Your reporting and comments on tonight’s 2 Los Al City Council meetings (8/20/2012)

August 20, 2012 in Uncategorized By: Dave Emerson

(Los Alamitos, 8/20/2012) Tonight’s 6 p.m. Los Alamitos City Council is the second of six trial once-a-month meetings that begin early. . . and may still run late. The 5 p.m. meeting to interview and select six new Commissioners may also be interesting, and this is where you can report on it, although you’ll have to be there to see it.

Lots on the agenda (see “Monday’s Council Meeting: Will they do the right thing?”) so there should be something of interest for everyone.

At least one observer thinks our Mayor may not even show up! (Click here for that comment.)

As usual, we have this post up so the Council Watchers among us can report what they saw and what they thought. And maybe what they thought they saw

So set your DVR for LosAl TV 3 from 6 – 11 or so, and/or show up in person, & let us knowwhat you see, hear, & think!

That’s because this is the place for the Community (us) to report on what takes place in our always-interesting City Council. [ad]

For tonight’s agenda, followed by attachments, staff reports & lots of info, click here.

New rebroadcast hours for Council Meetings

FYI: City Council meetings are rebroadcast on channel 3 throughout each month on Tuesdays at 7 am and 7 pm. . They are also rebroadcast on Wednesdays at noon and Saturdays at 7 am.

Your reporting:

As always, please try to be diplomatic, use relatively family friendly language, and please briefly describe what you are commenting on before making your comment. Not everyone has or taped TV3.

5 Comments »

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5 thoughts on “Your reporting and comments on tonight’s 2 Los Al City Council meetings (8/20/2012)”

JM Ivler says:

August 21, 2012 at 1:36 am

1) The opening with the Olympic Gold Medal US Women’s Water Polo Team was fantastic.
2) The pony boys baseball were just as fantastic. What great kids and a fantastic coach.
3) It went downhill from there.

JM Ivler says:

August 22, 2012 at 12:10 am

I was asked about the public comment that was made. It is below

Public Comment as Prepared

Troy, you seem to not understand the difference between being a victim, and being the bully. When you use your position for bogus legal attacks on the only two Asian members of the City Council, you are not the victim, you are the bully. When you use your position to remove a planning commission chairman who disagrees with something you are pushing through for someone who sits on boards with you, they are the victim, you are the bully. When a Traffic Commission Chairman speaks up against your position as a citizen in Council comments and you remove him from the commission, he is the victim, you are the bully. When you push through a vote with your majority to threaten that persons livelihood for speaking out his opinion, he is the victim, you are the bully.

When you are running the council majority for four years, you are not the victim. We are. You sir are the bully.

When you failed to listen to Mr. Sheridan’s advice and the Citizens sued the City you claimed victimhood and wore it like a mantle. You claimed you were a victim of a concerted political effort that was without merit. When a Superior Court Judge ruled that the Citizens were in fact correct, you said nothing. The case had merit, and you were not the victim, but the perpetrator that they had claimed. It was not political as you claimed, you were held responsible for your reprehensible actions against the interests of the community. You weren’t the victim, you were the bully, and you were called out for it.

In last weeks News-Enterprise you again whined that you were the victim. This time the minority wanted to discuss enforcing the Municipal Code in relation to the findings of the judge. Again Mr. Majority Troy Edgar, the man with all the power, claimed victimhood and singing from the same hymn it was all a political attack. The attempt to hold you responsible for your actions makes you the victim. You who have the power, and have used the power to bully anyone that got in your way was again crying crocodile tears on how the little people were picking on you.

Mr. Edgar, I spend this time of year working as a coach teaching 11 year old boys how to play football. We work the heck out of them and they don’t whine and snivel as much as you. They stand up and take responsibility when they miss a play.

Abuse of power and being a bully is something you do very well. Mr. DeBolt was your victim; Mr. Sheridan was your victim; Mr. Parker was your victim; Mr. Kusumoto was your victim; the businesses of Los Al were your victims. And you who wraps himself up in the shroud of victimhood whenever you are called to task for your actions, you are the bully.

Mr. Edgar, look to your right. At the end of the dais there is a man who has insisted that he have his day in court to be cleared of the charges made against him, or have the charges dropped. Like Mr. Sheridan, you and your majority continue to hold his good name hostage with a sword hanging above him, a cloud you won’t clear. Won’t let him clear his name. That is being a bully, and the man on the end is the victim of the bullying.

When you have run for public office you made quite a big deal out of saying your were a Navy Submariner. That’s sort of like being an Army Ranger. You have to go to special school and graduate and get your dolphins, a very special honor. I find it amazing that you, who have made this claim of having been a Submariner, who had to have attended and graduated from that special school in Groton Conn. didn’t learn a thing about either honor or accepting responsibility. Not even to the level of my 11 year old football players. It is enough to make me wonder if you ever did get your dolphins. You whine about how unfair things are, but never seem to take personal responsibility for your actions. Not very honorable, and not what Submariner school teaches.

A number of special meetings have been called. They were called by the minority. They were called in accordance to the terms that the minority and majority agreed to when the minority agreed to one council meeting a month. You and your majority have made a farce of the agreement by refusing to show up and address their concerns. This is a clear case of bullying the minority and a violation of the PAX that was reached.

City Attorney, when the PAX was reached a few months back you asked if I would drop my charges of Brown Act violations against members of the majority. I agreed to formally withdraw them at that time in the spirit of the PAX. That spirit has been one sided. Please consider them resubmitted and a request that they be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. It is time Mr. Edgar be held responsible for his clear belief that he is above the law, honor demands it.

End Prepared Public Comment

monday CC meeting says:

August 22, 2012 at 9:05 am

To JM I watched the meeting and I thought this is what I heard you say during public comments. Thank you for putting it in print so I could digest it one more time. Any person who completes Submarine School knows what an honor it is. I am wondering why Troy Edgar didn’t clear this up on the spot.

Below is your comment because I too received his campaign flyers claiming he was a Submariner with the US Navy. I have never seen him wear a dolphins pin, but he has talked about being on a submarine from the dais.

“When you have run for public office you made quite a big deal out of saying your were a Navy Submariner. That’s sort of like being an Army Ranger. You have to go to special school and graduate and get your dolphins, a very special honor. I find it amazing that you, who have made this claim of having been a Submariner, who had to have attended and graduated from that special school in Groton Conn. didn’t learn a thing about either honor or accepting responsibility. Not even to the level of my 11 year old football players. It is enough to make me wonder if you ever did get your dolphins. You whine about how unfair things are, but never seem to take personal responsibility for your actions. Not very honorable, and not what Submariner school teaches.”

Reply
- JM Ivler says:
  
  August 23, 2012 at 1:17 am
  
  In response to an e-mail as to what the School in Groton CT is…
  
  http://usmilitary.about.com/library/milinfo/blbess.htm
  
  “Here is the typical daily schedule for students at the Navy’s Basic Enlisted Submarine School (BESS), conducted at Groton, CT. The 26-day course is required for all enlisted sailors before assignment to serve on a U.S. Navy Submarine. The course covers basic boat’s operation, such as boat fundamentals, propulsion, hydraulics, habitability, etc. “
  
  Reply

Art DeBolt says:

August 23, 2012 at 6:12 am

City Attorney Sandra Levin is mistaken in her comment about no precedent for swearing in the council. When I was on the CC I appealed a PC denial of a CUP for outdoor dining at the Jabberwocky restaurant. At the CC meeting when the agenda item came up everyone in the council chamber who would be speaking to the appeal including public comment were sworn. This included CC members and staff.

Strange that Marilynn Poe didn’t remember it, I believe she was the one who made the request.

JM Ivler says:

August 21, 2012 at 1:36 am

1) The opening with the Olympic Gold Medal US Women’s Water Polo Team was fantastic.
2) The pony boys baseball were just as fantastic. What great kids and a fantastic coach.
3) It went downhill from there.

JM Ivler says:

August 22, 2012 at 12:10 am

I was asked about the public comment that was made. It is below

Public Comment as Prepared

Troy, you seem to not understand the difference between being a victim, and being the bully. When you use your position for bogus legal attacks on the only two Asian members of the City Council, you are not the victim, you are the bully. When you use your position to remove a planning commission chairman who disagrees with something you are pushing through for someone who sits on boards with you, they are the victim, you are the bully. When a Traffic Commission Chairman speaks up against your position as a citizen in Council comments and you remove him from the commission, he is the victim, you are the bully. When you push through a vote with your majority to threaten that persons livelihood for speaking out his opinion, he is the victim, you are the bully.

When you are running the council majority for four years, you are not the victim. We are. You sir are the bully.

When you failed to listen to Mr. Sheridan’s advice and the Citizens sued the City you claimed victimhood and wore it like a mantle. You claimed you were a victim of a concerted political effort that was without merit. When a Superior Court Judge ruled that the Citizens were in fact correct, you said nothing. The case had merit, and you were not the victim, but the perpetrator that they had claimed. It was not political as you claimed, you were held responsible for your reprehensible actions against the interests of the community. You weren’t the victim, you were the bully, and you were called out for it.

In last weeks News-Enterprise you again whined that you were the victim. This time the minority wanted to discuss enforcing the Municipal Code in relation to the findings of the judge. Again Mr. Majority Troy Edgar, the man with all the power, claimed victimhood and singing from the same hymn it was all a political attack. The attempt to hold you responsible for your actions makes you the victim. You who have the power, and have used the power to bully anyone that got in your way was again crying crocodile tears on how the little people were picking on you.

Mr. Edgar, I spend this time of year working as a coach teaching 11 year old boys how to play football. We work the heck out of them and they don’t whine and snivel as much as you. They stand up and take responsibility when they miss a play.

Abuse of power and being a bully is something you do very well. Mr. DeBolt was your victim; Mr. Sheridan was your victim; Mr. Parker was your victim; Mr. Kusumoto was your victim; the businesses of Los Al were your victims. And you who wraps himself up in the shroud of victimhood whenever you are called to task for your actions, you are the bully.

Mr. Edgar, look to your right. At the end of the dais there is a man who has insisted that he have his day in court to be cleared of the charges made against him, or have the charges dropped. Like Mr. Sheridan, you and your majority continue to hold his good name hostage with a sword hanging above him, a cloud you won’t clear. Won’t let him clear his name. That is being a bully, and the man on the end is the victim of the bullying.

When you have run for public office you made quite a big deal out of saying your were a Navy Submariner. That’s sort of like being an Army Ranger. You have to go to special school and graduate and get your dolphins, a very special honor. I find it amazing that you, who have made this claim of having been a Submariner, who had to have attended and graduated from that special school in Groton Conn. didn’t learn a thing about either honor or accepting responsibility. Not even to the level of my 11 year old football players. It is enough to make me wonder if you ever did get your dolphins. You whine about how unfair things are, but never seem to take personal responsibility for your actions. Not very honorable, and not what Submariner school teaches.

A number of special meetings have been called. They were called by the minority. They were called in accordance to the terms that the minority and majority agreed to when the minority agreed to one council meeting a month. You and your majority have made a farce of the agreement by refusing to show up and address their concerns. This is a clear case of bullying the minority and a violation of the PAX that was reached.

City Attorney, when the PAX was reached a few months back you asked if I would drop my charges of Brown Act violations against members of the majority. I agreed to formally withdraw them at that time in the spirit of the PAX. That spirit has been one sided. Please consider them resubmitted and a request that they be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. It is time Mr. Edgar be held responsible for his clear belief that he is above the law, honor demands it.

End Prepared Public Comment

- monday CC meeting says:
  
  August 22, 2012 at 9:05 am
  
  To JM I watched the meeting and I thought this is what I heard you say during public comments. Thank you for putting it in print so I could digest it one more time. Any person who completes Submarine School knows what an honor it is. I am wondering why Troy Edgar didn’t clear this up on the spot.
  
  Below is your comment because I too received his campaign flyers claiming he was a Submariner with the US Navy. I have never seen him wear a dolphins pin, but he has talked about being on a submarine from the dais.
  
  “When you have run for public office you made quite a big deal out of saying your were a Navy Submariner. That’s sort of like being an Army Ranger. You have to go to special school and graduate and get your dolphins, a very special honor. I find it amazing that you, who have made this claim of having been a Submariner, who had to have attended and graduated from that special school in Groton Conn. didn’t learn a thing about either honor or accepting responsibility. Not even to the level of my 11 year old football players. It is enough to make me wonder if you ever did get your dolphins. You whine about how unfair things are, but never seem to take personal responsibility for your actions. Not very honorable, and not what Submariner school teaches.”
  
  - JM Ivler says:
    
    August 23, 2012 at 1:17 am
    
    In response to an e-mail as to what the School in Groton CT is…
    
    http://usmilitary.about.com/library/milinfo/blbess.htm
    
    “Here is the typical daily schedule for students at the Navy’s Basic Enlisted Submarine School (BESS), conducted at Groton, CT. The 26-day course is required for all enlisted sailors before assignment to serve on a U.S. Navy Submarine. The course covers basic boat’s operation, such as boat fundamentals, propulsion, hydraulics, habitability, etc. “
    
Art DeBolt says:

August 23, 2012 at 6:12 am

City Attorney Sandra Levin is mistaken in her comment about no precedent for swearing in the council. When I was on the CC I appealed a PC denial of a CUP for outdoor dining at the Jabberwocky restaurant. At the CC meeting when the agenda item came up everyone in the council chamber who would be speaking to the appeal including public comment were sworn. This included CC members and staff.

Strange that Marilynn Poe didn’t remember it, I believe she was the one who made the request.

Lets Fix Los Al

By: Dave Emerson