The Riehl World: Guardian of the Status Quo

by Richard J. Riehl on November 20, 2009

Bill HornOn his Web site’s home page, San Diego County Supervisor Bill Horn explains his personal political philosophy about government and public debt. Quoting himself first, then Lincoln and Jefferson, he congratulates himself for having the honor of serving as an “elected guardian of our County.”

In law, a guardian is defined as someone assigned by the court to be responsible for the care and management of the person or property of a minor or of someone of unsound mind. The word is also sometimes used to describe a defender of public morals.

Maybe that explains Horn’s crusade against teens checking out R-rated DVDs from their public libraries, medical marijuana, and allowing disabled persons to ride publicly subsidized buses to visit casinos.

Assuming most elected officials are in favor of democracy and opposed to public debt, what sets Horn apart is that he evidently thinks of his constituents as either children or incompetents.
In May 2008, Horn launched a crusade against the media on his Web site. “For the Record” was intended to correct the “distortions, innuendos, misstatements, bias or lies” about him in the press. Over the last year and a half, he’s rebuked the media on only two issues: his role in planning a road project in Valley Center, and the questioning of his use of Community Projects funding, now known as the Neighborhood Reinvestment Program.

Two of the projects Horn has supported for funding caught my attention as small examples of why there continue to be questions about the program and why simply renaming it won’t fix it.

Over the past two years, Horn pushed through grants amounting to $8,500 to pay for ammunition, food, transportation and accommodations for the Santa Margarita Gun Club’s trips to a national youth gun tournament in Ohio. I could find no other instance of funding for youth club travel to national tournaments.

Carlsbad High School’s Lancer Dancers need money to help them get to the national championships in Florida this year. Seems to me if gun clubs qualify, dancers might.

The Old Globe Theatre received $15,000 to subsidize an event called “Rancho Santa Fe Night.” The theater isn’t located in Horn’s district, but Rancho Santa Fe voters are.

In an Oct. 14 press release about a grant project in Valley Center, Horn boasts, “I was honored to approve Neighborhood Reinvestment Grants from our discretionary District 5 fund …” The routine rubber stamp of his board colleagues evidently allows Horn to continue to promote the grants as his discretionary cash.

Two months ago, in a unanimous vote, county supervisors agreed to include a standard application for the grants on each of their Web sites.

To this date, Horn’s Web site contains neither a description of the program nor a link to an application. You have to e-mail his legislative aide to find out about it.

Perhaps a better name for this slush fund would be the County Supervisors Incumbency Reinvestment Program, making the Fifth District’s self-styled guardian of the status quo the perfect poster child for term limits.

Richard J Riehl writes from Carlsbad. Contact him at RiehlWorld2@yahoo.com.

{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }

Thomas K. Arnold November 21, 2009 at 7:19 pm

One of Riehl’s best columns. Great writing, great point of view, and great closing line.

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