Well, I sent my sad little notes around yesterday. asking for help in protesting the PG&E rate hike. I sent to the full city council, all the candidates (including the current mayor and vice mayor), and then I sent to the board of supervisors. I included staffers.
I sent that yesterday afternoon, with a couple of hours left to the work day, and the only response I got so far is candidate Rodney Willis. I’ll keep you posted. I’m going to be very disappointed in these people if they don’t have something to say – I’m going to be pretty disgusted in fact.
At least I got the supervisors to write a letter protesting the water rate hike, and I really feel that protest, mainly from Marysville, resulted in half as big a hike. I know, 19 percent still sucks, especially when most of it will go toward pensions (they said so in my rate increase notice), but at least it’s not 38, and you know they would have taken 38 if they could get it.
So let’s jump on this, NOW! Write to the addresses I gave in the last post, and then write to your city council and your supervisors. Tell them we want to see where the money from the rate increase is going. We want to know, how much do PG&E employees pay toward their own benefits and pension?
scott.gruendl@chicoca.gov
mark.sorensen@chicoca.gov
randall.stone@chicoca.gov
sean.morgan@chicoca.gov
tamiritter@chicoca.gov
ann.schwab@chicoca.gov
mary.goloff@chicoca.gov
dteeter@buttecounty.net
mkirk@buttecounty.net
bconnelly@buttecounty.net
slambert@buttecounty.net
lwahl@buttecounty.net
As a citizen of the “Chico Urban Area” in Butte County (42 years) but not living in the incorporated parts of the city I am frustrated over not being able to participate in City elections.
True, I live in the county, but the “City” is merely across the street. Additionally, I own several properties in the incorporated parts of the city (I am paying taxes to those who decide my destiny), but continue to feel a bit disenfranchised…especially when a student from Santa Cruz, for example, registers to vote while living in Whitney Hall for a year or two, and is able to cast a ballot that is contrary to the interests of a long term Chico-ite.
Is there any action going on that would allow Chico property owners to vote in City elections?
I think the residency requirements are as they should be. We wouldn’t want the corporate owners of all these strip malls around town – many based in the Bay Area or LA – being allowed to vote in our local elections, would we?
You would have to get annexed to vote. I’m not sure the trade-off is worth it, but you might want to talk to your neighbors.
Of course, and I’m not advocating this – I suspect a lot of Chico business owners who live outside the city limits simply register at their place of business. The county clerk does not check addresses, or I think she’d find people registered to vote from Chico State buildings or city of Chico buildings. A current councilor once told me he found a well-known local citizen who lives quite a number of miles out of town registered to vote out of the Jesus Center.
I want to know where university president Paul Zingg is registered – he lives way up on Hwy 32, in a subdivision just below Forest Ranch, but he talks about voting in local elections. I’m wonderin if the Zingger is a ringer!