Tuesday is Dues-day: Pick 2 & Mail-In Ballot & Propositions

Tuesday is Dues-day. The dues are schooling yourself on how our local governance is organized, who are the players, what are the screw-ups, where is the money and what things get reported?

You’re a citizen, an advocate for democracy with this first step, paying attention.

Mail-in ballots will be sent within this first week of October.

Citizen Tip #1 - Pick 2 for City Council

Identified by the unfortunate term "bullet voting" the decision to vote for only 2 candidates in a 3 open seat election seems really counter-intuitive. This is largely a function of math, rather than a scientific measure of any kind.  In Encinitas we have seen our candidates lose when there are too many candidates on the ballot.  Even a candidate on the ballot (who had actually withdrawn) got votes that could have gone to our preferred candidate that year. 

Lisa Shaffer and Tony Kranz have been serious candidates all year and we'd love to see them break all voting records.  Ousting incumbent politicians is difficult in any race and is a really tight race with as many low information voters like we have in Encinitas.  A third vote on your ballot, let's call it "selecting because it's there" choice could throw the vote in an unintended way. At this stage I will forgo an embarrassingly inept explanation that has pros and cons, objective and subjective probabilities and math theories beyond my understanding. Google awaits you who seek more on bullet voting. 

I do understand that there are amongst us those seasoned veterans of our very own community.  They told me to tell you this.  The tip is to vote for only two - Lisa Shaffer and Tony Kranz. But if you feel compelled to vote for a third, this is the stuff of democracy. Amiright?

Citizen Tip #2 - Send your Mail-In Ballot back ASAP

Why should you mail it back right away? PSYCH! On election night the very first vote numbers released are the mail-in ballot votes.  According to long time Encinitas poll watching experts with many years of election nights, it is very exciting to see and feel the fruits of a successful campaign showing up. It fits the US traditional horse race competition for public office seats as a form of entertainment. The fun part after all the rest.

There is another reason to vote as soon as possible and that is to escape all the nastiness that big donor money can buy in the form of misleading mailers or any other kind of October surprise. You won't be second guessing yourself based on any nasty tactics like push polling, robo calls or the like.  Psychologically you will be free of it all. You will have done your civic best and only have the get out the vote (GOTV) stage left -for all the voters who vote at polling places all over town.

The last reason to vote early is to be sure your vote actually is counted. Maybe you like the ceremony of going to your polling station on election day but have wanted a paper ballot. You want control of for your vote, so you receive a mail-in ballot but you walk your mail-in ballot to the polling place on election day. Editor confession, I'm guilty.  For me it was also inspired by the serious lack of trust in the San Diego Registrar of Voters and who might be messing unobserved with those early ballots.  Our last decade of election fraud via records manipulation, pretend hanging chads, computer fixing, etc. has made millions like me paranoiac. (Still continuing BTW . . . )

But here is the flip side of the über cautious approach which changed my mind forever, those ballots that are handed over to the registrar on election night are the last priority in counting and may take weeks. Think of them like a provisional ballot.  As cited all over this country, they can get "lost" forever. One year I looked every few days at the San Diego Registrar of Voters site to check for the added mail-in counts.  I finally gave up when I never saw them added.

Citizen Tip #3 - Propositions - Ballot Initiatives

Contrary to what Citizen Tip #2 advised for speed, do take some time to understand the ballot initiatives. This week there is a League of Women Voters session to assist people in understanding these 11 California State propositions #30-#40.  (via Councilwoman Barth newsletter)

League of Women Voters

Ballot Measures - Pros & Cons

Thu, October 4, 6:30pm - 8:00pm

Cardiff Library, 2081 Newcastle Ave, Cardiff

The presentation will be an impartial discussion of the measures on the Nov. 6 ballot
Presented by League members Margie Monroy and Nancy Telford

The official California General Election guide is now out to reference on your own. Plus, we will post on propositions of importance to us as progressives at EYNU in a separate post. There is a great deal of spin and manipulation going on in these propositions because very big money - GIGANTIC money interests are behind creating some and attempting to destroy others. Knowledge and awareness are the only defense against big money.

Our local election Proposition K regarding this council majority's proposal to have an elected mayor will also be covered in another post this week.

Added tip for the political wonks out there interested in the larger issues of US electoral politics, check out an interview on election 2012 from Noam Chomsky.

Tuesday is Dues-day: Why?

Why Tuesday as Dues-day? The parody of the undecided voter, SNL sketch here, is really not that far from the truth. A really large (not so funny) number of Encinitas voters don't have a clue.  More unfunny - many think they are somehow superior for this anti-awareness attitude and the least funny part is the city council majority incumbents are counting on this ignorance.  If you know nothing - simply hearing "stocks" or "mayor" or "fire chief "seems good enough.  In the council majority world, dumb and dumber rule.

Since February, every Tuesday we have posted something to aid the undecided or low information voter regarding Encinitas politics, that's 27 posts with only a hand full directed towards national or international themes. There isn't a lot to add except what the candidates for the election will be telling us in the next 42 days (or sooner for those who vote by mail-in ballot). Take a look at the link and scroll through the last 8 months of Tuesday is Dues-day subjects. Most all are bound to come up again in this last 42 days - or they should.

By the way, today is National Register to Vote day. If you know of such of voter, you also know where he or she can get up to speed on this local political climate in Encinitas. You're welcome.

Here is the first post as it appeared on Our Mayor log, before EYNU was created.

Tuesday is Dues-day: Mayor Rotation

We are at a critical place in Encinitas.  The next 9 months demand dues. Today is Dues-day.

Our dues?  Paying attention . . . Yes, by simply schooling yourself on how our local governance is organized, who are the players, what are the screw-ups, where is the money and what things get reported you can legitimately call yourself a citizen, an advocate for democracy.

Being vigilant is being an activist, not the crazed lunatic portrayed by those in power.  If larger numbers of people are informed and paying attention, we make changes. Simple math.  There are only a tiny minority trying to garner power, land and influence over the many thousands simply wanting to live a quality life.

Each Tuesday is Dues-day and a post on some basic aspect of local government will feature some facts, a video clip (called Citizen Tip), some links or images to build up our sense of the process and how this has historically played out at city hall.  This week the mayor rotation is one of several important agenda items for the Wednesday city council meeting at 6 pm.

This clip shows how year after year the council majority have kept Teresa Barth from assuming the role of mayor. If letting a majority keep someone from serving as mayor is the current policy, it may be legal. It isn't ethical or representative. As James Bond says, "that's okay, but it's not good policy."

This post isn't offering the solution, just engaging the conversation and providing the background. These last three years show mean spirited displays of political power and failures to match words to deeds.

Our Mayor Stocks blog has written almost a half dozen posts on mayor selection seen here. We must demand much more and demonstrably a whole new batch of council members.

Democracy isn't free.  We're all paying the price of turning a blind eye to the goings on around us in our government.  So much has been trashed, so much done in our names that neither benefit us or our communities or the resources all around.  Locally this has cost us representation of growing majority of voters as the city council is made up of a super majority serving primarily commercial, developer, wealthy investors over the majority of residents or the common good.  Even if these four council people believe they are doing the work of the people, they have consistently marginalized and silenced Teresa Barth as well as dissent, minority views and transparent government practices in general.  And that is not democracy, even if they wrote a code or ordinance saying it is.

Tuesday is Dues-day: Hoodlink Resource

Tuesday is Dues-day. The dues are schooling yourself on how our local governance is organized, who are the players, what are the screw-ups, where is the money and what things get reported?

You’re a citizen, an advocate for democracy with this first step, paying attention.

Citizen Tip = Hoodlink, Guest Post

This is a group of activists with a Leucadia focus who have been documenting City Council shenanigins since June 2005. (See the page tab above for Hoodlink in the top tab row for a link to the full list of archive articles.)  These are thorough, thoughtful newsletters to help anyone with 7 years of history from the vantage point of those dissenting with the council majority. Today we are happy to reproduce the articles from the latest, Labor Day 2012 issue with the editors' permission.

THE PROVERBIAL NUTSHELL . . .

1) For over 10 years, scant progress has been made toward safe pedestrian rail crossings at reasonable spacing along the tracks. The railroad right-of-way through Encinitas is still a dusty wasteland. The man squarely in favor of these abject failures is the North County Transit District board member representative from Encinitas: our mayor, Jerome Stocks.

As the City’s self-appointed railroad right- of-way expert, Stocks has repeatedly rejected as impossible the reasonable and affordable solution that could serve everyone crossing the tracks. Instead, we get a single, mega-expensive, under crossing, useful to relatively few people.

In this issue, Herb Patterson reprises an article of his from 2008. In it he discusses how adept Stocks is at scheduling things so he can claim the big PR credit for some mega-project he helped to delay, but that can be conveniently addressed when he is up for re-election.

2) Where have all the flowers gone? Their disappearance is tied to a long term plan for generating money to pay for our existing future obligations. Which came first, chicken or egg?

Jerome Stocks and his supporters champion upzoning in every neighborhood while they pile on City debt like shopaholics. We need to stop them before we have “no choice” but to follow Stockton into troubles driven by the ag business calling for upzoning that promises new property tax revenue to cover the mounting debt. Next comes bankruptcy when there are far more empty homes than there are buyers.

Some members of the Encinitas Taxpayer Association have put together a three-part series on one of the financial troubles we-the-people of the city are in. Our representatives continue to claim good times have never looked better in Encinitas. The series starts [below].

~ the Editors

THE TICKING TIME BOMB . . .

On May 15, 2012, Encinitas Treasurer Jay Lembach presented the City’s pension status to the City Council. He stated that pensions are underfunded by $16.2 million. That statement is false.

It turns out Lembach’s $16.2 M figure represents only one of the City’s four pension plans: "miscellaneous employees" He excluded the plans for firefighters, lifeguards and San Dieguito Water District employees. Firefighters are among the City’s most highly paid and pensioned employees. To exclude their underfunded pensions from the City’s reported total is willful deception.

The “miscellaneous employees” plan had assets of $36.5 M and liabilities of $61.7 M when Lembach reported its status. To most people, 61.7 minus 36.5 equals 25.2, not 16.2. Lembach’s questionable math apparently assumes the $36.5 M in the account is really worth $45.5 M. At best this is a fantasy valuation that produces $9 M out of thin air. In his report, Lembach neither discloses nor explains why he used hypothetical rather than real assets.

An independent analysis by Charlie McDermott of the Encinitas Taxpayers Association shows the total unfunded pension liability is closer to $70 M — and growing. McDermott calculated the $70 M figure using the California Public Employees’ Retirement System’s (CalPERS) future-return assumptions. He believes, and we agree, that the CalPERS assumptions are excessively optimistic. More realistic assumptions for return on investments would push the shortfall to well over $100 M.

For some perspective on that amount, $100 M is more than the combined bond debt the City has assumed to buy the Hall property, to build the park on the property, and to build the library and fire stations.

On several occasions, Encinitas citizens have publicly asked the City Council for honesty and transparency regarding the City’s unfunded pension liabilities. Mayor Jerome Stocks has repeatedly shrugged off these requests, with flippant remarks to the effect that CalPERS, not the City, is responsible for the calculations, and that the City just pays the CalPERS monthly bills.

Stocks’ public position on the pension trouble is the equivalent of our repeatedly making minimum monthly payments on our credit card, ignoring the large and growing balance, and continuing our shopping sprees.

The City’s combined employer and employee pension payments to CalPERS are more than $6 M annually. That’s about 11% of the budget. The longer we put off being honest about our liabilities, the greater the eventual cost will be.

~ Encinitas Taxpayers Association

FOUR YEARS LATER . . . 

and what has really changed? Here is a reprint from the November 2008 edition.

Jerome Stocks, currently Mayor of Encinitas, has served for over six years on the North County Transit Board [ NCTD] and had previously been an alternate for two years. You would think that over that period of time, Mayor Stocks would have been able to benefit Encinitas in some way, but to my eyes, the only improvement in all that time is an asphalt path at the Leucadia/Vulcan/101 crossing.

People die at this intersection and the surrounding NCTD right of way, yet nothing has been done. Then there were the orange sandbags at the same Leucadia crossing that garnered so many complaints. Did it take weeks or months or years to get them removed? Did Stocks even have any input?

Or, we could consider the tree cutting by the NCTD that occurred with roughly 24 hours notice and no possibility of local input. Did Mayor Stocks give us a heads up? No!

Sure, Mayor Stocks was right there to take credit for the completion of the Sprinter project and garner as much publicity as possible. He neglected to mention that the San Diego County Taxpayers Association awarded the Sprinter project it’s Grand Golden Fleece award for it’s long delays, budget over runs, and repeated ecological pollution resulting in large fines. The Taxpayers Association concluded that the Sprinter does not improve traffic on 78.

Most Encinitas residents believe that under grounding the train is the answer to the many problems associated with the proposed increase in train trips (and as the situation is now). Mayor Stocks, however, has referred to under grounding the train as “impossible” in a Encinitas Council meeting and supports the ridiculously expensive underpass solution which would make under grounding less feasible.

Just on a very simple level, look at the NCTD right of way -- do you see any improvement in the landscaping? Isn’t it the same dusty, desert of neglect it was 10 or 20 years ago? Where is ANY improvement?

At a recent NCTD meeting Mayor Stocks missed a closed session where the selection of the executive director was made. He was also late to the regular meeting and then left early. No wonder Mayor Stocks has at least one sitting NCTD Board Member who would prefer Mayor Stocks not be re-appointed to the NCTD.

UPDATE LATE AUGUST 2012 . . .

We are currently building an underground crossing at Santa Fe using someone else’s money - it is clear that any other underground crossing will be financially unfeasible for the City of Encinitas to build in the foreseeable future. So do we have an at grade crossing planned for Leucadia or other areas? Not to my knowledge.

We did have additional pedestrian improvements at Leucadia and 101, with plantings. If we can plant in this area, why the hell can’t we plant the rest of the NCTD corridor? What has stopped us all these years?

The City staff did a boundary check of the East side of 101 to ascertain where our land ends and the NCTD right of way begins. Anybody know what they found? Are you happy with the progress we have made in four years?

~ Herb Patterson

To receive Hoodlink via email, send a message with the subject “subscribe” to stoprezoning@yahoo.com

Tuesday is Dues-day: 2012 Campaign 10 x 10

Tuesday is Dues-day. The dues are schooling yourself on how our local governance is organized, who are the players, what are the screw-ups, where is the money and what things get reported? 

You’re a citizen, an advocate for democracy with this first step, paying attention.

Citizen Tip: Concentrated Dues

This is dedicated to all the good intentioned amongst us who wishes that he or she had done more, said more, learned more, given more, etc., etc.  Business, busy-ness and a host of other diversions - yada, yada - we all know.  These next few weeks though are the most critical weeks of this year.  If you have done nothing at all to pay your civic dues as an adult Encinitas person, you owe your community, your neighbors, family and yourself some concentrated attention for a minimum of 4 weeks.

Be Careful, If You Blink You'll Miss It

• This week Tomorrow - Wed. 9/12/12 City Council Meeting 

Maybe the more important task this week is to try and clear your calendar for the next four weeks for some intense campaign scrutiny.  Better yet, find out if you can gather a group of friends and neighbors to join you some of the following key events of the campaign.  Highly recommended is to watch council meetings at home with games, prizes for predicting the mayor's comments and behavior in advance.  It is entertaining for "take a drink if" score keeping.  

Both council meetings and candidate forums are included for several reasons.  Council meetings are a far better metric to use for the two incumbents, Stocks and Muir.  Better to actually see how they treat community members, each other and staff than simply hear them for more what they do than what they say they do. There is also a good chance you'll see and hear Shaffer and Kranz who have attended most every council meeting the last year or two. Candidates Brophy, Forrester, Yost, Zeigler, Shuh have to our knowledge never spoken at a council meeting though any one of them might have attended a meeting.  I wouldn't count on it.

The Candidate Forums are wonderful to ask all of the challenging questions that are never aked and answered in a council meeting.  Side-by-side comparisons of how each handles himself or herself, how truthful, how combative, how defensive and how articulate are possible here.  The advantage of going to the different forums is the community audience and the formats are different, bringing real diversity to candidate scrutiny. And, just one more thing . . . talk to 10 people each week about each of the following events.  This is the 10 x 10 idea.

• Week One

1. Tues. 9/18/12 Cardiff Candidates Forum, 7-9 pm

 Ada Harris Elementary School, 1508 Windsor Road, Cardiff-by-the-Sea

2. Wed. 9/19/12 City Council Meeting

• Week Two

3. Wed. 9/26/12 City Council Meeting

• Week Three

4. Wed. 10/3/12 Olivenhain Candidates Forum, 7-9 pm

 Olivenhain Meeting Hall, 423 Rancho Santa Fe Road, Olivenhain

• Week Four

5. Tues. 10/9/12 Leucadia-Encinitas Town Council(s) Candidate Forum 7-9 pm

Community Center, 1140 Oakcrest Park Drive, Encinitas 

Moderated by League of Women Voters

6. Wed. 10/10/12 City Council Meeting

• Final 4 Weeks

7. Get a sign for your front yard! 

8. Tues. 10/22/12 Last chance to - Register to Vote - for yourself or those you meet. 

Online Registration - San Diego County Registrar of Voters makes it easy to register 

9.  Tell 10 people a week (minimum) what you have gleaned, why Shaffer and Kranz are the best.

10. Vote Nov. 6 (If you haven't already mailed your ballot)

Tuesday is Dues-day: Community Character & Density

Tuesday is Dues-day. The dues are schooling yourself on how our local governance is organized, who are the players, what are the screw-ups, where is the money and what things get reported?

You’re a citizen, an advocate for democracy with this first step, paying attention.

Citizen Tip - Emotional Campaigning

Where rape, abortion, gay marriage, racism work well to mobilize a segment of the national voting base, local elections have their own hot button issues to incite emotional responses (fear, anger and paranoia to name a few) for mobilizing votes. In 2012 Encinitas it is the state and the region demands for density, increased building heights and mixed use zoning.

This style of campaign thrives on the evocative use of words to heighten people's real fears, doubts and frustrations. As an example, we step back from the present to 2001, just after Jerome Stocks had won his first election and aligned himself with Jim Bond and those of the real estate and development special interest groups.

NCT article, praises the purchase of the new Hall nursery property for a park and the council not shouting at each other, there is this:

"Bond and Stocks, who have consistently voted against the community character protection effort, say it infringes on private property rights and favors one architectural taste over another."

[ . . . ]

Turning the Cardiff nursery into a park and building a citywide trails network have all drawn opposing factions to City Hall. Particularly risky, some observers say, is the community character issue because sweeping changes would affect every property owner in the city.

"They're messing with people's property rights," said Bart Smith, an architect and president of the Downtown Encinitas MainStreet Association. "It could be a two-headed monster that costs them their council seats." 

We interviewed an activist and found that there was an organized effort to meet with HOA's (Home Owners Associations) around the city to build opposition to the threat of "community character" with claims that the city wanted the power to select home owner's paint colors.  These property owners were not able to explain why living under the HOA (covenants, conditions and restrictions) CC&R's were much different.  The current city council majority crony network were the force behind this community "involvement."

Let's fast forward to our major political player in Encinitas, Mayor Stocks, and his recent tweet.  Now he proclaims himself savior of the community character. Saved from whom? The city staff who are following the city council directives? What?

 

So now Stocks is okay with neighborhood's community character?  But, the general plan update was just fine by him and highly praised in one instance until a few months later he had a minute and a half tantrum calling it an ugly baby without one single example to set a whole series of offensive actions into play.

The heart of the dues we owe it to ourselves to pay, is being aware that we are being manipulated.  What are very real issues in our lives are conflated, twisted and misdirected by very big money interests nationally and the power base locally?  This was a long term strategy.  Vigilance is needed in protecting our quality of life, our community character and even property values while not dismissing the changing trends, needs of the young, working class renters, fixed income seniors, our air, water and environment and small business opportunities and development.

AB 32, climate change legislation was signed into law by Gov. Schwarzenegger in 2006. SB375 was passed as a state law in 2008 when Mayor Jerome Stocks and his majority club on the city council chose to keep the public uninformed. For four years he's taken virtually no steps to educate or engage the citizenry in the planning implications of this powerful 21st century legislation for Sustainable Community Strategy (SCS).

Conversely, dynamic leaders and conscientious planners acknowledged the hard work ahead with Sustainable Community Strategy (SCS) education and accommodation.  Of course cites understandable balk at being told these things.  That was understood from the onset.

“Cities always think numbers for projected housing are too high and now with a longer cycle the numbers will be even higher, so there will clearly be sticker shock and with the economy in the tank, cities will say ‘how can we possibly plan for that much housing,’ ” Creswell said. “If all the stakeholders get engaged in the process as the SCS are being developed there is potential that this could serve affordable housing and sustainable development. We’re committed to participating fully to meet both the housing needs and the really important climate objectives. We have to make sure people understand that we need to provide adequate housing for all Californians.”  source

Millions of people have the same kinds of fears, resistance, confusion and demands we in Encinitas have been feeling and voicing. Each one of the five regional planning bodies have proceeded to comply with SB375 and Encinitas residents would benefit from reading about how other regions are faring.  We are not alone.

1. The Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) Plan
2. The Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG) Plan
3. The Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) Plan
4. The Western Riverside Council of Governments (WRCOG) Plan
5. The San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) Plan

We invite you to try and find out of the more than 175 plus meeting minutes or video archive snippets, any that include Stocks treating his SANDAG, NCTD or other board seats as anything more than his personal fiefdom when he shared anything at all. His opportunity to career network was vast, his contribution to the edification of Encinitas residents experiencing economic emergencies, foreclosures, increasing gas prices, global climate changes, lost employment or anything that might benefit from planning strategies for our Encinitas future – not so much.

It's not a bumper sticker issue or a simple tweet.  Land planning and transportation for the future is complex and real leadership, not just a career of campaigning, is needed.  

Tuesday is Dues-day: Gen. Plan Woes A Lifetime Ago

Tuesday is Dues-day. The dues are schooling yourself on how our local governance is organized, who are the players, what are the screw-ups, where is the money and what things get reported? 

You’re a citizen, an advocate for democracy with this first step, paying attention. 

General Plan Update - Just a Reminder

"General plans are often called a city’s constitution…a statement of who we are and what we value as a community.

The State of California requires all cities to adopt a general plan that includes required elements – Land Use, Housing, Circulation, Resource Management, Noise and Public Safety. The city also included an optional element – Recreation and Public Health is also proposed. The plan also states community goals for how the city should grow (or not grow) in the future.

There’s not been a comprehensive review and update of the General Plan since it was written over 25 years ago. A variety of state laws, court rulings and new issues such as sustainability and climate change have made it difficult to simply “tweak” sections and maintain internally consistent policies throughout the plan."

Twenty-four years ago when the first General Plan for Encinitas was written, a local news source, The Beach News, precursor to The Coast News published an article with the local citizen's key concern in the title, "Will high-priced housing run residents out of town?" Twenty-five people showed up for the meeting organized to by city officials to question the future of the new city of Encinitas.

When the question and answer session opened, a resident stood up and said he makes $25,000 a year at Scripps and felt he doesn't make enough money to continue living here in the new city of Encinitas. "Are we outpricing ourselves out of living here?" he asked on the discussion of new developments planned for the city. 

"I think this is a potential problem, he added.  "The character of he community comes from those non-classical types of people who live here.  I want to keep these people here."

Another resident agreed, explaining that she had spent the last several weeks apartment hunting for a friend.  "A two-bedroom apartment costs from at least $600 to $1,000," she said. "People who are just starting out are being forced to move to San Marcos because they can't find reasonable housing here."

Twenty-four years later it seems that particular strategy, if it was one, worked.  Wish we had the figures on the numbers of people who were forced to move due to an inflated housing bubble, rising costs, upzoning or low paying jobs, especially for young people starting out.  

A couple of years ago the city website had a demographics section for visitors to see Encinitas at a Glance. (Click to make larger) Activists have asked (with little success all year) where the city statistics come from and have gotten a mix of answers when the question is addressed - creating an almost continuous cycle of number crunching challenges.  Density, density, density - building height and El Camino Real being unacceptable for more density seem to be the constant themes despite affordable housing being the ostensible theme.  

The original community group would have understood the line I read this week. 

"The economy’s only valid purpose is to serve life," David Korten Yes! Magazine.

Conversely, one from the ERAC gang was quoted as saying, "The General Plan purpose is to drive profits."

What is the overall mission?  These two statements couldn't be more opposite. What is community character without talk of the diversity of populations, incomes and outlooks? Where do the teachers, bank clerks, dental hygienists, nurses, tree trimmers, Scripps worker and line cooks live?

You can see in the chart above that the glut of jobs available are low wage jobs.  How many of in this labor force can even live in this city? Everywhere I go I ask the food server, grocery clerk and store clerk, "Do you live in Encinitas?"  Very few answer yes.  

The city worker jobs aren't even listed.  How many of those are in the range of former fire chief Muir, Patrick Murphy or other Department Heads?  Truth is, most Encinitas city staff can't afford to live in Encinitas.  And given how out of date, one can only surmise from published facts nationwide, the numbers of low income, unemployed, underemployed and falling incomes for the middle class mean more Encinitas jobs and homes and travel requirements are under deep stress. The anticipated stress in the next twenty-four years with climate change, overwhelmed resources and economic decline haven't even been touched!

Yet, the city council and the workshops focused on density and building height.  Why can't we challenge the city council majority, city staff, ERAC, GPAC, Encinitas Right to Vote group and all City Council Candidates regarding our mismatched labor market and housing market.  We can ask, as some have been doing continuously, for the most current and accurate population statistics, housing statistics and labor statistics. 

A city of millionaires is not what most Encinitas voters want. You don't have to be a liberal to know that outcome is a dead community. 

Dedicated to Labor Day weekend. It used to celebrate so much more than meat on a grill and sales. Something vital is missing.

Tuesday is Dues-day: Who Votes in America?

Tuesday is Dues-day. The dues are schooling yourself on how our local governance is organized, who are the players, what are the screw-ups, where is the money and what things get reported? 

You’re a citizen, an advocate for democracy with this first step, paying attention.

Citizen Tip = Said Another Way, Who Isn't Voting?

Infographic this week, will no doubt aggravate our friends on their smart phones with the tiny screens.  Sorry. Be aware of who isn't voting.  The unemployed, the overworked, people of color, the sick and disabled.  In a word, the disenfranchized, who know they have been sacrificed by the overlords in power. Does Encinitas hold a future vision where they can feel secure, they can thrive? 

click to enlarge

August 26th is the 92nd anniversary of the Women's Right to Vote under the US Constitution.  Remember, women are not a monolithic group and there is great diversity.  But the disenfranchised are slanted dramatically towards the female gender.  Yes, you can be old or young, poor, sick, disabled, underpaid, unemployed (underemployed or overextended) a person of color, gay AND a person with a uterus. In a culture celebrating violence, coping with returning vets suffering PTSD and the economic depression that's a reality for the bottom 25%; domestic violence is on the rise. Young women will be more affected by the wrong votes than any other group (magnified again by any other cultural bias markers.)  Let's help get as many young women to the voting booth as possible. 

From the National Women's Law Center,

"Voting's not just your right — it's also your responsibility. Women's votes make the key difference on issues ranging from fair pay to reproductive health to social safety net programs like child care assistance, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid."                 

Click HERE for an interactive site to find out about voting registration, dates, mail-in ballots, voting early, ID requirements and more.

Tuesday is Dues-day: Ethics of Linking

Today is Dues-day, but what are the dues?

Paying attention . . . Yes, by simply schooling yourself on how our local governance is organized, who are the players, what are the screw-ups, where is the money and what things get reported you can legitimately call yourself a citizen, an advocate for democracy.

Citizen Tip = Blogs link to connect you to knowledge

Jay Rosen of NYU and PressThink describes the ethic of the link used in blogs, connecting people to knowledge.  This is the tool of the web - to inform without cost or consumerism messaging.

It seems to EYNU that the use of links is not understood in local news sources or familiar blogs. Indeed, very few who comment on news articles, letters or commentaries in the online press even consider linking to blogs, like this one, with video clips and commentary related to articles. Lisa Shaffer has been a notable exception along with several others.

Since blog readership should be growing exponentially, it is clear that blog readers and their friends may not grasp how the linking - the connecting people to information sources is done by individuals. But, people are learning how to follow links and return - how to find their way around and share information - without waiting for permission from a news outlet or official.

We are poised at the onset of the campaign season and time to take off the training wheels to spread information, ideas, events far and wide. In the next 12 weeks there will be more in Tuesday is Dues-day posting about journalism, the press because the standards have seriously broken down.

Most of all, a word of encouragement to all who intend to turn off the television and the media horse race of campaigns for entertainment rather than news reporting to reality where we live.

Tuesday is Dues-day: Betrayal of the American Dream

Today is Dues-day, but what are the dues?

Paying attention . . . Yes, by simply schooling yourself on how our local governance is organized, who are the players, what are the screw-ups, where is the money and what things get reported you can legitimately call yourself a citizen, an advocate for democracy.

Citizen Tip = Look beyond conventional media (steeped in entertainment)

It's not quite so simple to compartmentalize local and national news in this economic recession (depression for millions).  Listening to local news and to standard cable stations is where real disinformation is propagated. The Sunday shows are the worst of the worst.  This is an opinion I share with an outspoken political blogger, driftglass.  It isn't even about politics for this crowd, it's about a lifetime gig of punditry with staggering income.

"Because despite having long ago devolved into a sinkhole of Beltway centrist twaddle, it is still viewed by altogether too many people as a bastion of Very Serious people -- it's the strip-mall of political opinion where casual shoppers go to feel smart and validated."

Here, in the Democracy Now video below, is an alternative with a true journalist asking probing question of notable writers with actual facts to talk about why and how our nation's middle class and working people have been betrayed.  Even presenting this is a leap of faith that our community is filled with people unafraid to read, to study and to ponder . . . just as they are willing to sit through council meetings, study agenda reports and write community commentaries and letters to the editor.  We have our share committed advocates and know we will engage more.  The times are becoming more and more critical to do so.

Tuesday is Dues-day: Public Health / Public Safety

Today is Dues-day, but what are the dues?

Paying attention . . . Yes, by simply schooling yourself on how our local governance is organized, who are the players, what are the screw-ups, where is the money and what things get reported you can legitimately call yourself a citizen, an advocate for democracy.

For most people local politics only becomes a reality when you are afraid for your home, your property or your neighborhood. Fears can be physical, financial and cultural.  Fears can be great motivators, as so many activists' stories of initial involvement attest.

Citizen Tip = Public Health / Public Safety and Trust

Who do we trust when it comes to the world around us? How aware are most people of the deep erosion in regulatory responsibilities by federal, state and county agencies when it comes to our air, soil, water & public utilities?  Since the hard fought protections legalized in the 1970's it is easy to be lulled into complacence and assume those who protest have been accurately scapegoated by the media as hippies and hotheads.  Instead, alarm bells should be going off.

Here is a huge threat far too close to home, the San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant.  Initially the news was about possible increases in electrical costs to consumers and outage possibilities because the San Onolfe had been taken offline since January.  There have been news stories recently like here, here, here and here which expanded this to the very real danger to life within this 50 mile radius that includes Encinitas.  Thanks go to Councilwoman Teresa Barth's inclusion of all these stories in her weekly newsletter.

The video below a different way of reporting by having a scientist to help us visualize what exactly is going on in the reported faulty tube design.  Big thanks to scientists who make the complex issues more clear for us. (That deserves a whole post as this community is filled with accomplished scientists.)

On June 13th at city council, speakers protesting the safety issues at San Onefre sat through the whole meeting to voice their concerns. Patch reported, At the behest of concerned citizens, Encinitas City Council will examine safety concerns associated with the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station on a future agenda. (This is yet to have been scheduled.)

“Even though it’s shut down right at this point in time, we’re in great danger with the amount of nuclear fuel sitting there,” resident Harold Johnston said. Some residents questioned whether Encinitas has an adequate evacuation plan in place should San Onofre have problems; several brought up the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station disaster.

We know how devastating nuclear disasters and their aftermath can be because of Fukushima, Japan's nuclear catastrophe.  Lying to the public only compounded the problem in Japan.  We dig for truth even when our public servants and local media don't. 

Hat tip to Crooks & Liars. For a complete story go here.

Tuesday is Dues-day: Don't Give Up

Today is Dues-day, but what are the dues?

Paying attention . . . Yes, by simply schooling yourself on how our local governance is organized, who are the players, what are the screw-ups, where is the money and what things get reported you can legitimately call yourself a citizen, an advocate for democracy.

For most people local politics only becomes a reality when you are afraid for your home, your property or your neighborhood. Fears can be physical, financial and cultural.  Fears can be great motivators, as so many activists' stories of initial involvement attest.

Citizen Tip = "Don't Give Up"

This month's look at  the worldwide, nationwide changes and the connection to our local reality, local scene is linked to activists not giving up.

From the video clip description:
"A surprise Arab drive for freedom, the West's structural crisis and new hope coming from Latin America. That's the modern world in the eyes of Noam Chomsky and Tariq Ali, two prominent thinkers and this week's guests on Julian Assange's show on RT."  

There is a secondary tip about dues here and in last month's Assange interview, the BBC's Century of Self Series last week and that tip is - you need to search for information that can be trusted.  

US media is now controlled by about four owners who have clear agendas for their own direction and prosperity.  On top of that, our social and educational culture is being dumbed down to the point that young people aren't learning history, civics or humanities.  The things discussed in this video from men who have been active for over 60 years each are known by fewer and fewer people. Recently I read the following description:

American's Core Beliefs
Don't make me feel bad about the way I live, and
It will all work out, we're Americans
This is it really.  This is our worldview these days.

That's a deeply cynical view and my fervent hope is that more US citizens will protest the bar being placed so very low as to be a fantasy.  In order to go on, to not give up we will have to raise that bar and allow some self-criticism and allow some inconvenience and a bit of discomfort.  Oh, and maybe we can stop calling ourselves Americans - which makes all Central Americans and South Americas disappear in that one ethnocentric label.

Hat tip Common Dreams

Tuesday is Dues-day: Mad Men Had a Grandad

Today is Dues-day, but what are the dues?

Paying attention . . . Yes, by simply schooling yourself on how our local governance is organized, who are the players, what are the screw-ups, where is the money and what things get reported you can legitimately call yourself a citizen, an advocate for democracy.

Citizen Tip = Study "Century of Self" for answers about today's self-involved voter.

Ten years ago the BBC won awards with its four part series, The Century of Self.  Fair warning, this isn't a 25 words or less answer to today's electoral disfunctions.  There is history that is vital to understand before we can adequately explain what is going on today.  Each part is one hour long.  Think bigger than local and longer than your lifetime for a bit. This takes some time, but it is worth it. How did we get to this place of self above all else? How did greed take over? Sikp around if you must, but please focus on the last 20 minutes of part four at absolute minimum.

Part 1: Happiness Machines



Part 2: The Engineering of Consent



Part 3: There is a Policeman Inside All Our Heads: He Must Be Destroyed



Part 4: Eight People Sipping Wine In Kettering



Ten years later and extensively British in context, this is a deeply researched, higher education course in today's electorate. From democracy's charge of making every person's path open to freedom, liberty and happiness we devolve into every man for himself (oh, and may the women, minorities, disabled and all the mixtures of these simply disappear).

Tuesday is Dues-day: 10 Steps

Citizenship dues brought to you today by Equinox Center and Move San Diego
-compilied following February 23, 2012 Leaders 2020 event, “Civic Engagement 101.”

Become a Positive Force for Change Today! 

10 Simple Steps

1. Identify your passion.

You can’t change the world overnight, but you can identify a particular issue that you can make a difference on in your community. From there, your impact will grow. Regional and national policies and legislation often draw from best practices uncovered in individual communities. That could be your idea!

2. Don’t be afraid to challenge the status quo.

Ask yourself: will the path we’re currently on get us where we need to be as a region? Does it defy common sense? Then you have every right to challenge the status quo, no matter your age or experience level.

3. But first…get informed.

• Turn to Equinox Center’s tools like our Quality of Life Dashboard, other research or Facebook updates. Pick the issue that pushes your buttons most and sign up for e-updates from advocacy groups focused in that area.

• Identify the Committee Consultant or appropriate staff person for your local city council, State Senator or Assembly person, or even federal representative on a given issue and ask if they will meet with you. They are a wealth of information and can help you understand what is at play with a certain issue.

• Join Twitter. It’s amazing how many policy debates are aired publicly and in real-time through Twitter. You can easily follow along, or participate!

4. Identify the decision makers.

For example, visit San Diego Couny's website or CA state's website to find out who are your elected representatives. Sign up to receive their e-news or Facebook updates to stay informed about what’s happening in your community and upcoming town hall or “coffee with your councilmember” events you can attend.

5. Take a stand.

• Sign the Leaders 2020 Call to Action to show candidates and elected officials you support intelligent, sustainable growth in the region.

• Contacting elected officials via email, phone or even snail mail is not only an effective way to have your voice heard, but issues with calls from constituents are typically recorded and tracked by elected officials. Typically, you will get a written response for a written communication to an elected official acknowledging your issue, and making a comment on where they stand.

• Submit a letter to the editor to the media. (Check our How To Write a Letter to Editor or Op Ed.)

6. Decide if you’d like to go solo or team up.

As an individual, simple things like sending letters to the editor on issues you care about can be incredibly powerful. Or use groups like Leaders 2020 to network and find others who share your passion and brainstorm simple things you can do in your own community as a start. For example, consider that each member of the public can have three minutes to speak at a City Council meeting, so team up with others to make multiple comments on a given topic.

7. Attend local City Council meetings when agenda items relate to your interests.

Yes! Elected officials will listen to what you have to say – IF you address them in a respectful and professional manner. Remember that they are public servants who work hard to better our region. Treat them and their staff with the respect they deserve and your input will carry more weight. Basic etiquette for a governmental forum?

8. Serve on a public commission or committee.

Find out what citizens’ commission openings are coming up by looking at your city’s website. Apply to join one that covers an issue you care about, such as a Sustainability Committee. If you’re not accepted right away, keep trying! (Here’s an example from the City of San Diego.)

9. Identify opportunities to volunteer in your community and learn more about an issue

For example:

• Develop a broader understanding of growth and sustainability issues in the region by taking a leadership role in Leaders 2020.

• Identify advocacy groups working in areas you care about and inquire about volunteer opportunities.

• Explore board or junior board openings.

10. Spread the word!

As someone who is passionate about an issue, you are in the best position possible to inspire others, so don’t keep it to yourself!

• Invite people to join Leaders 2020 or other groups with which you’re involved.

• If you hear misinformation spoken or written about an issue, gently correct it.

• Draw from resources in #3 to make sure you are using solid data and facts to make your case.

Equinox is an Encinitas based company

Tuesday is Dues-day: Why Tuesday?

Today is Dues-day, but what are the dues?

Paying attention . . . Yes, by simply schooling yourself on how our local governance is organized, who are the players, what are the screw-ups, where is the money and what things get reported you can legitimately call yourself a citizen, an advocate for democracy.

Citizen Tip = Why do we vote on Tuesdays? 

It goes back to an 1845 law, established to give people traveling by horse-drawn carriage to take all of Monday to travel to the county courthouse after allowing Sunday to be devoted to rest. Yes, that's the actual reason.

"If we can move Columbus Day, Presidents’ Day, and Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Holiday for the convenience of shoppers, why not make Election Day more convenient for the sake of voters? First and foremost, it is time to end the deafening silence of good people on this vitally important issue. So we ask: Why Tuesday?" source

One could question if the day of the week is the most obvious reason people don't vote, but it does raise a host of questions about our political rituals in general for the curious, for the aware.

Way too many 19th century conventions are followed to the letter in 2012 for no apparent reason or for reasons that died long ago. Daylight Savings Time comes to mind.  Is that a statement with which you might agree? Sometimes it's easy to forget that we need to be aware of and to challenge the things around us that do not support our lives, our quality of life or our future.   Supporting the status quo is sometimes just inattention or inertia.

At the same time there is an equal challenge of abandoning or destroying things that have worked for a hundred or hundreds of thousands of years because of an immediate or short term need or profit potential.  See forests, wetlands, clean air, life cycle waste treatment, diverse planting and diverse animal species and healthy ocean life.

Tuesday is Dues-day: Changing Nation & World

Today is Dues-day, but what are the dues?

Paying attention . . . Yes, by simply schooling yourself on how our local governance is organized, who are the players, what are the screw-ups, where is the money and what things get reported you can legitimately call yourself a citizen, an advocate for democracy.

For most people local politics only becomes a reality when you are afraid for your home, your property or your neighborhood. Fears can be physical, financial and cultural.  Fears can be great motivators, as so many activists' stories of initial involvement attest.

Citizen Tip = "All movements are born out of grievance."

This week the connection between our local reality, local grievance is linked to the worldwide, nationwide changes in full view of the world through live stream.  The corporate press in this country is still mostly absent in this global  story unfolding.  But, the vastness of millions protesting around the world is happening even if the US public is largely unaware of what is going on in this country and abroad. 

From the video clip description:

"The Occupy movement has united hundreds of thousands across the world to fight social and economic inequality. In the latest edition of Assange's very own interview programme Julian Assange meets with prominent Occupy activists who say their collective efforts target global institutions."

Julian Assange Show - official video page: http://assange.rt.com

For the time pressed, the final 10 minutes capture the local realities and relationship to the global whole, but the whole video is an education in politics undergoing dramatic change.  We are not alone.