Jim, sorry to be joining the pack picking on you, but you really stepped into it this time.  I can see it was a matter of you not understanding this is Women’s History Month, hell who can keep up with this crap anymore.  Every special interest seems to have its’ own month, week, day, whatever.

You disappointed me that this is the item you chose to attack Hand on.  She has so many other political gaffs to attack.  You have to pick your battles more carefully that’s all.  You swung in the dirt on this one, but hey, so did the great Babe Ruth.  He still hit plenty out of the park. 

I am going to give you credit for the fact that you are standing up and running for office.  I see a lot of people out here complaining but I don’t see them stepping up to the plate to run for city council seats that are sorely in need of fixing.

One thing I gotta tell you my friend is, your first apology was enough.  Your second apology with you whimpering off into a corner because you got your butt chewed on annoys me.  Do you have the fire in your belly to stick out the council position for four years or not?  Or, are you a quitter?  Things get a lot more heated at the council and not everyone is going to agree with you all the time.  If you are going to quit when the going gets tough, perhaps you need to reconsider your run, or you need to find the courage to quit wimping out when the going gets tough. 

Do you have the fire in your belly or not?  I hope so.  Hand and Grimes have to go and I don’t see many other solid citizens willing to get off their butt and run for office.  They all just want to whine out here on the blogs when the city makes a wrong decision.

 WOW! Many thanks for your thoughtful and incisive comments, Sheriff. I have taken them to heart and maybe learned a lesson or two here. That's makes me a little smarter than I was yesterday and I continue to learn something new every day. From everybody/

Yes, I DO have the "fire in the belly" and appreciate all the encouragement and support I can get. I hope this doesn't sound like a "wimp" but I honestly think it's time for the citizens to elect  real representatives who will champion THEIR needs and concerns and not some personal agenda or foto op's ego trips.

Henry Schaeffer is also running and I will do everything I can to see that we succeed.

Thanks again,

Jim Richards

 Yeah--let's not kill jimr---maybe roast him a little but we all have opinions and we all sometimes stick our foot in thy mouth--or wish we would have--maybe it would have slowed down what we were going to say.  And jimr is of a little later generation and may not have thought this post very well out.  Keep posting jimr ; )

Is it me or is this town just a little on the creepy side at times?  I would hate to think that people who are running for office are talking all kinds of crap while using mulitiple personalities to do so.  I'm glad I don't live in the City, I don't have to filter through the sh*t in order to make a decision.

So, will the real who's who's please come out of your closets???

I was taking a drink of milk the fist time I saw the comment from "SheriffJRS" and almost choked. Did you catch that avatar that our friend chose for him?? Comical and embarassing... not something Sheriff Smith would have selected, I am POSITIVE. I didn't even have to read the post to know it wasn't him, but after I read the "Sheriff's" post and the following one, I was almost sick to my stomach.

Honestly, 'Livie, this is the creepiest thing that I've ever known to happen. There have been BAD things, yes, but nothing ever totally freakin' creepy like this. How long have you all lived here?

Olivia, your comment that you're relieved that you don't live in the city and won't have to make a decision is just what these slandering, mudslinging  candidate s are banking on. This group has vowed over and again to destroy anyone who gets in their way, and they have no regard for the truth. Their philosophy is to sling enough mud and a good portion of it is bound to stick.

Whether you live in the city limits or not, everyone in the Tehachapi Valley would be wise to "adopt" a local voter - or three - who shares your viewpoints, regardless of which side of the fence you sit.

The Tehachapi City Council has the power to influence outlying areas through growth issues and other important decisions that will influence the city's revenue base for years to come. We may not all live in the city's hub, but we all use the stores, banks and other businesses to some degree. The city is working with the county on a general plan update that could change the way zoning (rural, ag, commercial, industrial all mixed together) is handled and possibly open the door for more projects such as the Cummings Valley development, while passing the buck for our much needed infrastructure improvements.  Prison expansion, box stores, more empty KB Homes and a serious lack of water and wastewater treatment are just the visible tips of the icebergn here.  

Don't breathe a sigh of relief because you don't live in the city/can't vote unless you want to spend the next 20 years wishing you had become involved before it was too late to preserve this valley's character - in every sense of the word.

Riceme....My husband has lived here much longer than I have.  I've been here about 15 years.  Never paid much attention to what goes on in the political part of the city.  Just love Tehachapi.

CurlyShirly, I'm not sure who you are.  But this is the kind of stuff that really creeps me out.  The dramatics of...This group has vowed over and again to destroy anyone who gets in their way, and they have no regard for the truth.

How is anybody going to be "destroyed".

Look at what they did to Shane!!!!!  They tryed like hell to destroy him!

Politics suck ....

Yes, Olivia, politics do indeed suck.

Sorry to creep you out and for the high "drama," but I think you'd feel differently if emails and blogs started popping up in public, smearing your good name in every way possible. From alledging serious violations of your workplace policies and practices to accusations of criminal activity and just your basic immorality claims. Throw in a few racial slurs and vulgar insults to your character and intelligence and the recipe for corrupt politics just needs to simmer slowly on the burner of public speculation.

The real downside to the community is that it makes it impossible for government to function smoothly with the threat of public humiliation hanging over everyone's head like a dark cloud ready to spit lighting. It doesn't matter if you have no skeletons in your closet, they'll just make some up and dance them around wearing someone else's dirty underwear.

I've lived here for 37 years and I've seen lots of "creepy" things in local politics, but never anything like this.  Our elected officials are supposed to work together to represent lots of differing viewpoints and political temperatures. They're supposed to find a way to compromise and represent the people of Tehachapi's best interests. As humans, they're bound to disagree at times, but they're expected to work it out with intelligent diplomacy and professionalism.  In whose best interest is it to throw a dirty blanket of nasty accusations over ever single civic leader who cares about this town simply because you can't agree to disagree with anyone? Doesn't it raise and eyebrow or two when a politico manages to find serious fault and spread ugly conspiracy theories with absolutely everyone and anyone they're supposed to work for or with, or who in any way supports or demonstrates respect for the city leaders?   

So what I'm really getting from all this, is that folks were totally caught off guard as to the true nature of someone that was elected to the city council, and also a few 'supporters', is that essentially it?  I'm guessing the next election will change things a bit.  All this BS really makes it difficult for me to know who's who since I don't live here full time, but I think it's becoming clear finally.

So curlyshirly exactly how has your character and intelligence been insulted ? You talk as if you have a personal stake in all this.

Gube, I along with dozens of others have personally seen the emails (and some short lived blog posts) full of profanity and racial slurs calling various people criminals, stupid, negligent or worse, sugesting drug and alcohol abuse, promiscuity, extramarital  affairs, along with various pecadilloes and unsavory activities.

Many months ago, I casually started asking questions and making small talk before and after public meetings, just to see what kinds of respones I'd get from our elected officials. It only takes about 10 minutes of listening to the individuals in question to determine the degree of fanatism that is their only political platform. It's never about any "issues" that might help people to decide how these individuals might contribute positively to improving the community, they just go on about how corrupt and stupid any and all of their opponents are. The self-proclaimed campaign manager, "theoneandonlyannonymous" for both the rogue councilman and his 80-something candidate-protege has said publicly that "All's fair in politics." In one of the posts that was deleted yesterday, theoneandonlyslanderer told riceme that she'd continue to say/write what she pleases about whomever she chooses.  

Don't take my word for it. You just have to show up and listen to the horses mouth (actually the polar end) to figure it all out. I'm guessing that blog was deleted because it outed the guilty profile users by name, which is a violation of privacy and the terms of use for this site. Apparrently the 21st Century interpretation of the First Amendment gives everyone the right to express themselves anonymously and with rampant disregard for the personal rights of others. In other words, in 2008 it's apparrently now okay to yell "Fire!" in a crowded theater as long as you do it annonymously. Hence the term "flame wars." A battle that simply cannot be won without a shock and awe plan of no mercy, just ask Hillary. The only defense against such tactics is to tell the truth and subscribe to the "give em enough rope" theory. 

curlyshirly thanks for the reply.........I am on the same page as you are.

Thanks Gube. I believe it is possible to respect our differences, honor our common bonds and work together for positive change. The system begins to break down without real democratic participation. If justice were truly blind, there would be no need for both prosecutors and defe nders within our legal system (hmmm...no law = no lawyers?!)  The same is true of the checks and balances for governments of any size. The people need to be the eyes and ears and voices that remind our representatives they have the privilidge of speaking and acting for us - and that privilidge can be taken away by the people.