• Campaign Signs: A Critique

It's only 62 days until election day.

Here is a link to a countdown website if you ever need to know and don't feel like doing the math yourself.

We're still three weeks out from the candidates forum that is to be held at Elsinore High School (Tuesday, September 23 at 6:30pm). Based on the flood of responses at the page created for the candidates forum (flood meaning: so little traffic there you don't need an umbrella), my guess is that they will be lucky to get 50 non participants/family members there. Though you can count on the Cantankerotti to show up in full force to cheer for their guy(s). Here's a link to the forum page so you can leave a question.



So, until then, I'm looking for new ways to keep the City Council race in mind.

I've been noticing the political signs popping up, let's talk about them, and see how the candidates are faring in that department.





I did some picture taking around town, mostly the southern end, and here is what I saw.

The intersection of Frederick and Palomar. Only two have posted signs here so far.

The southeast facing corner at Palomar and Central. Tim Walker's sign is there, but not easy to read late in the day.

This is the northeast corner of Palomar and Gruwell. Probably one of the most important areas for signs.

This is Catt Rd, the back way into Windsong behind Stater Bros. This is a key area for getting your name out.

Here we see 4 of the 5 candidates represented. This is on Clinton Keith, waiting to turn from Inland Valley Dr.

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The first thing that comes to mind is... Jimmy Flores really wants on the Water Board (his signs may be small and look like they were done on an old time silk screen out of his garage, but they are everywhere) and Israel Leija needs to be put on a milk carton since he's been missing since he turned his papers in.

Other than that, let's look at the signs and the designs.

First Prize goes to Ben Benoit.

It's all about visibility and legibility and being able to clearly see the name is key. His signs are to the point, LARGE enough to see with ease, and with a good choice of colors. This sign couldn't have been designed any better.

—•—

I'll give Second Prize to Marsha Swanson. 

Her sign is also attractive to the eyes, good color choices, and a good size. In the picture it looks fine, but while driving I found it hard to read her name with the white outline eating into it.

Also, though it's still early, that was the only sign of hers I saw, and I'd guess that is one of the least important locations to choose from. Yes, it's high traffic, but with most of the traffic coming from the medical facilities, I contend that few of the people that see that sign are Wildomar residents.

Lastly, when I tried the link, Re-ElectMarsha.com, listed on her banner, it went to a site that wasn't up yet.

—•—

The bronze medal goes to Gary Andre.

His signs may be small, and with bad color options, but they are legible and he has put them up everywhere. Not bad for a candidate that filed as indigent, and even was found to be indigent too, though he did end up paying his filing fees ahead of schedule. Kudos!

in·di·gence

ˈindijəns/

noun

1. a state of extreme poverty.

   "The man's indigence didn't factor into the out of town blogger's endorsement of his candidacy."
2. 
   

Not sure what that says about the man. Who's his strategist here? Why make it know that you're on hard times, actually qualifying for the payment plan, just to pay it off in full anyway? It tells me that he doesn't plan the work, then work the plan. 

I also like how he tossed in there "A Proven Leader". What's that supposed to mean? I tried to find details at his campaign website, but I couldn't find his campaign website. There was an odd facebook page that might be for his campaign. Here's the link to it —go check it out for yourselves. He calls it Wildomar Citizens Opposed To Unqualified City Governance.  I sure am curious as to his definition of "unqualified".

Oh, when it comes to being "A Proven Leader" —I managed not one, but TWO, beer league baseball teams to the championship (1995, 1996) in Orange County. That too makes me a "Proven Leader" but how would such a thing come into play as a member of the city council?

—•—

Tim Walker's signs are the right size, and the coloring is fine, he has them in a number of places, but the font size and the general design doesn't work for a roadside sign. It's not easy to read unless you were to be walking past it.  Here Tim, this is how it would have looked if I had designed it.

Tim, there's still time to use this version.

—•—

I don't know if Israel Leija has signs or not... since I haven't seen any.

Last I heard his request to be deemed "indigent" fell through and he owes the city some cold cash or he's going to lose his candidates statement in the ballot pamphlet.

Kind of an odd thing to have on your Christmas list.

Hey Mr. Out of Town Blogger, you ready to eat those words yet... or are you still standing by this classic... "Israel has professional and life experience equal to any of the three incumbents."?

Just in case someone wants to suggest that I took the old guy out of context, here's the full quote from his blog.

"I’ve never met this candidate, and have no context with which to comment on his ballot statement... It appears that Israel has professional and life experience  equal to any of the three incumbents  and is worthy of your consideration for his successful efforts to become a candidate with commendable stated goals."

So a guy that falsely claims indigence, so he can get out of paying for something that is NOT required in the first place, is "equal to any of the three incumbents"?

(p)SHô/

I guess the three incumbents,  plus the rest of the people this guy hates, blew it by not going the sympathy route by claiming indigence way back when. But let's be real for half a sec... can you imagine what he would have done with something like that?

I'm thinking anything along the lines of —"is worthy of your consideration, blah, blah, bonanza!" wouldn't have been in the cards.

Mom, are we there yet? 
No, now sit back before I pull this car over and give you something to think about!

In a couple of hours it'll only be 61 days until November 4th. Woo-Hoo!

—•— —•— —•— —•— —•— —•— —•— —•— 

Come over and sit a spell.

Wildomar Rap —still the leader in the clubhouse when it comes to managing a roster of outstanding Beer League players to victory.

• credibility

cred·i·bil·i·ty

ˌkredəˈbilitē/

noun

1. • the quality of being trusted and believed in.

     "the out of town blog's credibility has been hammered once again by making more outlandish claims."

     synonyms:

     trustworthiness, reliability, dependability, integrity; More
   • • the quality of being convincing or believable.

       "the out of town blog's anecdotes have scant regard for credibility"

       synonyms:

       plausibility, believability, tenability, probability, feasibility, likelihood,credence;

     • 
       

Without credibility, a person is sunk. 

"Great," you're saying... I haven't bothered with sophomore vocabulary since... well... since I was a sophomore. What's this topic about?

It being election season and all, noise levels are beginning to rise... even in our small city. Though the only discernible noise seems to be coming from 27 miles due east. (hint: the new location of an infamous blogger that has stalked Wildomar with unmatched relentlessness for years).

I have a real question for those that have had the dismal misfortune of catching the acts of the local hate bloggers since they first slithered ashore.

Has "Zak" ever been a straight shooter?

Has he always come with the same predictable tripe?

He is so formulaic.

I'd love to see an assembly of his ardent followers. 

I'm thinking it would resemble an old movie from the '30s.

Back to the topic of credibility.

So, despite the fact that Señor Poison Pen has been living far from Wildomar since the first of the year, his unabated loathing for this city keeps pumping the bile out around the clock. I guess he needs an outlet for it, so he continues to post about our city, and now about the coming election.

Gee, we're all on pins and needles awaiting his every pronouncement.

Of course he is endorsing both challengers. Just as he endorses the lawsuits that have long plagued this city. Like I said, he is tediously predictable, so everyone one of us saw that pitch coming —as if it were a beach ball on a tee. No wonder why he keeps his comments shut off. If he actually engaged people, instead of sniping from the peanut gallery, he'd get disrobed more times than Charlie Brown does.

I wonder if CB writes a nasty blog about an adjacent city too?
If he does, I bet he also keeps the comments shut off.

So, other than his long history of being off base, what makes this worth mentioning here?

He's been on a tear of late. Trying, yet again, to tarnish the city council with half truths, especially those running for reelection. Conversely, attempting to pump up the "leadership qualities" (cough) of candidate Gary Andre. Of course he never mentions any of Mr. Andres numerous glaring weak spots that would make him an atrocious selection for the city council. All he wants is one of the old guard in there, no matter how poor of a choice it would be.

* * * * * * * * *

Let's use the example of a used car to see what it looks like when you only tout the positive, while doing your best to shield the negative.

C'mon, you can trust me.

 Salesman from Hemet: This beauty seats seven; it was used by a the local convent to bring the infirm to church; never driven more than 100 miles a month; it recently had new tires and wiper blades put on it; it is a classic car that has been in town for decades.

potential buyer opens the hood.

 Experienced Wildomar Voter: Hey buddy, there ain't no engine in here.

 Salesman from Hemet: Eh, a mere technicality.

The writer of the blog being discussed here is no better than a classic, 1950's era used car salesman. Hey, that isn't a slam... entirely that is. Those guys knew how to ply their trade, and were successful. Same here, he knows what he's doing, and he loves knowing how many he can fish in.

Here is another tidbit to look at.

He lifted a question from a facebook page that is dedicated to the coming Candidate Forum. He contends that it was directed at Gary Andre, as if that were a bad thing, though it was asked of all of the candidates. Here is the quote from the blog:

"Since Gary Andre has been physically disabled for a long period of time, the following question is disingenuously posed, “Have any of you ever had, or do any of you currently have any mental… health issues, drug or alcohol addiction? Do any of you currently take painkiller medication on a daily, or regular, basis that could potentially interfere in making sound decisions?” should only be perceived by most rational voters as an unwarranted intrusion into Andre’s personal medical history."

That's one way to look at it I guess. But another way to look at it is —do we want someone up on the dais that is under the influence of pain medication? It's not a slam on him if he is. My wife hurt her back in January, and is only just now getting healthy enough to return to work. She's been on a few different pain meds and she can tell you first hand, as can I, that her memory gets affected. 

If you aren't too sure about that fact, just google "painkillers and memory loss". 

I've watched Gary Andre speak at city hall many times, I've also spoken to him several times. He's made many good points on certain topics. I heard him remind the Parks Sub-Committee last year, that the ground in October is very hard, and it will be next to impossible for volunteers to plant trees [on the Great Day of Service]. 

He also made some solid points about the grass at Marna as they were doing the hydroseeding. Credit where credit is due, there isn't a single person that would give the current turf at Marna a glowing report. It's choked by weeds and something needs to be done about it.

He's also worked for the trails in Wildomar and Riverside County.

Gary, thanks for the time you've put in.

Like I've said before, "Nice enough fellow" but that doesn't make him qualified to be one of our five city council members. I'm not saying that because of his views that I don't share, I'm saying that because of the entire package that comprises the candidate. Including his well known pugnacious tendencies.

If you haven't had a chance to meet Gary Andre, this is a small slice from back in April at a city council meeting. The sound is a bit iffy, but it'll give you glimpse of the man.

* * * * * * * * *

Now let's examine the views, from that same blog, on newcomer Israel Leija and his bid to be a city council member.

"I’ve never met this candidate, and have no context with which to comment on his ballot statement... It appears that Israel has professional and life experience  equal to any of the three incumbents  and is worthy of your consideration for his successful efforts to become a candidate with commendable stated goals."

And he throws around words like "paranoia" and "fear"?  As if any serious candidate would be in a swivet because there is an election ahead. Just more from the crowd that habitually abuses hyperbole and relies on distortions since their actual points don't resonate with more than a few disgruntled people that forgot how to get along with others.

Ok, let's parse the quote.

He's never met the man, and all he knows of him is what he read in a "candidate" statement.

If this were a studio audience we wouldn't need laughter and applause signs. 

Though he admittedly knows nothing about the candidate, he's ready to conclude that he "has professional and life experience equal to any of the three incumbents".

Are you serious?

...and I bet you're hungry enough to eat the entire Budweiser team of Clydesdales too. Enough of the mindless exaggerations for once in your life.

I don't care if you like or dislike Marsha Swanson, Tim Walker or Ben Benoit. To ignore reality and then blithely suggest that Mr. Leija's experience level is anywhere near on par with the others —people that have been active in the community for years— is beyond that of the dullest witted out there.

It only shows the disdain he must have for his readers, as if assuming that they are so intellectually lazy that they would just gobble up his words, like they were coming from on high. Then again, they are his readers and he ought to know.

Oh wait, time for me to predict what Zak will do next.

He'll proclaim that I wrote this as a diversion, because of the ever gripping, and insurmountable consternation, that one of the two challengers is bringing in their wake among the other candidates (or some other such nonsense).

Yep, dats gotta be it... or it could be that there are no credible challengers in this race... no offense Israel. As for those that might like to see a different face up there; they have no real alternatives.

Hey likely voters.

Some of you may want to vote the incumbents out, but you'd better have a competent replacement in mind (which there aren't any in this election cycle). City business shouldn't be such a joke to you, that you'd put any warm body up in one of those chairs. This isn't a high school popularity contest, no matter what the out of town bloggers may suggest.

I still haven't met candidate Leija, but plan to at the Candidate Forum that is scheduled for Tuesday, September 23rd at Elsinore High School, unless he comes to a city meeting first. 

I'll ask him how he feels about being endorsed by the blogger in question. Any serious candidate would disavow any direct or implied endorsement from that source. First, who would want to be associated with it, or the small crowd that sings its praises? Second, it's not like he has an inspiring track record when it comes to Wildomar elections and those he backs. Remember, without credibility, what's the point?

♫ ♪ Oh what fun... it is to blog... in an election year in a small town. ♫ ♪

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You will now go like my page.

Look into my eyes, look into my eyes, the eyes, the eyes, not around the eyes, don't look around my eyes, look into my eyes — now you're under.

• City Council Elections 2014

November 4th, election day, will be here sooner than you think. 

The die is cast for this year's city council election. All three incumbents (Mayor Marsha Swanson, Mayor Pro-Tem Ben Benoit and 2013 Mayor Tim Walker) are running to retain their seats. Joining them are Israel Leija, and Gary Andre. Two other people (Albia Miller and Roger LeClerc) did "pull papers" but failed to turn them in.

A thanks goes out to Mr. Israel Leija for getting me an updated photo for this graphic.

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I've been going to most city meetings during the last 12 months (city council, planning commission, parks sub committee, special neighborhood meetings... just not the Measure Z Oversight Committee. Even I have to draw the line somewhere). 

I'm not sure that committee does anymore than fulfill a perfunctory

obligation. Apologies to Monty Goddard and Kathy Bundy.  :^)

From what I can see, from that experience, is that the three incumbents take their positions seriously. I don't necessarily agree with all the various positions they take, but it's obvious that they do their homework, they get out in the community, and they have Wildomar's best interest at heart. I'm a firm believer in term limits, but since Wildomar is so young, none of our council members have been there too long... yet.

In the same year, I've seen and spoken to Gary Andre many times... including at the parks reopening event at Marna O'Brien Park earlier this year. Nice enough fellow, he often goes to council meetings or planning commission meetings. He's been part of the city in the past. He was a Planning Commissioner appointed by former council member, and repeat litigant against the city after she failed to gain reelection in 2010 —Sheryl Ade. He also was Volunteer Trails Coordinator starting in June of 2012, but he resigned less than a year into the two year term.

Until this election cycle, I'd never heard of Israel Leija. I've never seen him at a city meeting before nor heard him speak. I look forward to chatting with him to see what his stances on the issues are and why he thinks a new comer, that hasn't participated in the city before now, should leap frog to one of the three top seats that will be up for grabs.

_________________________________________________

I've come up with some questions that I'd like hear the candidates expound upon. 

←In no particular order→

1. What is your stance on Walmart coming to Wildomar?
2. Why are you running for office?
3. What is your take on the frequent lawsuits being filed against the city?
4. What should be done to improve code enforcement?
5. What is your vision for Wildomar?
6. Will you be accepting any campaign contributions from developers, land speculators and/or consultants who work for or represent developers?
7. Would you support higher taxes to maintain, or increase, current levels of services expected by your residents?
8. What do you consider to be the most important unmet need in Wildomar?
9. What sets you apart from the other candidates in this race?
10. How important is it to you to get city council meetings streamed online, and archived for easy review by your constituency?
11. Have you been in a leadership position and, if so, what did you accomplish in that role?
12. What's your position on term limits for city council members?
13. Grade each member of this city's council (on a scale of "A" to "F") and explain your grade.

▬§▬

Now it's your turn. Please add to this list of questions in the comment section. Feel free to be more specific than I've been here. If you have a concern that you'd like to hear addressed by the candidates, list them here and/or email them directly. If they want your vote, I'm sure they'll be more than happy to address your concerns.

Tim Walker – timwalker@integrity.com

Ben Benoit –  ben@jbenoit.com

Marsha Swanson – marshamswanson@gmail.com

Israel Leija – is_real1@hotmail.com

Gary Andre – garyandre@verizon.net

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Wildomar Rap can be found on FaceBook by clicking this link. Still undefeated in the America's Cup race... mostly because I've never entered it.