Supervisor Bill Horn’s second hit piece in two weeks landed in the mailbox the same day my absentee ballot arrived. The incumbent is using fear to keep his job for another eight years, when the new term limits law his scandal-plagued career inspired will prevent him from becoming supervisor for life. Horn’s desperate attack on his opponent, Steve Gronke, is a good example of why voters should disregard all negative campaigning in the weeks leading up to an election. It spurred me to cast my vote a month before the polls open.
In Carlsbad, North County’s Brigadoon, the campaign has been unusually civil up until now, with candidates touting their qualifications, rather than trumpeting the shortcomings of their opponents.
Mayoral candidate Matt Hall’s latest mailer refers to his opponent as “freshman councilman Keith Blackburn,” the “only council member to oppose (pension) reforms.” Well, that’s stretching the truth a bit. Blackburn is in his second year on the council, technically making him a sophomore, and he did not exactly oppose reforms.
Follow the jump for the rest of the story.
He said he had no problem with reducing retirement benefits for new city employees, but he voted against singling out safety employees without considering the impact it might have in hiring and retaining them in a competitive local market. He is opposed to Proposition G that would give the council the power only to reduce benefits. Raising them could be done only by a vote of the people. That’s a win-win solution for incumbents who are elected to represent the people, but want to avoid hard decisions by turning them over to those who know the least about them. Blackburn’s right on both counts.
But Hall’s slight truth-stretching comes nowhere near the level of a smear campaign.
Since there’s still a month to go before the election and there’s ample time for the mudslinging to begin, here’s how I voted yesterday.
Blackburn is my clear choice for mayor. Yes, he’s been on the council for only two years, but that’s a good thing. I’ve been following the video-taped council meetings on the web during that time and Blackburn and Kulchin always seem to ask the smartest questions of staff and others who come before the council.
He and Kulchin were right about the swim complex. Had their view prevailed, Alga Norte would be under construction by now. Hall, Packard and Lewis kept that from happening. Do you suppose it’s just an election-year coincidence that the three of them joined Blackburn and Kulchin to vote to go ahead with plans for construction at the council’s September 28 meeting?
Yes, indeed, the good old boys have been good stewards of the city’s coffers, but leadership calls for more than simple stewardship.
Blackburn may be the rookie on the council, but his intelligence, educational background, service to the community, business experience, willingness to listen, and dedication to making a wealthy city even more responsive to the needs of its citizens, makes him the best candidate.
Farrah Douglas is my choice for one of the open council positions. Her unusually active experience in city government and the business community will enable her to be immediately aware of the issues facing the council. She, too, was right about Alga Norte. The money to build the swim complex was there two years ago. She was also the most articulate candidate at the forum I attended. Finally, she’ll bring gender and cultural diversity to a council badly in need of it.
My only reservation about her is her participation in the tea party events. She doesn’t strike me as someone who’s angry and believes government is the enemy. But that didn’t keep me from casting my vote for her.
Jon Wantz is my choice for the other seat on the council. He’s new to the city, but that, too is a good thing. He has the most ambitious and creative list of goals for the city with regard to attracting small business to Carlsbad, and his youth is an important element that’s been missing in a group of mostly good old boys. His service in the military required the development of leadership skills.
Wantz is far more articulate than Councilman Packard, whose questions at council meetings are remarkably shallow, and who, as a member of the North County Transit District board, cast the lone vote against installing a safety device for local railways required by the federal government. He claimed it was a symbolic vote against big government.
Take a good look at the websites and mailers of all the candidates and attend the voter forums. I think you’ll find that Hall and Packard are mostly about the past. Blackburn, Douglas and Wantz are about the future.
Richard Riehl writes from Carlsbad. Contact him at fogcutter1@yahoo.com
http://theriehlworld.blogspot.com/
RSS Feed-Posts
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
First term is FRESHMAN, whether year 1 or year 2. I watch the council meetings, too. Keith is like a deer in the headlights most of the time and is famous for “agreeing with the questions” another council member has asked, followed by a re-asking of the questions, “just to be clear on the answers”. Sorry. I prefer experience actually running a City, including all the County roles involved, than a FRESHMAN councilman who has little to offer at the actual council meetings. I watch, yes I do. VOTE: Hall, Douglas, Packard.
THAT’S THE WINNING COMBO THAT I’M VOTING FOR!!!
“He said he had no problem with reducing retirement benefits for new city employees”
Of course he said that. If he said “I can’t wait to vote huge raises and pension increases for public employees” he’d lose by a landslide.
But if he’s for reducing pay and benefits to public employees, why are the public employees unions supporting him and his campaign?
Use your head, follow the money.