$3800 for refreshments, $3600 for transportation, a $500 lunch at Sweet Lumpys, a $4700 dinner at Carol’s Restaurant, $1000 for party rentals, $500 for entertainment, $4000 for balloon rides and $1000 worth of liquor for a League Of Cities meeting, where other elected officials and political hacks from around the Country were entertained by our Councilors. If it weren’t so offensive, it might be comical. Comerchero defends the debauchery by alluding to all of the great ideas that are exchanged during this soiree. He wasn’t specific, but it’s a safe bet that they aren’t tinkering with how to bilk the taxpayer out of his lunch money to pay their bar tab, because that’s been perfected. Maybe they are exchanging recipes for hangover cures.

This is a list of just some of the expenses that were racked up in the last year. All of these things were passed on the Consent Calendar, rubber stamped without discussion:

$3,000 spent on trophies and awards given to staff and council.

$7,000 for T-shirts and sweatshirts for city employees to wear at the holiday parade.

$300 for snow cones at a city employee lunch

$700 for refreshments at a commission recognition party.

$600 for gift cards to hand out to city employees at a different city employee lunch.

$23,000 spent with True North Research for the random phone survey of 400 citizens.

So, Mr. and Mrs. Temecula, if you still have a job please work a little harder so that our city councilors can continue living in the style to which they have become accustomed. If fact, you may consider a table waiting job at their favorite restaurant for the next League Of Cities meeting.

I understand they left an $1800.00 tip.

The current councilors would have the residents believe a city council needs to be a group of similar people from similar backgrounds. They have impressed upon the residents of Temecula that it is essential to keep them in office as long as possible because of the experience they possess. The council, as reported in the mainstream press, have repeatedly used fear tactics to influence the residents into believing that any disturbance or loss of a council member would create chaos and ruin for Temecula.

The fact is we have a group of CAREER POLITICIANS in office who do not want to lose their power. We have all seen the dangers of having career politicians in public office, how they become beholden to the special interest groups, develop secret agendas and lose touch with the people who put them in office.
The Sunshine Report would like to remind the residents of Temecula what a city council was intended to be and why.
A city council was intended to be a representative group of individuals from the community.  That is to say, not all doctors, lawyers, real estate developers, etc. should occupy the five seats that make up the council. There would be no need for a council if we had five real estate developers as our representative body; a mayor would suffice because the agenda would be one and the same.

Does experience count? YES. But not necessarily as we have been told.  Experience as a council member was intended to come from personal education (college or life knowledge) and business experience. Residency in Temecula is a prerequisite to being on the council. This is because the councilor needs a vested interest to fully understand and appreciate the facets of the city. Experience from years of serving as a council member can be a good thing but is not the intended experience that the job title implies.

As a reminder, the next time you hear how experienced the current city council is and how that seems the only way to be able to run a city, remember each of them had no executive level governing experience when they were elected.  Comerchero- toy Salesman, Edwards- public relations in banking, Naggar- real estate, Roberts- law enforcement and Washington- airline pilot.  With the exception of Washington none of the council members have a degree in higher education.

All you really need is time, passion, a love for Temecula and the courage to step into the public arena. Maybe you should consider running for city council and help chart the course of the future Temecula.

He was a City Manager who made hay while the sun shined for he always kept his sunny side up. He was a man who took no wooden nickles, nor threw caution to the wind, but he looked before he leapt and he never got in over his head. In fact he kept his head when all about were losing theirs and blaming it on him. He kept a stiff upper lip and his nose to the grindstone. Of this man we can say he is a jolly good fellow, which nobody can deny, and I know for a fact that he did it his way. He was a serious minded manager who let bygones be bygones, but remembered the Alamo.

He fought fire with fire, he kept the home fires burning and when he couldn’t stand the heat he got out of the kitchen. He always closed cover before striking but struck while the iron was hot. He fed a cold and always starved a fever. He carried a big stick, he was a Pepper, a man’s man, early to bed and early to rise,  he laid his cards on the table and put the pedal to the metal.

He did the Macarena.

He was able to rock around the clock, put time in a bottle and party like it was 1999.  He gave us three steps, three steps mister, three steps toward the door. He was a rock, he was an island, a bridge over troubled water. He hammered in the morning, he hammered in the evening all over this land. He is the walrus. Goo goo gojoob.

Upon arrival in town, he thrust his nostrils in the air and asked “Where’s the beef?  He expects more but pays less, and when he makes a run for the border he leaves the driving to us, because he never leaves home without it. He has snap, crackle and pop, because sometimes he feels like a nut and sometimes he don’t. He takes a lickin’ and keeps on tickin’ because he knows how to spell relief and he never, ever believed it was butter. He squeezed the Charmin and he HAD milk. He’s stronger than dirt because he thinks outside the bun, and he’s now free to move about the Country.

He never fired until he saw the whites of their eyes because he praised God and passed the ammunition. He has not yet begun to fight. He put his best foot forward, his money where his mouth is and when the going got tough, he was gone. He measured twice and cut once, and by making a stitch in time, he saved nine.

He came, he saw, he conquered. He was the best of times, he was the worst of times. He floated like a butterfly, but stung like a bee and  he had a bird in the hand and two in the bush. Like a good neighbor he is there and Brother, he can always spare a dime!

It’s not easy to find the words to honor such a man, but we’ve done our best.

Actually, we just made a public records request. Here are some gems:

Some names and addresses have been blanked to protect the innocent.

COUNCILMAN MIKE NAGGAR

“The Pechangans do not like him and it is common knowledge he does not like them.”

Why doesn’t Mike like the Pechangans and vice versa? According to this email from Mayor Roberts, Mike just can’t get along with the Tribe, which is only the largest employer in town. It seems that losing this misguided, frivolous lawsuit  just makes him want to add insult to injury. And, by the way, what was “riding on it”? I thought the City lost.

“close all Temecula roads….then inspect every car for at least 20 minutes”

This email from a citizen advises Mike to set up roadblocks and use the police to harass visitors on their way to the Casino. Mike thinks this is a great idea, he’s “already checked that angle out”, but regrettably it’s contrary to a number of laws including the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution.

“I do not want road improvements to cause unnecessary issues during an election season”

Huh?, Unnecessary for whom? Certainly not the long suffering Temecula commuter. This short email from Naggar to the City Manager says a lot. No wonder traffic is a mess.  Apparently, road improvements are scheduled around election cycles, to protect the incumbents from any inconvenienced motor voters.

COUNCILMAN JEFF COMERCHERO

“When the Bell scandal hit and city manager pay became a controversy I was surprised by the current numbers..”

This e mail from then Mayor Jeff to City Manager Shawn Nelson reveals just how little regard these politicians have for our hard earned tax dollars. After 14 years in office, Jeff has no idea how much Nelson or anyone else at city hall is being paid.  Who cares? It’s just the taxpayers money. He says that the Bell scandal prompts his question, but then he waits seven more months before politely asking Shawn how much he’s bringing down. I’ll bet he knows exactly how much everyone who works for him at Rancon makes. By the way, Nelson makes $407,000…..a year. Now you know.

COUNCILMAN CHUCK WASHINGTON

“We’re not here to make those people happy”

Chuck seems to be the most professional, or cautious, about using his City email account. That reticence, however,  does not extend toward his loquacious tongue. Chuck loves to ramble on and on about this event and that meeting, (did you know he’s a pilot?) whether his mic is on or off. Speaking of mics which should have been off, check out this gaffe worthy of “Council Bloopers”.

Turn the volume up at :11 and listen to what Chuck mutters to Roberts, off camera, as over 150 citizens tromped out of the 8/18/09 Council meeting, having interrupted his Tuesday evening to complain about Chuck & Co’s plan to sneak a 21 unit homeless shelter into their neighborhood near the corner of Temecula Parkway and Margarita Road.

So, if he’s not here to make the hardworking, home owning,  property tax paying, productive citizens happy, just who is it he wants to please?

COUNCILMAN RON ROBERTS

“I wanted to get this on the table before I am told to back away”                              

When the Planning Commission worked out the placement of  microwave cell towers across the city, they thoughtlessly sited one in Mayor Roberts’ neighborhood. Never mind that there were objections from citizens in other parts of town over the placement of these “nodes”  near their homes. After all, they are just ordinary folks who had to attend the meetings, file appeals and hire attorneys and consultants in their efforts to have the towers relocated. The Mayor writes to the Director of Planning, City Manager, and Assistant City Manager, anticipating his conflict of interest and suggesting that they correct this oversight before it gets to the Planning Commission for a vote. Guess what? It was.

“The City has his attention! Consider settling with him for ‘true costs’ incurred by the City”

When Jeff Stone intervenes on behalf of a “constituent”, the Mayor better listen.  After all, his day job is as Legislative Assistant for…….Jeff Stone. Have you ever been fined by Code Enforcement? Wouldn’t it have been nice if you could pick up the phone and call Jeff?

Councilwoman Maryann Edwards

Maryann is our favorite. Where do you start? Maryann sits up till the wee hours typing and tapping away in her effort to make certain that everyone realizes what a saint she is, never missing an opportunity to turn any story or event to her advantage by improving facts with her variation on the truth.

“She has Chuck Washington AND Kentucky  Fried Chicken”

In this email……well……. Washington is the only African American on the council.

“The worst was represented in those who demonstrated outright bigotry against people of a different faith”

In this reply to a question from a concerned and slightly worried Great Oak High School student, Maryann uses her version of  Clintonesque double speak to foster the confusion,  insinuating there is as much to fear from his bigoted neighbors as from Muslim terrorists.  Of course, the young man is asking about Adam Gadahn, who was raised in Winchester and is now aiding Al Qaeda somewhere in the world-shameless- Councilwoman.

“we had the water cannon on the roof just in case!”                                                                  

Maryann is trying to stir up more trouble around the Summerhouse protest. Of course, there were no protests at the Church nor had any been planned. What a lovely lady.

“guess the cat is out of the bag now anyway”

Speaking of Summerhouse, check out the following emails between Maryann and citizens disturbed over the plan to plant her pet project in their neighborhood. Never one to let pesky facts interfere with getting her way, she brags up “affordable housing” projects where none exist. Could be an honest mistake borne of ignorance, except she claims to personally know the non existent people who live in these non existent developments. Woefully ignorant, or blatant liar? Read these emails and decide for yourself. She doesn’t even know where she lives, quoting different distances to different people, none of which are accurate. Keep in mind that while she was hard selling and advocating for one side, the project was awaiting vote by the Council. We deserve and demand from our elected representatives, a fair consideration of both sides of an issue, not  judgment fashioned by prejudice and dishonesty. Edwards was asked to recuse herself from the vote, based on her obvious bias. She refused to do so. Guess how she voted?

Contact JF. Giggins at: giggins@temeculasunshinereport.com

Since being elected in 2008, the Menifee City Councilwoman  has been accused of voting fraud and conflicts of interest. She was threatened with a recall petition for, among others charges, “‘denying the citizens their right to be heard”, and earlier this year she made news by allegedly assaulting a citizen at City Hall for disagreeing with her.

In her latest escapade of October 18, she literally and physically turned her chair and back on a speaker who dared criticize her during public comments at the council meeting. The good news is that she seems to be growing in the job, since she didn’t leap off  the dais and go all trailer park on the guy.

In case you don’t know, Darcy was waiting tables at a local eatery, when she was plucked from obscurity by Supervisor Marion (double bacon, double cheese) Ashley to become his Legislative Assistant. (I wonder if she could even spell “legislative” before she got her business cards?) Shortly thereafter, and being such a quick learner, she was slicked up, dressed out, and ready to slide into “her” seat on the new Menifee council, where she now reigns as the developers friend. Who knew that busing tables and refilling coffee cups instills and cultivates the fundamental skills and experience required for legislative assistin’?

Many of us have worked those long, hard hours and grasp the fact that the restaurant business is not exactly a training ground for taking on the responsibilities of political policy maker. But if it were, can’t we find a waitress that doesn’t insult, ignore, push her customers around and still demand a tip?

Harry Truman said, ” My choice early in life was either to be a piano player in a whorehouse or a politician.  And to tell the truth, there’s hardly any difference.” The voters will get a chance to turn their backs on Kuenzi next November. Hopefully they will send her back to where her antics are better suited, but hardly more appreciated; slinging hash and bickering with the cooks.

Contact J F. Giggins at:

giggins@temeculasunshinereport.com

We citizens demand open, honest, transparent government at a reasonable cost, and that’s not too much to expect.

Politicians are like amphibians:

Their skin temperature is determined by the ambient.

They feel at home partially submerged in slime and surrounded by scum.

They are incapable of walking upright.

Giggins says that politicians, like diapers, should be changed often and for the same reasons. (Giggins just found out that he didn’t originally say this, but is certain that he influenced it in some way.)

Just sayin’……….

Contact J F. Giggins at:

giggins@temeculasunshinereport.com

The only asset he had when he died was the house he lived in, which was in Independence, Missouri .  His wife had inherited the house from her parents and other than their years in the White House, they lived their entire lives there.

When he retired from office in 1952 his income was a U.S. Army pension reported to have been $13,507.72 a year.  Congress, noting that he was paying for his stamps and personally licking them, granted him an ‘allowance’ and, later, a retroactive pension of $25,000 per year.

After President Eisenhower was inaugurated,  Harry and Bess drove home to Missouri by themselves.  There was no Secret Service following them. When offered corporate positions at large salaries, he declined, stating, “You don’t want me.  You want the office of the President, and that doesn’t belong to me.  It belongs to the American people and it’s not for sale.”

Even later, on May 6, 1971, when Congress was preparing to award him the Medal of Honor on his 87th birthday, he refused to accept it, writing, “I don’t consider that I have done anything which should be the reason for any award, Congressional or otherwise.”

As president he paid for all of his own travel expenses and food.

Modern politicians have found a new level of success in cashing in on the Presidency, resulting in untold wealth.  Today, many in Congress, state and local politics also find ways way to become quite wealthy while enjoying the fruits of their offices, and political appointments come with “For Sale” signs, e.g. Obamas’s Senate seat.

Good old Harry Truman was correct when he observed, “My choice early in life was either to be a piano player in a whorehouse or a politician.  And to tell the truth, there’s hardly any difference”

Quite a difference between Harry Truman and the “leaders”, Democrats & Republicans, that we have now!

Author unknown, from a forward.

From the article:
“More and more, we are seeing citizens being invited to “participate” in various forms of meetings, councils, or boards to “help determine” public policy in one field or another. They are supposedly being included to get ”input” from the public to help officials make final decisions on taxes, education, community growth or whatever the particular subject matter might be.

Sounds great, doesn’t it? Unfortunately, surface appearances are often deceiving. …”

Here are a couple of eye opening videos for you to watch on this very subject. Any of this look or sound familiar to you?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rjoI7-esOw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zpA1althjo

The more time citizens spend educating themselves with the actions or indolence of the people at City Hall the better for everyone in Temecula.

How many of you read at least one newspaper a day? How many regularly attend City Council meetings? How many ask questions based on the record of your elected officials? How many make public records requests?  If citizens don’t take the reins, those in power will. Just because we elect someone doesn’t mean we rest on our laurels and expect the best. We have to demand the best!  We have to pay attention, if we are to retain a will of the people.

When the owner of the business appears regularly at the office, it’s a different workplace entirely. People are more inclined to strive for goals, accuracy, accountability, etc. It’s your responsibility to show yourself to the people you elected and make it known you expect real productivity.

Quit complaining and step into your role as supervisor:

1.       Familiarize yourself with the City’s website.

2.      Learn as much as you can about the people you have working for you, those whom you have placed in charge of your money. After all, they are required to be good stewards, see if they meet the standards you require.

3.      Speak out! Attend your council meetings. Fill out a request to speak form and ask questions or give your opinion during Public Comments. People fought and died for your right to do so. Please, don’t be shy. People are interested in what you have to say.

4.      Learn how to request documents on the issues which affect you or that you are curious about. The LA Times offers a posting site for public documents. Or, email them to our website: emerus@temeculasunshinereport.com.

5.      Talk to family, friends and neighbors. Invite them to come with you to meetings and pass along information you have learned to them.   There are people all over California ready to share information.

6.      The City Attorney, Peter Thorson, is there to represent you. He has a very nice office at the new Civic Center and you pay $800,000.00 yearly or more for his services. Use this extremely expensive employee to help you know what’s going on. Request documents!

The City Clerk’s office is a great resource. Susan Jones is the City Clerk, and she is there to assist you with your requests. Call her for information. Susan is a very nice and helpful person. The document request form is simple and can be completed online. Use this form to request any and all public records, for example; emails, contracts, proposals, salaries, etc.

Don’t hesitate, affect transparency through your action. It won’t be handed to you, you must insist.

In what’s described as a”belt tightening” move, the City has shortened the season of the holiday ice skating rink, because it apparently costs us over $2600.00 a day!

What the heck?  It loses money?

How?

To whom?

On what?

For what?

Certainly, it’s not appropriate for government to make a profit, but why put so much effort into wasting it?

On October 25, 2011, the Temecula City Council approved payment of $45,000 to Studio 33 Productions to set up and operate the annual Christmas skating rink attraction in the city hall plaza.  Last year, the council wasted $90,000 on the same rink, so, of course, this year we “saved” $45,000!  At least, that’s what the council wants you to think.  But don’t worry.  The citizens get to make up the difference since the skate rental fees are going up to pad the pockets of the rink operators.

OK, so the city owns the land and parking structure. It contracts with a private company to supply and operate the equipment. The company charges and keeps admission price, plus skate rental fees, and gets free advertising.  So, why aren’t they paying us rent at the very least, OR a concession fee at best? Evidently, the contractor can’t make a profit with only 12,400 customers a month, so we subsidize him, or somebody, to the carol of $2647.00 a day. Well, Merry Christmas! That’s like paying to pet your own dog.

The idea is to “help Old Town businesses by luring potential customers” and consequentially increasing sales tax revenue to the City. Sound great, but as this “deal” costs the city at least $45,000 in subsidy, those Old Town sales alone would have to swell by $4,500,000 in one month, just to offset the investment with our take of the tax increment.  Something else is going on here, besides giving Maryann Edwards yet another venue to sing and skate in. Or, it could just be that simple, and that wouldn’t surprise a lot of people one bit.

Here’s an idea. We go out for bid and find a Company that can figure a way to make a profit with 12,400 customers a month. We let him keep all the proceeds from those customers. We don’t pay him anything. He benefits. The shopkeepers welcome increased traffic and sales, and the City realizes a modest increase in sales tax revenue. Everybody has a good time, and Maryann still gets to squawk and spin around the rink like some past-prime Peter Pan.

If we can’t find a contractor willing to take that deal (fat chance) we shouldn’t have an ice skating rink this year.

Contact J F. giggins at:

giggins@temeculasunshinereport.com