Dear Brenda,

In my opinion it all starts at the top. We [Sacramentans] are in need of a leader who is capable of engaging people and bringing them together for THE COMMON GOOD. To do that, community leaders (especially those holding the purse strings, or in positions of influence) must take the time to invite people to participate, truly listen to them, empathize, prioritize, and ACT accordingly to address their issues.

When residents feel their voice matters, they spread the word, and they act as surrogates and tell their friends and family and co-workers ..and congregations.  Soon more people get involved. This inclusive culture inevitably leads to COOPERATION. It’s ALL about cooperation. Once people are cooperating for the common good, community pride will prevail. And DEMAND for accountability will follow.

Why don’t more people get involved? I know why. We currently have a culture that actually discourages resident involvement. See what happened when residents came out and implored the city council not to brown the fire stations out, and the council forged ahead and did it anyway? That sent a direct message to residents from the council: Thanks for your participation, but no thanks.

That is the kind of dismissive, cold community climate Heather Fargo’s “consensus-driven” leadership style has given way to.

It all starts at the top and trickles down, even into the neighborhood associations and special interest groups. I have seen it firsthand. In fact, every community meeting I’ve attended in Natomas so far has been nothing but an information dump whereby 90% of the meeting is devoted to one or a few people talking, and then 10% devoted to Q&A where residents can express themselves. And of course there is never enough time to field everyone’s questions. I’ve walked away from these meetings wondering why I even wasted my time.

The recent crime meeting is a good example of this. There was a long information dump (which essentially just regurgitated what had been reported in the news), and then a short and hurried Q&A session. My question never even got answered. No time. Gotta go. Sorry folks. In my opinion another hour should have been added for resident discussion. Had officials elected not to stay for the extended hour or two, fine, let them go home. Who wants them moderating a community discussion anyways? Residents need to feel confident they can express their opinions without being ridiculed, intimidated, or dismissed. EVERYONE’S opinion and input is important. No time to hear them? MAKE TIME.

Strong, spirited, civil debate (or “bitching” as some of my fellow residents call it) between stakeholders is HEALTHY. It is liberating and empowering for a person to be able to speak his or her mind openly, let alone discover others share one’s frustrations and fears and concerns… or vision!

If you are parent with multiple kids, you know the power of a good family sit-down where everyone gets to state their grievances in an unfiltered manner. What happens? It may get emotional, and sometimes even accusatory, but in the end accords are reached and action items are established and everyone walks away with a renewed sense of purpose. At least that is how it happens in my home (it wasn’t always like this; my wife and I had to learn these skills from other successful parents).

I attended KJ’s Natomas Town Hall meeting in hopes of experiencing an open forum, where folks felt good about expressing their opinions to someone who was really interested in hearing them. But nope. Same soup warmed over.  Three people still had their hands up when KJ said: sorry, no time for any more questions. This after only a mere 10 minutes on Q&A. You know what was so paradoxical about that meeting? It was supposed to be about the community, but the majority of it was spent on the candidate. I was sitting sitting there thinking: “Ok why am I taking precious time away from my family and work to be here if you don’t have time to field my question again?”

Suffice to say, I left both meetings frustrated and decidedly averse to to the idea of attending any future meetings. I know I wasn’t alone.

Residents need a forum to express themselves. And whomever facilitates (and I use the word FACILITATE, not MODERATE) needs to ensure everyone is heard and more importantly that they are not rushed, dismissed, or put down. These are basic ground rules of meeting facilitation that have been practiced in the business world since time memorial.

I have been in a few leadership positions in my 15+ year business career. I have been very fortunate to report to and learn from some stalwart CEO’s, VP’s and so forth. I learned the difference between supervising and leading very early on.  I follow a very simple maxim when it comes to meetings: No hand left behind.

I’ll get off my soapbox now, but I think it bears repeating: More people don’t get involved because they think no one cares about their opinion. They don’t attend meetings because they think the meetings will be a waste of their time. They don’t express their opinion because they fear someone will dismiss them, rush them, ridicule them, or discount the severity of the issue.

Until we get some leaders in place who are truly empathetic and not only willing to take the TIME to hear residents, but actually INTERESTED in what they have to say (not to mention ensuring their voices are not being drowned out by pulpit bullies, or–God forbid–time constraints), you can bet there will be more of the same: a lot of grumbling, but little participation.

Heather Fargo laughs when she hears the word leadership because she simply does not have the skills to be an effective leader and engage the community in a cooperative manner for the common good. Nor does Ray Tretheway. Nor do most of the members of our local government. And that’s not a theory, that’s a fact.

Joe

I received Sunshine Ray’s letter via email this afternoon. In classic Tretheway style, he opens by sharing a riveting anecdote about having lost his own home to fire (who knew?), then goes on to state his commitment to getting the second fire department built in Natomas. He concludes by suggesting Natomas focus on “what matters most” … as though he’s some sort of inspirational leader the community turns to in time of crisis.

Once again tragedy precedes action in Sacramento. At what point do we say “Enough with trees already dude! What about our safety!?  Give us what we are paying for!”

[Sidebar: This Saturday from 2pm to 7pm the police are hosting a "Cops and Community" celebration at the North Patrol facility at 3550 Marysville Blvd. Download brochure here. Angelique Ashby has worked with the PD and rallied the community to donate food and all kinds of stuff for this event. To my knowledge Ray Tretheway has not even acknowledged the event].

Apparently Ray’s got more anecdotes than answers. Ever heard the standard “Everything Happens to Me?” That’s Ray’s song. At the Natomas crime meeting a few months ago, in his opening statement about the home invasions terrorizing Natomas residents at the time,  Ray said he too had experienced a home invasion —- by a 12 year old boy. Heartbreaking stuff.

Like McCain, Ray is old school and apparently still believes anecdotes are a sure way to a voter’s heart, by golly. Chicken Soup for the ol’ voters’ soul, I guess. Only difference between McCain and Tretheway is that McCain calls me “friend” and Tretheway calls me “neighbor.” But I find both equally disturbing…

Dear Neighbor,

First of all, my thoughts and prayers are with the family and our firefighters. Thankfully, the entire family is safe. Three of the firefighters have been released from the hospital, while one remains.  We pray for a full recovery. My family has experienced the devastating tragedy of losing our house to a fire, and to this day we are forever grateful to the firefighting team.

The Red Cross was onsite to assist the North Natomas family and provide emergency shelter. I know that we will pull together as a community to offer our assistance to them as well as to demonstrate our appreciation to all of our firefighters.

Under my leadership, and working with community volunteers and the firefighter’s union, we were successful in building Station 30 in North Natomas.

Today, I am again working with community volunteers, city staff and the development community to fund a new Natomas fire station west of I-5.  As early as next month, the city council will vote on my proposal to fund and begin construction of the fire station. Earlier this summer I met with some of our firefighters onsite at Station 30 to make sure that the new fire station will adequately address our community’s needs.  I have also met with Congresswoman Matsui to ensure the upcoming federal building restrictions in Natomas will not impact the schedule for building our new fire station.

Let’s now keep our thoughts on what matters most–the family with their tragic loss; and the firefighters and their health.

Sincerely,

Ray Tretheway

Ray Tretheway
Councilmember, District One
City of Sacramento
(916) 808-7001

First, is that how the first fire station got built? Really? With your leadership? Or was the fire station simply a mandate given the size of the neighborhood, the same way the neighborhood on the other side of I-5 mandates a fire station? Second, the fire station your supposed “leadership” made possible is browned out half the time right now, isn’t it? Let’s not forget THAT happened “under your leadership” too.

And what is this about YOUR proposal you are writing?  What happened the Joint Use Facility Police Chief Rick Braziel has talked about? Is that off the table now? Whatchutalkinbout YOUR proposal Ray? What proposal are you working on Ray? Please let us in on your proposal. Forget your crooked council cronies for a minute. Let’s see what the community thinks about your proposal first.

And what exactly is YOUR leadership Ray?  Is that the same leadership that led to the worst cop-to-resident ratio in Sacramento in Natomas? Is that the same leadership that piled four hundred ka-trillion tons of “inclusionary” (not even a word in my browser’s dictionary!)  stucco and mortar into North Natomas, yet sent essentially NONE to West Lake? Is that the same leadership that has led to only one standing church in all of North Natomas (which is buried deep in a residential neighborhood)? Is that the same leadership that has enabled some of the worst truancy rates in the city at Natomas High (a school in your OWN NEIGHBORHOOD)? Is that the same leadership that brought  ZERO family venues to North Natomas residents, and took nearly a decade to break ground on the regional park? Is that the same leadership that never responds to his emails? Is that the same leadership that hasn’t updated his city web site’s press release pages since 2006? Is that the same leadership that has left North Natomas to its own devices to fight lawless drivers who have already maimed and killed pedestrians? Is that the same leadership that steered the area’s only bike trail into a center divide in the middle of the street with no stop sign or light?

Is that the leadership you are talking about, Ray? If so, NO THANKS to that leadership.

That’s not leadership. That’s a travesty of epic proportions. And speaking of travesties, have you heard the latest? Rumor has it that two fire stations were mandated for Natomas, and instead of building the second with earmarked funds, the city chose to instead fund the South Natomas Community Center in Fargo and Tretheway’s own neighborhood.  If this is true, wouldn’t this mean Sacramento officials put citizens and firefighters directly in harm’s way in leiu of a pet project? Doesn’t this warrant an investigation?

In conclusion, I am still blown away that Ray Tretheway has the audacity to tell Natomas residents to focus on “what matters most.” Like he knows what matters most! The gall! Tree man. Telling me to focus. Talk about appalling.

Call to action: Write to Fargo and Tretheway and demand the fire station in West Natomas is built NOW, and ask the Bee to investigate the rumor circulating about fire station 2 monies being diverted to So Natomas. And let’s get the 8,000 signatures we need to get the Recall Tretheway initiative in front of voters.

Community leader Angelique Ashby, President of the Creekside Neighborhood Association, and Co-Founder of the Greater Natomas Crime & Safety Team, sent out a somber email to the Natomas community today about a residential fire in Natomas that nearly claimed the life of a City of Sacramento fire captain recently (not to mentioned severely injured several of his colleagues).

Most Natomas residents seem to think the firefighters’ injuries–and the extent of the fire–could have been prevented IF there had been a firestation on the west side of I-5, as the Natomas community was promised. Then again, here in Natomas we are so accustomed to broken promises on the part of the city, not to mention gross negligence on the part of Sac Tree Director  Ray Treetheway (who sometimes poses as a councilman for our district when it is convenient), it’s hard to even muster up the energy to talk about it sometimes. Thank God for people like Angelique who keep these things in front of the community, in the hopes that some day the community will stand up and scream in Fargo and Tretheway’s face: “WE’RE NOT GOING TO TAKE IT ANYMORE!”

Is this what we consider PROGRESS!? Fargo is busy approving corian cat cages and tree counts when we don’t have enough money for basic public safety services? Are you kidding me?

Sacramento is in desperate need of leadership:

On Tue, Oct 7, 2008 at 12:41 PM, Angelique Ashby <xxxxxxxx@yahoo.com> wrote:

This morning their was a home fire in North Natomas on the West side of I-5.

It is the nightmare scenario we have all been dreading and praying would never manifest.

Engine 15 from Truxel in South Natomas near West El Camino was first on the scene in an amazing 6 minutes and 7 seconds (lightning speed, beating all predictions by the shear will of the firefighters at that station determined to get there).

Following them with an equally amazing response time, just 17 seconds later was Engine 18 (on New Market near the Coke Cup & old Arco Arena).

These response times are absolutely incredible but were not good enough because minutes create major problems in a fire scenario - the fire intensified and became a smoldering trap.

Once the firefighters got on scene and entered the home they were trapped by the over-developed flames.

Engine 18 & 15 tried to fight back to free the 4 firefighters stuck upstairs.

By the time Engine 30 (Regency Park) arrived they had a 10 minute response time - which is fast for the distance they had to travel, but not good enough. Engine 2 from downtown also responded but more than 30 minutes after the call.

They needed more help or a faster initial response - as a result the 4 firefighters trapped were all injured. Two have second degree burns but will be fine.One has 1st and 2nd degree burns on his face, ears and neck but will probably be okay in time.

The Capt. of Engine 15 is in critical condition with severe burns and will need surgery, skin replacement and a lot of time and prayer.

This is the scenario Natomas has been screaming about for the past year or more.

We are supposed to have a fire station on the West side of I-5 at El Centro and Arena.

Had that station been in place the response time would have been between 2 and 3 minutes and stations 15 and 18 would have been back-up support to a much less intense and more  managable fire.

Instead we have a tragedy.

The question to ask is how many more tragedies before we get the fire station we need on the West side of I-5. Whose home will be next or will it be a school? Which brave firefighter will have to try to beat the odds because we don’t have enough help? And what price will that firefighter and his family pay?

The Capt. now in critical condition is married with two young children.

Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers and lets do all that we can to get that firestation before this happens again.

Angelique Ashby, JD
President, Creekside Neighborhood Association
Co-Founder Greater Natomas Crime & Safety Team

Fargo was absolutely pathetic on every level last night. In 22 years as a business professional and voter, I have never witnessed such an egregious, vindictive public official so replete with resentment. One absolutely can not be an effective leader (let along consensus builder!) with that kind of emotion ruling one’s entire being. No way. Last night Fargo showed through her snarky grin, condescending sighs and defensive body language why there is so much division in this city, and more importantly, why nothing gets done. She is a bitter old lady and a divisive politician whose ignorant obsession with only a handful of issues pits resident against resident, and gender against gender. And how dare she talk about KJ treatment of women, given her discriminatory treatment of MEN! And (on the Bee’s web site) please stop with all the fake “Former KJ supporter” pseudonyms and “I-used-to-support-you-KJ” posts. We all know you are the same Fargo soldiers who have been here defending the queen’s honor since day one

Updated 8:39PM PST

Well, how about that debate? And how about those great questions? I especially loved the one from John asking Johnson how he would rebuild bridges between disenchanted residents and council members (like Treetheway) who have failed them. Great question John!

I found Fargo’s snarky grin and huffy body language to be insulting. Wow is she condescending and patronizing and immature or what? How many comments did she make under her breath? I lost count. She is a true embarrassment to our city.

And her lies. I lost count of how many she told. She says she only spent $4,000 in taxpayer money traveling? Not true, according to the Bee. More like $45,000. There were countless others. Every time she was lying her eyelids batted rapidly. She would be a terrible poker player.  I only wish Johnson would have ripped her on the corian cat cages and tree counts when she asked him where he was going to get the money.

I think Kevin proved why he is the right person for this job. And Fargo proved why EIGHT IS ENOUGH years of her “that’s not realistic” so-called “leadership.”

I sent Melanie Sill of the Bee an email tonight. I suggested the Bee do a follow-up story about the debate titled “Fact Check.” It would be very interesting to see who exaggerated and/or stretched the truth the most.

Written prior to the debate:

I think it’s appropriate to hold the debate in the ballroom at Sac State. This is–I think–the same ballroom where, earlier this year, our imperturbable mayor opened her 2008 State of the City address with arguably one of the cheesiest, and deceptive, greetings ever: “The optimism and opportunity in Sacramento is so clear… as I look out across the room I see your beaming faces reflecting that optimism..the optimism and energy in this room today is as strong as it has ever been..”  Bear in mind, a mere month later she would disclose the severity of the budget crisis, and when she did, Sacramento area business owners (many of the same ones in her State of the City audience) slammed her (see pasted article below) for misleading them about the city’s dire financial situation, and promptly announced their endorsement of Kevin Johnson.

It will be interesting to see if the questions have been diluted by back room moderators. Heaven knows it could get ugly if students were to pose unfiltered questions to Fargo about her storied partisan bias, deceiving statements about the severity of the budget deficit, taxpayer funded sightseeing trips around the world, disregard for the Hatch Act (the federal law intended to prevent a city official from interfering with an election, as Fargo did when she asked the Sac. police to investigate her opponent), public safety negligence,  continued support of building in Natomas all the way up to the deadline in December despite experts’ warnings that the Natomas levees are broken and pose a catastrophic risk to people and property, how $1.5 MILLION DOLLARS worth of water meters came up missing on Fargo’s watch, how she allowed the 20 year North Natomas Master Plan to be abandoned in favor of a 6 year plan that would result in dangerous levels of public safety resources in the area, or how she and council favored big box stores and warehouses over family venues and….. or…  shall I go on?

No. It’s pointless. Because no one will ask her the tough questions. No one wants a confrontation. No one wants to “make waves.” No one wants to hold our local WELL PAID officials  ACCOUNTABLE.

I’m holding out hope for a few tough questions hurled Fargo’s way tonight. SHe has gotten away with more malfeasance than any elected official in California in recent memory.

Here’s to a good show.

From the Sac Metro Chamber web site:

To hear Kevin tell it, one could easily infer that Sacramento area officials are perhaps even averse to riverfront development. But with a bit of research of late, I have found that isn’t exactly true. In fact, this past Thursday, The Arnoldator just signed an agreement to transfer state land from the state parks department to the city of  Sacramento, a move that will enable a mixed use riverfront development project–that has been in the works for some time now–called “The Docks” to move forward in the very near future.

The Docks look pretty cool. There will evidently be homes, apartments, condos, retail, office space, and even highrises (and one would assume a few billion square feet of low income housing if Fargo and Tretheway have had anything to do with the planning).

So what stands in the way now? Well, first of all, if development were to start today, and end tomorrow, hypothetically, “The Docks” would resemble the island in the movie Escape from New York (remember Snake Plisken!) because we don’t have any cops to patrol it. But that’s besides the point. Even if we stopped the corian cat cage expenditure and tree count and somehow recruited another X number of cops, got them through the academy, and out on patrol within the next year or two, there are still some unanswered questions about (surprise!) funding The Docks.

For starters, the surface streets and infrastructure for this new river-facing slice of Sacramento will run approx $15 million (times that by two for good measure). As it stands, no one knows how that is going to be funded. Then there is this little problem called Pioneer Reservoir, or more appropriately, the “Poopnear Reservoir.” Let’s not beat around the tank here. The “Reservoir” is a sewer and stormwater collection facility.  In other words, it’s not exactly the Pioneer Reservoir of Idaho fame.

The Poopnear poses a bit of a problem for developers and the city. You see, word is that it will either need to be moved ($50,000,000) or repaired ($15,000,000) in order for The Docks to become a reality. Miss Daisy Fargo is on record stating she would prefer the Poopnear stay. She  would like to see it repaired and the cost  be financed through “utility rates” (don’t ask me if that means embezzlement via supplemental property taxes as North Natomas homeowners have been robbed, or rate hikes on sewage and water for all or only some Sac residents).

Developers disagree with the Farg on the fate of Poopnear. They say the Poopnear should be relocated. In the Sac Biz Journal article in March,  Todd Saunders, partner with Wilson Meany Sullivan, lamented, “Go stand on top of it [The Poopnear] on a hot day in August when it’s brimming with sewage and you’ll quickly realize this can’t be the highest use for this riverfront property.”

So how would Fargo justify charging residents for repairing the Poopnear and keeping it in their front yard? That is, how does a fearless, consensus-building leader leader like Heather Fargo make errrrr lemonade out of a lemon? Are you nuts? A CARNIVAL of course!  She has stated she would like to see a FERRIS WHEEL built on top of the Poopnear…. so residents “could get a good whiff view of the river.”

No word on the Poopnear Fargo Wheel proposal at press time.

Still, the question begs:  *WWJD?
.

.
Source: Sacramento Business Journal
Image: http://mdequine.com/projects.shtml
Project on city web site: http://www.cityofsacramento.org/econdev/DocksAreaProject.htm

.

*What Would Johnson Do?

Why is Nancy Pelosi smiling as she signs the bailout rescue plan?  Comment your best caption for this image!

Here’s another great one…

And in related news…California may need some serious bread, man

Arnold wrote a letter to U.S. Treasurer today. In it he said CA may need a multi billion dollar loan to finance errrr the state of California if something doesn’t give by October 29th. He says Cops, teachers, etc etc won’t get paid. How could CA be this in debt? Are we always just a cigar puff or two away from Armageddon? It sure sounds like it. I heard in other news today that Army-Navy stores are SOLD OUT of nearly all survival stuff. They say people are going bonkers buying up survival equipment like the end of the world is coming. Are you prepared? What if our police walked out on the job tomorrow like they did in New Orleans when Katrina hit? Would you be ready to protect your family? Should I be buying a Howitzer like Fort Natomas has? Should we all be stockpiling weapons? Do you all know that the U.S. is being financed by other countries? Good Lord..

Couple sues over marriage license language

A Rosevillian couple are suing over marriage license language labeling them ‘Party A’ and ‘Party B.’  They want their license to call them bride and groom. Like the old days. Is it so wrong? I mean, has anyone even asked homosexuals if they object? I caught a snippet of Inside Edition last night and they referred to Ellen’s lover as her “wife Portia..”   Why not just have to form say:

Party A is:  [ ] Wife   [ ] Husband    Party B is:  [ ] Wife   [ ] Husband

Wouldn’t that solve it?

I am such a pragmatist I am dangerous.

Sheriff dicks go fishin’

Terri Hardy, who has become one of my favorite journalists in Sacramento, wrote an interesting little piece for the Bee about sheriff homicide detectives going fishing for a day and how the Sac PD covered for them. This made some folks mad. Sheriff John McGinness wasn’t happy about it. Rick Braziel shrugged off the don’t-ask-don’t-tell policy for covering the sheriff and said he would in the future, too. What did you expect? That they’d sell each other out? Cops have a brotherhood. They generally don’t ’snitch’ on each other. Either way, I think it’s great they support each other.

But wait.

Sac PD detectives covering for the sheriff? I thought Braziel said there was an extreme shortage .. and that was one of the reasons there were cutbacks because of the uptick in murder investigations… and that “elite” detectives were assigned to Driving Miss Daisy Fargo duty.. and… man it all sounded so dire. Soooooo now I am confused. Do our current Sac PD detectives have some bandwidth after all? Yes or no?

Anyways, I want to express my support for consolidating Sheriff and Sac PD into (drum roll) GSP  - Greater Sacramento Police. Let’s get this conversation started. We are being wasteful having two departments. I bet we can save MILLIONS by consolidating. Anyone from peace officer’s union who reads here care to discuss pros and cons?

TGIF yall

What are you doing this weekend?

Peace!

I am so happy it is Friday.. almost. What a week this has been. And how does it wind down? With a POWER OUTAGE ten minutes into the vice presidential debate! A what!? Yes, a friggin’ power outage!  I had just finished off a few delicious chili dogs and was settling into my sofa with my wife to watch the debate when BURRRRRrrrrrrrrrrr. Silence.

I immediately called SMUD. The rep. confirmed power had been cut to 3,000 homes in Natomas. I said, “Why is my power out?”  He said he would look. He came back on, “Apparently a fuse blew.”  I said, “A fuse? Like a fuse in a car? You use fuses for residential power grids?” I was so hot. And so was my house. Tick tick tick. I got on my Blackberry and chatted on News10’s debate shoutbox and complained about the power outage while others debated the debate until the power came back on… 45 minutes later!The debate was almost over!! UGH!!!

Power outages are nothing new in Natomas. In my opinion, relative to other overpopulated places I have lived, SMUD has been an abysmal FAILURE in North Natomas since I moved here in 2000. I can’t even tell you how many power outages I have experienced here. 10? 15? 20? I have lost count. I have lost computer projects, I have lost song compostions, and I have even lost a complete laptop that got FRIED during an overnight SMUD outage.It was so bad for a while that I honestly saved work on my computer every 2 minutes out of fear of a blackout.

Then the blackouts abated for a while. I let my guard down. And BANG, they’re back tonight–right in the middle of the U.S. VP debates. U N R E A L.

SMUD has to be one of the most utterly incompetent power providers in all of California. I asked for a credit tonight’s BLACKOUT. The rep’s response? “Why, the power’s not on, sir.” Uhhh. Yeah ok.

GET A BACK UP GENERATOR ALREADY YA CLOWN!!!!

UGH! I had never, ever heard of blackouts in the fall, spring, and other non storm or non peak usage times until I moved to Natomas. Good ol’ Natomas. We are on the short end of everything.. which is a good segue for another topic I want to broach..

Why I tolerate Natomas

I am not a Natomas “basher.” I am also not a louse who sits around and does nothing but complain about my community. I have invested a LOT of hours for my community outside this soapbox blog. I don’t care if you don’t believe me. I am not running for office. I actually like a lot of things about Natomas. And here they are:

-I own a home here and the economy sucks.

-The Charter School is excellent. Charlie Leo for mayor. Amazing commitment. Made possible by participating parents. No parent hours, kiss your kid’s ride goodbye. THAT is accountability, Kevin.

-GREAT location. Best in all of Sac hands down in my opinion.

-No traffic jams. Ever. Eat your heart out Roseville and Folsom.

-Freeway access. Unprecedented.

-Diversity. Sit out in front of any retail establishment in North Natomas at lunch time  for a few minutes and you’re likely to see someone representing every nationality in the known world. I love that. It reminds me of New York City. I have lived in communities that were primarily white and those that were primarily black, and I did not like either. I prefer a rich mix of cultures to keep things balanced, and there is no more diverse place in Sac than North Natomas.

That’s about it. I have to travel a long way to church. I don’t like the shopping choices and big box stores that were chosen for the area. The crime is worse than most areas I have lived. There is an imminent threat of catastrophic flooding. There are no family venues. There is nowhee to ride a bike (besides a lame bike trail that actually crosses a CEMENT CENTER DIVIDE). The parks are lame. There are far too many low income housing complexes (a major major one is opening next to the Charter School in a matter of weeks now).. and… aw man there I go bashing again..

VP Debate

I thought both candidates were great.  I loved how everyone’s families hugged and all at the end. I am a sucker for that kind of stuff. I don’t care how strong your political beliefs are, you should always be able to hug your opponent. We’re humans first. Then Americans. I thought both candidates showed diplomacy and professionalism. I think Palin is a beautiful woman who has a accomplished more than most people can even fathom at a very young age. I think she’s quirky, smart (she’s a lot smarter than the pundits want us to believe), but firm when she needs to be.

Biden was also good, although what was with that moment when he got all choked up? Felt like he was acting. Anyways, I think Palin was more engaging. She did say some strange things though… like Biden’s wife’s reward was in heaven for teaching? Hmmm. Then again, she makes no bones about who she is. There is a real authenticity about her and that stood in stark contrast to Joe Biden and his hair plugs, grill job and face lift.  Who am I voting for? Ugh. I am still undecided! What about you? I think it’s a battle of the lesser of two evils. I don’t want McCain’s elitism, but I also don’t want Obama’s socialism.

What is an average Joe to do?  :\

Kevin Johnson says Mayor should make personal schedule public
First I heard of this, but Mayor Fargo does not share her schedule with the public. Surprise! Her position seems to be that it’s none of our damn business what she’s doing. This came to light when Kevin Johnson said he would make his daily appointment book public if he were mayor. When asked about this, Fargo said she “opposes” the idea, and prefers to keep her schedule private. In a press release KJ pondered what she might be hiding. Well duh Kevin, should it come as a surprise that the most ALOOF, arrogant, entitlement-minded public servant in the history of the city does not want to tell us what she is up to? I’ll give you clue what she is doing: NOTHING!! She doesn’t want to share her schedule because it is  B L A N K !!  Her whole appointment book is probably nothing but doodles of unicorns and rainbows.. and trees… with a few “happy hour martini night” entries peppered here and there… oh.. what’s that? We just got an actual PAGE from Fargo’s day planner?? This just in…

ARC Student Council Votes 8-3 to support Prop 8 ban of gay marriage
Turns out 5 of 8 of those YES votes were from former-Soviet-Union immigrants. This has created quite the uproar at the school, amongst student body. One can only imagine the lame rhetorical questions bespeckled profs are asking students  in poli sci 101 at this moment. Shudder. Forget the vote (it is superfluous anyways), the Russians are coming! The Russians are coming! No wait, they are already here! Ack! Talk about a CELL. You know Putin recently said something like he wouldn’t mind another cold war with the U.S….  Hey, I like Russians. I know several. Hell, I work with several. They are incredibly witty, and smart, and opinionated… and Christian… and they are partial to big families…

Anyways back to the vote. Anyone else seeing the parallels to our own city council? Let’s see: supporting measures that a high percentage of their constituents are against (ARC voting to ban gay marriage; Sac City Council funding tree counts and corian cat cages over public safety!!!); multiple members have the same political interests (5 ARC from Russia; 5 Sac City Council share same Richie “I got it at” Ross political consultant).. shall I go on? I’ve said it before that the Sacramento City Council operates like a <gulp> communist regime…  get it….?

But what of Prop 8? I will vote AGAINST prop 8. Yes, homosexuality is considered sinful in my religion. It is one of MANY acts that are considered sinful. Jesus was asked at one point, “Rabbi, what are the most important commandments?”

He replied, “There are none greater than these:  Love your God with all your [might], and love your neighbor as yourself.”  These were 2 of the “10 Commandments.”  The other 8 do not mention homosexuality. But I’ll tell you what they do mention:  ADULTERY! Cheating! Coveting your neighbor’s wife and property! LYING! Deceiving people. Yet we glorify all these things in our culture. “Desperate Housewives”??? Are you KIDDING me? I bet you many of the same people decrying gay marriage are hooked on Desperate Housewives. Wanna bet? The hypocrisy in this country is pathetic.

Wanna focus on an EPIDEMIC!?? Focus on DIVORCE. It is destroying our values. If you REALLY care about values, get out there and stand in front of the Family Court building off Bradshaw (I know where it is, because my wife and I almost divorced earlier in our marriage) and wave signs about what an ABOMINATION of God’s will divorce is.

We are now at 52% divorce rate in the U.S.

Sorry, marriage aint the problem; DIVORCE is.

Vote NO on Prop 8. Maybe the homosexuals will treat the institution of marriage with more respect than men and women have.

PG&E raises rates 6%
No surprise here. Natural gas is was still relatively CHEAP in California. I can’t recall having a gas bill more than $80–even in the winter. Those days are coming to an end apparently. The gas fireplace won’t be running much in our house this winter. :(  Man, it is expensive to live in California. Maybe it’s time to look elsewhere. I hear they recently discovered that Mars, yes Mars, the planet, MIGHT … in fact …be inhabitable….

Fargo mania in South Natomas???
Dude, what is with all the Fargo signs in South Natomas? what is wrong with these residents? They live in arguably the most crime ridden sector of the entire city. People and businesses are robbed daily in nearly every neighborhood, good retailers won’t even set up shop there out of fear…  yet the Fargo signs are everywhere! Are these residents that NUMB to mediocrity? Have they never lived in better areas? Have they no concept of what the city is capable of becoming under the right leadership with the right prioritization? Has Fargo brainwashed them into thinking she really cares about the community because she lives in S Natomas? Even though she would rather spend $350,000 on cat cages, and $250,000 on a tree count than put more cops in their neighborhoods?  Wow.

Maybe it’s my upbringing in such a neutral environment (a placid mental facility—-tweet, tweet), but I have never understood why people go so ballistic over their “party.” What is with the rabid allegiance? I know this will come off as sacreligious to some of these zealots, but I can’t even fathom being “loyal” to a political party. I mean:  “A Proud Democrat” or “A Proud Republican”? I don’t even comprehend that language.

The local mayoral election has brought the Dem zealots out en masse. I have been surprised to learn just how severe party loyalty is in our city. I have learned Sacramento, the capitol of CA, the “center” of the state, the “place between Tahoe and SF,” has a lot of rabid Democrats, and they seem to absolutely detest what they perceive to be the evil Republican party and every devil in its ranks, not to mention any Democrat who does not support every single opinion of those furthest left.

You needn’t look further than the Sac Bee online comments section that overfloweth with rabid condemnations of Kevin Johnson for being a Democratic poseur, every time a story about Fargo or Johnson is published. Surprisingly, Kevin Johnson and his campaign people have only added fuel to fire. I don’t know how many times I have read a comment from Johnson or someone from his campaign boasting about his early support of Obama (as if it were prophetic), or the number of Democratic endorsers he has.

Do the majority of Sac voters even CARE if Johnson is a Democrat? Beleaguered N Natomas residents? Street war-torn Del Paso Heights residents? Battle weary cops and understaffed fire personnel? Victims of  many violent crimes that would never have happened if Sacramento had a local government that was more passionate about public safety and developing youth, than developing trees? I think not.

And Johnson. You would think someone whose entire platform is built on the promise of *CHANGE*, someone who denounces myopic partisanheads who haven’t the humility (or GUTS) to “reach across the aisle” to do what’s best for the community, someone who constantly tells people his LACK of political experience gives him an edge over his bureaucratic politics-as-usual opponent, someone who has committed to making the city work for EVERYONE, would be turning a cold shoulder to what has become a severely political conversation that seeks to EXCLUDE PEOPLE rather than UNITE THEM.

But no. Kevin “I’m a proud Democrat” Johnson continues to respond to the childish jabs at his politics, and his campaign continues to staunchly defend his Democratic cred’ as though it is actually a valuable distinction that will change how Democrats vote (it won’t).

Maybe it’s just a game and I am naive and don’t understand it. I’ll buy that. Again, I don’t know much about politics, and am not inclined to learn. But I do know a little something about inclusive leadership, and I think KJ and his campaign should take another page out of Obama’s book (who KJ clearly models his political persona after),  and stop referring to his political loyalties. If you’re going to use the word “proud,” don’t use it to talk about your politics, especially when your goal is a “city that works for everyone.”

Be proud to be an AMERICAN. Think for yourself. Leaders don’t fly with the flock.

Let Fargo and her minions have the Democrat crown. She has proven to Sacramento taxpayers that it is completely WORTHLESS.

Eight is Enough: Why I support Kevin Johnson for Mayor

By Cecily Hastings, insidepublications.com

There’s no doubt that change is in the air. As our nation gets ready to elect a new president, here in Sacramento we have another important choice to make. We have a two-term incumbent mayor challenged by a former NBA basketball star who returned to his hometown to make it a better place.

After much consideration, I join many other civic leaders in supporting Kevin Johnson for mayor. Since I’ve rarely endorsed a candidate for local public office, I’d like to share with you some of my reasons.

Four years ago, Mayor Heather Fargo rolled to re-election without much trouble or competition. Without Johnson’s entry into the race this spring, she might have had that same experience this year.

Thankfully, Johnson joined the race, because eight years in office is enough for our political leaders. Eight is enough for our presidents and our governors and also our mayors, including Rudy Giuliani, the über-successful mayor of New York City. And Mayor Fargo is no different. It seems that the longer any administration is in office, the less transparent and more self-serving it becomes.

One thing my many years of community involvement has taught me is that only a tiny percentage of our citizens actually gets involved in any meaningful way with their city government. I count those who attend City Council or commission meetings, join neighborhood associations or attend town hall or community interest meetings. The rest stay fairly disengaged.

This past year has been a wakeup call for Sacramentans. First, a $58 million budget deficit was announced after years of growing budgets and rising city spending. As a result, city staff is being laid off—including painful cuts in public safety employee levels—and city services are getting axed.

Then we found out that our utilities department is in such disarray that thousands of city-owned water meters valued at $1.3 million are unaccounted for.

Earlier this year, it was announced that violent crime is up and the mayor went from being somewhat surprised and defensive to recently supporting a hastily crafted anti-gang tax measure for the November ballot that couldn’t even gain City Council support.

The latest was the announcement that Mayor Fargo supported raises for the city’s top managers. But after cries of public outrage, she abruptly yanked the item from the council’s agenda.

But it took these types of events—and there are many more—for many of our citizens to wake up and cry foul.

Realistically, the mayor cannot be solely blamed for many of these events. Given our city’s political structure, the mayor can be held responsible only for the items that get on the council meeting agenda, and even then she’s only one vote. But it is also important to consider the unscripted leadership and communication charge that goes above and beyond the mayor’s defined duties.

This is precisely where Kevin Johnson has been a breath of fresh air and energy in this campaign. A new leader—one with a successful background in tackling challenging civic problems in education and redevelopment—has the perfect opportunity to engage the citizens of our city. A spirited campaign involving a respected alternate to the incumbent has brought out the issues we should have been talking about all along. And for the first time in many years, we’re having a discussion of the current mayor’s role defined in our city charter and how it differs from other major cities.

My initial meetings with Johnson were exciting and inspiring as he shared his great sense of possibility. His track record of success is impressive given the great challenges he faced: reinventing a large, failing urban high school and beautifully restoring key parts of the crumbling historic neighborhood of Oak Park. And he is clearly free of the ties to the entrenched political interests that come with a mayor in office for eight years.

On the campaign trail in the past six months, he has come into his own as a public speaker. At a town hall meeting Johnson held in my neighborhood, there were about 120 in attendance. Thankfully, only recognizable were a couple of dozen from other civic meetings and interest groups. And that’s what energetic leadership does: It inspires people to show up to a crowded school auditorium on a hot summer night.

Johnson managed the one-hour session with leadership ease, efficiency and good humor. He did his best answering the more pointed questions challenging him on his positions.

Another town hall meeting in North Sacramento brought out many citizens from our immigrant communities. Johnson took the time to listen to their concerns.

But there was something else that ran through his responses at these events. You could sense his energy and enthusiasm for what lies ahead in our city, and even some impatience that so many civic challenges have remain unsolved for so many years. That is precisely what is so compelling about Kevin Johnson.

Johnson would be the first to point out that no one person can solve all our city’s challenges. But given his background and success—and seemingly endless energy—he definitely is our best hope of engaging many more of our citizens in the process of creating a better Sacramento for the future.

Hastings publishes three monthly community news publications; Inside The City, Inside East Sacramento and Inside Arden. Visit insidepublications.com to read an article on Johnson’s background that appeared in Sactown Magazine’s May/June edition.