San Joaquin Blog

SSJID Turns 99, Plans to Set Aside $38M in Reserves

The Philomath — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 15:29:00 -0700

The State of California is facing a $20 billion plus deficit. Vallejo - a city of 117,000 - has filed bankruptcy. Cities and counties up and down the Golden State are in a financial squeeze.

But not the South San Joaquin Irrigation District.

As the SSJID enters its 99th year of operation this month the governing board is preparing to cushion the people it serves against future rainy days and provide funding for upcoming projects by squirreling away $38 million in reserves.

That represents $19.4 million more that the district's 2008 maintenance and operations budget of $18.6 million.

The SSJID board meets Tuesday at 9 a.m. at the district office, 11011 E. Highway 120 to consider adopting a reserve policy. The agenda also contains the audit report that lists the district's net assets at $275.1 million.

So how did the SSJID become arguably one of the best run government agencies in California? Two words: water and power.

The SSJID is one of the few - if not the only -irrigation district in California to develop its own reservoirs and water conveyance systems without any state or federal help. By relying on local bonds the district built a system - as well as the Tri-Dam Project along with the Oakdale Irrigation District - that is paying huge dividends. As of Dec. 31, 2007, the district had no long term debt.

It also is in a position to follow through on a board commitment to harness the Tri-Dam Project to benefit farmers, residents, and businesses within its service territory of Manteca, Ripon, and Escalon. And the way they want to do that is to reduce electricity costs for everyone within their boundaries by 15 percent across the board by entering the retail power business after being in the wholesale side of the equation for more than 55 years.

SSJID is building reserves not only at a time when most jurisdictions are siphoning off what they set aside in previous years to maintain service levels but while waiving water charges for irrigation water delivery for 2008. It is akin to a city suspending all fees for a year, increasing the level of service, and still putting aside money from its general fund accounts for future projects and reserves.

What money is being set side for in reserves

If the board adopts the proposed policy, the district will set aside in reserve:

$2 million to cover district property tax losses that the state indicated in March that they may seize half that amount to help hire parole agents for 20,000 convicts the state intends to release. The other half is set aside to cover the amount of property taxes the district collects that the state has indicated it may shift to the county.

$1 million for contractual obligations for employee health care and retirement costs that are expected to rise plus cover wage increases that could average 5 percent in 2009.

$10 million for new operating programs that including between $500,000 and $10 million for land as well as a new building for district headquarters plus spending $30 million to pressurize water deliveries southwest of Manteca to combat salt water intrusion.

$10 million to cover repairs from natural disasters such as earthquakes. The district has over 300 miles of concrete pipelines for irrigation and another 40 miles for domestic water with no insurance. Canals in remote locations are also subject to earthquakes as well as slides. Total exposure to the pipelines is estimated at between $1 million and $100 million while the canal repair exposure is between $250,000 to $10 million.
$15 million to stabilize the annual maintenance and operations of the district against unexpected economic downturns. The district spends $18.6 million a year on operations and maintenance.

The district's financial management underscores how effectively it has been in running, maintaining and operating a wholesale power system as well as points to the fiscally conservative approach they are taking to enter the retail power service arena.

SSJID makes $23.58 every second from PG&E power sales & investment interest

SSJID in one-tick of a second-hand:

nets $19.02 by selling electricity to PG&E from its share of Tri-Dam Project receipts.
earns $4.56 in interest on money that it has been stockpiling since PG&E started paying full market rate for that electricity at the beginning of 2006.
Actually, both could be much higher as the projections were made back in December using what SSJID Assistant Manager John Stein characterizes at the time as "conservative" revenue projections.

The SSJID board's 2008 spending plan has the overall day-to-day budget pegged at $29,593,300 in revenue against $18,621,397 in expenses to generate $10,9871,903 in net income.

That is on top of a $20,952,862 capital improvement budget including $12 million for the solar energy farm. Once that project is completed it will effectively wipe out any need to buy electricity from PG&E to power the South County Surface Water Treatment Plant.

SSJID, which operates Tri-Dam with the Oakdale Irrigation District, is projecting it will receive $10 million of its cut of the "profits" after expenses and capital improvements for Stanislaus River hydro system are covered in 2008.

That's conservative as the district has received as much as $18 million a year since the 50-year contract with PG&E ended. That deal that expired three years ago sold the utility wholesale power at rates set in 1955 in return for assuring taxpayers in SSJID and OID wouldn't get stuck with paying off the $52 million bonds.

A drought could severely hamper Tri-Dam's ability to generate power and would reduce revenues.

Interest income is budgeted at $2.4 million. That's up 60 percent over 2007 interest income of $1.4 million.

The increase is solid despite interest rates softening as SSJID has piled on an additional $11 million-plus in the last year from Tri-Dam receipts.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, e-mail dwyatt@mantecabulletin.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . Read more

Save Me From Scary Chemicals I've Never Heard Of!

The Philomath — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 16:53:00 -0700

This was on the FlashReport Blog:

SB 1313, the bill by Sen. Ellen Corbett that elevates frivolous and unnecessary legislation to the level of harmfulness. Now, it seems it will be heard tomorrow in the Assembly Health Committee.

If is passes out of committee, it will be proof that no matter how bad an idea, you sell it if you sell it in the name of "health."

As mentioned in the previous post, SB 1313 seeks to shield Californians health from the pernicious effects of perflourinated compounds.

Sounds like something you'd want to be protected from...until you learn what it is" a substance that is integral to making Teflon, food packaging and anything else that needs to not stick to your food.

Whaaa..??

I didn't think there was any level of Democratic idiocy that could still surprise me. And yet, I find myself surprised.

A chemical that no one has ever heard of yet contributes quietly to our quality of life, and harms no one.

Why, of course it should be banned! It's a chemical! And it has a scary sounding name!

I googled around and found this from the always dependable Pacific Research Institute:

The California state Senate has passed a bill to ban the use of food packaging containing perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), and sent it to the Assembly. Senate Bill 1313, authored by Sn. Ellen Corbett, would require that starting January 1st 2010 no person or company shall manufacture, sell or distribute any food contact substance that contains PFOS, PFOA, higher homologues, or precursors to these chemicals, in any concentration exceeding 10 parts per billion. Sounds like great legislation with the interest of consumers in mind.

There's more here.

If I were to theorize about the impetus for SB 1313, a few words jump to mind: environmentalists and trial lawyers. They both benefit from health hysteria. They are both skilled at exploiting gullible media that's always hungry for a new alarmist health story.

There's nothing new about the environmental community allying itself with trial lawyers to cook up a batch of scary sounding legislation designed to create more reasons for business people to fear California as the finely tuned job killing machine that its legislative and regulatory process has truly become.

What incentive does industry have to do the right thing if when they do the right thing they are second guessed, hammered in the media, hounded by the bureaucracy and hamstrung by the legislature?

SB 1313 is the poster child that explains why companies, and the jobs and tax revenue they bring with them, are refusing to expand in California and leaving in droves when they have the opportunity to do so.

It’s like an open letter to business from the California legislature that says “we don’t care if you are trying to do the right thing, or even that you are complying with the mandates we put in place…if I can vilify your product, service, issue or idea and collect a few campaign $$$ for doing it – I will.”

I have a strong suspicion that if I opened the cupboards of the environmentalists, trial lawyers and perhaps even Corbett herself I’d find at least one or two non-stick pans in their cooking arsenal. Who says hypocrisy is a dish best served cold? Fry it up!

Do-Gooder Stupidity Is Universal

The Philomath — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 12:18:00 -0700

A reader e-mailed me this item from CityWatch.com, a news site that watches the goings-on at LA City Hall.

OK, so the issue itself is a local LA one, but the larger point of the tyranny of willfully ignorant do-gooders pertains to all of us.

Banning the Bag: Cure Worse than the Disease

TalkBack
Harold Katz

With all due respect to the members of the Silver Lake Neighborhood Council and their motion to ban the use of plastic bags in grocery stores, I wonder how many of them researched the question and the impact of their proposal. The fact is their cure is worse than the disease.

The main problem is not with the plastic bags, it is with the people who dispose of them. Aside from making an effort to recycle them which most people do not do, they have to be disposed of in a manner so that they do not end up flying all over our streets and ultimately into our sewer system.

For those that don't have time to read the body of this piece just remember that it takes one gallon of water to produce one paper bag as opposed to 25 plastic bags. It also takes nine truck loads of paper bags to equal one truck load of plastic bags. It also takes four times the energy to produce a paper bag and 100 times the energy to recycle the paper bag. It take s one tree to make 1,000 paper bags.

Those TV scenes of plastic bags coming out of the sewer system into the ocean or in rivers and lakes are very effective in turning on an emotional reaction of revulsion, but the facts are the facts.

I predict that less than 20% of the public will ever use permanent canvas bags, which are not permanent and will also end up in the landfill. The 20% is my guess, not a scientific conclusion.

At this point let me acknowledge that I have a conflict of interest but what I write is fact. My conflict is that I have a small interest in a company that is trying to market plastic coupons attached to plastic bags. However, we can also attach them to paper bags.

The rationale for the initial ban in San Francisco were: It will significantly cut down imports of foreign oil; used plastic bags will stop overwhelming landfills; plastic bags are not as biodegradable as paper or compostable bags; it will help curb global warming because plastic bag production requires electricity; it will help eliminate a danger to marine animals; and stores can replace the plastic bags with recycled paper bags or bags made from newer, compostable materials.

The problem is none of these points has much, if any, validity. Consider:

• Plastic bags are made primarily from our own natural gas; very small amounts of oil are used.

• A 2003 study by the California Industrial Waste Management Board showed plastic bags represented just 0.4 percent of landfill content. This compares with 21 percent for unrecycled paper (50 times greater).

• Paper bags in landfills don’t biodegrade much faster than plastic bags. Long-time landfills hold newspapers from the 1930s still easily readable today.

• Paper bags take four times the energy to produce, compared to plastic, and almost 100 times the energy to recycle.

• The greatest cause of marine mammal die-offs today is naturally occurring toxic algae blooms. This is an unhappy development, but plastics have nothing to do with it.

• Paper bags cost five times as much as plastic bags. The extra cost must be passed on to consumers – just what they need with rising food and gasoline prices.

• There is not enough paper bag-making capacity to meet the market need without years of expansion, much-greater deforestation and ever-greater carbon dioxide emissions.

• Paper products are not “green products.” Their manufacture results in clear-cutting of forests, strains limited water resources, requires harsh, toxic chemicals and destroys wildlife habitat.

• Compostable bags are not as biodegradable as advertised, unless taken to an organic composting facility. There are only 134 such facilities in the United States, compared with more than 3,000 yard-waste facilities. Permits for organic facilities are hard to get. The collected material is considered toxic/hazardous. Major odor and varmint problems surround these operations. You can bet eco-lobbyists don’t live next door to one.

• It takes nine truckloads of paper bags to deliver the same amount of bags as one truckload of plastic bags. Just what we need on Los Angeles’ freeways.

Serious Matter--This is a serious business policy matter. The plastic bag industry, its investors and their employees, deserve as much consideration – if not more – as environmental lobbyists. The plastic bag companies provide employment, pay a variety of taxes, and conduct manufacturing operations in an age when the United States has already lost a significant portion of this key economic capability. This should count for a lot.

A few facts to consider: The U.S. plastics industry employs 1.3 million workers, the fourth largest manufacturing sector. The plastic bag industry employs 42,600 workers. Two thousand plastic bags weigh 30 pounds, but 2,000 paper bags weigh 180 to 280 pounds. It takes one tree to make about 1,000 paper bags; about 180,000 trees would need to be cut down to supply San Francisco with the amount of paper bags it will use each year. Compostable plastic bags cost more than paper bags. Plastic bags are 100 percent recyclable, meaning they can be used in other products. But if the plastic is mixed with compostable plastics, the bags are useless as recyclable material.

The outcome of this issue will reveal whether or not truth matters.

Finally, we are entering a period of drought, a recurring issue for California. The paper industry is the single largest water consumer of any sector in the national economy. It takes one gallon of water to produce one paper bag; a plastic bag uses 4 percent of that gallon. (Harold Katz is a citizen activist and lives on the Westside.)

ACLU Supporting Jerry McNerney?

The Philomath — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 12:37:00 -0700

Listen for yourself by clicking on the attached audio file.

Hypocrisy is the tribute that vice pays to virtue

The Philomath — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 11:11:00 -0800

Of all the slip-ups that can damage even the most talented of politicos is the high crime of hypocrisy. (I think my favorite way to pronounce of the word was in the movies many years ago by the bellowing calls of "Hypocrisy" - (Pronounced "HIGH-POCK-RISY!" by the character Big Daddy in "Cat on a Hit Tin Roof."

But in a scene that seemingly could only be found in the movies, it seems that a video making its way through YouTube - and what video doesn't? - is skewering our perennial favorite Supervisor Jim DeMartini for a very messy public entanglement he's having with a woman who is, well, not his wife.

The case involves DeMartini and 21-year-old Serena Essapour (that makes the older of the pair. Much, much older.)

She is (get this!) accused of impersonating DeMartini, and being charged with identity theft, misuse of personal information and grand theft by using his information to obtain credit cards. According to DeMartini, Essapour ran up about $10,000 in charges, with some of the bills going to her Turlock home - that after DeMartini had helped her by giving her $6,500 to buy a car.

Here's the way Jeff Jardine of the Modesto Bee put it (better than I could):

DeMartini, I'm told, took Essapour to lunch on numerous occasions. That in itself suggests nothing more, but it certainly leaves the opening for questions. Why would a seasoned political junkie like DeMartini, who is married, give money with no expectation of repayment to Essapour so she could buy a car?

And while DeMartini is the victim of alleged identity and grand theft, he broke the cardinal rule of politics at any level. He allowed himself to get close to a young woman, and he could pay for it - with interest.

But the story gets better, as the YouTube video mentioned above is pointing out. DeMartini was one of Congressman Gary Condit's main tormentors, going on and on about the immorality of Condit's conduct and demanding he resign.

Here's a clip from a July 10, 2001 report on Fox News:

"You can't have a scandal like this and expect to win re-election," said Jim DeMartini, the Republican Committee Chair of Stanislaus County. "He can go ahead and stay in office and twist in the wind, and we're gonna (sic) get him in the next election," DeMartini said. "He's got a lot to answer to. This story is still not over with."

On a July 11th, 2001 appearance on CNN, DeMartini added:

"His credibility's shot. He's been lying to the police and to his constituents for months."

It gets worse. Here's a clip from the August 3, 2001 edition of USA Today:

Meanwhile, James DeMartini, chairman of the Stanislaus County GOP, vows to make Condit's conduct during the Levy investigation the focus of the next campaign, if Condit runs again. DeMartini says Condit committed a cardinal sin in politics by lying to one of his own constituents - Chandra Levy's mother, Susan - when Condit initially denied having a romantic relationship with Chandra. DeMartini says Condit's conduct was an unforgivable breach of trust.

"We're never going to let the people of this district forget what he's done," DeMartini says. "Every place he goes, we'll be there."

Now, don't get us wrong. No one here misses Gary Condit, who always struck us as a downright dark character. But the point here is that DeMartini is being hoisted on the same kind of conduct questions that drove Condit from public life. Perhaps a similar fate awaits him.

All this makes me think that there is an even better way to describe DeMartini's conduct and opportunism, and it's my favorite quotation about the subject:

Hypocrisy is the tribute that vice pays to virtue.

Early Christmas Present for Citicorp and Their New Middle Eastern Friends

The Philomath — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 08:35:00 -0800

America, meet your friendly new banker: Prince Alwaleed.

The San Joaquin Valley has been particularly hard-hit by subprime loan foreclosures and the downturn in home sales – and home equity. Earlier this year, Stockton was ranked No. 1 nationally in per-capita defaults – the first step toward foreclosure – while Sacramento was fifth, according to RealtyTrac, an Irvine-based company that tracks foreclosures in a Sacramento Bee article posted earlier today. But should we trade our national sovereignty in for what twenty years from now will look like a middling market correction?

President Bush is poised to impose a price fixing scheme on a scale not seen since President Nixon imposed price controls on the domestic oil industry – and we all remember how successful that was! The primary beneficiaries won’t be homeowners at risk of foreclosure but big banks like Citicorp who just sold a big chunk of equity to “the Arabian Warren Buffett” who, according to Forbes Magazine, also happens to be the world’s wealthiest Muslim businessman.

The Bee article does tell part of the story. “Just which borrowers receive help from the Bush administration's plan could become a sticking point. As talk of a rate freeze gathered traction in recent weeks, some critics complained that lenders would be bailing out people who knowingly took out bigger loans than they could afford in hopes of reaping windfall profits as home values soared, while other people stayed out of the subprime mortgage mess. As a result, an analyst at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank, said Bush's plan is bad policy. "In some ways it's worse than a taxpayer bailout," said John Berlau, director of the Center for Entrepreneurship at the institute.”

Berlau: "It pressures an industry to essentially alter the terms of millions of contracts, and it's going to make investors think twice about investing in America again."…except those “value” shoppers like Prince Alwaleed from the Middle East.

The World Isn’t Flat, Is It?

The Philomath — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 12:33:00 -0800

An easy question, to be sure. But in many opinion circles, a certain theory is gaining traction, and it goes something like this: We all know that the world is round, but given technological advances, the movement of goods and ideas and cultural expression is easier than ever. Consider it a level playing field that is, at its most fundamental, a flat surface.

This way, straight lines of delivery are achieved, rather than zigzag processes that are time-consuming and inefficient. This is what is meant by the “flat” idea, and it’s an interesting way to look at our region as never before.

This comes to mind today reading an article in the Riverside Press-Enterprise detailing that region’s extensive and continuing efforts to get their share (or is that more than their share?) of the more than $2 billion in transportation bond money the State of California will soon divide up. Hmmm … what do they know that we don’t? And what does this have to do with us?

Simple: If our region wants to receive what it is entitled to in bond money, it had better get as organized, streamlined and prioritized as our competitors. Because I suspect they are already far ahead. No longer do we enjoy any advantage based upon our unrivaled agricultural industries. Places like the Inland Empire – which has never been anything resembling a major population or political force in California – have their sights set on our share by advancing the idea of trade corridors connected to ports.

Here’s a clip from the Press-Enterprise:

The California Transportation Commission decided Thursday that $2 billion in funds from Prop. 1B should be distributed between four major transportation routes across the state used to transport goods. One of those "trade corridors" begins at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach and cuts through both Riverside and San Bernardino counties.

That means the Inland counties will get the benefit of having larger counties -- including Los Angeles and Orange -- on their side when trying to ensure that the Southern California corridor receives as much as $1.7 billion. But Riverside and San Bernardino counties also would compete with the larger counties for the lion's share of whatever money is designated.

A preliminary list of 42 Southern California priorities has ranked five Riverside County projects among the top 10, while most of San Bernardino County's projects were near the bottom. Both counties have said they expect the list to be revised further.

“Clearly the corridor approach is the big winner today,” said Anne Mayer, executive director of the Riverside County Transportation Commission, which believes the method will increases the region's clout.

How will we win?

One way is by backing sensible and solid projects along the lines of where this trend is heading. A great example was seen in a very recent blog post from our friends at 99 to 5 detailing the reasons why the Stanislaus COG should support short-haul rail.

More evidence is right here, in the Modesto Bee linking short-haul rail to increasing our competitiveness, as well as addressing the very vexing problem of our region’s air quality.

The trend lines are showing, and I get the sense that our friends in Southern California saw it before we did. How can I tell? It’s easy to see, if you consider we’re looking across a “flat” surface.

DeMartini, We Hardly Knew Ye

The Philomath — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 10:09:00 -0800

And you think Hillary Clinton had a tough week.

Just in the last seven days, Farmer Jim has had to endure a skewering in the Modesto Bee about a potential conflict of interest, further commentary about his bizarre dealings with a young woman to whom he is not married and, if that wasn’t bad enough, we find out his chosen hobby is the collection of exotic birds, including four kinds of macaws and several varieties of parrots.

It was not a pretty sight for the Birdman of Stanislaus.

Let’s start with the Bee piece, which merely contemplates one of the most destructive things that a public official can be accused of: Abuse of office and a conflict of interest. Here’s a sampling:

(DeMartini’s) seemingly contradictory roles led Doug Sweetland, the Stanislaus Economic Development and Workforce Alliance economic development director, to tell DeMartini at a recent public meeting that he was “abusing his position.”

“I've had difficulty understanding how someone can negotiate in good faith on one side and on the other hand come out totally against it,” Sweetland said. “How can he keep an open mind in terms of negotiation?”

Pretty tough stuff … and DeMartini’s retort was hardly inspiring:

DeMartini said Friday he was entitled to voice his opinion and called Sweetland's comments "over the line and out of place." Senators and congressmen frequently speak their minds on issues, he said. "I don't know why the Board of Supervisors are held to different standards."

Oh, I don’t know, Jim. Maybe because Senators and Congressmen aren’t asked to directly negotiate federal contracts?

Next, we have the “Yogi Berra Award for Déjà vu All Over Again” to DeMartini for being the latest elected official to get into a – ahem – complicated relationship with an intern.

The Bee’s Jeff Jardine really tells it like it is … and what it is, dear readers, is terribly embarrassing:

DeMartini, I'm told, took Essapour to lunch on numerous occasions. That in itself suggests nothing more, but it certainly leaves the opening for questions.

Why would a seasoned political junkie like DeMartini, who is married, give money with no expectation of repayment to Essapour so she could buy a car?

She had been in an auto accident, spent time in the hospital and her car was totaled. She needed help, DeMartini said.

DeMartini said he first heard from Essapour several years ago, when she called the Central Republican Committee to say she was moving to the valley from New York and was looking for work.

“The Central Committee had a little part-time work on the computer (with a program) nobody knew how to operate," DeMartini said.

She worked there briefly and then began a string of jobs, hiring on for a short time as a public-policy researcher for local land-use attorney George Petrulakis.

From May until September 2004, she was an intern for Assemblyman Greg Aghazarian, R-Stockton, according to the Assembly Rules office. She also worked for Sen. Jeff Denham, and in a Turlock law office.

DeMartini said she told him and others that she attended Stanford University, and that is consistent with what she apparently told the Assembly Rules office, which hires interns for Assembly members.

Susan Maher of Stanford's registrar's office told me Essapour never attended the university.

Nor did Essapour tell her bosses at the Turlock Journal that she'd been arrested, was out on bail and faced criminal charges before taking over the police and courts beat, the paper reported.

Cases like this one seldom come down to a few basic facts. There are twists and turns, and there always seems to be a back story.

It was that way with Clinton and Lewinsky, and with Condit and Levy. I suspect it will be that way in this one, too.

And while DeMartini is the victim of alleged identity and grand theft, he broke the cardinal rule of politics at any level.

He allowed himself to get close to a young woman, and he could pay for it — with interest.

So this is what it comes down to. The best that Jim DeMartini can hope for in this whole situation is that he’s the victim of identity theft by a then-teenager who he gave money to so she could buy a car.

As has been mentioned many times in this blog before, this is the primary problem of this region. We’ve become at once too accepting and too dismissive … too impatient and too lethargic … to embrace and achieve real change. As long as we put with cliché-driven Republicans like this, we’ll never achieve our full potential.

De Lowdown on DeMartini

The Philomath — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 09:31:00 -0800

If there’s anything that’s holding back the San Joaquin County region – and keeping it from being all it can be – it’s our continued tolerance for mediocre leadership and substandard elected officials.

Think about it: How many politicians that you voted for – even if they were borderline decent in office – have left public life under an ethical cloud? Or even after getting into trouble with the law?

This is why it’s time to really start asking some tough questions about Jim DeMartini while also taking the time to connect the dots and figure out what he may be up to. Can you say “abuse of office”?

As we take a deeper look at this issue, let’s look to Patterson, the small city with a big-time develop battle going on.

The November 2^nd edition of the Modesto Bee carried a fascinating story that may be the single most embarrassing conduct by a SJ politician in some time. Here’s what went down:

The citizens advisory committee to the Stanislaus County Council of Governments policy board voted 7-0 to support state funding for a short-haul rail link between the Port of Oakland and a proposed business park near Crows Landing.

The vote Wednesday night came despite an attack on the project by county Supervisor Jim DeMartini, and a comment by advisory committee member Doug Sweetland that DeMartini's actions were "inappropriate" and "an abuse of (DeMartini's) position."

Hey now! That’s one way to put it.

I’ve read a lot of troubling news stories in my time, but this is at the top. How can anyone read this and not conclude that DeMartini is an embarrassment?

Just like it is with some of the SJV’s more colorful (read: “not entirely honest”) politicians, DeMartini is giving us every reason to take a closer look at what he’s up to. We can’t just chalk it up to eccentricity. We can’t just say that DeMartini is a contrarian. He’s not. He’s not a leader, he’s a follower. So what’s he up to?

Some will no doubt eventually conclude that DeMartini is under the control of one Ross Perot, Jr. the son of the ex-Presidential candidate of the same name. Or perhaps he is allowing locals to speculate to that effect while doing the bidding of all the other local developers who stand to lose their monopoly on Patterson development.

Perhaps we’ll never know the real story … or perhaps we’re just waiting for some enterprising journalist to ask some real questions and get the real story.

Of course, they haven’t outlawed all of the region’s competitive elections, and now DeMartini has drawn a number of challengers in his uphill race for re-election.

And just when you thought it was safe for you to let your kids read the Bee again …

The truly bizarre story of DeMartini and a 22-year-old woman got the short shrift in the latest Modesto Bee article about this incident .

The Bee piece described all the fraud charges filed against this woman, but truly missing from a fairly detailed article was this – oh, I don’t know – important fact: DeMartini said he co-signed a car loan and gave a woman decades younger than him a down payment when she wrecked her car.

Come on, now: Haven’t we all given thousands of dollars to much younger people to whom we are not married?

But, an interesting tidbit emerged from the continuation of the young lady’s trial and a claim from her lawyer, celebrity attorney Mark Geragos:

Then there was a challenge by Geragos, who said local prosecutors should turn the case over to the state attorney general's office, because DeMartini is one of five county supervisors who control the budget of the district attorney's office. That, he said, amounts to a conflict of interest.

“He controls the purse strings,” Geragos said.

What an embarrassment.

And now, the San Joaquin Blog explains it all to you

The Philomath — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 21:38:00 -0700

It’s been said many times that politics and campaigns are the intersecting points of money and power, and that axiom may be truer now than ever before. And our region looks to be one of the nation’s battlegrounds that will put this rough ‘n tumble ideal to the test.

Have we ever seen a time like this – almost all-out political war from one end of the San Joaquin to the other? Think about it.

Take the bizarre case of the raw power grab represented by the attempted recall of State Sen. Jeff Denham. The President Pro tem of the Legislature’s upper chamber – Alameda’s Don Perata – is literally spearheading the ouster of one of his fellow members. Must make for some interesting conversation when their in an elevator together.

And for what must Denham be kicked out of his democratically elected office, you ask? Having the temerity to exercise his free will to vote against the bloated and badly flawed state budget this year, that’s what!

Ultimately, the Legislature was tied in knots for 52 days while the honorable members of the Legislature went through their annual exercise of cobbling together enough votes to pass their budget – which is less democracy than more a greased pig sacking contest.

For this, Denham is to be removed from office. I think we have lost our ability to be shocked by anything that happens in Sacramento.

The Stockton Record reports on a fascinating detail: One of the Capitol’s most powerful unions – the California Correctional Peace Officers Association – has donated $25,000 to Perata’s slush fund, known by the Soviet-style name of the Voter Education and Registration Fund. But here’s a catch: the CCPOA is also a staunch backer of Denham’s. So what gives? Here’s a clip from the Record:

“Hopefully, none of the $25,000 we gave went to that effort,” CCPOA spokesman Ryan Sherman said. “We've always supported voter education, and we support Jeff Denham. We don't think there is a reason to recall him.”

When asked if his organization was irked that its money might be used against Denham, Sherman said: “It would not be prudent for me to comment on that.”

You’ve got to be kidding me.

You’d think an organization of law enforcement professionals would know a stick-up when they see one. Does anyone doubt that even a powerful union can be threatened by a brazen and powerful politician like Perata. Shame on the CCPOA: Not only for giving extortion money to Perata, but also having the temerity to call Jeff Denham a friend and then hold Perata’s coat.

Some are drawing a parallel between this move and the 1994 attempted recall of Mike Machado. Back then, the Record reports, “Dean Andal and other Machado critics tried to recall Machado for allegedly promising not to vote for Willie Brown for speaker, then doing so.”

Hardball politics to be sure, but wasn’t that a classically broken and specific promise on the part of Machado? That’s different than saying to Jeff Denham: “If you vote for the budget, I’m a fan of yours. If you don’t, I’m going to ruin you.”

Burn, baby, burn …

Speaking of Dean Andal, his upcoming race against Rep. Jerry McNerney appears to be one of the very hottest campaigns in the country. Burn, baby, burn …

First of all, the race is all but cemented, since the expected pullout of Guy Houston from the GOP race, although the Contra Costa Times reports in seeking his next race, it seems he’s settling for the soft bigotry of low expectations.

Assemblyman Guy Houston, R-San Ramon, has settled a three-year-old civil lawsuit alleging that he helped his father defraud elderly investors out of more than $340,000.

The case came up during his re-election campaign, and GOP leaders gearing up for the 2008 congressional race sent a signal recently that they preferred a candidate with no whiff of scandal, the more conservative Dean Andal of Stockton.

Pushed out of the congressional running, the only Republican left in a Bay Area partisan office turned to the local political scene.

Houston announced this month that he would run next year for a seat on the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors against incumbent Supervisor Mary Piepho, his former aide.

The venerable voice of the D.C. political scene Congressional Quarterly has listed the most important races for 2008, and the Andal-McNerney clash is right at the top.

Republicans are eager to challenge this 2006 upset winner on turf that Pombo long dominated before ethics questions tarnished him; former state Rep. Dean Andal is among the GOP hopefuls.

The Contra Costa Times solid political blog also adds this good point …

California Republicans seem to be uniting around businessman and former assemblymember Dean Andal as the challenger to first-term incumbent Jerry McNerney, the Contra Costa Times reports. The demographics of this district, which includes parts of Contra Costa, Alameda and San Joaquin County, stretching from Tracy to San Ramon, are changing, but have they changed enough?

So what will be the campaign debate be about? Well, besides the predictable back-and-forth, the Modesto Bee reports that 9-11 is going to be an issue in this campaign …

Further, in one of the great examples of pretzel logic, Jon Mendelson of the Tracy Press draws a connection between Karl Rove and the region’s divided political scene.

But inside Jon’s random musings were some seemingly clear thoughts.

You can see why the GOP would target the 11th District:

• As of February 2007, registered Republicans outnumbered their Democratic counterparts 148,492 to 129,448 in the district — thanks to the 2000 gerrymandering that both Democrats and Republicans agreed to.

• Republicans typically raise more money than Democrats, an advantage in a race in which both national parties will likely throw their weight around

• McNerney won’t be able to count on the support of the anti-Pombo environmental groups that pumped up his campaign in 2006, as the target of their hatred has moved on to other pastures.

That bodes well for a Republican campaign, and former Assemblyman Dean Andal is trying to carry the torch as the GOP frontrunner.

Hello, pot? It’s the kettle calling. Yes, I’ll hold …

Interesting that CQ would conclude that Pombo’s ethics questions likely caused his defeat, when Jerry is in a similar – if not same – boat.

What do I mean? Well, for a couple of weeks now, Jerry’s been dealing with the aftermath of trying to bail filthy money out of his campaign boat from a man named Bill Lerach. Heard of him? You should have. In the 1990s, he was one of the most successful and most powerful people in California, due to his spectacular lawsuit judgments against corporate America and even the state of California. Not coincidentally, he was also one of the largest donors to California Democrats.

Now, he’s not so popular with his former patrons. Seems a little matter of going to prison will do that sometimes …

Here’s the Record’s take …

Rep. Jerry McNerney is giving away $2,000 a disgraced San Diego attorney (Bill Lerach) contributed to his campaign last year now that the attorney has pleaded guilty to giving kickbacks to people who agreed to take part in class-action lawsuits he had pursued.

McNerney now finds himself in a position common among sitting lawmakers: giving back cash donated by questionable sources.

It is ironic, given that McNerney, a Pleasanton Democrat, spent a great deal of time attacking former Rep. Richard Pombo of Tracy for taking "dirty" money from corrupt lobbyists such as Jack Abramoff.

But the news gets worse for Jerry:

Now the Republicans are demanding that McNerney return $5,500 in contributions he received from members of Lerach's last law firm, Lerach, Coughlin, Stoia, Geller, Rudman & Robbins. That firm dropped Lerach from its name when it announced his retirement last month to focus on his legal troubles.

"Jerry McNerney can't even bring himself to do what Hillary Clinton did, which is to give back the bundled dirty cash that a suspected lawbreaker raised for him," said Ken Spain, spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee. "It seems that his record on ethical behavior continues to fall short of his campaign rhetoric."

“Awkward” wind engineer will get windfall of money from super-rich.

But don’t feel bad that Jerry had to give back some tainted money, as the San Francisco Chronicle reports …

In the Bay Area, this is the race to watch. As one of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's "majority makers," McNerney will get lots of outside help -- from environmental groups, wealthy Democratic donors and the Internet activists who propelled his last campaign.

Andal & Lerach, the Sequel

Interestingly, this is not the first time Andal has crossed paths with the disgraced king of lawsuit abuse Bill Lerach.

The Contra Costa Times relates some fascinating history:

Major Democratic campaign contributor and trial attorney William Lerach pleaded guilty to federal charges that he paid kickbacks to recruit plaintiffs in class-action lawsuits. (A lot of Democrats, including Rep. Jerry McNerney, D-Pleasanton, are returning the money or donating it to charity.)

By way of background, Lerach successfully sued the state in 2002 over auto smog fees. An arbitration process awarded his firm $88.5 million in legal costs and the state, as the losing party, would have to pay.

Andal, then a member of the state Board of Equalization, was rightfully outraged. He sued Lerach and won when the state appellate court cut the bill to a mere $18.2 million.

Okay, Andal saved the taxpayers $70 million. Look for the message on a campaign mailer coming to your house soon.

It’s not easy being green

Even if 9-11 is only a peripheral issue in the Andal-McNerney race, it looks increasingly likely that environmental affairs will play a leading role. Is this a surprise?

Well, maybe. In many ways, it seems logical, because while “green” issues are usually the dominion of the liberal left, eventually, Republicans will have to ante into that poker game. And Dean Andal appears to be doing just that.

http://www.contracostatimes.com/environment/ci_6958140?nclick_check=1

The Contra Costa Times delves into the issue and discovers that McNerney’s apparent issue advantage may not be as pronounced as first thought, and the mania that ousted Pombo will be difficult to duplicate.

In no other 2008 California race will the environment likely prove as pivotal as in Congressional District 11, a sprawling Republican-dominated region that stretches from Danville to Morgan Hill and over the Altamont Pass to Tracy and Lodi.

Democratic Rep. Jerry McNerney, a Pleasanton wind energy consultant, defeated Republican Richard Pombo last November in part because voters viewed Pombo as an enemy of the environment, and the chance to oust him galvanized members of liberal groups such as the Sierra Club.

Centrist Republicans also joined the anti-Pombo fight in a move led by ex-GOP Peninsula congressman and Earth Day co-founder Pete McCloskey. McCloskey, a lifelong Republican, later gave up on the party and re-registered as a Democrat.

Pombo disagreed with the characterization but he had spent much of his 14-year political career in an unsuccessful pursuit of policies that spurred environmentalists, such as the revamping of the federal Endangered Species Act and promoting domestic oil and gas drilling.

Dean Andal, the Stockton Republican who hopes to take the seat away from McNerney next year, has already vowed that he will not cede the environment to his opponent.

Andal opposes drilling off the California coast, for example, and he says drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Area is a dead issue. But he endorses more domestic oil and gas drilling elsewhere as a means to reduce America's dependence on foreign sources.

Andal agrees with McNerney that the federal government must invest in alternative energy such as solar, wind and biofuels but says they cannot fulfill the nation's growing demand.

“For most of these environmental issues, the best result is somewhere in the middle, where we have a balance between economic growth and protecting the environment," Andal said. “One of the mistakes Republicans make is that they forget that protecting the environment is a good goal and there are ways we can work on it without buying into big government solutions.”

The fact is, Andal is in the center of today’s environmental political spectrum … only the loony left doesn’t know that yet.

It’s not easy being left wing, either …

Jerry McNerney may not feel as though everything has changed since his upset win for Congress, but the landscape around him is quite different than just less than a year ago.

McNerney has authored a bill that would create a national gang activity database … but isn’t that sort of a domestic Patriot Act? Wonder what MoveOn.org would say about that, since they’ve given Jerry $50,000.

Once a dedicated darling of the national liberal network, Jerry’s finding out that when you credit your election to the Daily Kos and MoveOn.org types, what makes him think they won’t conclude they own him?

Fringe follower of the political scene David Dayen recently let it be known that Jerry has some “splaining to do …

There is certainly a concern in CA-11 with the Jerry McNerney/Dean Andal race, particularly after McNerney's "I'm a moderate" comment seemed to depress supporters.

That would be “liberal” supporters who think “moderate” is a dirty word.

He can’t even find refuge in the letters to the editor section of the Stockton Record, where the gamut runs from “he’s the lesser of two evils” to a query as to whether “MoveOn.org bought McNerney’s vote.”

Others on the left are chastising the newly moderate McNerney, and on more than one front.

His bungled rhetoric during the Iraq debate in August was met with outcry, and this week's vote to condemn MoveOn.org, an organization that gave him over $50,000 in 2006, didn't exactly enthuse activists either. He tried to respond by blasting Rush Limbaugh's comments and asking that he be taken off the air; I'm not sure how that jibes with the First Amendment.

Note to Jerry: When the fringe left think you’ve gone too far in criticizing Rush Limbaugh, it’s a sure sign your pathetic attempts to mollify them are failing.

The Central Valley, Dean Andal and Art Torres

The Philomath — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 12:07:00 -0700

It’s unbelievable to me that the Democrats would allow Art Torres to speak for Jerry McNerny in the Central Valley.

I think Jerry is having a hard time finding a “third way.” Even erstwhile supporters think the guy has no moral compass.

With Assemblyman Guy Houston out of the way, Andal has a clear shot at JM after the primary season is over.

So what makes the Democrats think that a Torres-McNerny ticket is the way to go? Want to see more, take a look at this…

The Good, Bad, and the Ugly of the Housing Market

The Philomath — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 11:17:00 -0700

Buying a home is the biggest expenditure that most of us will make, and no where is that more obvious than in California.

Houses are expensive almost everywhere in the Golden State--and people are losing their homes almost everywhere.

Over one million houses are going into foreclosure nationally this year, and many of them are in California. In just April, May, and June, 54,000 California homeowners were in
default, a record. Bakersfield, Sacramento, and Stockton are among the top ten cities nationwide when it comes to foreclosure rates.

Now so-called activists are demanding that the state step in. (What kind of a job is being an "activist"?)

In Washington legislation has been introduced to create a new set of long-term home loans through the Federal Housing Administration. The Federal Reserve is under pressure to push down interest rates.

In Massachusetts the governor has created a bailout fund to refinance bad loans. In California politicians are talking about imposing a moratorium on foreclosures and banning prepayment penalties.

But bailing out the housing market would allow the subprime tail to wag the industry dog. Most Americans are responsible homebuyers. During the recent price run-up, however, banks provided more loans to marginal borrowers; investors purchased more securities made up of "subprime" loans.

Everyone made money in the good times. But, explains Ray Haynes, a former California legislator: "The slowdown in real estate prices has brought the party to a sharp halt."

Readjustment has been underway, but it's painful to all concerned. Still, says "Haynes, "It's the way capitalism is supposed to work."

A bailout would be bad for everyone. First, it would be unfair for the vast majority of homeowners. The subprime market accounts for just one in 20 mortgages, yet these borrowers make up 60 percent of foreclosures. Most of these people never should have borrowed to purchase their current house.

Second, taxpayers would be forced into yet another corporate bailout. Whenever companies, whether the automakers, savings and loans, or mortgage lenders, get into trouble, they run to the government for protection. The rest of us pay the price.

Third, politicizing the Federal Reserve would turn it into a political pawn in any future financial crunch. That risks constantly exacerbating our economic problems.

Finally, a bailout would be an open invitation for everyone else to rush to Sacramento or Washington when they get into trouble. Haynes warns, "Consider the message the state would be sending: don't worry if you find a house that you really can't afford. The state will protect you if you get in over your head. The government also will protect lenders who provide you with an excessive mortgage and investors who trade in your risky mortgage."

Politicians should stop bailing out people who make bad decisions. Maybe it's time to bail out the rest of us, who've been paying the bill for everyone else for so long!

PARTISAN RANCOR

The Philomath — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 10:40:00 -0700

I like the way that sounds. After all, the foundation of our political system of checks and balances is that ideas must survive rigorous debate and those ideas that do survive are said to have been tested and looked at from every angle. But, of course, that’s not really the way the US House of Representatives works. Whichever party is in charge essentially controls the debate, controls the purse strings and controls THE PORK. And who says that the two parties hold roughly the same views? Take illegal immigration for instance. What’s not to understand about the word ILLEGAL? Or taxes, do you prefer higher taxes or lower taxes? It’s all pretty simple, really. What does that mean for the San Joaquin Valley? In my humble opinion, we should do whatever it takes to be on the right side of the aforementioned issues by returning people to Washington DC who share our common beliefs and aren’t afraid to take a stand for them. Jerry, are you listening?