The election isn't until November but both declared candidates are running strong campaigns.

Steve Sojka has a new campaign site up. The page is sharp but his team made a mistake in choosing their URL. Campaign URL's shouldn't be specific to the current election so that they can be used for future campaigns. I don't know all of Steve's aspirations but he should keep his options open. Among the top search results for Steve Sojka is his old campaign site. I am sure SteveSojka.com is available for this campaign.

Steve Sojka will be a leader in our community for many years. His web presence should reflect that fact.

That said it is difficult to find much fault in a campaign that has their own music video.

http://www.sojkaformayor.com/

I was very surprised that Simi Valley Police Officers would picket outside the home of a city council member and I am not sure if it had the intended impact that the union wanted. If their goal was to attract media attention and to show they are willing to play hardball it worked. They have started a Youtube video channel to better communicate their message to the public.

Because the negotiations are done in private it is difficult to figure out what exactly the issues that are being confronted include. Most of us understand compensation negotiations but the rest of the disputes needs to be explained better by both sides if they want to rally the public.

The Simi Valley Police Officers Association ran an ad in The Acorn showing the cost of each council member to be around $50,000 once the city pays for their salary, healthcare, retirement, and other benefits. I have a press inquiry in with the city to see if that figure is accurate.

Overall, whose message do you think is resonating with the public more?

I serve on the Simi Valley Anti-crime Task Force as a volunteer. The committee is appointed from local citizens. I haven't discussed it here because it is by nature mostly apolitical. The task force gives advice to the city and it helps to spread its message to stake holders through out our community.

We are asking you to help in two simple ways.

1. Sign up for updates from the Simi Valley Police Department. They send out periodic emails with information ranging on crime prevention tips, new policies, and most wanted information. Want to know the up to date modus operandi of local criminals? Subscribe.

Here is a quote from their website:

Citizen Alert and Business Alert are programs designed to assist in better protecting your home, family, community, and business employees and customers through timely communication. Through these subscription-based e-mail systems, the Police Department will be providing you with press releases, crime prevention information, wanted persons flyers, emergency updates, and more.

To register to receive Citizen Alerts, send an e-mail to CitizenAlert@simivalley.org. To register to receive Business Alerts, send an e-mail to BusinessAlert@simivalley.org.

To report a crime and remain anonymous call (805) 494-8255. For additional information about Crime Stoppers of Ventura County, go to www.venturacountycrimestoppers.org.

Click here for the Simi Valley Police Department Crime Prevention website.

2. Change the tag or footnote of your email to include the following information:

Please help spread the word on how to prevent crime in Simi Valley. Send an email to CitizenAlert@simivalley.org and get updates from the Simi Valley Police Department.

3. If you are on Facebook join the group Simi Valley Police Foundation to find out more ways to support an organization that helps keep our community safe.

Please send a link or cut and paste this message to your address book.

If you sign up for the updates please leave a comment here to let me know this is an effective way of getting the message out. You don't have to register or use your real name to leave a comment.

If you don't live in Simi Valley feel free to sign up to learn what Simi Valley is doing and then share what innovations your community is implementing.

Thanks for reading and commenting on my blog.

http://blogs.venturacountystar.com/dennert/

The actual headline from The Star included the phrase:

I looked for an author of the story that came up with that pun but there was no byline. Anyways...

Simi Valley has earned a reputation as a fiscally well run city, but in these budget cutting times the city council also has started their program reductions and staff cut backs.

The cut backs include the popular DARE program, increased holiday DUI enforcement ( there will be increased enforcement, but not as much as previously planned), some SWAT training, and a few staff positions.

Click here for the story from The Star.

Click here for the story from The Acorn.

A proposal the city council suggested was to have a retired officer volunteer to run the DARE program. I agree that would be ideal but if they are doing a weekly program in almost all of the elementary schools in Simi Valley then that is a significant contribution they will be asking for from retired law enforcement. It can be done, but I expect for the program to be run at the same level it will require more than a few volunteers. Luckily Mayor Paul Miller is a retired police officer and might have the connections needed to know who to ask for their time.

If the Mayor and other council members are successful in recruiting volunteers for the program I expect an attempt to connect the cut backs to the recent 7% raise won't be very meritorious and/or salient.

How or what is your city going to cut back? Do you think it will make much of a difference to the quality of life in your town?

( What's your favorite cop movie of all time? Meow My favorite is Super Troopers.)

The Star is reporting that Simi Valley Police will be getting a 7% retroactive raise. Click here for the article. In a time of budget cuts this is sure going to surprise many people. The city says it was a part of an already negotiated union contract.

The news article mentions that the union contract for the police officers had a stipulation that the city would survey other agencies to determine their salary. Does anyone know a quick way to look up the pay scale for teachers, firefighters, and police officers? What about other local government employees?

I looked at a few websites and it is not easy to determine the comparative pay for teachers, firefighters, police officers, council members, or other local government employees. Full transparency should mean we don't have to search many different websites, make phone calls, and send emails to get basic information.

Leave a comment with links if you see this information.

Your help is what makes this blog work. I appreciate your input. This isn't just about linking to an article that a reporter wrote, but going on beyond the limit of column inches and getting more input and insight into issues.

A local SRO, who has been a family friend for many years deserves credit for doing a great job. You handled that recent situation with skill. If you have had a recent run in with a police officer leave them a comment to say thanks. Do not use their names.