We Shouldn't Forget This Date

So It Begins . . .  On this auspicious date, our new Mayor Teresa Barth's very first agenda item invited open discussion of the much coveted, sometimes powerful, often lucrative regional board seats. This is shorthand for all city and regional committees and boards for calendar year 2013.

Confusing, mysterious, shrouded in power brokering and alliances that seemed weighted stronger than Encinitas public service responsibilities these regional board seats were ripe for discussion.

The public speakers offered practical, experiential advice and they were listened to as attested by the video clips of council members.

Mayor Barth explained her reasoning and facilitated a completely open discussion throughout. Notice how she doesn't dominate the discussion, censor or inhibit, but encourages full discussions. She follows through on details too. We note all of these as it is a refreshing change from past examples.  She will be making her selections at the next council meeting, Dec. 19th, the last meeting of 2012.



Deputy Mayor Lisa Shaffer offers a wealth of information and suggestions related to her perspective and that of the community and region in a couple of minutes.



Councilwoman Kristin Gaspar spoke quite a bit longer on her one choice for herself. She then offered her choices for the primary seats amongst the rest of the council.



Tony Kranz had one serious preference to be on NCTD board. His verbal gaffe (difficult to hear on the tape) "Mark's flop",rather than Mark's change, was laughed off for what it was - a goof.



Mark Muir presumes he will be first choice as both the water and fire or public safety guy.



You be the judge, the following high points from the three public speakers are included here. Do you think Mayor Barth and Deputy Shaffer and other council members were listening? In fairness, Mark made comments following the speakers that seemed to justify the status quo (not included in any clip here). He was essentially saying there were too many positions to effectively communicate to the public.

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.

Trees and Hostile Officials

Vernal Equinox today, day and night in balance just twice a year.  In honor of this first day of Spring and last week sometime being Arbor Day and Encinitas newly designated Tree City, USA, today will center on trees.  But, where the mayor and the council majority are involved, there is also the dodging of accountability, disregard for public sentiment and a cavalier dismissal of rules unless they are for somebody else.  Did you say, "Sweeping generalizations?" On notice here to search for anecdotes that are the exception. Promise.

Last week of Sunshine and Open Government, the story of Orpheus Trees was presented and today the following clip adds to this historic council majority claim to ill-fame.


Mentioned in this clip and linked in last week's post, Sheila Cameron's complete commentary from the Coast News three years ago is shared here. This Wednesday's March 21, 2012 council meeting will be discussing agenda item #9, the very issue Sheila has described below, email communication.  This example is why it is vital for the council policy to specifically spell out retention requirements and other procedures related to 21st century technology.

Trees and Sunshine
March 19, 2009

This week, March 14 to March 21, is proclaimed Sunshine Week in California. Not referring to the abundant sunshine that we enjoy here, but rather the term is used to shine a light on political processes and to foster transparency in all corners of government.

Last week, March 7 to March 14 was Arbor Week in California. Cities have to apply and pass muster with the National Arbor Day Foundation to be recognized as a Tree City. There are 124 Tree Cities in this state — Encinitas is not one of them.

There is a nexus between these two weeks, coming one after the other, that reflects the deficit in the lack of processes practiced in Encinitas city government.

In the middle of Arbor Week, irate Encinitas residents were protesting in a City Council meeting because staff members, ignoring process and public concerns, cut down 11 young healthy trees in the Orpheus Neighborhood Park so that a few condo owners could improve their ocean view. I don’t know how the Arbor Foundation will view this city’s action, but I doubt that it will sit well with an organization whose purpose is maintaining a healthy urban forest.

The Encinitas Environmental Commission has developed an Urban Forest Policy and aspires to be designated a Tree City. The policy was presented at the March 18 City Council meeting. Now it goes to the staff to write up the procedures for operation. Will this policy prevent an Orpheus Park incident from happening again? Some public process needs to be assured and built-in to the procedures. The policy and the procedures need to return to the Environmental Commission and City Council for review and a second public hearing.

The Brown Act is our Sunshine Law in California, which assures us of accountability and transparency in government. The Freedom of Information Act, Federal Advisory Committee Act and the Sunshine Act are the federal laws granting us access to public records and open meetings. When Brown Act violations occur, it does not bode well for city governments. While the trees in Orpheus Park were being cut down, the three majority council members engaged in a serial e-mail exchange among themselves on this issue. With more than two members discussing an issue, it constitutes a collective concurrence outside the purview of the public, a Brown Act violation. Closed sessions are meetings where all City Council members meet to discuss: a) possible or real lawsuits/legal action; b) salaries/pay and benefits for staff; c) purchase of property for parks, city projects, etc., without the public in attendance.

Closed sessions are required to be noticed with an agenda.

In Encinitas, the way in which Closed Sessions are being noticed to the public constitutes a Brown Act violation. Currently all Closed Sessions are being noticed as a “Special Meeting,” which means the city is only required to give 24 hours notice versus the 72 hours notice normally required for regular agendas. Result: It doesn’t give the public adequate notification should they want to speak to any issue listed. It shows yet another attempt to circumvent the public process.

Marco Gonzales, co-founder of the Coast Law Group and an Encinitas resident, spoke before the council at the March 11 meeting: “The integrity of your entire government structure is called into question — not just the underhandedness, it is about avoiding process and not having process. We have a systemic problem here in the city with regards to governance. It has led to a lack of confidence of your constituency. It is not hard to govern well, just set the rules and follow them.”

Sheila S. Cameron is an Encinitas resident and former mayor of Encinitas.

Stocks in the Dark, Where the Sun Don't Shine

Update Below
It's Sunshine Week across the nation. Our Mayor Stocks remains in the dark when it comes to the concept of sunshine as the best disinfectant for corruption and collusion.

In the clip below he reads his carefully worded revision of history. The great hostility that was the city's cutting of eleven trees from Orpheus Park and subsequent ham-handed cover up is again misrepresented.



There was an opportunity for Jerome Stocks to admit error and show some remorse for actions that would shame most of us who would seek the public's esteem. Not a chance for this politico. And yes, he blames the trees too.

Update: For those unfamiliar with the back story of the Orpheus Park tree cutting, there will be further council meeting clips to come.  In the meantime, a news account with the apt title, "Trees and Sunshine" is linked here.

Sunshine Violation Whoops!

Update below
Remember the giant public relations nightmare for the council majority exactly three years ago? It involved the cutting of a dozen trees in Orpheus park for no apparent reason, without any explanation for urgency or purpose and the sh*&tstorm that followed? The city council majority and the city manager, then Phil Cotton, emailed each other, constituents and Dan Dalager even hiked down to the elementary school to verbally beat up on the teachers.

It was a monstrous failure for the so-called leaders Dalager, Stocks and Bond.  It was gross incompetence for the city manager and staff to completely ignore the newly issued draft plan of the Urban Forestry Management Plan and a legal dereliction of duty by the city attorney.  Several weeks of public speakers at council meetings did not elicit ethical responses from the majority.

During a council meeting on the Sunshine Ordinance policy months later, Dalager offers a kind of apology for that gross misconduct and then utters a revealing admission.




Former Mayor Dalager's yammering fact-free monologue of his recalled error in "too much transparency" yarn held a punch line revealing his habit of deleting everything from his email. Sabine, city attorney, immediately qualified / cleaned up the self-incriminating statements by keeping Dan's magical receptacle in play and telling him he really doesn't do what he just admitted doing.  The city attorney presented himself here more like consigliere, quite unlike a public servant.

Update: For those unfamiliar with the back story of the Orpheus Park tree cutting, there will be further council meeting clips to come.  In the meantime, a news account with the apt title, "Trees and Sunshine" is linked here.