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Ban on red and blue
Monday, August 16, 2010 ::
1 Comments
I rarely am over by either of the high schools in the morning.
Today I was at the corner of Pioneer and Gibson at 0730-0745. For the last couple years we have been told that kinds can't have blue or red stuff because of possible gang implications. Clearly that is nonsense.
As I sat waiting for the light to change it was easy to count to more than 25 kids wearing solid red shirts, hats, backpacks. Blue too.
Not sure what the deal is but I am clearly getting bad information.
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Questions for myself
Sunday, August 15, 2010 ::
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Last week Jenn and I went with the kids to Tahoe for four days. It was a great time with the family. Several things I would recommend for families with young kids.
I am very thankful for the time.. but that is not all I have been thinking about since the trip. In addition to the great family time I have also been troubled by an interaction I had with a cashier.
The kids were both in the car buckled in. Jenn was fifteen feet away paying for our rafting trip. It seemed like a great time to walk 100 feet away and get a Diet Coke. So I went into this old gas station turned convieniance store to get my favorite drink. I got my soda and went to pay. The woman behind the counter was efficient and very nice.
The problem I had was that her apparent age really threw me for a loop. This woman was probably 80 -- but I really don't know.
The troubling part was that I made an immediate judgment in my mind that she was down on her luck and had to work selling me Diet Coke. I never asked her a single question and we never had any interaction other than the purchase of a soda. Who am I to make that leap in my mind?
My immediate reaction was to feel sorry for this woman. If she really is down on her luck then I guess I am right to feel sorry for her. But how would I know?
The crazy thing is that I don't know if she owned the place, the block, the entire state. She could have been a woman that was loaded but her goal in life was to sell Diet Cokes to people in August in Lake Tahoe. I have no idea.
Part of me felt sorry for her. Part of me wanted to make sure that neither Jenn nor me, nor my mom, nor family member had to work to sell Diet Coke to someone like me in August in Lake Tahoe because they had to. If they want to -- that is a different story.
We all look for clues when we meet people. We make observations and make decisions on how to act. Do they smell? Are they dressed nicely? Do they cuss when they speak? But what are appropriate judgments to make and what aren't?
Anyway -- this one interaction has had me thinking for almost a week. It has made me think about several things but mostly what sort of decisions to make about people without knowing all the facts...even though we all do it all the time.
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Country Oaks Athletic Club
Saturday, August 14, 2010 ::
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 After my senior year of high school I needed to make money. I was willing to do pretty much anything. So I cobbled together a series of full and part time jobs to max out the money I made before my freshman year at USC.
One of my "full time" jobs that summer was as a lifeguard at Country Oaks Athletic Club. I made just over minimum wage and got paid to clean the pool, swim laps at break, and then hang out by the pool. Great job.
After my senior year of college I need to get in shape for boot camp. I spent a little over a year working out at Country Oaks getting ready. At the time they were remodeling the place and so I worked out in the gym. We would come in from the back parking lot and be able to work out even after they were "closed".
Later Jenn and I worked out there when she moved to Woodland after we got married.
So whenever I drive by this place I just kind of look in the gate and get ticked. This morning I drove by and took this picture from the front gate.
It is my understanding that Country Oaks was actually doing ok financially but that the cost of homes made it a more valuable property then the use as an athletic club. When this was proposed I was Mayor and looked into options the city had. Other than buying the property at the per acre market price for land that was zoned single family residential and had city services we did not have an option.
It was too bad -- but I accepted it. The problem is now that five years later people in Woodland could have been playing tennis, swimming, lifting weights, and staying healthy at this location and Spare Time (the owners of the club) could have kept right making money.
This is a real shame to see such a waste of opportunity.
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SuperFreakonomics
Monday, July 05, 2010 ::
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A couple weeks ago I finished reading the book SuperFreakonomics. I strongly recommend it.
In fact, I read Chapter 1 "How is a street prostitute like a department-store Santa?" the night right before the Board of Supervisors meeting when we talked about drug testing. I was on the verge of making a comment in the meeting that started with "Last night I was reading about prostitution..." when I stopped myself.
These authors point out some of the economic principles associated with our everyday life -- and do it in a very readable way.
Read it. You will like it.
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Religulous -- Movie with Bill Maher from 2008
Sunday, July 04, 2010 ::
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Last night Jenn and I watched the movie Religulous with Bill Maher. Maher is someone that I have watched for a long time on various shows.
Certainly we all have questions about faith and religion. The problem I have with this movie is that is is truly an attack on religion more than a challenge of ideas.
At one point in the movie that really bothered me Maher is at the Vatican. He ends up outside talking to come guy on camera that clearly does not speak for the Catholic Church yet Maher credits him with some kind of a title so that he appears to be speaking for the church. This is silly.
What would any of you think if I go outside the White House and find some random homeless guy wearing an Obama shirt and then with the backdrop being the White House I shred the guy on ObamaCare and campaign finance reform?
At another point in the movie he interviews a guy that is a former singer that is now a Minister of some kind. The guy asked Maher to call him "Doctor" even though he has no degree of any kind. This is a mismatch from the start.
Personally, I actually like the fact that Maher pushes people. In the course of the movie he asks some great questions. He just asks them to the wrong audience.
Maher needs to pick a fight with someone his own size. In this topic I am not capable to taking Maher on. I wish I were. However, he chooses to pick the weakest representatives around and portrays them as representing organized religion.
Religulous is a movie that can get you to think if you look deep but mostly it is just Maher showing off his superior preparation and verbal skills against a bunch of lightweights.
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Smaller Government - but not if I have to do it.
Saturday, July 03, 2010 ::
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Some things in my service on the Yolo County Board of Supervisors surprise me. The most recent has been the response from Presiding Judge David Rosenberg following my attempt to eliminate a $40,000 payment from the county to the judges.
You can read the latest in the Daily Democrat today. Read here.
When I tell people I want to cut government waste and abuse of tax dollars I get heads nodding all over. The problem is that whenever I attempt to cut something -- a special interest group of some kind pops up and says "oh cutting waste is great -- but you can't cut this. This is not waste."
Newsflash -- we can't afford more government. In fact, we can't afford the government that we have now.
So far I have run into resistance on the trapper, UC Co-OP extension, staff for Supervisors, and now this slush fund for judges.
It seems like it is a piece of cake to fire employees yet for some reason we can't seem to get rid of some of the things I consider to be obvious. Politics is a funny business.
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Night at the Museum - Gibson House
Tuesday, June 29, 2010 ::
1 Comments
Here is a picture from last Friday at the Gibson house. They will be doing this again next week. It was a great turnout, for the first week, they had close to 100 people. These are free events. Proceeds from pizza, popcorn and drinks help support the museum.
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Dan Morain: Capacity Issues in Government
Monday, June 28, 2010 ::
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It used to be rare that I agreed with Dan Morain. Lately however he has been right on the money on several issues.
This is an excellent piece about the difficult situation being faced in the California State Senate by the leadership.
It is my understanding that County Boards of Supervisors, City Councils, and School Boards do not have the same sort of remedy available to the Legislature to remove members with capacity issues.
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A new Sunday
Sunday, June 27, 2010 ::
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Many of you know that my family attends church virtually every Sunday. It is important to the way Jenn and I are raising our kids and a foundation for our marriage.
In my life I have had several church services stand out to me. One of them was Easter Sunday 2003 when I was in Kuwait. This Navy Chaplain was excellent. Excellent. I remember that one.
The day I was confirmed at St. Paul's Lutheran in Woodland stands out to me. Remember that one.
I also remember when one of my brothers stood up in the middle of a sermon, pointed right at Pastor Faust and screamed "There's the boogie man." I will never forget that one.
Well, today I went to St. John Missionary Baptist in Sacramento. The reason I went was work related but I have to tell you it was a wonderful experience. It was a service that was different from anything I have ever seen.
Several things stood out --
1) People were friendly. I must have had 15 people greet me as I was trying to get to a seat.
2) They were a family. It was clear that the people in the pews cared about each other. Not just as friends but as family. You could just sense it.
3) The Pastor and his wife were true leaders in the lives of the congregation. Today was a day when they had free HIV testing for the whole congregation. In fact, the Pastor and his wife got tested right in the middle of the service. I loved that. Don't see that too often.
4) Lots of people are involved in the service. Probably 30 people when you count uniformed ushers, choirs, pastors, greeters served in some way today. That was impressive.
It was great for my work that I went but I really truly was touched by a great congregation and team. It was very cool -- like right out of a movie.
Jenn and I are not looking for a new church home but St. John is obviously a great one.
This service made my day.
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Stockton School Board Member lives in Davis?
Sunday, June 27, 2010 ::
0 Comments
Every day I get this great e-mail from the Maddy Institute at Fresno State. It is very well done.
One of the things it has is links to news stories up and down the valley. This editorial that mentions a Stockton School Board Member that lives in Davis is odd.
Read editorial here.
Anyone know this guy?
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Gateway 2 on BOS Agenda
Sunday, June 27, 2010 ::
0 Comments
The County is going to comment on the Draft EIR for Gateway 2. The item is open for discussion on Tuesday morning at our Board meeting.
I just read the stuff in my packet on this. Mostly, I am fine with what is in there.
Here is my issue -- What does the City of Woodland want? I have no idea.
The draft response letter is right. The county does not have great detail on what is in the project at all. I have concluded that the City of Woodland doesn't have any details either.
So I really don't understand why we are going over this whole exercise when to my knowledge the Woodland City Council has not even taken a vote on this item.
Based on my past experiences with the county and city negotiating for these items these issues tend to raise my blood pressure. The County sent in a team of people without a real mission and no authority to make a decision. As a result of their own incompetence they felt they were mistreated. It was not my issue to negotiate for both the City and the County in 2005.
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Facinating impact of government regulations......
Sunday, June 27, 2010 ::
0 Comments
On the Board of Supervisors agenda this week is Item 2.19 about the Cache Creek Technical Advisory Committee. Here is a part of the well-written staff report that drives people like me crazy.
"In addition, the Cache Creek Technical Advisory Committee has long held an annual "creek walk" where members hike from the Capay Dam down to the town of Yolo over a period of one to three days. Under the Brown Act, public meetings must make accommodations for those with disabilities. It is impossible to hold a hike over rocky terrain and through low-flows of the creek that is handicapped accessible. As a result the hikes have been discontinued."
What a complete shame for a group of people involved in managing a public resource to be prevented from actually going out and looking at it together when they do their work.
Terrible.
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The Winner is......Wu Ming of Davis
Saturday, June 26, 2010 ::
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The winner of the election prediction contest is Wu Ming (aka Surf Putah) of Davis. Missing only two of the ten.
The low score was The Realist. In fact, I think that was an all time low score with four. It was a pathetic effort in looking at the entry a few days later.
Second to last was the Vice-Mayor of Woodland. That is pathetic but in a different way.
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Host Families Needed
Friday, June 18, 2010 ::
0 Comments
Host families are needed for Chinese exchange students. The students will be in the region for two weeks starting around July 25.
Information for potential host families
What is a Homestay?
Simply put, a homestay is when a foreign visitor stays with a host family. An educational homestay program is designed to allow the foreign visitor and the host family to learn and share their language and culture with each other. Volunteer host families open their homes to students. During the short visits (usually two to four weeks), students attend morning classes where they study English as a Second Language and participate in cultural exchanges and activities in the afternoons. One day a week is dedicated to touring the local area. During the academic year program students attend the local high school in their host family's community. Evenings and weekends in all programs are spent with the host family. These types of programs totally immerse the student in a culture and language different from his/her own. Experts estimate that two weeks of living with people whose language is different from one's own is roughly equivalent to six months in the classroom.
Who can be a Host Family?
A typical host family has the following elements: open hearts and minds, enthusiastic about the concept of cultural exchange, willing to share their homes and lives with a new friend, and interested in the world around them. Families of all sizes and descriptions are welcome. The minimal requirements for a qualified host family are: positive comments from two community references, at least two related persons living in the home, at least one family member with English as their native language, English spoken in the home during the time the student is present.
What are the responsibilities of a Host Family?
To provide the student with meals
To provide the student with his/her own bed. The visitor may share a room with a host family sibling of the same sex
To provide conversation with the student and allow him/her to participate fully as a family member
To provide transportation to and from the study center, which can include walking, biking, carpooling, or taking public transportation
How does a family benefit from the hosting experience? Families benefit from hosting in many ways! It is an educational experience that is fun for all involved, from the baby to Grandpa. The family is able to see their own culture and lives through the eyes of a foreign visitor. They learn about the culture and life of that visitor and can compare the differences and similarities. We have many stories of families who have hosted years ago and their children were so affected by the experience that they began to study foreign languages in school and travel to other countries. Some even went on to study international law and international business. At the least this experience allows the family members to learn about another culture without leaving their living room. Another benefit to the families is that they meet many other families right in their own neighborhood. We frequently see these new relationships blossom into long lasting friendships. It is a wonderful way for a family who is new to the community to very quickly feel at home.
Feel ready for a student?
Contact Melody Stone - 7078322099
Forevermelody@gmail.com
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Child needs your support
Thursday, June 17, 2010 ::
0 Comments
Dear Colleagues,
Lupe Ramirez, a Woodlander and a valued long-time employee in our Clerk/Recorder's office has a wonderful 20 year-old daughter, Leanna, who is fighting a courageous battle against a virulent form of cancer, Malignant Peripheral Nerve Sheath Tumors, that has now spread to her lungs.
The costs to the family for transportation, co-pays, prostheses and other medical necessities have become close to unbearable.
Staff and friends are organizing a 3 mile walk/run to benefit Leanna on Saturday, July 10th, at Douglass Junior High School in Woodland.
Colleagues, this is our family. I am imploring you to post the notice of the walk/run in your offices and to organize any of your willing employees to participate and show their support for this young woman and her loving, supportive family.
I can not tell you how much it would mean to us for our co-workers to show their support in this way.
As a Department Head and decision-maker, I know that you share with me a deep and gnawing sense of responsibility and sorrow for what employees like Lupe are going through as they struggle to maintain their families when we have had to cut their incomes by ten percent.
Kindness and charity are among the core values that all of our belief systems call on us to honor. Please be true to yourself and to your beliefs by helping and urging others to help.
Information is attached. Please let us hear that you are prepared to step up in a meaningful way.
Yours sincerely,
Freddie Oakley
Yolo County Clerk-Recorder
Find more info at: www.loveforleanna.blogspot.com
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Great Column in Daily Democrat
Wednesday, June 16, 2010 ::
0 Comments
Jake Dorsey of the Daily Democrat had an excellent piece in the paper yesterday about how Woodland needs Bobby Harris. It was right next to an equally bad editorial about mandating the ban of plastic bags by cities.
Dorsey is so right. We do need someone to hold people accountable and talk about issues that push our community. You know, I did not support Bobby Harris for City Council this time. In my opinion Marble and Davies were much better choices. However, I could actually imagine a field of candidates in which I would support Bobby.
Bobby Harris is a smart guy. He is certainly the most articulate public speaker that has ever run for office in Woodland.
If Bobby does want to hold office in this community at some point I think he needs to get control of his personal situation. He could clean up and get a job. He also needs to be able to state his views more concisely. Sometimes getting a 10 paragraph description as the answer to a simple question does not help his perception.
In the end -- Bobby is going to be whatever Bobby wants to be. He can run again and again. If his purpose is just to run and ask pointed questions -- then I guess he has no reason to change anything he is doing.
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Fiscally conservative.......
Wednesday, June 16, 2010 ::
0 Comments
I like to be called "Fiscally conservative Matt Rexroad...."
I think I might try to change my first name. Here is an article in the Daily Democrat about the budget adoption yesterday.
Read here.
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Local Mental Health Board
Tuesday, June 15, 2010 ::
0 Comments
I need someone to appoint to the Local Mental Health Board. I had appointed a service recipient that was a great choice but he had a scheduling conflict.
If you or someone you know would like to serve (ideally a service recipient) please let me know -- matt@rexroad.com.
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Rugby from Woodland
Sunday, June 13, 2010 ::
0 Comments
Knowing that I am going to be offending a certain number of you -- Listen up.
I just got contacted by a good friend of mine from Sacramento about some rugby player from Woodland. I was busy last week and did not focus on it until just now.
Well it turns out he was born in Woodland but probably lives in Davis. Anyone know?
I don't get the Davis Enterprise anymore so maybe he has been getting local publicity there.
Check this out. His name is Thretten Palamo and he even has his own Wikipedia page. Read it here.
See this article. Mr. Palamo is the guy soaring in the air for some kind of a rugby score.
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Chamber of Commerce -- No on V
Thursday, June 03, 2010 ::
0 Comments
I am shocked. SHOCKED.
The Woodland Chamber of Commerce has come out against Measure V. That is amazing.
Granted it is only five days prior to the election -- but good for the Chamber.
See Daily Democrat article here.
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Call it for next week
Tuesday, June 01, 2010 ::
0 Comments
Prize will be Ludy's again...
Send entries to matt@rexroad.com
Each worth one point
Woodland City Council -- who gets the most votes? Davies, B. Harris, Marble
Woodland City Council -- who gets the least number of votes? Davies, B. Harris, Marble
Republican Attorney General? Harman, Cooley, Eastman
Democrat Attorney General? K. Harris, DelGadillo, Kelly, Lieu, Nava, Torrico
Sup of Public Instruction top vote getter? Torlakson, Romero, Aceves
Prop 16 by PG&E Pass/Fail?
Prop 14 Open Primary Pass/Fail?
Woodland Sales Tax Pass/Fail?
Who gets a higher percentage of the vote -- Skip Davies for City Council or Steve Poizner for Governor?
Who gets a higher percentage of the vote -- Charlie Schaupp for Assembly or Elizabeth Barber for Public Administrator.
Tie Breaker
What percentage of the vote does Bobby Harris get for City Council?
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Predictions 2010 Woodland
Saturday, May 29, 2010 ::
0 Comments
Ok. Here are my predictions.
Woodland Vice-Mayor -- Bill Marble
Woodland City Councilman - Skip Davies.
note: Skip is the better choice to be Mayor but that is not how it will turn out.
Bobby Harris still has nine cats.
Woodland Sales Tax -- Yes -- 45% No -- 55%
Cass Sylvia -- 59%
Some lady gets 41% and we never hear from her again.
Davis City Council -- That guy Joe wins because they think they are voting for Jim Provenza. David Greenwald files suit that Provenza is holding incompatible offices only to discover they are not the same person. Davis then passes Measure A in November than places a parcel tax of just $200 a year on anyone that has a name ending in A to provide voter education preventing voter confusion in any future election. That passes with 68% of the vote.
4,000 people decide to write in a recall attempt against Art Pimentel. It fails. Skip Davies, Dotty Huber, Bill Marble, Jim Smith, Dave Flory, and Patricia Valenzuela admit to being the driving force behind the recall effort -- that fails.
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Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association Endorsements
Tuesday, May 25, 2010 ::
0 Comments
HOWARD JARVIS TAXPAYERS ASSOCIATION POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE'S CANDIDATE ENDORSEMENTS 2010:
U.S. Senate: Chuck DeVore
Governor: Meg Whitman
Lt. Governor: Sam Aanestad
Attorney General: John Eastman
Secretary of State: Damon Dunn
Treasurer: Mimi Walters
Controller: Tony Strickland
BOE Dist. 2: George Runner
BOE Dist. 3: Michelle Steel
SD 4: Doug LaMalfa
SD 14: Tom Berryhill
SD 15: Sam Blakeslee (special)
SD 16: Phil Wyman
SD 22: Edward Paul Reyes
SD 28: John S. Stammreich
SD 36: Joel Anderson
SD 37: Bill Emerson
SD 38: Mark Wyland
AD 2: Jim Neilson
AD 3: Dan Logue
AD 5: Duel Endorsement : Craig Deluz and Andy Pugno
AD 7: Doris Gentry
AD 15: Abram Wilson
AD 28: Allen Barker
AD 31: Brandon Shoemaker
AD 32: Ken Mettler
AD 33: Etta Waterfield
AD 35: Mike Stoker
AD 36: Stephen Knight
AD 37: Jeff Gorell
AD 44: Alvaro Day
AD 53: Nathan Mintz
AD 55: Chris Salabaj
AD 59: Anthony Rily
AD 68: Allan Mansoor
AD 70: Jerry Amante
AD 77: Bill Wells
OC Assessor: Claude Parrish
OC Treasurer: Shari Freidenrich
LA Co. Assessor: John Noguez
Amador Co. Assessor: Jim Rooney
Riverside Co. Assessor: Larry Ward
Nevada Co. Assessor: Sue Horne
San Diego Co. Assessor: Jeff Olson
El Dorado Co. Supervisor: Ron Briggs
Riverside Co. Supervisor: John Benoit
Ventura Co. Supervisor: Audra Strickland
Yolo Co. Supervisor: Matt Rexroad
Arcadia City Council: Peter Amundson
Chula Vista City Council: Larry Breitfelder
Fresno City Council: Doug Vagim
Rancho Santa Margarita City Council: Steve Baric
San Diego City Council: Lorie Zapf
Ventura Co. Treasurer: Judge Steven Hintz
Natomas USD: Ryan Herche
Sacramento Co. Sheriff: Scott Jones
CD 3: Dan Lungren
CD 11: David Harmer
CD 19: Jeff Denham
CD 47: Van Tran
THE HOWARD JARVIS TAXPAYERS ASSOCIATION
HAS TAKEN THESE POSITIONS ON STATE BALLOT MEASURES:
PROP. 13: Exempts earthquake retrofitting from reassessment: Support
PROP. 14: “OPEN PRIMARY”: Oppose
PROP. 15 Public funding of elections: Oppose
No position on Props. 16 and 17. These are not taxpayer issues.
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Did not know this was an issue
Wednesday, May 19, 2010 ::
0 Comments
I did not know this issue had been brought up at the City Council meeting when I wrote the post below. Here is Democrat article.
Bobby Harris did not get a ballot statement in Spanish and now he is claiming that the city denied him his rights to have one. Got it.
Here is a little news -- BOBBY HARRIS DOES NOT HAVE A RIGHT TO A BALLOT STATEMENT IN ENGLISH OR SPANISH.
If Bobby wanted a ballot statement he could pay for one.
Notice how Matt Rexroad does not have one this election. Were my rights violated? No. I chose not to have one. It is optional.
Bottom line -- if you are able bodied enough to serve on the Woodland City Council I generally think that 99% of the time you are able bodied enough to compete for a job in the market place that would enable you to pay for a ballot statement OR you could raise money from you hundreds of supporters that want to see you win.
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Constitutional Right? I think not.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010 ::
0 Comments
Below you will find the candidate statement for City Council candidate Bobby Harris. It is different from some of the others but it is fine.
The problem I have with it is that the taxpayers of Woodland had to pay for it. Skip Davies and Bill Marble paid filing fees to get on the ballot and to have their ballot statements printed in both English and Spanish.
Bobby did not.
I understand and agree with the Constitutional arguments behind allowing someone to have the fee waived to appear on the ballot. That should be open to anyone and if people can't afford it then they should still be allowed to run for office.
In my opinion this Constitutional principle does not apply to getting a ballot statement paid for by the taxpayers. The general fund of the City of Woodland had to pay to have this statement published. This was the decision by the City Attorney that I disagree with. What I find really interesting is that either Bobby decided not to print it in Spanish or in some strange twist of legal reasoning the Constitution only required the taxpayers to pay for a ballot statement in English.
We need to start reducing expenditures by government. When I see able people of body and mind need to hit the general fund for something I consider optional it just tells me that we will do nothing but grow government bigger and bigger.
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Saturday - Measure V
Monday, May 17, 2010 ::
0 Comments
On Saturday I got the same Yes on Measure V piece that was hand delivered earlier. I know Art is out working on it very hard -- but I voted No.
It is interesting to note that the photographer got the shot of the woman reading on the front lawn and in the background are all the people meeting for the photo shoot inside the library. You can clearly see Mrs. Talkington and I number of other people standing there on the steps.
Love some of these people but I am still voting no.
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