[Occupymendocino] John Sakowicz: Agnes, You can post Op-Ed on your Occupy Movement list-serve]

[Richard Karch]

> 
From:    sako4 at comcast.net  (John Sakowicz)
Date:    Thu, April 25, 2013 8:26 pm 
> 
>>> 
>>> Dear Editor:
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Recently, I got into a rather ugly email exchange with a county official
>>> .
>>> We seemed to disagree on a basis premise. We disagreed that contested
>>> elections for County Treasurer and County Auditor -- at lease once in a
>>> while -- is a good thing, a healthy thing for the government and its
>>> people. I said yes. This public official wasn't so sure.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> But such is the nature of a democracy, correct? Contested elections.
>>> Debates. Public discourse. At least, that's what I was taught in grade
>>> school civics class. I was taught that no job in public office is a
>>> lifetime appointment...not even t he jobs of County Treasurer and County
>>> Auditor.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Indeed, we should encourage contested elections, if for no other reason
>>> than to have a public debate about the issues that most concern us.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> For the occasional citizen, highly committed to run for public office,
>>> and
>>> with the time and money to run for office, it is healthy for county
>>> government to run against any incumbent, including Treasurer or Auditor.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> For most other citizens, it is healthy for county government to be
>>> informed, to bring critical thinking to the issues of the day, to form
>>> well-reasoned opinions, and to be public and outspoken about their
>>> opinions.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> And be outspoken! Be outspoken in op-ed pieces at newspapers, at public
>>> affairs shows on the radio , at community television in Ukiah and on the
>>> Coast, at the bi-monthly Board of Supervisor meetings, at the monthly
>>> meetings of the Retirement Board, at the quarterly Treasury Pool
>>> meetings,
>>> which have finally opened up to the public, and at the various other,
>>> often obscure board and commission meetings throughout the county, which
>>> have always been open to the public but which are rarely well-attend,
>>> i.e., Local Area Formation Commision (LAFCo), Mendocino Council of
>>> Governments (MCOG), school districts, water districts, the college
>>> district, and other special districts.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> And what of my opinions?
>>> 
>>> 
>>> This is what I believe: I am adamant in my belief that socially
>>> responsible investing is a good thing . I am equally adamant that public
>>> banking is a good thing . And I am adamant that a county-wide moratorium
>>> on robo-foreclosures is a good thing.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Some may disagree with those beliefs, but would they disagree that a
>>> public discussion on these issues and other issues of public finance is
>>> a
>>> good thing?
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Bear in mind, disagreement with public officials is not a public
>>> referendum on them. They shouldn't take disagreement personally. Public
>>> comments are almost always motivated to make our beloved Mendocino
>>> County
>>> a better place to live, work, and raise our kids.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Years ago, I, among other critics of county government, weighed in on
>>> our
>>> undocumented Teeter debt...very little was disclosed, and even less was
>>> documented, not even a promissory note of Teeter debt.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> I also weighed in on the undisclosed and improper diversions of county
>>> contributions from the pension system, and on the abuses of our excess
>>> earnings policy...to the detriment of county workers and taxpayers,
>>> alike.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Much has changed, of course. Things got better. But there's still more
>>> work to do. I'll explain.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> We are a poor, rural county, with no population growth and no tax
>>> revenue
>>> growth. Our underground economy -- the engine of our economy -- is
>>> collapsing as neighboring states decriminalize marijuana, and, hence,
>>> the
>>> wholesale price of that commodity is falling like any other commodity
>>> where there is an over-supply. Our poverty is real. We live in a county
>>> where one out of every two residents is eligible for Food Stamps, and
>>> one
>>> out of every four or five residents are Medi-Cal recipients.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> The health of our county suffers as a result of this poverty. There is a
>>> direct link between our county's poor finances and our county's poor
>>> health, particularly mental health, and drug and alcohol abuse.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> At the April 23 meeting of the Board of Supervisors, we heard that the
>>> rate of substantiated child abuse or neglect here in Mendocino County is
>>> 19.1 kids per 1,000. This is twice the State of California average of
>>> 9.0
>>> kids per 1,000. We heard that during the last year alone, five kids have
>>> been either killed or seriously hurt while "in the system" at County
>>> Health and Human Services.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Indeed, it is my guess that in the closed session of the April 23
>>> meeting
>>> of the Board of Supervisors that the Board settled at least one of those
>>> cases quietly out of court.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> What remains "unsettled"?
>>> 
>>> 
>>> What remains unsettled is the direct link between our county's poor
>>> finances and our county's poor health, particularly mental health, and
>>> drug and alcohol abuse.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Hence, we need responsible, committed, civic-minded people to run in
>>> what
>>> would be otherwise uncontested elections.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Run to stimulate public debate. Run to bring the obscure workings of
>>> government into the light of day.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Run to help relieve the poverty and suffering of Mendocino County
>>> through
>>> right-sizing government, containing rapidly escalating county pension
>>> and
>>> health costs, public banking (a county-owned bank), sustainable economic
>>> development, transparency and accountability in financial disclosure,
>>> socially responsible investing, a moratorium on robo-foreclosures, and
>>> the
>>> realignment of state and federal resources to the county, particularly
>>> in
>>> the areas of law enforcement, corrections, probation, drug and alcohol
>>> treatment, child protective services, and other key health and human
>>> services.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> I pray these candidates come forward.
>>> 
>>> 
>>> John Sakowicz
>>> Ukiah
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
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