[Occupymendocino] [Fwd: Candidates needed - by John Sakowicz - Another Voice - Sunday Voices - UDJ - 20130512]

[agnes at mcn.org]

Please send this to your other list serves.
Agnes


Thought you might like to read John's piece in today's (Sunday's) Ukiah Daily
Journal.
Steve

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*Candidates needed***

BY JOHN SAKOWICZ
Another Voice
SUNDAY VOICES
SUNDAY, MAY 12, 2013
UKIAH DAILY JOURNAL

http://www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/letters/ci_23226566

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
CountyTreasurerand CountyAuditor-- 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 the jobs of CountyTreasurerand CountyAuditor.

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
bimonthly 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
Commission
(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 MendocinoCountya 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 MendocinoCountyis 19.1 kids per
1,000. This is twice the State of Californiaaverage 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 CountyHealth 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 is a Ukiah resident./

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