Thanks, Andy. TIme to replace ALL of the Supervisors with ethical, honest, people of integrity. Maybe someone who knows how (that would not be me) could follow the money and see where the Supes campaign donations are coming from. SEIU, for sure, but where else?
ALL the unions that represent government employees, plus construction unions too...That accounts for upwards of 75% of their typical campaign contributions
Andy Caldwell is one of my least favorite political talking heads. That said , he certainly has valid takes on the three issues mentioned.
It looks like the county cut some corners on the ambulance services contract . And how on earth did the purchase of 35 ambulances get approved prematurely?
Vote for Roy Lee for Supervisor and get rid of Das Williams next election. Das has single handily destroyed Carpinteria and ran his constituents under the bus since he has been Supervisor. Elections have consequences! Remember that in the next election. Get Dad out by casting a vote for Roy Lee !!!!
Well, We are a Blue county in a Blue state with alot of other Blue counties in a now Blue country. We are sad and deteriorating. Everyday in the nation the Blue Party is caught lining their pockets, lying to the public, while crime, death and poverty soar. I have been disgusted with the lack of county upkeep on our roads AND roadsides. In a wealthy county with millions more in their budget than most other counties in this state, why is Santa Barbara's infrastructure so inferior and shabby with our streets and freeways crumbling and lined with weeds??? Seems "some people" are benefitting from our esteemed-wealthy county.
The sups and their staff are spending upwards of 60% of all the money in their $1.5 billion budget ON THEMSELVES in the form of salaries, benefits, and pensions.
What is sad is the fact that the current GOP is only focusing on taking away women's rights and hollering about LBGTQ people. This is NOT a theocracy, and 80% of the country want safe and legal access to abortion. If the GOP would pull their collective heads out of their a$$es, maybe they'd be able to win an election without resorting to cheating and gerrymandering!
Did we really vote no on roads? Or no to continued misallocation of existing county expenses and revenues. Under the current scheme, employee union-bargained personnel costs get paid off first with existing county revenues.
Then supervisors hostage local voters to pay additionally for essential county infrastructure expenses. Pass this additional bond measure, or else our county infrastructure will suffer. And we will blame you for this outcome.
Pay attention to how these bond measures articulate county needs. County revenues are fungible. County supervisors, often beholden to special interests instead voters, can allocate these fungible revenues any way they choose. They are elected to do this in our names.
Then ask why supervisors don't directly ask voters to pass bond measure or parcel tax voters to pay for more county personnel pay raises, perks and pension funding? Instead, they tell us if you don't pass this bond measure, we will make you put up with the clearly failing country infrastructure because we need increasing amounts of county revenues to allocate solely to increasing county personnel costs.
Why not have dedicated and untouchable funding streams for both county needs - personnel AND infrastructure? Do you recall when former Lompoc county supervisor Peter Adam did propose a county resolution to at least maintain county infrastructure at current levels out of the existing budget. What happened to that perfectly responsible and fiscally prudent proposal?
Peter Adam was the author of Measure M which proposed "Shall the County Facilities Maintenance Ordinance requiring the County to keep County owned roads, parks and buildings in their current condition or better be adopted?”
Whereas, I want infrastructure maintained, there was a serious problem with Measure M in that it would have taken the money for roads from law enforcement and county fire!
I am not an attorney, but it appears to me that in your open letter, you have described at least one act of Malfeasance in office. I found this definition of Malfeasance among other, similar descriptions.
" Malfeasance is an act that is illegal and causes physical or monetary harm to someone else. Malfeasance is intentional conduct that is wrongful or unlawful, especially by government officials and employees.". It would appear that the alleged AMR versus Fire Department conspiracy fits the above definition. It seems that AMR and County taxpayers have been harmed monetarily by the deliberate acts of government officials and employees. Why is the County Grand Jury not investigating these allegations?
"As all five of you are aware, the county’s stated mission and values include “conducting all services and decision making using the highest ethical standards and fiscal responsibility while communicating consistently and striving for transparency.” Frankly, it is high time you put these words into practice."
Well is it really nice that you are noticing a county ethical problem. The So-Ca;; Problem of the Santa Barbara County and all of the local government institutions is that they are all systemically broken.
I will use that word, however former FBI Executive Tom Parkers used the more accurate word of
Corruption. Please see Former FBI ASAC Independent article :Perceptions of Political Corruption
Too Often the Harbingers of Stark Reality By Tom Parker Sat Feb 22, 2020 | 3:23pm........... weblink
Andy Caldwell you may want to get into your car and drive around downtown Santa Barbara and "Open Your Eyes" and you will see your hard earned tax dollars at work right here in Santa Barbara
and as Mr. Parker states "Perceptions are too often the harbingers of stark reality. This is especially true when it comes to questioning the ethics or illicit acts of local government officials. While spending nearly 25 years in the FBI and convicting a number of local, state, and federal officials on corruption charges, it did not take long for my colleagues and I to learn how to spot those who had crossed the bright line into unethical, and sometimes corrupt, behavior."
Thank you Andy! Those of us in District 3 have been lacking representation for decades and now are being turned into a mini Vegas destroying our quiet and productive lives for the benefit of the County, not us. Until we get representation that recognizes everyone as contributing members, the situation will remain uneasy.
I wonder how many Supervisors read this Andy!? I am forwarding it to the Supervisor of my district. She has always been responsive to my emails. I look forward to hearing from her. Thank you for your comments.
An additional thought. If, through the ongoing investigation, or through an investigation by the Santa Barbara Grand Jury, malfeasance in office is proven, the guilty should be held personally responsible for the costs to taxpayers in any settlement of the AMR complaint.
👏 We need Leadership with excellent critical thinking, insight, planning and realistic problem solving skills. People are voted into office because they are on the ballot but seems like nobody really knows how they will perform when they're elected. Maybe instead of putting a description of themselves in the election booklet everyone reads, they should put their resumes in there and on also on their website?
Thank you Andy. Calling out wasteful litigation costs is in everyone’s interests. Supervisors: just stop it!
A great opportunity to solve some of this mess is to vote for Roy Lee for Supervisor.
He is a solid member of our community, and would make a great replacement to Das Williams
Thanks, Andy. TIme to replace ALL of the Supervisors with ethical, honest, people of integrity. Maybe someone who knows how (that would not be me) could follow the money and see where the Supes campaign donations are coming from. SEIU, for sure, but where else?
ALL the unions that represent government employees, plus construction unions too...That accounts for upwards of 75% of their typical campaign contributions
Andy Caldwell is one of my least favorite political talking heads. That said , he certainly has valid takes on the three issues mentioned.
It looks like the county cut some corners on the ambulance services contract . And how on earth did the purchase of 35 ambulances get approved prematurely?
I agree with you in the first part of your sentence, he is also one of my least favorite.
Keep up the pressure. The Supervisors' actions are ruining our economic and rewarding their political backers..
Vote for Roy Lee for Supervisor and get rid of Das Williams next election. Das has single handily destroyed Carpinteria and ran his constituents under the bus since he has been Supervisor. Elections have consequences! Remember that in the next election. Get Dad out by casting a vote for Roy Lee !!!!
Well, We are a Blue county in a Blue state with alot of other Blue counties in a now Blue country. We are sad and deteriorating. Everyday in the nation the Blue Party is caught lining their pockets, lying to the public, while crime, death and poverty soar. I have been disgusted with the lack of county upkeep on our roads AND roadsides. In a wealthy county with millions more in their budget than most other counties in this state, why is Santa Barbara's infrastructure so inferior and shabby with our streets and freeways crumbling and lined with weeds??? Seems "some people" are benefitting from our esteemed-wealthy county.
The sups and their staff are spending upwards of 60% of all the money in their $1.5 billion budget ON THEMSELVES in the form of salaries, benefits, and pensions.
What is sad is the fact that the current GOP is only focusing on taking away women's rights and hollering about LBGTQ people. This is NOT a theocracy, and 80% of the country want safe and legal access to abortion. If the GOP would pull their collective heads out of their a$$es, maybe they'd be able to win an election without resorting to cheating and gerrymandering!
Our county roads are in poor condition because 52% of us voted NO Measure M in 2014.
Did we really vote no on roads? Or no to continued misallocation of existing county expenses and revenues. Under the current scheme, employee union-bargained personnel costs get paid off first with existing county revenues.
Then supervisors hostage local voters to pay additionally for essential county infrastructure expenses. Pass this additional bond measure, or else our county infrastructure will suffer. And we will blame you for this outcome.
Pay attention to how these bond measures articulate county needs. County revenues are fungible. County supervisors, often beholden to special interests instead voters, can allocate these fungible revenues any way they choose. They are elected to do this in our names.
Then ask why supervisors don't directly ask voters to pass bond measure or parcel tax voters to pay for more county personnel pay raises, perks and pension funding? Instead, they tell us if you don't pass this bond measure, we will make you put up with the clearly failing country infrastructure because we need increasing amounts of county revenues to allocate solely to increasing county personnel costs.
Why not have dedicated and untouchable funding streams for both county needs - personnel AND infrastructure? Do you recall when former Lompoc county supervisor Peter Adam did propose a county resolution to at least maintain county infrastructure at current levels out of the existing budget. What happened to that perfectly responsible and fiscally prudent proposal?
A brilliant explanation. Thank you.
Peter Adam was the author of Measure M which proposed "Shall the County Facilities Maintenance Ordinance requiring the County to keep County owned roads, parks and buildings in their current condition or better be adopted?”
Whereas, I want infrastructure maintained, there was a serious problem with Measure M in that it would have taken the money for roads from law enforcement and county fire!
I am not an attorney, but it appears to me that in your open letter, you have described at least one act of Malfeasance in office. I found this definition of Malfeasance among other, similar descriptions.
" Malfeasance is an act that is illegal and causes physical or monetary harm to someone else. Malfeasance is intentional conduct that is wrongful or unlawful, especially by government officials and employees.". It would appear that the alleged AMR versus Fire Department conspiracy fits the above definition. It seems that AMR and County taxpayers have been harmed monetarily by the deliberate acts of government officials and employees. Why is the County Grand Jury not investigating these allegations?
Spot on! Thanks keep the pressure on!
I read the recent post by Andy and I quote
"As all five of you are aware, the county’s stated mission and values include “conducting all services and decision making using the highest ethical standards and fiscal responsibility while communicating consistently and striving for transparency.” Frankly, it is high time you put these words into practice."
Well is it really nice that you are noticing a county ethical problem. The So-Ca;; Problem of the Santa Barbara County and all of the local government institutions is that they are all systemically broken.
I will use that word, however former FBI Executive Tom Parkers used the more accurate word of
Corruption. Please see Former FBI ASAC Independent article :Perceptions of Political Corruption
Too Often the Harbingers of Stark Reality By Tom Parker Sat Feb 22, 2020 | 3:23pm........... weblink
https://www.independent.com/2020/02/22/perceptions-of-political-corruption/
Andy Caldwell you may want to get into your car and drive around downtown Santa Barbara and "Open Your Eyes" and you will see your hard earned tax dollars at work right here in Santa Barbara
and as Mr. Parker states "Perceptions are too often the harbingers of stark reality. This is especially true when it comes to questioning the ethics or illicit acts of local government officials. While spending nearly 25 years in the FBI and convicting a number of local, state, and federal officials on corruption charges, it did not take long for my colleagues and I to learn how to spot those who had crossed the bright line into unethical, and sometimes corrupt, behavior."
Howard Walther, member of a Military Family
Thank you Andy! Those of us in District 3 have been lacking representation for decades and now are being turned into a mini Vegas destroying our quiet and productive lives for the benefit of the County, not us. Until we get representation that recognizes everyone as contributing members, the situation will remain uneasy.
I wonder how many Supervisors read this Andy!? I am forwarding it to the Supervisor of my district. She has always been responsive to my emails. I look forward to hearing from her. Thank you for your comments.
Gee, it's no wonder you lost! Lol!
An additional thought. If, through the ongoing investigation, or through an investigation by the Santa Barbara Grand Jury, malfeasance in office is proven, the guilty should be held personally responsible for the costs to taxpayers in any settlement of the AMR complaint.
👏 We need Leadership with excellent critical thinking, insight, planning and realistic problem solving skills. People are voted into office because they are on the ballot but seems like nobody really knows how they will perform when they're elected. Maybe instead of putting a description of themselves in the election booklet everyone reads, they should put their resumes in there and on also on their website?