Reflecting on Electing

It will be interesting after all the smoke clears, that the candidates elected that were so critical of government, will be able to offer actual solutions while they are in office, instead of providing just a "no" vote on everything. I know exactly why some people felt like they were treated like a third grader, because they acted like one, and i have facts to prove it. The same one who is critical of lies, boasts herself as "a businesswomen who met payroll" and in other articles as a business owner and CFO" Truth be told she started a house cleaning business with a bunch of maids, and went on to do the books for her husband's contractor business, and sold eye glasses; even though very commendable work, hardly the scale of responsibility of an entire City.

What's done is done.. and I welcome and say congrats to all the winners. Hopefully, differences can be set aside and start anew. I hope to see on the Councils website, a monthly progress report so that we all can see a more transparent government. Roughly 90, 000 people live here yet only 18,000 voted...so if this council or former council is not the right choice.. you people of Santa Barbara have only yourselves to blame. Political Apathy 101.

It's a great day in America and Santa Barbara and the people have spoken! These people will lead us to a new future where racial and gender differences will be set aside, (we will all become one race and one gender) understanding will prevail, and optimism will replace cynicism. Oh how nice it will be when the average person will be able to afford a home and enjoy Santa Barbara the way it used to be and these visionaries will be the ones to lead us down the Yellow Brick Road.

OK, back to the daily grind.

KA - You are not in Kansas anymore. In fact I have no clue where you are because it certainly bears no relationship to reality in Santa Barbara. Schneider and Blum are indistinguishable for the most part at a time with this town needs to start doing something different about a host of problems - this group isn't about to bring about that change. Schneider was too gutless to take a position on B which doesn't bode well for her leadership abilities and lets not forget those who remain on the council and helped get us into this mess, fiscal and otherwise.

"Seara noted that the letter City Hall sent out to many voters notifying them of signature problems was written only in English, and that many of the voters spoke only Spanish."

In order to vote, one must certify when registering that one is a US citizen. In order to become a citizen, you have to demonstrate a passable knowledge of English. PUEBLO believes illegal aliens should have driver's licenses and legal residency. Perhaps PUEBLO believes they should be able to vote too.

A real "Independent" newspaper would be investigating PUEBLO.

To talk of a "machine" running the city is ridiculous. All political parties have a machine. That's the standard way to operate. The Democrat machine is effective because it shares certain ideals and goals with a majority of the local voters. The Republicans have a machine too and always have. It's just broken now because they are allowing the lunatic fringe to run their party.

Congratulations to Michael Self. I didn't vote for her, but I've grown fond of her insane ranting about "traffic calming devices."

PUEBLO's endorsed candidates, Schneider and House, along with NO on Measure B won last night indicating that PUEBLO is aligned with the voters of Santa Barbara - a community that has shown again and again to be a relatively progressive one. PUEBLO mobilizes an under representative constituency - low-income workers - people who work in construction, hospitality (hotels, restaurants),agriculture, domestic jobs, etc. It is a strong organization that has a commitment to improve the lives of workers in Santa Barbara County! In this election it was 3 for 3!!!

The grumpy old Yes on B folks got their comeuppance—and I've said this all along: if it was good enough for Pearl Chase it's good enough for us! Building height limits are already IN the City Charter. If it ain't broke, don't fix it--and no more "blue lines" or bulging bulb-outs either, please!

To co-opt another blogger’s observation: “The reason “B” did not pass is that it’s a lame idea. It would encourage the exact opposite of what Pearl worked so hard to preserve in our city - proper planning.”

What does need fixing is our ordinances—i.e., a thorough revision of “inclusionary housing" (aka affordable housing), attention to proper setbacks, parking requirements and general architectural review. Let’s see if the new crop of politicians can uphold the basics that Pearl had a hand in crafting.

On a final note, if we ever see another project like Casa de las Granadas (the affordable housing project near the Coffee Cat opposite Library), we should protest en masse. There is NO reason affordable housing has to be located in prime downtown Santa Barbara. NO ONE is that entitled. It’s time for common sense, a return to sanity and gee—how about rehabbing some existing buildings on the Westside, the Mesa, Milpas or Hollister corridors, and making them affordable?

Hmmm—buildings that are near transit lines, within walking or biking distance… hmmm.

And how about tackling some REAL issues, like JOBS and gang grafitti???

Congratulations to Helene Schneider, Bendy White, and Grant House!

While watching a KEYT segment last night, asking locals if the expensive TV ads influenced their vote (most of whom said "no") my answer would have been a resounding "YES". Yes because the negative-- oftentimes hostile-- TV and mail ads that Dale Francisco, Steve Cushman and their supporters put into our community gave many a sense of how they "play in the sandbox." Rather than *spending* forth what they had to offer as potential city leaders, they channeled thousands and thousands of dollars into negative advertising-- typically the route of the incapable and insecure. I soon became a supporter of the ads' targets, reading more about them online, what they stood for, and appreciating the integrity of their campaigns.

To Mayor Elect Schneider: Perhaps a "thank you" card to Randall Van Wolfswinkel should be first on your agenda?

S-E-I-U (we can rob you) Schneider – listen up.

MORE votes were cast for your chief competitors combined (Francisco & Cushman) than you.

What happened in New Jersey and Virginia is a warning shot across the bow. Yes, I know Santa Barbara likes to pride itself on being progressive. The truth is Santa Barbara always lags behind the real world (we’re just too stuck-up to see it.) But more and more We-The-People—who work, who pay taxes and shun handouts—are sending a message. WE DO NOT APPROVE of the mess the State of California—laughing stock of the nation—has become.

We do not want our City following suit.

We do not want special interests, unions, low-income housing advocates, sanctuary-city policies, gangs and grafitti-spewing-gangsters running our City.

No more blue lines and bulb outs. We have REAL PROBLEMS facing our City.

So listen up, Madame Mayor. For we are learning how to protest too.

"maximum," you are hysterical! And your math is so creative!

So you're saying, after Schneider's runaway victory in a five-way race (12% more than her nearest rival's totals; 34% more actual votes than Francisco), that it takes two candidates to best Schneider?

Why would that calculation be indicative of your imaginary shot across the bow? (Unless it's to your fellow math-challenged comradres.)

And I also like the overwhelming use of 'we' in your comment, as an empty rhetorical touch!

You go, gal!

Binky – as reported in the INDIE:
Helene Schneider with 10,254 votes, or 45.8 %

Dale Francisco, with 7,602 votes, or 33.9%
Steve Cushman, with 3,644 votes, or 16.3%

Dale + Steve = 10,706 votes, or 50.2%

That’s hardly a “runaway” victory...

Where were YOU in fourth grade (or did they teach basic math in your school?)

In this "liberal" town, yeah, that's a warning shot across the bow.

NJ and Virginia were NOT warning shots --- Corzine and Deeds were bad candidates. Meanwhile, where it is important, CA10 and NY23 added two more Dems to the House.

Congrats to Schneider - a younger woman overcoming all the money thrown at the races!

As I said, a 12% margin of victory is usually considered "runaway"...

... but I'll settle for simply "overwhelming."

She got 25% more votes than Francisco!

I can't make it any simpler for you. Good luck.

Fuzzy math rules in Santa Barbara where there's valium in the water and Binky-Winky's been drinking it... eeks!

And for the Tabathas in the crowd--who are in denial about the national election results--WE are coming.

2010 is next year. Another complex math problem, I know, I know...

Tabatha -

NY-23 saw a far right winger lost to a Dem who was endorsed by the Republican candidate.

CA-10 saw a sitting Lt. Gov. win an 18 point Dem seat by 10 points.

And by the way, you added 1 more Dem to the House, you've always had one in CA-10.

Maximum - did you look at the math of the exit stats? Look at them hard, the story is there.

Did you know that Deeds was against the Public Option?

And Corzine ran negative ads that did not work, much as in Santa Barbara.

Bloomberg spent $100 million dollars and just squeaked through against an opponent who was mostly ignored by the Dems.

The stories cannot all be painted with the same brush - there are different factors in each, and they need to be evaluated to understand what went on.

Are you conservatives really that forgetful and stupid?

Remember the Bush years, 2000-2008? Yea, pretty recent.

Those are the years when you guys won the elections, and then managed to totally screw up pretty much every single thing on a national level.

Let some intelligent, educated politicians have a turn for once and see what happens.

What maximum is pointing out is there there were 2 conservative candidates who split the vote, and the overall conservative vote was larger than the liberal vote for mayor.

Bajades -

Ellen Tauscher was/is a Democrat, but not a progressive. I consider John Garamendi a progressive, who as Insurance Commissioner knows all about insurance companies.

And CA-10 is not a Dem seat - it has been both republican and democrat over the years.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California%...

binky, it was hardly a 5 way race - the two bottom candidates got barely 1% of the vote. And I'd bet that if Cushman and Francisco could have gotten their act together and forged an alliance with only one of them up for mayor then that candidate would have won. Oh, well. Too bad that SEIU Schneider won (just watch more of the taxpayers money sucked into union coffers), but the balance of the Council, which started shifting away from your beloved far left, has shifted again, by two more seats, toward a more centrist balance. Ah. balance. Now there's a word one rarely hears in Santa Barbara.

Slight tangent, but speaking of partisan rants, did the Independent delete this story about Fox News?

http://www.independent.com/news/2009/nov......

I posted some comments there, and now the entire story is missing.

Justice: My comment was pure sarcasm. I'm ridiculing the idea that somehow this election is going to make a difference in people's lives and also I'm pointing out how typically establishment these people are.

Maximum asked Binky the following question: "Where were YOU in fourth grade (or did they teach basic math in your school?)"

That's a trick question. Binky recently posted that they have been driving (at least in S.B.) since the late '60's so that suggests Binky may have been born around 1953 and as such, Binky would have been in fourth grade circa 1963. The reason this could be a trick question is because we've all heard the phrase "If you remember the '60's you were not there" so if Binky tells us where he/she was, then they will be accused of not being there, and if they say they can't remember, then they will be accused of being evasive so the poor binkster is in a no-win situation no matter how they answer.

Dirty politics at play here.

KehlogAlbran, I like the way your mind "works!"

In the words of Buckaroo Banzai, "Remember; no matter where you go, there you are."

Tabatha - CA-10 has only changed hands because of redistricting. Using your logic, we could say that CA-23 (Capps) is not a Dem district because it used to be Republican if we leave out the fact that the geography is completely different. However, that's simply not logical.

It wasn't a Republican sweep on Tuesday but any non-bias person would say it was an overall win for Republicans. A big win? Certainly not, but a win nonetheless.

By the way Binky, if you click on my name you will find that I have listed my profile. You will find my profile fascinating, especially with regard to where I was in the 1960's.

Impressive.

Even more impressive to know we will be the last generation to revere Chester Gould.

Good question from Kratatoa--WTF? I didn't have time yesterday to read that article, and now it's gone.

@ revisionist

When you look closely at P.U.E.B.L.O. you see that they have deep connections with both SEIU and ACORN. I can easily imagine them as just pawns for a broader national push. And, of course, ACORN has NEVER been involved in illegal activities. Right? It should not surprise anyone that P.U.E.B.L.O. would want to register criminals to make them eligible to vote, insist on multi-lingual correspondence, or even get them drivers licenses.

@ Bajades

It was a huge win. Attempts by party hacks, both national and those above, to state otherwise is not spin...it's beautiful to the cause. It was entertaining to watch California's gift to the nation, Pelosi, in her Alice in Wonderland moment. Kind of like the Captain of the Titanic, "whereas before we had only one boat in the water, we now have twenty boats."

And I was speaking to a friend yesterday and we got into an "in-depth" debate on the true meaning of these crushing defeats. His position was standard DNC talking points (probably because he is a director in the DNC). He stated that the elections were local and therefore not a verdict on Obama and that his influence was inconsequential. OK...I gave him that. He then went on to say that Creeds lost because he had not followed the Obama model and had not brought the Dear Leader in early enough for a touch of the magic to wear off. This is where you progressives fall off the track. Which one is it?

So I pointed out that Obama visited NJ 5 times and VA 4 times to press his claim that those States needed to elect his candidates so that his national agenda could be supported. And if the DNC talking points are now that those visits were inconsequential and the issues were not national but local then it follows that Obama is, himself, inconsequential to any event that is at the State level. The lunch ended. Daniel Petry