In 2008, I went all high tech and interviewed at least five of the City Council candidates over Skype, then posted the conversations here. I prepared the list of questions myself and while I enjoyed the exercise, I’m not sure that many people listened to the conversations.
So for 2010, I’d like to shake it up a bit and include you in the mix.
In the comments below, list up to five questions you’d like the City Council Candidates to answer. I will then select the best questions from your comments, add my own, and forward them to each candidate.
I expect that each candidate will answer about 7-10 questions. We’ll benefit by seeing how each candidate answers the same question.
But if you’d like a question specifically for one candidate, but not another, be sure to mention that.
Once all the responses come in, I’ll post the answers here.
So go ahead, now’s your chance to ask a question of a City Council Candidate in public, on the record.
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Just one question to all 5:
Will you declare an SCVTalk day?
David Gauny, you promised to eat crow if it was shown that the SoS’ers are actually advocates of terrorism. I provided you with a link to video of the event’s organizer doing just later, yet no crow has been eaten. Why not?
Furthermore, how do you feel that the group organizing the event on the 27th has been openly contemplating whether KKK support for the cause is a good thing? They seem split on the matter. see: http://saveourstate.info/showthread.php?t=1182
Dear incumbents, should we be concerned that approximately 90% of your donations are identical?
If asked to be the next Mayor Dude, will you decline?
To answer Mike yes, but I reserve the right for Mayor Dude 2.0….
To Laurie Ender: Why haven’t you returned the illegally obtained funds to your campaign from Frank Ferry? Why have you never apologized for accepting and keeping these funds? How did you explain your lack of remorse for your serious lack of ethics to your children?
To Frank Ferry: You are a dangerous man. Your temper has raged on for years, and your threats to other candidates are nothing less than acts of terrorism. Would you vote for a candidate that cannot control his temper and takes pleasure in terrorizing people? Do you think it was ethical to try to lure the best sports players from our schools over to your school in the San Fernando Valley?
Why did you knowingly give Laurie Ender $12,000 when you know $360.00 is the limit for an individual campaign contribution, a sum you yourself came up with at a City Council meeting, which is why there is a valid FPPC complaint against you.
To Laurene Weste: why would it be legal for you to have anything to do with Redevelopment when you stand to gain millions from the Lyons extension and have, many times, attempted to steer Redevelopment Committee votes in a way that would be beneficial to your financial gain? The fact that you are on City Council’s Redevelopment sub-committee is why there is a valid FPPC complaint against you. Why are you still on that committee?
Marsha: Why were you so willing to destroy Canyon Country with a MRF? At the Canyon Country Advisory Committee Meeting Wednesday, you said that site was just a “suggestion,” when questioned about why you would do this to Canyon Canyon. Well, as a “suggestion,” that “suggestion” would have been voted on along with other site picks, so Canyon Country could very well have ended up being the MRF site that you and Laurene Weste wanted.
Time for all of you to go. City Council seats should not be considered a life-time term. You have all served long enough and it is time to allow fresh faces to take your places. You all allow Ken Pulskamp and Paul Brotzman to run everything, the Council agenda is filled with one consent item after another with everything being dealt with before it gets to City Council to eliminate as much public input as possible. Which is why you moved public comment to a later time, so people would be discouraged from speaking at City council.
We need a new City Council that is for the people. This one stopped being that City Council long ago.
VOTE FOR DAVID GAUNY AND TIM-BEN BOYDSTON! New faces and people-friendly Councilmembers desperately needed.
1. What do you propose as a solution to resolve cut through traffic and speeding problems (Benz, Linda Vista, etc.). Doing nothing or relying on envorcement is not counted as a proposal since it hasn’t worked.
2. Under OVOV, the potential number of residential units goes up dramatically, while it is reduced in the County. How can we ensure that the County keeps up its end of this “deal”?
3. Under OVOV, why do we ignore the traffic constraints in the Newhall Pass when we will still have a jobs\housing affordability imbalance that will continue to impact our citizens?
4. How can the City spend millions opposing the “impact” Cemex will have on one side of the SCV while remaining silent on the Newhall Ranch Project which will be just as if not more so impactful?
5. OVOV is predicated on building dense urban villages at locations near mass transit. What evidence does the City have that this will work? How many units would be built versus how many now ride the train?
1. Do you support changing City elections to regionalized voting areas?
2. Do you support breaking up the west side communities by cherry-picking areas to annex (and PUH-leeez save me the pat answer fo “whatever the locals want”– I am asking what YOU think is the best civic planning approach.)
3. Do you support the “clean money” campaign funding approach?
4. Do you think we have enough water for Newhall Ranch?
1. If you could have dinner with any Claritan, living or dead, real or fictional, who would it be?
2. With what type of pasta do you most closely identify?
3. Any question to demonstrate that they have a basic knowledge of Santa Clarita, like “When is SCV’s birthday? How old is she?” or “What does the name Francisco Lopez mean to you?”
Sadly, the vital questions of N-D and NFIC (and modestly, my own) will no doubt go unanswered by all the candidates. They always chicken out from giving simple answers to hard questions. They raise a wet finger and count the money in their campaign funds.
Why do you all fight so viciously to keep a job that pays less than $1k/month?
Do all of the candidates plan to bullet vote for themselves? Or will they cast a vote for another candidate? If so, who?
If a train leaves New York at 11:35 am and is traveling at…..
Quick FYI: Ferry didn’t give Ender the money directly. He spent it as an Independent Expenditure aka PAC….
Also, they make close to 1600 a month and receive health benefits…
Any one of these questions relating to full disclosure on the Open Space Presrvation District campaign:
1. Why were developers allowed to vote for all the unbuilt houses they had developer agreements for, and in turn making a victory assured unless 2/3 of the other homeowners voted ‘NO’.
2. Where did the funding for the campaign come from?
3. If you cannot answer question two do you believe you are really on the side of the citizens when it comes to openness in government?
4. Why was this measure sold on the premis that “it was different this time” in that the assessment money can only be spent on purchasing vacant land, when the cities own legal counsel says it can be spent on anything in Parks and Rec?
This measure was brought out in a manner that stinks to high heaven as far as openness and it is important for the candidates to express their stance on the issue.
MikeC
Your clarification is incorrect. Frank Ferry did do an indpendent expenditure but it was not through a PAC. He paid directly for the mailing using his own committee ID and address. If it was through a PAC, it would have included a PAC name on the flier instead.
The law states that a candidate cannot use campaign monies from their candidate controlled committee to promote or oppose another candidate. This is what happened. He paid for fliers to promote Laurie which is pretty much what she would have done if he wrote the check directly to her.
But no matter… whether he paid his monies into a PAC, a mail campaign, or a check directly to her, ALL are illegal for obvious reasons. All the more so when promoting a candidate (and vote) for the same voting board you sit upon.
David Gauny:
No answer to Mike about your new peeps this Saturday?
Question: Are you in favor of the Sheraton hotel project?
Tim, I think the rain is going to give him an out.
By now, he’s had ample time and opportunity to denounce this group, don’t you think?
Mike and Tim,
Please forgive the delay. I’m just buried.
Mike, I did view the video at the link you provided of Jorge’s speech in PA. While I agree that his remark regarding bullets getting the attention of politicians was completely out of line, I think it’s a stretch to say he was advocating the “terrorist” activity you claim. I think his point was that inaction of leadership could inflame people to the point that something that extreme could happen. Again, not in agreement with the comment at all bu I don’t think that defines the agenda for him or the group as a whole.
In fact, the Save Our State organization that is hosting the 2/27 event clearly promotes a normal approach to peaceful rallying without attacking people, religions, or race, as found at the Some Things Will Change section of their website: http://saveourstate.info/showthread.php?t=14
The group emphatically denounces the errors of previous leaders who “departed from those qualities and had abandoned or rebuffed its supporters.” Jean in Fillmore further calmed my concerns about their efforts in my phone call with her. She is a normal (and very nice) person who is solely concerned about the welfare state we can no longer support as a result of this issue.
If there is something else that provides proof of your claims about these people please show me. My offer on eating crow still stands.
Oops – forgot about your remark on the KKK thread. Aside from the one or two posters who seemed impressed that 500 people attended a KKK rally, every other comment on that thread rebuked the KKK as either off the mark, not beneficial to the cause, and even “obnoxious.”: http://saveourstate.info/showthread.php?t=1182
At least up to this point, yours seems hardly a fair statement to blanket on this group when you read the many posts in opposition to the comment on the KKK gathering.
Again, I think it’s a mistake to discount hearing or talking to an entire group of people because a few may have an extremist view. I will never endorse or support anything beyond the law but I won’t reject the group as a whole either.
Dave, how do you account for this?
“Politicians will respect you when the see a round going through their windshield and getting into their flesh”
A direct quote from your host. Did you really watch his whole speech? Did you listen to his speech in Valencia?
As for the KKK discussion, there were three (from a small handful) of posters that sympathized with the Klan and another two, including jeanfromfilmore who happen to be very active in this group, who said nothing to condemn them. Jean made a point that she didn’t necessarily agree or disagree with what was being said. When this crowd starts hurling racial epithets, as they did last time, don’t act surprised.
correction: “…they see a round”
1. If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be?
2. If you had a tree, would you rip off a large branch and bash the IGWT plaque off of the City Council chambers? Why or why not?
David:
You may want to get a plate ready for that crow. Saturday will be very telling.
Have they ever approved a project that strictly met the Oak tree & Ridge Line ordinances without a variance?
~What have you done to object to the Newhall Ranch project?
~Do you advocate naming City property after current or former council members?
~Do you feel it is unifying to place “In God we Trust” on City property?
1. Would love to have the candidates explain to us why they are a BETTER choice, not just roll with the concept of “The current guy sucks, therefore by process of elimination, I am preferable.”
2. Can the candidates take the time to consider the campaign as a job interview? You wouldn’t walk into an interview and bash the current employees, you would sell yourself and the POSITIVE things you bring. Seriously, the mud slinging feel is tiresome, it leaves many of feeling apathetic to the process.
3. Can all of those elected and running figure out how to play nice? Stop threatening, stop bullying, stop trying to defend some corner of the sandbox while we pay them a wage to do so.
4. For those who bring up issues like bad traffic, not enough jobs etc can you PLEASE give us a coherent plan of action that you will take to fix that? As it sits now it’s just rhetoric and will wind up like every other politician’s promises, forgotten once elected.
5. Can you remember why you even got into “public service” in the first place, and more importantly do you really think you’ve lived up to that original ambition?
To all: How will our city begin to uphold the laws concerning criminal immigrants?
@Mike, to say Jorge is condoning terrorism when he made his comments – “Politicians will respect you when they see a round going through their windshield and getting into their flesh” – is absurd.
He was making a point asking if it will take something happening to them before they will take action.
Wow, I sure am glad you are not running for office.
My questions:
1) Councilman Ferry, can you please explain how your position as Principal of a Catholic School and a direct report of the Cardinal Mahony (an activist Priest who asked his subordinates to not honor the laws of illegal immigration) will not effect your decision on illegal immigration and the will of the voters? Can you truly keep the division of church and state? Wouldn’t you be afraid that a stand against illegal immigration would cost you your job?
2) Mr/Ms Candidate, please tell me what your position is in illegal immigration and what you would do in your power to protect our communities.
3) Mr/Ms Candidate, please tell me how you would provide transparency in our City Gov’t.
4) Mr/Ms Candidate, please tell me how you plan to protect small businesses in our community (which represent for over 70% of the businesses and are mostly local residents) over the big chain box stores which typically have lower waged employees (with over 50% not living in SCV) and take their profits out of our community.
5) Mr/Ms Candidate, please tell me how you plan to reduce our City Gov’t by 50% in the first year and open all areas for contracting to the private sector. For an example, 14 IT staff at the City. This is 3-4 times the national average ratio of employees to IT staff.
6) Last but not least, Please tell me if you support an independently elected Mayor by the people of Santa Clarita to truly create a balanced power system within our gov’t and pull back the power of the City Manager’s Office.
SCV Guy, nice spin! Keep blowing hard.
@mike – in reference to what?