Hey Thanks Brian!!!

I would really like input/corrections because this is a rough draft. I've sent out a couple of versions for input and will update when I hear back.

Katie:

My collaborative corrective contributions are as follows:

Fran Pavely, not Sheila Kuehl is the State Senator currently representing the 23rd District.

And, Bob Gonzalez on the Santa Paula City Council is a Republican, not a Democrat..

Kudos for taking the effort to provide basic political registration data on Ventura County's elected officials to the voters.

As I peruse the list, I'm reminded of the homespun wisdom of Will Rogers who said, "..The more you read and observe about this politics thing, you got to admit that each party is worse than the other. The one that's out always looks the best.."

Ciao Commendatora!

NostraDemus

I corrected Bob earlier and will correct Fran. I know the Judges aren't accurate and some of the e-mails are just plain wrong.

Kate O'Brien on the Rancho Simi Recreation & Park district is a Libertarian, not Declined-To-State.

dp,

Thanks for the correction. I missed that but I was aware she was a rare elected libertarian and to a Park Board!

I appreciate that she has many times answered questions from my readers.

Thanks Dpwiener!

Hi Katie,
Waht a great resource! I have 2 corrections on the Triunfo Sanitation District Board. Michael Paule and I are the 2 current elected directors (not Ron Stark and Norma Callero). Mike's seat is up for election in 2012 and my seat is up for election in 2010.
At Triunfo,the board has voted to transition to an all-elected board in the 2010 election, instead of 2 elected throughout the district and 3 appointed as it is now. Right now on the Triunfo board, Ventura County Supervisor Linda Parks is a board member, along with Mayor Tom Glancy of Thousand Oaks and Mayor Pro Tem Dennis Gillette of Thousand Oaks, plus Mike and I.
In making the change to all-elected, there will be 3 more board seats up for election in 2010.
Thank you,
Janna Orkney
Chair, Triunfo Sanitation District Board

I don't see how anyone with a shred of intellectual honesty can continue to claim allegience to the republican or democrat parties. Frankly both parties and the politicians holding office under their banners are treacherous and treasonous wolves rending America and American Citizens into pieces, leaving the remain for the carrion eaters that always follow a pack of wolves.

ALL politicians are lying cheating stealing traitorous dirtbag scum. Every one of us should feel shame at the trash we have elected and re-elect to govern us. And as the saying goes we have gotten the government we deserve.

But its time to lift our heads and shake off our shame. WE MUST RESOLVE TO CORRECT OUR ERRORS. Vote out the scum that is in office now, all of them. And when their successors prove they don't get it, throw them out to.

We must demand a return of government in the interests of THIS COUNTRY's Citizens.

And finally we must always remain vigilent to the ways the kind of scum we have in office now will seek to return and strangle our country again!

"ALL politicians are lying cheating stealing traitorous dirtbag scum."

I think the "dirtbag" part is a little harsh...

Janna, thanks for the corrections. Feel free to email me at KatieTeague@verizon.net and I'll send you a copy.

I have asked the Elections Office in Ventura to provide this type of spreadsheet but I guess they didn't want to.

"I'm mad as hell" speaks for many, at least among those who frequently comment in the Star's digital universe. But I always wonder that if ALL elected officials are scum etc, how exactly anyone would know when one person were elected who wasn't? The cry is always "Vote out everyone!" until . . . what? This seems like less a mode a thought than an instinctual reaction.

There is a "clean house" mentality that emerges when things reach a tipping point, in terms of our elected leaders not paying attention to what the people want. The best example of this right now, I suppose, would be with our State legislators who people are really frustrated with right now because of the continual, never-ending wrangling over the State budget.

Meanwhile, the ability to fund the bare essentials of State government, the State's plummeting credit rating, and the negative consequences on local government are all outcomes of our elected leaders' failure to get their acts together.

The City of Ventura's elected leaders are in the same perilous position at the moment due to poor oversight and mismanagement of funds, wasteful spending decisions, lack of foresight in terms of development decisions, and dumb ideas that make the voters' head spin - like the 911 fee, the half-cent sales tax measure the City Council is pushing, the narrowing of Victoria Avenue, restricting retail development via the Victoria Corridor Plan, an overly burdensome development review process, and heavy-handed housing code enforcement regulations, etc.

This situation will result in a "throw the bums out" attitude this November and for very good reason.

Clean House - I predict the opposite. I think the Ventura city incumbents will win very handily.

I do agree that the state budget is an embarrasment and people in Ventura County are really frustated with their representatives in Sacramento.

I wouldn't be so sure about the Ventura incumbents winning handily. There's a lot of dissatisfaction in the City right now with the way things are coming down. Ventura City Council members seem to be ignoring the will of the people (just like the Legislature), for one thing, by putting a sales tax measure on the ballot. There is absolutely no support for this in the City with the current economy.

I predict it will go down in flames and the Council members that supported it will be tainted in the election.

There are also two other measures on the November ballot that have solid grass-roots support in the community (the building heights limit measure and the big box ban measure). The majority of the City Council have come out in opposition to these two measures, so that will taint them among the measure's supporters, who are many in the community.

So, given all of this, I actually think the incumbents that are up for reelection will have a lot of explaining to do to the public about their performance over the last 4 years.

Uhh, it was the will of the people to put the sale tax measure on the ballot. This time it will probably pass because only a simple majority is needed. Each council member had two picks for the blue ribbon committee - the vote was something like 11 - 4 to not put it on the ballot.

The view ordinance measure is a city crafted version of VCORD's measure if I'm not mistaken and it has the support of at least some of the council members. The big box ban - I don't know enough to comment. At least two of the council members are in full support of not having a Wal-Mart and of course, Jim Monahan supported the anti-WalMart candidate Jerry Martin in the last election.

*11-4 to PUT it on the ballot

The City Council, with the exception of Neal Andrews, who's still on the fence, unanimously supported putting the half-cent sales tax measure on the November ballot. Don't you think the folks they appointed to this so-called "Citizens' Blue Ribbon Committee" reflected their views on the sales tax? Obviously they did, with the resulting 11-4 vote of this Committee to put it on the ballot.

So, this absolutely does not reflect the will of the people, but simply the will of the Council majority. They thought they had the will of the people behind them to impose the "911 tax" and they were obviously quite wrong in that assessment.

The sales tax measure will go down to defeat handily in November. There is no appetite for new taxes in this community right now. Look at what happened to the State tax measures in the May 19th special election. They all failed by a margin of 2-1. Look at what's happening at the community level with tax protests and such - like the July 4th Tea Party at the Government Center where 3,500 strong showed up.

The City Council has lost all touch with the communuity and they're going to see the results of this attitude in November.

BTW, Jim Monahan supports Wal-Mart in Ventura. He's stated that numerous times in the past. Neal Andrews is even a stronger proponent of Wal-Mart coming to town.

The others are kinda wishy-washy on it. Probably because they don't want to get in trouble legally. They cannot ban a Wal-Mart in Ventura by law. They can only use existing land use law to make it difficult for a Wal-Mart to open its doors in the city, which is what the big box measure is designed to do.

Interestingly enough though, the measure, as it is written, would not prohibit a Wal-Mart, as long as it stayed under 90,000 square feet in size.

The building height limits measure that will be on the ballot was qualified by VCORD and is completely different from what the City Council's less restrictive version looks like, which will not be on the ballot.

The VCORD initiative would restrict building heights to 26 feet. In my opinion, this is ludicrous. More than half the structures in town (including my house) already exceed this height, so they would automatically be categorized as non-conforming uses. What this would accomplish is certainly beyond me.

Jim Monahan absolutely supported Jerry Martin in the last election. Jerry was a pro-union/anti-walmart candidate.

Can't keep up with the view initiative thing so will bow to your expertise.

I don't support the view ordinance, am pro-Walmart, and would vote no on the sales tax but I reside in Camarillo so can't vote. My business is in Ventura however so I am accutely aware of the Wal-Mart issue. It is a bad idea when we keep businesses out. If people don't like Wal-Mart (like me) then don't shop there.

I agree, Jim Monahan supported Jerry Martin in the last election and Martin was anti-Wal-Mart.

That doesn't mean Monahan is anti-Wal-Mart. He has spoken out publicly many times against the anti-Wal-Mart initiative and even the arbitrary restrictions the City Council put on big box retailers on Victoria Ave, vis-a-vis the Victoria Corridor Development Plan. So, I am 100% convinced that Monahan would welcome Wal-Mart to Ventura.

I agree with you on the Wal-Mart issue. It is a bad idea to prevent certain businesses from coming into a particular location. It is anti-free market and sends a clear message to the business community that they are not welcome in the city.

Wal-Mart is estimated to generate over $1 million a year in net sales tax revenue for the city. This would go a long way towards helping address some of the city's funding needs.

Katie,
Christy Weir is a DTS, not a Republican.

Clean House (Mike),
I think the citizens of Ventura should be allowed to vote on their own taxation/fees. That's Democracy. We have had multiple polls conducted over many years in the city which have consistently shown about 60 percent of the citizens don't mind a very small sales tax increase in exchange for improved public safety services, infrastructure repair, etc. This percentage was backed up by the actual voting in 2006.

This particular sales tax will average about 22 cents per day per resident. I don't mind paying it, especially for increased public safety. We have had a rash of incidents downtown, plus three stabbings at the beach and several gang-style shootings on the east end recently. The VPD has cut back severely on support staff to handle evidence, paperwork, etc. Our downtown patrols are short staffed.

Many of our residents would like our Wright Library to stay open and I am one of those trying to help. I also would like to see our sidewalks fixed, streets paved, trees trimmed, etc. All this went away in our recent budget cuts.

I really love Ventura and I want it to be the best it can be. We're worth 22 cents a day. I know you'll just come back on here and knock me for this. But I will continue to be a positive voice for my city.

Marie,

You believe the citizens of Ventura should be allowed to vote on their own taxation/fees, huh? Apparently, the City Council does not agree. You do recall the infamous 911 tax, right? I don't remember voting on that.

"We have had multiple polls conducted over many years in the city which have consistently shown about 60 percent of the citizens don't mind a very small sales tax increase in exchange for improved public safety services, infrastructure repair, etc." You must be referring to the push poll conducted by "False North Research" on the half-cent sales tax measure. This is where they surveyed 400 hand-picked residents of Ventura with loaded questions that no sane person would possibly vote "no" on.

The City Council has had ample opportunities to improve its sales tax base over the years by advancing economic development efforts, including allowing reputable high tax-producing retailers like Wal-Mart to build a store in the City and they have continally failed the community in this regard.

It is high time for change in this City. City residents are ready for it and so am I!

Wal-Mart managers throughout the country are informed about government social programs available to their underpaid employees and are able to pass these costs on to taxpayers. Some of these programs include Medicaid and food stamps.

In California alone it is estimated that taxpayers pay over $20 million annually to subsidize health care benefits for employees who get none as Wal-Mart employees. Consumer savings are offset by higher insurance premiums and higher taxes in order to cover government benefits to underpaid employees.

United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) has documented extensive instances of unfair and illegal workplace practices at Wal-Mart and its affiliates such as Sam’s Club, as well as numerous acts of illegal anti-union activity on the part of Wal-Mart’s executives and supervisors; and Wal-Mart has constructed its stores using non- union labor, neglected to pay workers overtime, prevented employees from taking rest and lunch breaks, and forced them to work off the clock.

Katie you might like this one:
Women comprise 70 percent of all employees at Wal-Mart and have been paid 4.5 to 5.6 percent less than their male counterparts as Wal-Mart systematically denies women equal pay and promotions.

Mike, can you at least have the cojones to post under your own name?

You may not have voted on the now-rescinded 911 fee but you certainly spoke in favor of it at a Council meeting back in December of 2007.

The city has conducted multiple random polls and they have all come up with around the same numbers. As our mayor said, if they were going to fudge it, they would have made it come in at 80 percent, not 60. The cities of Oxnard and Port Hueneme just passed sales tax increases.

Why are you so determined that the citizens may not vote on this?

Wal-Mart can and still may come in to Ventura, but if the anti-big box measure passes, they won't come in as a SuperStore, that's all. We've had these same arguments too many times and you are a dull boy.

Nobody, do your stats on women being 70% of the labor pool differ from places like K-Mark, Target, etc?

Marie,

You must be joking on the Mayor's comments on the poll on the sales tax measure. I heard her comments too and had a really good laugh over them.

Basically, she was admitting that the City rigged the poll by making this statement. She said "we would have made it come out at 80% in favor rather than 60% in favor." It is obvious why they didn't make it come out at 80%. It was laughable enough at 60%. Just think how the already skeptical public would have reacted to an 80% favorable result. They had to at least make it look somewhat believable. Let's keep the scam going, folks. Hilarious.

The cities of Oxnard and Port Hueneme did pass sales tax increases before the economy was as deeply submerged in the toilet as it is today. Oxnard residents are also having second thoughts about the approval of their measure and there's a move afoot in the City to rescind it.

I am not at all determined to not allow the good citizens of Ventura to vote on the sales tax measure. That's a complete distortion of my view on this issue (pretty typical from you, Marie). I am simply trying to bring to light the City's underhanded and deceitful methods in bringing this measure to the public.

People are entitled to know the full story before they decide how to vote on this matter. As a journalist, I would think you'd be committed to this principle as well.

Still no cojones, huh?

Her point was if they were going to rig it, they would've put it much more over the top than that. The polling was absolutely scientifically conducted. You don't believe in global warming, either. So I don't know why I bother with you.

You will continue to post whatever distorted negative thing comes to mind, because that's what you do.

How do you explain the fact that at least four polls and one vote have come up exactly this way (60-30 in favor)? Did the city also rig the vote, too? We also passed a school bond measure here.

Just let the folks vote.

Not sure why I waste my time with you either, Marie. You're as brainwashed as they come.

You obviously missed my point on the rigging of the poll. I understood Christy Weir's comment perfectly. My point was that it was a ridiculous statement and she knows that perfectly well.

Of course, they weren't going to put it ridiculously over the top (like 80% in favor). That would be stupid on their part. The public might be fooled by 60%, but they certainly wouldn't be fooled by 80%. It just wouldn't make sense to anyone that a tax measure would pass by that large of a margin in the current economic environment. So, they set the bar lower knowing that if the public isn't paying attention, as they usually aren't, they might actually believe the poll results.

I was at a Chamber meeting the other day and everyone there was having a good chuckle at this thing. Anyone in the know realizes that this poll yielded completely bogus results. The whole process with this tax has been rigged from the word go, starting with the so-called "Citizens' Blue Ribbon Committee."

I was talking to Bob Berry the other day and he said serving on this committee was the most frustrating thing he's ever done in his life. He said the cards were stacked from the git go.

Believe me, I'm completely overjoyed at letting the folks vote on this dumb idea. Because they will also be voting for the Council members that supported it.

So four polls, two which were internal and never released to the public, all show the same thing and you claim they are rigged?

Has it ever occurred to you that you now live in a town full of people who don't have the same hard right ideology you have? There are good people at the Chamber, many of whom I call friends, but I also know the balance of their leadership is more conservative than the town as a whole. Spending time at TEA parties and at VCRCC meetings won't broaden your horizons, either.

Look at our voter registration.

I'm all over the place on boards and commissions and meetings and I don't see the attitude you hold. Most of us are working hard to help and all you seem to want to do is be negative and destructive online. You're Mongo and Pennywise and Katie's Conscience and now Clean House and somehow you don't have the guts to post your own thoughts under your own name.

I get hammered every day out there online. Sometimes it's really, really hard and you have certainly helped make it that way. I think Melissa Griffin in San Francisco and I may be the only female progressive bloggers in the state who use our own names and photos. (She's great, by the way)

Why do you hide?

Two polls never released to the public? And you claim they're legitimate? Who are you trying to kid?

The one they're hanging their hats on was clearly rigged, no getting around it. You're living in a bubble if you don't recognize this.

By the way, you have a helluva lot of nerve to question my guts and cojones too. You know absolutely nothing about me. I have more guts in my little finger than you possess in your entire body.

I have the guts to challenge the body politic and the old, tired mentality at City Hall. You, on the other hand, seem to find it easier to go with the flow, kiss up to the City Council, and pat these chumps on the back at every opportunity. Well, I'm sorry, but I don't roll that way. My whole life I have questioned the conventional wisdom, challenged authority, and brought a different, sometimes controversial perspective to the table.

When was the last time you ran for public office or tried to shake up the status quo? Oh yeah, never. I thought so.

Bruce Thomas-Democrat (ran against one of the Stricklands for Assembly)
Mindy Yaras-Democrat (recently appointed to replace David Pollock, she was previously elected to the seat)

Clean House,

You're a typical VCRCC Walmart loving Republican who is Anti-women and anti-American worker. I hope the UFCW addresses the threat of you holding any office. It's pretty scary to think of.

They did internal polling before; I had access to the data through a volunteer project I was working on.

You don't have to run for office to make a profound impact on your community. In fact, it is the people who don't run who often are better at it. I can name numerous examples of this.

You only question the wisdom of Democrats. You make large sucking noises at Stricklands.

It's OK. Hide behind your computer keyboard and various fake names. It suits you. :-)

It's been fun, Mike. Later.

So, Nobody, because I'm a free market advocate, am not afraid challenge the union thugs, and don't kowtow to the PC crowd (male or female), you consider me a threat, huh?

Well, that's good. Now I know I'm doing my job.

By the way, I'm not intimidated by any union, big or small. Never have been and never will be.

Go ahead and talk to your buddies over at the UFCW. I welcome their involvement in this campaign. It sounds like the only ones feeling threatened is the UFCW because they're scared they might lose their cushy, overpaid clerical jobs running the price code through the scanner at the supermarket if Wal-Mart comes to town.

Thanks Moopark School Board! I'll make the changes.

By the way, I just saw that there was bipartisan support to increase the tax on cigarettes to $1.50. I'm a former smoker and one of the reasons I quit was because 1) I couldn't smoke in alot of places and 2) it was expensive - and this was 25 years ago. So I say, tax the cigarettes!

There is an article on this in the news section and some of the people commenting are throwing out that smoking doesn't cause cancer.

Clean House,

What relationship do you have with Dean Kunicki and the lobbyist groups that; in my opinion, defrauded the tax-payers of hundreds of thousands of dollars by talking to Walmart when they were charging the tax-payers for lobbying for education?

Walmart doesn't fit in with Ventura's culture. The city of Ventura has a right to protect it's quality of life and protect it's culture.

Nobody, this guy is totally hooked into the VCRCC and all their little games. Him, Kunicki, and Osborn are thick as thieves.

I'm sure he's already sold his soul to Walmart and has taken money from them in the past for various "consulting" activities. Beware Ventura!

Clean House,

Marie is correct that the Sales Tax Measure will pass and you are wrong about the message sent by the May 19 Special Election. While Voters in LA overwhelmingly voted against the propositions, they approved a half scent sales tax increase by over 60%, roughly the same number sited in the cities polls. While there is an aversion to sending more tax dollars to Sacramento, there is little opposition to bring in revenues to help our local communities.

Clean House,

Marie is correct that the Sales Tax Measure will pass and you are wrong about the message sent by the May 19 Special Election. While Voters in LA overwhelmingly voted against the propositions, they approved a half scent sales tax increase by over 60%, roughly the same number sited in the cities polls. While there is an aversion to sending more tax dollars to Sacramento, there is little opposition to bring in revenues to help our local communities.

The City's poll was rigged. Everyone knows that except you, apparently.

The City also has huge credibility and trust issues with the voters over the 911 fee fiasco, the $10 million in investment losses, wasteful spending practices on consultants, controversial art, etc.

This measure would place another $10 million in their hands annually to be spent on whatever they please. I give Ventura voters credit for being a lot smarter than that.

And what about my question?

Every city has issues and every city has somebody complaining about something. I have a guy who posts on my blog about how awful the City of Oxnard is. But he uses his own name, so good for him.

I don't put a lot of credence in anonymous bloggers who can make up anything they want without any accountability and refuse to post with their own names.

I stand by my posts. You may not like my opinion. But if I get my facts mixed up for any reason, I correct them right away.

The Ventura Council is drafting a spending plan for the sales tax money, with accountability. The good thing about the money raised by this measure is it can't be raided by Sacramento. Everyone fully expects that the state budget will be balanced in part on the backs of local governments.

I, for one, would welcome any help the city of ventura can muster in the upcoming election. Don't know much about Mike Gibson, but I do know that these other clowns on the city council have been there long enough. Time for change.