Politically Speaking

My Letter to the Editor

2011-02-19T01:39:00.000-08:00

No Excuses: Maintain Focus on the Next Generation

Burbank has been blessed with programs that develop the holistic health of many of our young people, forming a social safety net. From sports to job skills, counseling to tutoring, many of our bases are covered. They have become the model for the region and enable our city to produce healthy and well-prepared young people.

Our intricate safety net has come under attack. The School District, trying to identify cost savings, closed the Crisis Outreach Center, overloading administrators, teachers, classified employees and non-profits. Now the City’s Management is taking another whack by letting let go of many non-sports youth programs.

Next: Funding for the Youth Task Force, sustaining the most basic program; our school-based counseling. These programs, provided by the Family Service Agency of Burbank, are saving lives. Any action or request defunding this program is a clear indication of inability to represent the whole community’s interests. It is that simple.

Join me in sending a message of support for our young people and call the City Council at (818) 238-5750 or email CityCouncil@ci.burbank.ca.us. If we want these programs to stay alive we are going to need to be proactive.

The administration wrote themselves bonus checks in the amount of $1.1 million, which could fund all of these programs - for two years. I have a feeling that they know where money can be found.

Brown Drinks the Clinton Haterade...And then Apologizes...

2010-09-13T18:34:00.000-07:00

This weekend Jerry Brown added some commentary to my previous story lashing out at Meg Whitman and BILL CLINTON. The commentary was so heated he had issue an apology.

According to CNN, Brown was seen at a Democratic event on Sunday saying:

"Meg Whitman, she stops at nothing. She's even got Bill Clinton lying about me. That's right. Did you see that, where he said I raised taxes? It's a lie. I mean Clinton's a nice guy, but whoever said he always told the truth?"

Whoa! Now he's bashing Bill Clinton.

After realizing the error of his ways Brown issued a statement apologizing today stating "Bill Clinton was an excellent president. It was wrong for me to joke about an incident from many years ago, and I'm sorry,"

Look I'm all about a good fighting spirit from Jerry Brown, however I would rather see "Zen Buddhist Jerry" than "Friendly Fire Jerry". Come on guy get a grip and fight the right fight, we've been waiting for you to do it for a few months now. Instead, you're firing off at the home team. Oy vey!

Wam Bam Thank You Ma'am!

2010-09-13T02:31:00.000-07:00

Meg Whitman has recently released a scathing commercial against Jerry Brown. To be honest, it is one of the most effective commercials I have seen from her campaign.

The commercial shows footage of televised debate between, then Governor, Bill Clinton and former Governor Jerry Brown during a 1992 presidential primary debate. Clinton is seen blasting Brown on raising taxes and squandering a budget surplus.

While these charges were, I'm sure, refuted at the time, the devastating impact of this commercial caused even the LA Times to come out with an article which refuted the claims made by Governor Clinton.

This was, politically, an incredibly well-placed shot. It was effective enough to knock the former Governor off his feet as he unveiled his first campaign-sponsored television spot. The move puts Brown on the defensive right out of the gate and reminds this very "pro-Clinton" state that even Bill doesn't like him. Remember, Clinton endorsed Gavin Newsom for Governor before he dropped out.

Brown's campaign has repeatedly called on the Whitman campaign to take the ad. off the air due to it's misleading nature. Whitman's camp, smart in knowing that they hit the sweet spot, has refused and continues to flood the airwaves with it.

This news is yet one more blow to the Brown campaign as a string of three polls, released this past week, show Whitman with an average of a 4-point lead in the polls among likely voters.

While I am happy to see Brown finally beginning to campaign it is clear that Whitman has been effective in generating support from the airwaves over the past few months. The question is will the former Governor be able to catch up...Cast your vote in the poll of the week.

Lost Causes

2010-08-18T08:15:00.000-07:00

In prepping for the day ahead I was watching a clip from my favorite film of all time Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. In the final scene, an exhausted Senator Smith uses the last of his strength to remind one of his colleagues that "Lost causes are sometimes the only ones worth fighting for."

Earlier this morning I encountered a woman who was homeless who had split her head open on a tree stump in one of our parks. Bleeding, she came to the closest open restaurant and begged them to call the paramedics. The workers, who spoke broken English, came and asked my friend if he could speak to the 911 operator. As we went to see the woman, who was at the drive through window, I realized that she was one of the speakers at last night's council meeting.

The woman at the meeting was quite distraught about the level of harassment she felt she was getting from local police and the lack of help she was getting from the community. According to her she had reached out for help and no one cared to even try. Seeing her speak and later her daughter, broke my heart. Her story was all over the place, but I could hear in her very emotionally-charged address some things that very well could have happened including things like police harassment.

So there she was crying, with blood dripping down the right side of her face and onto her shirt and next to her was her son, who looked about 15 and was extremely pale. With paramedics on the way she asked if one of us could buy her son something to eat as he had, according to her, not eaten in two days. So my friend did, and purchased him a hamburger. The paramedics arrived, cleaned the wound and took her and her son to the hospital for what I assume would be a few stitches.

Remembering the council meeting I had remembered that the woman came with her daughter, who was about my age, to address the council. So I spoke to my friend and we set out to find where the daughter was to attempt to give her the number of a community resource she could take advantage of. We found her wrapped in a blanket at the edge of the park with a shopping cart filled with, what I assume to be the family's last few items that they owned and I gave her the number. She initially wouldn't even respond to me. I told her where I had recognized her from and explained that there are a lot of people who do care and told her to call the number for some help. She reluctantly took the number and we left.

I can't tell you how much the entire situation pulled on my heart. I do not know the background of this woman and her family but what I do know is that the daughter, who was left alone, had a look on her face that I will never forget. She didn't have much but most of what she did have left was taken away in an ambulance minutes earlier. She was left there with a shopping cart filled with a few personal effects of the family and no direction for the day ahead. It was horrifying and with a sense of helplessness I got in my car and went home.

As an individual who is involved in this community, it is all too often easy to sing the praises of all the programs we have for people who are in need. We, in this community, tend to be satisfied with the safety net we have created and tend to be dismissive of those who have fallen through it. The Mayberry mentality we all enjoy allows us to rationalize away the down-right horrifying reality of the volume of people who are and who will continue to fall through our safety nets. We should not and cannot be satisfied.

While I acknowledge that we will never be able to help every homeless family or feed every starving individual in our community, I do believe that we need to evaluate our safety net when it so clearly failed. At the council meeting the woman stated that she asked for help, she stated that she reached out to BTAC and that nothing could be done to help her. Sad part is, I believe her. I don't know why BTAC would have turned her away but I hear from more and more people who have requested aid with there water and power bill (which is a program run through BTAC) that they have been turned away. Maybe demand is high? I don't know.

These are obviously tough times but we who are blessed to be in leadership positions cannot afford to be dismissive of everyday residents who are now struggling to survive. In a matter of a few hours this woman's situation went from bad to worse. No one on the council or on staff cared enough to pick up a phone and give anyone of our local hotels a call. The nightmare of what happened and what will happen when child protective services gets involved, as a result of last night, was easily preventable.

In the end I just want to say this. We as leaders in this community and as good human beings have a responsibility to look out for members of our community. Let us not forget that we are empowered to listen and then act rather than act and then listen. And lastly, let us also not forget that every human being has an inherent value and so does their opinion. We have lost this in Burbank and while I may be an idealist I hope this is not a lost cause. But hey, as Mr. Smith said, "Lost causes are sometimes the only ones worth fighting for."

St. Mary's Vandalized

2010-08-17T06:46:00.000-07:00

Last Tuesday, a 23-year old man vandalized a monument with a sledge hammer at St. Mary's Armenian Aposolic Church according to the Glendale News Press in an article published Thursday. While, according to the article, Glendale police say it was not a hate crime one has to wonder why the individual chose that particular monument to deface. The monument, which was a gift to the church is, made of solid stone and the church estimates that $80,000 in damage was done.

This truly is sad to hear. While it is my sincere hope that this was not motivated by hate, I highly doubt that it wasn't. My thoughts go out to the members of the congregation in this time of frustration and loss. I hope that the monument is not only restored, but appreciated at a much greater level for what it truly commemorates. As Christians, let us not forget how to respond when such an event happens... Matthew 5:38-48.

Yup, they stole it...

2010-08-17T05:41:00.000-07:00

Nice turnout for the weekend poll. The question was simple: Did the council steal the bacon? 73% of voters agree they did.

Either way the meeting is rolling ahead with the new format. I sincerely hope that the council takes this opportunity as seriously as the police commission would have. It took a lot of work by the commission to put this together and once again kudos to the commissioners for an independent town hall well attempted.

Poll of the Week Results: It's Meg and Fio!

2010-08-14T01:18:00.000-07:00

A week ago I had a goal for the blog. I wanted to reach a new level of participation with the blog. Twenty-two people voted in one of the polls and the other had twenty-one votes. So in the better of the two polls we doubled last weeks turnout!

It is very interesting looking at the results. Both polls held resounding wins for both of the Republican candidates. While I seriously doubt that both Meg and Fio will win, I do have to say that the poll results indicate to me the level of excitement on both sides. Yes, this is a relatively young blog, but I'm sure there were plenty of Dems who saw the poll and chose not to vote. Conservatives have been and are motivated to vote in this election which is leading to some concern among Democrats.

Now for the results: Meg Whitman mops the floor with Jerry Brown with 71% and Carly makes her stand at 63%, beating Barbara Boxer.

Again, not a scientific poll but still fun. Read the story below and vote in the special weekend poll! Result story on Sunday night.

Did the Council Steal the Bacon?

2010-08-14T00:53:00.000-07:00

Remember the old game Steal the Bacon? Well yesterday, it became public that the Burbank Police Commission's town hall meeting, aka "the bacon", was, for lack of a better term, "stolen" by the Burbank City Council. The town hall, scheduled for this coming Wednesday, will now be a joint meeting of the Police Commission and the City Council. Interest from the Council was apparently so overwhelming that, for fear of a Brown Act violation, the Council decided to give the commission what the commission had originally wanted—a joint meeting/forum.

While this latest development is interesting I have to wonder about its impacts on the success of the forum. One of the benefits of having a commission-only forum would be the lack of environmental intimidation (i.e. less staff, different location, and no council). Now, the town hall meeting will have to be more formal and more procedural than previously planned. But, realistically that isn't even the real issue.

The fact of the matter is that council members are the decision makers. Having council members in the room make police commissioners irrelevant If the council felt that being a part of a town hall meeting was so important then why didn't they call a town hall meeting months ago when the Stehr situation exploded? Seems to me that would have been a better public relations move at the time. I don't know why and I can only wonder why the council has acted so aggressively by taking over the meeting.

As for the Police Commission, I can only hope that they don't lose faith. This move would frustrate the heck out of me but, I would remind the police commission that this is the time to be proactive, this is the time to ask the questions and that this is the time not to give up.

This is also a time where the public needs to show up. This was the police commission's idea and we need to attend to show our support. Spread the word! Have a police issue? Attend the commission/council meeting. The meeting is this Wednesday the 18th from 7:00PM-9:00PM at the Community Services Building located at 150 N. Third St. Hope to see you all there!

Poll of the Weekend: Did the Council Steal the Bacon? Vote on the right-hand side of the blog.

Poll of the Week Results:

2010-08-09T04:54:00.000-07:00

Okay, so only eleven people voted but it was an "overwhelming" 8-3 in favor of dumping Biden for Clinton...Better watch out Biden. While this is hardly a scientific poll I do believe the sentiment is shared pretty universally.

This week I have two polls. Who is your choice for Governor? and Who is your choice for the US Senate? I'm hoping I can get at least 25 people to vote in this week's poll. Help me out by voting today.

Bell Fallout

2010-08-08T12:03:00.000-07:00

The recent discovery of the rampant fraud and abuse of the city of Bell has generated a flurry of new thinking and calls, at the state and local levels, for more oversight over county and municipal governments . Hearing the calls for more oversight, both California Attorney General Jerry Brown and Controller John Chiang have launched state-level responses to the Bell corruption scandal. On July 22nd, Attorney General Brown launched an investigation not only into the city of Bell but into all other cities and counties to determine, "whether any illegality, self-dealing, or other improper activity (has) occurred." Controller Chiang ordered that cities and counties begin reporting the salaries of local executives and elected officials to his office. Once received, Controller Chiang plans to create an user-friendly database of all the salaries on his state website for the public.

While this new level of oversight is all well and good, it really is too late for it isn't it? Most local communities are struggling to stay afloat, in part, because of the hefty salaries and benefits of some local officials. Now, I believe that our public servants deserve a living wage in this country but as more and more becomes public, more and more needs to be questioned.

A few weeks ago, the Burbank Leader came out with a story that one-in-three City of Burbank employees make over $100,000 a year. 1 in 3! While I suppose one could attempt to try to explain the necessity of it all, it doesn't change the long term impacts on the taxpayer. These are salaries that upon retirement often only diminish by only 10-25% (after thirty years of work) upon retirement. This is not a rant against all city employees, as many of the city's employees work hard and earn a respectable wage, however, we as taxpayers have to worry about when the pension bill comes due. With one-third of our city's workforce making over $100k its not long before our city's pension obligations start to take up more and more of the general fund forcing the city to either make cuts, raise fees or both.

Let me be frank, this all is coming up as a result of our economic times. High salaries and benefit packages for elected officials and public employees are often difficult to swallow for the everyday taxpayer who is struggling to stay afloat. Let us not forget public service is about sacrifice. A public employee is not supposed to be paid a salary that is comparable with the private world because at the end of the day, as a good friend says, government doesn't go out of business private companies do. There is a risk involved in the corporate world and it pays for it. We've got to get this on track again or else we are all going to be suffering in the future.

New Video for the Blog!

2010-08-05T05:38:00.000-07:00

New video! Maybe a video blog on the way?

Rangel & Waters Definitely Not Abramoff

2010-08-03T03:05:00.000-07:00

This weekend I was extremely happy to see the ethics investigations of two Democratic members of Congress move forward. A major part of the Democrat's 2006 campaign platform was cleaning up Washington after the Abramoff scandal. These investigations serve as further proof that Democrats are delivering on that promise.

For those who don't know the House Ethics Committee is made up of an equal amount of both Democrats and Republicans. Should the committee want to make any decisions it would require a bi-partisan vote. Yes, that means Democrats on the committee voted to investigate Democrats! While ultimately I believe the jury is still out on these two members of Congress I do have to say that they are both highly regarded by the people of their districts.

As Democrats, we can't be so blinded by party that we forget what is right and wrong. Speaker Pelosi has even commented that she's keeping herself and politics out of this stating on This Week with Christiane Amanpour that she is "Totally out of the loop" on the current Ethics Committee investigations. While I do doubt that she is completely out of the loop I know that she is keeping as far away from it as possible.

The Unspoken Conflict

2010-07-26T02:47:00.000-07:00

It was only nine years ago that I wandered into the Burbank Nature Center for what was to be the first meeting of what was later called Burbank Youth for Youth. I was both impressed and truly in awe by the number of high-ranking officials and local dignitaries that were present. I was taking the first steps on a path that would change my life.

While I am young, I try to focus on the direction my life is going constantly. Life is terribly short and now approaching my tenth year of involvement with the City, I have come to realize that I have given roughly an eighth of my entire life's expectancy to this community. Now, my tenure is a drop in the pond compared to some in our community however, it has been significant in my life.

Where this City was ten years ago and where it is today are vastly different. Back then there was an order to things that made sense to me. Maybe I was naive to the politics behind the scenes but what I see today is a drastically different community and a culture of fear.

Police lawsuits, cut-throat political tactics and gossip have created an environment of fear, paranoia, and desperation. It's not okay to disagree, to want to know more, or even to read a blog or two in our City. As a result, the dominant culture of our community divides those who are involved, based on their current views of City policies, into three groups: those who are right, those who are wrong and those who are not involved or don't have a clue. There is no longer any appreciation for a difference of opinion. The division is everywhere. When two individuals from different groups interact it is mostly unspoken and sometimes even eerily cordial.

Our City is facing, now more than ever, a clash of values and a fight for power. There are those who would hope to keep things going as is and those who are fighting for more openness and accountability. This clash was originally designed to be invisible to everyday members of the public, but as the fight begins to amplify more and more nastiness is spilling out into the public arena. Recent actions against different boards and commissions in this City have been a great example of the retribution-style tactics. When the Civil Service Board "stepped out of line" two of its members were almost removed from the commission. While it was a failed attempt, I think it was meant to send a very clear message: You fall out of line and there will be consequences. Our Police Commission has also been rumored to be on track for the removal process which would be even more evidence of retaliation for not towing the line.

I wanted to have a more unifying message at the end of this but truly there isn't one. This conflict will continue until there is a change of this City's paradigm toward its own residents. Until that happens, I hope you all know that I will continue into my tenth year with a renewed dedication to working hard for the everyday Burbank resident and that I will do my part to ensure that at least our parks and park programs continue to live up to their well-known, and no doubt sterling, reputation.

That'll Teach Democrats to Take on Reform!

2010-07-06T03:32:00.000-07:00

Today the Washington Post has a great story about the negative impact of Wall Street Reform legislation on the fundraising efforts of the Democratic Party.

Frankly, I am happy to hear about this fundraising slow down. Why? Because it means that the Wall Street Reform bill that is in the pipeline to be sent to President Obama is going to hurt the pocketbooks of the same fat cats who caused our current financial climate. Score one for the middle class. Yes, my fellow Americans Democrats have gotten it right once again!

Let me be clear, the article does not cite Wall Street Reform as the only reason for slowing donations. It mentions that major donors, from the New York City and San Francisco areas, are reducing if not eliminating donations to the Democratic Party as a result of the President and the Congress being a little too moderate. To those folks I will say, very simply, that we cannot maintain control over the House and Senate without being the party of the middle-left as opposed to the party of the far left.

While big donors not writing checks, for whatever reason, hurts the bottom line it is my hope that this new headline from the Washington Post ("Democratic campaign committees losing big Wall Street donors") would calm the fears of independent voters and assure them that the Democratic Party is still in the business of representing everyday people and not those of the special interests.

New Blog

2010-07-05T08:52:00.000-07:00

New blog. Really wasn't too happy with the Wordpress format so this will be my new primary blog. Wish me luck.

Boxer and Brown Enjoy Comfortable Leads

2010-07-05T08:13:00.000-07:00

According to RealClearPolitics.com, both Barbara Boxer and Jerry Brown enjoy healthy leads of at least five points over their opponents. This is a particularly good sign for Barbara Boxer as she begins to edge closer to that 50% marker however, I do believe that this shows that Jerry Brown is still very much at risk as the two elections are entirely different.

The Case for Boxer
First, Barbara Boxer does not face "Moneybag Meg." Carly Fiorina while wealthy does not have millions of dollars of extra cash to dedicate to this campaign. Also, Carly has also come out as an ultra conservative which is not going to bode well in this very blue state. Republicans continue to hurt their own chances in state-wide federal races by nominating right wing candidates. Not complaining here, I'll take it!

The Challenge for Brown
Brown is currently enjoying around the same lead that Boxer is however, Meg Whitman remains an extremely dangerous candidate purely because of her financial resources.

First, Whitman has already poured in millions to fund her campaign and will continue to do so in an attempt to outspend labor unions and the influence of the Democratic Party. Since the June primaries, Meg has already unveiled two Spanish-language television commercials targeting Latino voters while Brown has been focusing on fundraising and a few speaking engagements.

Obviously Brown has to compensate for the financial disadvantage but he can't forget that he has the responsibility of motivating the Democratic base as the leader of the Democratic ticket. His name isn't as valuable as it once was. Now is not the time for zen brown now is the time to turn up the heat and get Californian's excited about voting blue! If he fails to do this soon it is my fear that Whitman will seize the momentum and drown Brown and the Democratic ticket with a lot of cash.

Brown you are good for now but it's time to kick it up a notch!

For more on this I suggest you read today's LA Times Article "Brown's frugal campaign may be too little, too late" which I think summed it up pretty well.