“Mayor Heather Fargo called the [police] cuts [announced by Chief Rick Braziel] ‘outrageous’ and ‘unacceptable’ .. She said there were other things the department should consider cutting, like white collar crime investigations and ‘officers out on New Year’s chatting with each other’..”
There she goes, there she goes again.. ripping her colleagues and employees for the budgetary chickens that finally came home to roost last night when Police Chief Rick Braziel announced even more cuts to the city’s already slashed and looted police department.
Have you ever witnessed such scathing P.R. and divisive crisis management by an elected official? Richard Nixon handled the Watergate scandal with more statesmanship and poise! Then again, Nixon’s follies pale in comparison to the game of Russian Roulette Heather Fargo and her staff have been playing with the lives of Sacramentans.
Frankly I don’t know what is more hair-raising: The unprecedented police cuts Stone Cold Rick Braziel is proposing (is he mad?), or Fargo’s cuckoo response to them; but one thing is for sure Sacramento, this budget situation is a calamity with potentially mortal ramifications, and it is the DIRECT RESULT of a capricious city council, oblivious mayor, and hands-off city manager who collectively sold our safety and security to commercial developers, pet projects, pork barrel expenditures and questionable earmarks without ever stopping to think about the safety of citizens in leaner times. I don’t care how much disdain you have for Kevin Johnson; these points are irrefutable.
I don’t think these folks did any of this intentionally, by the way. Never said they had evil intent, despite what my detractors have stated. I just simply think they’re all unqualified to manage a city of this size. How else can you possibly explain this outcome? They apparently thought public safety would magically fund itself regardless of how far down the priority list they pushed it. And worse yet, not a single person raised their hand and warned them of this potentiality when they were launching money bags out of city hall during the real estate boom. Where were the checks and balances? There were none. They didn’t think they needed any.
Our future looks pretty grim at this hour. Fortunately we have some comic relief to get us through these scary times, thanks to Ryan Lillis of the Sacramento Bee. In his article explaining the new police cuts, he captured a treasure trove of Fargo sound bites that will keep us howling well through election day. And you thought Sarah Palin was loopy. Fargo makes Palin look like an Ivy League genius. Here are a few bites, and commentary..
“Fargo said there should be a public discussion on the cutbacks – most of which went into effect Sept. 16 – so “we can get real and get it done together and be smarter about this.”
Public discussion? Like the ones we’ve been attempting to have in emails to you, on this web site, and in multiple forums across the internet? So apparently you’re ready to stop covering your ears and actually listen to the public? Even residents who aren’t far left liberals? Even moderates and conservatives? Well, that is fantastic news, Mrs. Fargo. Too bad this revelation comes at the end of your public service career. :( Now WE are the ones covering OUR ears. Many of us don’t care what you have to say any longer. You squandered our trust along with our tax dollars. You lost our confidence. You lost our respect. And you will never get it back.. unless you were to repudiate the 447 campaign against Johnson, and resign.
Hey can you blame us? We thought you had all the answers. Heck, you even rejected an interview request with the Natomas Buzz ! We gave up on the idea that we could ever have a round-table with you. Even as recently as Tuesday we got another strong whiff of your closed door policy when North Sac resident John C Dahilig approached your excellency’s majestic council and pleaded with you all to clean up the eyesores in his North Sac. neighborhood, and one of your pitbulls (Bonnie Pannell) snarled at him, “THE SYSTEM CAN NOT BE CHANGED!” (for the record, ANY system can be changed).
I have concluded that you made a mistake early in your career when you confused activism with public service. This is how you ended up in the wrong career field. Notice Barack Obama refers to his early work as “community organizer.” There is a big difference between an organizer and an activist. You never learned the 
difference. Hence it is no wonder during your eight year mayoral tenure you never realized that whilst you had supporters, you didn’t have FOLLOWERS. John Maxwell teaches a great leadership axiom in one of his books about this very condition: “He who thinks he leads, but has no followers, is only taking a walk.” You, Mrs. Fargo, have only been taking a walk. I wish you would do the right thing now and just keep walking… right out of our city hall …into a beautiful Portland sunset (we truly do wish you a comfy retirement).
You should have called for a public discussion about three years ago before you decided to spend $45,000 of our money and miss 122 days of work and 16 city council meetings (at least one of which was about the the budget shortfalls) to travel around the world championing the fight against global warming instead of the championing the safety of your trusting citizens. While we were getting shot, raped, robbed, and stabbed you were taking tourist photos at the Great Wall. Have you already forgotten?
But while the blame gun is out, I would be remiss if I didn’t redirect it at one Mr. Ray Kerridge, Sacramento City Manager. Mr. Kerridge you emailed the Bee:
“The Police Department will continue to respond to critical public safety needs..these are tough times and we have hard decisions to make.”
Tough times? Yes. No denying it. And while the budget problems at the fed and state level have definitely impacted most cities nationwide, the truth of the matter is that these bloodcurdling police cuts could have been avoided if you had been a responsible steward of our money and made sure we had a hefty reserve.
I disagree with Kevin Johnson, Mr. Kerridge; I do not think you are an “excellent” city manager. You do not have the financial sensibilities to deserve that distinction. Nothing personal, those are just facts. You should do the right thing and resign. This city is bigger than your resume. Furthermore, the measure of one’s competency is in challenging times, not in prosperous ones– and you have failed that test many times over.
Withstanding those things, if you instead decide to ride out this hurricane Mr. Kerridge, I wish you Godspeed, because it’s going to be a turbulent ride, especially when your colleague is selling you down the Sacramento River in a truly embarrassing attempt to salvage her reputation. In one of my favorite bites from the article, Fargo blurts:
“I don’t think it [the police cuts] reflects the level of customer service we expect from our police chief and city manager…We keep saying it’s about getting the customer to success, but telling them we’ll call them back in the morning does not get the customer to success.”
Mrs. Fargo, you ma’am are the last person in this city who should be idealizing about customer service. I have seen your idea of customer service in the council’s chambers. I have seen it in the code violations that plague the majority of streets in Sacramento. I have seen it on the faces of your council members and heard it from their “the system can not be changed” lips. I have seen it in the graffiti downtown. I have seen it in the homeless camped out along our bike trails. I have seen it the lack of family venues and standing churches in “New Sacramento” Natomas. I have seen it in your uber focus on environmental activism when the majority of residents don’t care about it when they can’t even stand in their apartment parking lot after dark in your neighborhood without getting robbed or raped at gun point. I have seen it in the unacceptable drop out and truancy rates city wide. I have witnessed it in the way you BERATE your colleagues and city employees in the press, and respond to questions about your policies more defensively than a child who has been asked to explain a bad grade.
With all due respect your excellency, you treat residents like annoying peasants. See all those empty seats in in the council’s chambers every Tuesday? Each one of those empty seats represents a few thousand people who have absolutely no inclination whatsoever to come to city hall and share their concerns. Did you see the numbers in the primaries? Did you see how many thousands of people in your city voted for Kevin Johnson and not you? Those results were an empirical testament to how many people no longer trust you.
So now you’re willing to take a pay cut, huh? Sorry, but this poltically-motivated last ditch effort to win our trust is seven years and eleven months t o o l a t e. Goodbye and good luck, Mrs. Fargo.
Hey Joey when are you going to add a ratings system? I would give this 5 stars. This was arguably your best piece to date. I’d put this up against any article in the Bee, News and Review, or the Union in the past three years!@ I guess you have more time on the weekends eh?
Oh and that cartoon of Fargo!!!! That needs to go into the Sac satire hall of fame!!!!
If the Sacramento city council, mayor fargo and kerridge were buildings, you leveled all of them in this article. We are talking complete carnage. It is mind boggling that the rest of the people in the city can not see these points. They are all spot on. We are seeing the effects of a greater cause. The effects are diminshed cops, the cause is lack of planning and foresight. It is that simple. Thanks for remind us how simple it is.
So much for that whole Fargo “my style is more inclusive, collaborative” leadership argument, huh? Couldn’t agree with you more on this one, Jose. BTW, I found your gauntlet on Fargo’s lawn this afternoon. Give me a shout if you want it back. It’s on my mantle.
Greetings. Did you all happen to catch the mayor’s debate this evening? My good friend ahem Heather Fargo ahem said some nice things about me as did one of my favorite sons KJ. But fellow citizens I found some of the banter about Latino presence in local government to be a bit disturbing, especially coming from Latino community leaders who have worked so hard to achieve success in their careers. Never, as long you live hire a man or a woman based on the color of their skin or ethnic heritage. Did you all miss the George Lopez episode when a rich businessman offered George a job so he could achieve an ethnic quota and George declined the lucrative offer based on the grounds that he could not accept a position based only on his race? Fellow citizens, and this means you too Kevin Johnson, we must always hold fast the words of the great Dr. King. We must always judge one another on the content of our character, not the color of our skin. Latinos are not the only minority game in town in this day and age. Don’t forget Sikh Indians, Arabs, Japanese, Koreans, the Chinese, Africans, Black Americans, Russians, Yugoslavians, shall I go on? Shall we create a city council seat for each one of these races? Or should we stick to hiring the most qualified person for the job?
Joe…I am in such awe…
You my friend are the true voice of the People…
I will be printing up “Joe Sacramento for President” bumper stickers in my garage tonight.
I am certain there are a lot of folks who would vehemently disagree with that declaration. But thank you.
Joe I loved the radio show and i agree this is one of your best articles- but there are so many.
Hey November is close! We will be bidding Fargo farewell soon!! Hang in there everyone!
J
ok check it out joe serna shows up on the joe sac site. what an appropr. place 4 him to appear. yes i saw the debate mayor serna. I was kind of tripping over that Latino question 2. why does it have 2 be about Latinos? Don’t forget about a brother now. i don’t c any brothas on the council. or any chinese guys. it aint like the mayor chooses the council people. Are people trippin? If you want to run for council then run. but no we aint picking you just cuz u latino. we pickin the person who is going to represent!
I turned the debate on about 20 min late!
What happened in the first 20 minutes?
I wish Johnson had a stronger answer on quite a few subjects to be perfectly truthful. He is a decent bullshitter, but it doesn’t go much deeper than that. Fargone on the other hand is a basket case. I don’t know what that girl is taking but I hope my doctor never accidentally prescribes it to me. Cuckoo is a great word to describe her Joe. By the way I agree this article was a humdinger. What chutzpah in the radio interview too! Go on Joe!
I thought KJ turned it out
HOW THE HELL DID YOU MAKE HER ARMS MOVE LIKE THAT!! THAT IS TIGHT!!
CAN YOU WRITE TO US HOW YOU DID THAT
fyi
I thought KJ did well, too. Fargo was just as snarky as ever
I went to KJ’s debate party at a restaurant on J Street last night. I have to say that I am disappointed in KJ after this event, and my opinion may be starting to turn.
I don’t mind him and his crew turning and running the other way when they see me, after all, to them I am a loose cannon, and they want to keep a BIG distance from me.
So I sat back in the shadows and watched how he operated….I saw KJ spend less than 8 minutes (yes I timed it) minutes at his own event, about a quarter of which he spent in the bathroom. Before he arrived after the debate his posse came up to everyone with headsets on, telling us “get ready he will be here in three minutes” like a secret service team preparing us for the president. I also was not happy about how he kinda blew off John Dahilig who is running for City Council District 1’s seat.
KJ says he wants people to be involved in their community; he says he will be a approachable Mayor, if last night, and other nights I have witnessed are any indication, we may be in for a tough four years in City hall.
I know his crew reads this website Joe, so I want to make sure this is clear to them. KJ needs the community’s support, he needs to work on his public social skills and learn how to at least appear to be sincere and approachable, right now I’m not getting that vibe…right now I will give him the benefit of the doubt, ONCE…I have taken into account he is in a campaign and has handlers…but he also is supposed to be a leader…he needs to lead his posse, not the other way around…especially when it comes to being gracious, polite and cordial to those that support him and who may vote for him…but hey the election is still three weeks away…
We have had 8 years of arrogance and dismissiveness… I will not stand for any more coming from this City’s elected officials…
SweetJeebus! People, bbbmer is NOT Marcos Breton. bbbmer is NOT a Fargo staffer. bbbmer is a friend of the mayor. *sheesh*
Hi Sac Insider. Yikes. Are you implying KJ may be all style and no substance? Hmmmm.
I personally can not corroborate your testimony here because I wasn’t at the party. The closest I ever got to Kevin was the town hall meeting in Natomas–which didn’t leave me with the best impression if you’ll recall.
I applaud the sacrifice you and John made to go support KJ last night. That was very cool of you guys. You and John care about the community immensely and it shows. If I were mayor, I would absolutely harness your energy for the common good. No doubt in my mind.
Then again, I am not celebrity. People don’t want me to sign their shirts. I don’t have people following me home or stalking me (that I know of). Kevin’s world is different than mine and yours. And therein lies his greatest challenge. I said it before and I’ll say it again, his biggest challenge is going to be changing faces.. .from celebrity superstar to public servant.
Can he do it? Can he put his own star aside to let everyone else’s star shine instead? Doesn’t sound like he is off to a good start if your testimony is any indicator. Has Mr. Dahilig weighed in? I’d be curious to know what he thought of the party, too. If he walked away with the same impression. KJ should definitely have high-fived him for the question at the KCRA debate that enabled KJ to launch into a spirited commentary on the broken bridges between council members and residents in many areas. John’s question was the best of the night.
I have nothing but respect for John Dahilig and Sac Insider. You guys are my stars and represent the views of many folks who don’t have the voice or confidence or means to speak out otherwise
Politicians do seem to run from outspoken people, especially ones that intend to hold them to their promises. You are such a person. Don’t ever stop.
Joe
I have a question tonight…
Fargo has been the Mayor for “8-years”. As human beings, we all have learning curves and advancement in our employment/career genes - at the least we should. Simply said, we should get better at what we do.
With that in mind, what has Heather Fargo learned over the past 8-years? And, what area has she mastered and personally improved as a city leader? I’m serious…where has she ‘personally’ improved herself?
If you’re personally not improving and growing, how can the city you oversee say the same?
Just thoughts after I watched the debate.
Hogue