Opinion and Commentary By Donna Westfall – June 28, 2024

Thursday morning, June 27th, 33 pages of petitions to Repeal Measure S on the November ballot were turned in to City Clerk, Robin Altman.

Half a dozen people helped in the process of knocking on doors and getting signatures and discovered that a lot of people are not registered to vote and are not interested in voting.

We also discovered that the thumb drive sold for $42 by the County with all the registered voters listed on it was not accurate. One person on the list left the area five years ago. Others left the area two and three years ago. People move all the time.

I corresponded with County Clerk/Registrar of Voters, Alissia Northrup, and asked a few questions:

1. How often do they update their voter list.

ANSWER: Daily

2. How can you get someone deleted from the list?

ANSWER:

a) Please let anyone you talk to know that if they receive a ballot or any election related ofrom my office they should write “not at this address” and return it to their postal carrier or return it to my office.

In the past, I simply wrote “Moved” on the front of the envelope. From now on I’ll write, “Not at this address.”

Alissia Northrup continues:

 In the State of California I cannot remove someone simply because they didn’t vote for several years.  Many people simply throw away or destroy the material and do not return it.

Some deceased people still receive mail years later from the post office even after paperwork including their death certificate was provided. People move all the time and put in forwarding addresses only to have mail sent to their old address.

It’s an imperfect system.

County Clerk/Registrar of Voters, Alissia Northrup can put a Public Service Announcement on the radio for free and try to educate people in our area.

What we do know is this. Our community has a large number of disenfranchised residents. Although they have the right to vote, they refuse to become involved. Then there are those that have served their time in prison who now have the right to vote again and some take advantage of that. A lot don’t seem to know they have that right.

The next step in the process with the petitions is that Northrups office will verify the signatures. Once 93 signatures have been verified, it should be placed on the November ballot. UNLESS the City tries to pull a sneaky like they did in 2010.

I sat on the City Council during the years 2008-2012. In 2010, the sewer rate increase was challenged and was due to go on the ballot for people to vote on it. The City sued me to keep it off the ballot. Judge Morrison presided. My attorney was Tim Bittle from Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association. He told the Judge there was no reason to raise sewer rates because all the City had to do was hire a private contractor to run the Wastewater Treatment Plant. The City did not listen. Instead, they told the Judge the City would go bankrupt if they didn’t raise the sewer rates. The Judge ruled for the City.

Nine years later, in 2019, the City hired Jacobs Engineering to run the plant. Reportedly the City saved $1.5 million over five years by having them on contract. Why? Because the city did not have to pay salaries and benefits.

Had the City listened to good advice in 2010, they probably could have saved almost $3 million AND THE RATEPAYERS WOULDN’T HAVE HAD THEIR SEWER RATES INCREASED!

Here’s another example of the importance of having the right to vote.

Before Chief Administrative Officer, Jay Sarina, retired, he told the public that no Measure R funds (County 1% sales tax) would be used for salary and benefits. Lied to once again by our government.

We were told that Measure R funds would be used to repair the roads. Since the sales tax went into effect County roads have not been repaired. But 7 people have been hired so far and paid with Measure R monies.

When will people ever learn.

First – that it’s important to vote.

Second – that you need to educate yourself and not believe everything that comes out of the governments mouth.

Doesn’t it make sense that with increasing sales tax, property taxes and sewer rates it only adds to inflation? Then to think that the government cries about inflation as if they had nothing to do with it.

Wouldn’t it be a miracle to have people running for local office on a platform of “lowering your taxes and rates?”

Ultimately though, it’s up the the public. The voting public to say, “Enough is enough!”