Monday night will be memorable for a few of our bloggers, as the City of Santa Ana will be administering the Oath of Office to four of us – and also to Ryan Gene who will be rejoining our blog soon (more on that later).
You can read the council agenda at this link. The meeting will take place at council chambers, at 22 Civic Center Plaza, at 6 p.m.
Luis Rodriguez and I will be sworn into the Redevelopment and Housing Commission. Sean Mills will be joining the Planning Commssion. Claudio Gallegos is coming aboard the Environmental & Transportation Advisory Committee (ETAC). Ryan Gene will be joining Claudio on ETAC but will be sworn in at a later meeting.
A few of our friends are also being sworn in. Tish Leon will become a member of the Recreation & Parks Board, Lynette Verino and Valerie Amezcua are joining the Human Relations Commission, and Jeffrey Dickman will be sworn onto the Historic Resources Commission.
One of the stranger moves will see my neighbor, Don Cribb, leave the Planning Commision to join ETAC. I heard from several friends that Cribb was purported to have said, at the last Planning Commission meeting, that he lived in Century City. His local house, which is several houses north of mine, on the same street, always appears abandoned. You can actually see furniture piled up in the window. My three year old calls it the “ghost house” and he is quite afraid of it. Is it legal for someone who lives elsewhere to serve on a city commission? Nothing against Cribb, it just seems odd that he would get an appointment if indeed he made that statement about living in Century City. I wonder if his alleged statement will be reflected in the minutes of the meeting in question?
Another appointment worth noting is Julie Stroud replacing Tim Whitacre on the Recreations & Park Board. Whitacre served for 8 years and appears to be without an appointment this time around. Stroud is very active in city politics, but she supported two losing candidates this past year and is probably quite grateful to still land an appointment.
I would like to thank Councilwoman Michele Martinez for nominating me to the Redevelopment Commission. I know that my fellow bloggers are also grateful to their nominating council members. I also look forward to seeing Sean in action on the Planning Commission! For the record, we have all promised that we won’t be blogging about matters before our respective commissions. It’s not like we have a shortage of other things to write about…
Art – didn’t you support two losing candidates as well? Maybe, just maybe, people are appointed to a board/commission for the work they do in the city, not just for supporting a winning candidate. Sorry, my comments are rude and disrecpectful…I forgot this blog is not about you.
Poster 1,
No need to apologize. I backed three losing candidates actually. I am pleased however to be able to serve my city again.
And yes, this blog is not about me.
This is going to be very interesting since you, Luis, Claudio & Sean frequently bring up, and comment on, issues that are before City Commissions or the City Council on this blog. Now, you won’t bring up issues or comment on issues before your respective Commissions. What about those issues when they go to Council? Will you comment then?
What about issues before your fellow bloggers Commission or how they voted on that issue? What about issues your other bloggers Commissions have passed on to the Council for votes? What about critiquing the Council votes on those issues? After all, the Council member that appointed you might vote against your, or your fellow bloggers, recommendation.
Sure, those of you not on that particular Commission *could* comment, or take issue, but you would be blasting one of your own. And if you critique the Council members, it might mean taking issue with the Council member that appointed you. And surely, you are not going to just critique the other Council members on their votes. That would be unfair and underhanded.
Does that also mean none of you will comment here on why you voted a certain way if the question is asked here? How about the vote of the Council member that appointed you on those issues? How about their vote on ANY issue?
How convenient that all of you have been appointed to Commissions and will now become part of the Establishment”! Now, you will have to watch your step in any public comments you make about Commissions and Council votes. Talk about potential conflict of interest!!!
Morning Coffee
I was at that Planning meeting as well and I too heard Don Cribb state that he lived in Century City.
I thought it odd that he lived there by sat on a commission here.
By the way Art, I was not appointed to any commisions and that leaves me free to write about what ever I choose.
I just re-read my original post, and I am concerned about the “tone”. I didn’t mean to imply that any of the bloggers here have done anything wrong. I was just commenting on the fact that this is an almost unheard of event. There has never, to my knowledge, been a majority of major bloggers, on any one site, appointed to a body ( or bodies)in the same City that make these types of decisions/recommendations, and then have the Council either ratify or shoot down their recommendations.
The major bloggers here have taken issue with so many Santa Ana Council/ Commission decisions…sometimes pro and sometimes con, that the potential impact of these appointments is thought provoking. I also did not mean to cast doubt the integrity of anyone here. Just the position they might find themselves in, or that others might imagine them in. And the declaration that you will not comment here on issues before your Committees. Art and the others have always commented on upcoming votes and issues coming before both the Commissions & City Council, and in many cases , sounded the “call to arms” for the community.
Art has been spot on with his political satire, but although it was satire, it was not without some real truths. This blog has a reputation of blasting Commission members and Council members for their votes on some issues and questioning their motives for those votes. This blog has been very vocal about Council members and candidates and their allegiances and motives. My point was, now that so many of you are going to sit on these Commissions, you are sure to get pressure from both sides. Those who appointed you and the community that reads this blog and reacts. There are sure to be questions about your votes and your allegiances, your support or opposition to future Council candidates or the re-election of Council members and what is, or is not, posted on this blog.
If only one of you had been appointed, ok. But 5 of you! And yes Thomas, I know you’ll still be here. But this unique situation does provide food for thought.
Morning Coffee
Congratulations to all of you for landing those appointments. It’s a real honor and I’m happy for you. I hope you keep the comments coming. It’s important to the city. Don’t go easy on them now that you on those boards. Good luck!
Morning Coffee,
Thanks for the clarification and the feeback. You make some good points. Our only saving grace is that while we will not be able to comment on our own commissions, I don’t see why we should not be able to do so with regard to each other’s commissions, with the caveat that we must not use information that comes to us in our roles as city commissioners.
And as you noted, Thomas will be able to write what he pleases from outside the gilded cage.
However, becoming commissioners will handcuff us somewhat. I feel the same way about my service on the OC GOP Central Committee. It sometimes makes it hard for me to comment about certain candidates and races. As I recently discovered, I can use satire to say things I might not otherwise feel free to say. It is liberating.
We’ll just have to see how all this unfolds going forward…it should be a grand adventure. I do think that we will be able to contribute positively to our city as commissioners. Let us hope that the price we pay as bloggers is worth it.
As a reader and occasional responder to posts here, my thought is that perhaps the silver linining in these conversation limiting appoinments is that the intensity of focus here on Santa Ana will end. There is much more going on in the county than just Santa Ana politics and issues. For instance, at the County level the recent CEO departure to LA County that was reversed, the negative publicity regarding the current County Treasurer and his past work on liquidating a bankrupt business, even the story this week about a lawsuit against the County Assessor by a person not selected for a promotion. Then there are issues like the state-wide draught this winter and what it may mean for our (lack of) water supply, global warming, etc. How about the delay in completing 22FWY improvements even though last October it was publicized as being done on time (something is beginning to smell here)? Maybe we can broaden our discussion? No response needed, I will watch to see what happens over time. Good luck to all appointees!
Poster 8,
Good points. I try to do what I can, but I really need for my cobloggers to step up. I think they will, and we are always open to adding more writers to our team.
As for the issues you raised:
1. I did not cover the OC CEO story because it did not seem that important. It strikes me that Mauk probably did this to get a raise.
2. The Treasurer story on the other hand is interesting. Perhaps Larry might write about it. Regardless, it is not good news for our Treasurer or his backers.
3. The Assessor story I had not heard about.
4. I did hear about the water issue. We all ought to be conserving in any case.
5. I was not surprised by the 22 delay. Par for the course when it comes to such work in our county.
Your point is a good one. We need to do a better job of covering county issues. I will do my part and I hope my writers will too.
Thanks!
Art/Sean/Claudio/Luis,
Can you PLEASE try to get the Planning Comish meetings on T.V. and Redevelopment too. It’s too important for the people to not have open access. Other cities do. Please talk to Michele and Sal.
Thanks!
Poster 10,
It is going to get difficult to televise anything when the city’s contract with Adelphia ends. However, the city could open up things by making minute to all commission meetings available on the city website, with a searchable index.
The city also ought to put its entire budget up on line, as does the City of Costa Mesa.
One thing I will try to do is have the Redevelopment meetings moved to the evening, so residents can attend after work.
Anonymous #11 and Art.
Working backwards I will attempt to address your concerns.
As we strive to have “transparency” of our government all city meetings should be held in the evening when the working public can attend. Redevelopment decisions, an area very close to my heart, is not the only issue where the public should be able to publicly participate in the debate.
Although I played a role in the televising of our city council meetings many years ago, I think expanding that access to the other commissions may need to be evaluated. Where you have a major item on an Agenda than perhaps that meeting should be televised.
If you have homeowners seeking to add a second story on their home or similar Planning Commission Agenda requests do not warrant the cost and effort for these broadcasts.
As to the OC CEO story. I too received an early heads-up input and chose not to post it without a full assessment. I see that another blog is boasting of breaking the story and that’s fine.
The print media is at a major disadvantage over any blog. Today’s news will not be in print until tomorrow at the earliest. To deal with this reporting delay I receive a daily e-mail of lead stories from a major newspaper the day before they publish.
It reminds me of “previews of coming attractions” at the movies.
As to Treasurer Chris Street’s prior involvement as Trustee for Fruehauf Trailer Corp.
Obviously with his involvement handling billions of dollars of Orange County funds you might have some concerns. I would also say that there surely are safeguards in place wherein said funds are well protected. Proving the allegations of mismanagement require extensive investigation that I have no desire to engage in at this time.
This story is not new. It broke just prior to the election yet the voters still decided he was the best qualified candidate for the job. It’s easy to be a Monday morning quarterback. One thing for certain is that he is not in a position to arbitrarily give himself a raise as alleged while serving as a Trustee. Source. Saturday’s OC Register report.
As to the lawsuit. Other than taking time away from conducting his duties and responsibilities as Treasurer (for time associated with discovery or Depositions) we are not liable for any financial consequences due to his prior conduct. Let’s simply take a wait and see position until circumstances change if in fact they do.
As to the charges against OC Assessor Webster Guillory.
Larry, don’t go there. Although he is a Democrat I like Webster.
He is very “articulate.” Only joking. More articulate than Larry Gilbert. We are simply too sensitive. I am tired of the hyphenated American in the 21st century. African-American, Italian-American, Polish-American, etc. I accept his statement that the decision was based on leadership skills for management rather than ability as an auditor or the color of your skin. We just endured weeks of the same commentary on the Super Bowl. It’s time to move ahead.
With regard to multiple members of the Orange Juice blog getting Commissioner appointments to the Santa Ana city government. For starters. Let me congratulate each and every one of you. I would like to point out that they either recognize your talents and desire to better your city or simply wish to shut down opposing viewpoints. The good news is that this blog is bigger than Art Pedroza, and it’s bigger than Santa Ana. If anyone living in Santa Ana wishes to question any city policy matters that you feel are being neglected, simply provide the rest of us your concerns. Our e-mail addresses are readily posted on the blog.
As always your feedback is welcome.
Larry Gilbert