Election 2008: What happens at the bottom of the political food chain
There's a lot of attention being given nationwide to the primaries by the two largest political powers (and much less attention given to other political parties that exist) especially what's been going on with the Democrats. But believe it or not, there's a lot of political positions up for grabs among those trying to well, grab them.
That includes at the lowly county level too, in a little place called Riverside County.
In the District One race for county supervisor, the two candidates have been trading barbs, according to the Press Enterprise. Incumbent Bob Buster has been sending out mailers and challenger and Ward Four City Councilman Frank Schiavone has been talking to voters, well sort of through a series of phone calls which serve mainly as rebuttals to alleged statements made by Buster. The phone calls have elicited more discussion albeit that which has more to the befuddlement of what's exactly being said on the recordings because the sound quality isn't particularly that good. Maybe it has to do with them being long-distance phone calls from a dialer based in Massachusetts.
And what I could make out sounds too much like the same tactic that Schiavone uses at weekly city council meetings where it is all he can do to avoid greeting any public comment that is critical of the city council without a rebuttal, a sign of someone who's not exactly sitting secure in terms of what he's doing and what he's espousing. It's like a child who's unable to say, "but Mommy" to the viewers at home. Even Mayor Ron Loveridge has to occasionally remind city council members to take public input.
It's a trait not shared by anyone else on the dais save Councilman Steve Adams who's preoccupation with telling people that they are lying, liars, have little or no integrity, little or no class and so forth has been fodder for many interesting discussions including by people who watch the meetings at home. This week, most of the criticism was against Adams' dais conduct from last week. It's too soon to determine who will be most heard about this week.
However, the tactic used at city council members by elected officials is not exactly new.
It's also a tactic that's been used by several members of the board of supervisors going back into the last century when people spoke on issues. There were times I spoke at county meetings and couldn't get through a speech without being interrupted although I didn't experience this treatment from either Buster or supervisor, Roy Wilson as they were polite listeners much like Riverside Council members Mike Gardner, Andy Melendrez, Rusty Bailey and Chris MacArthur are now. At the time, another supervisor represented a bulk of Riverside before the most recent redistricting of the county and most of the time, he looked like he was asleep. So when I watch the city council meetings now, it's like seeing what the county meetings used to be like about 10 years ago.
Ironically at the time this was going on in the county was when the city council in Riverside was facing much more emotional turmoil and criticism of its actions than it's ever seen during the past five or so years. Yet not one individual was escorted out of the chambers by police officers (and on one memorable occasion, it was over 200 police officers who themselves were upset) nor were they called liars, told they were lying, told they had no or little class, ethics or whatever. It was much harder to be an elected official back then than it is now. Yet, the current city officials including several who have or are seeking "higher" office have shown through their conduct in quieter times that working in situations like a highly controversial officer-involved shooting would be entirely outside of their apparent scope of abilities to cope with, which makes me doubt that either of them has either the seasoning or the thick skin required in more layers with each step that is climbed up the political ladder.
But it's not just the current city government that has impacted the forum of public expression, their direct employees came into their positions not long before the rules of discourse began to change, including the July 2005 vote to ban city residents from pulling items off of the consent calendar at city council meetings. And an ethics process that was passed by the voters in 2004 that's been used mostly to spank the complainants, who so far have been city residents.
In fact, given that most of the changes to public comment have come in the wake of the current city management team's arrival of here from the county, it seems clear that these strategies have been tried before there. What's interesting is that the city of Colton actually hired a consultant in these fiscally difficult times to evaluate the dynamics of the city government including its behavior at its public meetings. And even though there was little behavior exhibited by those elected officials which was different than that shown by some members of the Riverside City Council, the folks in Colton were told that their behavior was "dysfunctional" by the consultant. But what's seen as "dysfunctional" in Colton perhaps by the elected officials themselves is simply business as usual in Riverside
What remains to be seen is how those in Colton handle receiving that and other assessments of how they do business in public and what they do with it. But at least they are addressing it and have expressed a desire to work on these issues. But given that one of them, the mayor, is facing three candidates in a recall election on June 3, maybe they've become more motivated to engage in self-examination and improvement.
As a person who remember has been told that I have no ethics by the the councilman and not so by the supervisor, I wish that these elections could be decided on dais decorum by the respective candidates because then it would be no contest. However, it's very important to stick to the issues and that's what I've been trying to focus upon in my analysis. Why? Because hopefully despite the advertising that's what most of the voters will do. The position that's up is one where many important decisions are made and it's up to the electorate to vote for the candidate they believe can best fulfill the challenges and responsibilities of the position.
Newswriter Kimberly Trone tries hard to sort out the facts from the hyperbole from the respective candidates. But what's missing? What about discussing the issues?
(excerpt, Press Enterprise)
Half-truths are common in political advertisements, said Tracy Westen, chief executive officer for the nonpartisan Center for Governmental Studies in Los Angeles, a political think tank.
Westen advises voters to educate themselves about candidates' records using objective resources rather than relying on mailers and recorded messages from campaign headquarters.
"Voters should be very skeptical of one-sided presentations because that's what they are," Westen said.
A recent mailer of Buster's, for example, criticized Schiavone for voting last year to raise rates at the city's municipal electric utility.
Schiavone fired back in an automated telephone message, telling voters that Buster knows the city's utility board is responsible for setting electric rates.
However, Schiavone did not reveal the City Council must -- and did -- approve those rate increases.
Schiavone eventually led a successful effort to rescind the rate increases because he said the council's initial decision was based on flawed information.
Weston raises some very good points in comments about how candidates should get the message out. Through events including forums. Through visiting constituents. Through canvassing. Televise them on cable. Put them on the internet. Take the measures to put the information out there so even those who can't attend events can receive information.
A major issue in a huge section of District One which sits in Riverside, the Orangecrest and Mission Grove areas, is the ongoing nightmare of the DHL not-so-successful story, otherwise known as NoiseGate. Both Buster and Schiavone serve on the March Joint Powers Authority and both cast many similar votes but Buster cast the right one on one of the days it counted and if others had joined him, then there would be no need for the Riverside City Council to grandiosely announce plans to sue the air freight company during an election year. The lies and deception that became an intrinsic part of the process of bringing DHL to Riverside County and seating it hear not to mention the concerns and then later pleas of people living in any one of an assortment of flight paths were ignored while every politician on the MJPA except one kept telling them that the night flights would not disturb their sleep, even while that was exactly what was happening.
Which is why Buster's earlier votes while in some cases ill-advised and not deserving of a free pass still don't put him in a comparable position to others on the MJPA who voted DHL, all the way even if it meant trampling on their constituents. And as it turned out, the experiment to expand DHL's domestic operations through utilizing March as a hub, failed and DHL was soon enough $900 million in the red. And it was at that point that discussions about lawsuits began to be heard, because DHL wasn't quite the Goliath it had been made out to be.
What's interesting also is how Buster's being called a "career politician" and yes, Buster is the longest serving board of supervisor currently serving but the person who's calling him that is what, a career politician in training? After all, Schiavone first ran for Ward Four four years before he won the seat, losing narrowly to incumbent Maureen Kane. He's served on the Riverside City Council and is interrupting his second term to run for another, some might say "higher" political office much like Adams had done two years earlier during his ill-fated run for state assembly. The city council in Riverside has fought harder for higher salaries for itself, arguing that public service in government is tantamount to a career or at least full-time job as opposed to the part-time job so it's a bit ironic to hear this criticism raised.
Other major issues include the budget of both the City of Riverside and Riverside County in terms of how they will be equipped to handle the budget crisis up in Sacramento that's gushing down, not trickling, into the local governments. Did you know for example that the fledgling mental health crisis intervention training program that's been created and implemented by the Riverside Police Department could be adversely impacted by possible cuts to the county's budget in the areas of mental health care? That's one of many different ways county money or lack of it can impact a city that is part of it.
Do you really believe the assertions that the budget status of Riverside, the city, is more healthy than that in cities around it? Do you believe that the city's decision to move forward with Riverside Renaissance is fiscally sound? Do you have any questions about the budget?
Does anyone really know where all the funding put to renovate the Lincoln Field Operations Station really came from? Did the city council in Riverside ever request an audit done of the capital project, the Magnolia Police Station, in the wake of what happened with its project director who tried to embezzle money from the funding to pay for personal landscaping services?
There's many more issues impacting both Riverside, the city and Riverside, the county but everyone who is casting a vote in this crucial election which falls in the shadow of a presidential year but matters every bit as much, should educate themselves on the issues impacting their lives and the candidates' positions on them and if possible, ask the questions of the candidates themselves and listen for answers both through words but most importantly, actions. Talk to people around you about these issues and the candidates. And most of all, vote or if you're not registered, do so.
Buster is allegedly spending from a larger campaign chest but having received a campaign fundraiser mailer from the Schiavone campaign, I can say that his partial list of endorsers is quite impressive. It includes a chunk of the current city government including Loveridge, Adams as well as former city council members, Ed Adkison and Dom Betro. Also included are three well-heeled labor unions, the Riverside Sheriffs' Association, the Riverside Fire Fighters' Association and the Riverside Police Officers' Association. Not to mention Riverside's police chief, its former interim city manager, a current Community Police Review Commissioner and a host of other people. Any and all of who are more than capable if feeling generous to provide more than adequate funds for that latter election season push.
The task force that's convened to research the expansion of both the downtown library and the museum is headed or most heavily influenced by three White men. The only surprise is that apparently that's still news in Riverside. Hopefully, individuals who are interested in how this situation plays out will keep paying attention and attend the meetings. Because after all when the cats are away, the mice will play, meaning that if the community residents want to be heard on issues impacting their lives, it's not just a matter of speaking once, or attending one meeting, it's speaking out often and attending many meetings. It's discussing these issues outside of the meetings with other city residents and writing letters and sending emails to politicians and letter forums. If the voting constituents of political officials are quiet, then the clanging of the money from the out-of-town developers is just that much louder.
Also in the works are design plans for Tequesquite Park. You know the park that was nearly carved up and sold off to private developers to serve as some cash reserve fund for Riverside Renaissance. One former councilman realized the error of his ways albeit too late and is now employed some place else. Everything stated for following the situation involving the twin renovation projects downtown applies doubly so here, because after all they did almost sell off a portion of this community park to developers for some quick cash. And don't forget about the planned renovations for Fairmount Park which might actually see some development. s well. Never a dull moment in Riverside.
Here comes Indio, which has laid claim to the title, "City of the Festivals". Certainly the city most worthy of that title in Riverside County.
And here's some bad news for Republicans. The registration rates for new ones is declining.
Who will become the new superintendent for Riverside Unified School District? That's something that the school board will be discussing.
(excerpt, Press Enterprise)
Lew Vanderzyl, the board's longest-tenured member who was serving when the district hired Rainey in July 1998, said he would expect her successor to demonstrate intelligence, sound judgment and the ability to take initiative and deal with complex issues or circumstances.
Beaty, Vanderzyl and Gayle Cloud -- the board's three most senior members -- said there had been no pressure on Rainey from the board to step down. The three praised Rainey for, among other things, the management team that she brought in and for her leadership during an era when Riverside Unified and other school districts increasingly had to account to the state and federal governments for students' test scores.
"I have worked with seven superintendents," said Vanderzyl, a former Riverside Unified teacher and principal. "I think she was, by far, the best of them."
The school board is also trying to undo some of its proposed budget cuts. Of course, that doesn't include reversing the decision to shut down Grant Elementary School.
The board will be holding a budget session on Monday, April 29 at 4:30 p.m.
The Atlanta Police Department in Georgia is searching for new police officers.
(excerpt, Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
To get a leg up, the Atlanta department's recruitment unit is making moves. Several weeks ago, it hired an advertising agency to "brand" its image — believed to be the first such move in the department's history. Recruiters are also thinking local first, holding more job fairs at the police headquarters, and more carefully choosing when to go out of state to recruit. "With the nationwide competition for hiring, we wanted to look at bringing in an expert in advertising and marketing," said Lt. Elder Dancy, who runs Atlanta's recruitment unit of 17 officers. "We definitely felt like we had a good year last year, but we wanted to take it up to a higher level."
In 2007 the department hired 251 new recruits, compared with 204 in 2006 and 138 in 2005. But it also lost 478 officers in those three years. With 52 vacant officer positions, the department's goal this year is 300 new recruits. To make it happen, officials estimate they'll need at least 4,000 applicants — about 1,000 more than last year.
About 90 percent of applicants get weeded out during the hiring process, Dancy said. There are a host of reasons: having criminal convictions, lying to recruiters about drug use or being fired from a previous job, for instance.
The recruiting is taking place amid comments by federal prosecutors that corruption within this department is widespread. A trial has started involving a police officer who was charged with several felonies in connection with the fatal onduty shooting of Kathryn Johnston, 92, who was killed in her own home by narcotics officers who falsified a warrant to break in.
Sgt. Wilbert Stallings plead guilty last month to conspiring to violate a person's civil rights by entering into their residence without a warrant.
(excerpt, Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
After a hearing before federal Judge Julie Carnes, U.S. Attorney David E. Nahmias called the actions of Stallings and his unit a "blatant" rights violation. He also said it was part of a pattern that led to the 2006 botched raid in which 92-year-old Kathryn Johnston was shot and killed in her northwest Atlanta home.
"What we've said is they developed on the team a [pattern] of breaking the rules and bending the rules that ultimately crossed over into the breaking and bending of the Constitution," Nahmias said. "That ultimately is a crime."
The charge against Stallings was an outgrowth of the Johnston investigation, Nahmias said. Stallings supervised the unit in the botched raid but wasn't charged in the case.
Prosecutors said that in October 2005, Stallings led a narcotics team executing a search warrant at an apartment on Dill Road in Atlanta.
Also on the team was Gregg Junnier, one of two narcotics officers who have pleaded guilty to charges in Johnston's death. Junnier had obtained the warrant for one apartment in the 2005 incident, prosecutors said. The team found some marijuana behind the apartment but not inside, they said. Stallings and Junnier then decided to search an adjoining apartment, but no one was home and they found nothing inside.
Stallings told the team to leave the apartment and shut the door so it would appear there had been a break-in, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors argued that the incident was part of a pattern of conduct by Stallings and his team, which included misrepresenting unregistered drug informants as registered ones in order to secure warrants.
Stallings and his lawyer declined to comment on the plea.
More information on the Stallings' case here. It's anticipated by federal prosecutors that more similar criminal charges will be filed in other cases as the probe into Atlanta Police Department continues.
Sean Bell's father along with other people awaits the judge's decision on the outcome of the trial of three New York City Police Department officers which will be released this Friday, April 25. Many people anticipate that the officers will be acquitted of the charges and there has been calls for the federal government to file civil rights violations charges.
(excerpt, New York Daily News)
"If it's necessary," William Bell insisted at a police brutality forum at the Canaan Baptist Church of Christ in Harlem. "If it makes them go to jail."
Leroy Gadsden of the NAACP said the Bell case cries out for federal attention.
"If there's ever been a case of civil rights violations, this case speaks to that," he said. "We look forward to justice. If not justice on Friday, wherever the road may lead."
William Bell made his plea four days before Queens Supreme Court Justice Arthur Cooperman was expected to announce his verdict.
Former federal prosecutor Kenneth Thompson, who delivered the opening statement in the trial of the cops accused of torturing Abner Louima, said the Justice Department is likely to review the case in the event of an acquittal.
He said the severity of the 50-shot barrage, coupled with community outrage, could persuade them to try the cops for violating "Sean Bell's civil rights."
At any rate, New York City's preparing for protests after the verdict is delivered by the judge.
(excerpt, WNBC-TV)
The New York Police Department has downplayed reports that 1,000 officers will be deployed outside the courthouse in Queens and also near the spot where Sean Bell was killed hours before his wedding.
NYPD spokesman Paul Browne declined to specify any plans. The department, though "always ready for any eventuality," doesn't expect serious trouble, he said.
The mood has been tempered by several factors. Racial tensions in the city are low compared to the Diallo era, when then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani had poor relations with the black community. And in the Bell case, two of the officers are black, making it less racially charged.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg has said he believes calm will prevail after the verdict.
"My expectation is that no matter what the decision is, everybody will act in a dignified manner no matter what they think," the mayor said.
Here are some very good resources addressing women in policing.
National Center for Women and Policing "Equality Denied" reports for the following years.
(reports are in pdf format 2000, 2001)
2001
2000
1999
1998
1997
Other links from Women and Policing are here including the "bible" on recruiting and retaining women in law enforcement. It's pdf file and about 152 pages long. It's written by Penny Harrington and Kim Lonsway as well as other men and women including those in law enforcement.
That includes at the lowly county level too, in a little place called Riverside County.
In the District One race for county supervisor, the two candidates have been trading barbs, according to the Press Enterprise. Incumbent Bob Buster has been sending out mailers and challenger and Ward Four City Councilman Frank Schiavone has been talking to voters, well sort of through a series of phone calls which serve mainly as rebuttals to alleged statements made by Buster. The phone calls have elicited more discussion albeit that which has more to the befuddlement of what's exactly being said on the recordings because the sound quality isn't particularly that good. Maybe it has to do with them being long-distance phone calls from a dialer based in Massachusetts.
And what I could make out sounds too much like the same tactic that Schiavone uses at weekly city council meetings where it is all he can do to avoid greeting any public comment that is critical of the city council without a rebuttal, a sign of someone who's not exactly sitting secure in terms of what he's doing and what he's espousing. It's like a child who's unable to say, "but Mommy" to the viewers at home. Even Mayor Ron Loveridge has to occasionally remind city council members to take public input.
It's a trait not shared by anyone else on the dais save Councilman Steve Adams who's preoccupation with telling people that they are lying, liars, have little or no integrity, little or no class and so forth has been fodder for many interesting discussions including by people who watch the meetings at home. This week, most of the criticism was against Adams' dais conduct from last week. It's too soon to determine who will be most heard about this week.
However, the tactic used at city council members by elected officials is not exactly new.
It's also a tactic that's been used by several members of the board of supervisors going back into the last century when people spoke on issues. There were times I spoke at county meetings and couldn't get through a speech without being interrupted although I didn't experience this treatment from either Buster or supervisor, Roy Wilson as they were polite listeners much like Riverside Council members Mike Gardner, Andy Melendrez, Rusty Bailey and Chris MacArthur are now. At the time, another supervisor represented a bulk of Riverside before the most recent redistricting of the county and most of the time, he looked like he was asleep. So when I watch the city council meetings now, it's like seeing what the county meetings used to be like about 10 years ago.
Ironically at the time this was going on in the county was when the city council in Riverside was facing much more emotional turmoil and criticism of its actions than it's ever seen during the past five or so years. Yet not one individual was escorted out of the chambers by police officers (and on one memorable occasion, it was over 200 police officers who themselves were upset) nor were they called liars, told they were lying, told they had no or little class, ethics or whatever. It was much harder to be an elected official back then than it is now. Yet, the current city officials including several who have or are seeking "higher" office have shown through their conduct in quieter times that working in situations like a highly controversial officer-involved shooting would be entirely outside of their apparent scope of abilities to cope with, which makes me doubt that either of them has either the seasoning or the thick skin required in more layers with each step that is climbed up the political ladder.
But it's not just the current city government that has impacted the forum of public expression, their direct employees came into their positions not long before the rules of discourse began to change, including the July 2005 vote to ban city residents from pulling items off of the consent calendar at city council meetings. And an ethics process that was passed by the voters in 2004 that's been used mostly to spank the complainants, who so far have been city residents.
In fact, given that most of the changes to public comment have come in the wake of the current city management team's arrival of here from the county, it seems clear that these strategies have been tried before there. What's interesting is that the city of Colton actually hired a consultant in these fiscally difficult times to evaluate the dynamics of the city government including its behavior at its public meetings. And even though there was little behavior exhibited by those elected officials which was different than that shown by some members of the Riverside City Council, the folks in Colton were told that their behavior was "dysfunctional" by the consultant. But what's seen as "dysfunctional" in Colton perhaps by the elected officials themselves is simply business as usual in Riverside
What remains to be seen is how those in Colton handle receiving that and other assessments of how they do business in public and what they do with it. But at least they are addressing it and have expressed a desire to work on these issues. But given that one of them, the mayor, is facing three candidates in a recall election on June 3, maybe they've become more motivated to engage in self-examination and improvement.
As a person who remember has been told that I have no ethics by the the councilman and not so by the supervisor, I wish that these elections could be decided on dais decorum by the respective candidates because then it would be no contest. However, it's very important to stick to the issues and that's what I've been trying to focus upon in my analysis. Why? Because hopefully despite the advertising that's what most of the voters will do. The position that's up is one where many important decisions are made and it's up to the electorate to vote for the candidate they believe can best fulfill the challenges and responsibilities of the position.
Newswriter Kimberly Trone tries hard to sort out the facts from the hyperbole from the respective candidates. But what's missing? What about discussing the issues?
(excerpt, Press Enterprise)
Half-truths are common in political advertisements, said Tracy Westen, chief executive officer for the nonpartisan Center for Governmental Studies in Los Angeles, a political think tank.
Westen advises voters to educate themselves about candidates' records using objective resources rather than relying on mailers and recorded messages from campaign headquarters.
"Voters should be very skeptical of one-sided presentations because that's what they are," Westen said.
A recent mailer of Buster's, for example, criticized Schiavone for voting last year to raise rates at the city's municipal electric utility.
Schiavone fired back in an automated telephone message, telling voters that Buster knows the city's utility board is responsible for setting electric rates.
However, Schiavone did not reveal the City Council must -- and did -- approve those rate increases.
Schiavone eventually led a successful effort to rescind the rate increases because he said the council's initial decision was based on flawed information.
Weston raises some very good points in comments about how candidates should get the message out. Through events including forums. Through visiting constituents. Through canvassing. Televise them on cable. Put them on the internet. Take the measures to put the information out there so even those who can't attend events can receive information.
A major issue in a huge section of District One which sits in Riverside, the Orangecrest and Mission Grove areas, is the ongoing nightmare of the DHL not-so-successful story, otherwise known as NoiseGate. Both Buster and Schiavone serve on the March Joint Powers Authority and both cast many similar votes but Buster cast the right one on one of the days it counted and if others had joined him, then there would be no need for the Riverside City Council to grandiosely announce plans to sue the air freight company during an election year. The lies and deception that became an intrinsic part of the process of bringing DHL to Riverside County and seating it hear not to mention the concerns and then later pleas of people living in any one of an assortment of flight paths were ignored while every politician on the MJPA except one kept telling them that the night flights would not disturb their sleep, even while that was exactly what was happening.
Which is why Buster's earlier votes while in some cases ill-advised and not deserving of a free pass still don't put him in a comparable position to others on the MJPA who voted DHL, all the way even if it meant trampling on their constituents. And as it turned out, the experiment to expand DHL's domestic operations through utilizing March as a hub, failed and DHL was soon enough $900 million in the red. And it was at that point that discussions about lawsuits began to be heard, because DHL wasn't quite the Goliath it had been made out to be.
What's interesting also is how Buster's being called a "career politician" and yes, Buster is the longest serving board of supervisor currently serving but the person who's calling him that is what, a career politician in training? After all, Schiavone first ran for Ward Four four years before he won the seat, losing narrowly to incumbent Maureen Kane. He's served on the Riverside City Council and is interrupting his second term to run for another, some might say "higher" political office much like Adams had done two years earlier during his ill-fated run for state assembly. The city council in Riverside has fought harder for higher salaries for itself, arguing that public service in government is tantamount to a career or at least full-time job as opposed to the part-time job so it's a bit ironic to hear this criticism raised.
Other major issues include the budget of both the City of Riverside and Riverside County in terms of how they will be equipped to handle the budget crisis up in Sacramento that's gushing down, not trickling, into the local governments. Did you know for example that the fledgling mental health crisis intervention training program that's been created and implemented by the Riverside Police Department could be adversely impacted by possible cuts to the county's budget in the areas of mental health care? That's one of many different ways county money or lack of it can impact a city that is part of it.
Do you really believe the assertions that the budget status of Riverside, the city, is more healthy than that in cities around it? Do you believe that the city's decision to move forward with Riverside Renaissance is fiscally sound? Do you have any questions about the budget?
Does anyone really know where all the funding put to renovate the Lincoln Field Operations Station really came from? Did the city council in Riverside ever request an audit done of the capital project, the Magnolia Police Station, in the wake of what happened with its project director who tried to embezzle money from the funding to pay for personal landscaping services?
There's many more issues impacting both Riverside, the city and Riverside, the county but everyone who is casting a vote in this crucial election which falls in the shadow of a presidential year but matters every bit as much, should educate themselves on the issues impacting their lives and the candidates' positions on them and if possible, ask the questions of the candidates themselves and listen for answers both through words but most importantly, actions. Talk to people around you about these issues and the candidates. And most of all, vote or if you're not registered, do so.
Buster is allegedly spending from a larger campaign chest but having received a campaign fundraiser mailer from the Schiavone campaign, I can say that his partial list of endorsers is quite impressive. It includes a chunk of the current city government including Loveridge, Adams as well as former city council members, Ed Adkison and Dom Betro. Also included are three well-heeled labor unions, the Riverside Sheriffs' Association, the Riverside Fire Fighters' Association and the Riverside Police Officers' Association. Not to mention Riverside's police chief, its former interim city manager, a current Community Police Review Commissioner and a host of other people. Any and all of who are more than capable if feeling generous to provide more than adequate funds for that latter election season push.
The task force that's convened to research the expansion of both the downtown library and the museum is headed or most heavily influenced by three White men. The only surprise is that apparently that's still news in Riverside. Hopefully, individuals who are interested in how this situation plays out will keep paying attention and attend the meetings. Because after all when the cats are away, the mice will play, meaning that if the community residents want to be heard on issues impacting their lives, it's not just a matter of speaking once, or attending one meeting, it's speaking out often and attending many meetings. It's discussing these issues outside of the meetings with other city residents and writing letters and sending emails to politicians and letter forums. If the voting constituents of political officials are quiet, then the clanging of the money from the out-of-town developers is just that much louder.
Also in the works are design plans for Tequesquite Park. You know the park that was nearly carved up and sold off to private developers to serve as some cash reserve fund for Riverside Renaissance. One former councilman realized the error of his ways albeit too late and is now employed some place else. Everything stated for following the situation involving the twin renovation projects downtown applies doubly so here, because after all they did almost sell off a portion of this community park to developers for some quick cash. And don't forget about the planned renovations for Fairmount Park which might actually see some development. s well. Never a dull moment in Riverside.
Here comes Indio, which has laid claim to the title, "City of the Festivals". Certainly the city most worthy of that title in Riverside County.
And here's some bad news for Republicans. The registration rates for new ones is declining.
Who will become the new superintendent for Riverside Unified School District? That's something that the school board will be discussing.
(excerpt, Press Enterprise)
Lew Vanderzyl, the board's longest-tenured member who was serving when the district hired Rainey in July 1998, said he would expect her successor to demonstrate intelligence, sound judgment and the ability to take initiative and deal with complex issues or circumstances.
Beaty, Vanderzyl and Gayle Cloud -- the board's three most senior members -- said there had been no pressure on Rainey from the board to step down. The three praised Rainey for, among other things, the management team that she brought in and for her leadership during an era when Riverside Unified and other school districts increasingly had to account to the state and federal governments for students' test scores.
"I have worked with seven superintendents," said Vanderzyl, a former Riverside Unified teacher and principal. "I think she was, by far, the best of them."
The school board is also trying to undo some of its proposed budget cuts. Of course, that doesn't include reversing the decision to shut down Grant Elementary School.
The board will be holding a budget session on Monday, April 29 at 4:30 p.m.
The Atlanta Police Department in Georgia is searching for new police officers.
(excerpt, Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
To get a leg up, the Atlanta department's recruitment unit is making moves. Several weeks ago, it hired an advertising agency to "brand" its image — believed to be the first such move in the department's history. Recruiters are also thinking local first, holding more job fairs at the police headquarters, and more carefully choosing when to go out of state to recruit. "With the nationwide competition for hiring, we wanted to look at bringing in an expert in advertising and marketing," said Lt. Elder Dancy, who runs Atlanta's recruitment unit of 17 officers. "We definitely felt like we had a good year last year, but we wanted to take it up to a higher level."
In 2007 the department hired 251 new recruits, compared with 204 in 2006 and 138 in 2005. But it also lost 478 officers in those three years. With 52 vacant officer positions, the department's goal this year is 300 new recruits. To make it happen, officials estimate they'll need at least 4,000 applicants — about 1,000 more than last year.
About 90 percent of applicants get weeded out during the hiring process, Dancy said. There are a host of reasons: having criminal convictions, lying to recruiters about drug use or being fired from a previous job, for instance.
The recruiting is taking place amid comments by federal prosecutors that corruption within this department is widespread. A trial has started involving a police officer who was charged with several felonies in connection with the fatal onduty shooting of Kathryn Johnston, 92, who was killed in her own home by narcotics officers who falsified a warrant to break in.
Sgt. Wilbert Stallings plead guilty last month to conspiring to violate a person's civil rights by entering into their residence without a warrant.
(excerpt, Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
After a hearing before federal Judge Julie Carnes, U.S. Attorney David E. Nahmias called the actions of Stallings and his unit a "blatant" rights violation. He also said it was part of a pattern that led to the 2006 botched raid in which 92-year-old Kathryn Johnston was shot and killed in her northwest Atlanta home.
"What we've said is they developed on the team a [pattern] of breaking the rules and bending the rules that ultimately crossed over into the breaking and bending of the Constitution," Nahmias said. "That ultimately is a crime."
The charge against Stallings was an outgrowth of the Johnston investigation, Nahmias said. Stallings supervised the unit in the botched raid but wasn't charged in the case.
Prosecutors said that in October 2005, Stallings led a narcotics team executing a search warrant at an apartment on Dill Road in Atlanta.
Also on the team was Gregg Junnier, one of two narcotics officers who have pleaded guilty to charges in Johnston's death. Junnier had obtained the warrant for one apartment in the 2005 incident, prosecutors said. The team found some marijuana behind the apartment but not inside, they said. Stallings and Junnier then decided to search an adjoining apartment, but no one was home and they found nothing inside.
Stallings told the team to leave the apartment and shut the door so it would appear there had been a break-in, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors argued that the incident was part of a pattern of conduct by Stallings and his team, which included misrepresenting unregistered drug informants as registered ones in order to secure warrants.
Stallings and his lawyer declined to comment on the plea.
More information on the Stallings' case here. It's anticipated by federal prosecutors that more similar criminal charges will be filed in other cases as the probe into Atlanta Police Department continues.
Sean Bell's father along with other people awaits the judge's decision on the outcome of the trial of three New York City Police Department officers which will be released this Friday, April 25. Many people anticipate that the officers will be acquitted of the charges and there has been calls for the federal government to file civil rights violations charges.
(excerpt, New York Daily News)
"If it's necessary," William Bell insisted at a police brutality forum at the Canaan Baptist Church of Christ in Harlem. "If it makes them go to jail."
Leroy Gadsden of the NAACP said the Bell case cries out for federal attention.
"If there's ever been a case of civil rights violations, this case speaks to that," he said. "We look forward to justice. If not justice on Friday, wherever the road may lead."
William Bell made his plea four days before Queens Supreme Court Justice Arthur Cooperman was expected to announce his verdict.
Former federal prosecutor Kenneth Thompson, who delivered the opening statement in the trial of the cops accused of torturing Abner Louima, said the Justice Department is likely to review the case in the event of an acquittal.
He said the severity of the 50-shot barrage, coupled with community outrage, could persuade them to try the cops for violating "Sean Bell's civil rights."
At any rate, New York City's preparing for protests after the verdict is delivered by the judge.
(excerpt, WNBC-TV)
The New York Police Department has downplayed reports that 1,000 officers will be deployed outside the courthouse in Queens and also near the spot where Sean Bell was killed hours before his wedding.
NYPD spokesman Paul Browne declined to specify any plans. The department, though "always ready for any eventuality," doesn't expect serious trouble, he said.
The mood has been tempered by several factors. Racial tensions in the city are low compared to the Diallo era, when then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani had poor relations with the black community. And in the Bell case, two of the officers are black, making it less racially charged.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg has said he believes calm will prevail after the verdict.
"My expectation is that no matter what the decision is, everybody will act in a dignified manner no matter what they think," the mayor said.
Here are some very good resources addressing women in policing.
National Center for Women and Policing "Equality Denied" reports for the following years.
(reports are in pdf format 2000, 2001)
2001
2000
1999
1998
1997
Other links from Women and Policing are here including the "bible" on recruiting and retaining women in law enforcement. It's pdf file and about 152 pages long. It's written by Penny Harrington and Kim Lonsway as well as other men and women including those in law enforcement.
Labels: City Hall 101, officer-involved shootings, recruitment, sexism costs
posted by Five Before Midnight | 2:02 PM
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