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Month: October 2024

  • What it’s like Campaigning in Reno, NV

    IMG_3870By Alan Hirsch 

    I am one of the hundreds of Davis volunteers from Indivisible Yolo and Sister District called to get involved in this election. I share this as in a few days the experience of this moment will be forgotten in the joy or anguish of Tuesday’s election results. 

    We drove from Davis to Reno to canvass homes for Harris the last week of October. Our group of five is door knocking on a prescreened list of likely Democratic voters. The Nevada Democratic Party assigns us neighborhoods, and we use an app on our cell phones. On our first day we ran into other groups canvasing the same turfs. Many homes already had Harris literature under their door mats. Our first day of canvassing was Monday, not a weekend. 

    We look at the canvassing history of voters in the app. This history shows 10 or even 25 knocks, texts, and call attempts since beginning in July.  Almost all contacts indicate "not home."  A few are marked as voted so we don’t knock. Less than ¼ of the people answer the door (curse the ring doorbells) and of those who answer about ½ have voted already. We make sure everyone has a plan to vote, a where and when and know the hours the early polling places are open. 

    Washoe County NV, which is 1/25 the population of Bay Area, is attracting many volunteers.   

    We wonder what our efforts will mean. Will our hours here make a difference? 

    I see just one piece of Trump literature, a door hanger, cut out in shape of the state of California. It reads "Don't let Harris turn the US into California.” “California” is now a GOP shorthand meme for lawless dystopian hell hole. Socialist, even Communist.

    We knock on doors alone to cover more ground but share our stories when we gather for meals.

    In 6 person-hours of canvasing on our first day I surfaced a young Hispanic man not registered to vote and I explained how he could still register and vote. Another young man was convinced Trump will win so why bother to vote. I shared that Trump’s derogatory remarks had offended a key demographic of Pennsylvania voters. I stressed that his vote would matter.

    This is the work.

  • Letter: Annual Budget Reduced to Repair roads, bike paths and sidewalks.

    The City wants to tax us another $11 million per year on the ballot as Measure Q. They claim the money will be used to provide new services, but they don’t tell us what new services. Well I have a problem with spending millions on new services when the City can’t even maintain what it already has.

    Everywhere you go in town you can see the awful state of our roads, bike paths and sidewalks. They are in terrible shape. We now have far worse roads than West Sacramento or Woodland. It was promised this would be taken care of by the city when we approved the renewal of the previous 1% sales tax hike, but since then things have only deteriorated even further.

    And the City Council approved reducing last year’s road maintenance budget by $1.5 million. Where did that money go? I’ll tell you where it went- it went to increase employee salaries and the development of new programs.

    Let’s face it, responsible budgeting means taking care of necessities first, but that is not what is happening. The city keeps asking for more money from citizens in the form of increased taxes to pay for all their “nice to have” pet projects, which are being put ahead of essential maintenance and services. It is time for citizens to say “enough is enough” and vote “NO on Q" for more tax increases until the City Council starts acting more responsibly and accountable to the tax-payers.

    Don Price

  • The City Council Used Misleading Comparisons of Compensation from Other Cities to Award Excessive Salary Increases to Davis City Employees

    Part 1 – Recent Salary Increases to the City Manager

    By the No on Measure Q Campaign

    Introduction

    On July 9, 2024 the Davis City Council approved a 2.0% increase in base salary for the City Manager, Mike Webb. This salary increase was made retroactive to January 9 of this year. He was also awarded a retroactive bonus of 3.0% for 2023 and another 3.0% bonus for 2024.

    The ostensible reason given for the 2.0% raise was that Mr. Webb’s 2023 salary was 2.8% LESS than the median salary earned by City Managers in nearby cities, and thus a raise was appropriate to keep Mr. Webb’s salary competitive. However, the Council based the City Manager’s salary increase on misleading data.

    Mr. Webb’s salary was compared with City Managers in twelve purportedly “comparable” local cities in the region.  However, half of those 12 cities are much larger than Davis, and include Sacramento (population of 525,000), Roseville (population 190,000), and Fairfield (population 119, 000).  Davis’ population is only about 67,000.

    An Alternative Fair Comparison with Comparable-Sized Cities

    (more…)

  • Voting for Harris is Voting for These Power Women

    Wonderfulwomen
    Venessa Chang – Department of Energy, Lina Khan – Federal Trade Commission, Julie Su – Department of Labor

    By Scott Steward

    I am motivated to keep Venessa Chang, Lina Khan and Julie Su in power (see bios below). These women are in charge of our government’s renewable energy future, market, and wage equity.  That goes very much away if Trump wins. 

    Against Trump’s authoritarian challenge, good men and good women have come together in associations where differences are put aside to elect Harris/Walz.

    Indivisible Yolo (Indivisibleyolo.org) has built a platform of action here at home. For the next two weeks, the aim is to prevail in defending democracy.

    Get involved. IY has already paved the way – training at no cost.  indivisibleyolo.org.  Weekdays and weekends. Canvassing to win congressional districts in California. Calls to win abortion rights in Arizona. Volunteers virtually go where they are needed.   You need a computer and a cell phone to be fully able to help.   It's the most important 2 weeks ever.

    When we call, text, knock we win!  Come join in!    

    (this message is provided by the author alone and not any organization)

    (more…)

  • Letter: Excited about Dillan Horton’s candidacy

    As a long-time member of the Davis community, I am excited about Dillan's candidacy for the Davis City Council. As both a renter and a Black man, Dillan is committed to fighting for all Davis residents, especially those who have been suffering from racial and economic injustices.

    Dillan’s involvement in the city government, contribution to the Nine Recommendations, and his role in establishing the Department of Social Services & Housing proves that he is the only candidate with successful experience in city governance. If elected to the City Council, Dillan will leverage his expertise to better represent racial minorities, renters, and the entire Davis community.

    Since the onset of the tragic Israel-Palestinian conflict, Dillan has consistently advocated for those suffering from warfare. He successfully encouraged the City Council to pass a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire. He has also engaged with Jewish leaders in Davis to address the issue of antisemitism. I fully trust Dillan to champion causes that matter to us and fight for our collective best interests.

    Tim Malone

  • Reminder – TODAY – renown experts give climate lecture on UCD campus

    Storer Lecturship in the Life Sciences: How Decades of Climate Denial, Disinformation and Doublespeak by Big Oil Fueled the Climate Crisis

    ClimateLectureTuesday October 22, 4:00 – 7 pm ARC Ballroom (and Zoom)

    Register here: https://bit.ly/102224StorerReg (or use QR code in flyer).   All are welcome.  Please register soon to help ensure an accurate headcount.

    Speakers:

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  • Letter: Former councilmember endorses Dillan Horton

    As one of the oldest former City Councilmen of Davis I am pleased to endorse my friend, Dillan Horton, for Davis City Council District 2. During the past few years we have benefited from work that Dillan has done to assist us here in Winters, where I now live. I know Dylan as a smart hard worker with great ideas that he will use to shape the future of Davis.

    Ever since 1972 I have unsuccessfully tried to get a Black person elected and or appointed to the Davis City Council. Hopefully, getting Dillan elected this year will be a delightful change, a tremendous benefit, and source of pride to Davis. This old barrier will finally be broken. This will be a great year to make this happen and Davis will benefit from his knowledge and sensitivity.

    Cheers

    Dick Holdstock

  • Letter: Linda Deos for Councilperson for Davis District 2

    I write to recommend Linda Deos for Councilperson for Davis District 2.

    Linda is an excellent listener and her work as a legal mediator has provided her great experience in working with people who may not immediately perceive their mutual interest, realize a positive solution to resolve their conflicts. This skill will be invaluable in leading the community as Davis develops its new general plan.

    Over the fifteen years I have known Linda, she and I have had long conversations about her approach to public service and her understanding of the work required to successfully execute each of the positions she has held in city and county government. As others have noted, Linda takes her work for the community very seriously, spending the time to learn exactly the responsibilities and processes involved in each position.  The breadth of her experience, from chairing the Yolo County Cannabis Business Tax Oversight Commission, chairing the Utilities Commission and serving on the Davis Planning Commission and the Davis Personnel Board, when combined with her role on the Yolo Basin Foundation Executive Committee means she will come to the City Council with a deep understand of how various parts of Davis work.  Moreover, Linda has developed a detailed knowledge about how the parts of local government—advisory boards, city and county agencies—complement each other. Understanding of how these levels of government interact is imperative to successfully craft and implement policy.

    Linda is also a fun-loving person who enjoys and values people, an excellent addition to the City Council.

    Helen Roland Cramer

  • Dillan Horton notes Biased Endorsement Process from Davis Firefighters Local 3494

    (From press release) Throughout the campaign cycle, Dillan’s team arranged four meetings with the leadership of Davis Firefighters Local 3494. During these meetings, union leaders expressed their operations were in disarray as a result of the sudden departure of their longtime past president. Notably, there was neither a formal interview with union members nor a questionnaire for candidates, standard practice for union endorsements. If the candidates were properly interviewed and assessed, it would have revealed that Linda Deos, the endorsed candidate, has no substantial record of standing up for the right to organize, and has not presented serious plans for addressing the persistent labor rights issues that exist in Davis.

    When 3494’s new leadership called the campaign to communicate their endorsement decision, they shared that union leadership already promised it to Linda in a “backroom deal” months prior. This undermined the endorsement process, which should be based on thorough evaluation. This diversion sidelined Dillan, the candidate who’s worked in solidarity with unions his entire adult life, for a candidate who’s most extensive labor experience is working as an attorney for the state correctional officers union to represent prison guards accused of wrongdoing.

    As someone whose entire adult life has involved solidarity with organized labor, Dillan finds the sloppy & blatantly biased engagement in this council election troubling. It undermines the interests of 3494 members, and betrays the interests of the broader labor movement.

  • Vote no on Q and yes on T

    Q Sign Final _ outlinesBy Colin Walsh

    Measure T provides funding for the operation of a new library in South Davis. T answers a long felt need in an underserved area. T is a discrete tax that joins already procured funds. T makes sense.

    Measure Q is a bad deal for Davis. Q doubles the local sales tax from 1% to 2% increasing costs for everyone who shops in Davis — another reason for Davis residents to leave town to shop. Worse, Q can be spent on anything the council decides later and they have a bad track record of wasting money without meeting community needs.

    The council just gave all city staff a large retroactive raise that significantly outpaced inflation. They also put much of the $19 million received from the federal government for Covid recovery to nice-to-have items like a pump track and arts grants rather than to more immediate needs.

    All this as Davis has fallen more than two years behind in auditing its finances and there are irregularities and deficiencies found in the last audit, that itself was several years late.

    The council also ended the finance and budget commission that acted as a public watch dog on the city budget.

    Q is nothing like T. Voting for T will do something good for Davis. Voting for Q will encourage our council to continue with frivolous spending. The council needs a clear message that Davis wants accountability. Please vote no on Q. Yes, on T.