I oftentimes get so frustrated with the cornmash that passes for public discussion Downtown, I’ll admit – I’ve avoided meetings because I just can’t stomach any more.
You have to listen to people like Valerie Reddeman, owner of the flopped business Green Feet, lecturing about how everybody else should behave. You have to listen to the “Emily Latellas” – people who obviously haven’t read the agendas or reports and don’t really understand the subject at hand but insist on blathering on for their three minutes of absolute attention – thank you singing bag lady! Last night we got our own local version of The Voice!
If you’re lucky, you will be there when somebody gets up there and tells it like it is. Last night that was Sue Hubbard. Sue stood up against the bag ban, telling council and the assembled bag-ban groupies how sick she is of watching her town run into the dirt by a bunch of self-aggrandizing egomaniacs.
Sue goes to the meetings regularly, so she knows what she’s saying. These meetings are frustrating. Certain council members don’t listen to the public, and make no bones about that. Andy Holcombe has actually admitted that he makes his mind up previous to a meeting and nothing the public has to say is going to affect him. Last night he tried to derail a conversation I had requested be agendized, regarding the placement of tax increase measures on the ballot, by pretending not to understand what I was asking for.
Thanks to Sue, who stood up during “Business from the Floor” and asked them to honor my request. And I stood up. And then the crickets chirped. I thought we were dead.
But then Mark Sorensen came roaring in, reminding everybody, there’s THREE possible taxes coming round (like some rough beast) on the June ballot – including that phone tax I was talking about – and Sorensen suggested there should be some kind of public discussion regarding the nuts and bolts of deadlines, etc.
And, along came little Ann – butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth! – to agree with Sorensen!
So, while they aren’t agendizing any big to-doo about it, the city attorney is going to write up a little “informational” ditty to be included on an upcoming agenda explaining the process we are about to watch unfold. I’ll get that as soon as I can.
I’d like to dedicate this blog to Sue. Here’s one of my favorite songs by Johnny Cash:
This is from San Quentin, and the song is so new you can see him reading his notes as he sings.
“I tell you I’ve fought tougher men, but I really can’t remember when…” Go Sue!
Chico Taxpayers Association 
Thanks Juanita. I like that song too. At the last April 15th Tea Party rally, they introduced me playing the song, “Run Around Sue”. I prefer “A Boy Named Sue”.
Maybe I was rude last night as Valerie Reddeman scolded, but I’ve decided that may be the only way to get the attention of those holier than thou egomaniacs on City Council. I intend to be a thorn in their side.
You’re such a classy chick Sue – you are always so proper and polite, even when you’re telling somebody off. If the truth is rude, well, let’s all try to be less “polite,” shall we?
By the way, your hair looked great last night, extra fluffy or something, and that blouse you were wearing really came off well on the screen.
I love that part – “he kicked like a mule and bit like a crocodile” – you might be pretty Sue, but I certainly wouldn’t mess with ya!
I wasn’t able to get to that meeting last night but I did look at the agenda and tonight I hear on the news that the nanny state Nazis on the council last night voted to go through with their plan to outlaw “single use” plastic bags.
It’s probably just as well that I didn’t make it because if I had a chance to speak on that or their tax increases they would have kicked me out. None of them will respond to my emails anymore. When they stopped responding to polite requests I figured I had nothing to lose so I really told them what lying, thieving pieces of scum they are.
Anyway, I looked at the agenda and that bag ban vote was not on it! How can they vote on something when they don’t let the public know about it?
And do you know if our government masters on the council will allow the retailers to let us have paper bags? Or do they plan to outlaw or tax those, too?
This bag ban will impact every retailer in the city limits. Do any of these retailers (like the big chains like Winco, FoodMax, Raleys, Target, Walmart, etc.) have any plans to fight this or are they just going to take it like sleeping dogs? With how much this council hates busines I’m surprised the chain retailers aren’t trying to support some decent people for running for council seats.
I would think that would go for the sales tax increase, too. Since that tax increase will encourage people to shop elsewhere (especially for big ticket items) I would think there would be some push back by these retailers.
Anyway, all I can say is that this little city need more people like both of you.
I know how you feel – I used to go down to council almost every two weeks just to tell them how bad they sucked. That proved to be entertaining to my family and friends, as well s the general populace, and I made a lot of friends. But it didn’t do me any good – it started to wear on me emotionally.
So, I started to pick my battles. The bag ban is a losing cause. It’s happening all across California, like red tide. Yes, it will affect the cost of groceries, but the real cause of the rise in the price of EVERYTHING are the public salaries and pensions. The grocery store will raise their prices a fraction of a penny to pay for the bag ban – during the salary boom the price of everything DOUBLED. I actually quit using honey, because the price went from $4.99 a jar to $9 a jar over less than two years. I’m assuming a lot of other people felt the same way – our local honey bottler went out of business after he raised his prices way too high. The local tofu maker and a couple of bakeries also disappeared – priced themselves out of the market chasing those public salaries.
Here’s my advice, which I got years ago from Colleen Jarvis: pick your battles carefully, or you will wear yourself out getting mad about everything. Focus your energy, like a spearhead, on what you truly feel is important.
I had one of those coaches in high school, who posted all these old sayings on his bulletin board – you know, “When the going gets tough…yadda, yadda, yadda.” My favorite was, “The anvil will outlast the hammer.”
We’re the anvil.
What you say is certainly true.
At this point I am reassessing just what battles I am going to fight.
To tell the truth I think this may be my last year in Colliefornia (as Ahnode calls it). I’ve been considering a move for a long time.
People like Schwab and Hokum have ruined this state.
Even with insanely high taxes and spending it is one of the worst run states in the country with a debt problem among the worst of any state.
And what’s the answer?
According to Schwab and Hokum even more and higher taxes.
And most voters in this state incredibly agree with that.
Bullet trains to nowhere, having to pay the college tuition of illegal aliens, having to pay for insane public “servant” salaries and pensions and as always more and higher taxes, and then they even outlaw your plastic bags. And that’s only some of the insanity.
No more of this BS! I’ve just about had it.
I hear you there – I have thought about fleeing the state.
But here’s what happened to my sister when she went to Kansas. Sure, houses are cheap, and she even got a job with the county! But the first year she was there, she had to have her windshield replaced three times – hail stones! She says the weather is insane in the midwest. She wants to come back, but since she left, stuff got even more expensive!
I hope you’ll stick around Joseph.