Tag Archives: Charter Commission

The M Factor: Angelique Ashby is giving City’s “impartial” analysis of Measure M? How does that work?

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The City of Sacramento is supposed to stay neutral on local ballot measures. City employees can’t use their office to promote or oppose measures, city resources can’t be used to help campaigns. Easy enough, right?

And yet, the City’s Neighborhood Services Division is giving the leader of the “No on Measure M” campaign top billing at community meetings about that ballot question.

Measure M, you’ll recall, is the question on forming a Sacramento Charter Commission. Neighborhood Services held a meeting on Measure M last night, at Hart Senior Center. Here’s what happened, according to charter commission candidate Anna Molander and another Measure M supporter, Rick Bettis.

The agenda for the Monday night meeting included, among other topics, zoning changes, information about neighborhood watch, Measure M and Measure T (the claw).

Supporters of Measure M asked if they could have someone make the pitch for the measure at the meeting. But, according to Molander they were told no, because this City-sponsored event was just going to include an impartial presentation of the facts and an opportunity for citizens to ask questions.

But the person giving the “impartial” presentation of the facts was in fact city council member Angelique Ashby, who is leading the opposition to Measure M. She signed the ballot argument against the measure, and has steadfastly argued from the dais that it’s unneeded and too expensive. She has routinely voted with Mayor Kevin Johnson on this and other governance issues, like strong mayor. She’s close to the public safety unions, which have been strongly opposed to the charter commission (and for strong mayor). In short, Ashby is not impartial. She is as partial as they come.  (I’ve got calls in to Ashby and to Vincene Jones at Neighborhood Services, but no response yet.)

Rick Bettis, an activist with Common Cause and League of Women Voters attended the whole meeting and said that Ashby played it pretty straight–she disclosed her opposition to Measure M upfront, but mostly kept her opinion out of her presentation. Bettis supports Measure M, and so he was keen to correct Ashby when, he says, she told audience members there was no organized “yes” campaign, and that the end result of the Los Angeles charter commission experiment was a strong mayor form of government. (That’s part of it, but they also got an ethics commission and neighborhood councils, and other reforms.)

No matter how impartial Ashby tried to act at this meeting, it’s not appropriate for her to be the voice of the City on this matter. Before this meeting, Ashby posted on her Facebook page, “Busy day ahead, including two community meetings to ask folks to please Vote NO on Measure M…”

Then we’re supposed to trust that she’ll present the information on Measure M fairly? That’s a lot to ask.

In fact candidate Molander thinks it’s illegal to give the “No” side a venue and not giving equal time to representatives from the “Yes” side.  “The City is not permitted to spend public funds to support or oppose ballot measure, particularly where the opposing view is offered no opportunity to speak. The public now perceives the City as opposing Measure M although the City has taken no such position,” Molander said in letter she sent this afternoon to the City attorney.

It may be a stretch to say this meeting had a big impact on public perception, one way or the other. Bettis said there were about 7 people in the audience. Still, Ashby is a politician who wants to raise her profile and be seen as leading on this issue. The City gave her a venue and denied it to the other side.

“It un-leveled the playing field,” she told me. “I want to know what the City is going to do to make this right for the people who support Measure M, and who are running. I don’t have the same kind of money that Ashby does.”

And there are more meetings scheduled with Ashby giving her “impartial” analysis, including one on Wednesday night. Even if Ashby thinks she can be fair, why pick her for the job? I know there have been budget cuts and there are fewer staff around. But really, there’s no one on staff who’s at least plausibly impartial who can give this information to the public?

306: Charter Commission vs Cynicism

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Standard Podcast [ 47:50 ] Play Now | Download

 

I’m going to introduce this week’s podcast with a little bit of a bitch session.

I just finished listening to Isaac Gonzalez and company’s latest ransackedmedia.com podcast. It’s good, basically one long interview with Steve Hansen, District 4 City Council candidate. If you haven’t heard it, you should download it. Not now, though.

Toward the end of the interview Hansen is asked about the Sacramento Charter Commission. Like a lot of people in politics, he’s pretty dismissive. He even compares the candidates to the cast of Real World/Road Rules. I’m not sure if I’m saying that right. But it is/was a reality show on MTV.  I’m really not sure, I haven’t watched MTV since 120 Minutes.

I think I get Hansen’s point though. The candidates are a sideshow, a distraction. Their ideas are not to be taken seriously.

But we’re supposed to take City Council candidates seriously, I suppose. After all, you can take all of the criticisms of the charter commission and make them about every other elected body and every other field of candidates in local politics.

So you believe that the best the voters can do is elect a bunch of Charter Commisioners who are just proxies for different interest groups that fight for power and get nothing done? Well, show me a legislative body that is different. If you’ve got a better system, let’s hear it. Maybe you should try to get it into the City Charter.

In fact, I sat down with four charter commission candidates this week for this podcast, and found them to be well-informed and reasonable people.

Phyllis Newton, Sondra Betancourt, and Derek Cressman all came by the studio for a wide ranging discussion. Isaac of course sat in too, this time as a candidate and a guest.  The episode serves as a pretty solid primer on charter commission background and basics, and an introduction to some of the the people who may be working together to help perfect our City’s constitution. I’m hoping that interviews with other candidates will follow soon.

I’m proud of this podcast. I thought it went remarkably smoothly, for a reality show.  I think there’s been a lot of cynicism about the charter commission idea.  Even my old employer, the Sacramento News and Review–which normally has a zest for small “d” democracy–seems to be falling into the cynicism trap. I may be wrong, but my guess is that they’ll soon urge readers to vote “no” on the charter commission, and not consider endorsing any candidates. I can’t really tell if it’s because they’ve really done their homework and have concluded that it’s a bad idea, or if they just looked at the number of candidates (54) and threw up their hands, figuring they don’t have the time or the energy–or the curiosity–to get engaged.

It’s not that hard, really. Just talk to people. If nothing else, we’ve got a couple of months before November 6 to have a thoughtful discussion about the charter and what changes, if any, could make the city work better.

And there’s no reason, out of 54 candidates, that we can’t come up with 15 commissioners with enough integrity and smarts to lead the public through a productive and transparent review of the charter. Seriously, just figure out who those people are, and vote for them. If we can’t do that, I’ve got to think it’s only because of a lack of imagination, curiosity and energy. Maybe a little less MTV would help

Local music this week is from Th’ Losin Streaks. The track is Fine Line.

303: Turning the page, looking ahead

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Standard Podcast [ 49:49 ] Play Now | Download

He won’t show me the watch in person, so I cannot confirm that it truly exists.

I squeezed the ever-humble Cosmo Garvin into an uncomfortable spot for the latest episode of the Sacramento Current Podcast, forcing him to reflect on his 13-year run at the Sacramento News & Review now that it’s come to a close. Not that you won’t be seeing his name in the weekly rag anymore; he’ll be freelancing and the Bites column ain’t going away any time soon. But just before our boy heads back to school to get his master’s degree, I thought it would be fun to take a look back and share some of the tales surrounding the stories he’s worked on during his time at SN&R. I think you’ll like it, too.

Not that there isn’t other things going on to talk about as well. The uber-sexy Charter Commission is the talk of the town, and now that the cutoff for wannabe candidates to file has come and gone, we’re sizing up some of the familiar names you’ll see on the ballot come November. That brings me to my own uncomfortable admission; my name is among those you’re going to see. How do I navigate the waters of fair reporting podcasting and remain unbiased while I embark on my first political campaign? And how about those in the running who also think the whole ideal of charter commission is a fool’s errand? So many questions!

We also hit on the newest Disneygate rumors, and what happened to the Mayor’s opposition argument against the city’s proposed sales tax? They don’t have computers in Hawaii? All that and more in this week’s pod.

The opening and closing track this week is appropriately called “Forward” as performed by the group “Northbound”. You can download the song for free by clicking here.

302: Investigating all kinds of political shit with Bill Motmans

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Standard Podcast [ 50:01 ] Play Now | Download

Not much happening in City Hall this week, so we’re just going to talk about wine. Holy f— what the hell is going on down there at City Hall?

Obviously, we lead this week’s podcast with the mini-embezzlement scandal brewing on I Street. Who knew what, when? And also, WTF Lisa Serna-Mayorga? Disneyland?

As embezzlement scandals go, this one isn’t remotely world-class.  Still, it’s the best we’ve got. And it’s brought to us by the same folks who did the Americorps fiasco, and this fiasco, and, you know, the other one.  So perhaps it’s not surprising that folks get a little carried away with the speculation.

Luckily, we’ve got a bona fide law enforcement professional on board for this episode, to rein us in a bit. Bill Motmans, a retired investigator who did stints with the state Fair Political Practices Commission, and the Sacramento County District Attorney, helps us sift through the rumors and the political wreckage.  Bill’s also a Tahoe Park guy, involved in the neighborhood association, and was on that ill-fated Sacramento Redistricting Citizens Advisory Committee. Never forget.

But really he came to talk about the most recent Sacramento County Grand Jury report, which he helped write–because he was a Grand Juror.  The Grand Jury’s tale of a wildly dysfunctional Twin Rivers school district was the obvious star of the report. But Motmans thinks other parts of the Grand Jury’s effort–like the detailed account of the city’s bad garbage deal--deserved more and better media attention.

We also talk Bee layoffs, and get an update on the campaign for a Sacramento Charter Commission.  A lot of Kevin Johnson’s allies have pulled papers to run for charter commission. But so have a lot of his critics, include some guys named Isaac Gonzalez and Phil Pluckebaum.

Music this week is from Sacramento’s original Star Trek band, The No Kill I, who have graciously put their songs up for free download and use via Creative Commons. What’s a Sacramento Star Trek band? I’m glad you asked…

210: Vast arena-related conspiracies, Orwellian-like City Hall proposals, and Super Sexy Charter Commissions

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Standard Podcast [ 42:19 ] Play Now | Download

Arena “Plan A”? Been there. “Plan B”? Done that. Well, how about “Plan C”? This one barely had a pulse before it was unceremoniously put out of its misery, but you know that the Sacramento Current gang just can’t let this news go unnoticed. Besides, it isn’t like one podcaster wasn’t subject of a little more attention than he’s normally comfortable with this past week or anything. (Confused? See this, this, and this.)

In other non-arena based business, the City of Sacramento is tired of people shitting on the lawn at City Hall, so they’re banning balloons on the property, or something like that. Yeah, I know, it doesn’t make much sense to me either. Plus, it’s the buzz of the town; CHARTER COMMISSIONS! You’re probably burnt out from the wall-to-wall coverage by all the local media outlets, but we still think there’s a few more things to say about the upcoming ballot measure. By the way, all of the above text should have been written in the yet-to-be-invented heavy sarcasm font, just in case you couldn’t tell.

Stay tuned to the very end for an important show-related announcement that you’re not going to want to miss. Enjoy!

Our music track this week is “Night Owl” by the band “Broke for Free”. You can download it for free by clicking here.

208: Sacramento Documentarian Laurence Campling / Sacramento Arts and History, and Charter Commission

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Standard Podcast [ 48:16 ] Play Now | Download

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the closing of Folsom’s legendary Candy Store Art Gallery.  While it was open, it was written about in travel guides as one of three must visit places in California, along with Mt. Shasta and Yosemite.  Now our guest, local documentary filmmaker Laurence Campling, is making a feature-length film telling the story of how former Utah Cattle Queen Adeliza McHugh created an influential and vibrant avant –garde art venue in the Sacramento area, championing the early  works of some of the major figures in what came to be known as the Funk Art movement, including Robert Arneson, David Gilhooly, Clayton Bailey and Maija Peeples-Bright.

But Laurence isn’t just about Funk Art.  In this lively conversation, he also shares his insights into Sacramento’s wild west past, and a secret about the airport’s Red Rabbit that you will only hear here.  And if you ever wanted to experience Hamlet in less than five minutes, check out his production here - but be warned, you may get that damned song stuck in your head.

The guys also discuss the recently approved City Charter Commission and what that will mean in the November Election.

This weeks opening music track is “Baby” by The Ventilaters, Th’ Losin’ Streaks take us out with their song “Leaving here”.