Month: October 2025
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Important update about returning your ballot
The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Crescent City Times.com
By Mark Meuser – October 30, 2025
I wanted to give you a quick update with some important information about returning your ballot. As long as your ballot is postmarked by Election Day, election officials will count your vote. However, here’s the bad news: due to changes made by the Post Office, your mail is no longer postmarked at your local post office. Instead, it travels to a regional processing center, where it is postmarked. Regional centers are not always diligent about postmarking ballots, and sometimes the process can take several days. Because of this, if you are planning to mail your ballot, please drop it in the mail no later than Friday, October 31. If you cannot mail your ballot by October 31, you still have options: * Drop it off at your County Registrar of Voters office
* Drop it off at any vote centerPlace it in an official ballot drop box
* Give your ballot to a trusted friend or family member to drop off for you
* Or go in person to a vote center and cast your ballot directlyIf you are one of the millions of common-sense voters who has not yet voted, please make a plan to vote and get it done. Every ballot counts. Mark Meuser P.S. My team is working hard to help educate voters about the importance of getting this message out. I appreciate all those who have contributed to ensure that my team has the resources it needs to educate voters on why Proposition 50 is a terrible deal for California. -
GAVIN NEWSOM’S RAGS TO RICHES LIE; From Backyard Hoops to Ballot Box Deception
The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Crescent City Times.com
By Brigette Gabriel ACT for America – October 30, 2025
Gavin Newsom’s Biden-esque deceptions in pursuit of the Presidency and permanent control in California have no limits, treating voters as pawns, not people—ditching fair maps for partisan theft, just as he fibs about his silver-spoon youth to manipulate empathy.
Newsom’s recent appearance on the All the Smoke podcast, where he spun a tale of a gritty childhood, reeks of a Biden-like ploy to curry favor with his Black hosts and broader audiences—an audacious bid for relatability that foreshadows his 2028 presidential ambitions.This mirrors President Biden’s absurd fabrications: claiming Puerto Rican heritage, posing as a tough Irish kid from the hood, boasting of arrests during civil rights protests or in South Africa to visit Mandela, and even inventing a Naval Academy appointment or a truck-driving stint—all lies.
Newsom, raised in the lap of California’s elite Newsom-Pelosi-Getty dynasty, similarly crafts a false everyman persona to mask his privileged roots, aiming to charm voters while pushing Proposition 50 to rig electoral maps for partisan gain. Such calculated lies, echoing Biden’s, reveal a willingness to deceive for power, threaten fair elections, and expose Newsom’s unfitness for the White House.
In a cringeworthy bid for street cred, California Governor Gavin Newsom recently spun a tale of rags-to-riches grit on the NBA podcast All the Smoke, hosted by Black ex-players Stephen Jackson and Matt Barnes.
“I raised myself,” he boasted, evoking images of a latchkey kid scraping by on Wonder Bread, mac ‘n’ cheese, and PB&J, “hustlin’” with “two and a half jobs” for his single mom while fraying basketballs against the backyard wall. The performance—complete with a faux-hip-hop drawl—drew instant mockery, likened to Kamala Harris’s infamous accent switches, is a shameless ploy to bond with Black hosts and voters, painting Newsom as “one of them” amid California’s racial tensions.
It’s Scary, how easily he lies!
Newsom’s childhood was a far cry from urban struggle. Born in 1967 to Tessa Menzies and William Alfred Newsom III—a powerhouse judge and Getty Oil family attorney—Gavin grew up in San Francisco’s elite circles. His grandfather, William Newsom II, was a close confidant to oil tycoon J. Paul Getty, forging ties that granted young Gavin access to private schools, trust funds, and political grooming. Far from “payin’ the bills,” the Newsoms hobnobbed with California’s ruling clans: the Browns, Pelosis, and Gettys. Newsom’s aunt Barbara married Ron Pelosi (Nancy’s brother-in-law), making the House Speaker a quasi-aunt by marriage until their 1977 divorce. Godparent swaps with the Gettys and Harrises cemented this web of influence, spanning decades of backroom deals from Pat Brown’s governorship to Jerry Brown’s Olympic concessions awarded to Newsom kin.
These families have long puppeteered Golden State politics, blending bloodlines, marriages, and money to entrench Democratic dominance. William Newsom III’s judgeship, courtesy of Jerry Brown, and Getty-backed ventures launched Gavin’s wine business and mayoral run. It’s a dynasty where “hustle” means yacht parties, not frayed Spaldings.
Newsom’s comfort with deception doesn’t stop at personal myth-making.
Enter Proposition 50, his November 4, 2025, ballot ploy—a legislatively referred constitutional amendment to suspend the voter-established Citizens Redistricting Commission for 2026–2030 elections. Citing Trump’s Texas gerrymander (aiming to flip five seats Republican), Newsom’s measure greenlights a Democrat-favoring map, drawn by partisan legislators, to “fight fire with fire” by netting five Blue seats.
This violates California’s supermajority commission mandate, enshrined by voters in 2008 and 2010 to ban gerrymandering and protect communities of interest. It’s a naked power grab, costing taxpayers $200 million for a special election amid a $20 billion deficit, all to rig midterms and pave Newsom’s 2028 White House path.
Newsom treats voters as pawns, not people—ditching fair maps for partisan theft, just as he fibs about his silver-spoon youth to manipulate empathy.
This isn’t leadership; it’s larceny.
Vote NO on Prop 50. Reject Newsom’s Lies!
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SHOWDOWN WITH COMMUNISM: America’s Brink vs. Argentina’s Breakthrough
The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Crescent City Times.com
By Brigette Gabriel ACT for America – October 28, 2025
As the U.S. government shutdown drags into its fourth week, the fate of federal workers, military personnel, and millions reliant on SNAP food aid hangs by a thread—just five Democrats need to cross the aisle to pass a clean continuing resolution and reopen operations until November 21. Loans stalled, paychecks frozen, and vulnerable families on the brink: this is the Democrats’ gamble.
To these elitists, people are puppets—useful serfs to trample for votes, then crush under an agenda of stealth socialism the masses reject. Federal workers aren’t partners; they’re pawns in a bid to seize power on the backs of the furloughed and famished. This shutdown exposes the rot: a party that once championed the working class now engineers crises to enthrone bureaucrats over citizens.
Contrast that with Argentina, where voters just delivered a landslide repudiation of communism in the midterms, handing President Javier Milei’s La Libertad Avanza a commanding 41% victory for 13 Senate and 64 House seats. Echoing Milei’s 2023 chainsaw revolution against Peronist socialism, the people surged against the very ideology now paralyzing America—proving freedom’s roar can drown out collectivist chaos.
Democrats in Congress aren’t fighting for bipartisanship; they’re playing a treacherous game to resurrect Obamacare subsidies, twisted to funnel healthcare to millions of illegal aliens via loopholes in Medicaid and ACA expansions.
Their stalled CR demands reverse Trump-era cuts in the One Big Beautiful Bill, reinstating $200 billion over a decade for non-citizen coverage—priorities that sideline American citizens while bloating the welfare state.
This isn’t compassion; it’s a Trojan horse for open borders and fiscal ruin, weaponizing hunger to jam through extreme policies Trump rightly calls out as “madness.”
Worse, Democrats deafen themselves to their own base: polls show an 80/20 supermajority of Democratic voters opposing subsidies for illegal immigrants and demanding tougher border enforcement.
By ignoring this 80/20 rift, Democrats unmask their true colors: Marxist reconstructionists hell-bent on dismantling our Constitutional Republic for a Democrat Socialist regime.
Compare their bills—endless entitlements, regulatory strangulation, and identity-driven redistribution—to the Democratic Socialists of America’s 2025 platform or the Communist Party’s calls for “abolishing capitalism” through state control. The overlap is damning: Democrats have jumped the rails, mirroring the very “workers’ self-management” and “equitable redistribution” that birthed Venezuela’s collapse. Outliers like Sen. John Fetterman, who bucked the party line on a GOP CR, highlight the fracture—but they’re drowned out by the elite vanguard.
Now’s the hour to pierce the smokescreen. Talk to friends and family on the Left—show them the polls, the platforms, the human cost. Spark that hunger for truth, as Argentines did in their anti-communist thunderclap, and as Americans ignited in re-electing Trump to drain the swamp anew.
Fire these socialists in 2026; reclaim the Republic. Freedom isn’t negotiated—it’s seized. Let it ring from D.C. to the pampas. Viva la libertad! -
CRESCENT CITY HARBOR DISTRICT’S CLOSED SESSION MEETINGS
WANT TO KNOW WHAT IS SAID BEHIND CLOSED DOORS?
The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Crescent City Times.com
By Investigative Reporter, Linda Sutter – October 24, 2025
NOTE: This information was provided to Ms. Sutter by a member of the public after the Harbor Master left the chat open. See Editor’s NOTE below.
On October 22, 2025, Harbor Master Rademaker held a “Special Meeting”. The special meeting with the Commissioners was to have a closed session and then resume to open session and it began sharply at noon.
The closed session meeting had three topics of discussion before returning to open session. Those three topics were :
- conference with legal counsel for anticipated litigation;
- real estate/property negotiations involving 750 Hwy 101 and
- property negotiations for 159 Starfish Way.
When you have an agenda for closed session items you cannot talk about any other public business except for those items. However, in this particular case, that was not the exception. What unlawfully transpired was an obstruction of transparency, violation of the Brown Act for transparency, and a real demonstration of how the Harbor District demonstrates how they defy and go against the public regarding transparency and accountability.
The conversations began from Harbor Master, Mike Rademaker.
After public comments the meeting adjourned to closed session for three items;
- anticipated litigation,
- initiation of litigation, and
- real property negotiations regarding two properties at Crescent City Harbor and Starfish Way.
Fisherman’s Catch Lease Review, The board discussed the situation with Fisherman’s Catch, who owes approximately $5,500 and has violated lease terms.
Attorney Ryan Plotz advised that commissioners with financial interests in Fisherman’s Catch should recuse themselves from decision-making. The board considered whether to terminate the lease or place new conditions on the month-to-month arrangement, with concerns raised about the impact on the fishing fleet and potential replacement of Fathom. Attorney Ryan Plotz (district counsel) suggested including provisions for disputes and audit rights in any revised lease.
Fisherman’s Catch Lease Dispute Resolution. The board discussed issues with Fisherman’s Catch, including their failure to pay Fisherman’s Catch, including their failure to pay fishermen and potential lease violations. Attorney Ryan Plotz (district counsel) explained the legal process for eviction, which would take several months and allow the company to continue operating during that time.
The board considered giving Fisherman’s Catch a short window to pay outstanding debts before proceeding with termination.
They also discussed Fathom’s interest in taking over the hoists and the need to review the right of first refusal clause. The board agreed to issue a 30-day notice and begin preparing for potential litigation, while exploring options to expedited the process if necessary.
Lease termination and Operator discussions
The commissioners discussed terminating a lease for a tenant who was illegally subletting and not paying poundage fees. (Peter?) They agreed to restart the 30-day termination notice process and prorate rent payments for November. Attorney Ryan Plotz (district counsel) explained that while the lease had expired, they needed to send a new 30-day notice to terminate the month-to-month holdover period.
The Commissioners also discussed two potential operators, BSD Properties and Crescent City Holdings, for a harbor facility. They noted that both companies had submitted follow-up information, but BSD Properties was hesitant to make a firm financial commitment until they had community support.
RV PARK LESSEE NEGOTIATIONS
The board discussed two potential lessees for the RV Park; Sean and Scott’s Crescent Holdings and BSD. While BSD has a larger investment compacity of around $8 million, the board expressed concerns about their ability to start operations in winter.
Crescent Holdings, with a guaranteed $90,000 annual revenue, was favored by some board members despite having less capital, as they were more proactive in negotiations. The board agreed to move forward with exclusive negotiations with Crescent Holdings, pending financial background checks and credit reviews of principal owners.
DEVELOPMENT PROJECT NEGOTIATION STRATEGY
The board discussed negotiations with two applicants for a development project. They agreed to move forward with negotiations between Sean and Scott, and potentially introduce them to BSD as a potential partner. The board also decided to propose an exclusive negotiating agreement with a $10,000 fee for a 60-day period. They discussed the need for financial vetting of the applicants, with Attorney Ryan Plotz suggesting using Ernst Jung or Mike Bhar for this purpose.
The board considered whether financial checks would still be necessary if BSD were to join with Sean and Scott, but ultimately decided to proceed with background checks for all parties involved. .
After closed session, the Board members returned to open session and Chair Weber stated there was nothing to report out of closed session, however, Weber pulled items number 3. Discuss findings of the ad hoc committee on the RV park RFP (request for proposals). And item # 6. Consider usage of the lease area currently occupied by Fishermen’s Catch and provide direction to staff. These items were discussed in closed session which violates the accountability and transparency acts of the Brown Act. The board members knew they were violating the Brown Act and chose to willfully withhold public discussions regarding those two items. Additionally, because of those discussions the Regularly scheduled 2:00 p.m. meeting did not start until 2:30 p.m.
Attorney Ryan Plotz: Draft and send termination noticed to Fisherman’s Catch including 30-day notice to vacate and notice to cure violations, ensuring proper certified mail service with tracking
Mike Rademaker: Coordinate with Christina to not accept rent payments from Fisherman’s Catch beyond the prorated amount for the 30-day notice period.
Andy: Conduct background and financial checks on Crescent City Holdings contingent on board direction
Mike Rademaket: Introduce Crescent City Holdings to BSD properties to explore potential partnership opportunity.
Attorney Ryan Plotz: Prepare exclusive negotiating agreement with $10,000.00 fee for 60-day period selected RV Park developer
Mike Rademaker: Meet with Family Resource Center next week regarding filet station permit status and construction time.
Mike Rademaker: Finalize Regional Investment Grant application with GoBiz by November 5th pre-application deadline
DONNA WESTFALL- EDITOR’S NOTES AND QUESTIONS:
- Bartnicki v. Vopper, 532 US 514 (2001), is a United States Supreme Court case relieving a media defendant of liability for broadcasting a taped conversation. In Bartnicki, the US Supreme’ Court held that the First Amendment gave the news media a right to publish truthful information on matters of public concern, even if unlawfully acquired, provided the publisher did not participate in the unlawful conduct. You can pull up the agenda on Closed Session by going to: https://www.ccharbor.com/2025-10-22-archived-agendas-special-meeting
- Why would meeting with Family Resource Center regarding filet station permit status and construction time be included in closed session?
- How can the Harbor District apply for grants when they are in default on a loan and have not paid their insurance?
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You’re Welcome, Gavin
The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Crescent City Times.com
By Kevin Kiley – October 24, 2025
It’s not every day I’m the subject of a positive profile in the NY Times. But in this case, it’s for simply doing what I did during Newsom’s COVID shutdown: showing up for work (without a paycheck) because I believe the House should be open and working for the American people.
Even as the toll from the government shutdown grows – and the farce of Prop. 50 looms over everything – we have cause for great hope in California. President Trump just decided not to send the National Guard to San Francisco because things are actually improving a bit.
Incredibly, Newsom wants credit for that improvement – even though it was over his opposition that we passed Prop. 36 and won a Supreme Court case allowing the removal of homeless encampments. As I said on Newsmax: You’re welcome, Gavin.
And there’s more: After a State Audit that I initially requested found Newsom “lost track” of $24 billion in homelessness funds, we’re starting to learn where the money went. The US Attorney just filed federal criminal charges against two individuals for fraud in public homelessness funds.
Here’s something Newsom can certainly take credit for: while national gas prices are close to $3/gallon for the first time in 4 years, Californians are paying $1.55 more. We pay more than Hawaii, an island state. And USC researchers forecast $8/gallon by next year.
Meanwhile, none other than Arnold Schwarzenegger has just endorsed the exact proposal I have offered for election reform: Nationwide Voter ID plus a national ban on gerrymandering. I am working on legislation now, and I believe it can pass.
Finally, for a sense of what is at stake in Prop. 50 and our upcoming reelection, you can read this article titled “Richard Pan vs Rep. Kevin Kiley: Tyranny vs Liberty.” As I discussed on CNN, this latest attempt by Newsom to stop our movement will fail – just like all his others.
Kevin Kiley is a California Congressman
