Final Week, Election Looms Ahead

There are a mere 7 days until the election, what do you think?


Susan Myers, data entry
My boyfriend broke up with me on election day two years ago so instead of voting I spend the day in my bedroom sobbing. Busby reminds me of my mom though.


Tim and Bud, unemployed
Bud always barks at Mexicans so I'm voting for Bilbray.


Bob Johnson, engineer
My choices in Encinitas include a plumber and a lawnmower blade sharpener? And they want to raise taxes and bulldoze Leucadia? You are fucking with me right?


Helen Frisket, retired school teacher
Since there are no black guys running I'm voting for any and all female candidates. The non-lesbians anyway.

Tom Brown's Halloween themed mailer

Got home from work and as usual the mailbox is stuffed full of glossy political mailers from Bilbray, Busby and Ah-nold and I was about to violently chuck them all in the trash when I saw this hilarious one from Encinitas city council candidate Thomas Brown.

click images for large view.

Signs of Desperation

There have been reports all over town about the mysterious disappearance of Teresa Barth signs from people's yards.

If you are a full grown adult with a house and mortgage and you drive around in the middle of the night plucking political signs then you are a loser and need to rethink your life.

Dalager Changes Halloween to Paul Ecke Appreciation Eve.

Following his success of changing the Encinitas Holiday Parade to Encinitas Christmas Parade Dan Dalager announced this morning that he is changing Halloween into Paul Ecke Appreciation Eve.

Also in the change, costumed children will be required to exclaim "Dick Cheney or Brian Bilbray" instead of the usual "trick or treat" when asking for candy.

"Halloween is a filthy pagan event," said Dalager in a press conference. "When I was kid on Halloween I wore my boyscout uniform and checked the other kids for reflective clothing and flashlights."

On a roll, Dalager announced plans to change Thanksgiving into Poinsettiagiving, New Year's Eve into Stay Home And Watch Television Like A Good Citizen Eve and Valentine's Day into 2 Blades Sharpened for the Price of 1 Day.

Anyone know where I can get these puppies tuned up?

More Dirty Tricks, a must read

The following is lengthy and detailed but sheds light on some serious stuff that affects your wallet:

Hi Friends,

I'm writing to you today to let you know the outcome of a project that we set in motion late last year concerning what we saw as exorbitant Sewer Service Charges on our Property Tax Bills. By way of background, we bought our home in 1999. We were billed the following Sewer Service Charges for the subsequent years we lived on Crest Drive: 2000 - $766.96; 2001 - $766.96; 2002 - $766.96; 2003 - $646.46; 2004 - $1,210.54; 2005 - $1,442.08.

You'll notice there was a substantial increase in 2004 (nearly double the charge for the previous year). When we received our Tax Bill in 2005 I got a little concerned about how high it had become. So I inquired about why our Sewer Service Charges had escalated so dramatically with no corresponding change in the way we used water or the amount we sent to the sewers.

We were informed that the drastic change was the result of a sewer rate increase which had been approved by the City Council. In addition, when we asked why our neighbors across the street were paying less than $200 per year we were told they were in a different sewer service district than we were and they were not subject to the rate increase.

Well, after I had seen the way City Council had tried to pass Props A and C by presenting them as something they decidedly were not, I was very skeptical of the answers I was getting about the Sewer Service Charges. One bit of useful advice I received and acted upon was to install a water sub-meter to measure the actual amount of water we were using inside of our house that eventually found its way into the sewers and, for which, we were obliged to pay a service charge. (In case you aren't aware, the water we use to irrigate our lawns and gardens and fill our swimming pool and spas does not go into the sewer so is not subject to the Sewer Service Charge.)

Prior to installing the sub-meter, like most of you, our Sewer Service Charge was based on the total amount of water we used during the year. To this amount, the Sewer Department applied a factor that they claim results in a representative reduction in the total amount of water in an attempt to reflect the amount that finds its way into the sewer and for which we should pay a Sewer Service Charge. Many of you are currently being billed in the same manner for your sewer access. Those of you who live along Crest and Wotan Drives (and parts west) and north of Melba Drive, are being drastically overcharged through this flawed formula. And to be clear, it is the formula, not the rates that are causing the problem!

To illustrate, please refer to the amounts of our Sewer Service Charges for previous years that I listed above. Then consider that after installing an $850 sub-meter, our Sewer Service Charge for 2006 dropped to $228.82 based on our ACTUAL output to the sewer system. You can see from our example that the City of Encinitas has, in effect, been collecting an ILLEGAL tax from a group of the City's residents and has been DISCRIMINATING against those who live in two of the City's three sewer districts while charging substantially lower Sewer Service Charges in the remaining district.

And the only relief the City has offered is to inform us that we can install a sub-meter at our own expense (which is pretty substantial -- $850 in our case). In fact, we are all free to install sub-meters to preserve us from the damaging effects of this illegal tax. But we believe the City is counting on the fact that the substantial expense of installing a sub-meter will deter the majority of residents from considering installing one. And so, they will go on charging and collecting this unfair, illegal and discriminatory tax unless we do something to stop them.

I hope you are as outraged as we are at what you have just learned! The entirety of Cardiff-by-the-Sea is affected by this unfair and discriminatory rate formula as is a great deal of the rest of Encinitas so you have plenty of company. I have to do some more research, but if this can be shown to be as I see it to be -- an illegal tax -- then perhaps we could receive some help from the Howard Jarvis Homeowners Association. I will be looking into this further.

But in the meantime, there is something we can all do together that will have a more immediate effect...

Keeping in mind that the current City Council members approved this flawed rate formula and refuse to listen to complaints that it is flawed and considering that they remain unmotivated to do anything about it, I propose we elect fresh faces to replace those who are coming up for re-election. I would make sure the new candidates understand the scope and severity of this problem and determine where they stand on the matter before you place your vote next month.

We should look for a fair-minded person who would not tolerate such a flagrant abuse of government power if it was within her ability to do something about it. I hope you will educate yourselves about the candidates before you place your votes in November. The Union-Tribune has endorsed Dan Dalager and a friend of his named Long under the curious, confusing and misleading assessment that Encinitas is "relatively free of financial problems and political scandals". I guess if you compare the Cities of Encinitas and San Diego, you could kind of come to that conclusion. But the preponderance of the local news reporting (even by the Union Tribune itself) does a poor job of leading a rational mind to the same result.

So, this is the bottom line... If you live in one of the two sewer districts that was subject to a rate increase that was approved in 2004, then you are probably paying as much as 6 or 7 times what you should be paying for Sewer Service Charges. I hope you will organize an effort to fix the City Council's oversight in as expedient a manner as possible and through all channels that are open to you.

Best regards,

Bob Evermore

see also MORE FEES FOR YOU

and the now classic FINANCIAL FLIM FLAM

Brown not to blame for SFA mixup

Brown not to blame for SFA mixup

By: CARLOS COTA - Commentary:

A recently published column ("Brown's record less than meets the eye," Oct. 20) regarding the military service of Thomas Brown seems to paint the Encinitas City Council candidate in a poor light. That column, however, does not address the whole story and seems to have the end effect of leaving the reader with a skewed impression of Mr. Brown's honesty. As vice president of the local chapter of the Special Forces Association, I feel compelled to set the record straight by making the public aware of the full story.

The original column written by J. Stryker Meyer refers to statements Mr. Brown printed in various campaign materials that claim he is a member of the Special Forces Association. Meyer's research, however, suggests that Brown's claims to membership in the SFA are in fact false. The original article left me with the impression that Brown's military service was being called into question, though Meyer is careful to not actually state that contention.

I would like the record to show that Thomas Brown did submit his application for local level membership in the SFA to me prior to printing the statements in his campaign materials. During the course of our conversation that day, however, I am afraid I may have given Mr. Brown the false impression that his application would have been fully processed and approved by the time his campaign materials were printed. This simple misunderstanding resulted in me inadvertently misleading him. I have forwarded Mr. Brown's application through the proper channels and cannot say for certain as to when or if his application will be approved. Yet I would like to clarify that a cursory examination of his military history shows an impeccable service record. Mr. Brown is most certainly not making false claims regarding his service to our country, nor should he or any of our veterans and active personnel be considered anything less than heroic for the liberties they defend.

-- Retired Sgt. Maj. Carlos Cota of the U.S. Army Special Forces lives in Carlsbad and is vice president of the Special Forces Association's Roger Donlon MOH chapter No. 75 in San Diego County.

J. Stryker Meyer's previous hit piece on Brown.

Did anyone see J. Stryker Meyer having lunch with Jack Orr previous to the column?

"A little bit of communication would have gone a long way,"

Operation Homecoming donations total $33K

By: ADAM KAYE - Staff Writer

ENCINITAS ---- The city received $33,000 in donations to offset $18,000 it paid to produce the Operation Homecoming at Encinitas book-reading event last month, Finance Director Jennifer Smith told the City Council on Wednesday.

The excess donations ---- $15,000 ---- will be given to the San Diego Nice Guys Victory Fund, a charity that supports deployed and wounded troops and their families, Smith said.

On Sept. 22, an estimated 850 people attended the event at the Encinitas Community and Senior Center, where troops read passages from their submissions to "Operation Homecoming: Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Home Front in the Words of U.S. Troops and Their Families."

After Smith's brief report, some council members tore into the watchdogs and one of their colleagues who had questioned the expenditures.

Councilman Dan Dalager, who is credited with conceiving the national reading tour to accompany the recently published anthology of war stories, saved his sharpest words for the North County Times.

On Saturday, the newspaper reported nearly $20,000 in expenditures discovered on city warrants lists by taxpayer advocates Bob Bonde and Donna Westbrook.

"That is some of the most irresponsible reporting I've ever seen," Dalager said Wednesday. Later, he added, "We've got a press that's simply looking to do what's not right, what's not a story."

Dalager ---- with support from the Downtown Encinitas MainStreet Association, Encinitas Chamber of Commerce and the 101 Artists Colony ---- spent nearly a year preparing a proposal and pressuring the National Endowment for Arts to make Encinitas one of its first stops on the tour.

In the weeks leading up to the highly publicized event, Dalager said the city would spend "maybe $5" to bring it to Encinitas, but would earn much more than that in publicity and prestige.

In Saturday's newspaper story, Councilwoman Maggie Houlihan said she had understood the event would come at no cost to the city.

"I think your comments (in the story) were very irresponsible," Mayor Christy Guerin told Houlihan at Wednesday's meeting."If the paper's irresponsible, and it's their job to find something and explain something, no comment is appropriate."

Houlihan said she did not know a fund existed to cover the city's payments to vendors.

"A little bit of communication would have gone a long way," Houlihan said. "There wasn't information given to me in advance that I saw about the paying arrangement."

Operation Homecoming expenses appearing on the Sept. 27, Oct. 18 and Wednesday's warrants lists total $19,633. Smith's report, however, shows $18,062 in costs. The difference between the amounts reported remained unclear Wednesday, but city officials have said the event will cost the city little if anything.

The report shows corporate and private donations from: Cox Communications Inc. ($2,500); EDCO Recycling & Waste Collection Services ($3,000); Barratt American Inc. ($5,000); San Diego Gas & Electric Co. ($5,000); Gerald and Robin Parsky ($3,000); anonymous ($11,000); Borders Inc. book sales ($617); National Endowment for the Arts reimbursements ($1,318); staff donations ($2); Victory Fund offering ($1,624).

Councilman Jerome Stocks praised Dalager and said he would have been proud to direct public funds toward the event.

Councilman James Bond said he, too, wanted a clarification of expenditures, and added, "It would be nice if the folks who were concerned about that to say they apologize."

If Dan Dalager had more patience and was less arrogant he could have easily supplied more information to his fellow council members, the public and the press. His attitude that you can never, ever challenge his actions and choices is making him a loose cannon. He still owes city founder Bob Bonde an apology for calling him a "whiner". Bob Bonde served this country as a marine in Korea, how is that for irony?

Must Be Nice

Doug Long has said at the last two candidate forums that Leucadian taxpayers should "volunteer" to build the sidewalks on coast highway Leucadia. Interesting that his plumbing business on Second street has not one but two gleaming sidewalks.

Can you imagine a city council candidate saying that any other community in Encinitas should build their own sidewalks? This is typical red headed stepchild treatment for Leucadia.

Leucadians should avoid voting for Doug Long, he doesn't respect your tax contributions.

Long also seems to think that the state coastal commission is impending our sidewalk process, Citing the council's recent approval of $300,000 to $400,000 to build sidewalks in Leucadia, Long said, "This is something as a volunteer I would have taken on myself. I'd say put the sidewalks in and blow the (state) Coastal Commission off."

The Coastal Commission does not have regulatory oversight of the Leucadia sidewalk plan, nor has it registered formal opposition to the proposal.

Too many bong hits for Long?

My impressions of the last candidate forum

I attended the bulk of last night's candidate forum at the community center. There was a decent crowd , around 200 which is good considering that game 3 of the World Series was starting (I made my wife text message me inning updates).

I got there right at 6 o'clock so I furiously scribbled some burning questions on note cards and handed them in at the last minute. It's a shame none of my questions were asked.

The crowd was full of recognizable faces that you see at all the city council meetings and community events. All the players, wannabees, pundits, hacks, and lobbyist...you know, nerds. I sat as far away from this "in" crowd as possible.

The forum moderator was a cute perky girl with a tinny microphone that kept giving off screechy feedback. Here is a tip, never point the mic at the amp.

Here is my 2 minute review and impressions of the candidates:

Doug Long: He seems like your typical old Encinitas beach dog complete with the old school mustache and a nice enough man. His appeal for me ended there. He seemed unprepared and lacked confidence in his opinions. He stammered a bit and had a deer in the headlights look in front of a crowd of people. Now, public speaking is one of the hardest things to do in the world so I have sympathy but I don't see him doing well in a council meeting that isn't as congenial as last night's forum. I came to the realization that Doug Long doesn't want to win and he is only running because somebody talked him into it. I relate to that one.

Dan Dalager: Dan's usual witty humor and charms were falling flat last night in a room full of pissed off taxpayers who have run out of patience. Dan easily switched back and forth from easy breezy "Hey, I'm just your local tool guy, you all know me." to the arrogant "I'm the smartest guy in this town and it's my way or the highway." Dalager and Long both came off like a couple of old stoner buddies trying to give a group report in the front of the class. I had to look away at the floor because it was a little hard to watch.

Thomas Brown: He was the most professional looking man up there which added to the goofy nature of Long and Dalager. Brown definitely has a corporate vibe to him and would probably be really good at getting stuff done. But what stuff would that be? I was unclear if he was for or against declaring Leucadia "blighted". This is my greatest concern. Brown obviously knows every developer in north county, is this an asset or does it compromise his position? In a lot of ways Brown struck me as more of a Carlsbad guy who somehow ended up living in Encinitas. Brown is clearly the superior candidate as far as the men go.

Teresa Barth: I had a letter published in the Coast News last week giving Teresa glowing support. After last night I feel so good about writing that letter. Teresa is clearly the most informed candidate on the real concrete issues that face our town. She is dignified and sharp as a tack. She has a very valuable asset, she has a keen radar for bullshit. Judging from the applause she received last night from the crowd this town is in a pressure cooker and Teresa could be the release valve. She is not only the obvious vote I think she has the potential to be the best city councilperson this town as ever seen.

Paul "Pablo" Martens: The mysterious "Pablo" was welcome comedy relief for the most part. At times his long winded babbling was painful and a women behind me kept letting our long frustrated sighs as Pablo obviously doesn't have a clue about our local issues or any real grasp of the political structure of this town. He did have some great one liners though. His "I drink the tap water." line made me laugh out loud and it also explained a lot. Pablo still thinks he is running for the 50th district and not for Encinitas city council.


My recommendation: If you want to try the bullet voting method then vote only for Teresa Barth with confidence, she is great.

If you must vote for 2 then add Thomas Brown because at least he seems responsible enough not to jack us out of our tax money. I also don't see Brown ever calling our city founder Bob Bonde a "whiner" like Dalager did.

I scrammed out there at 8 o'clock, did I miss anything good?

NCT.com piece on the forum: Encinitas candidates meet at final forum; 5 competing for two open seats

Lunch Coupons for the Mayor

“This job is very rewarding in many ways,” Mayor Christy Guerin said. “I can think of a thousand reasons” to serve, and pay isn't one of them, she said.

“You do it because you love the city,” she said.

Guerin said people who talk to her are amazed that council members earn so little. “It barely pays for what we spend on gas and lunches,” she said.

from the UT link

I clipped some lunch coupons for the mayor and mailed them off to city hall today. Bon apetite!







previous blog post on this issue

Glorified Pot Hole Fillers Party Hardy With Your Tax Dollars

Encinitas gave Japanese a $12,000 welcome

ADAM KAYE does a little digging to see how our tax money is getting spent these days. Keep in mind this is the same city council that keeps trying sneaky ways to raise fees and taxes and just took out a $20 million bond debt. Italic quotes are excerpts from article.

When a sister city delegation from Amakusa, Japan, visited Encinitas last month, the group received a $12,000 welcome.

At taxpayers' expense, the 11 visitors slept at the Best Western Encinitas Inn & Suites. They enjoyed catered meals and were treated to lunch and dinner at restaurants. City records show they took a $524 trip to SeaWorld and received more than $1,000 in gifts.

The invoices show payments of $34.60 for chopsticks and $129.30 for Cross pens to sign "treaties" at a ceremony where Japanese and Encinitas officials reaffirmed their ties.

Invoices show the city spent $27,304 to produce the Oct. 1 "Picnic in the Park," where residents could meet and greet the Japanese visitors and celebrate the city's birthday at a free, all-day party. Officials say thousands of guests attended the event, and about one-third of the costs were covered by sponsors.

In June, the City Council approved $10,000 to host the Japanese guests and $20,000 to throw the anniversary party at Cottonwood Creek Park. The money came from the city's operating budget.

Expenses for the Amakusa delegation's visit, however, totaled $12,154, according to the invoices. To pay those bills, city officials tapped $2,500 from the sister city program's $12,000 annual budget.

For the Picnic in the Park, Encinitas paid $27,304. Records show the city received $9,000 in sponsorships, however, which raised the event's budget to $29,000.

All were welcome to the Sunday afternoon picnic, where the city offered free burgers and hot dogs to thousands of visitors. (Records show the city spent $767 at a nearby Smart & Final store for beef patties, plus $332 for wieners and $72 for vegetarian patties).

*note-this was pretty frugal in my opinion.

Food costs at an invitation-only dinner earlier that weekend also were significant.

On Sept. 30, at the exclusive "Mayor's Dinner," the city paid $576 for catering.

The dinner was held at the home of fire Chief Mark Muir ---- a friend of Guerin's ---- with support from firefighters past and present.

The catering was provided by "Firehouse Gourmet," a one-man company run by Don Heiser, Encinitas' former fire chief, who visited Japan at public expense just weeks before he retired June 30.

Party rentals ---- which included dinner china, 13 round tables, linens and red carpet, at a cost of $707 ---- were ordered by Fire Department Division Chief Scott Henry, according to the invoice. Firefighters helped with the set-up.


Some residents criticized Guerin when invitations for the dinner revealed that the get-together "also happens to be on her 50th birthday."

"I can't help it that my birthday is on Sept. 30," Guerin said.

Was the timing unfortunate? Community activist Gary Murphy said he thinks so.

One night after the Mayor's Dinner, the city held a $5,414, public event at the Encinitas Community and Senior Center ---- the "Sister City Signing Ceremony" ---- where officials from Amakusa and Encinitas formally renewed their sisterhood.

Records show 68 guests paid for the $10-a-plate dinner.

The city paid $3,275 to Four Seasons Foods for crab and cream cheese spring rolls, vegetable skewers, macadamia nut-crusted chicken, barons of beef, teriyaki chicken breast and various side dishes.

The second-most-expensive cost was $490 for linens.

Decorations cost $488 and included $90 for flowers and $34.60 for 9-inch, painted chopsticks that a city staffer ordered off the Internet.

The city paid $1,100 for entertainment from three different groups, which included steel-drum players and a choir.

A former deputy fire marshal in Encinitas, Mike Castaneda, earned $175 for videotaping the event, according to an invoice approved by Henry and Guerin.

A party of 17 ---- 11 from Japan and six from Encinitas ---- racked up a $602 tab at Pino's Cucina Italia in Encinitas. The midday meal included pollo marsala and creme brulee.

A Sunday night dinner in San Diego, at a restaurant called Sushi Ota, cost $222.

Two passenger vans, rented for $915 and driven by city employees, provided transportation for the visitors. The city paid $80 for gas and parking.

One outing, to SeaWorld, generated $524 in charges, which included $352 for admission and $96 for lunch at the SeaWorld deli, among other costs.

After the full days, the 11 visitors retired to the Best Western Encinitas Inn & Suites, where taxpayers paid to rent five rooms for three nights, at a total cost of $1,484.

The hotel commands a view of Cottonwood Creek Park, where the Japanese visitors sang "Happy Birthday" to Encinitas and grooved to classic rock furnished by the band Rockola, Guerin said.

Rockola received a $3,850 paycheck.

A company from San Diego that provided four clowns to paint faces and tie balloons for five hours was paid $1,750.

A Carlsbad-based home builder, Barratt American, Inc. gave a $5,000 sponsorship; a waste hauler, EDCO, donated $3,000 for the event; $500 sponsorships came from My Gym and San Diego Medical Supply Equipment, although the city has yet to receive a check from the final sponsor.

*Barratt American has sued the city several times. Barratt American has outraged many residents for their building tactics in older neighborhoods. Barratt American is an interesting player in all this.

To recognize the sponsors, the city paid $168 for customized plaques.

Early on the morning of Oct. 2, the Japanese visitors began their long trip home, but at least one gift made did not travel with them. The city paid $500 to one of its employees, Alex Long, to fabricate a hand-thrown urn adorned with Japanese symbols representing joy and friendship. The iridescent vase weighs 20 pounds, and to ship it, the city paid $545.

Other gift receipts include $55 at Paper Rose for wrapping and $85 for See's Candy.

Exclusive Video: Dan Dalager & Doug Long discuss government & democracy

Life Imitates Art in Encinitas

Danny likes to draw the analogy between his reign on City Council and the old Andy Griffith Show.

From the plot line of the New Andy Griffith Show’ first episode, 1971:

Emmett and Goober travel from Mayberry to Greenwood to ask their old pal Andy to use his influence with the city to rezone a plot of land each of them wants to start a new business.

As Oscar Wilde said, life imitates art far more than art imitates life.

Message from "Pablo"

The following was posted in the comments section:

Dear Fellow Leucadians --
It's time 4 "Pablo" to enter this
discussion.
We had to wait until sufficient
information had developed to begin
a meaningful dialogue.
Martens has been fortunate so far.
None of the signs have been stolen
or otherwise relocated.
This "practice" is perfectly common
in baseball, but not so in the
political arena.
Alas, Mr. Colbert does not have the
borough of Leucadia "on notice" at
this time, but The Fightin' 50th is
on his "Dead to Me" list as a re-
sult of what we did to him.
Oh well, we can live with this for
the time being.
Martens does not know Stephen, but
Stephen is well aware of him.
Bobby was briefly visible to me
when my visit to the Colbert
Report Studio on 52nd Street took
place on 9-11-06. While we were
not exactly ecstatic to see one
another, I was glad he was OK.
Up until then, we had been unsure
of his whereabouts since his em-
barking with Killer and Rick
Ocasek on their mission to find
Stephen Jr....
More later....
God Bless Leucadia and Our Great
City
VTY Paul "Pablo" Martens