Dear Mr. Cajones,

Please do start your recall petition with Mr. Reed IF you have foundation. As for Civics 101, I know better than most the format of Robert’s Rules of Order and I find that I prefer FUNCTION over FORM. If you are so “embarrassed” by my activities, you and Mr. Reed must be very insecure people. I take responsibility for my actions. Why don’t you both do the same? Come to the meetings and address me.

Quite frankly I would not mind putting on an RIP (Recall in Progress) button for Mrs. Hand, Mr. Grimes, Mr. Smith and Mrs. Vernon who voted for a $3 million failed fire department. As Mr. Smith says, “That wasn’t a failure, we had coverage during that year.” The County would have provided this coverage for roughly $250 thousand, so we only had a loss of $2.75 million. Yep that was a bargain. These people voted for this program, not me.

Perhaps if you knew a little more than just Robert’s Rules of order, let’s say the Brown Act, the FPPA and the Government Code, you would then be qualified to call me on the carpet for my lack of decorum in council chambers. Mayor Grimes only enforces the rules if it is to his benefit to do so. At least I don’t hide my viewpoints in closed session. You, as the public, know where I stand because I say it up front in the council meetings.

Mr. Cajones, pray tell what agenda would I have. I don’t have a business at this time like the other council members do. I don’t own a home within less than a quarter-mile of the new Shopping Center development at Valley and Curry like the other council members, and our former City Manager, so I have no property values that will rise with its’ erection. Also, putting the new City Hall in there doesn’t make the City Council meetings more accessible to me, so there go those agendas. Please state what other agendas I might have. 

I made a promise to the public during my campaign to look after their tax dollars and weigh the daydreams against fiscal responsibility and this is what I have done. My AGENDA is to hold the City Council accountable to the citizens, which is what the Brown Act is for. The Brown Act explicitly addresses the laws regarding OPEN Public Meetings.  Please tell me if the other council members have lived up to their responsibilities. In my opinion they have not.

My experience comes from 30 plus years in the business world, while other council members have had 30 plus years as a counselor at the prison, or a photocopy repairman, or as a Realtor or as a small town shop owner. I’ll match my decisions to theirs any day of the week.