Open Letter to the Citizens of Hercules,
I start by saying thank you for allowing me the opportunity to serve as your trusted servant over the next four years. That truly is how I perceive my role --- being your trusted servant.
I know that Hercules has many challenges to address, not the least of which is the huge debt coupled with the substantially reduced income. These are matters which will be with us for some time to come and which can only be approached and resolved one day at a time over the long haul.
There are, however, two issues which I see as immediate and which must be dealt with if Hercules is to more forward.
The first is that we five council members must make it a primary objective to “get along” -- to be "civil” to one another. The five of us have a joint responsibility to serve you, to do the “people’s business”, and the internal bickering must stop. Respectful debate and differences of opinion continues to be essential to effective decision making, but attacks on one another serve no purpose.
I pledge to the citizens that I will remain mindful of this reality and make getting along with my colleagues a priority without regard to my personal likes or dislikes.
The second issue is restoration of public trust. City Hall and the City Council are tarnished. It is the institutions that are flawed in the eyes of our citizens. We, the five members of the council, became that tarnished council once elected – the tarnish came with the territory.
It is we who must re-establish the public trust, -- not by reminding you that the other guys did the bad stuff but by us doing the right things, in the right ways, I further pledge to continue to be mindful of this point going forward.
It is my plan to be regularly available for face to face contact with the community at various locations throughout the city.
I can contacted at trulyindependentman@gmail.com or at 510-741-8334.
Thank you again for the opportunity to be of service.
Bill Kelly
As for Jason's "education" comment, the voice of Hercules has been heard and will continue to be heard. WCCUSD has two new board members, Todd Groves and Randy Enos. This election was about saying no to the status quo and we won! We have the attention of President Ramsey and Superintendent Harter who are making an effort. And JWUSD's Jerry Parsons is always listening, too. We need to form a team of folks who can split up the workload, attending the two oversight committees (CBAC and CBOC), board meetings, and safety committee meetings and representing our concerns. PTAs do not address some of these issues, so such a team is needed, in my opinion. We can survey Herculeans using software which I am willing to shell out the money for if I know folks are interested. The results can be presented to the school board. We can use HOA clubhouses for some of our meetings, but for the first meeting, I'll treat for pizza. Topics to consider: 1. Whatever is important to you. 2. Safety 3. Teacher quality 4. Fund raising (can be done in collaboration with PTAs) 5. Tutoring workshops 6. Music (PTA President Albert Chan has great ideas on this topic) 7.Other This can be fun, too. Let's ride the momentum into the New Year. If you are interested, please contact me. Have a Happy Thanksgiving! Giorgio gcosentino1964@gmail.com
I have a suggestion - how about Mr. Delgado take his rightful place as the next mayor - its his turn right? If he doesnt I suspect all hell breaking loose. It is time for him to step up to the plate and take the reigns - I think its time and I think he can do a good job. It will go a long way for making sure all this B.S. stops and we move forward. - Mr. Delgado are you up to the task? I hope so. Mr. Kelly - do you agree?
You called for an investigation by the Office of the Attorney General into the allegations raised against Councilwoman De Vera. It appears this is not the AG's jurisdiction. https://oag.ca.gov/consumers/general/government#city "If you have information that may indicate improper governmental activities in a city agency or by a city employee or public official, we suggest that you submit your complaint to the district attorney or grand jury in the county where the action has occurred. The state Attorney General is authorized to undertake the role of a prosecuting officer only in specific cases when the county district attorney is disqualified from the case or when they clearly, without justification, fail to act." In the name of fairness, I hope you will critically review the council's handling of this matter. After reading the following Robert's Rules regarding censuring protocol, I have some serious concerns as to what has transpired in the past week. Roberts Rules on Discipline http://westsidetoastmasters.com/resources/roberts_rules/chap15.html In the name of fairness, I ask that you share your assessment of the handling of this matter with the public just as you shared your request for an investigation. I want to be assured by you that our council has provided due process to Councilwoman De Vera. Asking her if she would like to provide a statement after the possible violation of her rights does not count as due process, in my opinion.
The fact that I will be a voting member of the Council when this matter returns to the calendar makes it improper for me to make any comment while the issue is still pending. I just withhold judgment until the matter comes up for a vote. I can tell you, however, that I would have voted "yes" on the motion made by Vice Mayor Delgado. bk o
I think it's unfortunate that the newly constituted Council has had this issue concerning Councilperson DeVera dumped in it's lap as a first order of business. It's just going to delay the much needed work that needs to be accomplished by this Council. If I served on such an organization that faced an issue such as this, I'd be tabling it 'til hell freezes over.
By the way, I'm guessing folks might avoid the County DA because it appears they are not acting on such matters, although their job description requires such. I believe they have been spending their time and resources cleaning up their own mess. This might warrant a visit to a future County Board of Supervisors meeting.
One of the DAs is a dirtbag. I grew up with him. Even in his early 20's, he steals my newspaper and when I chase him down, he squares off with me like he was going to kick my butt...after stealing my Sunday (more expensive) paper out of my driveway. He throws it at me and tells me to F off. What a cro-magnon thug. His dream was to play for the Raiders. He probably could now. So could I. Still, you have a good point, but the DA also declined to prosecute Councilman Boulanger for his act of election fraud after the State Elections Fraud Office recommended they do so. The county DA has spent a whole lot of time cleaning up their own mess, so I have concerns with respect to how that agency is being managed, that they are wasting the taxpayer's dime. If it were not for these other issues, I would not feel compelled to visit the Supervisors. Your point is well taken.
Maybe GB doesn't need to completely disappear, but I would prefer to not see him on any of our government committees. He currently sits on the WCCUSD Citizens Bond Oversight Committee, filling the Hercules Council seat, his term expiring 11/1/13. I'll contact the CBOC board to see what the bylaws dictate when a council member loses their bid for reelection. It seems to me that there should be a new CBOC member representing Hercules starting January 2013.
Advisory committees and oversight committees aren't usually populated with elected officials. Mostly because of caution for an appearance of a conflict of interest. In my opinion, any members of the
CBOC roster: I have concerns that some who are associated with the district are permitted to vote on this committee, including the trade union rep. The law requires 7 members clearly defined in the Ed Code (see below) Roster http://www.wccusd-bond-oversight.com/uploads/CBOC%20Members%20By%20Categories/2012/UPDATED%206-21-12%20CBOC%20Membership%20by%20Categories.pdf CBCO Bylaws http://wccusd-bond-oversight.com/bylaws.htm Ed Code language regarding CBOC requirements http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=edc&group=15001-16000&file=15278-15282