Measure "O" - The Bogus Charter
PLENTY OF REASONS TO VOTE NO ON "O"
There are many reasons NOT to vote in favor of Measure "O", the most recent attempt by Mayor Jim Righeimer to take over complete control of our municipal government and solidify his position as a de facto dictator. We'll enumerate them as time passes and we get closer to election day.
MOONEY'S COMMENTARY
However, I cannot miss the opportunity to direct your attention to Charles Mooney's current commentary in the Daily Pilot, HERE, which outlines the two sections of this very flawed document that, from my standpoint - and Mooney's too - are stakes in the heart of this measure - Sections 104 and 806.
PROBABILITY OF ABUSE OF POWER
Those segments provide the elected leaders of this city with unlimited power to do whatever they wish to do once this flawed document is adopted. The kind of probable abuse of power provided by those sections is precisely why Costa Mesa should remain a General Law city, with all the protections from abuse that form of government provides.
READ IT YOURSELF
You will likely hear and read lots of rhetoric about The Charter as we head for the election in November. It's hard to sort fact from politically-driven fiction. So, I invite you to READ the document itself - it's not that complicated - and focus on Section 104 and 806. I think you'll find Mooney's opinion accurate. You'll find The Charter HERE on the City web site. Additionally, if you go HERE you'll find other links that might be helpful to you, including direct arguments for and against The Charter and rebuttals to each.
A "STACKED" COMMITTEE
Keep in mind that when folks tell you that The Charter was created by a "blue ribbon" committee, that committee was stacked by Righeimer and his majority on the City Council with folks who he knew shared his vision for the takeover of the government. I attended most of the Charter Committee meetings - I saw the interaction among the members and the bias they brought to the table. I watched as facilitators Kirk Bauermeister and Mike Decker toiled to keep the meetings productive. Attorney and former City Council candidate John Stephens - an opponent of The Charter - outlined the process and the result in a recent Daily Pilot commentary, HERE.
DON'T BE FOOLED...
So, don't be fooled by the smoke screen of Pension Reform - The Charter will do NOTHING to resolve our Unfunded Pension Liability! Don't be fooled by the mantra of "Local Control" being chanted by supporters of Righeimer's latest Charter. That is code for more power in the hands of the elected leaders, NOT the people of the community.
There are many reasons NOT to vote in favor of Measure "O", the most recent attempt by Mayor Jim Righeimer to take over complete control of our municipal government and solidify his position as a de facto dictator. We'll enumerate them as time passes and we get closer to election day.MOONEY'S COMMENTARYHowever, I cannot miss the opportunity to direct your attention to Charles Mooney's current commentary in the Daily Pilot, HERE, which outlines the two sections of this very flawed document that, from my standpoint - and Mooney's too - are stakes in the heart of this measure - Sections 104 and 806.
PROBABILITY OF ABUSE OF POWER
Those segments provide the elected leaders of this city with unlimited power to do whatever they wish to do once this flawed document is adopted. The kind of probable abuse of power provided by those sections is precisely why Costa Mesa should remain a General Law city, with all the protections from abuse that form of government provides.READ IT YOURSELF
A "STACKED" COMMITTEE
DON'T BE FOOLED...
So, don't be fooled by the smoke screen of Pension Reform - The Charter will do NOTHING to resolve our Unfunded Pension Liability! Don't be fooled by the mantra of "Local Control" being chanted by supporters of Righeimer's latest Charter. That is code for more power in the hands of the elected leaders, NOT the people of the community.
VOTE NO ON "O"!
Labels: Charles Mooney, Charter City, Jim Righeimer, John Stephens, Kirk Bauermeister, Measure "O", Mike Decker, Pension Reform
posted by The Pot Stirrer at 8/24/2014 12:34:00 AM
6 Comments:
Mr. West said it all.
Resist government by the developer, for the developer.
In the comments on the YouTube site, several people asked what the camera crew was moving about that so scared the cat.
Hard as it is to believe, rumor has it that the scary thing was, indeed, sections 104 and 806 of the proposed charter.
It's interesting to note that in 2002, Allan R. Mansoor was voted into office by 7,617 of the registered voters of our fair city. If there were 59000 registered voters at that time (a number of which I'm not sure; perhaps someone can elucidate), Allan was swept into office by a little less than thirteen percent of the populace. Allan had to abide by general law, but nonetheless we are still paying for his idiocy in the Coyotl Tezcatlipoca fiasco.
If the charter passes, the protections of general law go away in significant ways. Thus this single vote representing fewer than four out of thirty of our citizens could control millions of dollars' worth of spending, taxation, building codes, fines, and eminent domain actions.
In short, it is a license for four citizens to SCREW twenty-six others in one view, or perhaps for three citizens to screw 59,000 in the view we see on alternate Tuesdays. This fact alone merits a "no" vote on the charter.
Geoff, I'd take exception to the "Don't be fooled" rhetoric. While it's not in the same class of red-flag phrases as "Trust me", I still perk up my ears and put on my spectacles when I hear or read it. My objection is mild, but I've already seen the phrase a couple of times, and it's not yet Labor day.
Here's a way of looking at Measure O that might help its supporters understand why so many citizens are scared to death of it.
What if the Constitution of the United States had a paragraph in it like Section 806 of Measure O?
Except as provided by mandatory language in this Constitution, the language contained in this Constitution is intended to be permissive rather than limiting and shall be liberally and broadly construed in favor of the exercise of power to govern with respect to any matter which is a domestic affair.
If anyone proposed that the U.S. Constitution should give that much power to the President, I suspect every citizen -- whether red, blue, or purple -- would come unglued.
And the people who proposed that immense gift of power would be tarred, feathered, and run out of town on a rail.
Tom,
Excellent idea. One which I've brought to Hizzonner's attention at previous times. I've got a couple of sturdy wooden rails; however, hot tar tends to be a little more lethal than seems righteous to me. Could something else be used for stickum, like maybe molasses or high-fructose corn syrup? A sufficient quantity of feathers should be obtainable in a feather pillow.
How is the featheree affixed to the rail? That's something I've always wondered about. Seated on top? Hung underneath? Might be easier to do the way the women of Marblehead did to Floyd Ireson -- just carry the featheree in a cart.
@Terry:
I think in modern practice they'd mix Diet Coke with the tar..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riding_the_rail
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