Our New Mayor Teresa Arballo Barth

Lisa Shaffer (new Deputy Mayor), Tony Kranz & Mark Muir with Kathy Hollywood, City Clerk. Patch

Photo via Dave Roberts Twitter. 

(Patch video removed because of autoplay feature.)

Update: encinitasyouneedus video clips and links to more local news stories. First, Stocks and Bond leave and the newly elected council members are sworn in and serenaded.

Teresa Barth addressed the old ways of disrespect and hurt and what the new approach will mean. Unlike the treatment of her where she was accused of not being a team player when she didn't vote with the majority, she spoke about the choice for someone to vote against the other four was a good thing.  It meant a person was willing to stand up to what he or she believes.  She speaks candidly about what she had thought this decision would be and turned to her colleagues for the nomination. The room erupted at the final unanimous vote.

UT-San Diego 

Coast News

Here Comes the Sun

The long cold winter of our voices, Teresa Barth's voice being frozen out is over. Tonight Stocks and Bond leave and Lisa Shaffer and Tony Kranz become our new city council members. Like Barth, they are committed to the sunshine of open government.

Thought it fitting to let Nina Simone's version be the song of the day.

Walking the Talk at the Holiday

It's a big weekend ahead for the people in Encinitas who celebrate the Holidays.
Parade
Saturday, December 1st. The Tree Lighting in the Lumberyard at 5 pm is the apparent kickoff. The parade itself begins at 5:30 at D Street and will end at J Street in downtown Encinitas.

Kringle Mingle in Cardiff.
Sunday, December 2nd, 1-5 pm at Cardiff Town Center.

Councilwoman Barth and her husband Don donated the tree she is standing beside here. Goodwill to all seems to be a theme with this couple with a special love of the coastal community where they live.

Update: For those who are confused, the point of this post is that Barth and her husband personally give of themselves and financially (like the donation of this tree) - outside of her elected role as a council member. I'd ask if anyone can name another council member who does the same, maybe even those who have severed for more than a decade?

Sadly, we have precious little donated by the very wealthy of this community for the goodwill of all beyond the requisite allotments for the CRC, Botanical Gardens, etc. This isn't meant to be critical of any donations of any amount by anyone at all. There are generous souls among us.

It is still an indictment of sorts to the scrooge-like history of the most wealthy.  There are individuals who are more than able to buy the Pacific View property (with money that wouldn't even be missed in the fiscal world they live in) and give it to the city.  Don't hold your breath.

12/1/12 Updates: Apologies for date, day confusing post.  Holiday PSA writing fail.

Guess Who Loves Encinitas?

The recent news of the Gaspars being the ones behind the We Love Encinitas fliers, using the taxpayer funded Citizen Satisfaction Survey as a campaign device to promote Jerome Stocks and Mark Muir (dismal failure) prompts another question.

Why was Teresa Barth left off the 2nd mailer? She obviously loves Encinitas too. The following clip is from the Sept. 12, 2012 meeting when the True North consultant responsible for the Citizen Survey was questioned about the results.  It is worth watching the entire meeting with the advantage of knowing that the intended use in the campaign was a foregone conclusion for the council majority, the consultant if not the city manager.

It was clear several days before the election that the clumsy attempt to sway voters with Gaspars' We Love Encinitas mailers was doomed to failure.  The fliers and the sneering comments against Candidates Shaffer and Kranz and their supporters being the 2% who didn't love Encinitas insulted people's intelligence and sense of basic ethical standards.  

Despite the above clip, we heard that Paul Gaspar claims Teresa Barth indicated she didn't love Encinitas.  This isn't a direct quote as this blogger had to hear it on the grapevine.  But, it was so patently a lie and downright slanderous something needed to be said.  These twisted kinds of defense will only continue to poison the council's environment.  And that is indefensible. The new majority won't stand for it. 

And just one more clip to remind us what the current majority had to say about the survey when it was proposed March 28 of this year.

Note how Barth attempts to follow through on Bond's critique of a survey in an election year and she is cut off by our Mayor Stocks.  Deputy Mayor Gaspar uses the city manager as fall guy technique to force the vote.  She has used this bullying before with Gus Vina here and here. (Hopefully, this blogger won't be the only one crying foul if she continues with this in the upcoming year.)

A word about the whole point of the Citizen Satisfaction Survey.  So, presumably it was for the new City Manager, Gus Vina, to get information.  He defends it after the fact in his November newsletter, dated the same day Marcos Gonzalez of Coastal Law Group released the search results for the We Love Encinitas records.

The irony du jour is that there is a 6 pm public meeting tonight, Nov. 27, at City Hall on the Hall Property Park with only the most vague description on the city website. News of this via Patch appeared early today or late last night only because Councilwoman Barth saw it on the city website and alerted the press.

Doesn't that perfectly illustrate Barth does love Encinitas and goes above and beyond without grandstanding?  If the city manager will check out the citizen responses to city communication in the now infamous Citizen Satisfaction Survey, it would be clear to him that posting on the website alone isn't very effective.  City Manager Vina, please try harder to be a real ally serving Encinitas citizenry.  Continuous improvement . . . amirite?

Councilwoman Barth Endorsement of Shaffer & Kranz

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. 

October Surprise

Ignore the alpha dogs - bullies (funded) barking. Cat-titude

Teresa Barth's Newsletter featured the following this week (with image selected for guest post by editor):

No doubt about it - Elections have changed.

In the good old days Encinitas council races were much more homespun. Candidates handed out photocopied flyers at the grocery stores, met residents at neighborhood gatherings and community events. Real grassroots candidates still do.

But technology and money are changing that genuine person to person contact.

Already there have been two phone polls to gauge public opinion and robo-calls to communicate with the voters without having to actually talk to them.

Robo-calls are pre-recorded messages that can be sent to a wide selection of phone numbers. In the last weeks of the 2010 campaign, Councilman Jim Bond recorded a call in support of then Mayor Dan Dalager who was under investigation for conflict of interest. Dalager was defeated and later convicted of the charges. More recently, a number of people have reported receiving robo-calls from Mo Muir and Jim Bond urging support of Mark Muir who is running for the city council seat he was appointed to after the death of Maggie Houlihan.

Phone surveys can vary in costs. The city recently paid True North to conduct a community satisfaction survey at the cost of nearly $20,000. It is now being used in a questionable fashion by an unknown group promoting the "city council." Having been on Council for six years I could take credit for the "favorable" ratings but I know that much credit also goes to city staff, our great weather and location. However, I presume it was meant to support the two current council members running in this election.

Earlier in the campaign season there was a poll asking for an opinion of the city council, city government and other general questions. This week there has been another poll. A sure sign that some group is VERY interested in the outcome of the city council race.

The poll included the usual questions. Are you satisfied with the city council and who are you voting for? However, an unrelated questions was also asked. What do you think of the Occupy Movement?

I am sure many people were curious about the Occupy Movement just as they were curious about the Tea Party movement. Does that make them a radical? No. I think that makes them open minded and willing to listen to different points of view.

Unfortunately, we will never know who was behind the polls or who paid for them. You can be sure it wasn't the grassroots candidates.

We often hear about the October Surprise in politics. It's the last minute hit pieces meant to change voter's minds. Generally based on lies and innuendos they are desperate last minute tactics by special interest groups.

Be prepared for the October Surprise.

Take it for what it is... a desperate act by an unethical group or individual.

It is not the tactic of candidates with a positive vision for the future of Encinitas.

Duck and Cover

The baby boom generation went through school years being lied to and terrorized about nuclear bombs and how one could protect oneself until the civil defense workers could come to one's aid. Seriously, years of this. A generation of kids anxious about "the bomb" and following the rules. Wednesday night the Southern California Edison (SCE) representative (corporate owner) of the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (a really inappropriate acronym being SONGS) gave a presentation.

Presentation by the San Diego County Office of Emergency Services on the San Onofre Nuclear Generation Station Emergency Response Plan and consideration of a draft letter to federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission and federal legislators expressing public safety concerns.

According to a room full of well informed citizens, the 30 minute presentation was as useful of this 60 year old civil defense propaganda piece. Truthiness! The video clips below are the antidote to this kind of manufactured misinformation. These are just a small percentage of the evening's San Onofe interested electorate and council discussion. Don Mosier, Del Mar council member and scientist trained in radiation safety and biology. He speaks with authority of the contents of the Del Mar letter and the research leading to full and transparent public process. Data of NRC is based on information from the 1960's (like our film above).

   

 Gene Stone of ROSE (Residents Organized for a Safe Environment) spoke. He just met with Chairman McFarland of the NRC and he knows she is interested in meeting with local governments.

   

 Carol John Cowan spoke of the many issues of San Onofre, not just the emergency action plan presented which is predicated on a perfect day. She wants a full public hearing on all the issues, for more information for full transparency.

   

 Cathy Iwane spoke of living in Japan for 25 years and leaving for the safety of her children. This account is chilling as it is, unlike any other,  the actual experience.  

 

 Tory Johnson spoke. Later when it was clear that Edison "expert" the Deputy City Manager couldn't answer city council questions, Mr. Johnson jumped up and gave a succinct answer. When it happened again Jerome Stocks snapped at him and threatened him. Too much information for the mayor?

 

Councilwoman Teresa Barth provides the stronger wording of the Santa Monica letter (Friends of the Earth) to the NRC and it is approved by the majority in the revised letter from the Encinitas staff version. *you could knock me over with a feather* A rare treat indeed when the citizens and the representative for the minority voice is listened to and followed. (Just before midnight)

 

Rats! Attorney Glenn Sabine FAIL

For some of us this is our very worst nightmare, infestations of rats - along with mice infestations and a murder of crows in our neighborhood.  Since 2008 the people living in the same neighbor hood as the 703 Passiflora Avenue property belonging to a hoarder have had to cope with rats, stink and dead animals as well as the disgusting mess of garbage piled high. It's been their plague for four years.

Last night, Sept. 12, 2012, brought three of these neighbors to present their plight to the council.  Jonathan Hulsh, Thea Scott-Garner and Rudy Monica respectfully, patiently explained the details with photos.

The Code Enforcement Staff were praised for working 100's of hours, diligently.  But, it has wasted thousands of taxpayers dollars.  The City Attorney is charged with failing the people of this city while protecting the property rights and privacy of the hoarder above all else.

This was a really troubling account (IMHO). It is frightening to be invaded without power to stop the intrusion.

It stood in stark contrast to most of the evening's orchestrated booster rally with Rotary friends, developers, vendors, staff and survey consultant that could be considered a tax payer funded boon for the incumbents' campaigns.

Councilwoman Teresa Barth threw some cold water on the self-congratulatory delusion that council members were responsible for citizen satisfaction for Encinitas.

Thief!

Councilwoman Teresa Barth states on her website:

"I believe we must strive to sustain our five communities’ unique and varied character through fair and equitable implementation of the general plan, fiscal prudence, and environmental stewardship, with respect to all members of the community."

Mark Muir submitted to following for his candidate statement:

"We can continue to protect our treasured quality of life and the unique character of our five communities through fiscal prudence, environmental stewardship, and fair and equitable application of the General Plan."

Plagiarism is what this is called in a world of accountability.  Remember when students were kicked out of college for cheating by stealing writing of others?  Remember when journalists lost their jobs because of claiming other people's work as their own?

If this doesn't make you angry you may have lost track of some essential principle of humanity.  This is stealing.

Speaking of stealing, according to a large outspoken group of active and involved citizens, Mark Muir stole the council seat vacated at Maggie Houlihan's untimely death a year ago.  Despite Maggie's own endorsement of Lisa Shaffer and despite popular belief that the next highest vote getter from the previous election, Tony Kranz, represented the people's choice; Mark Muir took the seat handed to him by the council majority.

We have also heard Mark being considered a reasonable, rational voice within the majority club on the dais.  That's his scripted role, folks.  He is pretty devoid of anything on his own.  He is reading his lines, many of them lifted from Barth's own words to sound community friendly.  It's not new.  Kristin Gaspar did it throughout her meager 2010 campaign offerings and blatantly stole Teresa Barth's wayside horns project and presented it as her own in her very first council appearance. She continues to claim Barth's words, recommendations and motions as her own.

This opposition group doesn't have vision, ideas, plans or community goals.  They are part of an army following directions from their funding sources. This doesn't mean they don't have friends and family who love them and their own love for Encinitas beauty and bounty. What they don't have is a desire to serve the public's best interests, the public good or long range goals.

Mark Muir can hardly campaign on the real purposes, extract as much as possible from this lucrative community for those in charge of his election direction.

Funny, the usual desire here at this blog to link to sources and backup for all of the above is just not there today.  Without acknowledgment of facts, realty or any kind of accountability it just seems futile.

Mark Muir's theft of Teresa Barth's statement of many years of commitment to Encinitas was spotted in a Patch article.  We missed it until now.

Fact Checking: Gaspar the Empty Boast

From the crack fact-checking team at EYNU and Our Mayor . . . We watch hours of videos and comb minutes so you don't have to do it.  We should embed a donation button.

A review of email responses to Deputy Mayor Gaspar's claim that she didn't have anyone approach her with sustainability concerns.  Our research follows each of Gaspar's boasts claims - in bright green.

Note how often she falsely promotes Mayor Stocks as the person who initiates environmental agenda items.
Dear [public];

I thank you for your recent email regarding positive environmental policies.  I share your views as does the Council, who have voted unanimously on numerous environmental issues to protect or improve the conditions in Encinitas. During the past year and a half this includes, but is not limited to:

• Environmental Action Plan- I led the discussion and developed consensus on a plan which included objective measures, so that staff could deliver maximum results for the taxpayer dollars. This plan passed unanimously, including aye votes from Maggie Houlihan and Teresa Barth.  July 20, 2011 

At the Feb. 16, 2011, Councilwoman Barth made the motion, and Maggie Houlihan supported it, to approve the Action Plan as presented by the Commission. Jerome Stocks was particularly insulting to Elizabeth Taylor, the commission chair who made the presentation. 

Barth withdrew the motion and requested the item be brought back at a later date for additional discussion. At the July 20, 2011, Gaspar proposed eliminating many of the stronger proposals preferring minimal compliance.  Houlihan and Barth were able to include some items previously eliminated creating a compromise (admittedly weak but better than the complete gutting) that we could all support. (see minutes  listed in the Aug. 17 meeting)

• Solar Panels- The Council voted unanimously, including Councilmember Muir, to oppose SDGE's unfair rate hikes on users of solar panels, who actually provide all citizens a benefit by producing more energy than they expend. Jan. 11, 2012  

At the Nov. 16, 2011 meeting, Barth asked to have the issue SDG&E’s proposed solar users rate changes be placed on a future agenda. On Jan. 11, 2012  the issue was discussed with local solar companies and numerous public speakers  asking the council to send a letter of opposition. Encinitas was one of many cities and thousands of rate payers that opposed the hike. 

• Electric Car charging station- I proposed that the city reduce or waive the fees for installing these stations before I was elected to Council. Recently, Mayor Jerome Stocks put this item on the agenda and it passed unanimously.  

Electric car charging stations: the one located in Encinitas is part of a state-wide effort and is a joint project with the city. No fees would have been charged to install this station. The recommendation to reduce or waive permit fees to install home solar panels and charging stations was a prior recommendation of the Environmental Commission. ...can’t find the meeting urgh. It was also already common practice in other cities. 

• Farmers Market- Approved unanimously (5-0) after being put on the agenda by the Mayor and City Manager. 

The Farmers Market issue was brought to the council on Feb. 15, 2012 by the Planning Dept. as they were recommending that the city charge a fee to use the public parking lot. Gaspar pursued an aggressive line of questioning if those fees were set high enough.  The agenda item was NOT initiated by the Mayor only a procedural requirement.

• General Plan- Since my election, I have worked harder than any other Councilmember to oppose increasing density along the El Camino Real and Encinitas Blvd corridors. I asked the Council to join me in declaring the land use and housing element of the General Plan officially 'dead'. Again, consensus was developed in a 5-0 vote, and I continue my persistent efforts to make sure those elements do not reappear. 

At the July 18, 2012 council meeting Kristin said staff could use both the Housing Element and Land Use element along with all other elements of the draft General Plan for reference, excepting only the proposals for El Camino Real corridor, Encinitas Blvd. & Santa Fe Dr, when the staff  creates a new draft document. Sounds like she partially resurrected both elements. 

• Protecting natural wetlands- The council supported staff's rejection of a recent Caltrans proposal to enlarge the Interstate 5 ramps at Encinitas Blvd, which would have destroyed a protected wetland. 

Staff and Caltrans have been working on these plans for years. At the Aug. 15, 2012 meeting, Tony Kranz asked why there was not going to be a four-leaf clover design at Encinitas Blvd. The Mayor noted that the area just east of the off ramp was classified as wetlands and Caltrans did not want the extra expense of mitigation. 

The interchange is a Caltrans project and the city council has no authority to approve it or not. At the same meeting, Jerome Stocks mockingly described the area as a wetland...he certainly didn’t sound like he thought the area was worth protecting.  In fact, both Jerome and Kristin were on record supporting Caltrans proposal to widen I-5 significantly through Encinitas. 

Though we have accomplished a lot we can still do more.  We continue to retain the services of an environmental consultant who is pursuing further environmental improvements with the Environmental Commission, at the unanimous direction of the Council.

Please feel free to make an appointment to meet with me at City Hall to address any further concerns you might have.  I do realize that this is an election year and I choose to address citizens concerns in the open, instead of leading from behind.  Misconstruing the voting record and/or views of fellow council members, as Council Member Barth did in her recent email, is counterproductive and is certainly not the best  way to generate a consensus for positive environmental changes.

I thank you for your positive advocacy which is a big part of why Encinitas is such a great place to live!

Best in health and happiness,
Deputy Mayor, Kristin Gaspar

Admittedly, this much immersion in this amount of horse pucky makes us want to scream. *Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire! they scream as they run outside to clear their brains*

Rustle the Leaf Sounds Like Russell Levan

This cartoon from the California Student Sustainability Coalition was startlingly similar in message to what Leucadian Russell Levan (aka Goathead Thorn Warrior) said at the last (8/15/12) City Council meeting during Oral Communications (essentially the 15 minute open mike portion of each meeting).

Contaminated Soils - Hymettus Neighbors

Neighbors from Hymettus last spoke on the very first meeting of this year.  It was the third time they approached the city council majority to try and seek answers, support . . . justice. (The original presentation from representatives of this Hymettus neighborhood complaining about the failure of soil remediation processes in the construction on a former agricultural land can be seen from May 2011.)

For the record, the city council and staff responses and statements from this January 2012 are included here.

They were promised that their request would be agendized.  As Russell Levan pointed out, it has been eight months. Where is the agenda item, where is the San Diego County Department of Environmental Health?

Plastic Bags

As Councilwoman Barth stated, she participated in the recent press conference regarding the bag ban legislation that Russell was urging people to support. Read the Union Tribune coverage here - behind the shiny new pay wall.  

Her newsletter contained the following, 

"I was honored to be asked to participate with a coalition of environmental advocates, elected officials and grocery store representatives  to announce our support for a statewide prohibition on plastic bags. Assembly Bill 298, was co-authored by Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher, pictured above in the white shirt.  I was happy to report on the success of Encinitas' Day Without a Bag public outreach and education program.  Solana Beach council members Lesa Heebner & Dave Roberts spoke about the plastic bag ban ordinance recently adopted in Solana Beach."

2009 Cartoon Parody in Real Time - REDUX

The Crest Drive Appeal brought 30 public speakers before the city council last Wednesday night, August 15 to defend the historic pines and vegetation along their street.  When reviewing the various city council member's discussion it was clear the parody from Leucadia blog in 2009 was being acted out in real time. The images from the 2009 Encinitas City Council Guide are included after each clip from last Wednesday.   What do you think?

"Jerome Stocks is Eddie Haskell. He has a tendency for being insincerely courteous. When the spotlight is turned off his true side comes out. He is the most willing council member to put his own fortunes ahead of the citizens, and he does that in the backroom as much as possible so he doesn't have to take responsibility."

 

"Jim Bond is Grandpa Simpson. Grandpa Simpson might have been a mover and shaker when young and still eager. He still belts out some classic lines of wisdom from time to time, but he is worn out. Expect him to provide a guiding hand on the lucky occasion, but he is over it. His heart is the right place but there is no leadership left in him."

 "Teresa Barth is Lois Lane from Superman I. Not just on the job, but eager to dig in and get to the bottom of the story and then do something about it. From an outside perspective some of her interactions might seem awkward or uncomfortable, but that is because she is so focused on the big story and has that in mind." 

It was fun to revist that lively period in Leucadia blog's history.   Ironically this parody was published on the same night that the great Leucadia tree cutting at Orpheus Park brought a crowd to city hall speaking out for the beloved trees in the neighborhood. Three more years with the council majority in control has meant very little has changed.  

Dots!

Remember the mapping exercise, placing 10 dots - each to represent 130 housing units - where you wanted on the map of Encinitas?
 
This General Plan Update (GPU) restart process was brought to you by the city council majority's scheme described in a whole series, start  here and here if this is new to you.

Despite community-wide frustration and disappointment coming out of the open houses in New Encinitas, Leucadia, Cardiff-by-the Sea, Old Encinitas and Olivenhain; there were 500 people who attended the 2 big workshops to place dots on maps to communicate where they thought high density housing development should be located.

Now, two months later the agenda item on last Wednesday's meeting included an update on this update process.  One aspect of the evening's deliberations are captured in clips below.  A public speech from Pickering regarding respect for citizen participation and clips of two different responses to the overall public participation in the mapping exercise experience, from Gaspar and from Barth.

The great chorus of voices 500 strong (albeit a few out of towners and overlapping commercial participation stuck in the mix) are a group that must not be placed in a secondary position behind ERAC as the council majority is insisting. It has already been done once, where hundreds and hundreds of community members participated in months and months of workshops and events to only have their voices silenced by Gaspar and the rest of the council majority and community provocateurs and financial players generating fear and discord instead of deliberation and problem solving. In a politically staged process at council and in the press, past community work in the GPU was declared dead under the guise of the monster from Berkley consultant takeover.  Bwaahaaa!  Not again.

Now there seems to be plenty of time and energy towards redlining and exploration of alternatives (a good thing) that for some reason was absolutely not even whispered of last September 14th.  Yes, it does indeed smell badly.  But now there are hundreds more from New Encinitas who are quick studies and dedicated activists working really hard.  Taking time, exploring things could be a real thing in the real world.  Counting on New Encinitas as the sound asleep voter base, little sacks of cash and votes, isn't as surefire as it used to be for the super majority sitting on council and running for election.

Rachelle Collier wrote a wonderful letter in April about this and it is a perfect time for a re-read, especially for the New Encinitas activists.  We are all in this together.

You Can't Get Along

 

"Where is the outcry for this issue?" She answers simply, "This is an issue because you can't get along."  Kathleen Lees attempts to make a centrist, non-confrontive series of statements regarding the last minute agenda item tacked onto the July 11, 2012 Special City Council Meeting, the proposed ballot initiative for an elected mayor in Encinitas.  At the core she was naming the problem.

One of the reasons a series of complex posts were presented this last week was this very comfortable, simplistic rendering of the majority's unacceptable treatment of their elected colleague, Teresa Barth, for years.  This is a kind of incivility that millions of people around the country witness each and every day in our culture. It has become a culture of bullys and bigots.  Right here in our council the regular attendees, advocates for their own neighborhoods and interest groups (like last nights skateboarders, dog owners, scientists, traffic critics, sports enthusiasts and league businessmen) all want their voices heard and documented. Even the most outspoken, the bossy, the curmudgeons, the preachers and the politically wonky are supposedly given that right in a democratic system's bill of rights.

The posts on this blog, the clips here and the archived hundreds all show a majority council made up of those who would deny a fully open government, who show intolerance for dissenting opinions, make false acusations and manipulate the process for political gain. The political goal of a zero sum game means a complete blackout of their opposition.

As the clip text states:

Jerome Stocks and the majority on the council over the last six years have shown over and over again their utter contempt for Teresa Barth. Yet even today, with the simplistic "he said, she said" model of reporting by  local news it is all too easy to see controversy and a parity in viewpoints that just doesn't exist. Stocks simply refuses to allow Teresa Barth any position, any voice or any credit as a colleague. She has been "othered" since the day she was elected. That is reprehensible, but even more unacceptable is that Teresa Barth represents the voices of the thousands and thousands of Encinitas voters who have had their votes erased by disenfranchising their choice, their elected official.

We must demand to be heard.  Moreover, it is our moral duty to stand up to the bullying that our elected official is made to endure, despite her consistently respectful demeanor and robust support of the entire community.  If we are attacked for supporting our own right to voice our opinions our defending our public servant we simply don't have to play along.  Confrontation is our right, despite what Mayor Stocks or Deputy Mayor Gaspar may label it this week.

You New? Fresh Perspectives . . .

At a loss this morning for how to best characterize last night's special council meeting and the performance success of City Manager, Gus Vina and Parks and Recreation Director, Lisa Ruloff I found City Council Candidate's Lisa Shaffer's Facebook entry says what many of us were thinking. I for one reject the tired cliche of lemons to lemonade, but find Shaffer's perspective thoughtful and visionary. Such a truthful take compared to the local stenographers reporters for the council in the local news stories here, here or here .

Last night the City Council approved borrowing $8 million, reprogramming another $7 million, and spending over $19 million to build what is called the "full park" (ie, skatepark, dog park, and ball fields) at the Hall property off Santa Fe, as well as improvements at Moonlight Beach. The vote was unanimous, and if I had been on the Council and presented with the same question, I would have said yes, too. The community has waited long enough for a dedicated dog park, a public skate park, and additional playing fields. I strongly support organized sports, having played myself, and with 3 of our 4 girls having been on soccer and softball teams growing up.

There are many things that might have been done differently that might have enabled us to make these investments with less debt, with the ability to consider other financing options or phasing.

But the new team, led by Gus Vina and Lisa Rudloff, made the best of what they inherited, and fortunately interest rates are low, so lemonade is being made from some lemons and some sugar. I look forward to joining the rest of Encinitas in enjoying the new park.

Question: Am I the only one confused here? what happened to concern over funding etc.? I had to leave early, perhaps I missed something....like windfall grants or....?

Lisa Shaffer for Council 2012 Yes, there are concerns over financing. The City Attorney, selected and empowered by the Council majority (who we can change in November), assured the Council that the financing strategy was legal. Does that mean we should incur debt without a public vote? NO. Not in my view. But that was not offered as an option because continued City delays put us up against a funding deadline from the State for the Moonlight Beach money. By bundling Moonlight Beach and the Park, the degrees of flexibility on the overall vote were severely limited. It shouldn't have been presented that way, but it was. The new debt puts us at risk of not being able to address future needs such as stormwater drainage adequately - if we wanted to undertake a major capital project to address flooding, we don't have the borrowing flexibility.

The issues were not discussed and debated the way they should have been. The reality is that the way the package was presented and the way promises have been made to many important constituents for many years, the Council had no good options. The problem needed to be fixed long before we got to this City Council performance.

That's why I said that if I had been presented "with the same question" I would have said yes. But I would have tried hard before getting to this point to have provided opportunities for more open discussion of options; for planning that gives time for consideration of new questions that arise; and for including ordinary community members in stakeholder discussions, since we are all stakeholders in the Park.

Question: Ok, but bottom line Stocks gets to say to the voters "I built this park"...no?

Lisa Shaffer for Council 2012 Yes, you're right. Everyone on the Council said yes - we are ALL building this park. Of course there's no doubt there will be a groundbreaking with photo ops for all the Council members who are running this year. Absolutely. And all of us in Encinitas will be paying for it. But don't forget the other bottom line, which is that our kids and our dogs and our families will ultimately have a nice park, even though it comes at quite a high price financially and otherwise.

I don't want to be misrepresented as being against any of the important constituencies that the park will serve. I'm for a better process for making big public investments in a way that brings the community together rather than being divisive as this has been for the last 10+ years.

They're still Terrified of Teresa Barth

They are nothing if not relentless in their goal to completely silence Councilwoman Barth and the large number of voters who she represents. The goal in repeatedly bringing back and attacks on Barth seems to aim at destroying her opportunity to come out of exile as the Encinitas preferred mayor. What the hell scares them so much?  Like clockwork every 6 weeks there is some sort of Stocks led power play, masked as a kind of populist move to legitimatize the selection of mayor as fair and civil. 

Review following 2011 mayor selection evening when people turned their backs as Stocks and Gaspar ensconced themselves in the positions of leadership.  

At February 15, 2012 these two acted in concert to introduce a 2 year mayoral scheme that would make Gaspar mayor. This Mayoral Mambo was out of the blue and thankfully didn't get enough votes from their own team. 

Here is what Teresa Barth said at that meeting.  Even now, five months and two council attempts later to get questions answered by staff go ignored.  This is also revealed in the post that follows this clip.

This post from Encinitas You Need Us Blog is a reprint.  It is one of the popular posts on the blog.

They're Terrified

It was highly entertaining in these last few days to read all of the comments following Jerome Stocks embarrassing letter in responding to Teresa Barth's letter in Encinitas Patch.   First, it was appropriate for Barth to publish her perspective as her voice on the council is so consistently ignored, dismissed or drowned out by four others of the super majority. On the other hand Jerome Stocks gets his bully pulpit on the dais, control of the agenda, a North County Times (NCT) reporter who acts practically like his publicist and other media focus and framing.

Yet the Stocks letter is a gigantic overreaction to Barth's statement of her experiences.  He and his cronies have treated this woman's minority voice on the council with irrational fear.  What kind of power toppling abilities does she have that motions, agenda item requests, counter arguments, insights from other California cities, advocacy for residents, (even a vote for the mobile home tenants for God's sake) might she bring down for them?  These mighty majority act like theirs is very fragile platform. They may be correct. There are hours of meetings which are pretty fact-free or so orchestrated for confusion it is difficult to mount rational responses. There is not a lot of 'there' there.  We know its been years since anything has been built or accomplished.  Even the General Plan Update (GPU) is being sold as a hoax by the council who brought it to life.

Undeniably there is a great deal of money behind these big boys.  Nobody needs to be told that, although it would be helpful if we could be reading in the press the names behind those who back this cabal at city hall.  It is well past time for that preliminary investigation.

Yet, these comments in the letters here and here are a wonderful sign that there are so many articulate, informed and savvy people paying close attention to these (mental and emotional) lumbering brutes who think the city is theirs and the inhabitants are all asleep or imbeciles.  Wide awake comments at NCT's, A"So Much For Democracy" Raspberry discussion thread brought another batch of insight and resistance, though the regular majority's gang were still there crying about that mean (how dare she) Barth and anyone who would attack poor Stocks and Co.

If you wrote a comment speaking out for Barth, against the Crony Club - give yourself a pat on the back.  Several comments were inexplicably deleted.  I hope they might be recovered as they belonged with the rest.  Imagine if 40 people responded rapidly to an engaging story for challengers to the monopoly or to a hit piece.  This would be a revitalized, engaged community before the election was even under way.

6 weeks later . . . 

Mayor Stocks argues again and Deputy Mayor Gaspar has full blown Poutrage

following Councilwoman's speech and the many remarkable speakers in support of democratic process, dissent and Teresa Barth personally.

Activists / Advocates Speak Out - A Sampling of the Dozen

2012 Council Candidates also speak out. 

Lisa Shaffer published her statement prior to the this March 28 meeting and EYNU captured it. And Tony Kranz spoke out at this meeting with his own unique experience and perspective on the faux populist and criteria arguments.

Wed. night - Now 16 weeks later (whoops their skipped opportunities). This winner take all crowd in the majority again can waste time - supposedly on the people's business - to distract and abuse the public on this political attempt to garner complete control of the city council process in Encinitas.

This ordinance is STILL poorly written, still without answering repeated questions for more detail and still politically driven, and not much more. Nothing is broken here, it's fixed. The personal grudges of this majority are frightening in their relentlessness and viciousness. What do they fear? And a special note to the old guy who has vowed to bow out and vowed to change the mayoral selection to an elected option. Sometimes you just don't get what you want. Please let go of your grudge from years ago. You and Muir can take the higher ground.

ATTENTION:  All hands on deck for Wednesday, July 11, 6 pm special council meeting to be held at Encinitas Community Center.  The financial bamboozlement of the Hall Property park and the Moonlight beach improvements will be item #1,  this mayoral grab action is #2 on the agenda.  Bring your cameras and enthusiasm.

Myths Encinitas - People's business continued . . .

This week's second major myth is that this council majority primary interest is to conduct the people's business.  This is a continuation of Monday's Myths Encinitas.  The Deputy Mayor, in her role as Gaspar the Willing Host (variant of Casper the Friendly Ghost, a favorite here at Our Mayor and Gaspar the Empty Boast) again shows she is more than willing to be the presenter or hostess on behalf of the cronies. This includes the majority team and the people they are serving - a very short list who will benefit directly from an unchallenged status quo in all things. 

A subcommittee set of constraints is just the latest in the council administration policies being reshaped and rewritten over the last few years to keep the public tightly controlled and gagged if possible. But for context, it is important to show a whole series of acts to waste the people's time, the public's money for staged antics to silence dissent, marginalize minority decisions and control outcome at council meetings. All of these things are to codify, make legal, injustice and bullying behavior of the majority. Hours and hours of council time, public backlash, council "deliberations" (read: rationalization) is used to create controversy and confusion.  People's Business my ass - that is a joke.

This subcommittee business started with the strategy to take the offensive with a big emotional topic to mine votes in the upcoming election year  - the General Plan Update.  September Stocks ranted and raved fact free for about a minute and a half. His rudeness and ugly baby image gave the trigger point for, step 2 the outraged citizenry / businessmen. The next step was to position Kristin Gaspar to present the scripted plan to introduce a new council advisory body.  What followed this elaborate attack on the General Plan process was volunteering Teresa Barth to sit on a subcommittee with Gaspar to flesh out this newly scripted plan as the video clip below shows. 

Subcommittee Ambush for Super majority Goal. 

Just 2 weeks later the majority volunteers Teresa Barth to the subcommittee appointed to decide how to fill Maggie Houlihan's seat despite Maggie's videotaped wish that Lisa Shaffer be considered her successor and many public speakers questioning why the next highest vote getter at the last election, Tony Kranz.  Barth was clearly in favor of either of these options, yet she was ambushed again into legitimatizing the majority nonsense. We are to infer (or to read in minutes) that Barth was a full and equal member of the subcommittee. What do you think? 



 Back to the General Plan Blow Up offensive plan where Councilwoman Barth was roped into being a volunteer on the ERAC subcommittee meeting.  In this tirade by Councilwoman Gaspar which was illegally allowed to be presented by Mayor Bond as an non-agendized speech, unchallenged by the city attorney, unanticipated by Barth and on top of all that . . . Bond disallowed any rebuttal from Barth.  This is an ambush, an attack clear and simple.



By this time it was clear that Barth was being set up to appear as a traitor to the Maggie Houlihan constituents, unworthy as a potential mayor (with that procedure coming up soon) and virtually silenced to present her own case or mount an effective counter balance to an all-consuming super majority.  Teresa Barth remained and continues to hold stead as a community treasure in the eyes of the public  - despite these attacks. 

Over a period of a few critical weeks at the end of 2011 the people's business was ignored in favor of blowing up General Plan Update and creating a super majority on the city council. They also were able to kick Teresa Barth to the curb when selecting a new mayor based on fabricated nonsense from Gaspar's she-said, she-said presentation of undocumented subcommittee work.

On March 21 of this year Teresa Barth was able to make it clear she would no longer serve on any subcommittee until rules and responsibilities were spelled out.



And six months since later this super committee have codified a gag rule that completely keeps the people's business in secret.

This majority gang will never be accused of serving the peoples business or being critical thinkers or creative in their governance of Encinitas for the good of the whole population.  They are relentless though in their inventive winner take all strategies via disinformation, distraction and denial - if you'll excuse the alliteration. Again, making the claim of doing the people's business is comically stretching the truth.

All or Nothing

It's the ugliness of bullies taunting because they can, not because they gain anything of value from it except admiration from other bullies. How else to describe taking something simple and basic and turning it into mocking, marginalizing or silencing?

Encinitas super majority council headed by Mayor Stocks and Deputy Mayor Gaspar continually show their unwillingness to act on behalf of the entire community.  They don't just speak, vote and act on behalf of their backers in the community and outside the community, they silence other opinions and attack dissenting views.

During the Norby contract deliberations Councilman Bond was determined to play his assigned role of distraction and confusion as he trotted out baloney like this gem, "If you happen to be someone who supports the direction of the council you are special interests." This was part of a 7.5 minutes of reductive muddled opinions from a man who claimed his old bladder needed to be emptied.  After the break for Bond to pee, Stocks allowed the public speaker, Tony Kranz his 3 minutes at the very end of the meeting. Again, bully behavior defended at the last meeting with Stocks self-righteous speechifying about the distraction from the "people's business" of agenda items in favor of oral communications minutes.

Earlier it had been Deputy Mayor Gaspar's turn. Not new for her (see BARF and Poutrage)

And by the way, none of the super majority will tolerate any criticism from the public. This meeting had several speakers who confronted the council (Stocks in particular) and Norby. This was not handled with any grace or tolerance from the majority (Stocks in particular). All or nothing.