Righeimer Freaks Out!
FIRST THINGS FIRST...
OK, let's get this out of the way first. I'll write about the remainder of Tuesday night's council meeting separately because there is much to discuss and this will distract from that information.
RIGHEIMER BLOWS HIS STACK!
Tuesday night, during his turn at bat in the Council Members Comments segment of the meeting at just about 7:00 (In case you want to look it up on the streaming video or the recorded replay on CMTV) Mayor Jim Righeimer absolutely flipped out and used the power and authority of his bully pulpit - a perfect term, by the way - to criticize ME, specifically and by name, for something I wrote about him as a comment on a thread on Facebook about his "Preserve Our Neighborhoods Task Force" last week. The person who generated the original comment, paraphrasing, postulated that residents who wanted to know about the task force couldn't because it was not subject to the Brown Act and the meetings are not announced - held in secret was the phrase used. No reports, no minutes, etc. Mine was the first comment. Here's that comment:
This is how they roll. Create a"task force" - no open meeting law compliance required-then meet in secret and hatch(pun intended) plans to focus "enforcement" on specific types of groups. 75 years ago this is what another strutting dictator did in Germany. "transparency" seems to be a one-way mirror fro these guys!
I subsequently corrected the typo at the end to "for".
THE MAYOR FLIPS OUT
Last night Righeimer took offense to being compared to Adolf Hitler - You'll note I never used the name - and went on to describe him as someone who killed six million people. He ranted about having a family and on and on, getting madder by the second. He was stunned that I had been considered #19 on the Daily Pilot list of the most influential people in our community!
DEMANDS APOLOGIES
Righeimer
demanded an immediate apology from me - in person - and apologies from
the four people who had the audacity to "like" the comment - and read
their names, too!
HE CAN'T READ ME ON FACEBOOK, SO...
It's interesting that, since he's blocked me on Facebook, he cannot actually see what I write. Someone else did a "screen shot" and sent it to him. He read it almost verbatim. He DID NOT read the last sentence about transparency, which really was the punch line.
HE ATTACKS LEECE...
Immediately after that, during her segment, Councilwoman Wendy Leece began to mention that I had the right of free speech when Righeimer came unglued again, interrupting her and demanding to know if she thought it was OK for him to be compared to someone who killed 6 million people. To her credit - I'm sure it took all the composure she could muster and that she relied on years of teaching petulant children - she did not get into an argument with him. She just calmly sat there, bit her tongue until he finished his rant, then completed her thoughts.
...AND ANNA VRSKA
At the very end of the meeting he almost ignored the final speaker of the evening, Anna Vrska, who had filled out a card and had waited patiently for her turn to address the council. Right off the bat she criticized Righeimer for his rant about me and said she agreed with me. Immediately he tried to bully her, demanding to know if she thought it was OK that he was being compared to someone who killed 6 million people. Vrska, however, was not going to be bullied - again! She told Righeimer not to interrupt her and they actually got into a shouting match before he relented and shut his yap. It was a joy to watch.
HE EARNED IT, AND DEMONSTRATED IT
If Righeimer took offense at being compared to a 20th Century dictator, so be it. I used that reference because, since he took office, he's conducted himself EXACTLY like a dictator. His behavior has been chronicled here at length. Last night he demonstrated, one more time, just how capricious he is with rules - even those he instituted unilaterally. At the end of the meeting, during the discussion of the proposed "resident only parking" on Center Street, he permitted several residents to step up to speak. In fact, he invited them to speak AFTER the public comments segment for that issue had been closed, even though none had filled out speaker cards and had, apparently, not intended to participate! He did NOT require them to fill out speakers cards. Councilman Gary Monahan chided him for it at the time, but Righeimer just shrugged it off. He only follows rules that please him, when it pleases him.
A BETTER CHOICE
Maybe I should not have compared Righeimer to Adolf Hitler. In fact, the more I think about it, a better comparison might have been Benito Mussolini, the Italian dictator of the same era. Here's a phrase from the Wikipedia page about him:
"After destroying all political opposition through his secret police and outlawing labor strikes, Mussolini and his fascist followers consolidated their power through a series of laws that transformed the nation into a one party dictatorship."
NO?
What do you think? "secret police" - maybe that fifth floor Code Enforcement group that does his personal bidding? "outlawing labor strikes" - sounds like the kind of relationship Righeimer has established with our labor organizations, doesn't it? "series of laws" - Well, where do we begin with that one? The Nuisance Ordinance; the Excessive Use of Resources Ordinance; his unilateral stifling of speech at council meetings by bifurcating Public Comments, and on and on. Righeimer's behavior has been dictatorial from the get-go and is only getting more so as the weeks pass. He demonstrated that last night when he interrupted Leece and tried to interrupt Vrska.
HYPOCRITICAL DOUBLE STANDARD
And, by the way, back on September 29, 2013, Dennis Popp - you know, that "kinder, gentler" blogger as described in the Daily Pilot profile of him last year - wrote an entry on his pathetic, pandering blog, HERE in which he describes the by-partisan grass-roots organization Costa Mesans For Responsible Government (CM4RG) as behaving like Nazis! Where was the outrage then, Mr. Mayor? Popp - that pontificating pile of partisan puffery so roundly praised by you and your sycophants - is much more overt in his comparison and yet you apparently support him and his role as campaign manager for your hand-picked campaign companion, Lee Ramos.
TO THE MAYOR...
Since I know Mayor Righeimer reads this blog I will now address him directly. Mr. Mayor, here's the deal. I AM NOT going to apologize to you for my characterization of you on that Facebook snippet. In fact, I have affirmed that characterization here. If you don't like criticism you're in the wrong business. You CHOSE to be a politician and with that choice comes criticism. What's that old phrase? "If you don't like the heat, get out of the kitchen!"
IT AIN'T WORKING...
Your reaction is just one more classic example of your attempts to intimidate and stifle folks who disagree with you. Be advised, Mr. Mayor, it's not working. All you're doing is demonstrating to EVERYONE just what a shallow, vindictive person you are - one who is certainly not worthy of the public trust granted to you as a member of our City Council.
YOU APOLOGIZE!
In fact, Mr. Mayor, I demand an apology FROM YOU to me and to the others you called out last night, for abusing the power of your position to chide members of the public - your constituents - and for trying to deny me rights guaranteed by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. Your behavior was unacceptable for a public official.
DON'T BOTHER
And, by the way, Mr. Mayor, don't bother unleashing your ex-brother-in-law/lawyer on me again. As you and your sidekick, Steve Mensinger, know, that didn't work the other times you tried it and it won't work this time, either. I understand the SLAPP laws, as you know.
STOP DOING STUPID STUFF!
There's only one way for you to avoid criticism, Mr. Mayor... stop doing stupid stuff. Of course, it may be too late for that. Stop trying to run this city like it's your own little fiefdom. Follow the rules established to protect the rights of the residents of this city. Stop your attempt to take over absolute control of my city with yet another bogus attempt at a Charter - the residents already resoundingly told you they don't want a Charter less than two years ago. If you don't want people to compare you to a dictator, just stop acting like one... it's really that simple.
WILL HE LISTEN?
OK, back to you, my loyal readers. Do you think he'll pay attention? Nah, I don't either, but I guess we'll see. One of his sycophants, Jim Fitzpatrick, recently posted on a NextDoor thread that "we don't need listeners", so I guess that answers the question. Thanks to all of you who have communicated your support on this issue. It's very interesting to sit in the back of the auditorium and have the mayor of your city criticize and vilify you in front of more than 100 people and who-knows-how-many watching on television at home. I hope Righeimer's behavior won't discourage any of you from continuing to participate in the process. As I've said many times before, this is going to be a very contentious campaign season and it appears that Mr. Righeimer is already feeling the pressure. Maybe he'll decide to NOT run again - he has until August 8th to make that decision. We should be so lucky...
OK, let's get this out of the way first. I'll write about the remainder of Tuesday night's council meeting separately because there is much to discuss and this will distract from that information.RIGHEIMER BLOWS HIS STACK!
Tuesday night, during his turn at bat in the Council Members Comments segment of the meeting at just about 7:00 (In case you want to look it up on the streaming video or the recorded replay on CMTV) Mayor Jim Righeimer absolutely flipped out and used the power and authority of his bully pulpit - a perfect term, by the way - to criticize ME, specifically and by name, for something I wrote about him as a comment on a thread on Facebook about his "Preserve Our Neighborhoods Task Force" last week. The person who generated the original comment, paraphrasing, postulated that residents who wanted to know about the task force couldn't because it was not subject to the Brown Act and the meetings are not announced - held in secret was the phrase used. No reports, no minutes, etc. Mine was the first comment. Here's that comment:This is how they roll. Create a"task force" - no open meeting law compliance required-then meet in secret and hatch(pun intended) plans to focus "enforcement" on specific types of groups. 75 years ago this is what another strutting dictator did in Germany. "transparency" seems to be a one-way mirror fro these guys!
I subsequently corrected the typo at the end to "for".
THE MAYOR FLIPS OUT
Last night Righeimer took offense to being compared to Adolf Hitler - You'll note I never used the name - and went on to describe him as someone who killed six million people. He ranted about having a family and on and on, getting madder by the second. He was stunned that I had been considered #19 on the Daily Pilot list of the most influential people in our community!DEMANDS APOLOGIES
Righeimer
demanded an immediate apology from me - in person - and apologies from
the four people who had the audacity to "like" the comment - and read
their names, too! HE CAN'T READ ME ON FACEBOOK, SO...
It's interesting that, since he's blocked me on Facebook, he cannot actually see what I write. Someone else did a "screen shot" and sent it to him. He read it almost verbatim. He DID NOT read the last sentence about transparency, which really was the punch line.
HE ATTACKS LEECE...
Immediately after that, during her segment, Councilwoman Wendy Leece began to mention that I had the right of free speech when Righeimer came unglued again, interrupting her and demanding to know if she thought it was OK for him to be compared to someone who killed 6 million people. To her credit - I'm sure it took all the composure she could muster and that she relied on years of teaching petulant children - she did not get into an argument with him. She just calmly sat there, bit her tongue until he finished his rant, then completed her thoughts....AND ANNA VRSKA
At the very end of the meeting he almost ignored the final speaker of the evening, Anna Vrska, who had filled out a card and had waited patiently for her turn to address the council. Right off the bat she criticized Righeimer for his rant about me and said she agreed with me. Immediately he tried to bully her, demanding to know if she thought it was OK that he was being compared to someone who killed 6 million people. Vrska, however, was not going to be bullied - again! She told Righeimer not to interrupt her and they actually got into a shouting match before he relented and shut his yap. It was a joy to watch. HE EARNED IT, AND DEMONSTRATED IT
If Righeimer took offense at being compared to a 20th Century dictator, so be it. I used that reference because, since he took office, he's conducted himself EXACTLY like a dictator. His behavior has been chronicled here at length. Last night he demonstrated, one more time, just how capricious he is with rules - even those he instituted unilaterally. At the end of the meeting, during the discussion of the proposed "resident only parking" on Center Street, he permitted several residents to step up to speak. In fact, he invited them to speak AFTER the public comments segment for that issue had been closed, even though none had filled out speaker cards and had, apparently, not intended to participate! He did NOT require them to fill out speakers cards. Councilman Gary Monahan chided him for it at the time, but Righeimer just shrugged it off. He only follows rules that please him, when it pleases him.A BETTER CHOICE
Maybe I should not have compared Righeimer to Adolf Hitler. In fact, the more I think about it, a better comparison might have been Benito Mussolini, the Italian dictator of the same era. Here's a phrase from the Wikipedia page about him: "After destroying all political opposition through his secret police and outlawing labor strikes, Mussolini and his fascist followers consolidated their power through a series of laws that transformed the nation into a one party dictatorship."
NO?
What do you think? "secret police" - maybe that fifth floor Code Enforcement group that does his personal bidding? "outlawing labor strikes" - sounds like the kind of relationship Righeimer has established with our labor organizations, doesn't it? "series of laws" - Well, where do we begin with that one? The Nuisance Ordinance; the Excessive Use of Resources Ordinance; his unilateral stifling of speech at council meetings by bifurcating Public Comments, and on and on. Righeimer's behavior has been dictatorial from the get-go and is only getting more so as the weeks pass. He demonstrated that last night when he interrupted Leece and tried to interrupt Vrska.HYPOCRITICAL DOUBLE STANDARD
And, by the way, back on September 29, 2013, Dennis Popp - you know, that "kinder, gentler" blogger as described in the Daily Pilot profile of him last year - wrote an entry on his pathetic, pandering blog, HERE in which he describes the by-partisan grass-roots organization Costa Mesans For Responsible Government (CM4RG) as behaving like Nazis! Where was the outrage then, Mr. Mayor? Popp - that pontificating pile of partisan puffery so roundly praised by you and your sycophants - is much more overt in his comparison and yet you apparently support him and his role as campaign manager for your hand-picked campaign companion, Lee Ramos. TO THE MAYOR...
Since I know Mayor Righeimer reads this blog I will now address him directly. Mr. Mayor, here's the deal. I AM NOT going to apologize to you for my characterization of you on that Facebook snippet. In fact, I have affirmed that characterization here. If you don't like criticism you're in the wrong business. You CHOSE to be a politician and with that choice comes criticism. What's that old phrase? "If you don't like the heat, get out of the kitchen!" IT AIN'T WORKING...
Your reaction is just one more classic example of your attempts to intimidate and stifle folks who disagree with you. Be advised, Mr. Mayor, it's not working. All you're doing is demonstrating to EVERYONE just what a shallow, vindictive person you are - one who is certainly not worthy of the public trust granted to you as a member of our City Council. YOU APOLOGIZE!
In fact, Mr. Mayor, I demand an apology FROM YOU to me and to the others you called out last night, for abusing the power of your position to chide members of the public - your constituents - and for trying to deny me rights guaranteed by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. Your behavior was unacceptable for a public official.DON'T BOTHER
And, by the way, Mr. Mayor, don't bother unleashing your ex-brother-in-law/lawyer on me again. As you and your sidekick, Steve Mensinger, know, that didn't work the other times you tried it and it won't work this time, either. I understand the SLAPP laws, as you know. STOP DOING STUPID STUFF!
There's only one way for you to avoid criticism, Mr. Mayor... stop doing stupid stuff. Of course, it may be too late for that. Stop trying to run this city like it's your own little fiefdom. Follow the rules established to protect the rights of the residents of this city. Stop your attempt to take over absolute control of my city with yet another bogus attempt at a Charter - the residents already resoundingly told you they don't want a Charter less than two years ago. If you don't want people to compare you to a dictator, just stop acting like one... it's really that simple.WILL HE LISTEN?
Labels: Anna Vrska, CM4RG, Dennis Popp, Gary Monahan, Jim Fitzpatrick, Jim Righeimer, Lee Ramos, SLAPP, Steve Mensinger, Wendy Leece
posted by The Pot Stirrer at 4/16/2014 02:54:00 AM
24 Comments:
Wow. Kudos to you, Councilperson Leece and Ms. Vrska for behaving like adults.
Wow, Geoff. Hope you actually got some sleep after posting that at 3 a.m.
It's time to take the power back!
Wow. It's logical. If you act like a dictator, you get compared to one. If you act like a hurse's ass, you get compared to one. I this case, I think both comparisons fit perfectly.
Let's not forget Ramos is his protege and thinks just like him. NO more dictators in office.
I don't know about killing 6 million people, but I do know of one I blame him for, as well as the misery of the rest of this town since he took office.
Righeimer wants people to think he's a victim. This is the same scam he's pulling with his lawsuit against the police. Everyone sees through him though, and knows he's actually the instigator and the leader.
It'll be fun to watch the investigations unfold and find out exactly what Righeimer knew and when he knew it. Ranting and whining won't help him.
Thank you Geoff West for always telling the truth and getting the word out about what these people are doing.
Thank you, Geoff, for once more standing firm and providing by far the most reliable news available in Costa Mesa. Many of us depend on you for learning and reporting much of the maneuvering that is going on behind the scenes.
Geoff, that link to Musselini is spot on. It chronicles Riggy's behavior perfectly. He is a fascist. That makes all his followers fascists also. We are called "haters" and appropriately so. We hate fascism. You're darn right. Haters unite against fascism and dictatorship from the dias.
Sure, unlike Hitler, Righeimer hasn't killed anyone. His incompetent actions probably helped trigger Huy Pham's suicide, but that's not the same.
I wonder though- What if we could go back in time and see all the things Hitler did years before he became a murderer. What type of behavior comes before pure evil?
It is truly unfortunate that you actually think comparing an elected official in 2014 Costa Mesa to Adolf Hitler is in any way acceptable. Your refusal to acknowledge your horrific statement just makes it worse. Your laughable "note" that you didn't actually write "Hitler' is pathetic. Hitler was responsible for genocide and the destruction of Europe.
Just to clear up any confusion about just how inexcusable your words were - which you do have every right to pen, say, publish, broadcast, or disseminate in any format - I'll provide a brief and in no way comprehensive history recap:
2014 - 75 = 1939, the dictator in Germany at that time was Adolf Hitler.
On Jan. 30, 1939, Adolf Hitler threatened "the annihilation of the Jewish race in Europe," and was subsequently responsible for the extermination of millions of human beings. He also signed an order in October 1939 authorizing involuntary euthanasia in his pursuit of racial purity. In 1939, he ordered the invasion of Poland, leading to the wholesale slaughter of human beings.
Yet you defend your characterization because a duly elected mayor had the audacity to shift (not eliminate or limit in any way) some public comments to the end of council meetings, stood up to some labor groups while reaching beneficial agreements with others, and actually shepherded through ordinances which the General Plan called for in 1996?
You then compare the dedicated, career code enforcement employees who crafted and implemented an innovative approach to improving an entire neighborhood (with the enthusiastic cooperation of property owners and residents) and which is being copied by other cities to the Gestapo? I wonder how Keith Clarke or Mike Brumbaugh feel about that?
A new low from you, and entirely inexcusable.
"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it". George Santayana
CM Resdent - Jim's minions have called those who disagree with them Nazis. There's hyperbole on both sides, no doubt, but you can't change the fact that Jim acts more like a king than a mayor. He attempts to stifle public comments except when they support him - then they get extra time or can speak without even having submitted a card in advance. He is very dismissive to the council members who disagree with him.
If he is so upset with comments made in this blog, why did he give the comments a much wider audience? He enjoys playing the victim. I guess all publicity is good publicity when you go after the low information voter.
CM Resident – I’m also not fond of Geoff’s analogy, but as you acknowledge, he has every right every right to write his opinion. Geoff is a private citizen with a public forum. If you don’t like it, don’t read it. Righeimer is by his choice an elected official who, as part of the job, will be criticized. All Righeimer needs to do is ignore the criticism. He ignores most everything else people tell him, unless it’s what he wants to hear. But for this criticism, which he purposely tried to avoid by blocking Geoff on Facebook, he’s willing to launch into a public tirade. Personally, I despise Righeimer, so I love it when he lets the pressure get to him and explodes. But if he had a clue, he would just not even acknowledge Mr. West’s opinions.
As Abe Lincoln said, “Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.” Every time Riggy loses it with one of his rants, he removes all doubt.
Righeimer's most strategic move by far would be to not run again in CM. He could retire from Costa Mesa as a sort of martyr for his causes, tout his “accomplishments”, and then jump into something like a supervisor or assembly race in two years - fool some new rubes, like Mansoor. Instead, he’ll choose to get thumped in November, watch another charter go down, and go off as the loser he is. He’ll do that because his misguided ego won’t let him think strategically.
Well, as a registered, card-carrying Defender of the Helpless, I feel compelled to respond to 'Heimer's outburst last night. He demanded satisfaction. That's a code duello demand, but we have no code duello in our society. However, we do have gymnasia wherein pugilism is practiced under sportsmanlike rules. I hereby volunteer to champion you, Geoff, by meeting Mr. Righeimer in such a gymnasium, under such sportsmanlike rules, at a time and place of his choosing, and engaging in physical activity with him to any extent he deems necessary for the satisfaction of his grievance against you and the others mentioned. I offer him the handicap of my advanced age (going on seventy-two) and current lack of physical conditioning. Surely in view of the many insulting ditties I have heaped upon him he has ample reason to accept me as a surrogate for the four or five persons he mentioned last night.
His castigation of you and the others, his verbal bullying of Wendy Leece, and his unmitigated attacks on Anna Vrska are all marks, and evidence, of cowardice. Perhaps his demand for satisfaction is his way of refuting those evidences. If so, let him come and meet me under the described circumstances, and establish for all to see his bona fides.
I'm willing to bet a hundred dollars he'll never take me up on this offer. Any takers? Jim?
Riggy is playing the victim card like there is no tomorrow.
Lets see, brings up the fact that he tries to "end on something happy", uses key phrases like "bothers me & disappointing", he "tries to stay off the blogs & doesn't read them" (LIAR), " names G.W & BC, dramatic pause for effect, "I can take the beating, you can say horrible things about me"(obviously not) dramatic pause, brings up being a kid with a German name, bring up his family and being upset that people agree with G.W. (I'm upset more people didn't LIKE it). Get over it Riggy, quit being a baby. Great work Geoff.
People think Hitler was the sum total of the one act of genocide. He wasn't. He was a dictator. I can go through a laundry list of actions that Riggy perpetrated on this city. Not the least of which was strong arming the mayor position away from Wendy. No, he declared it and it was so. Dictatorship. He has made arrangements with the other two councilmen to vote "lock step" with him. Dictatorship. He has tried to silence the opposition to his schemes by limiting their comments at city council and using cards. Dictatorship. And all these stupid "task forces" and "code enforcement" and those walks through Mayberry wherein he and Mensinger would take photos and call into code enforcement and attack homeowners for the stupidest things imaginable. Dictatorship. His attitude of "my way or the highway" is well referenced and on just about every level I can think of. This is dictatorship.
I know it isn't what people like to hear, but we are being dictated to. Reality bites.
For some strange reason, this quote about Google that I saw today seems to apply to Righeimer and the council majority and their merry band of followers:
“We’ve all learned that the nicest people with the best intentions are capable of bringing evil into the world. No matter how sincere and idealistic they are, they are concentrating an enormous amount of power in our informational universe in a very small number of hands. A single, giant company responsible only to its managers can’t claim to have the world’s interests at heart. Ultimately, what Google does is for Google.”
I think Righiemer thinks (bold, italics) he has Costa Mesa's best interests at heart, but his failure to actually listen to, or flat-out ignore, opposing viewpoints of his vision shows that he really doesn't. Seems more like he holds the best interests of developers and attorneys closer. He's basically the Google of mayors, which I think at the end of the day is much less offensive than comparing him to Der Fuhrer himself, which is pretty out of line.
If that connection fails, I like to think of him as Lord Farquaad from Shrek. Helps me laugh at all of this insanity and inanity.
I found last evening’s comment by the Mayor somewhat amusing, but I also wonder why the audience had to become part of a conversation that should have been a private one between the Mayor and those he felt offended him. While I feel that name calling should be left to the grammar school crowd, it was inappropriate for the Mayor to bring this into the public forum and make us witness the spectacle. In my opinion, it was just an election year stunt and has received too much attention, which is just what the Mayor wanted.
I can see the RIGmeister now going before the TV cameras to say, "I am not a Nazi!" (maybe he already has) just like Nixon and his "I am not a crook" spiel. I was absolutely floored watching our little dictator's embarrassing outburst and subsequent bullying of Wendy (and then apparently Anna Vrska at the end of the cc mtg. I couldn't watch anymore after witnessing his initial whiny baby tantrum). And I'll bet you a lot more people have "liked" Geoff's comment since last night! If I were on Facebook, I certainly would. Geoff has every right to compare the RIGmeister to Hitler and he is correct in drawing the comparison. For those people who only know of Hitler's most infamous crime, the Final Solution, that of killing millions of Jews, they ignorantly assume that Geoff is saying the same of the RIGmeister, and glom on to that ridiculous argument. I think the comparison that Geoff draws come from the fact that Hitler was a carpetbagging dictator, who came from Austria, and unilaterally went after any and all groups/people he found "undesirable" and those who could potentially speak out and organize opposition to his dictatorship, just like the RIGmeister, a carpetbagging, bullying, would-be dictator from Fountain Valley, unilaterally has decided to run OUR city like it's HIS business and also to go after groups he finds undesirable and individuals who speak out against his actions and him. And I sincerely believe that if he could, and somehow get away with it, the RIGmeister would round up all these groups and individuals and ship them off somewhere. How many times has he already tried to silence Geoff? Apparently a number of times. Both men had/have no regard for the rules, laws, and procedures; they did/do just what they want.
The RIGmeister's wheels must be coming off for him to play this ridiculous feel sorry for me victim card (and let's not forget that this is a trait of the sociopath). Obviously trying to deflect attention away from the real issues (and there are many) with this pathetic shiny object. After all, this is an election year. Thankfully, at this point, he's not fooling anyone anymore! And if he doesn't like the comparison, perhaps he should take a good hard look at himself...........yeah, right, that'll never happen! And, CM Rez, I'm sure at least your pal Millard thinks the comparison to Hitler is a compliment!
Thank you, Geoff, for your excellent reporting and calling a spade a spade. And the Mussolini comparison works well too!
Is there anyone who thinks Righeimer behaves like an elected officer of a democratically governed city? Even Righeimer himself does not seem to.
Most likely he regards his role as that of a man running a business that he owns. Only his interest matters, and no one has a right to object to anything he does or says. That's his background, and he has brought it -- together with an unpleasant temperament -- to our city.
As to insulting his constituents, he doesn't seem to care. Maybe he expects the tons of money he gets from developers and other out-of-towners who are his real constituents to buy all the votes he needs.
BTW, if he wins re-election, I expect a move to repeal the term limits ordinance.
A person doesn’t need to be a Hitler to run a city as a dictator would. He can run it as a sole proprietor form of business.
Righeimer’s actions over the past three years suggest he has acted as the sole proprietor of a business.
Here’s what the U.S. Small Business Administration website says about sole proprietorship: “… you have complete control over all decisions.”
Further, “You aren’t required to consult with anyone else when you need to make decisions or want to make changes.”
This fits Mayor Righeimer. First, he appears to have exerted complete control over all decisions. For example, not once to my knowledge have any of his proposals been voted down. Nor have the members of his majority ever challenged his ideas. This is unheard of in a dictator-free council
Second, constituents’ suggestions in public meetings are routinely ignored; this signals that he doesn’t feel obliged to consult with anyone, even voters. He also freely insults the voters and one of his fellow council members. In this he is joined by his hand-picked Mayor Pro Tem (in English, Vice Mayor) Mensinger. This kind of politics is unusual coming from democratically elected officials, who normally are (or act as if they are) carefully responsive to their electorate
Here’s a difference, though, between a sole proprietor and Righeimer. Sole proprietors have “a day of reckoning” every day and frequently several times a day. For, as the SBA describes the burden of being in complete control, “You alone are ultimately responsible for the successes and failures of your business.”
Mayor Righeimer, on the other hand, acts as if he has no fear of a day of reckoning.
However, there is a day of reckoning, November 4th, when voters will take back control for a day and decide whether his “business” leadership has met their needs. If fiascos like the 60th anniversary party and his insulting of citizens is any indication, he’s got something to fear.
Tom, there has been a single counterexample to your statement that not a single one of his proposals has been voted down: his attempt to evict the model railroad from Fairview park. Gary Monahan defected from the Soviet Three, and voted, in an unique move, with Leece and Genis, to extend the lease for five years... This after Righeimer placed a valuation of two million dollars an acre on OUR park, and pointed out that the railroad held eighty million dollars' worth of the park.
It should be noted that, even if 'Heimer is re-elected, the lease of the OCME is now beyond his reach.
My offer to champion Geoff still stands; is still uncommented upon; and no-one has taken me up on my bet.
Tom - the RIGmeister is running scared, and his words and actions show it. He will continue to act out (and in more desperate ways) the closer to election (his reckoning) day we get. I almost choked when I read his bold faced lie in the DP that there's no truth in Geoff's blog reports on the cc, that "he continues to lie about the council." the RIGmeister is definitely starting to worry that HE WILL GO DOWN IN NOVEMBER. And just watch, his sociopathic self will come to the fore big time with the victim/sympathy card being played as much as possible, with unconscienable actions towards those whom he perceives as his enemies, and he and his Eva Braun, Stevie Mensinger, will be very busy in their "war room" keeping track of all the PIs they hire to follow their enemies. The RIGmeister is a sociopath - most dictators are - he has no conscience, couldn't care less about right and wrong (that's for saps), must win and get his way at all costs, manipulates through lies and playing the victim. Sociopaths are hard to identify because they put on the charming, nice guy act, and it's almost impossible to believe that this same person could actually do the horrible things that a sociopath does to other people. Do not be fooled by his manipulated attempt for sympathy at being called a dictator and compared to one in particular. He couldn't care less; this is simply an opportunity for him to play the victim/sympathy card. A sociopath will take full advantage of this. And when he realizes no one is falling for his ploy, he will rant and rave even louder.
The biggest lie in today's DP article is referencing 'us' as 'a fringe group.'
On a regular basis, I encounter someone as disenchanted as I am, and my family is. After 40+ years here, we know a lot of people. Whether they are a silent majority remains to be seen, but I guess we'll find out in November.
Last night at Little League practice, one of the moms came up to me and said 'are you the same guy who comments on the Bubbling Cauldron and the Daily Pilot?' I paused, replied yes, and was very pleased to see our little fringe group had yet another member! Welcome aboard!
We are growing, and we are fed up! I find myself listening to a lot of Rage Against the Machine's first album on the iPod lately. Wonder why? Take the power back to all of the people, and away from the developers, attorneys and all the others riding the current coattails!
Mike - that's right the " fringe group" statemen!. Another desperate manipulative lie from a sociopath: feel sorry for me, I'm being attack by a small, inconsequential group, knowing full well it's a large, and growing, number of CM residents who don't like him and what he has and continues to do to us and our city. All you have to do is look at the number of various DP commentors' " likes" and it's very clear who the real "fringe group" is!
Its lovely to watch this man come apart at the seams!
Mr Pot Stirrer-- you are an inspiration!
TIme and time again this man abuses his authority and acts like a petulant little snot.
At @mike mcniff-- Unfortunately i think Bradley ZInt agrees with that (or at least agreed) and perhaps thats why he published that comment of Riggies. In a private conversation, I know Zint referred to 'us' using 'their' terminology (along the lines of 'vocal minority') during the tot-lot/parking lot fiasco. Its always made me question him.
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