Stocks Detox Continued

SANDAG Ex-Chairman Stocks & Executive Director Gallegos

Jerome Stocks is being removed from everything he controlled in Encinitas and the region.  Stocks falling from grace has come at a pretty steep price tag of misguided notions of legacy in his mayoral capacity and now in his chairmanship of the San Diego Association of Governments primary project.

The most recent failure relates to his trumpeted claims to fame with SANDAG's 250 Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) and Sustainable Communities Strategy (SCS), the first of California's Regional Plans to address transportation over the next 40 years. This plan was supposed to comply with the state law requiring its transportation plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions over the next 25 years.

On January 21, 2012 the governor's office and state Attorney General Kamala Harris said "the SANDAG plan didn't go far enough to get San Diego drivers off the road and into buses, trolleys or bike lanes." This reported in Voice of San Diego by Rob Davis.

Next, Senator Kehoe addressed the Attorney General's and the public's criticism in her bill which would have, among other things, put transportation budget monies into the mass transit first.  All of the Interstate 5 widening posts written for Our Mayor can be found here.  The final one from April 27, 2012 meeting speaks to the Kehoe bill opposition Stocks single-handedly muscled through the Encinitas city council via his compliant cronies.

Within a week and despite outdated, non-relevant information, no staff analysis and even after almost 20 public speakers who waited up to 5 hours, some with expert testimony delivered around midnight, the resolution he wrote passed. This whole five hour meeting is the Encinitas machine in motion.

Fast forward to this week's news that San Diego County Superior Court judge upheld a lawsuit challenging the SANDAG

Tuesday's ruling, which mirrored a tentative ruling issued before Thanksgiving, said Sandag’s plan failed to clearly define its effects on greenhouse gasses, how to mitigate them and didn't adequately explain decisions within the plan.

Specifically, Sandag’s environmental review didn’t conform to an executive order issued by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2005.

From KPBS

This is a vindication of the well informed Encinitas citizens who attended meetings and challenged Jerome Stocks and the SANDAG and CalTrans plans to ignore quality of life, community character, public health and climate change in order to maintain the status quo that serves Big Oil above all else.

50:10 alternative plan pdf 

Our Mayor Stocks, Sore Loser's Sour Grapes

Jerome Stocks just can't stop himself.  I guess it is no surprise that this politician who seems to struggle with self control and monitoring his own words and behavior would yet again embarrass himself days before his last official duty - to resign.

He once again sneered to his peeps at SD Rostra about Tony Kranz.  This time he couches a reasonable request from a newly elected council member for a 3D rendering of the community park.  He throws out a number without any sliver of a citation.

Reality is that this is not out of bounds in the universe of architectural or engineering design.  Moreover, the city's planning department has the requisite software (bought with taxpayer money at a pretty huge expense) which can accomplish this without extensive skill or time.  It simply hasn't been done.

And no, I'm not providing all the research for a change.  He or his cronies can provide facts to refute or back his hyperbolic claims - with their creepy threatening undertones no less.

Please, Jerome, be still.  Knock it off and show some modicum of good grace. You lost.

Switching Gears - End of an Era

The end of the year is a time to reflect on one's life and legacy.  It is a particularly compelling time, in view of climate change realities becoming more apparent every day, that what we say and do is shaping our immediate future, not just the distant future for grandchildren.

For this reason the end of Stocks & Bond majority reign over Encinitas city government make future plans and our legacy feel more urgent than past election years. This deserves thinking that rises above facile political maneuvering or infotainment or cheap shots borne out of a social culture of marketing. It's governing time, not campaigning time.

Having an arch nemesis like Jerome Stocks turned out to be a rallying point and organizing platform for many in the last election. Even though the new council members Lisa Shaffer and Tony Kranz did not campaign as anti-Stocks candidates, thousands of Encinitas voters were interested in removing Jerome Stocks above all other concerns. Our Mayor blog was created to acknowledge legitimate disgust with Jerome Stocks' behavior as a so-called public servant. The years of city council meetings contained enough clips of this behavior as evidence for the electorate. The idea was that more people needed to be able to witness first hand – via these clips and linked stories, commentaries and some background information – what critics of Stocks had been saying for years.

Whatever factors were involved it is a fait accompli now and time to switch gears. Is it possible we can still capture the motivation the anti-Stocks group had with a formidable problem we all can identify with versus a person or group of people? Can we cultivate an educated electorate unafraid to voice public opinions for fear of seeming stupid or simply wrong? Is it possible to encourage awareness and still identify as a savvy, social being?

It is easy to see from some of the current community voices reacting to the We Love Encinitas organization (and ethically dubious campaign fliers) in the online news posts and one blog's comments sections, Kristin Gaspar is a likely target to transfer anti-Stocks energy. We get it. Our Mayor blog has 3 or 4 dozen examples of Gaspar's behavior along with Stocks or solo that deserve condemnation. No doubt the new year will bring more.

But, this personality focus is really toxic stuff. It too easily morphs into character assassination, body policing, misogyny and other community-killing divisive words. This invites lazy thinking and other vitality sucking habits. Besides all that it brings out our worst rather than our best natures. Critical thinking asks more.

What if we instead switched gears to the three things that repeatedly come up in Encinitas politics as problems or omissions;
1. finance (economy, budget, pensions, etc.),
2. open government (sunshine ordinance, transparency, civility, accessibility, etc.)
3. environment (land use, community character, resources, climate change)
4 traffic (could fit in environment, but some very big issues ahead need deliberation)

Let's demand of this new council – so they in turn will demand it of city manager and city attorney and city staff – a clear direction of where we are going in any of these areas. Not only must we insist on this, we should demand comprehensive research, comparisons to other cities and emerging trends from our well paid staff. Let's demand that deliberations by the council be more than unsupported platitudes, rambling monologues, throwing out a bunch of buzz words, personal memories, rehearsed staff exchanges and other time-wasting talk.

They will make mistakes, council and staff alike. We will find some council members and city employees lacking at any given time. Hell, we'll continue to have community members who annoy us. We will disagree. This editor will try to catch the kinds of things that illustrate dissent and controversy. This isn't a good news, community events calendar, party line place. Our city government's corruption and incompetence demands vigilance. We don't have to make things up. Video clips, quotes, news coverage and the whole works will apply. The former super majority clearly served the few of their overlords. There is a new game in town. The mandate is genuinely from the majority of our community so there are more eyes watching.

And, if a blogger can be allowed to dream. Just imagine a city council becoming relevant to the disengaged, the young, the non-white people, the renters, the low income residents of Encinitas. It is a myth that when all people enjoy a higher quality of life and feel security and engagemed it means something is diminished from another's quality of life. If this new city council wants continuous improvement, they should think big.

Who was behind the We Love Encinitas Deceptive Mailer?

Last October 7th people were passing out this flyer at the annual Olivenhain Oktoberfest.   People were outraged that the taxpayer funded Citizen Satisfaction Survey had been manipulated to serve as propaganda for Stocks campaign.

On Oct. 12 Encinitas Undercover posted the background on the mailer after the widespread delivery of this piece to people's homes.  

"Think about that: Jerome Stocks' backers are getting tax deductions for sending out what are, for all practical purposes, campaign mailers.  I suspect the IRS will frown on this charade and those involved will face legal consequences.  But even if not, what was Stocks thinking?  On the heels of sign-gate, to serve up another prime example of cutting corners and bending or breaking rules for political gain?  How much more blatant could he be in validating the complaints of his harshest critics?"

Yesterday we learned that the person responsible for the mailers via the Secretary of State database thanks to Coastal Law Group responding to inquires for information.

Deputy Mayor Kristin Gaspar's Husband, Paul Gaspar!

Entity Name: WE LOVE ENCINITAS COMMUNITY ADVOCATES
Entity Number: C3515796
Date Filed: 10/22/2012
Status: ACTIVE
Jurisdiction: CALIFORNIA
Entity Address: 140 ENCINITAS BLVD STE 105
Entity City, State, Zip: ENCINITAS CA 92024
Agent for Service of Process: PAUL GASPAR
Agent Address: 140 ENCINITAS BLVD STE 105
Agent City, State, Zip: ENCINITAS CA 92024

So, it isn't listed here whether this a non-profit or 501(c)(3).  What is significant beyond the staggering arrogance of Paul Gaspar, Deputy Mayor Kristin Gaspar's husband, is the date of activation on Oct. 22 being two weeks after the date when the misleading campaign piece was widely distributed.

Is it stupidity, naiveté or as stated, staggering arrogance, to disregard laws so blatantly? It isn't like this family hasn't already been challenged and failed on this front.  Before it was the deceptive slate mailers.  Early in October Councilwoman Barth wrote a commentary reminding citizens to be ready for the October Surprise of hit pieces via the mail. This was cross posted at EYNY.

"Slate mailer companies are also used by various individuals to send out last minute "hit pieces" on candidates. By using a slate mailer the actual contributors can remain unknown until after the election when the contribution reports are filed with the FPPC. These companies also provide a means for contributors to, legally and illegally, circumvent local campaign contribution limits.

In the 2010 election, the Voter Education Group sent out a mailer endorsing candidates Kristin Gaspar and Dan Dalager and blasting me. The group was later fined more than $110,000 by the FPPC for various state-wide financial reporting violations.

It's not illegal to pay for a slate mailer endorsement but is it ethical?"

This is the pressing issue for Encinitas citizens and for the new City Council, what does Deputy Mayor Kristin Gaspar have to say about her husband's exploitive use of the taxpayer funded survey and corporation creation?  We don't know all of the legal issues or ramifications, but we can uncover right now what the ethical issues are.

Petty to the Bitter End

   Update below - omitted clip added

Last Wednesday, Nov. 14, was the first council meeting since the election when our Mayor Stocks was voted out of office by Encinitas voters.

Was there a statement from the dais from Our Mayor Stocks? No congratulations for the new candidates or their campaigns or concession words were offered.  Nothing at the beginning of the meeting where he has often spoken off the cuff or at the end in a personal word while reporting on boards.  No, not even a statement following the several oral communications speakers whose comments contained election tactics, electorate reactions, compliments to the candidates, praise for Barth and chastising Stocks.  Of course it is ridiculous after 12 years to expect grace or the high moral ground from Jerome. Zero . . . beyond, Thank you for your comments.

Sadly, the criteria for success for Stocks has become whether or not he was rude, patronizing or dismissive.  By that standard this next to the last meeting was a success.

The rest of the meeting was devoted to financial housekeeping issues of no great importance for debate and discussion.  Someone from the public did pull item #5 from the consent calendar (meaning general administrative issue). This item was a request by Crown Castle to mount a telecomunications device on the utility pole on Blue Heron Ave. The agenda packet describes this, but it was presented as simply a contract issue of an additional device. This meant no discussion of technical or functioning was supposed to be allowed.  Although this makes sense in an efficient approach to addressing regular housekeeping chores; this kind of narrow agenda definition has been favored by the council majority for years to keep volatile public protest off limits.

The three clips that follow speak to the petitioning neighbors rejection of this staff recommendation for an added device.  Their concerns are clearly laid out and at the most basic level ask they their concerns be taken seriously.  As the Jennifer Brimley the last public speaker below so aptly states, "This is your community too and you represent us, not Crown Castle."

Jim Madaffer representing Crown Castle presents what is essentially an argument that says, this is inevitable so get used to it. Plus this rather specious claim that radiation is not the issue, the health and safety issue is having enough of these - for emergencies.

Finally in this lineup is the Jennifer Brimley clip that challenges the Crown Castle's dismissal of transmission concerns among other points. She cites "Full Signal" the documentary that exposes the underlying financial criteria for the proliferation of these devices under the guise of legitimate need. The documentary movie website states:

"Full Signal examines the contradiction between health and finance, one of the many ironies of the fight to regulate antenna placement."

Councilwoman Barth voted against this with the straightforward fact, "The need hasn't been demonstrated to me." She discussed the previous council discussions in Sept. concerning Castle Group and the reasoning for coverage. Her request for clarification from the expert brought the Catch 22 answer that you'll have to listen to yourself to decipher.

Update 11/18/12: The following clip was accidentally left off and has been embedded again.




The pettiness that the title of this post asserts is this. If the council majority would simply reject the recommendation, no dire consequences would follow beyond annoyance for the vendor and maybe the staff. There would be time for the new council to look at the petitioners' request regarding DAS in terms of views, property values and health concerns. A chance for staff and the Environmental Commission to review research and the documentary film Brimley cites.

Stocks and Bond had no compelling reason to disregard the public's request. They are finished. It was petty. And it typifies the 20 year history of voting against public will and public concerns on behalf of for-profit private sector interests.

Blog Note: The final days for Our Mayor Stocks and this blog using Jerome Stocks name and title will probably reflect his silent skulking. But, one never knows if the big shouty part of his demeanor will show itself in the next several weeks. There is no reason to believe Jerome will leave politics, so it's impossible to predict what's next.

Mayor Unfettered

Now that the election is over and Jerome Stocks has no political standing locally or regionally, he is able to reveal his beliefs and his worldview more openly.  It seems he is a part of the Shouty People in Wingnuttia with his far right reading recommendation from World Net Daily on his FB. The website has a uniquely narrow definition on the word free, but an extensive use of the word in the most inappropriate contexts. 

This is the guy whose supporters called Shaffer and Kranz too extreme for Encinitas with fake images and scary big font headlines.  

h/t Tengrain and Truthdig

Word for the Day: Schadenfreude

Some may have to Google, but I wager most know this word and exactly this emotional response to Jerome Stocks losing his place on the Encinitas City Council, SANDAG and NCTD. (Only 2 more meetings to chair.)

The voters of Encinitas spoke loud and clear.

Jerome Stocks a day later. NCT (UT?) "[ . . .] he saw the voting results as indication that voters felt his 12 years in office were long enough, commenting that “it’s out with the old and in with the new.”

You may tell yourself this.  We have a different version with video clips.

But it gets better. The voters selected Dave Roberts over Jerome's candidate Steve Danon for San Diego County Supervisor. And, heart be still, US Representative Brian Bilbray is now out. It is all one crony club as Jerome is on Danon's campaign staff, Dannon is chief of staff for Bilbray and Christy Guerin, former Mayor of Encinitas and BFF to Jerome works for Bilbray. This means she too is out of a job. Oh and she is married to someone (Google for details, I'm still on vacation) in San Diego law enforcement. You know, these are the public union people who endorsed Stocks, Muir and Forrester. Who . . . what?

It's a club and we the majority of voters in Encinitas are not in it.

Today this makes me really proud.

It's not over by any means as Gaspar the former trainee (still meeting with the whiskered grifter for talking points) and the Muir duo with pilfered populist talking points are still with us.  It is simply a new version.  There will be civility and lots of polite smiles.

We simply have to sharpen our perception, our vigilance.  But, boy howdy, does it feel good to know that a giant breath of fresh air just blew in from our electoral politics in spite of the massive waste of wealth. Schadenfreude.

P.S. Counting of provisional ballots (mail-in ballots turned into polling places on election day) is still going on and it looks like Tony's numbers are growing and Stocks percentage is falling.  Delightful.

Bad Guys Goin' Down

Encinitas Undercover has the image. Shocked. We're just shocked I say at the bold faced plunder of the taxpayer dollar to pander to the Encinitas clueless by Stocks and company.

We didn't get the mailer Encinitas Undercover is writing about in the last post.  Go there and check out the utter shameless misuse of taxpayer paid survey statistics for political gain. The false construct of the super majority being responsible for citizen's satisfaction is the biggest lie.

This blatant disregard for ethics, the public demand for integrety and fair play and "blatantly fraudulent use of the charitable non-profit 501(c)(3) status" is going to leave a mark. This will be investigated as complaints are being filed.

Citizens spoke out against this survey in March of this year when it was proposed. For the record, here is the series of "We told you so" type clips. Even in criticism of this contained sincere good-faith comments by public and Barth that the city manager wanted to hear from the community.

 

Editor note: YouTube has now inserted suggested videos at the end of clips that are NOT this blog's selections.  

Who's Behind the Hit Pieces?

Via Councilwoman Teresa Barth's Newsletter today:

As predicted, the smear campaign rolled into high gear this past week. 

First there was a mailer in support of Stocks & Muir and 

blasting Shaffer and Kranz 

Return Address: 

North County Taxpayers for Responsible Government 

330 Encinitas Blvd #101 

Encinitas, CA 

Treasurer: Nancy Haley 

She is also the treasurer for Stocks & Muir 

Then there was the 

"Don't let Shaffer and Kranz Occupy Encinitas" 

Sent out by the San Diego County Republican Party 

who endorsed Forrester, Muir and Stocks 

Followed by a vicious character assignation against Tony Kranz. 

 Sent out by San Diego County Voters for Progress and Reform 

 7185 Navajo Rd, Suite P San Diego, CA

Treasure: C. April Boling 

She is also the Treasurer of the Lincoln Club 

 Muir, Forrester and Stocks were endorsed by the Club. 

 Who's the Lincoln Club? 

 Who supports Prop K - Elected Mayor? 

Bond, Muir & Stocks

Editor: Thank you Councilwoman Barth for a thorough summary that is well documented.  We appreciate this as we appreciate the kind of thoroughness you devote to your service on the city council.  My wish is this. You will be joined on the dais with two equally competent council members like Shaffer and Kranz to get real work done - rather than special interest empire building. And I would also wish that paid journalists would present vital summaries like this to the public, rather than waiting for information from elected officials to be handed to them. 

Count Down - 4 Days to the Election

Our Mayor Stocks has given us 12 years of rollercoaster moods and different treatment depending on who is facing him.  This loosely qualifies him as an inspiration for a fantastic Halloween Costume for this election year festivities. Yes, the kiddies have their Halloween trick or treat action but grown up parties during this season last through the weekend.  True Fact.

 Tim Burton's version, the Halloween Town Mayor, is described in The Nightmare Before Christmas:

In the movie, he is short tempered and likes making speeches.[ . . . ] He has two faces. One of his faces is happy while the other may be either sad or angry. His split personality type situation was possibly inspired by The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and he is a literal description of the phrase "two-faced politicians". 

His head is cone-shaped and displays the two faces he is most notable for. One face (as well as his hands) is peach-colored, with rosy cheeks and a face set in a permanent smile. The other face is bone-white, has a mouth set in a permanent frown (the teeth of which are pointed) with green lips and yellow eyes.  

The Mayor's body is also cone-shaped, with his body ballooning outward before ending on short, stubby legs with very tiny feet. He dresses in a black suit with a white undershirt and black-and-white pinstriped pants. He wears a pendant or bow-tie shaped like a black widow spider, though it only has six legs and the notorious red hourglass marking is on the spider's back and is much more detailed than in real life. There is a red ribbon with the word "MAYOR" printed on a white center pinned to the left breast of his blazer. He is never seen without his short, metal megaphone that he uses to issue orders, announcements, and, more often, call for help from Jack.

That last phrase might read more accurately as "call for help to hijack" in Our Mayor Stocks case. Stocks' imprint is all over a vicious hit piece against Tony Kranz mailed Wednesday. Kranz, with his deep community roots is a real threat to Stocks, Muir and Forrester and attempting to rob him of credibility is something that has picked up.

Tony Kranz is loved by many and respected for his integrity and his appeal as "everyman Encinitas" - a threat to this trio. The mayor's crony friends have been vocal in attempting to create a monster version of our candidate Kranz.  Volunteers are working to help officials identify the candidates, their friends and paid consultants who are responsible. Getting the word out is vital. Spread the word.

Mayor Making Things Up?

"The Mayor sent another campaign email in which he said "We get a lot of people trying to get our city council to spend money on things that don't work; things we cannot afford; things we do not need." When asked to name what those things are, all he could come up in an email response with was "it's a long list." Surely he can be more specific than that ..." Lisa Shaffer's FB page.

Only a sampling was given of this latest note called a newsletter. The mayor uses words like weapons. But, he isn't a wordsmith by any means. There is no respect for words, language, spelling or structure. Words are to cast confusion, accuse, patronize and misdirect.

Damnit! Words matter.  History matters. Numbers matter. Truth matters.

So many words in council chambers have lost meaning. We are more than familiar with decorum, offensive, team, process all being used to mock the true meanings. A clean sweep could mean a fresh start to redefine what words mean.

In ancient China, the arrival of a new dynasty was accompanied by “the rectification of names,” a ceremony in which the sloppiness and erosion of meaning that had taken place under the previous dynasty were cleared up and language and its subjects correlated again. It was like a debt jubilee, only for meaning rather than money. Source 

No on K - Mayoral Rotation Abused

Today at Encinitas You Need Us blog we posted the letter to the editor / Oped from Councilwoman Barth on why she voted no for proposition K - for an elected mayor for Encinitas.

This blog has followed the ongoing pressure early this last year that Mayor Jerome Stocks, aided by Deputy Mayor Kristin Gaspar, have put on the council to pass an ordinance to ensconce Gaspar as Mayor.  When this failed they went along with Jim Bond's wish to have an elected mayor in Encinitas.  

Regardless of the explanations (which change over time) for not simply codifying our mayoral rotation system to eliminate bias and political maneuvering, the council majority refuses to acknowledge why.  It is simply to keep the power and influence of that position within the majority group. 

The summary of clips from the latest working back to the oldest on this blog is here.

The clip below shows how emotional Mayor Stocks is about not getting his way on his plans. 

Bonus points if you spot a glimmer of any of these following in this clip: peace, generosity, engagement, humility, equanimity, empathy or wabi-sabi. Anyone?

Counting Down - 9 days to the Election

Finally single digits in the countdown.

9 candidates and it is obvious that many haven't lifted a finger - speaking of digits - in taking their campaigns to the people.

It becomes obvious to the unprepared non-incumbents that you can't cram for social organization.  Muir is trying to cram a political life of accomplishment outside of the crony network that has sustained his whole career. It's a very expensive task.

Shaffer and Kranz have logged the hours and done the homework for more than a year.  And, they are still at it. Yesterday they both were at the Green Surf event in Cardiff-by-the-Sea.  Today there is a meet-up and both are open to scheduling with other neighborhoods where there is curiosity and interest.  Click Shaffer's website or Kranz's website.

That video makes as much sense to me as so many presentations at city council where you can watch, follow along and think you hear good sense. Then a question is asked, a public speaker brings up overlooked points and then . . .  wait, what?

Public office is not supposed to be a winner take all game - a continuous campaign of control or racking up points as Mayor Stocks treats his role. We want our governance to make sense and to serve our best interests over the long term.

Willful Ignorance and Aggressive Manipulation

This week's city council meeting's agenda includes the EIR for the I-5 widening.

The following clip contains 4 speakers from last April when Mayor Stocks tried to muscle through a resolution opposing California Senate Bill #468 sponsored by Senator Christine Kehoe. Two of the speakers are leading scientists and professors at UCSD, as the EYNU post highlights as Encinitas rich treasure of smart, thoughtful citizens so consistently ignored and abused by the council majority.

 

This previous clip is just one clip in the hour's worth of informed and impassioned speakers who waited five hours to speak at this meeting.

The public has long been trying to have community involved city council meetings about the I-5 widening. Jerome Stocks, privvy to all kinds of inside information from his position with NCTD and SANDAG refused these meetings and failed to share what his own involvement or any salient facts learned in these roles. What he does share he misrepresents for his political ends. He has always treated NCTD and SANDAG as his own fiefdom. Voting his conscience remains his private interpretation of representation.

Mayor, We're Not Amused with Your Massive Waste

Those who are watching are very unhappy with the current council majority marshaled by Jerome Stocks. Besides the unwelcoming behavior, rudeness and marginalizing of the public shown in so many clips, described in the several hundred posts here; he has mounted personal campaigns for his own ends rather than for what he hypocritically terms the public's business.

In the past year this mayor has directed the most wasteful use of staff time and energy, in turn a significant number of the populace's time and energy for what? The two most glaring examples are those wherein Mayor Stocks was embarrassed and he manufactured an official format to retaliate.

When a room full of people turned their backs on Jerome Stocks as their new mayor he blanched and stammered.  Within 6 weeks he'd choreographed a scheme to appoint a mayor who had the most votes at his or her last election and this mayor would pick his or her own deputy mayor.  Of course the whole dance number between he and his partner Kristin Gaspar was to be his coup de grâs to position Princess Narcissus as the first of many of the crony club in the mayor chair.

This effort was thwarted several times, thankfully, by Bond or Muir who didn't play along. Nonetheless - time, energy and using up precious council attention from the people's business to Stock's annual embarrassment to justify abusing Teresa Barth's right to serve her constituency as mayor. See, her embarrassing revelations of Stocks has never been forgiven or forgotten.  This 2012 election's Proposition K - should we vote for mayor position? Prop L -should it be for 2 years? Prop M - should it be for 4 years? It is all part of the original embarrassment of Stocks. He probably won't stop until he can buy the damn title outright.

The second monster waste is based on payback for the whole Arts Alive Banner debacle where Stocks made an ass of himself in treating Maggie Houlihan's image on the banners as a kind of personal threat or rebuke or something or other equally false.  More than a year later and countless meetings, staff assignments, paid outside lawyers, ACLU, bogus subcommittee, tv time, lots of press ink (and digital band width) devoted to Stocks heartless petulance, yet need to justify / blame / deflect, etc.

On October 10, at what was to be the final time this abhorrent agenda item was to be aired, Lisa Shaffer spoke to the essence of this incredible waste.

So, on top of thousands of dollars and hours the council voted to adopt a terribly written and unnecessary sign ordinance for a non-existant risk  to "avoid public controversy or the perception of any such figures both positive or negative." As Shaffer says, "Why is that a legitimate goal for the city?"

Why indeed?  Public controversy and public perception are Mayor Stocks' seeming fixations. He can grow furious if he is called out, exposed or challenged.  His failing in his own very fragile self-regard here has cost the city far too dearly.

Sometimes candidates could stand to be embarrassed, when they behave in contemptible ways.

Town Bully Jerome Stocks

Update below

Someone even wrote a song.

Update - Thursday, Oct. 18, 2012

Last night some council regulars created a satire of the council meetings, with a Mock Meeting held outside of City Hall in protest of the meeting being cancelled.

Lincoln Club of San Diego

"For conservative political group, money speaks volumes." 
"If money equals power, the Lincoln Club wields it like no other local political organization. Its 400 members, whose annual dues provide a guaranteed source of money for the group’s political action committee, are a who’s-who of lobbyists, developers, Republican-backed elected officials (and their staff members) and high-profile business owners—the people behind Mossy Nissan, Jerome’s Furniture and Coles Carpets sit on the club chairman’s special advisory committee.

Though the Lincoln Club describes itself as nonpartisan and focused on “pro-prosperity” candidates and issues, what and whom it chooses to support is almost always partisan. “In many ways, the Lincoln Club is the Republican Party in San Diego County. [ . . .] “In many ways, they’ve followed the model of most conservative organizations, in which you don’t plan for the next battle, you plan for the next war.”

This an excerpt from San Diego City Beat on Land of Lincoln Club posted this spring. Great article, and a real course in the big business of slate mailers and the deception intregral to the Lincoln Club's strategy. Thumb through and look at who is being endorsed in 2012.  Then tell us it is bipartisan.

Why is this relevant to our Encinitas Election 2012?  Thank you for asking.

The Lincoln Club endorses Kevin Forrester, Mark Muir and Jerome Stocks.

For the Lincoln Club's Party it is about money and it is a winner take all war.

Banksy Rat

Quote of the Day

“I have never made but one prayer to God, a very short one: 'O Lord make my enemies ridiculous.' And God granted it.” -- Voltaire

 

Classic Stocks Mocks™ to lump any and all who criticize him as haters, whiners, jerks, etc.

Please, please, please Mayor Stocks.  Keep Talking . . .

Channel 10 News for full video and story here.

J'Accuse! Mayor Stocks and Mark Muir

Since the filming of the Mayor and ex-Fire Chief getting caught doing wrong, the community is disgusted and outraged. Some protests are mild and others seething. There are informed activists, local hot heads, low information stupid* voters, attention seekers and sincerely disgusted residents.  That's what government of the people and by the people allows - lots of voices and choices.

At the Oct. 10 council meeting the last speaker, who had to wait until the very last two minutes of the evenings meeting because Mayor Stocks holds the 15 minute oral communication speaker time limit as a rule which cannot be broken.  He of course fails to see the irony.  I digress, the clip shows no hot head, no campaign team member, no activist, no council regular.  This woman, Terry, speaks simple truths of humanity and responsibility as citizens.

The very first speaker in Oral Communications was none other than the videographer Joe Corder who accuses Mayor Stocks of a great deal more than just the Oct. 5th sign mounting behavior that has so mobilized public disgust.

These are the clips from 2010 when Joe went after Teresa Barth one week and the next week goes at her again as well as lumping all kinds of opposition talking points on Maggie Houlihan too (though she wasn't even running) - right before the election. Interesting that Joe revealed last night his private conversation from 2010 with Councilwoman Barth, yet Barth has held his confession and apology in confidence. Neither she, nor the late Houlihan used Joe's story for political reasons, mudslinging or petty revenge. I believe that is called integrity.

 

Along with our local papers, Channel 10 covered this story. Feel free to direct links to these clips, this post for those uninformed or low information voters who comment, but have no idea the depth of history in Jerome Stocks' history of malfeasance. This is the chairman of Sandag so these hundreds of video clips showing his bully, crony behavior should be more widely circulated.

*community suggested edit

Worth Repeating

There is much to be said of last night's Leucadia Candidate Forums, but this is most timely.