FARGO DEMANDS A SALES TAX INCREASE IN THE MIDST OF A RECESSION, DURING THE WORST REAL ESTATE CRISIS IN HISTORY, AT A TIME WHEN GAS IS NEARLY $5 PER GALLON AND HAS A CAMPAIGN THEME CALLED ********PROGRESS******???
Heather Fargo did not even know there was a crime problem in Sacramento until last month when her mayoral opponent Kevin Johnson told her there was. Even then she scoffed at the idea, and said the only problem residents had made her aware of were related to traffic. Who is HEATHER FARGO to tell US we need an anti-gang tax?
Four months ago in her 2008 State of the Downtown address, Heather Fargo pleaded with Sacramento to make GLOBAL WARMING *THE* agenda item for Sacramento. The theme of her address was her new “Mayor’s Go Green Challenge.” Crime was not even an agenda item. Who is HEATHER FARGO to tell US we need an anti-gang tax?
Heather Fargo has been in office for 8 years. During that time, while the mayor was traveling 125,000 air miles around the globe on various taxpayer-funded “go green” trips, back in Sacramento, crime was soaring into the stratosphere, making Sacramento only second to OAKLAND in violent crime. Eight years, no interest in crime. Then when her job is in jeopardy she wants us to believe crime is a CODE 3 emergency and must be eradicated overnight with a new sales tax. Who is HEATHER FARGO to tell US we need an anti-gang tax?
At a city council meeting in 2006 on Asian gangs, a police officer spoke to the council, in effect defending the department’s record by rattling off the various programs the police department were sponsoring to combat gangs. The list, while impressive, proved the cash-strapped police were taking a handful of steps to combat the gang situation (but obviously not enough to change the direction of the crime trend line). Fargo’s response? (paraphrased) “Thanks for coming. Sounds comprehensive to me.” Who is HEATHER FARGO to tell US we need an anti-gang tax?
Heather Fargo is the highest ranking elected official of a city administration that recently reported it had “lost” $1.3 MILLION worth of taxpayer water meters. They “lost” them. Now they expect us to believe they should be trusted to manage a multi million dollar anti crime initiative? Who is HEATHER FARGO to tell US we need an anti-gang tax?
Heather Fargo cites the attendance programs implemented at three Sacramento high schools as evidence of her commitment to youth development. What she fails to mention is that two of those schools have over 50% truancy rates, one of them, Natomas High School, was last reported in 2007 to be at 70% truancy rate with a slew of suspensions and expulsions due to drugs and/or violence (READ HERE). We won’t even talk about the drop-out rate or the test scores. Who is HEATHER FARGO to tell US we need an anti-gang tax?
Heather Fargo and her band of myopic council people want us to believe gangs are responsible for youth crime in Sacramento, when over 30 recent Natomas armed robberies and home invasions were not ONCE reported to have been perpetrated by gang members. Who is HEATHER FARGO to tell US we need an anti-gang tax?
Who is HEATHER FARGO to tell US her upside-down-soon-to-have-a-$200 million-deficit lazy band of out of touch dinosaurs running our city are capable of running an anti-crime problem when the “honorable” (ha!) mayor herself can’t even get the endorsement of local law enforcement agencies when she is up for re-election? This is the same miscreant civil servant who illegally approached OUR chief of police–without OUR permission–and demanded he take resources off OUR streets to investigate HER opponent.
Who is HEATHER FARGO to tell US ANYTHING!!!!!!!!!!!!?????????
And my Bee comment: One of Rick Braziel’s captains JUST TOLD US at a Natomas crime meeting that MORE OFFICERS “will not change the fact that a 15 year old wants to wave a gun in your face.” We do not need 60 more police officers. We need JOB TRAINING. We need REAL youth mentors. We need a city hall that cares more about growing young people than growing TREES. This tax is a SHAM! Do not believe the hype. Do not support tax initiatives crafted during an election run off by an environmentalist. FORGET TAKING BACK THE STREETS. FIRST WE HAVE TO TAKE BACK CITY HALL. These people are acting like they don’t even answer to voters. There are far more ways to attack a problem than penalizing the cash strapped working class. NO NO NO NO to this election season garbage. I want to see a study. I want to see numbers. I want to see graphs and charts and stats. I want to see GOALS. This plan is crap. Scrap it like the recycled stuff the utilities market sells on the black market.
So this weekend our fire station in NNat will be half staffed and we want to give the city MORE money to take on programs? Simply absurd. They can’t handle the money they have properly and we think they’re the solution? Ridiculous! There are nonprofit organizations already handling these problems that could do loads better with the money than the city can even imagine. Save your pennies and give them to an organization that knows how to use money properly. Let them squeeze every cent out of it instead of allowing the mayor’s office to waste it on “programs” probably run by administrators that will eat up all the cash.
Call city hall today- don’t let your councilmember make this decision alone!
Good job Joe, I saw that you read the Buzz, you should post the Roth letter, his comments show a profound lack of understanding of crime in N. Natomas, it is obvious they want to fill our our area with low income folks and poor job opportunities for votes, I bet he runs when Tretheway retires. I will be attending tonight’s meeting, what a cunning group of leaders downtown, they had a week to change the message, and they still will be asking for a horrible plan. I still think you shouldn’t worry much, the measure will not get 66% in Nov. The Sac Bee blog shows almost 100% aganist it.
I will be there too. I hope I am able to speak. I have a whole lot to say about this unilateral bullshit. You are right Joe. Our city hall has been hijacked. Under Fargo it does not and has not represented the people since she took office. Much of this is our fault for letting her run the city into the ground. I love the “take back city hall” bit. That is exactly what needs to happen.
Message to Steve Maviglio: sounds like a great new campaign motto for KJ: “Take back city hall.” Paint the Fargo gang as the self-serving, developer-selling-out, do-whatever-they-want group of non performers they truly are. We trusted them. They broke our trust. Now they want it back. Too late.
I know why the water meters went “missing”…probably because Fargo doesn’t want the city to know how much water her husband uses to water the lawn every day. I swear, Joe, I could drive by her house at any point of the day and that man’s out there with the hose…watering…endlessly…
He’s GREENING the city you nitz!
Apparently.
Celebrate Natomas! WOOOOO HOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Break out the champagne!!!!!!!! Let the doves loose!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The BUZZ is reporting that the tax initiative failed in city council tonight. Perhaps there are some smart people left on the council… or they just realized they were sitting in a sinking ship.