Warren Kusumoto
(12/3/2010, Los Alamitos, by Dave Emerson) If the current Los Alamitos City Council follows staff recommendations this Monday, our new City Council will be sworn in a week before the requested recount is set to begin.
That makes sense, based on the probability of a 4,000 ballot recount producing a swing of over 24 votes when OC’s 2007 recount of 30,000 ballots only resulted in a 10 vote swing.
The question of the weekend may well be if the current Council will follow the staff’s recommendation, but according to our City Clerk, Adria Jimenez, that would go against the recommendations made to her by Orange County Registrar of Voters Neil Kelley.
Kelley indicated the City should move forward with the current certified results of Kusumoto, Edgar, and Graham-Mejia, then make any changes resulting from the recall at the next Council meeting. That meeting, currently scheduled for 12/20, is recommended to be canceled due to the holidays, in another Monday agenda item.
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As set now, the Agenda for Monday’s 7 p.m. Regular Council Meeting calls for a series of presentations, followed by Council certification of the election results, a presentation to outgoing Council Member Zarkos, and the swearing in of newly elected Council Members Kusumoto, Edgar, and Graham-Mejia.
What may be most interesting is who the new Council will chose as their Mayor pro tem, and possibly even Mayor.
The Council usually moves the Mayor pro tem into the Mayor’s position, which would make Ken Stephens Mayor starting Monday. However, that practice was skipped two years ago when the new majority skipped Gerri Mejia to make Dean Grose Mayor and Marilyn Poe Mayor pro tem. With the same majority still in control, I would expect Stephens to be confirmed as Mayor.
What would be wonderful to see would be a “reorganization” the whole Council could unanimously agree on, such as Stephens for Mayor and Mejia or possibly Kusumoto as pro tem. That might signal a start of a new era of searching for common ground.
There is also a 5:30 p.m. special meeting where, after an open period for public comments, the current Council will move into closed session for a performance evaluation of City Manager Stewart. I suppose there could be some debate as to if that evaluation should be conducted by the Council members serving over the past year, including appointed Council Member Zarkos, or the Council Members chosen by the voters a month ago.
As always, your comments are welcome, expressed diplomatically.
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Dave said; “That might signal a start of a new era of searching for common ground.”
Yea Dave, that’s gonna happen, but not till you move to Pandora.
Thanks for being your very optimistic self.
Since three of the council members are involved in litigation,and since they will NEVER allow Gerri to be mayor, I say that the best way to address the issue is to let the new guy do it.
But that will happen just after the sun rises in the West.
Stephens will be named mayor, and it’s an even money bet that they will not name Gerri to squat even though she has been on the council as long as Troy (now the longest serving member of the Council without having been Mayor).
Remember, these people are bullies. Think back to what they did to Ken Parker. They aren’t about to change their stripes to spots. Once a bully, always a bully.
Hope springs eternal. . . .
1. Politicians tend to see the light after they feel the heat.
2. Warren Kusumoto, non incumbent, finished first despite being outspent about ten to one, not sending one piece by mail vs. about seven professional big pro Zarkos mailers and one anti-Kusumoto one just before the election. Some lights have to be going on.
3. Despite the advantages of incumbency, Republican crony support, big money from firefighters & LATA Team DDT lost 2 – 1 this year.
4. Gerri now has a second on the Council.
5. The community remains deeply devided.
Isn’t it just common sense that it’s time to reach out and find ways to work together?
Troy’s not stupid, and this gives him the opportunity to become a real uniter. Ditto Ken Stephens, who’s up for re-election in 2 years, along with Marilyn Poe.
Making Gerri pro tem isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s also the politically smart thing to do.
And it’s what’s best for Los Al.
The Democrats just took a “shellacking” because they tried to govern without reaching out to the opposition.
I think the vast majority of Los Al voters want their Council Members to work together.
Stephens/Mejia just makes sense.
Mejia is the only negative we have on the council. When the people wake up after voting for her and realize they sentenced us to 4 more years of her whinning, they will be embarrased. This is the only place you can find anyone that thinks geri is a good assett to our city. 80% thinks she is disrespectful, anoying and a detriment to progress in the city. There is a reason she never made it to mayor. Voter fraud may be where our city can be saved from mejia in the recount. If not all the angry citizens who are planning her recall will be our answer. Ivler started the recall on troy so I guess what goes around comes around.
@lar
You just can’t stop.
80% think she is disrespectful? Poe “Parker’d” Gerri. You know, when they voted time and time again to skip Parker’s turn at Mayor? The bullies who trashed a good man.
You keep on bringing up the Edgar recall and claiming that I did it. There were well over the required number of names on the petition so it wasn’t just Ivler. In fact, my entire reason for being involved stemmed from the fact that Edgar used his position and office to attack a businessman in this community for political gain. No, not Parker, but his new landlord. Edgar blew past the rules. He didn’t have a date stamp on his appeal petition, so it should have been refused. He asked the city attorney for personal legal advice, that is theft of tax dollars. He should have been forced to pay for the appeal, just like any other citizen. He thought he was above the rules, and right then and there I decided that if anyone wanted to get rid of this political hack, I was there to help. No one who takes public office is above the law. They don’t get to make their own rules.
You think you and your cronies have what it takes to take down a good person like Gerri? Dream on.
As for election fraud, I do hope we find it. I hope it has a nice clean trail back to the guys who could afford to pay for election fraud. You know, people that can afford to put out lots of $5K mailed fliers. Baby, I’m counting on it because I want to see orange jumpsuits on some people who think they own this town and they are above the rules.
If fighting corruption in Los Alamitos is “disrespectful, anoying and a detriment to progress in the city” as stated by los al resident then thank you Gerri Mejia for standing your ground.
Please, please, please continue the good fight.
If the 80% of the residents (BTW, I don’t believe that number) believe that standing up for the other 20% is “whinning” and “disrespectful”, then so be it.
I am not happy about the possible corruption that is going on in our city and I am grateful at least one person on the council to shine the brigt light and not be a puppet for the president for the bullies club who thinks they run this town.
Thank you Gerri
WOW JM and I agree on a national political issue. President Obama has managed to unite the progressives and conservatives in their opinion of his performance.2 more long years.
Richard, consider this.
There are three things that have to happen to “right” the economy.
1) Jobs
2) Manufacturing
3) Stability in real estate
There is a simple way to achieve all three.
1) If you are over 60 you get $1,000,000 (tax free) and agree to the following four requirements
2) if you are over 55 you get $1,500,000 (tax free) and agree to the following four requirements
3) if you are over 50 you get $2,000,000 (tax free) and agree to the following four requirements
a) You will retire (not work as a w-9 or 1099 employee)
b) You will either pay off your home or purchase your home
c) You will purchase a new automobile within three years
d) You will install a green energy solution on your home within 3 years
Note that everyone who takes this will also get put on Medicare the moment they agree to it.
There are 40 million people that will be affected by this plan. The cost is a fraction of what TARP cost. It will
a) take 40 million people out of the workforce creating immediate needs to employ younger workers
b) Create a stable market in housing
c) Re-open the manufacturing base
d) Create a new manufacturing and service industry and base
When you consider that the median income in the US is $50K and that retirement is 68, that means that the government is paying $125K/yr for the 60+, $115K/yr for the 55-60 and $111K/yr for the 50-55. That money, invested over time, will average out to about $130K/yr for all groups.
What about all these people going on Medicare? Remove the cap on contributions and also allow any person who wants to “buy” medicare to do so and that problem goes away as well.
What will these people do? Some will take a chance on entrepreneurship. In doing so they will also create new jobs, and new industries. Others will “retire” and travel (creating jobs in that industry). Whatever the case, as long as they don’t take a job that would go to someone younger, they will be creating a new economy, and doing it at a fraction of the cost of TARP or even the stimulus.
The only problem is that for this to happen it would take leadership. And that is something sorely lacking on both sides of the political spectrum,where more people are interested in themselves than they are in effective economic policy.