Monday, March 28, 2011

Questions I have for Santa Barbara Councilwoman Self about the Santa Barbara City employee Home Mortgage Program. The Corey Lyons second Double murder trial, just what has cause the coverage black out by all of the Santa Barbara media?

 Today I want continue with my challenge of our local media and the job they are doing. I have huge concerns with the Politics of Santa Barbara and how those stories are being presented to the public. Be it, print, broadcast or online journalism I see an obvious lack of Journalistic Integrity being applied to any of there efforts. I feel there presentation of political issues are not factual based and filled with bias .An when a news worthy story also has cultural factors and or overtones those factors tend to be misrepresented and over sensationalized in a negative fashion These forms of bias are extremely hard to correct, guard or protect ourselves from but they must be addressed.

   So following up on my last posting I would like to spend a few more moments here and continue to review;
1-     the reporting (more like the lack of) with the Corey Lyons double murder trial
2-      the City of Santa Barbara employee Mortgage assistance program and the comments made by Councilwoman Self.
 
Why or what has caused a total media black out of the Corey Lyons Double murder trial from March 14th 2011 to March 26th 20011? Since Friday I can still not find any print, broadcast or online reports as to what transpired in the court room of Superior Court Judge Brian Hill during that time. I also have two issues with the Santa Barbara Independent’s coverage of the second trial;
1-     I see they are one of the media sources that has not reported or updated there coverage of the trial since March 14th, why is that?
2-     Why what little coverage there is by them is only available on line and never makes there print issue?

Last week after some research I found that Mr. Lyons is scheduled for preliminary hearing setting?  There is something wrong here people when I continually beat the media to the punch in reporting the news of any subject matter. More than that I am also more reliable when it comes to facts included in my presentation compared to there’s!
http://www.sbcourts.org/pubcal/CRIMcal.php
HEARING
DATE/TIMECASE#DEFT NAMEHEARINGJUDICIAL OFFICERDEPT
03/24/2011 - 8:30 am 1296724 Corey John Lyons  Trial: Jury Trial  Brian E Hill 
SB2 03/25/2011 - 8:30 am 1296247 Corey John Lyons  Trial: Jury Trial Brian E Hill 
SB2 04/06/2011 - 8:30 am 1332725 Corey John Lyons Preliminary Hearing Setting Brian E

Below is a portion of a story by our local media dealing the Mortgage loan issues and the comments by one of our City Council members? My comments will follow in the same text as you see here.

DAILY SOUND REPORT: Amid budget shortfalls, Santa Barbara loaned $4.4 million from general fund reserves to employees to buy homes

http://www.thedailysound.com/032411-SANTA-BARBARA-MORTGAGE-LOAN-PROGRAM-MILLIONS
Santa Barbara City Councilwoman Michael Self is outraged by the loan program. She said the city should not be in the business of providing mortgage loans. “We do not have the due diligence or the fiduciary understanding to implement a loan program,” Self said. “That is out of our purview. These people are getting benefits that no private company could pay for.” (Obviously councilwoman Self has never researched the subject of Mortgage incentive programs because the existed through out California County’s and City’s for quite some time. She does raise the question of legalities and the depth of the City Attorneys involvement)
Employees were allowed to buy homes even outside the city of Santa Barbara, from Carpinteria to Gaviota. The loans were approved administratively, and not by the council, although the council approved the parameters of the program. (So did the Council out line the allowed purchase parameters or not?)
Self said it’s one thing to loan money in 2002 or 2003, but that loaning money to buy homes in 2008 and beyond, after the mortgage meltdown, makes no sense. “Especially in 2008 and 2009, nobody was really lending money,” Self said. “So why are we jumping in when the house of cards is falling apart?”(This is the area where I have my greatest concern;
1-      Was there a specific conventional lender that the city employees where required to work with?
2-      If so did that or any other lender allow loans that under any other circumstance would not have been granted?
3-      Who are the holders of the first loans and is there an issue here we are not dealing with yet?
4-       If improper loans where allowed because of the role City of Santa Barbara’s played, who initiated the business relationship?
5-      Regardless of all that one would think that the adjustment to Real Estate caused by the Wall Street melt down actually made the later loans a better value to purchase.
In April of 2006, the city loaned $179,000 to help a city attorney buy a $1.8 million house. In October of 2008, the city loaned $111,000 to a parks and recreation employee to buy a $626,000 house. The last loan the city did was in March of 2009, when it loaned an employee in the planning department $126,000 to buy a $700,000 house. (What is the Councilwomen’s point here?)
 “Probably everything from the middle of 2007 is upside down,” Self said.( I feel an elected official should not be making such generalized comments and she should know better)
The councilwoman believes the program should be suspended. The council should not give any more loans or fund the program again, she said. (The Councilwoman has already stated the last loan was completed March of 2009)
“We should work to recoup what we can with the existing loans,” said Self, “and not walk into this wall again.” The council doesn’t have the legal authority to “foreclose” on a property, so it is unclear how, or if, the city would ever be able to recover money lent on properties where the value is now lower than the amount of the loans.( One should review the conditions or terms of the second note before making such general statements. It will be interesting to see how or whose name appears as the holder of the note. You might also consider offering the notes for sale to the Pension Trust if the notes are in fact performing and make sound investment sense. This would than make the mortgage funds available to the City budget immediately. Of course there is some civil recourse to none performing loans, I mean after all this is not Wall Street!)

 




Friday, March 25, 2011

Why is the Media not reporting on the second Corey Lyons murder trial. Why is there a new preliminary hearing setting for Mr. Lyons scheduled for 04/06/11? What is the truth about the City of Santa Barbara and the home loans they have already made?

 This past Wednesday I shared an internet story from the Independent about a Gang Injunction target who spoke out and defended himself. So yesterday I went to get the new weekly printed issue of the Independent only to find out the internet story did not make it in the issue and that bothers me. It just appears to me we treat a situation one way and the next similar situation a different way. That bothers me in the way this Santa Barbara City Mortgage program is probably bothering a lot of you. I also reported that a week ago the purposed Gang Injunction was front page on a daily basis, an the retrial of the Corey Lyons double murder was buried on page A-6. So during this past week I made a daily effort to pick up a Santa Barbara news press and just see where the Lyons story was being placed. Funny thing is I did not find any new coverage all week for the trial. So while researching for this posting I performed a few Google searches and I could still not find any current news about the trial for last week. Not one to quit I went to the Santa Barbara Superior Court Calendaring page and look what I found. Mr. Lyons was indeed scheduled to appear three times in court. Two where for his Jury Trial, and March 24 & 25th were those dates. Yet I could find no media updates anywhere about what transpired in court on those dates. The real surprise was the third court date I found for Mr. Lyons which is scheduled for 04/06/11 and is a preliminary hearing setting? What the heck is that all about, have we not already started the second trial? I would pass on some information to you but so far no media source has reported anything in the case at all this week.
http://www.sbcourts.org/pubcal/CRIMcal.php
HEARING
DATE/TIMECASE#DEFT NAMEHEARINGJUDICIAL OFFICERDEPT
03/24/2011 - 8:30 am 1296724 Corey John Lyons  Trial: Jury Trial  Brian E Hill 
SB2 03/25/2011 - 8:30 am 1296247 Corey John Lyons  Trial: Jury Trial Brian E Hill 
SB2 04/06/2011 - 8:30 am 1332725 Corey John Lyons Preliminary Hearing Setting Brian E Hill SB2 


Judge Brian Hill has already brought clouds of doubt over how the first murder trial was handled when he declared a mistrial so that as he put it “Corey could get a fair trial.” I guess we will all have to wait and see when the media will update us?

I must admit at times I worry that I simply bring too many concerns forward and that it can be a bit overwhelming for everyone. Than when I least expect it I run into one of my friends or followers at the store or I get a phone call and they ease my mind. Even after saying that here I go again getting ready to comment on a new situation before I can finish my thoughts from the last three weeks.

I am confused as to why if one is challenged or questioned the issue is simply not addressed so everyone can move forward. If you are accused of cheating or withholding data on your financials for a divorce why not just supply the documents in question? If you have an open investigation from the City Administrator, force him to present his findings and clear your name Mr. Sanchez. I have never said that the investigation would find you guilty of anything; I am just upset public funds have been used with nothing to show for it. If you have taken action based on the wants of the community, than allow them the public forum to show there support for the actions you have taken on those wants.

The math just never seems to add up on anything in Santa Barbara and far too often the media would like us to believe it does Recently the new Santa Barbara Grand Jury report was released and in my mind the media sugar coated the contents of the report. The Noozhawk article mainly focused on the salaries of our local City and County employees for comparisons. There was so much more that the report could be used for. Like comparing reported County Department budgets against the Grand Jury’s findings which is what I did. If you had done that you too would find huge discrepancies between the two figures. The Noozhawk than made a point to mention that “Santa Barbara Police Chief Cam Sanchez, is the only department head to be issued a car”. Which was not only unfair to Mr. Sanchez but it just does not represent the facts they had right in front of them. If you look further into the Grand Jury report you will find that they also report on car allowances received between all the County and City officials. So yes it is true Mr. Sanchez is issued a car. But if you review the report closer you find that 29 County employees like our District Attorney or Clerk-Recorder receive a car allowance. That sum roughly averages 5746.00 a year. Now our Santa Barbara city administer and city attorney both receive car allowances also of 539, 00 a month but wait there’s more. The City of Santa Maria, Lompoc, Goleta, Buellton, County Board of Education, County association of Government, City College  and the City of Santa Barbara all have employees that receive a car allowance and I found most to average over 500.00 a month.


Today I am here to challenge the quality of the media and how they report there story’s. People are extremely upset with the City of Santa Barbara and the “Home Loan “ program .So I will use the reporting of that subject by 4 media sources to make my point. Based on all the contradictions and facts that don’t add up in these four articles, how can we as a community make informed decision?

I pulled select sentences or facts from the four media sources that put a story out about the mortgage situation with the city of Santa Barbara. The selected text is in bold lettering. I than used all the other media story’s facts to challenge each pulled text. It may sound off right now but in about 5 minutes you too will be wondering what or where the truth is to be found.


The city says the program began in 2002 and 47 loans have been issued
(47 loans or 37?)

Of the 47 loans issued, only 9 have been paid back. The loans must be paid back in full within 15 years of being issued.
(The loans have performed better than expected since not one note or balloon payment should be due, if the term is 15 years.)

City is owed about $4 million from those loans
(4 Million or 4.4 Million or 5.3 Million?)
Santa Barbara has loaned about $4.4 million to city employees to help them buy homes. Those employees have only paid back a combined $188,000. (Does that mean the nine loans that have already been repaid only totaled 188,000?)
The city loaned millions of dollars to 37 city employees to help them buy houses near the city of Santa Barbara. ( I thought it was 47?)
The money came from the city’s near-depleted budget reserves. About 17 of the employees have not paid back any money yet. (That means a Notice of Default should already be filed on 17 homes. This should be extremely alarming since the last loan issued is being reported as March of 09 or two years ago. )
Santa Barbara City employees are entitled to a number of perks, including the Employee Mortgage Loan Assistance Program (EMLAP).
The City has provided 37 employee home loans, initially totaling $5.3 million, and the total amount repaid to date is $948,237. ( 37 or 47 loans, 4.3 Million or 5.3 Million funds used, almost 1 million repaid or 188,000?)
Six of the individuals who obtained one of these home loans are no longer employed by the City; one of the loans is in arrears. (Since they are no longer employees the loans actually become a more profitable venture since there should be no forgiveness?)
The loans are interest only for the first 5 years; (the payments are as if the loan was a 30 year time period which is a double benefit for the employees. The interest only payment is lower and there is no negative amortization affect either.)
The average loan amount is $100,888. (X 47 = about 4.7 Million loaned out. Or only 3.7 Million loaned out, so how is one media source reporting a cost of 5.3 Million for the program?)



Here is where I pulled the above text from. You should be able to find everything in the order that it appeared above here. Please be honest with me how can any one who reads all 4 story’s know the truth?
http://www.keyt.com/internal?st=print&id=118612299&path=/news/local

City Employee Mortgage Loan Program Under Fire

Originally printed at http://www.keyt.com/news/local/City--118612299.html
By KEYT Assignment Desk
March 24, 2011 Santa Barbara's Employee Mortgage Loan Program has critics of the program speaking out. They say the city should not lend money to employees for home purchases, when service levels are down and jobs are being cut.
The city says the program began in 2002 and 47 loans have been issued since then.
The loans were made under a state investment program with interest rates that range from .5-percent to about 6- percent.
The last loan issued was in March of 2009.
Of the 47 loans issued, only 9 have been paid back. The loans must be paid back in full within 15 years of being issued.
In 2001, the city assisted Police Chief Cam Sanchez with a home loan of $500,000 as part of his contract.




Now Look on page 14 of the recently Grand Jury Compensation report found @ http://www.sbcgj.org/2011/CompensationSurvey.pdf
(I also attached the Grand Jury report for your viewing )Under the heading 
"Amount of home or other loans outstanding  at 12//31/09" only 3 current home loans show up on page 14. Now in the story Noozhawk put out about the grand jury report they also mentioned the home loans http://www.noozhawk.com/article/030911_santa_barbara_county_compensation_report

Grand Jury Report Reveals Santa Barbara County’s Highest-Paid Government Officials


Santa Barbara Police Chief Cam Sanchez, the only department head to be issued a car, had $81,850 paid by the city into his pension in 2010

Sanchez is also one of three listed as owing money for home or other loans, which includes the Employee Mortgage Loan Assistance Program. The city of Santa Barbara has now suspended it, but the program gave qualified employees 15 percent loans while employees came up with 5 percent and got conventional financing for the other 80 percent. The city is owed about $4 million from those loans.
Library director Irene Macias owes $115,575 and Public Works director Christine Anderson owes $94,650. Sanchez is shown to owe $402,904 because he was given primary financing from the city for his home as a recruitment incentive.

http://www.thedailysound.com/032411-SANTA-BARBARA-MORTGAGE-LOAN-PROGRAM-MILLIONS

DAILY SOUND REPORT: Amid budget shortfalls, Santa Barbara loaned $4.4 million from general fund reserves to employees to buy homes

By JOSHUA MOLINA -- MARCH 24, 2011
It started with a $500,000 loan to Santa Barbara Police Chief Cam Sanchez in 2001.
Then three more loans in 2002, to a police officer, a city planner and a waterfront department employee.
In 2003, the number of city loans crept up to 4.Two more police officers and two additional waterfront employees were the recipients.
Slowly, the number grew. Every year the city loaned more money.
And now, today, Santa Barbara has loaned about $4.4 million to city employees to help them buy homes.
Those employees have only paid back a combined $188,000.
At a time when the city is facing a severe budget crisis, choosing to close libraries and pools on some days, the city loaned millions of dollars to 37 city employees to help them buy houses near the city of Santa Barbara.
The money came from the city’s near-depleted budget reserves. About 17 of the employees have not paid back any money yet.

 

http://www.santabarbaraview.com/index.php/2011/03/the-first-bank-of-the-city-of-santa-barbara-home-loan-division/

The First Bank of the City of Santa Barbara, Home Loan Division

Santa Barbara View Staff Report
Santa Barbara City employees are entitled to a number of perks, including the Employee Mortgage Loan Assistance Program (EMLAP).
According to a document, “City of Santa Barbara Summary of EMLAP Loans,” since 2001, the City has provided 37 employee home loans, initially totaling $5.3 million, and the total amount repaid to date is $948,237. Six of the individuals who obtained one of these home loans are no longer employed by the City; one of the loans is in arrears.
The loans are interest only for the first 5 years; after 5 years, the loans are repaid based on a 30-year amortized period. At year 15, however, the full amount of the loan is due in a balloon payment.
No loans have been made since March, 2009; according to Finance Director Robert Samario, “The Program has been suspended primarily because the authority granted by City Council for loans has been reached.”
The initial amount of the loans range from a high of $500,000 (of which $118,512 has been paid) to a low of $24,086 (of which $505 has been paid). The average loan amount is $100,888.


My condolences to the Cordero family who lost there Grand Mother Grace today.

Thursday, March 24, 2011

New reports of the United States Military's Family's finally being evacuated from Japan bases like NAF Atsug, This of course was caused by the Earthquake and Tsunami earlier in the month.

I want to Thank everyone for all there prayers and concern for our Military in Japan including my son Manuel who proudly serves in the United States Navy and his wife Gess who was also there. Gess is already aboard a plane back to the States and I am still waiting for an update about our Military and my Son's situation as far as if they too will be sent home?

Larry Mendoza


http://www.wavy.com/dpp/news/local_news/wavy-local-family-wife-evacuates-japan

Military wife, kids evacuate Japan

Boarded flight back to the U.S.

Updated: Thursday, 24 Mar 2011, 12:57 PM EDT
Published : Thursday, 24 Mar 2011, 9:35 AM EDT
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WAVY) - It's been a long week of waiting and uncertainty for Danielle Hubbard and her family. Concerns over the spread of radiation in Japan prompted a voluntary evacuation of NAF Atsugi, where Danielle's husband, Chris, is a K-9 security officer.
Thursday afternoon, Japan time, Danielle told WAVY.com she's looking forward to seeing family, but terrified about leaving her husband and life in Japan behind.
Danielle and her two young children boarded a flight at around 5 a.m. EST, according to Danielle's mother, Lisa Reed of Newport News.
On the phone, before leaving NAF Atsugi, we asked Danielle what she brought with her.
"I've got my kid's baby books with me, my computer, to keep in contact with my husband. I packed two small suitcases because we were told adults could pack 50 pounds and children could have up to 35 pounds a bag," she said.
Throughout the departure process, Danielle kept us updated through emails and pictures. Her husband accompanied the family to the plane, but wouldn't be boarding. He's required to stay behind and carry out his orders.
Danielle told us she's worried about adjusting to life back in the US, especially for her oldest child.
"To let my daughter start at a school all over again for the next few months, make new friends and then leave them behind, and possibly have to come back just to deal with another catastrophe if it decides to happen. And then this whole process starts over again. It's all kind of overwhelming in my mind," she admitted. "It's going to definitely be a long process, no telling how long we'll have to wait once we reach Seattle. And that check-in process, how long that's going to take. And then of course getting back to Virginia."
WAVY.com will follow Danielle's homecoming until she lands in Hampton Roads and is reunited with family.

http://www.wavy.com/dpp/military/navy-wives-leaving-japan-for-home
Families arrive home from Japan

Thousands are leaving the country

Updated: Wednesday, 23 Mar 2011, 11:23 PM EDT
Published : Wednesday, 23 Mar 2011, 11:04 PM EDT
NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) - Local families are slowly getting back to Hampton Roads after fleeing the disaster in Japan. Wednesday night there were a lot of hugs and kisses at Norfolk International Airport.
For Brenda Parker, this week has felt like a lifetime.
"I keep saying not yet, not yet," Parker said. "I'm going to get her soon."
The anticipation was overwhelming. The time could not tick fast enough.
"All day I kept saying just a few more hours, just a few more hours," Parker added. "I'm going to pick her up at the airport."
She waited for her daughter, Angela Fain and her two grandchildren. They came in on flight from Detroit, but the journey has been so much longer.
"It was wrenching when we heard about the earthquake," Parker said. "All I wanted to do was find out where she was in relationship to it."
Angela and her husband are stationed at NAF Atsugi. Now Angela is just one of thousands of Navy wives leaving to head back home.
"It was amazing to see the damage," Fain said. "Buildings were turned to rubble the train actually derailed."
Like the rest of the world, Angela was watching the nuclear reactors and threat of radiation.
"We were taking extra precautionary measures, like keeping our doors and windows closed," Fain added. "You stayed indoors when you didn't have to go outside."
Not only is she going to rest easy, but so is her mother
"It's wonderful," Parker added. "I couldn't ask for anything better."

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Santa Barbara Gang Injunction Targets Speak Out. I wonder why Operation "Gator Roll" was not included in the newly purposed Injunction?




I was just wondering why in this newly purposed Gang Injunction there was absolutely no mention of "OPERATION GATOR ROLL"? I mean after all at the time it was being portrayed as grand breaking Gang fighting techniques. I have enclosed the link to the newly purposed Gang Injunction as well as one of my blogs that houses the Gator Roll Indictment so you may compare them side by side Read someone's reply to being targeted by our police chief Cam Sanchez in this new Indictment.

Has Santa Barbara Police Chief Cam Sanchez been cleared of his Allegations by City Administrator and his Boss Jim Armstrong?

City Hires Ventura Investigators for Scoles Case

Mesa Resident Claims Police Chief Improperly Detained Him

Thursday, April 30, 2009
Santa Barbara City Administrator Jim Armstrong has hired a Ventura-based private investigation firm to look into allegations that Santa Barbara Police Chief Cam Sanchez violated the civil rights of Mesa resident Wayne Scoles, whom the chief had arrested after a verbal altercation on the Mesa last June. Sanchez alleged that Scoles - a Mesa activist known for his intense passion and loud voice - had threatened the chief physically after making several racial slurs about Sanchez's ethnicity. Earlier this year, a Santa Barbara jury found Scoles not guilty on misdemeanor charges. He has since filed seven complaints with City Hall indicating his intention to sue on the grounds he was improperly detained and interrogated. Once such a complaint is filed, Armstrong explained, an internal investigation is automatic. Given that it involved the chief of police, he said, an outside entity was brought in.





http://www.independent.com/news/2011/mar/22/gang-injunction-targets-speak-out/


Gang Injunction Targets Speak Out

Claim They Were Unfairly Named

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Taped interviews recently filmed and released by Youth CineMedia – a nonprofit that works with at-risk youth by getting them off the streets and into the production room – depict individuals who say they were wrongfully named in the city’s gang injunction announced last week. The injunction seeks to limit the movement and activity of 30 men and women law enforcement feels are at the root of Santa Barbara’s gang activity.
While The Independent has not been able to verify claims made in Youth CineMedia’s taping, we nevertheless feel the footage warrants attention. Below you’ll find one of the interviews as well as a copy of the injunction itself.


Santa Barbara Gang Injunction Unfairly Targets Some-by Youth CineMedia

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1ziP0K0KFk&feature=player_embedded




New Purposed Gang Injunction
http://media.independent.com/news/documents/2011/03/22/City_Attorney_March_15.pdf




http://magicinsantabarbara.wordpress.com/2010/08/21/where-is-cam-sanchez-why-has-the-santa-barbara-police-chief-gone-silent-is-he-still-waiting-on-civil-rights-violation-charges/

In closing I have noticed that over the last 3 weeks some big interest has been shown about my concerns of election fraud by Superior Court Judges like Santa Barbara's Arthur Garcia, so I re posted one of my story's that explains my concerns..

A lack of ethics has over run our California Judicial System. Election Fraud by Santa Clara Superior Court Judge Carol Overton and Santa Barbara Superior Court Judge Arthur Garcia.

I am re-posting this story since I can see a renewed interest in the Subject matter of Election fraud by our California Superior Court Judges.

  “ Prior to this week nobody thought Life in Prison was possible for the actions of politicians”,


Download all
larry shared an online file with you and it's saved on SkyDrive. To view this file, just click the link above.

A lack of ethics has over run our California Judicial System. Election Fraud by Santa Clara Superior Court Judge Carol Overton and Santa Barbara Superior Court Judge Arthur Garcia.

I am re-posting this story since I can see a renewed interest in the Subject matter of Election fraud by our California Superior Court Judges.

   Prior to this week nobody thought Life in Prison was possible for the actions of politicians, Well that all just changed and more change is on the horizon if we continue to work as hard as we have!
"AUSTIN, Texas – Former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay — once one of the most powerful and feared Republicans in Congress — was convicted Wednesday on charges he illegally funneled corporate money to Texas candidates in 2002.
Jurors deliberated for 19 hours before returning guilty verdicts against DeLay on charges of money laundering and conspiracy to commit money laundering. He faces up to life in prison on the money laundering charge."


  After much research I have proven that Santa Barbara Barbara Superior Court Judge Arthur Garcia has committed election fraud and should not be allowed to keep the Judicial bench seat he currently occupies. Tonight I spent 20 minutes to try an provide you that there are other Superior Court Judges who have also committed the same kind of election fraud. On July 12 2005 there where two new appointees to the Santa Clara Superior Court and they were Franklin E. Bondonno and Carol W. Overton. Mr Bondonno ran for reelection in June of 2006 and Carol Overton did not decide to run for re-election until June of 2008. Can you please tell me what law applied to Mr. Bondonno obligating him to seek election in June of 2006. An why wouldn't that law apply to the other appointee Overton until June 2008?

I can do this in any county and intend on proving it! Fraud and corrupt actions in our County offices are a reality we must all come to accept.



Larry Mendoza


07/12/2005   GAAS:300:05   FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   Print Version | ShareThisShareThis

Governor Schwarzenegger Appoints Two to Santa Clara County Superior Court

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today announced the appointment of Franklin E. Bondonno and Carol W. Overton to judgeship's in the Santa Clara County Superior Court. Both newly appointed Superior Court Judges can seek a six year term in the June 2006 elections.


http://www.smartvoter.org/2006/06/06/ca/scl/judicial.html        June 6, 2006 Election



Judicial Contests
for Santa Clara County, CA


Judicial Judge - Superior Court; County of Santa Clara; Office 8Click here for more
 info on this contest including known links to other sites
Judge - Superior Court; County of Santa Clara; Office 13Click here for more
 info on this contest including known links to other sites

Cancelled Contests not on the Ballot
The following elected offices are not on the ballot because an insufficient number of candidates applied. All candidates that file win since they are uncontested. Judge - Superior Court; County of Santa Clara; Office 4 (1 Elected)


Carol W. Overton did not seek reelection  in the 2006 election and is not well thought of in Santa Clara County! However Franklin Bondonno did appear in the June 2006 election. Why do two persons appointed to the Santa Clara Superior Court bench at the same time not seek re-election the same year? Carol W. Overton did however seek reelection in the 2008 election below!

http://www.smartvoter.org/2008/06/03/ca/scl/judicial.html     June, 3 2008 ELECTION
Judicial Contests
for Santa Clara County, CA


Judicial Judge - Superior Court; County of Santa Clara; Office 8Click here for more
 info on this contest including known links to other sites
Runoff Election 11/4/2008

Cancelled Contests not on the Ballot
The following elected offices are not on the ballot because an insufficient number of candidates applied. All candidates that file win since they are uncontested.


Judge - Superior Court; County of Santa Clara; Office 30 (1 Elected)


Lets look into San Fransisco County and how 2009 appointee  Richard Ulmer ran for reelection to maintain his seat on the bench.

Did you all hear about the California 2009 Judicial appointee Richard Ulmer? Well he had to run for re-election to keep his seat this past June, or in other words he ran in the next general election.
CAMPAIGN 2010 / Superior Court
Politics up ante in Ulmer, Nava judicial race
October 16, 2010|By Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer
Superior Court elections are political afterthoughts, bottom-of-the-ticket entries that normally attract little public attention. But supporters of a San Francisco judge who faces a challenger Nov. 2 say there is much more at stake here than usual.
Judge Richard Ulmer, appointed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in June 2009, is running against Michael Nava, a state Supreme Court staff attorney, for a six-year term on the local bench June 2010.



The following here will go back over legislation that applies to the election process of our California Superior Court as well as the actions of Judge Arthur Garcia.
http://santabarbaracriminalcourtcorruption.blogspot.com/2010/11/is-election-fraud-allowed-by-our.html


Below is taken from my blog posting @ the address above.
http://www.metnews.com/legcom/timing3.htm 


 A judicial seat is newly created If created in an election year, it will be on the ballot in two years; if created in a non-election year, it will be on the ballot the following year. 
A newly created seat produces a vacancy which, under Art. VI, §16(c) "shall be filled by election to a full term at the next general election after the January 1 following the vacancy." Fields v. Eu (1976) 18 Cal.3d 322.
A judge leaves office (dies, retires, resigns, is removed from office or is appointed to another post) in a non-election year. The election will be held the following year. 
Under Art. VI, §16(c) of the state Constitution, "the vacancy shall be filled by election to a full term at the next general election after the January 1 following the vacancy, but the Governor shall appoint a person to fill a vacancy temporarily until the elected judge’s term begins." The person who is to "temporarily" fill the vacancy will, of course, nearly always become the elected judge owing to the advantage of incumbency in running for election.


Judge Arthur Garcia was appointed to the bench on 08/27/03 So based on the criteria I have provided you I see that after. January 1 2004 being the an election year and the next available primary would have been March 2 2004. The primary's switch to there current June date in 2006.Yet Garcia does not run for reelection until June of 06. People how can that be? That would mean his appointment covered the remainder of 03, all of 04, all of 05 and all of 06. An he would seek re election in 06 for his first six year term to start 01/01/07 an that is just what he did!

Not only is that election fraud but every Judge on our Superior Courts at the time in Santa Barbara endorse him!


Santa Barbara County, CA

June 6, 2006 Election
Additional Endorsements for Arthur Alvarez Garcia

Candidate for
Superior Court Judge; County of Santa Barbara; Office 7

If I am correct look at all the Superior Court Judges that play along as if Judge Garcia's uncommon challenged reelection is legal at the link below!
http://www.smartvoter.org/2006/06/06/ca/sba/vote/garcia_a/endorse.html

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

* Free File companies have their own eligibility criteria to use there services. Review there criteria and file your 2010 Taxes with the I.R.S. for free!

It is tax time and below is some information on how you can obtain free software to file your 2010 Taxes.
http://www.irs.gov/efile/article/0,,id=118986,00.html

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U.S. military considers mandatory evacuations in Yokosuka, Japan. This story today seems to contradict the story's from last week, again I have to ask why?

My Daughter in Law Gess has this link for us all to follow. Today's story seems to contradict the story's from last week, again I have to ask why?
http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/03/21/japan.military.evacuation/index.html?hpt=T2 Gess and Manuel Mendoza you are always in your Dad's thoughts.

U.S. military considers mandatory evacuations in Yokosuka, Japan

By Chris Lawrence, CNN Pentagon Correspondent
March 22, 2011 8:42 a.m. EDT
Sailors move food and other supplies across the USS Ronald Reagan's flight deck for earthquake and tsunami victims in Japan
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • Contingency plans being discussed, defense official says
  • Only family members being flown out as of now
  • No warships left at base in Yokosuka, Japan
Washington (CNN) -- The U.S. military is considering the mandatory evacuation of thousands of American troops and their families in Japan out of concern over rising radiation levels, a senior defense official tells CNN.
The official, who did not want to be on the record talking about ongoing deliberations, says there are no discussions to evacuate all U.S. troops across the country. The talks have focused exclusively on U.S. troops in Yokosuka, just south of Tokyo, the official said. Yokosuka is home to America's largest naval base in Japan. The military is monitoring radiation levels on a constant basis.
As of Monday, the U.S. Navy had no more warships in port at the base. The aircraft carrier USS George Washington, which had been undergoing maintenance in Yokosuka, left port Monday to get away from the plume of radioactive particles that could blow over the base. Because it left port with a much smaller than normal crew, the George Washington will not take part in the Japanese relief effort.
The official said the talks originated with Pacific Command, the military authority that directly oversees U.S. troops in the region, but "discussions have since taken place here in Washington as well."
The official told CNN this is strictly a contingency plan, and could be accomplished "if they needed to do it in a hurry, with gray tails," or large military transport planes like a C-17.
CBS News first reported that the evacuations were being considered.
A second defense official at Pacific Command, who would not go on the record for the same reason, would only say they "are monitoring the situation, and will continue to do so and keep our families informed. Prudent planning always happens."

An official statement released by U.S. Pacific Command, which oversees all military operations in Asia, states that the only evacuations being performed now are under State Department guidelines, which calls for voluntary evacuations of military family members, paid for by the U.S. government.

A flight carrying 154 military family members left Japan Monday, flying into Seattle/Tacoma International Airport, according to Lt. Commander Bill Lewis, a spokesman for U.S. Northern Command. That followed a flight that departed Saturday with 230 people on board.
 http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/03/21/japan.military.evacuation/index.html?hpt=T2

Monday, March 21, 2011

Cam Sanchez's boss Jim Armstrong calls for an investigation of his actions. Chris Stanley and Josh Lynn level accusations of misconduct against candidate for District Attorney Joyce Dudley. What ever came about these accusations?


  I was flipping through the pages of the Santa Barbara News Press last week and found the new trial coverage of the Corey Lyons double murder all the way back on page A6. Yet it seems every other day last week the front page carried the new push for a Gang Injunction about persons who might commit another crime but had not at the time of the story's, You see what bothers me is that supposedly the community was in an uproar over violent gang crimes. Yet when the opportunity to allow the community to have an open forum to share there concerns our City leaders failed to allow that to happen.  

 What about the allegations against our City leaders that have gone unanswered.The Santa Barbara City Council and  Cam Sanchez's boss Jim Armstrong felt the need to hire an investigation agency  to look into past actions by our police chief Sanchez.To date I have not heard anything in he way of findings even though public money was spent.

 Than in the last District Attorney race charges of misconduct were raised about past actions by than candidate Joyce Dudley. Are we being told that those allegations only carried merit as a political ploy and are not relevant nor should they still be investigated now?

When do we begin to evenly and ethically apply the laws across the board because as I have been reporting this last week that is simply not the case here in Santa Barbara.

Can we add an injunction and safe zone and shut down I.V. for Halloween, if not why not?



City Hires Ventura Investigators for Scoles Case

Mesa Resident Claims Police Chief Improperly Detained Him

Thursday, April 30, 2009
Santa Barbara City Administrator Jim Armstrong has hired a Ventura-based private investigation firm to look into allegations that Santa Barbara Police Chief Cam Sanchez violated the civil rights of Mesa resident Wayne Scoles, whom the chief had arrested after a verbal altercation on the Mesa last June. Sanchez alleged that Scoles - a Mesa activist known for his intense passion and loud voice - had threatened the chief physically after making several racial slurs about Sanchez's ethnicity. Earlier this year, a Santa Barbara jury found Scoles not guilty on misdemeanor charges. He has since filed seven complaints with City Hall indicating his intention to sue on the grounds he was improperly detained and interrogated. Once such a complaint is filed, Armstrong explained, an internal investigation is automatic. Given that it involved the chief of police, he said, an outside entity was brought in.


Clouds Gathering Over Police Chief

Budget Showdown, Mayoral Face-Off Confront Cam Sanchez

Thursday, April 23, 2009



It's a little premature to declare that the proverbial perfect storm is brewing over the head of Santa Barbara Police Chief Cam Sanchez, now entering his eighth year at the helm of the city police department. But the clouds definitely are gathering, and they show only few signs of blowing away.
Two months ago, for example, a Santa Barbara jury concluded it simply did not believe the chief of police when Sanchez accused Wayne Scoles, a burly, hot-tempered Mesa activist, of calling him "a Mexican motherfucker" last June before Scoles allegedly threatened to "kick his [Sanchez's] ass." Scoles, who was arrested and prosecuted on misdemeanor charges, denied threatening the chief or making racist remarks; Sanchez was the key witness against him. As courtroom melodramas go, the Scoles hearing was inconsequential in the extreme. But for the chief, it clearly was an embarrassment.
Wayne Scoles denied threatening to beat up Sanchez and charged that the chief had him arrested to shut him up.
More recently, Chief Sanchez found himself forced to apologize to a prominent Latina anti-gang activist, who had been dragged out of her car at gunpoint by law enforcement officials during the erroneous execution of a search warrant on suspected drug dealers. Even though county Sheriff's deputies were to blame-they had the wrong house on the wrong street-Sanchez was brought in to limit the fallout. If city police are to find success against gangs, they need active help from low-income and Latino residents, many of whom regard law enforcement with considerable fear and suspicion. The public takedown of a well-known activist did little to allay such concerns.
In between, Sanchez found himself the target of an orchestrated mini-insurrection conducted by the Fire and Police Commission, usually one of the quietest and most quiescent of all the city boards and commissions. Typically, Fire and Police Commission meetings last 30 minutes; this one in March went two hours. Anyone with a gripe against the chief was invited to show up. Scoles was the first to speak, demanding the chief's resignation. He was followed by Jim Worthen, a former Republican Party operative and public access talk-show host, who likewise wanted Sanchez deep-sixed, for allegedly failing to return any of numerous phone calls placed by Worthen.
If that weren't enough, a homeless advocate denounced the department's decision to close the murder investigation on Ross Stiles, a homeless man who died under suspicious circumstances. The department's investigation was trashed as half-hearted at best. "Homelessness is not a capital offense," the activist said in a written statement.
Sanchez was not present at the commission meeting, instead attending funeral services for the four Oakland police officers who were killed in the line of duty last month. He was also attending the funeral for a close personal friend in Hollister. Upon his return, Sanchez would comment of Worthen's attack, "I never even heard of the man." At the same hearing, downtown hotel owners decried the noise and public debauchery taking place in the city's "Entertainment District." One commissioner, Thomas Parker-a former FBI agent and now a private security consultant helping corporations deal with white-collar crime-said he was shocked at how low the police profile was in the drunk-and-disorderly zone. During one 90-minute Saturday-night tour, Parker said one bar he visited "looked like gang central," he entered another where a male strip show was unfolding, and, in all that time, he saw only one police car cruise by.
With the appointment of retired FBI agent Thomas Parker, the Fire and Police Commission has gotten a lot friskier and a lot less docile.
In years past, the commission busied itself primarily with dance permits and city towing contracts. But with the recent appointment of Parker, new to Santa Barbara this year, a majority of the commissioners are now inclined to take a more robust interpretation of their duties and functions. The commissioners now want to comment meaningfully on a wide array of issues, like gangs and proposed budget cuts. To this end, they regard Sanchez as an obstacle and an impediment. If there's a confrontation brewing, they show little signs of backing down.
Typically, big-city police chiefs wear out their welcome professionally after about three years. For smaller-market law enforcement executives, the life expectancy is closer to five. By this measure, Sanchez has been a screaming success. And in a field where no news is good news, he has succeeded in maintaining a notably low profile throughout most of his tenure in Santa Barbara. Perhaps that's why the recent eruption of controversy seems so striking. But then, money woes have a nasty habit of highlighting controversies that would otherwise lay dormant. Though there's definitely more static on the chief's line than the public is accustomed to, it's hardly enough to threaten his job. Even so, with 30 years of law enforcement under his belt, and 16 as a chief, Sanchez will soon be able to walk away from the post and enjoy the enviable retirement benefits reserved for those in law enforcement. For the time being, however, Sanchez is staying put, doing his best to adopt a philosophical attitude to the slings and arrows coming his way.

Is Cam Sanchez doing a good job?

Yes, crime is down overall.
Yes, it's a tough job done well.
Yes, but he's more of a politician.
No, gang violence sucks.
No, he doesn't support cops.
No, everything's his fault.
See the results without voting.

Money, Honey

It appeared the real push would come to shove this week with the much-anticipated release of the city's new budget plan. No department was to be spared the fiscal ax, and City Administrator Jim Armstrong had ordered the police department to identify at least $1.3 million in "adjustments." That's roughly 4 percent of the department's budget. By contrast, non-public safety departments -like Parks & Recreation-were told to cut closer to 10 percent.
"There are no sacred cows," Sanchez said in a recent interview. "We all have to share the pain." Initially, it appeared that pain would involve the elimination of five positions of sworn officers-currently now vacant-and the positions of eight non-sworn officers, currently now filled.
POA head Sergeant Charles McChesney is looking to make the chief of police report directly to the City Council, not the city administrator.
And to the politically influential Police Officers Association (POA), that was both wrong-headed and dangerous. The union's members were geared up for a showdown of epic proportions to fight off budget cuts. As they told it, the police department has been bleeding for the past nine years, losing positions and funding at the expense of officer safety and public safety. At its height, the department was authorized for 150 sworn officers, but that was thanks to federal grants bestowed during the largesse of the Clinton administration. Four years ago, it was down to 126. Now it's authorized for 140. But in the flesh, the real number is closer to 134, with three police-academy graduates on the way and several others on injured reserves.
The POA's initial reaction to the proposed budget cuts was to launch a lobbying blitz, quietly educating the City Council what would happen to public safety if five sworn officers and eight non-sworn were to be sliced or diced. Sergeant Charles McChesney, the POA's president, said he could identify only $30,000 in cuts that would not impact public safety. Rather than inflict such cuts, McChesney said City Hall should liquidate some of its $175 million investment portfolio. To date, no city employees' union has ever targeted the investment portfolio before. This was a first. City finance czar Robert Peirson insisted that such a move would be impossible and illegal, arguing that the bulk of the city's investments are controlled by what are known as "enterprise funds," such as the municipal golf course, water district, airport, or waterfront.
Of all the major unions representing city employees, the POA remains the only one to have officially declined to discuss contract "give-backs" in the face of looming budget shortfalls. The Service Employees International Union Local 620 currently is negotiating a host of major concessions-raise freezes, work furloughs, and no vacation-time cash-outs-in exchange for a no-layoff commitment. The firefighters' union has not formally entered into such negotiations, but has met informally with city negotiators and expressed openness to discussing such measures.

Santa Barbara Citywide Crime Stats


1985
1990
1995
2000
2005
2008
HOMICIDE
7
6
6
3
0
3
RAPE
24
26
33
38
34
26
ROBBERY
75
132
107
58
76
117
AGGRAVATED ASSAULT*
139
467
436
371
399
347
AUTO THEFT
225
350
247
122
207
114
LARCENY/THEFT
1,740
3,052
2,614
1,953
2,125
1,912
ARSON
19
8
18
14
43
32
What promised to become a bare-knuckled budget brawl has been either postponed or solved-time will tell which it is-by a combination of wishful thinking, creative bookkeeping, and/or shrewd grant writing. That's because City Administrator Armstrong decided to assume that City Hall will be awarded a major grant-part of the federal government's economic stimulus program-that would fund as many as five officers' positions for the next three years. City Hall has only just submitted the grant application and won't know its fate until the middle of the summer. Armstrong said City Hall's chances are "very competitive," and noted that in years past, the city has done well with such grants. In addition, he said City Hall recently won a $230,000 grant that will help fund positions in the police department for the next year and a half.
If City Hall wins those grants, the problem is solved. But if it falls short, the road ahead promises to be bumpy indeed. If the excruciatingly bitter contract negotiations that took place three years ago between City Hall and the POA provide any illumination-after which City Hall agreed to a 26.5 percent increase in pay and benefits during three-and-a-half years-such a budget battle could prove especially disruptive, painful, and publicly contentious.
Among city employee unions, the POA has always carried the biggest stick. Its endorsement alone imbues a candidate with a law-and-order respectability. But that's just the beginning. The union donates generously to the candidates themselves and runs its own separate campaigns on behalf of its candidates. In addition, POA members walk precincts on behalf of their endorsees.
This year, the union has a lot at stake. Most immediately, there are the budget cuts. But this December, the POA contract expires; negotiations for a new contract are slated to begin sometime this summer. The starting wage for an entry-level cop is $65,000 per year without overtime. But with overtime and seniority, 55 of the 101 sworn officers are earning $100,000 or more. That puts them on par with officers in comparable departments from Santa Monica to Santa Barbara.
Between now and November, Santa Barbara voters will select a new mayor and three new councilmembers-in other words, a whole new council majority. Already, the union has endorsed Councilmember Iya Falcone in her bid to become the city's next mayor. Falcone is so highly regarded by the POA that the union didn't extend to Falcone's chief rival-Councilmember Helene Schneider-the customary courtesy of an endorsement interview. Although the mayoral campaign remains in its early stages, the looming budget cuts have already emerged as a divisive issue. Falcone initially voiced strong support for maintaining the status quo of troop strength at 140, but at a gathering of West Beach merchants and residents on Monday evening, pledged her support to increasing patrol strength to 150. Schneider, who in the past has been supported by the Service Employees International Union Local 620, has suggested the department could save $550,000 with no loss of service if the POA agreed to waive a scheduled pay increase and forgo vacation cash-outs.

Crossfire

Giving dangerous urgency to this sprawling debate is the growing public impatience with the persistence of gang violence. While the number of gang-related incidents is holding roughly steady, the brazenness of the participants has been increasing. And so too has the amount of front-page news space devoted to mug shots of intimidating gang members, whether real or merely alleged.
Barring the miraculous intervention of these federal funds, Chief Sanchez will find himself caught in a furious crossfire between his officers' union and his immediate boss, City Administrator Armstrong, the one man in City Hall the POA most virulently distrusts. (Privately, some union leaders believe Armstrong would like to reduce the number of sworn officers on the payroll to 130, while they contend a city of Santa Barbara's size and complexity should ideally have as many as 150. Armstrong denies ever voicing any opinion at all regarding the proper size of the police department.)
"At the end of the day, most people don't care who I answer to," he said. "All they want to know is that a uniform shows up at their door when they call for service."
In fact, the union has already alerted Sanchez that it is contemplating a campaign to amend the city charter to make the police chief directly answerable to the City Council, not the city administrator. Sanchez, for the record, opposes such a change, arguing that that would politicize the post, that Armstrong is "a great boss," and that he already enjoys unfettered access to all councilmembers and they with him. "At the end of the day, most people don't care who I answer to," he said. "All they want to know is that a uniform shows up at their door when they call for service."

Gang-Related Offenses


2005
2006
2007
MURDER
0
0
2
ATTEMPTED MURDER
1
0
0
ASSAULT WITH A DEADLY WEAPON
16
25
26
BRANDISHING
1
3
4
ROBBERY
5
3
6
BURGLARY
3
5
1
VANDALISM
30
37
37
BATTERY
5
12
13
KNIFE IN PUBLIC
3
7
8
TOTAL GANG RELATED OFFENSES
102
163
177
TOTAL CITYWIDE NUMBER OF OFFENSES
26,137
24,346
23,002
PERCENTAGE OF CRIME GANG-RELATED
00.39%
00.70%
00.77%
For his part, Sanchez takes pains to project abiding optimism in the face of multiple grim realities. He shrugged off the Scoles verdict, saying, "We have a jury system in this country, and the jury has spoken. The whole thing was unfortunate." He praised members of the Fire and Police Commission, but disputed assertions by some that he's tried to keep them in the dark about the budget's impacts on the department. "That's absolutely untrue," he declared. If the commissioners wanted to expand their inquiry into gangs beyond what the department already provides, he said it would be up to them to take the initiative. "If they want to go out into the community, they can," he said. "But it would be silly for us to go get people." And he emphatically denied allegations by some commissioners that he refused to appear at any commission meetings attended by members of the POA. "I would never insult my association by saying I wouldn't be there," he stated. "The more the merrier."
As for the coming city elections, Sanchez commented, "Two things I don't worry about: I don't worry about any mayor's race or any City Council elections. I get along with all the candidates and they all have the city's best interest at heart."
Sanchez's relationship with his union has always been a dicey mix of cordiality and friction, regard and suspicion. He was the union's first choice of candidates, but he was hired from outside the department. Almost immediately upon taking the post, Sanchez inherited a messy sex-discrimination lawsuit filed by two female officers who contended they would have been promoted to sergeant-a post that at that time no woman officer had ever achieved-were it not for the department's good-old-boy system. The POA, they charged, was part and parcel of that club. The jury awarded the two women $1.8 million.
The grumble on Sanchez always has been that he's not enough of a cop's cop, that he's distracted by functions outside the department, and that he's not hands-on enough. Much of the day-to-day responsibility of running the department was delegated largely to Rich Glaus, former assistant chief. And the POA has always been quick to complain Sanchez doesn't stick out his neck enough for his officers.
"Do I ethnically profile? You bet I do. One hundred percent of the victims of these gangs are Latino," he said. "100 percent."
However, Sanchez has no shortage of champions. His support for community-oriented policing jibed well with the City Council's liberal-leaning, Democratic-dominated majority. On gang issues, Sanchez's Latino heritage helped diffuse concerns about racial profiling. "Do I ethnically profile? You bet I do. One hundred percent of the victims of these gangs are Latino," he said. "100 percent."
In action, Sanchez and his department have provided a mix of an iron fist and a velvet glove. Last week, for example, the department was commended by a statewide law enforcement agency for Operation Gator Roll, in which more than 200 suspected Eastside gang members were arrested by a force of 400 federal, state, and local law enforcement officials directed by city police last October.
But Sanchez considers "the best day" of his 30-year law enforcement career the time he spent last summer engaged in heart-to-heart discussions with gang bangers then serving time at Los Prietos Boys Camp. Two of those gang members have since enrolled in City College, found jobs, and appear to be on their way out of gang life. Sanchez challenged members of UCSB's Latino Business Association to mentor at-risk teens. The group responded by providing about 35 mentors for Santa Barbara High School students, meeting once a week for at least an hour. The hope is to show there are alternatives to the bloody turf battles between Eastsiders and Westsiders.

Getting Along

More recently, Sanchez has taken back some of the ministerial functions he'd delegated, such as promotions. Not only was the first female officer promoted to sergeant under his watch, but two more have also been promoted since then. Many Latinos have moved up the promotional ladder as well, infusing the department with greater diversity at all levels. Due to a wave of retirements, Sanchez appointed a whole new command staff this January, replacing Deputy Chief Glaus with Frank Mannix. His three new captains are Alex Altavilla, Armando Martel, and Gilbert Torres.
Where the union is concerned, Sanchez has said his door is always open. Likewise, he feels free to speak his mind to McChesney or former POA president Mike McGrew, if need be. How often that actually occurs, however, is unclear. McChesney, who was elected in October 2007, said he's sat down over coffee with the chief just once.
McChesney said he understands Sanchez answers to City Administrator Armstrong. But he would prefer if Sanchez had voiced more concerns regarding some of the proposed cuts. Outgoing Fire Chief Ron Prince held his nose a little when discussing the $750,000 his department was slated to endure. Prince made it emphatically clear he was not personally recommending these cuts, merely identifying them, as ordered by Armstrong.
Much to the union's chagrin, that's not how Sanchez played it during negotiations three years ago. And it's not how Sanchez is playing it now.
When it appeared the positions of five sworn officers would be stripped from his department, Sanchez argued it could be done safely. Those positions would be filled by cops working the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) patrol, staffing the Police Activities League (PAL) program, and two of the beat coordinators. By reassigning, he said, the department's essential patrol strength would be maintained at about 50. "In terms of calls for service, that won't suffer," he said. "Other things will suffer, but my number-one goal is to keep police officers in police cars. Some programs will have to be suspended to keep cops in cars, and that's unfortunate. But when people pick up the phone and they want a cop, they're getting a cop."
Whether or not the department secures major new grant funding, the public will be paying more for its services. By increasing the price of a parking ticket by $4, the department estimates it can raise $300,000. People who have their cars towed will see tow-release tickets soar by 250 percent.
POA President McChesney expressed satisfaction that the department appears to have dodged a budget bullet. But some of the cuts, he said, will still sting. He said burglaries have increased by 25 percent compared to the same time period last year. But with one less crime-scene technician out of a two-person team, it will take that much longer to get fingerprints processed. Animal control officers, he said, don't just respond to wildlife incursions or dangerous dogs on the prowl. "They're an integral part of our anti-gang unit," he said, noting that many gang members have pit bulls. "This will have a very real impact on public safety."
Ultimately, it will be up to the City Council, not the POA, not Jim Armstrong, and not Cam Sanchez, to hash out a workable budget. That will play out in the weeks and months to come. Given the impending election and the stakes involved, all of the proceedings will be intensely politicized. In the meantime, Sanchez denied rumors that he's angling for a new job as chief of Oakland or San Francisco. He has not applied, he said, nor has he been invited to do so.
The friend whose funeral Sanchez recently attended in Hollister -where Sanchez used to be chief-died of cancer before turning 60. "You know, I've been a cop for nearly 30 years and a chief for 16. I know we're going through hard times economically, and it's nobody's fault at the city or the county. It is what it is and we're all going to have to make some sacrifices," he said. "But let me tell you something, I don't have any problems. I've got nothing to complain about. Nothing at all."


http://www.independent.com/news/2010/feb/04/prosecutorial-throwdown/

Prosecutorial Throwdown

Supes Stay Out of Fray; Install Replacement DA
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Things couldn’t have gotten much sadder. Or nastier. District Attorney Christie Stanley finally retired from office, with almost a year left on her term, in paperwork filed last week, effective Friday, January 29. Her brief note to county officials acknowledged what has long been painfully obvious to anyone watching the courts: Ravaged by cancer, Stanley hadn’t really functioned as DA for more than a year.
This week, county officials received another missive from Stanley, this time a scorching denunciation of career prosecutor — and candidate for DA — Joyce Dudley. In it, Stanley blistered Dudley for what she described as Dudley’s “zealous ‘win at any cost’ approach.” Stanley accused Dudley of “multiple judicial misconduct problems,” adding, “Her problems with playing fair are repeated, well-known, and documented.” That note was mailed to the county via Josh Lynn, who is Dudley's rival for the DA post.
Stanley’s unhappiness with Dudley surfaced when Dudley announced she was running for District Attorney, well before Stanley officially declared she wouldn’t seek reelection. Stanley returned the favor by endorsing Lynn, the department’s chief trial deputy, to be her successor. In addition, Stanley appointed Lynn to run the department in her absence, making him the de facto incumbent in what’s become a fierce two-way race between two very intense, competitive prosecutors. In perhaps her final communiqué, Stanley praised Lynn’s leadership, ethics, and dedication, arguing that the county supervisors should not replace him as acting District Attorney before this June’s election. Mostly, Stanley did not want the supervisors — two of whom have endorsed Dudley — appointing Dudley to the interim post.
This Tuesday, the supervisors unanimously opted to disregard Stanley’s last request. Sort of. At the instigation of Supervisor Joe Centeno, the board emphatically opted to remain out of the fray. The supervisors decided not to replace Stanley with either Lynn or Dudley. Instead, they elected to replace Stanley with the second-highest-ranking prosecutor in the department, Ann Bramsen, who operates out of the Santa Maria office. The supervisors also agreed to appoint whoever won the June election to fill out the remaining six months of Stanley’s term of office. Formally, the supervisors directed staff to bring back the issue of a Board appointment for acting DA in June.
For Dudley, who publicly stated she had no interest in being appointed, it was a clear victory. A Democratic candidate in a county where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans, Dudley will not have to run against a rival endowed with an incumbent’s considerable advantage. Lynn, in addressing the supervisors, made it sound as if he never wanted the post. “I never asked for, nor did I want, that appointment,” he stated. “I don’t believe it is fair. I don’t believe it is just.” Earlier that day, however, his campaign media advisor, Mark Ward — arguing that Lynn should retain his post as acting DA — said of Stanley, “This is the woman who appointed him acting District Attorney. There’s a reason she did that.”
That reason, according to Ward and Lynn, can be found in legal documents they released last week, highlighting a handful of cases in which, they contend, Dudley was faulted for excessive zeal. The most explosive involved a 1995 case against Amado Silva Inda, prosecuted and convicted for sexually abusing his teenage daughter. Judge Pat McMahon set aside the jury’s guilty verdict and ordered a new trial, citing multiple instances of prosecutorial excess. Concluding a 114-page legal brief, McMahon opined, “It is not pleasant to either recall or recount in print how [Dudley] fell so quickly from grace as she endeavored to overzealously obtain a conviction at any cost and without regard to rules of law, evidence, or ethical probity.” McMahon’s ruling was upheld by the state appellate court though not, Dudley insisted, on the grounds of prosecutorial misconduct. Dudley said she did not retry the case out of deference to the victim, who didn’t wish to endure the pain of a second hearing. Steve Balash, the defense attorney who represented Inda, said allegations of misconduct are commonplace in criminal law. “It was a very emotional trial,” he recalled, “but I wouldn’t call what she did outrageous.” If Dudley was out of line, Balash asked, “Why the hell did she keep getting assigned cases and getting promotions all these years? And if the DA thought they had a rogue prosecutor guilty of misconduct, why the hell did they appeal McMahon’s ruling?”
For the prosecutors working for the Santa Barbara District Attorney’s Office, the current political knuckle-fest is something entirely alien. For the past 30 years, the Santa Barbara DA’s Office has been immune from this sort of internal brawling. At Tuesday’s supervisors’ meeting, many prosecutors waited for hours to testify. Both candidates had their champions present. Dudley supporters Hilary Dozer and Ron Zonen, with 59 years of prosecutorial experience between them, blasted Lynn for putting the department at risk by his “unfounded” attack on Dudley. “I had hoped for a campaign free of unnecessary vituperation,” lamented Zonen.
As for Dudley, she insisted that Stanley never wrote the letter the supervisors received. “I don’t know who wrote it,” she said. “but I’m certain she didn’t.” That wasn’t Stanley’s view of the Inda case, Dudley said. And besides, Dudley claimed, Stanley was too sick. Lynn’s campaign manager Mark Ward insisted that Stanley was the author, but that she wrote it “several weeks ago,” just in case it appeared the supervisors might appoint Dudley acting District Attorney.