Encinitans deserve higher standards
Wehtahnah Tucker’s story, Sheila Cameron’s opinion column, and Diane Bond’s letter, together bring a breath of fresh air to toxic Encinitas city politics, giving a voice to community concerns.
— Why couldn’t Councilwoman Barth’s allegations be resolved by the city attorney? Instead of simply telling Barth that elected officials could not sue through the city, attorney Sabine chose to hire expensive legal counsel. So, who is charged with spelling out the law?
— Why is there no internal mechanism to address councilpersons’ misbehavior? It is curious that two councilmen named in such allegations nixed the agenda item proposed by Deputy Mayor Houlihan to address these matters.
— “Bullying” is a pervasive problem, now illegal in many states. That councilmen should not take it seriously is unacceptable.
— Why isn’t the council more attentive to the Brown Act? The mayoral selection deliberately disregarded the council’s own tradition of rotation, with the flimsiest manufactured justification, and conveyed a strong impression of collusion between the three councilmen. Even the appearance of flagrant violations of the Brown Act casts a long shadow on the way our councilmen run city affairs.
This is at the heart of the corrosive atmosphere in the Encinitas City Council. Encinitans deserve and expect the highest standards of ethics from elected officials.
Bernard and CJ Minster
Encinitas
What’s to follow smoking ban?
In his column of May 28, Bill Arballo wrote: “Solana Beach is looking at prohibiting smoking in common areas of apartment buildings. Folks are askin’ “How much more intrusion into personal pleasures before enuff is enuff?”
As a lone voice in the wilderness of our fast-eroding liberties, I wrote numerous letters to the Del Mar City Council, all published in the Del Mar Times, protesting the council’s determination to ban smoking on the public sidewalks and other gathering places on public property in the Village. As one who has been walking the beach and sidewalks since the 1950s, I know that these were nonproblems when the majority of the public smoked, and now that about 10 percent do (my within-Del Mar estimate). The rush to such wide-sweeping prohibition was and is literally ludicrous.
I also pointed out the little-known fact that the first nation to ban smoking was Nazi Germany in 1941, by edict of Adolph Hitler.
So how will the new law be enforced, by a Del Mar version of the Gestapo? I wonder how the visitors from all over the world that the city is dependent upon will view Del Mar when they are ticketed for using a legal product on a public sidewalk.
I emphasized that this is not a matter of whether you smoke or not (I am a not) or whether you approve or not. It is a matter of protecting the liberties of the minority as much as those of the majority and of precedent, meaning “what will be next?” The common areas of apartment buildings? And guess what then?
The sound of heavy boots is getting closer and closer, and as history bears out, will continue to until everybody but the police state is shuddering.
Jim Donovan
Del Mar
Prop. K doesn’t represent O’side residents
Oceanside voters don’t be deceived. Prop. K was crafted by out-of-town developers who want to take control of our city. The last time developers had control of our city, we had to fight to save our parks and beaches. These are the same cronies that wanted to pave our beach at the Harbor for an aquarium and bulldoze our community center and amphitheater for their private use.
These are the same cronies who wanted to put a toll road through a state park to build more houses. Prop. K was crafted behind closed doors without any input from the public. The voters of Oceanside have denied a charter on many other occasions. Don’t let the big glossy mailers paid for by out-of-town developers trick you. Prop. K is bad for Oceanside. Oceanside deserves to have leadership that will represent the residents not developers. Prop. K will give the developers a signed blank check to control Oceanside. On June 8 I will be voting for Chuck Lowery for council and no on Prop. K. Lowery will represent the residents of Oceanside, not out-of-town developers.
Carolyn Krammer
Citizens for the Preservation of Parks & Beaches
Oceanside
3 comments
Thank you for your opinion, Mrs. Cameron.
‘Incredulous’ has missed the enitre point of the letter, and is providing yet another example of why Encinitas residents want to elect educated representatives, who are not threatened by public participation, workplace standards of behavior, or a difference of opinion.
Most of Teresa Barth’s supporters don’t even know eachother, but we have heard through the grapevine that she and Houlihan are the ONLY reasonable public servants who will listen to concerns from all corners of our city.
I would invite all those who have never met Teresa to do so before you buy into the public smear campaign coordinated by Jerome Stocks and Mayor Dalagar. She is a thoughtful, sensitive, professional person, with a tremendous work ethic, who is a listener–not an arrogant windbag.
I would ask that the 2 afore mentioned male coucil members step down and spend their time at Hooters or somewhere else where THEIR behavior is appreciated. We are looking for higher standards in Encinitas!
The disinformation campaign directed by friends of Councilwoman Teresa Barth of Encinitas continues to spin out of control. Re: Minster’s letter above and last week’s complete drivel by D. Bonde;
1)Ms. Barth publicly and directly accused the other four members of the Encinitas City Council of having run the City illegally and held up City business for six months. When the State of California’s own Attorney general clarified for Ms. Barth the fact that she was completely incorrect in misleading the public, she never admitted she was wrong, nor withdrew her charges against the others, nor did she apologize to her peers. She has no class.
2) There wasn’t much in Ms. Cameron’s diatribe that was correct. Ms. Cameron herself was removed from the Mayorship for mistreating other councilmembers on the Encinitas City Council and indeed it was she, Sheila Cameron who first abrogated the council rotation for the Mayorship by bumping Mr. Bond with the help of Christy Guerin and Dennis Holz. The fact that Mr. Bond has too much class to have pointed this out to Ms. Cameron when she was once again, like Barth, misleading the public is a tribute to him. Cameron has nerve, but she isn’t often correct. Almost never.
3) Ms. Barth has no explanation for ‘why’ her complaint against the others came so closely on the heels of her not being voted into the Deputy Mayor’s spot. Nor has she admitted that she did not accept the opinion of the City Attorney and that she demanded that there be a thorough investigation; because she knew that state law as an employee, having used it so many times against others while working for the fairgrounds; except she isn’t smart enough to realize that she was no longer a worker, she was a boss. Don’t we need smarter leaders?
Finally,
Barth continues to be assisted by two avatars, Houlihan and Cameron, both of whom have repeatedly tarnished their offices; Houlihan in being found guilty 70 times by the Fair Political Practices Committee; and Cameron who not only struck a city contractor’s employee while Mayor, but repeatedly broke laws, statutes and ordinances
until was removed for cause.
Maybe Barth is unaware of the tarnished backgrounds of her two proponents, this in itself would not be surprising, but the public hasn’t forgotten.
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