Showing posts with label Weatherford. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Weatherford. Show all posts

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Manteca City Governance

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Citizen:

I have upset the tea of some “power-that-be”
Of a king with some fancy new clothes
It appears the shoe fit, but he’s shamed to wear it
Because then we would see his twelve toes

King:

The affairs in our gate (whether soon, more oft late)
We can see with these cool X-ray glasses
But the law, as they say, merely gets in our way
We prefer to kiss each other’s asses

Citizen:

My dear sirs, let us think – you provided the ink
To record your whole long list of crimes
Can one slander with truth? Or dress up the uncouth?
Or defame such depraved sods, betimes?

King:

We reject you… you… all! And your poison pen scrawl!
We demand you remove yourself hence!
There is nothing you say will impinge on our day
We paid our silv’ry coins – thirty pence

Citizen:

Should we follow the trails, what that money entails
And discover those masters of power?
When the towers of earth fall, to what god will you call?
Your reward will be: Kneel, blanch and cower!

...

Friday, October 1, 2010

An Icemaker, the Bible, NsFH, and The Art of War

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"One who knows the enemy and knows himself will not be endangered in a hundred engagements."
. . .
"Subjugating the enemy's army without fighting is the true pinnacle of excellence. Thus the highest realization of warfare is to attack the enemy's plans; next is to attack their alliances; next to attack their army; and the lowest is to attack their fortified cities. This tactic of attacking fortified cicties is adopted only when unavoidable."
(The Art of War, by Sun-tzu, Part 3, Planning Offensives; new translation by Ralph D. Sawyer, Fall River Press, 1994)
. . .

(September 22, 2010)

My first approach to the Barefoot Dirty Girls in early 2008 was almost a suicide mission, as I was blinded-sided by their strategic misinformation ("grandfathered" lie), tactical orders (Cantu letter), and physical barricades (fences, dogs, lights, illegal structures, etc.) In asking nicely for moving the icemaker, or moderating its hours of operation, I was merely trying to follow the scriptural directive found in the Bible for conflict resolution.
Matthew 18: 21-22 Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.
Forgiving seventy times seven sleepless nights finally exceeded my patience.
Matthew 18:15: Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.
I tried that and Lynda S Allen flat-out refused to accommodate. Looking back in the light of the quote from The Art of War, my requests were viewed by the BDGs as an attack on their fortified compound and, in my unprepared state, I was easily repulsed and very nearly extinguished on this initial engagement. In their view, the biblical soft approach (also known as diplomacy*, as described in the NsFH book, Neighbors From Hell) was a sign of indecisive weakness.

At the time and looking back in the light of Matthew 18:15, my duty to my neighbors was fulfilled and their responses - and the attendant consequences - were now entirely on their account, not mine.

And, if Lynda hears thee not? Am I S.O.L. and must leave vengeance to God? Hardly! I sued for relief before the city council - and was summarily denied.

I then sued her ass in Superior Court! Only then did Lynda come over and offer to "move the icemaker."

My response: Sorry... you're waaaay too late, sistah. You and the City of Manteca put me through hell and forced me to do the research. I've now got the proof of your "legally grandfathered" LIE. You had your chance. Merely moving the icemaker is no longer a sufficient action. The required action now consists of entirely removing the illegal business operation from the property, either through relocation or business closure. See you in court.

Thereafter, my campaign became more careful and considered. I now attacked Lynda's "armies," her "alliances," and especially her "plans." While moving the lawsuit forward through discovery, her illegal business operation was scrutinized and the grandfather claim exposed as fraud by affidavit. Her documentation of legality - nonexistent. Her juvenile retaliation against the lawsuit with the yard radio nuisance was documented and charged as criminal. Her entrenched pattern of city ordinance lawbreaking, spanning decades, surfaced in regards to the illegal mobile home, a travel trailer, unpermitted construction, abandoned vehicles, excess animals, exemption from city refuse pickup program, yard sales, and even daily lawn watering within an alternate day schedule.

Her ties to some of her "allies" at city hall - Willie Weatherford, Rex Osborn, and Mary Bingham - were observed and noted.

Her plans to continue business from her property were publicized, harried and interrupted as much as possible. Those actions, combined with a faltering economy and her own public announcement of failing health, impelled her to close down the business rather than relocate it.

(September 25, 2010; icemaker removed September 24, 2010)

The picture shows the footprint of the removed roof-mounted Scotsman condenser unit. Since the plywood door to the illegally expanded shed has been nailed shut, and the siding used as a shed wall now swings as the door, I surmise that the Scotsman compressor unit and the Follett ice storage bin have been removed from the illegal shed.

Next, the shed comes down.

From my own as-yet-unpublished legal writings:
The effects of this illegal use, abetted by the determination letter-in-error, have snowballed through the years. This section recounts certain violations of state law and municipal code that occurred after Defendants took possession of the subject property. A summary judgment, finding for the Plaintiff, would affect these items. These documents are dated after November 10, 1987 and are presented to properly illuminate the absurdly wide scope of the resulting nuisance caused by the Defendants’ false claim of being legally grandfathered on the property. They have built an entire house of cards on a fabricated foundation.
Caught in her own spiraling down-the-drain suction, Lynda's selfish and singularly myopic interests caused her to plant an outdoor marijuana garden on her property, which adjoins Sierra High School, without consulting any code requirements. Again, no compliance - never is. Now there is another misdemeanor charge against her.

It has been awesome watching - and often hearing - Lynda's shrill, self-righteous, self-destruction and her descent back to hell. I'm sure Roger and Flora Stewart and Irvin and Margaret Biggs would approve. I know I do.

Maybe God loves her; I tried and failed.
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* Diplomacy: An initial personal visit with a neighbor may accomplish a couple things. It sorts out the ignorant, who can be educated. It sorts out the oblivious, who can be reminded. Next are the stupid, who deliberately remain ignorantly oblivious. Lastly are the mentally impaired, who suffer from (or, more correctly, cause others to suffer) either sociopathy or psychopathy.

. . . . .

"Thus there are five factors from which victory can be known:

  • One who knows when he can fight, and when he cannot fight, will be victorious.

  • One who recognizes how to employ large and small numbers will be victorious.

  • One whose upper and lower ranks have the same desires will be victorious.

  • One who, fully prepared, awaits the unprepared will be victorious.

  • One whose general is capable and not interfered with by the ruler will be victorious.
"These five are the Way (Tao) to know victory."

(The Art of War, ibid.)
. . . . .

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Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Illegal Mobile Home Demolished - 28 Years Too Late!

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I got a text message yesterday. It asked, "Hey, is my mind playing tricks on me? The BDGs have torn down their mobile shack?

Mobile home - Before


Mobile Home - After


(BTW, that's their pot farm, out in the open still, all those cute little plants under the solar panels. The police told me they told Lynda to enclose and secure it. There's a reason marijuana is called "dope.")

It's about time the Barefoot Dirty Girls "get" the final aim of the lawsuit!

When Mellow Yellow and Ravaged Red moved onto the property November 13, 1987 - 23 years ago - they did so BECAUSE of the mobile home. From the transcript of the city council meeting, Lynda's answer on March 3, 2009 to the Mayor's question confirms that:
Mayor Weatherford: When you bought the property, did you have an intention to use it in a certain way?
Ms. Allen: Yes, it was all laid out. Yes...


The mobile home had already been on the property illegally for five years BEFORE the BDGs bought the place.

CLUELESS County of San Joaquin...




Then they moved their catering truck operation onto the property (without a Manteca land use permit) and used the mobile home as their commissary for six years (without a Health Department Commissary permit.) Oh, eventually they applied to the Health Department for a private commissary in 1993 - right after being told by the city that they could NOT expand their business use - then hauled all sorts of trailers, freezers, and an icemaker onto their property, and poured concrete and built several unpermitted sheds to cover all the crap, and dumped gravel over half the yard to turn it into a business compound.



CLUELESS City of Manteca...

It's about time this mobile home is gone! These charlatans saved a ton of money over those twenty-three years of hellish and illegal use, which kept them in business by undercutting the competition's operating costs and evading municipal regulations. (Their mantra: Nosy, whiney neighbors and officials be damned!)

Last week my attorney sent over a 30-day Notice to Inspect Property and a Demand For Production of Documents relating to the legality of the mobile home in my neighbors’ yard. The only document this mobile home possesses is the 1976 permit, above, which expired in 1982. This week the monstrosity, which enticed the two-legged rodents to take up residence in the first place, is finally being torn down.

Once the mobile home is gone, its address (812 Fishback Street) will be decommissioned by the City of Manteca.


This demolition assuages my fear that they were going to convert their illegal mobile home/TLC Commissary into Mellow Yellow's Pot Farm. The lawsuit will, of course, continue until the whole nonconforming operation is judged illegal and ALL the appertanant structures and equipment have to go. If new construction takes place for a pot farm enclosure, I will ensure that the BDGs have a Manteca building permit - just like when they tried to rebuild their back porch without a permit.



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Monday, June 28, 2010

TLC Catering's Longtime Political Protector

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"Politics: A strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles. The conduct of public affairs for private advantage." - Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary
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Willie W Weatherford and his wife, in May of 2001, sold the house located at 377 N Scenic Place, Manteca, CA, to co-owners Cornelia J Green and Lisa Gomes (County Recorder's doc #2001-078747, Assessor's Parcel Number 217-54-014.) In April of the following year, Cornelia deeded her interest in the property to Lisa, who then held it solely (County Recorder's doc #2002-064047.) Whatever happened between Cornelia and her co-owner, Lisa Gomes, precipitated two highly relevant facts - Cornelia wound up living with Lynda Allen and Theresa Brassey at 810 Fishback Street, and parked her travel trailer across the street at 785 Fishback for many years.

Cornelia J Green is - in Lynda Allen's words - "very well-known." She is the infamous "Corky," (here, here) who took an overt and active hand in the illegal operation of TLC Catering and Commissary on R-1 residential property since she took up residence with those two career scofflaws, Allen and Brassey. Corky was TLC's direct political lifeline to City Hall - direct to Willie W Weatherford, Police Chief, then Councilman, then Mayor; and also that (very large) spokesmouth, Rex Osborn, spinmeister extraordinaire.

Patronage? Cronyism? Influence peddling? Mr. Weatherford sat in judgment of my claim of TLC's illegal operation, pretended he had no clue who or what I was talking about, and skillfully directed the vote to deny the City reopen my case for review. Corky was in the council chambers with Lynda's and Theresa's entourage of other losers and hangers-on, while being "protected" by the O. Rex spewing old news. Such is the shameful, sorry state of dirty politics and politicians in Manteca, California. It is not a matter of following any laws; rather, it is a matter of who you know in city government who can quash any complaints. The less we have of Willie, the better off this city will be, regardless of who is elected from the current field of candidates - Anderson, Cantu, Moorhead, or Perry.

Friday, May 14, 2010

Meet the Candidates Night

Last Monday night was a Candidates Night for the November 2010 elections, organized by the South San Joaquin County Republicans and hosted at the Chez Shari golf course clubhouse. Various political organizations were introduced and Rita Stolp of the Tea Party Patriots was the featured keynote speaker. Jason Campbell reported the local angle in a Tuesday Manteca Bulletin article.

I went to the meeting, being a newbie local candidate, blissfully content to merely observe because I was not on the list of speakers... until the organizer/M.C., Frank Aquila, asked, “Are there any other local candidates here tonight…?” I raised my hand, stood, and introduced myself. My first extemporaneous political speech was a disaster; I write much better than I speak (at least I think so.)

Preceding me, Manteca's mayor, Mr. Weatherford (former city police chief, councilman, and two-term mayor), stood and put on a most embarrassing show.  "Aw, shucks, I'm a nobody. I don't set policy..."

A year-and-a-half ago I quoted a young woman, a Manteca outsider, in a council meeting, who had this to say about Manteca's brass:

"I mentioned to my father one evening that dealing with Manteca reminded me of a 1950s town in the Deep South. Ironically, the very next day I was introduced to someone who had been a Manteca resident for 10 years who described the dynamics of Manteca's political scene as, quote, 'Think American South circa 1950.' "



After the meeting, the iconic Mr. Weatherford buttonholed me and attempted to set me straight on my comment that the mayor certainly does set policy by holding employment at will powers over the city manager. His beef was that it takes the council to dismiss a city manager. That part is true (see MMC code sections in footnote), but his claim he is a powerless figurehead is ridiculous. I believe I used the term, the city's Head Cheerleader (which is not really derogatory if you think about it in light of what city council members did on their recent junket to Washington, D.C.)

Gimme a C... Gimme a D... Gimme a B... Gimme a G... What does it spell?
SOLVENCY! SOLVENCY!
(in the Community Development Block Grant program!)


(I know, I know... CDBG is a state program. However, feel free to substitute any other acronymic program for which Manteca has to beg for taxpayer funds to be returned locally from state or federal bureaucracies. And remember that any  every bureaucrat who touches those funds skims a percentage before passing them on.)


Back on point again...

The fancy Latin phrase, quid pro quo (trading favors)... and, if you don't trade, he rattles a few skeletons... says everything about Mr. Weatherford's personal influence and his penchant for taking all the credit for every revenue dollar ever collected, ignoring the debits, and regularly singing his own praises for every taxpayer/ratepayer/feepayer/RDA-purchased "accomplishment" over his councilman and mayoral terms in city office.

The thrust of my speech was that local governments and their constituency have almost no choice but to dig in and hold on, fiscally, while conservative representatives to state and federal governments correct the ruinous, self-consuming course currently held by the "ship of state."

All we hear at Manteca City Council meetings is, "Sacramento is stealing all our money... again!" While California's spending truly is profligate, it is Sacramento's money; they managed to squeeze it (mostly) legally from law-abiding (tax-paying) citizens. But as the the Constitution of the State of California, Article 11, Local Government, makes very clear, every county and city in the state is only a political subdivision of the state; they cannot "steal" what is already theirs. The state can, however, renege on long-standing revenue sharing programs, re-write the taxation and spending laws, and break all sorts of promises... at least until the Olden State turns to dust... or is brought back to moral and fiscal solvency by responsible representatives in the legislature.

Regardless of what disconnected state and fed "lawmakers" do or don't, voters in the City of Manteca need to seriously consider whether this municipality should be impartially administered according to good law, or continue to be the personal political playground of an insular "good old boys" club.

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Footnote:

Manteca Municipal Code
Title 2 ADMINISTRATION AND PERSONNEL
Chapter 2.08 CITY MANAGER

Section 2.08.010 Office created—Appointment—Term.

The office of the city manager is created and established. The city manager shall be appointed by the city council and shall hold office for and during the pleasure of the city council.

2.08.080 Relationship to city council.

The city council and its members shall deal with the administrative services of the city only through the city manager, except for the purpose of inquiry, and neither the city council nor any member thereof shall give orders to any subordinates of the city manager. The city manager shall take his or her orders and instructions from the city council only when sitting in a duly held meeting of the city council and no individual councilmember shall give any order or instructions to the city manager.

2.08.100 Removal from office—Notice from council.
The removal of the city manager shall be only upon a three-fifths vote of the whole council in regular council meetings, subject, however, to the provisions of the next succeeding sections. In case of his or her intended removal by the city council, the city manager shall be furnished with a written notice stating the council’s intention to remove him and the reason therefor, at least thirty days before the effective date of his or her removal.

Authority for the above municipal code is granted in Article 11 of the California Constitution:
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California Constitution
Article 11, Sec. 5. (b)
It shall be competent in all city charters to provide, in addition to those provisions allowable by this Constitution, and by the laws of the State for: (1) the constitution, regulation, and government of the city police force (2) subgovernment in all or part of a city (3) conduct of city elections and (4) plenary authority is hereby granted, subject only to the restrictions of this article, to provide therein or by amendment thereto, the manner in which, the method by which, the times at which, and the terms for which the several municipal officers and employees whose compensation is paid by the city shall be elected or appointed, and for their removal, and for their compensation, and for the number of deputies, clerks and other employees that each shall have, and for the compensation, method of appointment, qualifications, tenure of office and removal of such deputies, clerks and other employees.

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