Posts Tagged ‘Board of Supervisors’
The Taxman!
In the mid-1960s, as the they continued riding a wave of popularity, The Beatles released the classic album Revolver, which opened with the song “Taxman.”
If you drive a car, I’ll tax the street … If you try to sit, I’ll tax your seat … If you get too cold, I’ll tax the heat … If you take a walk, I’ll tax your feet.
The lyrics are not only timeless, but also dead on for those of us constantly enduring the taxman’s wrath today.
At Least the Fleece Awards Were Cute: SDCTA Hands Out 2012 Goldens
Smart governing decisions saving taxpayer dollars and collaborative initiatives took top honors, while cavalier attitudes and lost opportunities were called out and shamed at the San Diego County Taxpayers Association (SDCTA)’s 17th annual Goldens Awards Dinner, held at the Town and Country Resort & Convention Center in Mission Valley.
Remote controls were nowhere in sight as the evening’s theme “Taxpayer TV: We Can’t Make This $#!% Up!” entertained the appreciative audience who shared the details of the exclusive video parodies highlighting the program via social media. As in past programs, elected officials, members of the news media and other public figures willingly humiliated themselves in a good-natured send-up of the year in government news and achievements in San Diego.
The Danon Steamroller has some competition
The local San Diego great politico John Dadian is quoted as calling the Steve Danon campaign for the 3rd District Supervisorial seat “the steamroller,” but thus far there hasn’t been much to roll over since he had drawn no opponents and the incumbent has bowed out of the race.
Well folks, we’re in a new year and things have changed! In fact Del Mar City Councilman and Mayor Carl Hilliard and Solana Beach City Councilman and past Mayor Dave Roberts have both announced their intentions to take on Danon for the seat.
Just as redistricting made Escondido more important than ever, the City’s new mayor Sam Abed this week endorsed GOP challenger Steve Danon over incumbent Pam Slater-Price (also a Republican). The pending removal of both La Jolla and Pacific Beach (City of San Diego) from Slater-Price’s district gives Escondido a bigger voice in next June’s vital primary election. “We need new leadership for North County on the Board of Supervisors, so I’m pleased to announce my endorsement of Steve Danon,” Mayor Abed said in a prepared statement.
……….DOING THE DISTRICT 3 ELECTION MATH
La Jolla’s Out, Rancho Santa Fe’s In
With the mayor’s race sucking up all the oxygen, it’s hard to imagine there’s any other political news anywhere in San Diego County, but there is.
Tomorrow, San Diego County’s Redistricting Advisory Committee will present three proposals to redraw the supervisors’ seats.
All the maps propose lifting La Jolla out of Supervisor Pam Slater-Price’s district and moving it to Supervisor Ron Roberts’ seat. Not a bad voting base for District Four to snag.
Though unsurprising given population shifts, the change could affect future potential candidates, such as former Assemblyman George Plescia. Also, it’s been rumored for years that Slater-Price’s chief of staff and long-time La Jollan, John Weil, had eyes for the Third District job.
Heidi Klum’s Take on the San Diego Mayor’s Race
Do I know what will drive Rostra reader traffic, or what?
While Mrs. Seal hasn’t technically made any direct comment, her admonition to contestants on her reality show “Project Runway” applies nicely. As in fashion, in politics one day you’re in, and the next day you’re out.
In a few short days on June 5 when fundraising can begin, all our speculation will be verified as to who’s actually in the race and who’s out. Those of us with additional speculating to do need to get cracking.
Major League baseball has not had a Triple Crown winner since 1967, but latest State figures show State Senator Denise Ducheny reached a similar feat while Senate Budget Committee Chair. Ducheny was #1 in total office budget ($1,274,117), … #1 in total Staff salaries & benefits ($1,108,429) …. and tied for first in the famous Per Diem payments ($38,042). All those #1 scores may be hard to explain if, as expected by many observers, she challenges County Supervisor Greg Cox (R-Chula Vista) in next year’s election.
San Diego County General Plan Update is Fatally Flawed
Guest Commentary
by Hon. Scott Barnett and Dr. Richard Parker
Like anything in life, there’s no use doing something quickly if it’s not going to be done right. The adage couldn’t be more relevant to the current effort to update San Diego County’s General Plan. The Board of Supervisors will soon meet again on the plan, and after years of hard work, dozens of meetings and an abundance of feedback from the community, there is an apparent rush to suddenly, unfortunately, and haphazardly complete the effort, despite very significant flaws that threaten the long-term economic viability of the unincorporated areas of our County. Rather than proceeding forward in the face of significant resident opposition and well-considered questions about the Plan, the Board of Supervisors should direct staff to get it right before it is ultimately approved.
TONIGHT: Post-Election Analysis with Consultant Hoy, Pollster Nienstedt
I’m not exactly the most devoted GOP meeting attendee. But I’ll be there tonight to hear the recap of the wildly dead-on pollster John Nienstedt and Nov. 2 success-story consultant John Hoy.
I had the honor of working with both men on Proposition A – which crossed the finish line easily with more than 70 percent of the vote. Conversely on the difficulty scale, Hoy also consulted the hard-won race for Councilwoman-Elect Lorie Zapf.
Last month, I heard Nienstedt give some quick, off-the-cuff predictions that were eerily correct virtually across the board from the governor race on down to Proposition D.
Vote! It Feels Good
With Election Day two weeks away, I was intrigued by a North County Times article yesterday by Mark Walker on the changing campaign strategies used due to early and mail-in voting.
The article reads:
“Fully one-half of voters in San Diego County vote by mail while the number is near 40 percent in Riverside County.
The shift is reshaping how campaigns are waged.
Yes on A Gets Local, National Attention
Not too often that you see a local proposition garner national media attention, but that’s just what the Yes on A camp snagged last week following a feisty debate on KPBS’s “These Days.”
For starters, Construction for Fair Employment in Construction’s Eric Christen went toe-to-toe with Lorena Gonzalez, secretary-treasurer / CEO of the San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council on last week’s “These Days,” which drew 18 lengthy comments online. A poll on KPBS’s site today showed the proposition getting 65 percent of the yes vote compared to 34 percent.
End Run, Touchdown!
The quarterback gives the play in the huddle. Just after the snap, the defenders push to the center and the quarterback gets plowed from the side. The reason: the line decided to go with another play.
In case you’re wondering, the public is the quarterback in this end run on the tax cap increase for the Centre City Development Corp. By passing the cap increase through a state bill, proponents avoided the slower, publicly-involved vetting.
Bad governance.
Due process in government should occur in public with all the requisite scrutiny. The public is not a nuisance to be sidestepped.
Electoral Analysis: Ron Roberts, Re-elected.
This election season, all eyes have turned towards the re-election contest of County Supervisor Ron Roberts, who is facing off against challengers Stephen Whitburn, Shelia Jackson, Juan del Rio and Margaret Moody in the seemingly competitive 4th Supervisorial District. As of May 27, the County Registrar of Voters counted 127,658 Democrats, 67,528 Republicans, and 66,554 Decline to State voters in Robert’s district, which stretches from the UTC area to Paradise Hills. Though the 4th District voted 67.7 percent in favor of Barack Obama in 2008, and Republican voters only comprise 24.6 percent of the district electorate, my voter data analysis shows that Roberts is still heavily favored to win outright this Election Day.
Bill Horn has earned a New Term as our County Supervisor, in North County’s 5th District
Native San Diegan. Graduate of Mission Bay High School and San Diego State (where he joined pro-Civil Rights protests in the 1960s).
Post-graduate studies with the U.S. Marine Corps in Vietnam, seeing plenty of combat against North Vietnamese regulars and eventually became Captain Bill Horn.
When Vietnamese refugees crowded Camp Pendleton in the mid-1970s, former Marine Bill Horn became the “sponsor” of half-a-dozen families, helping them find jobs and housing, and their place in America. They never forgot his unselfish assistance.
“Tough Guy” Bill Horn has a big heart and has continued to serve the public.
Jeff Stone takes “Slush Funding” to a New Level
Just when we thought the San Diego County Board of Supervisors was as blatant as it could get in spreading their “discretionary” taxpayer monies (slush funds, to be exact) around the community as a way to promote their names and curry favor, then we take a look next door.
Riverside County Supervisor Jeff Stone has taken the use of taxpayer slush funds to benefit his name to a new level. San Diego County Supervisors can’t even begin to hold a candle to him.
FRIDAY: Important decision on Private Property Rights… Please Speak Up!
See the guest column by Randy Lenac below…
Editor’s note…
It has been a nearly invisible process to most people in San Diego County, yet may ultimately have a tremendous impact on the right of the citizens to be safe in their knowledge that government can’t simply violate the basic tenet of private property rights. The decision will answer the question as to whether the County of San Diego is willing to completely ignore the will of the people in prior elections, or abide by that will.
San Diego County Taxpayers Association Opposes Three June Ballot Measures
The San Diego County Taxpayers Association announced its opposition to three ballot measures in the upcoming June primary election.
The Association opposes Proposition B, the countywide measure calling for term limits on the Board of Supervisors. Association President & CEO Lani Lutar says the board of directors believes the measure is a poor public policy approach, and could potentially create the same sort of chaos in San Diego seen in the state legislature in Sacramento.
San Diego County Taxpayers Association Opposes Term Limits for County Supervisors
From SDCTA….
Experience with term limits in Sacramento shows they aren’t a solution
(San Diego) – The San Diego County Taxpayers Association’s Board of Directors voted to oppose Proposition B, a measure limiting members of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors to serving two terms in office. The measure will come before voters on the June 8, 2010 primary ballot.
Lani Lutar, President & CEO of the Association, said SDCTA’s board listed several concerns with the term limits measure:
Writing Ms. Smith Back Into History
As originally posted on www.SDNN.com
Editor’s Note: This is a part of a collection of stories SDNN will publish throughout the month of March to celebrate Women’s History Month. Join us as we recognize Women’s History Month by checking SDNN every day for stories from other women in our region. Happy Women’s History Month!
Long before Hillary Clinton, there was Margaret Chase Smith.
Though she may not immediately spring to mind, Margaret Chase Smith certainly reigns as one of the 100 most important women in history and one worth remembering during National Women’s History Month.
Horn Reacts to Merriam Mountains Rejection
From Supervisor Bill Horn after yesterday’s Board of Supes vote. The other Supervisors are free to submit any additional opinions about the vote to SD Rostra…
NEWS RELEASE
(San Diego) The San Diego County Board of Supervisors by a 3-2 vote today denied a residential, commercial and open space project on the west side of Interstate 15 and northeast of San Marcos, known as the Merriam Mountains Master Planned Community.
Candidate Steve Danon sends a shot across the Bow!
The Smiling Spotlight received this missive today. The third District race isn’t until 2012, but it’s already heating up and if this is any indication it’s promising to be a very aggressive campaign.
From: STEVE DANON
March 22, 2010
To: Chairwoman Pam Slater-Price
San Diego County Board of Supervisors
1600 Pacific Highway, Room 335
San Diego, CA 92101
Dear Chairwoman Slater-Price:
As you know, County Supervisors Cox and Jacobs have introduced a board letter (legislation) for consideration on Tuesday, March 23 calling for the Board of Supervisors to reduce the Neighborhood Reinvestment Program. This proposal will reduce the program by 50 percent from $2 million per Supervisor to $1 million per Supervisor per year.
Two new potential candidates took out preliminary papers this afternoon (Thursday) to run against County Supervisor Ron Roberts, a Republican.
They are (1) Stephen Whitburn, who lost a runoff to Todd Gloria in 2008 for City Council district 3 and (2) Margaret Moody, a longtime leader in local feminist causes.
They join City Schools trustee Shelia Jackson, also a Democrat in the field.
Ron Roberts starts with a huge edge in name identification and funding, reporting over $100,000 cash-on-hand as of 12/31/2009. His challengers have less than 3 months to narrow the gap in both categories.
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