Phila, presumably Philadelphia, is a city of course, not a state. But, more amusingly, when did the nation go to common two letter state designations? 1964 maybe?

I suppose that using the old form of “Penna” could be considered a quaint formality — or a sign of being out of touch. Given all of her actions I’d go with the latter.

Steve Vaus for City Council!!!!!!!!!!?

Is there a party for those kicked out of “Decline to State”?

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2009/nov/03/county-gop-calls-rexford-resign/?dsq=21872473#comment-21872473

Republican Party Rebukes Councilwoman Rexford and Joins in Calls for Resignation

SAN DIEGO – Drawing a line in the sand as to what is acceptable conduct for a Republican elected official, last night the Republican Party of San Diego County formally rebuked Poway councilwoman Betty Rexford for her recent misconduct, and joined with her fellow councilmembers in calling for her to resign her office.

“We have been keeping an eye on the situation in Poway for some time, and asked councilwoman Rexford to meet with our executive committee to tell her side of the story. Instead of accepting, last Friday she decided to switch her party affiliation to decline-to-state in an attempt to avoid the issue,” said Chairman Tony Krvaric.

“Abusing the power of one’s office is not acceptable conduct for a Republican elected official and we are not beyond calling out ‘our own’ when that is the right thing to do. Looking the other way and defending the indefensible may be acceptable in the Democratic Party, but we will have none of it,” continued Krvaric.”

At this point, the only remaining honorable thing for councilwoman Rexford to do is to resign her office effective immediately. As a Party, we look forward to electing honorable Republicans in Poway in 2010 who will represent the residents of Poway well and place their needs and concerns first and foremost,” Krvaric concluded.

Note: The Republican Party of San Diego County will vote on whether to formally endorse the recall effort of Councilwoman Rexford at its next scheduled meeting on Monday, November 9th beginning at 7 PM at the Town & Country Hotel and Resort in Mission Valley.

##

So, of course, when it comes to the claim above that it was not “Mrs. Rexford’s choice to settle the claim against her. It’s public record that someone else signed off on that (against her wishes),” well, uhhhh, yeah.

DOH!

Having been employed by the City for about 20 years, I’m well aware of the “others that should be looked at.” Some unfortunately are not elected officials and, as such, there is not a lot that can be done to remove them from the equation at this point. Those that are elected are the ones that have to be removed in order to make the changes that are needed. Betty isn’t the only elected person that, in my humble opinion, needs to be given walking papers. But we’ve got to start somewhere.

As for the settlement of the lawsuit being against Betty’s wishes, again, “that dog just won’t hunt.” If you are one of the named parties involved in a lawsuit, I find it difficult to believe that someone else would be able to settle your portion of it without your consent. Is Betty just some puppet who is easily manipulated by someone else in regards to something that will affect her financially and/or her reputation? If so, then she really does need to step down. I know that I don’t want her making decisions in regards to the City, and ultimately, how my taxes are spent. If she IS that easily influenced, then she has no business in city government or politics at all.

As to your statement that the lawsuits primary target was the City because of mistakes made by employees, you’re a little off base on that one. The reason that the City was named was for two reasons. The first being that, yes, City employees did make mistakes. They lacked the backbone to stand up to Queen B. They should have told her to politely “pound sand” and that she was overstepping her authority. And as a result of those mistakes brings the second reason. Let’s all say it together now – “Deep Pockets”. Betty’s not rich (I’ve seen her property) and, let’s face it, to prove our point that we were wronged, we want lots of the green stuff to sooth our pains.

Believe it or not, I too have some sincere sadness for Betty. I voted for her originally and for her re-election the second time. She did a lot of good for the City. But she has lost sight of what she was elected to do, as have other council members. It really is too late for Betty to change. I wonder if the other elected members realize that they need to make changes as well.

I might even agree with you if it weren’t for some of Betty’s own statements. In her statement to the Pomerado Newspaper Group on Aug. 29, she says that “the attorney litigating on behalf of the City has told me that there was no evidence presented to establish that I was at fault.” She also says that “the attorney representing the City recommendation was that the cased be tried so that I and the other defendants including the City would be exonerated.” I find it very difficult to believe that the City Council would choose to settle a lawsuit when the attorney they hired told them it should go to trial so they could be exonerated. And what about the statements that there was nothing in the depositions that indicated that she influenced any city employees. So, according to Betty, all those city employees all got together with the Cannon’s and Basile’s so they could get their lies straight? I’ve read some of the depositions and I find it very difficult to believe they all got together; the employees, the city manager, the rest of the city council, the Cannon’s and the Basile’s, just so they could make Betty the scapegoat??

If you believe that Betty didn’t do anything wrong, that’s fine. I happen to believe otherwise and will do whatever is possible to make this recall happen. If the recall happens, then the voters of Poway will have to make up their minds as to whether or not Betty should go. If they do or they don’t, that is want our country is founded on. And that is how we make changes for the better. If it doesn’t happen, then maybe we deserve to have the politicians we have.

Herman

Sorry, you are wrong. The primary target of the lawsuit was the City of Poway because Betty Rexford used her position to influence city employees. This is an ILLEGAL ACTION. Is it really that difficult to understand?

Astonishingly you defend Betty for settling with the Plaintiffs because it would have cost “probably 10s of thousands of dollars”. This is precisely the reason the City of Poway decided to settle. And yet you say Betty didn’t agree with this action. Somehow this is not surprising. Betty wants to protect her money but cares nothing for the residents of Poway and their money. Why not continue to bleed them?

Thank you for giving me yet another reason to work for the recall effort.

And thank you, Steve, for your leadership in this effort. I am proud to stand with you.

You say it wasn’t Rexford’s (your) choice to settle the claim. But you/Rexford signed off on both settlements.

You/Rexford have said countless times that you wished it had gone to trial – but now you/rexford say it would have taken years and tens of thousands of dollars. You/Rexford might not know this but most people (at least honest ones) would agree that’s a small price to pay to clear your name – unless of course you are guilty.

Finally, your bashing of the Republican Party is disingenuous. Three days before you/Rexford were to have appeared to defend yourself you/Rexford suddenly decided the party you’ve been part of for nearly two decades is “offensive and insulting”?? Coincidence? I think not.

Steve Vaus
http://www.RecallRexford.com

I watched all this coming down from behind the scenes. Betty Rexford was the easy target for the City to make sure the finger would point away from the real culprits. I have sincere sadness in my heart for Mrs. Rexford.

It wasn’t Mrs. Rexfords choice to settle the claim against her. It’s public record that someone else signed off on that (against her wishes). Oh, she could open her part of the suit against the Connors and Basiles but that, again, would take years and probably 10s of thousands of dollars. Just better to put that behind her — except for the drooling jackals like you who have joined the pack to attack and want to keep the farce alive. You and others just can’t face the fact that there are others you should look to when venting your anger. But then that was the whole purpose in getting the City finger to point away from the guilty.