HAPPY NEW YEAR

I hope anyone who happens to come across this has a very nice 2011!

Barth receives a pension?!?!?!?!?!

The North County Times recently published an article about elected officials who receive a pension from governmental institutions.

http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/sdcounty/article_244f4cde-73a6-521e-83f4-40737f0c5b46.html

Encinitas councilwoman and bane of my existence Teresa Barth was listed as one of many north county officials who recieve a government pension (hers is from the state of California for work at the fairgrounds in Del Mar). Though her pension does not amount to a whole lot (less that 14,000 a year as reported by the article), it is interesting that the woman who was elected to some degree because of the fact that she speaks out against pension systems (and the city of Encinitas' pension program specifically) receives a government pension. She was quoted in the article as saying that because she has a pension in gives her special insight into the way they work Personally, to me that argument is a little lacking and I still look at this as Barth being a blatant hypocrite; but then again, I'll be the first one to admit my bias against her and some of the things that come out of her ever-running mouth.

As you may or may not know, the pension system in Encinitas is something that many (including myself) say is out of control. It is one of the few things I don't agree with my majority faction on.

What do y'all think about Barth's double talking?

Drama at City Hall

As I have said before in Encinitas there are two definite factions and nary a meeting in between. The current majority faction on the council being the Good Ole Boys Association with its new de facto leader Jerome Stocks who took party power after the downfall of Dan Dalager. Stocks is aided with the help of folks like Doug Long, Tony Brandenburg, Kristin Gaspar (Good ole gals?) and occasionally (and with more frequency) James Bond. The Minority Faction being the group that hasn’t quite found itself yet with its leader Teresa Barth and members like Rachelle Collier, Tony Kranz, and (sometimes) Maggie Houlihan.

A lot of the time I get criticized for being a self proclaimed member of the majority group that seems so hated by the people online (but apparently loved by the voters considering that they continue to stay the majority power year after year). But what people don’t realize is that I don’t support all the ideals/actions of my majority group; and at heart, I really just want to restore sanity to crazy Encinitas politics and see what’s right for the city. So all you haters hear me out!

Last Tuesday, Council on a 3-2 vote approved that our (kinda) new mayor will be Bond (…….James Bond), with the forever loved, admired, and adored Jerome Stocks as deputy mayor. The motion was put forward by Gaspar and approved by majority.

The Barth-ites are all up in arms because not only did the Good Ole Boys get their way, but they did it about one year after Jim Bond specifically told Teresa that she was going to get a council leadership position this year to avoid ‘putting her out in the cornfield’ and letting her get stepped over again. Bond made it clear that he changed his mind on this position and thinks its okay to stick her in the cornfield because he was unimpressed with what he thought were behaviors unfit of a mayor during the last election cycle, and thus could not support any kind of Barth leadership. Was it really that he was appalled at her behavior, or just that the good ole boys making a political power play to back seat Teresa again? I don’t know, but what I do know is that it really doesn’t matter.

Being mayor in this city means just about nothing and isn’t something to get fired up about. The fact that Jim Bond is mayor does not mean there is going to be some kind of broad policy change on the council. Some people would argue that the mayor has liberty to put whatever he wants on the agenda, but with the new 3 vote rule, the council has the same liberties.

I think the person who is happiest after this vote is Stocks just due to the fact that it means Teresa isn’t in a leadership position for at least another two years (the majority will get their way next year too). There exists a lot of baggage between Stocks and Barth over that fraudulent harassment suit. Can you blame Stocks though? Sure, political retaliation over a ceremonial position that arguably should be Barth’s this year isn’t great; but I would be mad as hell too if I were him. Anyone with one eye and a half a brain could see that whole harassment thing hadn’t a leg to stand on.

Here in lies the place where I get really impartial and it affects my journalistic commentaries. After the harassment scandal I just have such a hard time even looking at Teresa Barth. Setting politics aside all she did with what I refer to as ‘Harassgate’ was run up a $15,000 bill for something that was absolute nonsense backstabbing and create massive city council in-fighting. Personally (and this is going to sound extremist), I still want her to write the city of Encinitas a $15,000 check. If you really think about, tensions would not be nearly as high as they are on our council had it not been for that incident, and without those tensions Barth could feasibly been voted in mayor by now. On this one, I’m going to make the ruling that I think she made her own bed and now she has to sleep in it.

Now, here is the problem with what happened on Tuesday. Directly after the vote Houlihan accused everyone and their mother of being in violation of the Brown Act. This is only going to create more infighting and polarizing of the council. What are you thinking Maggie? And if you admittedly can’t prove anything, why even bring it up? And let’s be honest here, we all know that:

1) the majority could have easily figured out this political move without talking before the meeting, they wouldn’t even need to meet in secret before the meeting to figure this out.

2) All 5 council members are talking about agenda items before meetings all the time, not just the majority, and not just on the subject of who they appoint to the ceremonial mayor post.

3) If this is the worst offense against the Brown Act we have in Encinitas then we’re not doin’ too shabby.

With all this mayor controversy when it comes down to it at the end of the day at least both factions can come together and hold hands and jointly exclaim: ‘At least Andreen isn’t our mayor’ and take solace in that fact!

Holiday Cheer

On Saturday evening I attended the Encinitas holiday/Christmas/Whatever you'd like to call it parade, where I and 7 other youths marched in the last parade group of the evening along side the vintage Cadillac that Santa rode in (as is customary for the Y.C. to do). I have been going to the Parade for many years and found this one to be the best one in memory. I have always thoroughly enjoyed the parade and never known why. I finally understood on Saturday as I was decorating the Cadillac with tinsel waiting to march. The reason that the Encinitas holiday parade is so enjoyable is because it incorporates all the best parts of our town in one 2 hour long event. It isn't about large helium-bloated cartoon characters held on to city workers with ropes as other bigger parades are, or about building an edifice of your Chevy to make it look like reindeer. It is just a bunch of community groups driving and walking through a section of our town with a few banners with people on the side lines their to cheer them on and show a sign of support. It truly shows why Encinitas is great. Thanks to the City and all participants for making a wonderful and family friendly event for all the community to share.

A round of applause to the Downtown Encinitas Main Street Association for the 'L8 Night' program

For the month of December, DEMA is putting on a great program every Thursday night. Over 20 stores are participating in the program which has been given the handle: "L8 Nights" do to the fact that the participating stores will be open from 5-8pm. Not only will the stores be open later, many will be rolling out some special sale prices and providing refreshments as well. In addition, there will be live music throughout downtown and traveling holiday carolers. On top of all of those other great things, there will be a very special guest in the lumberyard on the select Thursdays (Dec. 2, 9, 16, and 23). That's right, the one and only real Santa Claus will be in the Lumberyard from 5:30 - 7:30pm. It is wonderful that DEMA is putting these events together to bolster local business on the 101 and provide a fun community event.

http://www.encinitas101.com/l8-nite-thursdays/

Where does Encinitas stand going into 2012

Most people don't even want to think about another election season after having just come out of one. for about two months, we are bombarded on street corners, TV and radio, and even on our telephones with 'information' about who/what we should vote for. Most people are glad to see election season gone.

That being said, Election season does leave me, personally, with some questions about what our now upcoming 2012 election season looks like here in Encinitas.

Now that the state proposition banning the practice of gerrymandering the congressional districts has passed, will the U.S. 50th congressional district continue to be a Republican stronghold? Will the district maybe be redrawn in a manner that includes a large Democrat population? Will 2012 be the year that the perpetual Democratic congressional candidate Francine Busby finally wins?

What about the City? A friend of mine and I were discussing Encinitas politics the other day, and she made me smile when she said: 'The funny thing about the City of Encinitas is that there are two distinct and separate factions, and nary will they meet in between.'

With that in mind, who will the factions support in 2012? If you look at the current majority faction, uncertainty ensues. Will Dan Dalager run again in 2012 to get a seat back? What about Doug Long; we haven't heard his name in a while, but perhaps it will resurface? Will the honorable judge Brandenburg make a showing? Will the day finally come that has been suspected for many years that James Bond will retire from public life? I'm fairly sure we can all assume that Jerome Stocks will run again, but will he run on a slate with other people as has been common practice in the last few elections?

Then there's the other faction. In the same way that Jerome Stocks running again is a sure bet, I assume that Maggie Houlihan defending her seat is too (at least from the information I have heard these two are most likely running). I imagine that this faction will likewise have candidates for the two other non-Houlihan seat. Who will those two candidates be? Will we see a Tony Kranz repeat, or will we see a return of Rachelle Collier?

I'm incredibly curious on who y'all think the 2012 candidates will be, please comment to share your thoughts.

Filled with happiness and pride

So, it's been less than 20 days since I started this blog. Let us review all the interesting things that have happened in that time:

-'Megamind' became the #1 movie in the nation

-California decided it did not want to go from 'The Golden State' to 'The Bud State'

-The Republicans took the House of Representatives

-A write-in candidate won a senate seat for the first time since the 1950's

-Former president Bush has been goin' strong on a book tour of his White House days memoir: 'Decision Points' (fitting name considering he was the self proclaimed 'Decider')

-The City of Encinitas has one new councilperson-elect

-John Boehner got dewy on election night (How sweet? Apparently he looked through Glenn Beck's book and found the chapter on endearing the public through fake emotion!)

-Andre Cuomo won the Governor's seat in New York ( upon which point Carl Paladino then offered Mr. Cuomo his big orange baseball bat)
-Meg Whitman lost the California gubernatorial after spending somewhere around $145 million

-One of the Chilean miners was on Letterman

So, in short, a very interesting week.

I also have to say that I am so happy and/or proud in the people (although few of you) following this blog. It is really great to see that it has not turned into petty bickering and personal attacks like on the Leucadian. I feel like the Leucadian is a really great resource for the local folk to discuss the issues, but that is ruined by the incredibly rude, angry, and aimless people who comment on the posts there. High-five, and give yourselves a pat on the back for being civil! Thank you.

If you don't like it speak to city council to get me de-seated

On comments on the Leucadian blog, the usual angry ranters have come to the realization that I am on the City of Encinitas youth commission. Following this revelation, there has been much discussion on the merits (or lack there of if you are one of the ranters) of said commission and my activity on it. Below are my beliefs about the commission I currently sit on.

First let it be noted that online when I comment on something or make a post, I do it as a person, not as a youth commissioner and that anything I say should be viewed as a reflection on me and my views, not as a reflection on that commission.

According to the 2000 census, the City of Encinitas is made up by 25.1% youth. Anyone who disagrees with the existence of the youth commission thus believes that the City of Encinitas should ignore the ideas, beliefs, and wants of the youth which makes up almost exactly 1/4 of its residents, simply because those residents are young and not eligible to vote. This idea of abolishing the youth commission is amazing to me. You are really going to say that the city should do away with its only program that helps to represent and give a voice to 1/4 of its residents.

The reason the youth commission is so important, is because it gives the more informed and active youth an opportunity to represent that 25% of residents. One person complained about the fact that there is a youth commission representative on the General Plan Update Committee. Do you really believe that the city should turn a blind eye to ALL of its youth? This would go against some of the core beliefs this city stands for: you'll note that on all city agendas it is stated that: "The above mentioned agencies are equal opportunity public entities and do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age" Please notice that it mentioned AGE.

Many have said that I am too uninformed or too 'crazy' to be on this commission. If anyone believes this, I give them the opportunity to speak to the city council to ask to have me removed from the commission. Just let me know via comment on this post when you're going to do it so that I can represent my side of the story to the council. Also, if you think the city should abolish the youth commission go ahead and present that one to the youth commission as well (same applies about giving me notice).

Enough of the Leucadia Blog - J.P. Silences any opposition.

The Following post is something I left as a comment on the Leucadia Blog, written by J.P. St. Pierre on 11/2/10 ( yes, the blog where all the hateful Barth supporters sit around and intellectually stroke themselves while talking about how much they hate Jerome Stocks). I left a comment that was later deleted, and then went back and reposted it. The post I was commenting on was regarding how we need to return to civility in Encinitas politics. I actually was pleased with the post until I saw other people comments, which were all angry and derogatory slurs against Dalager and Gaspar (angry inappropriate slurs that were in direct contradiction with not only the truth, but also with the intended message J.P. was trying to send with the post). I started this blog almost as an opposition column to the Leucadia blog, and didn't intend to get into a 'blog war' but let me throw down the gauntlet; they have take their pettiness too far.





The aforementioned post that was deleted because the people that are generally involved in this blog are too afraid of the truth and people actually learning things (DON'T DELETE THIS ONE, LET MY VOICE BE HEARD):

YOU ARE ALL TOTALLY RIDICULOUS!

All of this anger and animosity that J.P. Wants to rid us of comes from this blog! Say what you really mean:

"Hey folks, lets stop all of this hatred and name calling....Unless the hate is directed at Dalager, Bond, Stocks, Long, and now Gaspar" ---- Don't be such a hypocrite J.P.

And Chris, all of the real 'dirty politics' in this election have come from the Barth camp. Barth has a voting record that many people in the city don't support so in order to get re-elected, she contacted a staff writer that was on the verge of losing his job and got him to write liable stories about Dalager taking bribes that the powers that be (The Fair Political Practices Commission) has thrown out and shut the case on; all in the spirit of painting herself as the lesser of the evils. She still owes the City almost 18,000 dollars from that awful and baseless harassment suit that the city attorney practically  made a bonfire out of; saying that it was nonfactual, baseless, and that she had no legal right to make the suit. When are we going to be reimbursed for that one Teresa? When are you going to apologize for your absolute slander of the good men on the city council.


However, I do support the highly hypocritical message J.P. tries to send here. Even when you slanderers are asked by the Grand Wizard of slanderers to calm down a little, how do you react, you go out and say things like: "Yeah, those baby hating, Nazi loving, Dalager supporters should stop all that hate." And then you inappropriately, hatefully, and groundlessly call Gaspar a "stupid Bitch." Then you prove your insanity further by trying to validate your use of the hurtful term "stupid bitch" when your deity tells you it is uncalled for.

In addition, I want you to notice that I post this under my full, legal, God-given name for all the world to see so that I can own up to my comments fully, instead of hiding under pseudo names like "Voter" like the cowards that have commented on this before me.

I DARE YOU NOT TO DELETE THIS ONE! LET US ENGAGE IN THIS POLITICAL DISCOURSE!

The term 'Hypocrite' comes to mind. Enough of Barth's lies.

Recently, on the Teresa Barth campaign website she has asserted that two of the other candidates have made false statements about what her real platform is. She has wrongfully accused Dalager and Gaspar of 'dirty politics' in this election. What a laugh! That is coming from the dirties politician in the race. She accuses Dalager of dirty politics and lies, just after she has guided local journalists to print false stories about Dalager Himself. Mrs. Bart, you should be ashamed of yourself: you have let down the constituents and citizens of this town through not only your defaming and slandering of one of the last honest politicians left and a man who has always 100% delivered on his campaign promises. I don't say these things because I am some kind of a massive supporter of the Dalager campaign, or because I disagree with Barth's politics, but instead because I want to bring light to the true dirty politics of this election that have been a tactic of Teresa Barth as a last ditch attempt to save herself in an election because she doesn't have a platform that the city is interested in. At least Dan Dalager's tactics have involved discussion about your stance on the issues (whether he misrepresented them or not) instead of telling lies about corruption and bribery that have little factual basis and don't have anything to do with the issues facing the city.

At one point you may have been able to persuade me into supporting you Ms. Barth. Even after you spurred the Union Tribune to publish stories about bribery that the powers that be will prove never truthfully happened; maybe you were trying to out a bad politician. But after you have accused others of the same dirty politics you are committing, I can't abide any longer.

I don't advocate for Dalager Votes, just votes that aren't for Barth!

Inaugural Post

Welcome.

This is a blog about local Encinitas politics: especially regarding city elections. If you don't like my political views, I don't much care, and unless you have something really compelling to say; you're probably not going to change my mind.