Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Cardiff Candidate Forum

Unfortunately I was not able to attend the first candidate forum held in Cardiff and hosted by the lovely Barbara Cobb.

It sounds like there was a decent turnout. It had to be tricky to moderate a forum with an incredible 10 candidates vying for 3 seats.

Encinitas: City Council candidates square off

Who knows, maybe one of these 10 will go on to run for president or something in a couple of years?

30 comments:

  1. Hoorah for the SNL cast. Finally, it is getting back to what made it great. Fey has the Sarahcudda down cold. Who the hell would vote for McCain and Palin? Is this country that stupid? Well, it used to be, but is it still?

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  2. Support green energy and stop the powerlink LNG powerline!

    I hope the 10 candidates agree on that!

    Just got this email from a friend and wanted to pass it on to promote our very own Dadla Ponizil and thak him for the work he does on the enviromental committeee as well as what he does for a living.

    Support conservation and renewable energy!

    Dear Friends:

    The San Diego GreenBuilt tour is coming (Sunday, October 5th) and our house is on the tour. So Judy and I thought this would be a good time to announce my green building business: Ponizil Energy.



    We’d like to officially invite you to our house on the date above as our special guests (don’t need to register for the whole tour unless you want to see the other houses).

    Go to http://earthdayweb.org/GreenBuilt.html for more info on the GreenBuilt Tour.



    So come join us for drinks and goodies as we showcase the energy efficiency features of our house and learn about my work.

    Here’s what I do:

    Using building diagnostic tools such as the infrared camera below, I diagnose houses to find out why they are not as comfortable, energy efficient, healthy, or water efficient as they might be. And after the diagnosis, I provide an upgrade strategy specific to each family and their home.

    I’ve helped lots of San Diego homeowners realize they don’t need to live with drafty, hot, cold, or stuffy rooms.

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  3. Dadla is one of those unsung heroes in this community -- extremely intelligent, community oriented, and modest. He just wants us all to have and preserve the best. Thanks Dadla!

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  4. As an independent observer of this forum, I thought that Bond, Brandenburg and Houlihan (in that order) did the best...

    They seemed to understand the issues and had great responses to the questions.

    Who in the heck is Harriet?

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  5. I will ONLY vote for Bob! He is right on Pacific View, Hall Property, and Environmental Sustainability...

    Don't waste your vote on anyone else!

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  6. "We have leadership that pitted us against each other. Every day this park is not built, every day it costs more to build," said Bob Nanninga, a member of the parks and recreation commission when the property was purchased by the city. "As someone who has been in the process from the beginning, it has always been divide and conquer. We need to stick together and get this park built."

    I wish he had said work together.

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  7. Nanninga is right if we want this park to be built in the next decade we need to stick together and work for the common good.

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  8. What is the common good? That IS the question. Is it 5 sports fields for soccer kids and baseball kids, completely leaving out skateboarders the first time around, or is it a park for all? Dr. Lorri was at the meeting the other night and she said that SANDAG states the following: Encinitas has 64,000 residents. Of that 64,000 13,000 are people under 25 years of age. This is getting to be an older community, as young people cannot afford to purchase a home here. Therefore, less kids are going to live in Encinitas. So, why do we need 5 sports fileds for about 18% of the entire population. And that would be if everyone paticipates in sports to begin with.That made sense to me at the time and it still does. So are we builing it for the people of Encinitas or for Special Interests to have tournaments? Think of it. Hundreds of cars bringing kids from all over So. Calif. to a Park that is in a residential neighborhood; has 429 parking spaces; 2 entryways, and 1 pedistrian entryway. Sounds more like a bad dream to me. If the soccer people cannot compromise, and they don't sem to want to, then I say do not build it yet. Someone will blink. Did you know that even the Planning Commission did not pass the Park the way that it is now? They want 4 fields. Did you know that the Parks and Rec. Dept. is going to appeal the Council's decision if they uphold the Planning Commission's decision? I haven't quite figured out wo exactly they would appeal to, but they have said they will appeal it, and did you know that the Parks and Rec. Commission did not have ANY say in the Park, except the buffer zone and sidewalks? Does it seem a little odd to you? So citiznes of Encinitas, what is right? You and I are the ones who need to stand up and say" I won't take it anymore." Vote out Stocks and Bond and vote in people who really want to work for all of us.

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  9. Everyone agrees that the Hall property should have a park. The issue should the park be a sports complex that generates income for Carlsbad based soccer organizations or a community park for all walks of life?

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  10. Bob -- I was unable to attend the Cardiff forum, but have heard on this blog that you support five soccer fields, if so, I have serious doubts about voting for you. Is this true Bob? I thought you were sensitive to preserving the character of neighborhoods and the park as proposed would destroy the unique character of Cardiff and Encinitas. In addition, the park as proposed will cost over $60 million to build, not including the costs which will be generated by inverse condemnation lawsuits from surrounding business. I hope you are not courting the ESL vote. Please post your position and an explanation. Thanks.

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  11. There was some great drama at the council meeting last night. Agenda items #8, #9, and #10 were all about Cardiff. A lot of people were there. Item #9 was about a proposed zoning text change for the Brown property on Lake. Essentially, the developer for the Browns, Spring Hill, wanted a special favor.

    Of course, the community didn't want it. A series of speakers pounded the council and the staff about the impropriety of this. They pushed Jerome Stocks against the ropes, and he reacted. I thought he was going to spit fire.

    What happened? The speakers asked Stocks to recuse himself from voting because principals at Spring Hill had recently contributed over $1000 to his campaign. None lives in Encinitas. This had all the appearance of voting buying.

    Everyone should go to the video archive to watch this. With barely controlled anger, Stocks hisses out his answer that he will vote against the text change. The folks had done their homework and caught him with his pants down. As Stocks gave his soliloquy, he was pulling up his pants. Great drama!

    After one speaker Stocks asked the next speaker not to criticize the staff and aim their comments at the council. This next speaker aimed his fingers directly at Stocks like a mock pistol. I hope it shows on the video. Stocks forgot that during the Walgreens appeal he gave a tongue lashing to the staff about accepting the appeal. Since when is criticism of the staff off limits?

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  12. The council meeting last night was entertaining. I was very relieved that sanity prevailed on the Brown property issue (for the third time, I believe).

    The Stocks conflict of interest issue was interesting and entertaining. Does any one here know if there's a place on the web where the funding sources for the individual candidates is disclosed? It would be interesting to know this info for each of the candidates running for city council.

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  13. Bonddi, I do not support 5 soccer fields at the Hall Property Park. Never have, never will.

    This is a community park. It was designed as a community park, it will built as a park for the community,complete with a People and Dog Zone, a skate park, multiuse base/soft/kick ball diamonds, walking trails in a native buffer zone of oaks and sycamores, and enough multiuse field space to accomodate the soccer needs of Encinitas residents.

    Calls to scale back the park could easily be accomodated by eliminating the teen center and aquatic complex from the plan, as both generate considerable traffic, and be overly expensive to build and maintain.

    Traffic is the issue. I too feel it has not been properly, or fully addressed. I think the neighbors are absolutely justified in thier conncerns about traffic congestion, and infrustructure overload. Let's hear from the Traffic Commission as well.

    The lighting issue can be handled with trees, technology, and time limits.

    Bonddi, I support a low impact community oriented park at the Hall Property. Always have, always will.

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  14. Bob
    You said you supported the plan for five fields at the canidates forum. We all heard you.

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  15. why do the" special use" people always say to stick together rather than work together?

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  16. Watch the tape folks. Bob hedged on 5 parks, but when the audience pressed him he finally said he could support it, just build the Park. Come on Bob, tell the truth. Everyone can watch the video. Do you really believe that everyone belives everything you say on this blg. You are fooling yourself. I once belived everything you said. No longer You keep getting caught.

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  17. So, Bob
    u suggest eliminating the teen center and the community pool is the best way to scale down the park.
    People dont want more communitee amenities for those that don't play soccer removed to add more amenities for those that don't play soccer.

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  18. The question from Bonddi was do I support 5 soccer fields at the Hall Property. I do not support five soccer fields as part of the Hall Property Park.

    I have been very consistant on this.

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  19. Semantics Bob. Come on. Do you supprt 5 playing fields, be they baseball, soccer, or multi-use?

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  20. Yes. I support 5 mixed-use fields as part of the community park that will eventually be built on the Hall Property. I would also be O.K with less fields if that is what it takes to get the park built.

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  21. That's five mixed use and no dedicated?

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  22. thanks for answering Bob, now the kicker question, do you support lights for the fields, be they one or be they five?

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  23. bonddi, everyone knows your the Village Idiot, always have been, always will...

    You are a joke to most of us in the community. Your following consist of dumb and dumber.

    Please let me know how you will vote, so that I can cancel out your stupid vote!

    Isn't democracy great!

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  24. The Cardiff forum was held at Ada Harris school, not in the council chambers. There was not the normal video taping and archiving on the city website. So we can't just check the video.

    However, Bruce Ehlers was there with a video camera set up. I don't know if he recorded the whole event. If he caught Bob's statement about supporting five fields, we can all hear what Bob said.

    Call them soccer fields or mixed use fields, but during tournaments and soccer season, they will all be used for soccer. It's a red herring to talk eliminating the teen center and the swim complex. They will never be built. The skate park may or may not be built.

    With soccer turning into an all year sport and competitive use dominating recreational use, what Bob is supporting doesn't make sense. Traffic cannot be reduced to a level that doesn't severely impact the neighborhood. This is all in the EIR. Caltrans is supposed to fix all of this with roundabouts at the Santa Fe Drive freeway ramps. Really? Add in lighted fields and the traffic only increases.

    I believe Bob needs to rethink his position. He is loosing votes fast in Cardiff, and he can't win without Cardiff. I think most residents are in favor of native plants and a true community park. But a special use park? Remember that is what it is called in the EIR.

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  25. Did anyone ask how much the city is paying out in the lawsuit regarding the 14 year old boy killed on Santa Fe because the city lacked proper infrastructure?? No!! Then that is the legacy of Mr Bonds, Stocks and Holligans after all those years in office. SHAME SHAME SHAME!!!

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  26. I was at the Cardiff Forum, and it was Nanninga that suggested, as a compromise, policy that would restrict,if not prevent, tournaments being held at the Hall Property.

    Nanninga is open and honest, respresents common sense, and is seeking common ground so that a park can be built.

    Nanninga is an Environmental steward, not a sports fanatic, and he has my vote.

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  27. Anon 12:49 a.m. - Jerome it's your bed time.

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  28. I'd like to know who donated to your campaign, Bob...your support for 5 fields leads me to believe you got money from people who want a Sports Park. Also, you couldn't find any native trees that would block out "lighting issues". And even if you planed oaks, they would take YEARS to grow. Meanwhile all the neigbors near the park get blasted by hi voltage lights. You are displaying your classic double speak pattern-again.

    Please, PLEASE! Would just one of you pro sports park fans consider for just one second what it would be like to live near this? Use your imgination and have some empathy for the Caridff neighborhood that will be affected. Cottonwood Creek is a stellar example of a lo impact park but it took 17 years to be built. A lot of people tried to put their stink on it, but the neighbors perservered, and we now have a wonderful facility. The Cardiff people will have to take the same baby steps, listen to the same garbage and be tenancious and organized, and never give up. One thing that will help is to vote Stocks and Bond out of office, and then in two years, dump Dalager.

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  29. One thing that will help is to vote Stocks and Bond out of office, and then in two years, dump Dalager.

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