals.
Baird violated the Brown Act when he went public with the City’s confidential opening bid, presented in closed session, which bid was $1 Million over the only relevant appraisal. Baird also violated the joint closed session-ad-hoc subcommittees’ agreements that the City would have exclusive negotiating rights for six months with possible option to renew. Baird also had been applying artificial deadline pressure on the City, wrongly alleging any likelihood monies from the sale could go into the District’s General Fund, through Government Code which is to expire on January 1, 2016.
The State Allocation Board, the public agency which determines whether or not monies from the sale of a surplus school site can go into a district's General Fund for a "one time purpose," has said that such a scenario, $10 Million over 30 years, at zero interest is a possibility. Government Code provides that a district couldn’t put the money for the sale of a surplus school site into its General Fund for investments. Interest on any Pacific View loan would almost certainly go to a bank, not the public.
Any monies from the sale of Pacific View going into the District’s General Fund is highly unlikely, because the District won’t be able to certify, as required by Government Code Section 17463.7(d)(1): “The school district has no major deferred maintenance requirements not covered by existing capital outlay resources…”
More monies will be needed for facilities improvement and I-Pad technology. How many temporary classrooms does the School District have? Those alone show a need for facilities improvements. Plus the Quail Gardens site has never been declared surplus; a possibility for future school construction on that EUSD site still exists.
The City and the School District can come together to make this transaction work for the greatest benefit of the children, future generations, and the taxpayers who support them. Public agencies, both EUSD and the City are non-profit entities.
Although some developers expressed tentative interest in purchasing the school site for privatization and high-density development, Baird NEVER said he had received ANY sealed bids. We now look forward to a true community arts and learning center, and to EUSD’s carrying the $10 Million loan over 30 years with zero percent interest.
Lynn,
DeleteThat may be legally true, but practically, politicians have plenty of ways of diverting capital funds to operating budgets. Examples:
1) EUSD's debt-for-iPads program
2) use new capital funds to replace existing maintenance budget, then shift the maintenance funds to pensions and salaries.
"New Guy" (cough, cough; I doubt it) your assumptions and assertions make sense for private entities. However, we are talking about a transfer of public, donated property, a surplus school site, between two public agencies.
DeleteSale of surplus school sites, with very limited exceptions, outlined in Government Code, must go to a school district's facilities improvement funds. This has been interpreted to include technology improvement, such as Baird's purchasing I-Pads.
Government Code also specifies that if any monies can go outside the facilities improvement funds of school districts, they can only go into the General Fund, for a "one time purpose," as voted upon through a plan discussed at a public hearing, by the Board of Trustees. I am waiting to hear back from the State Allocations Board; they have sent me preliminary acknowledgement of and response to my e-mails.
Relevant Government Code provides that monies from sale of a surplus school site can only go into a school district's General Fund, providing: "The school district has no major deferred maintenance requirements not covered by existing capital outlay resources."
Statutory law further states, through Govt. Code Section 17463.7:
"(e) Before the school district exercises the authority granted pursuant to this section, the governing board of the school district at a regularly scheduled meeting shall present a plan for expending one-time resources pursuant to this section. The plan shall identify the source and use of the funds and describe the reasons why the expenditure will not result in ongoing fiscal obligations for the school district.
(f) The Office of Public School Construction shall submit an interim and a final report to the State Allocation Board and the budget, education policy, and fiscal committees of the Legislature that identifies the school districts that have exercised the authority granted by this section, the amount of proceeds involved, and the purposes for which those proceeds were used. The interim report shall be submitted by January 1, 2011, and the final report by January 1, 2015.
(g) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2016 and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2016, deletes or extends that date."
There seems to be no way that the School District could have possibly pushed through any rezoning with an actual deadline for this Section of the Statute for the final report to be provided to the Office of School Construction, to be submitted to the State Allocation Board by January 1, 2015.
If you wonder why nobody runs for office - look no further than this blog!
ReplyDeleteWe will praise future council highly when things get even slightly better, right now they are not excelling if you hadn't noticed.
Delete11:48
ReplyDeleteBarth has a degree from collage.
Oh, the irony of the above...
DeleteNuns with rulers caused ..... oh nevermind.
DeleteShe pasted the pictures on posterboard....
DeleteFrom a 2008 election article in the Coast News: The candidate warned of tough fiscal times ahead and agreed with Collier’s call for a forensic, third-party audit of the city’s books. “We have to do everything we can to look at our finances,” he said. “Are we really that secure?” he asked. Brandenburg said he is unimpressed with the city’s reserve of approximately $10.2 million. “Do you know what $11 million will get you in this economy?” he asked. He also called for a harder look at personnel performance.
ReplyDeleteapparently $11M will get you an old dilapitated school building that you could have bought for $2M if you had some balls to and courage to tell Glenn Sabine to file a lawsuit against EUSD for violating teh Naylor Act- but hey, slippery Gus in running the show. Is it any wondered taxpayers are Dis-Gus-ted with city hall?
Delete$abine is a dead horse as far as utility to the city for competent legal advice. But the stench from City Hall is overwhelming, as there appear to be a lot of skeletons in the closet still smoldering.
DeleteWhy do you think Sabine is still there? Seems to be even worse in La Mesa, his other city.
DeleteThis Council could have filed the paperwork to get an injunction to stop an auction. But it was both past City Council Members and past Board of Trustees who colluded together, some of them unknowingly, I'm sure, in order to try to avoid the mandates of the Naylor Act.
DeleteGlenn Sabine was part of that conspiracy: we could lease the property, effective Dec. 1, 2003, for only $1 per year, with the understanding we will allow rezoning not only at Pacific View, but part of Ocean Knoll and Quail Gardens, down the line. That terminology was in the "lease recitals!"
Plus the Superintendents and City Managers all went along with the deceit that the Naylor Act didn't apply because the property was to be exchanged, NOT sold. However, they were all negligent; none of them did their homework.
The Naylor Act kicked in immediately after the School District permanently closed the school and EUSD and the City mutually agreed to lease the school site for a purpose that resulted in the open space being paved over. This whole mess was a result of the City and School District's negligence and LACK OF TRANSPARENCY.
Vina and Sabine could have been, but were not better public servants, and BETTER NEGOTIATORS. They let it be known, early on, and convinced Council through their "pre-briefing" of Linda Bartz, special eminent domain counsel, that both the Naylor Act AND eminent domain were essentially off the table. Linda Bartz has no Section with Cal Bar in Real Property Law, as Felix Tinkov has. Bartz has no Sections (specialties) at all. How did Vina select her?
Eminent Domain and the Naylor Act should have been the City's leverage in negotiating a purchase price right around $5 Million. For some bizarre reason, Gus Vina and Sabine seemed to WANT the City to pay more?
That is why many are suggesting there was some kind of collusion. The only possible damage control I can imagine is to make it so EUSD will carry the loan, and either lower the price, substantially, or carry the loan interest free, to compensate for the gross overcharging.
The only leverage the City has now, is the upcoming election. Emily A, Marla Strich, and Gregg Sonken are up for reelection. I don't know if they will run for reelection, but you can bet many people are not happy with their actions in overcharging the taxpayers, because the City is always expected to pay "top dollar." That shouldn't be the case when the party selling the property is another public agency.
It would have been MUCH less expensive than the $5 Million extra we are expected to pay, now, to take EUSD to court for eminent domain, or the Naylor Act, or AT LEAST THREATEN TO, AND FILE PRELIMINARY PAPERS. Baird had no qualms about initiating a lawsuit against the City, that he could NEVER have won, because that Govt. Code he relied upon was contignent upon the Naylor Act having been acknowledged and addressed. Only if the School District had OFFERED 30% of Pacific View at 25% of its fair market value, at the time, which was in March of 2010, after the property was declared surplus, could Baird then legally insist, you turned down our offer, now you MUST rezone.
But any potential rezoning would still have to be compliant with our General and Specific Plans, and would still have to go through the Planning Dept., Planning Commission, Council, the Coastal Commission, AND, because of Prop A, a public vote. The $10 Million is exorbitant.
Have you ever heard the expression, a salesman is easily sold? Perhaps that's what happened with Tony. I feel he meant well, and so did the other council members who voted with him; I'm glad we got the property. The only solution is the damage control I have suggested. And that way, the school children would get a revenue stream.
To answer someone else's objections, the vision for Pacific View is for an art and learning center that will benefit our children, grandchildren and future generations.
Lynn, When you speak of the vision for Pacific View, who are you referring to? Learning center? I send my kids to school for their education. What could they learn at a learning center?
DeleteLynn you are bordering on slander by saying there is a conspiracy between the city and EUSD. Just saying.....you might want to throw in the word alleged. Just saying... Do what you want, you always do.
DeleteEncinitas, a simple town full of simple minded people.
There's always great comedy when Lynn starts suggesting legal strategy. Yet again Lynn blogs long and Lynn blogs wrong. The only folks more clueless than Lynn are her defenders on here.
DeleteI am not "bordering on slander." You might want to say I could be bordering on slander. Furthermore, because this blog is a written form of communication, you should be referring to libel, not slander.
DeleteMy freedom of expression guarantees me the right to say that the School District and the City, through past City Managers, and Superintendents, in signing leases whereby the public was not duly notified of future rezoning development agreements recited in leases authorized by past Council and past Boards of Trustees, WITHOUT A TRANSPARENT PUBLIC PROCESS, at a public hearing, have CONSPIRED to violate the intention of the Brown Act and the intent of the State Legislature in passing the Naylor Act.
The time I saw Brandenburg at the Leucadia Candidates Forum in 2008, he was confused on a lot of topics and woefully unprepared to talk about issues concerning the city. He's a serial candidate to me, we need someone fresh. He's still got the whole "judge" controversy, which is silly. Next please..
ReplyDelete-Mr. Green Jeans
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ReplyDeleteLet's leave out the fat and plastic surgery attacks. Neither is relevant to the job on city council.
DeleteI understand that Barth's previous job was a ticket puncher at the Del Mar Fairground. Is this true?
ReplyDeleteEducation and Exhibit Supervisor - glorified ticket puncher.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteTicket takers are under-appreciated. Why, back in '89 when I was an actor, Pierce Brosnan and I decided to do this little film at the Del Mar Track. Sure, he starred, but the whole movie revolved around the role of the lead ticket taker at a turn style. Probably the most riveting drama of all time.
Deletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8baHwR_Iht8
Shameless!
DeleteAnd, she worked for her Aunt. Nepotism saved her job more than once.
ReplyDeleteAnd she is Mayor???? Ohhhhhhhhhh....we're doomed!!!
ReplyDeleteDoesn't take much smarts to cut ribbons.
ReplyDeleteMy momma always said, "Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get."
DeleteOur City Council Sucks S()*&
ReplyDeleteThey will not even fire the worst City Manager behind Bell's No. 1 loser. Geez. We are doomed.
Buying Pacific View was a good move, but the City paid about double what it should have. Baird played his hand well. Vina, Sabine and the council totally blew it. Now they have to figure out how to pay the $10 million bill while keeping their jobs and not sinking the ship.
ReplyDeletePV was not a good move. It was not a City Priority in my opinion. The City can not even pay for the regional sports complex and City Council decides to buy another trophy fixer upper.
ReplyDeleteThey just keep digging our hole.
Time for a completely new City Council. I will not vote for one incumbent next election.
9:23, So if the names on the ballot are incumbents and Jerome Stocks, you'll vote for Stocks, right? Is it wise to categorically dismiss incumbents without knowing who else will be on the ballot? In 2014, there are only two seats open, so we can't have a "completely new City Council" can we?
DeleteNo incumbent for me either. Nor for my neighbors. Nor for anyone paying attention to the under achievers at city hall.
DeleteBuying PV was a good move. It can't be compared to other large expenditures that can never create a positive cash flow. It also preserves a large lot that should be preserved and not become condos. It will ultimately create many jobs and educate countless people.
Delete9:31-
ReplyDeleteJerome Stocks was an incumbent for too long. I likely would not vote for Jerome Stocks either. Muir and Gaspar are owned by unions and developers and the other three have no common or fiscal sense. We can do better. If there aren't enough new candidates, it doesn't matter I will only vote for them. I do not need to vote for one of these current losers.We need term limits and pension reform.
So, 6:34, you wouldn't vote for an incumbent even if everybody else on the ballot was a chimpanzee, right?
DeleteRight... I don't like the chimpanzees that are current city council members .
DeleteThe system is sort of flawed. People who run for council generally have absolutely no experience at directing the activities of a multi-functioning municipality. They are usually patsies for some special interest that is supplying their dialogue (Muir, Gaspar). Shaffer comes from the Ivory Tower, where reality is called tenure (job for life). In the UC, a lot of academics retire on the job once they acquire that status, as there is no accountability. Barth is a ticket puncher and Kranz is a photocopy jockey. No wonder slick talkers like Vina and $abine have them cowtowed - in the parlance of power, you pretend to know what you're doing, otherwise lay low and take orders.
ReplyDeleteAnd what have you done in your working career, mr or ms. denigrator? Lisa has worked for the following companies/Organizations: SAIC, Bendix, NASA, Scripps Institute, Rady School of Management, and then UCSD. Most of her career was spent in places other than academia. Perhaps you'd like to match up your resume. Tony has worked in graphics and print production, maybe not earth shattering, but not McDonald's either. Teresa IS a college graduate and worked at the Fairgrounds. Nothing wrong with that, I know a lot of people who worked at either the fair or the track.
DeleteMeanwhile, Mark Muir has a degree, but from an online diploma mill and was a fire captain. Gaspar attended ASU, but her only claim to fame is being CFO of her husband's company, which is dubious at best.
I don't give a crap where any of them went to school- one place they din't go to was the school of common sense-
Deletebarth and the other 4 are in affect egomaniacs- they oput themselves and politics before rational decisions- none fo the 5 ever listen to the public that toold them-
build the park but pay as you go
hold EUSD Accountable for the Naylor Act
don't hire a spin doctor
show us where the money is to repair roads in the annual budget
don't raid $7M from proejcts with no plan to pay it back
don't give pay and pension raises when we can't fix roads
Hold city manaegr Vina accountable for not being honest on finances
and the list goes on and on-
get rid of these hacks and give me a simple honest common sense leader
Was Shaffer at the controls when the Challenger went up?
Delete9:04 is easily impressed with phoney appointments.
9:04 actually brings some clear-headed thinking to the discussion. As for those above who disagree, if you can't spell or write a simple sentence, how do you expect anybody to conclude your thinking and conclusions have value?
Delete9:04 AM
DeleteYou list 6 companies for Lisa which over the course of 30 years would be an average of 5 years at each company or public institution.
I suppose it looked good on Shaffer's resume, but I'm not impressed. Sounds like she couldn't keep a job for very long. It didn't make her any smarter in the common sense department.
Delete12:06 What are you - an English teacher? Ever hear of bullet points? It's not the form; it is the content.
Delete12:15, have any respect for or knowledge of the English language? If you don't care enough to get the language right, how can anybody put faith in your content? Yes, it is the form and the content. Show me a respected thinker who gets the language wrong. You can't because there is none.
DeleteBy the way, if you're 9:50, those aren't bullet points.
12:44 close enough
DeleteAnd so, 8:34 AM..... you are not running becuz...what? You did time, or you cannot pass the drug test? Awfully snarkey for someone not on the way to work, aren't we? And 12:14 PM, not everyone is a member of PERS like you.
Delete1:19 I would just bet you are not at work either. The highlight of your day must be reading this blog. Pretty snarkey I would say.
DeleteJust because a person has gone or not gone to college does not prepare them for a job in politics. And that is what the City Council position is-politics. You have to have thick skin; have to be careful what you say and to whom; have to make really tough choices that not all will like; have to know the laws to some degree, and in Encinitas you really have to know the law or a lawyer, as Sabine will not be of much use to you; have to sit up on a dais 3 Weds. a month and listen to a lot of boring stuff; have to go to other meetings that may be equally boring; have to know how to strategize, play chess, and be one step ahead of the powers that be, who are not usually elected officials. I guess my question is "Who is their right mind would do this and why?" When I was younger I thought I wanted to do it. However, I don't have the stomach for it, or the patience. Democracy is a slow process, and definitely the way to go. I, on the other hand, learned how to play on the streets, and got maced, pepper sprayed, arrested, you get the drift. You couldn't pay me enough to sit up there. And, unfortunately, as "educated" as I may be, I also have a strong sense of right and wrong. I guess you could call me a "defender of the less fortunate" which isn't a popular movement these days. Sorry for the long diatribe, but hey, I haven't had my coffee yet, and I am doing my pro bono day.
ReplyDeleteHey, you don't even have to know anything about politics to get elected .
DeleteSo was all this background information unavailable when you (presumably) voted for the current council in the last election? But now that they aren't doing your bidding suddenly their qualifications are an issue. If that's the case then the problem is yours not theirs.
DeleteAmen, do your research and quit whining after you make your vote. We always have another vote coming in two years...
DeleteGet the word out to every one "Do Not Vote For Incumbents". That will send a strong message and hopefully get them out of office.
ReplyDeleteYea, it is sort of a thankless job.
DeleteEncinitas- a simple town full of simple minded people.
ReplyDeleteAnd a Cuban Napoleon city manager and non leaders for council members
ReplyDeleteNew Bumper Sticker for 2014 Election - BBS
ReplyDeleteBring Back Stocks!
I didn't vote for him last time - This time I would.
Stocks would be the "laughing stock" if he ever tried to run again. His political career was done a long time ago.
DeleteYeah, you need to have your head examined. Stocks, however, isn't coming back. Once you're out, you're out. Ask Lou Aspell, who tried to make a comeback once.
DeleteHow about just plain "BS"!
DeleteOne has to give Shaffer credit for tabling a motion to investigate the possibility of acquiring a new City Attorney. Barth and Kranz both went dumb at seconding the motion. The one most culpable for non-action on crucial issues is Barth - she has shown herself to be status-quo. I suppose one could argue the learning curve is still in effect for the newer members, but that excuse is wearing thin now. Barth definitely needs to go - she has nothing to offer.
ReplyDeleteShaffer didn't table the motion, she made the motion and nobody seconded it.
DeleteThat's the truth of it 4:57. So why didn't Shaffer get a second. Wasn't it Teresa that said she would look into Sabine if she was elected? Well she was elected. Maybe she did look into Sabine and thought he was just fine, even though he cost her $17,000 just to find out if she was sexually harassed by Stocks. Sabine said he couldn't play favorites. The law is the law-it should have had nothing to do with favorites.
DeleteDump Barth and Gaspar. They are mindless. Gaspar thinks she'll be discovered on television. What a joke.
ReplyDeleteAttacking Gaspar for her looks says more about you than Gaspar, Loser! Attack on policy, or better yet, get a job.
DeleteAs I read over the stuff the City gave me about Vina, and the stuff La Mesa has given me, I am dumbfounded (well maybe not dumbfounded, but certainly amazed) that our City has given him a pass for so long, as has La Mesa. Whatever he knows must be worth a lot, or he would have been gone by now. Some things will always remain a mystery and to me, this is one of the biggest mysteries in our City. What does he know and who knows he knows it?
ReplyDeleteOf course you won't share with us because???
DeleteVina?? You mean $$abine, right??
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DeleteYes, sorry, I meant Sabine. I don't know much about Vina.
DeleteAnother conspiracy theory? OMG, not again. As you once said Lorri, what are the facts.
ReplyDeleteLorri,
ReplyDeleteIs this all about the penis photo the attorney wouldn't let you present in front of a bunch of Boy Scouts? Be honest, why are you mad about that specific denial.
4:38- You give yourself away by calling me Lorri and spelling it correctly. I won't say who you are, because, frankly it's much more fun to let you keep going on about the Boy Scouts and Penis envy.
DeleteWe've been through that whole scenario, let it drop with the boy scouts. Vina has knowledge of city shenannigans, that alone keeps him in his seat.
ReplyDelete-Mr Green Jeans.
Sabine's record of failure and dubious moral charachter
ReplyDelete1. Approved awarding ex-city manager Phil Cotton and extra paycheck there by enabling Cotton to spike his pension in addition to getting an extra $6,000. Cotton had an ANNUAL signed contract to be paid annualy and amount of money. Sabine's legal analysis was that there were magically 54 weeks in the year - not 52- losers - taxpayers.
2. The Naylor act does not apply- resident from Bob Nanniga to today went to city hall begging the council to invoke the Naylor act and demand EUSD to offer the PV site under the terms. Sabine's legal analysis- "residents say it applies, but EUSD say's to doesn't- so don't do anything and taht at teh 11th hour make a $10M offer we can afford- loers - taxpayers
3. That former Nursery site isn't contaminated with pesticides -just look away! When residents demanded an EIR be done at the Hall park to make sure kids were safe Sabine's legal anaylsis was that none was needed - so residents sued the city and prevailed and the city paid outside lawyers about $200K and paid resident lawyers of about $65K- losers taxpayers
4. Road report- we don't need not stiking road report! The city paid $90K to the Nichols group to review the status of city roads- the report was so bad, and the 2010 election was so close, that the city refused to release the report to the public. When residents threatned to suit to see ti Sabine's legal analysis was to fight the residents open records effort. THe city lost and paid Sabine's law firm and the residents law firm to the tune of about $100K- Loaers taxpayers!
so 4:38 if you have some facts of Sabine's competence to share with teh public please do so. For the rest of us with common sense the facts above speak for themselves
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ReplyDeleteMaybe an outside agency needs to investigate Encinitas. How did the City of Bell get the scrutiny? But government is corrupt from top to bottom - try to get one crook to rat on another - only if there is something to be gained by the other party.
ReplyDeleteRename the city SS Titanicitus...
Vina won't allow forensic! The first step is questioning quite publicly why not??
ReplyDeleteDr. Lori forgot to add that Sabine was having an affair with the Director of Finance, Jennifer, during the time she was working at City Hall. Somewhat of a conflict of interest, or maybe 4:38 thinks that is perfectly fine. Sabine also has had some difficulties with federal agencies. Won't say more than that because I have no idea who Wc is and I don't want to be sued by Sabine. He has threatened Dr. Lori 2 times if memory serves me.
ReplyDelete