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Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Opinion: Local media have made race for Council District 8 more transparent
by Rhonda Erwin, published on May 27, 2012 at 7:12 PM
Storyline: City Agenda's
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On Saturday May 26, 2012 I received the following letter in the mail paid for by Better Sacramento Political Action Committee, major funding by Western Electrical Contractors Association Inc, Good Government PAC, Mark Friedman and Frank Ramos:
Dear Rhonda,
Your city council district has Sacramento's worst crime area - but your City Councilwoman, Bonnie Pannell, voted to cut police protection and now wants to cut even deeper. Her budget priorities are very wrong.
While voting to cut public safety, Bonnie Pannell:
- Voted to pay a new city manager $305,000, plus a $150,000 - making him the highest-paid employee in Sacramento history
- Demanded big raises for two of Sacramento's highest-paid employees, saying they were "underpaid"
- Rejected a free budget audit by a national accounting firm that could have prevented cuts in public safety
Bonnie Pannell “is stunningly tone-deaf,” wrote the Sacramento Bee. With city services being slashed and workers being laid off, “pay hikes for top bureaucrats ought to be off the table.”
We agree. To protect public safety, it’s time for someone new.
Sincerely,
Sabrina Berhane
Advisory Board Member
Crime Victims United of California
It is again disappointing to receive literature from the United Crime Victims of California relating to District 8. It is concerning, when the author of the literature has previously sent out misleading information regarding crime, unemployment, Councilmember Pannell and efforts to keep the public safe.
On Saturday I also read an article within the Sacramento Bee where an informed SacBee analysis found, "Ad targeting Pannell distorts crime stats" http://www.sacbee.com/2012/05/26/4517791/business-group-issues-misleading.html The article states, "A campaign mailer attacking Sacramento Councilwoman Bonnie Pannell exaggerates crime and unemployment figures in Pannell's south Sacramento district."
As I continued reading articles relating to Sacramento local elections I found the following article within the Sacramento News and Review "Pannell, McCarty" http://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/pannell-mccarty/content?oid=6025647 The informed article states, "Two incumbents on the Sacramento City Council—Bonnie Pannell in District 8 and Kevin McCarty in District 6—have served the city well and deserve another term."
Today, I also read "No promises" a May 3, 2012 Sacramento News & Review article where I learned of the city's Code of Fair Campaign Practices pledge: http://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/no-promises/content?oid=5889097 The article reads "Of the 21 candidates running for city council or mayor, just six have refused to sign the city’s Code of Fair Campaign Practices pledge.
"But Mayor Kevin Johnson ally Betty Williams has already chosen to go negative on her opponent, incumbent councilwoman Bonnie Pannell. One Williams brochure attacks Pannell for opposing Johnson on his strong-mayor initiative and a key redistricting vote." SN&R
"Williams just got $25,000 from independent-expenditure committee Better Sacramento Political Action Committee to help her keep up the attack. Better Sacramento is the outgrowth of the so-called Sacramento 60, a group of businessmen and developers who formed to support strong-mayor and other Johnson initiatives." SN&R
The negative and misleading District 8 council election literature is concerning. Citizens in the city of Sacramento are entitled to truth and transparency. Thomas Jefferson once said, ""The sheep are happier of themselves, than under the care of wolves." It is alarming when their are wolves attempting to manipulate the public during elections.
Elections can be overwhelming when you are struggling for truth and a better quality of life.
When I received the first misleading mailer I was angry and wrote of the shameful tactics. Years ago, a friend of mine was murdered in District 8 near Danger Island and another in G Parkway. I seen the improvements to clean up the area. I seen the results of councilwoman Bonnie Pannell determination to improve the quality of life for many in District 8.
Today, as I was catching up on my election reading, I learned while residents of District 8 are given misleading information by the Better Sacramento Political Action Committee; our local media has given us truth and transparency.
It is unacceptable our mayor, who wanted more power - through a strong mayor iniatiative- will walk away from this election not being held accountable for his role in dirty politics. Not assuring residents of District 8 are provided a truthful opportunity to vote for the best candidate to represent our district is shameful.
It is disturbing our mayor does not hold transparency and truth as a vital component for public office for himself and our council/ candidates.
It is unacceptable candidate Williams did not run a clean campaign. It is disappointing candidate Williams did not compliment Pannell on her labor and then informed us ways if elected she (Williams) can do a better service for the district.
As a resident of District 8 I feel we are entitled to an apology from both Mayor Johnson and Candidate Williams.
As a low income city resident I am overwhelmed with life's struggles. It is overwhelming to see the deceitful tactics condoned by our mayor and council candidates wanting to represent us.
Thank you Sacramento Press, Sacramento News and Review and Sacramento Bee for giving us the transparency the citizens of Sacramento are deserving of.
I read so many well-informed comments on the Sacramento Press by so many community members on various city agenda topics. I am truly impressed by the citizens of Sacramento who are actively engaged in our city politics.
Our mayor, elected officials and candidates, such as Williams, may have thousands of dollars to fund their campaigns. But to have an engaged community with an unbiased media is priceless during an election.
It appears, in regards to transparency and accountability, the residents of Sacramento do not need a strong mayor form of government. If we have determined community members combined with an informed media we can hold our elected officials accountable and vote the undeserving out of office.
I hope election 2012 will teach Sacramento elected officials and candidates that it is your labor combined with integrity that will vote you in office. And be careful, regardless of whether you have labored; a deceitful, negative and misleading campaign or endorsement of one will result in you losing our trust and vote.
Someone once said, 'A lie can take care of the present but it has no future."
I want to offer my sincere appreciation and thanks to both Sacramento's engaged community members and writers within our local media. Due to your efforts, it seems, Transparency in government has a future in Sacramento.
Disclosure:
resident of district 8 overwhelmed by negative and untruthful campaign literature
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Looks like you, SN&R and the SacBee are all on the same page today, along with being in the cross-hairs of a certain spokesperson!
http://www.sacbee.com/2012/05/29/4521699/dishonest-mailer-mars-council.html
Imagine that :-)!
Regarding the crosshairs of a certain spokesperson, who below writes, "And if you honestly think that Ms. Pannell's votes against police and against anti-gang efforts were good for District 8, then yes, you and I have very different ideas of what is good for that district and our city." Who does he think he's fooling. He's on the outside looking in. He appears to be looking out for the best interest of our mayor / gaining an ally on the council.
Heck, I live in District 8, my 19yr-old son has to live in this district. Pannell has not voted against anti-gang efforts nor police. She and other council had to make difficult cuts. But heck, if they just cut the programs we'll really be in deficit needing to continue to hire more and more police. I thank Pannell for seeing the forest (programs and services the youth need) through the trees (law enforcement) Law enforcement is also needed; as a deterrant but not a solution. Considering I live here, I want what's best for my son and my neighbors. He's complaining police and fire unions are bashed but I guess he (our MAYOR'S spokesperson) feels it's okay to bash community members. Thank you for the smiling face I need it today LOL
vespardo7 comment towards me is very similar to Maviglio's. Maviglio posted here so WHY wouldn't he post there?
Kerridge once told me Nothing is all good; nothing is all bad; no one is all good; no one is all bad. That said, I had not made up my mind on who I would vote for mayor. Forcing myself to give him the benefit of doubt even when knowing of all the other red flags... But after today, I couldn't in good conscious vote for anyone with a manipulative campaign manager on news comment sites attempting to sway public opinion and not represent himself as who he is. I couldn't vote for anyone who would condone the misconduct- instead of speaking up against those who brought the deceit into my district chose to attack those who it concerned. After reading Maviglio/ vespardo7 comments I don't trust our mayor. I didn't know about the SacBee article/comments until you mentioned it. THANK YOU. I was trying to solve a puzzle without a picture; I was looking too hard at Williams and not hard enough at Johnson. Maviglio was here because the crap was hitting the fan (the Bee). In the words of Ghandi, "First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you then you WIN! -- Johnson may win the election, but a lie can live in the present -it will have no place in the future.
You see, I grew up Jewish in Russia. Not, what you might call, the best of environments. In the winter (and Russian winters are real winters) I would walk to school with little bits of metal in my mittens so that I (a scrawny little Jewish girl) could fight back against the guys who invariably, invariably lay in wait for the "Yid". (That's actually how I found out I was Jewish--when the guys who beat me told me...)
But my family could not leave. You see, my Grandfather was a nuclear physicist and, until he died, we might have "carried State secrets" to America. But he, God rest his soul, wanted us to leave so very, very much. And he wanted us to come to the US, the one place on earth he always told us where there is no anti-Semitism and no Soviet style bureaucracy; where you can be anything you want to be. So, about two years after he passed, we came to the US.
And well, there is anti-Semitism but I never got beat up over it and you can become what you want to be. This became my home and I genuinely love it. And then came 9/11. And then.. it's hard for me to describe it. All of a sudden, things became very uncomfortable. A man was beat up for wearing a yarmulka while walking his dog. People started giving me odd looks in public because I wear the Star of David--to the point that my (non-Jewish) husband would ask me to hide my star for safety's sake. And then (we were living in Midtown at that time) one day we rushed out to move our car so as not to get our fourth or fifth citation and there, all along the road were the words in bright yellow "Kill the Jews". And I just froze and for a split second was the little girl again, fearfully walking to school.
And then things died down for a bit and then there was that boycott proposal at the co-op and I began to see things getting ugly again. And Steve along with others but very much Steve was at the forefront fighting it. And he defeated it. And as far as I'm concerned (and I think the Israelis are jerks to the Palestinians and the Palestinians are jerks to the Israelis--and I also think that half the time that has little to do with all the calls for boycotts) Steve stood up for that little girl.
I am sorry that his job calls for him to defend Kevin Johnson, who I think has been a bad mayor for my city. But I also think that Steve is, fundamentally, a decent guy.
I can forgive people and not hold it against them personally. But this is business. Maviglio could have defended KJ without attempting to assassinate my character or minimizing the misleading mailers. He could have defended KJ by admitting the mailers were wrong. But it’s because you shared your experiences I’m acknowledging he has a heart for some of us.
There are things on my job that I don't like and I have to feed my family, heck I'm barely surviving but I know in my heart that if I do what is right God will make a way. If my job goes under, I will still be lifted. Whatever his reasons for defending KJ is his cross to bare. I wish him well. But when I can't trust someone I dismiss them. This is about more than me; I labor for a community divided into victims and suspects. I have to stay true to my convictions. We are a community that has so little trust having been deceived so often. I cannot embrace someone who has chosen deceit over truth. We, my community is in too much pain. Maviglio in this instance is a rattle snake (he can be a garden snake for others) but he has spit poisonous venom minimizing what was done in district 8 and that is unacceptable. I do with all my heart appreciate you for sharing your story with me. And I give you the utmost respect for speaking up for him and how he stood up for you/ that little girl. I'm genuinely glad he embraced your struggles when you needed him. I applaud him for it. Unfortunately by defending the misconduct towards district 8 he's not embracing my community. And if we, a community divided into victims and suspects, don't stand for something (truth) we will fall for anything (deceit)
1) As an effort of damage control you attack my character calling me a “hater” of Johnson. Lol 2) You attempt to sway public opinion that I’m biased to minimize any further comment I may raise of my valid complaint and issues stating “I’ve spent 3 yrs posting negative comments… 3) You conveniently leave out the independent committee “is closely aligned with Mayor Kevin Johnson, who also is campaigning for Williams to unseat Pannell…” 4) You play underdog, here you come to save the day lol save Polly (Williams) alleging Pannell “downplayed” the issue of crime when your independent committee exaggerated the stats and sent out misleading information to district 8 ( I provided the news links in the article)
Fact: This is an INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURE -- the Mayor has nothing to do with it. He didn't see it, didn't approve it, didn't provide his photo. Nothing.
Perhaps you might recall the Independent Expenditure against the Mayor by Heather Fargo's allies -- maybe these words from the Bee will jog your memory:
"Earlier this year, the Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 447 launched an independent expenditure campaign that smeared Johnson with glossy mailers and a Web site. 'Never before have Sacramento voters seen such a despicable independent expenditure campaign.'"
This one isn't even close.
Steve, a mother called me saying, 'Ms Rhonda, my son is dead can I talk to you?" I met her, she showed me a picture. I held her and my heart stood still, I seen him before. He was the armed youth who came to my house attempting to kill my son when I prayed the bullet take my life. I never told her. I've been there for her anytime she calls me. Love has to create a balance in my life so I can live with the pain I've been given. For you to say I’m a hater of Johnson’s is a lie. I'm swollen in pain, their is no room for hate and your criticism bounces off me. To live a nightmare and continuously see deceit all around politics when you want change is overwhelming. Deceit is the reason for the article. Johnson is mentioned because Johnson “is closely aligned with the independent committee” and has not spoken up against the misleading mailers on a candidate he has and continues to endorse. So next time please rest your case in truth. I do not dislike Johnson or you. But I do dislike the deceit ........................
In regards to the Independent Expenditure against Heather Fargo, did Johnson or you speak against it? And what is your point in speaking of apples (Fargo’s campaign) when we’re discussing oranges, this despicable deceitful 2012 District 8 campaign of a candidate our mayor is endorsing?
How do you feel about the misleading mailers that were sent to residents of District 8? Does it bother you? Does it even concern you? Or are you simply concerned because you’re the campaign manager for Johnson and it’s appearing to us, the public, that the mayor condones it.
Mr Maviglio, I’ll be honest and blunt, I don’t think you give a darn about the residents of district 8 or the fact attempts were made to deceive us. You did not comment on the previous opinion I wrote. I think you came on here to post a comment to do damage control for the mayor because the media gives a darn about the residents of District 8. Does our mayor care more about the media than the people, the residents who vote him into office? I don’t believe your comments are even for me. You appear to be writing for the media and to sway public opinion.
Take the time to understand what an Independent Expenditure committee can do and perhaps you wouldn't make the comments you are making here. And if you honestly think that Ms. Pannell's votes against police and against anti-gang efforts were good for District 8, then yes, you and I have very different ideas of what is good for that district and our city.
You have a very long history here and other places of speaking for our public servant- elected official. With all due respect, you're not our elected official, how can I hear from Johnson on whether or not he condones the misleading mailers and if he still endorses a candidate who would allow the misleading mailers to go into our district?
Steve, city hall is not a castle. Johnson is not a King. Their is no need for him to have a moat (YOU) around city hall protecting his majesty form "attackers" LOL Can our public servant- the one elected into office- speak up towards an issue which concerns some residents of District 8?
Also, Mr Maviglio, the concerns i had and sometimes still have, towards Johnson are usually the same ones towards youth violence and well the leopard didn’t change it’s spots on the issue so I'm consistent in my concerns. lol I don't criticize everything Johnson does, that is a lie. And boo boo, you can say a lie over and over but that will not make it ring true. A lie can take care of the present but it has no future. Thank you
Or you can just take a look at Colbert's PAC:
Colbert, who has been using his Super PAC to dismantle any notion that there aren't enormous loopholes in U.S. campaign finance law, briefly handed over control of his Super PAC to Jon Stewart while exploring a run for "president of the United States of South Carolina" earlier this month. Now that he's officially not running for office, Colbert (who took control of the Super PAC again last night) can go back to doing whatever he wants with the funds.
The New York Times took a look through the 147-page document and found some notable funders of the PAC, including Gavin Newsom, the lieutenant governor of California, who gave $500. Also listed are Bradley Whitford (The West Wing), Laura Sangiacomo (Hot in Cleveland), and "small donations from several people with dubious identities, including one in Wisconsin whose name, when pronounced, makes an obscene phrase."
In a press release on Colbert's Super PAC site, the late-night comedian explains just what it is that he's managed to accomplish: "We raised it on my show and used it to materially influence the elections – in full accordance with the law. It's the way our founding fathers would have wanted it, if they had founded corporations instead of just a country."
http://slatest.slate.com/posts/2012/01/31/stephen_colbert_super_pac_raised_1_02_million.html
It is, as you say, all perfectly legal.
Steve: So how does our mayor feel about the misleading information sent to residents in District 8? Mr hold-a-press-conference-for every little thing suddenly appears mute. I have to run but I look forward to reading your answer when I return
has he done so?
"...If the Mayor wishes to distance himself from the .. let us say misleading statistics the Williams campaign has been presenting (what did Disraeli say about statistics? oh yes, "there are lies, danged lies and statistics") he is free to un-endorse Williams...... has he done so?"
I am still trying to take in how much I love your post!!!
http://regionalchange.wordpress.com/2010/10/27/mayor-kevin-johnson-commits-to-comprehensive-strategy-to-end-homelessness-in-sacramento-by-november-2011/
No man is an island,
Entire of itself.
Each is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less.
As well as if a promontory were.
As well as if a manor of thine own
Or of thine friend's were.
Each man's death diminishes me,
For I am involved in mankind.
Therefore, send not to know
For whom the bell tolls,
It tolls for thee.
Sometime ago I use to have lunch with former city manager Ray Kerridge. He would provide me reading material... suggest movies for me to watch.... He once told me to remember to be careful of ego, no one can hurt us but ourself/ our own ego can be our downfall and worse enemy. I try to take heed to those words and now I will put it with no man is an island, always remembering to acknowledge, look for...the efforts of others within the main; Thank you again!!
Incredible. The Sacramento Bee cannot even acknowledge me, Edgar Hilbert-Garcia, as a write-in candidate for Mayor. And they're talking about democracy? And criticizing one of the finest of the members of City Council? I believe that the people have the right to choose whatever they think is the best option, and the Sac Bee should just inform the people about their option in an impartial manner. Thank God we have new media like Sacramento Press.
Sir, I'm sorry you did not get the signatures needed, due to a misunderstanding, to be put on the election ballot. However, I'm curious? Why would you simply pull that comment out of the above letter I received? No disrespect, but we have a mayor now who sees himself before he sees many of us. You very well could be a good candidate and I think I met you perhaps spoke to you when your wife was running for council district 5. But what else concerns you in the letter and article?
I’m not sure if you read the article because it is titled 'Local media has made race for District 8" and since you have concerns with the media it caught your eye. But after reading it, I'm curious do you have an opinion towards the misleading mailers that went out to district 8? I need to know when I vote for our mayor that he will see all issues and not simply issues pertaining to himself. After all, Johnson spent to much time on an issue (SMP) pertaining to himself.