Letters to the Editor 10-23-14

No on Measure O
Editor:   
Measure O is a deceptive attempt to make Cloverdalians believe that there is a huge crisis in town.  Back some months ago, the City employed a law firm from Oakland as a consultant to do a push poll of people in Cloverdale to see if they would pass a new utility tax.  A push poll is crafted to push people into answering the polling questions to obtain the desired result.  If an interviewee had no opinion, pollster would push the person to have the opinion they wanted.
The consultant was also employed to come up with terms and teams which would convince you, the voter, that this new tax is necessary. This is what they do to earn money.  They offer their services touting a 90 percent or more success rate of achieving their goal of influencing voters on tax issues and they are using these tactics on tax measures all over California. The cost to the City of providing these services was about $40,000. Per the consultant recommendations, the City has a small chance of getting voters to approve a 2 percent utility tax for three years. The City chose to ignore their advice and now we have Measure O which will implement a 3 percent utility tax for eight years.
The City recently mailed out color brochure flyers stating all of the possible crisis that the City may face if this tax is not approved by the voters.  One of the glaring statements on the flyer is that City employees’ salaries were frozen for six years.  Although this is technically true it is not completely true.  If an employee had pay steps available they still received the pay raise, however, there have been no cost-of-living raises.  As I’m sure most of you know, not many folks in the county have received cost-of-living raises in the last seven years.  Something else to think about, according to documents the City filed with the state for 2012, thirteen City employees made over $100,000, not including benefits, followed by several others in the $90,000 range; this in a town which, according to the 2014 “A Portrait of Sonoma County,” the median income of Cloverdalians is approximately $32,000.
This tax, as originally presented to the City Council, was to create a program to buy a couple of police cars to replace the aging fleet and to hire a few police officers.  It has morphed into a grab bag of issues needing funding in order to “prevent cuts” which is a way to influence or scare voters. If the City was serious about these crisis situations it would have asked for a specific tax instead of a general tax and would have followed the consultant’s recommendations for the terms of the tax.  Just so you know, a general tax takes 50 percent plus 1 vote to pass and the money goes into the general fund where it can be spent on anything including a unicorn farm.  A specific tax must be used for a specific purpose and requires a higher percentage of voter approval.
For these reasons I am voting no on measure O.
Mike Maacks, Cloverdale
Palla a tireless public servant
Editor:   
I am writing this letter in support of our good friend and Cloverdale City Councilman Joe Palla. Joe has worked tirelessly as a public servant in many capacities for most of his life, and we would like him to be re-elected for another term in our city.
Throughout his career in law enforcement, Joe has worked cooperatively to solve problems and maintain the safety of citizens in Healdsburg, San Bruno and Cloverdale. This experience has helped him to understand the structure and functions of local government. He has also forged important connections with communities within Sonoma County and the State of California to better serve the public. He has promoted sound budget policies that have helped Cloverdale to weather the financial recession. Joe has proven his leadership by serving on many boards and committees including school, fire, and law enforcement. He is best known for his patient and open-minded approach to resolving problems and working cooperatively to better our community.
Joe’s passion, generous spirit, and vision have helped to make Cloverdale a city where residents can enjoy a safe and healthy lifestyle inclusive of all people. I hope you will join me in voting to re-elect Joe Palla to the Cloverdale City Council.
Janet Horrall, Cloverdale
Hit pieces
Editor:   
If you live in the 4th district no doubt you have received at least two scurrilous hit pieces from the Fudge camp attacking Mr. Gore with unfounded allegations and nuances of great malfeasance while he was working for the federal government. All of the attacks have been proved to be untrue.
You would think after reviewing these that they must have been paid for by the Koch Brothers. Whoever thought these mailers were a good idea definitely took a page out of Karl Rove’s book.  
There is no place in Sonoma County for this kind of dirty politics.
Has any thinking person’s mind ever been changed by reading such drivel? Well, yes it has. It did change my mind. I was leaning to Ms. Fudge until I received these mailers. But if this is an example of the sort of cynical and dirty politics she will be bringing to the office of supervisor, she lost my vote.
It is too bad that I will not be voting for Ms. Fudge as I think my politics are more in line with her’s than Mr. Gore’s. But sometimes you need to remember that the personal integrity of a candidate is more important than their politics.
Claude Kennedy, Cloverdale
Supporting Palla
Editor:   
I have had the honor and pleasure of working with Cloverdale City Councilmember Joe Palla on local and regional issues for nearly eight years. His dedication and hard work have impressed me a great deal. He approaches issues and challenges with the desire to have the best outcome the greatest number of people – and he does it with sincerity.
Joe is also having an impact statewide as a recently elected member of the Board of Directors for the League of California Cities. His insight into the challenges we face in our rural communities in Northern California and the way he conveys that message will be very helpful to Cloverdale and our region. At a time when elected officials in bigger cities have a huge influence on statewide policies, it is helpful to have the strong, steady voice of Joe Palla looking out for our interests.
Re-elect Joe Palla on November 4!
Jim Wood, Mayor of Healdsburg
Gore has stayed positive
Editor:   
Like many, I’m disgusted by the several slimy inaccurate mailers slamming James Gore that some “independent” group sent to voters’ mailboxes in recent weeks.  In the four decades that I’ve lived around here, I don’t remember ever seeing their equal, especially in campaigns for local political office. Sadly, hyper-negative attack ads may have become more of the norm across our country for national or state contests, but I don’t like it, especially here, in a non-partisan race for County office.
Whoever created and paid for these clearly have intended to hurt James Gore’s chances to become our next Supervisor to represent Cloverdale and North County residents. Maybe this strategy of negativism is backfiring, and in fact will hurt Gore’s opponent. Ironically, starting last January 15, at Gore’s first meeting before a good-sized group here in Cloverdale (his original home town) and throughout the nine months since then, James Gore has talked about his intention to wage a consistently positive campaign. And over and over he has asked those who volunteer for him to do the same. He has set a positive tone for many exchanges of ideas and opinions at numerous “meet and greets” and presentations, demonstrating how he listens, asks, considers and respects a wide variety of ideas and perspectives. That is exactly how win-win results can be achieved for the greater good, results that tend to be acceptable and work well for the greatest number of persons.
Through his extensive business and administrative leadership experience, James has learned that the best decisions usually go beyond “yes-no” or “us-them” situations. It’s how you craft the solutions, in the details.  
James Gore has the skills, commitment, and high energy to be an effective voice for Cloverdale and North County residents. Local politics really matters, and as Mike McGuire has demonstrated, a very bright hard-working and creative leader who shows up often and listens well can make a very positive difference. James can do that.  
Bob Jordan, Cloverdale