Issues

Election is simple

By Mandy Barre in the NC Times on September 29, 2012

The election in Oceanside is simple: If you want outside interests to run the town, get rid
of rent control and throw seniors, veterans and their widows into the street, build the Melrose
extension and steal homes and farmland, you can vote for Jack Feller and Jerry Kern. Those
two really have no clue how the majority of residents in Oceanside want the city to be. They
are seemingly the selfish duo: We have ours, so up yours.

They have no limits on outsourcing any Oceanside jobs, including our first responders. I hope
they never have to dial 911 if they outsource. There's no telling how long the wait would be.

If you want to preserve your property values, including keeping your home, and want to improve
the quality of life in Oceanside, then vote for the people who care about you: Mayor Jim Wood
and Councilmember Esther Sanchez. They have a proven record of caring about Oceanside
residents and businesses.

For the second seat on Council, my vote is for Dana Corso. She also has a proven record of
caring for Oceanside neighborhoods and protected rent control for seniors and vulnerable
residents. Vote Wood, Sanchez and Corso in November.

Oceanside Candidates Speak Their Mind at Forum

Blog written by Mike Crogan in the Camp Pendleton Patch on September 21, 2012

(Link to Mike's other thoughtful blog entries about Oceanside politics)

On Tuesday evening, (9-16-12), my wife and I drove to St. Mary’s School to attend the League
of Women Voters’ forum for candidates for Oceanside City Council and Mayor. You can’t imagine
how she felt that I would take her to such a glamorous affair to celebrate our 46th wedding anniversary.
All the drive home, she let me know what she thought of the gesture.

Two 45 minute forums and 10 talking heads (3 for mayor, 7 for council) talking about really
important issues that rudder our city’s future can give you a headache. At least that’s what
my honey said when we got home and entered the boudoir. A most subtle hint. Like a fork
in the eye. At any rate, I’ll do my best to be brief and highlight the essential points.

As in his previous forum appearance, Terry Johnson addressed the acrimony at council meetings
and offered a solution patterned after the Third Reich: Keep government behind closed doors and
present a unified consensus while in front of the public. I got pretty resentful with Terry forcing me
into agreement (gasp) with Jerry Kern talking about how democracy works: debate and discussion
of issues in open forum.

Mayor Wood may have felt the sameas he endorsed Mr. Kern’s remarks.

We were comparably amazed when Johnson repeated his concerns about animosity on the council
and called for everybody to grow up, be civil, be examples for the public. Including kids. Then he went
into straight ahead attack mode on Mayor Wood. A couple of times, at one point, chiding the Mayor
to “take responsibility”.

Johnson did say, “My record speaks for itself.” Which begs the question, “That being so, why are
you running for mayor?”

Wood, affable as ever, ignored Johnson’s invitations to fight yet remained firm in his convictions and
clear in his statements. Rather than trumpet self-styled successes as mayor (a temptation Johnson
could not resist - ad nauseam), Wood talked about the progress the city had experienced thanks to the
people who live and work here including, much to Mr. Kern’s horror, city employees.

Not surprisingly, Kern gave into the same temptation as Johnson telling us how his leadership has
saved us countless dimes in taxes while steering the city away from the need to pay workers a living
wage. No, seriously! He said that. By leading the city to charter status (leading while deftly dodging
minor procedures like getting input from constituents), he bragged about how the city could now avoid
paying “the prevailing wage”. Silently, I caressed my wallet and thanked Mr. Kern for making it fuller,
saving my dimes that might have gone to a neighbor who paves the streets I drive or provides care for
children at the city’s rec and parks facilities.

To read entire Blog entry, go to:
http://camppendleton.patch.com/blog_posts/oceanside-candidates-speak-the...

No more votes for Feller

Letter to the editor By Nadine Scott, in the NC Times on September 23, 2012

I am surprised that folks in Oceanside would even consider putting Jack Feller back
in office as a council member. He has shown his true colors by supporting Proposition
E, which would have devalued seniors' and veterans' homes to the point where these
nice folks would have ended up on the streets. Sure, he ends up at your kids' ballgames
and church events ... . Going to events doesn't mean Jack has the residents' best
interests at heart.

It's time to vote for candidates who will support your honest values: keep property values up,
don't take people's homes away like Prop. E and the Melrose extension will do, and don't
want to outsource any more Oceanside jobs or services ---- candidates who want to encourage
quality businesses to stay and locate in Oceanside. Candidates who will protect your neighborhoods
from things like concrete plants and eminent domain.

Those candidates are Mayor Jim Wood, Esther Sanchez, Dana Corso and Zack Beck. Zack is
an Oceanside local running for city clerk.

These are nice people who care more about people than answering to outside special interests.

They will get my vote in November.

The Right Candidates

By Janet Doten in the NC Times on September 21 2012

I'm already tired of all the propaganda: "He did this," "She said that." It's mind-boggling.

I've lived in Oceanside since 1984, and I love it here. We are so fortunate to have the best
weather year-round. And if you want to experience a change ---- say, snow ---- it's only an
hour away, unlike being stuck in the house during the winters back East. Brrrr.

The quality of lifestyle here in Oceanside will deteriorate if we don't make sure the right
candidates are elected to the City Council. In 2004-05, I had to deal with a very rich mobile
home park owner who was using anything to evict the tenants from their rent-controlled spaces.
Thankfully, with the Oceanside Manufactured Homeowners Alliance and Esther Sanchez, who
came out to several of our small meetings (only 56 spaces in this park), everyone had some hope
as to where they were going to live, etc.

This park now sits vacant, a "for sale" sign on the corner, and, as far as I know, it hasn't sold. Thanks
to the City Council, housing and a good lawyer, things turned out OK. Please vote for the candidates
who care for the residents. Re-elect Mayor Jim Wood, Councilmember Esther Sanchez and Dana Corso.

Greed

By Bud Carlson in the NC Times on September 15, 2012

In the November Oceanside election, Council Member Jerry Kern is running for mayor and hoping
to get a 4-1 council majority. That's not just greed, but unmitigated gall. Don't allow the present
majority of the council to obtain a super-majority. The present trio caters to the developers and
owners of mobile-home parks, who are not residents of Oceanside.

In the June election, the trio tried to change the voting procedure that required the elected person
to obtain 50 percent of the vote. Now Kern wants to control 80 percent of the council vote with a
4-1 majority. What happened to fair representation of the residents?

Please vote for Mayor Jim Wood, Esther Sanchez and Dana Corso, who are the voices of the people.

Felien should apologize for egregious conduct

by Mandy Barre, in the www.youtube.com/watch?v=DG38TzfU08M&feature=youtube).

Felien was insulting beyond belief, practically yelling at Ms. Gonzalez, "that's a bunch of
dishonest union crap" and "lying crap." He also demanded, in an extraordinarily disparaging
manner, that Ms. Gonzales learn how to read the law and statutes regarding Proposition 32.

His ignorance and rudeness was so astounding, my mouth dropped open.

Is he completely unaware of Ms. Gonzales' education and background? She earned a bachelor's
degree from Stanford, a master's degree from Georgetown and a law degree from UCLA. She fully
utilizes that knowledge and training every day in her advocacy for working people. More important,
she knows her facts and knows how to conduct herself politely and honorably, something that
Felien apparently does not.

Felien needs to apologize for his egregious conduct immediately and learn how to be courteous to women.

More than ever, this makes me want to put intelligent women on the Oceanside City Council, just
so we can get rid of this rude bore and his cronies, Jack Feller and Jerry Kern. Dana Corso and
Esther Sanchez will get my vote this time around.

It was just a dream

By Christine Gow in the >a href="http://www.nctimes.com/news/opinion/letters/it-was-just-a-dream/article_..."?NC Times on September 15, 2012

Stop the presses!

I had a dream that all the mayoral and council member candidates decided to spend on their
campaigns no more than what the position pays for the seat for which they are running. The
remainder of their campaign funds were put into a special city fund to reopen the Marshall Street
pool, provide funding for a kitchen for El Corazon Senior Center and any other public service that
is threatened or has closed due to no funding.

It was such a windfall for the city and showed that all 10 candidates were truly for the citizens of
Oceanside and not special interests. It is a level playing field.

What a novel idea and dream ---- and then I woke up.

Thank God we live in a democracy

By Jim Hall in the NC Times, on September 14, 2012

Here we go again. Gary Felien and now Michael Rosen ("Prop. 32 threatens big labor's
stranglehold," Sept. 2) think they know what's best for the union rank-and-file.

The last time I checked, we lived in a democracy. I do not believe either man, Gary or Michael,
have ever been to a union meeting where my brothers and sisters openly vote on issues that
directly affect our wages and benefits. We vote on political action committees and their financing.
What could be more democratic?

Large corporations, tea party groups, Gary Felien and others promote their anti-union ... , anti-middle
class, anti-women's rights and the list could be longer, if you get my drift. There is an old saying:
"Birds of a feather flock together."

I'm proud to be a union pipefitter, retired after 35 years. I'm happy and proud to send my dues in
every month. Vote no on Proposition 32, just as you did when the anti-rent control was being
forced on us seniors and veterans.

A solution to the rancor

Comments posted by Mike Crogan who writes a blog for the Camp Pendleton Patch

At the forum for city council candidates last Thursday, (9-6-2012), we witnessed an astonishing phenomenon;
agreement. When asked what was the most meaningful goal each wanted to bring to the dais (I’m paraphrasing
the question), everyone followed Jimmy Knott’s lead: a commitment to lower the acrimony and raise the civility
of discussion and debate.

I think it’s important to examine the taproots that nourish much of the screeching. One of the taproots, of course,
is anger. The other is fear. Two of the five councilmembers take it upon themselves to carry the citizens’ anger
and fear to the dais. The other three confuse the dais with a pulpit from which they sermonize about their personal
interpretations of the free market system. In listening to them, I’m often reminded of a line I heard many years ago.
“What’s good for business is good for America [Oceanside].” Anger and fear received with righteousness and preaching
will usually get you some screeching.

Like everyone, I would like to see the pettiness and squabbling displaced by common decency and regard for civil
discourse, but I think we need to keep in mind some facts. It’s not unusual for some in charge of public policy to
distribute wealth to the wealthy at the expense of protections of ordinary citizens. Nor is it uncommon for them to
be dispassionate and businesslike as they use public trust to insure opportunity and shelter for the privileged.
These approaches to public policymaking reach back to the beginning of time.

On the other side, when they’ve had their fill of it, it’s not unusual for the public to react angrily. When the public’s
comments to the council are ignored as though they were the rants of the dense and dim-witted, and their petitions
signed by thousands are ignored as though they were mindless chattering, they get mad. When people suffer such
things as having their public trust violated, their homes invaded by threats such as loss of equity and imminent domain
(for a roadway that goes nowhere), and their water supply threatened, we should wonder they get pissed off?

While Jimmy didn’t offer a specific formula for returning civility to public discourse, I have a suggestion. Citizens of
Oceanside need to vote for candidates who represent the citizens of Oceanside rather than those who promote nefarious
“free market” forces that too often benefit outside interests and punish ordinary citizens. We are fortunate in that
we have three candidates who have consistently given us clear evidence for safeguarding the people’s
interests. Esther Sanchez and Dana Corso for the council and Jim Wood for Mayor.

Look at Kern's Record

By Marilyn Prado in the NC Times on September 8, 2012

Voters should carefully examine the voting record of Oceanside City Council member
Jerry Kern before voting. Kern is running for mayor against Mayor Jim Wood. Kern has
been there for six years and what has he done?

1. Cut fees for his developer friends.

2. Opposed the Vargas bill, which would have protected our water supply.

3. Abolished the transparency ordinance, which required a lobbyist to register.

4. Voted to contract out our library.

5. Threatened the homes of seniors and veterans with a costly election (Proposition E).

I want a mayor who represents our best interests. Mayor Jim Wood has proven he is
a reasonable voice on the council. He has lowered the crime rate and fought to protect
seniors and veterans. He listens to the people.

I am voting for Mayor Jim Wood.

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