Larry Guenther is the most honest man I know in Davis.
He has the instincts of a reformer, and the energy to move reform forward. He believes that the local expertise we enjoy on our city commissions is being superseded by non-transparent decision-making at City Hall.
If you live in District 3 and want this to change, vote for Larry for City Council.
Mark Grote
The Walsh for Davis City Council campaign announces a Green Belt Chat with Colin Walsh on Thursday morning, Sept. 3, 7:30 am to 9:30 am! Please come meet Colin Walsh, candidate for Davis City Council, District 2. Neighbors are invited to drop by the Greenbelt near the picnic tables and play structure, where Eagle meets the Greenbelt. Feel free to ask questions and share your concerns.
Literature and hand sanitizer will be available. Physical distancing and masks required.
The No on DISC – No on Measure B campaign announces that its signs are now available, free, for use on your lawn or street facing window. This creative and attractive sign uses humor to point out three major flaws in the project: increased traffic gridlock, increased greenhouse gases, and loss of burrowing owl habitat.
You can request your sign at https://www.VoteNoOnDISC.com/, where you can also learn more about the problems with this massive business park proposed on prime farmland outside the Mace Curve. You can also donate to support the cause and volunteer to help by writing a letter to the editor or through other means.
“Like” the campaign on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/VoteNoOnDISC/
An upcoming Zoom forum will allow Davis voters to meet and greet the four District 5 City Council Candidates — Rochelle Swanson, Josh Chapman, Kelsey Fortune and Connor Gorman.
This virtual forum will meet from 2 to 3 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 30, and will allow time for two questions per candidate. The questions will be the same for each candidate and must be answered in 3 minutes or less:
Large commercial property owners are avoiding billions of dollars per year through a tax loophole created by Proposition 13.
Since the start of the pandemic, California's 165 billionaires have seen their wealth increase by $175 billion. None of that wealth has translated to lower prices for consumers and everyday people.
It's time for the people to take back what is theirs.
Join Sac, Yolo, and UC Davis Democratic Socialists of American this Saturday, August 29, at 2pm to call CA voters to say YES on Prop 15, Schools and Communities First: tinyurl.com/prop15phone-bank
The following email was sent to the City Council on late Tuesday evening and is reprinted here with the permission of the author.
Hello Mayor Partida, Council Members Lee, Frerichs, Carson, and Arnold, City Manager Webb and Assistant City Manager Feeney,
My comment to the City Council regarding Pacifico didn't make it through tonight. Nevertheless, I briefly want to remind all of you of the situation in our South Davis neighborhood.
The acts of crime and intimidation are continuous and not getting better. In fact, random hostile acts of intimidation have increased in number and the act of crime itself has increased in severity.
The most recent incidents that have compromise safety and well-being include:
Those who currently have their safety and well being compromised due to the Use at Pacifico include:
These dangers affect everyone in this neighborhood. Many horrible things have happened and continue to happen.
I respectfully request that a plan for Pacifico be of top priority and the subject be put on the long range calendar. Thank you.
Gratefully yours,
Tracy De Wit
Colin Walsh, a candidate for Davis City Council 2020 District 2, is hosting a Zoom Town Hall on Saturday, August 29 at noon. Members of the community are invited to this opportunity to get to know Colin and share your thoughts on Davis. Details at Walsh4Davis.com.
(From press release) Yolo County residents are advised to be on the alert for scam phone calls purporting to be from their energy provider.
According to one Davis resident who received such a call recently, the caller apologized for overcharging her on her utility bill, explaining that the overcharge was from a third-party supplier.
She was told to press 1 to apply for a rebate check, but the woman hung up, believing that the caller was attempting to gain access to her bank routing and account numbers.
Valley Clean Energy, Yolo County’s public not-for-profit local electricity provider, would like to reassure its customers that it never asks for a customer’s banking information over the telephone.
Community input to the Council majority of Partida, Lee and Carson is needed now
By Eileen M. Samitz
Many thanks to the Davis religious leaders for the excellent article published August 22 in the Davisite.
This incredible and sincere outreach by so many local religious leaders to the City Council majority is impressive and their recommended action is so needed to be taken by Council majority now. So everyone’s input to the Council is needed now, to support the recommendation to reconsider approval of the University Commons project, before this Tuesday’s August 25th meeting when the Council is scheduled to finalize approval of the project.
The Davis religious leaders group recommendation for the Council majority is to “take a pause and reconsider their approval votes” and to reject it. This terrible project does not offer any housing that is affordable. So, urging the Council to reconsider its approval is clearly the right thing to do for the sake of the UCD students, as well as the rest of the community needing housing that is affordable. The University Commons “affordable units” are affordable in name only, and it is an insult to even classify them as “affordable” with the rental prices they are projecting.
How Did We Get District Elections?
By Larry Guenther
In 2019, the City of Davis was threatened with a lawsuit under the California Voting Rights Act (CVRA) by attorney and former Yolo County Supervisor Matt Rexroad. The letter stated that if the City of Davis did not institute district elections, Mr. Rexroad would file suit on behalf of anonymous clients. The legal timeline for forming districts (90 days) did not allow the City to complete the process for the primary election in March of 2020. The City proposed to Mr. Rexroad that they would complete the process by the 2022 election. "Not good enough," said Mr. Rexroad. He pointed out that if the City moved its Council election to the November General election, there was plenty of time to complete the process. The City Council decided to change the City Council election to the November general election and change to District Elections.
The City Council also chose to stay with a 5-member council and created the map below. This November's election will be for representatives from districts 2, 3, and 5.
Davisite 