• Letter Writing Campaign 2016

If you have city emails sent to you, you've already seen a request to join a letter writing campaign, and this blog is encouraging you join the effort.

We have a limited amount of time so we urge you to send this as soon as possible!

It's our yearly pilgrimage that consists of groveling to Governor Brown, in hopes that he'll finally take his boot off of our neck and return about 1.8 to 2.0 million dollars to our city that was taken away in 2011.

Below is the sample letter that came in the email.

Before I breakout my crayolas here, let's remember who it is we're dealing with. It's the same man that is desperately wooing two ridiculous causes at the same time.

On the one hand he's head over heels in love with what's known as The Browndoggle, aka The Train to Nowhere. 

On the other hand, he loves the idea of global warming so much that he's willing to lie about how dire things are going to be if we dare to "deny" his proclamations on the matter.

Anyone that wants to tell me that I'm a luddite —for not bothering with something I have no control over, I insist that your comment to me start with a take on Governor Brown's remark about 135 degrees "for months on end" and why he's out to lunch on it... or even better, why you agree with it.

Hey peeps, since when is skepticism akin to heresy? (Oh yeah, it's always been heresy to the faithful to not buy into their obsessions... like celestial microwaving, or whatever they've rebranded GW to these days).

With that established, I wrote a letter in 2014 and 2015, and like a great president once said, "Won't Get Fooled Again!"

Let's be honest here, I don't even think the governor's office opens the mail if the postmark is from south of Santa Barbara, but if you need to brush up on your long hand, this would be a good assignment for you. 

You could also threaten your kids with having to write to Governor Brown —in cursive no less— if they don't take the trash out or put the dishes away.

I know that Linus Van Pelt has spent the better part of 50 years believing this year is going to be different, that the Great Moonbeam is going to finally sign Wildomar's bill and all, but I don't have that kind of unquenchable steadfastness like he does.

I'm pretty sure that the Tooth Fairy is more real than a reasonable Jerry Brown.

Below is an excerpt from Wildomar Rap's blog of October 2015. It has a question to Assemblywoman Melissa Melendez and her answer regarding Wildomar's missing VLF funds.

Wildomar Rap:

Bringing it back to legislation, maybe you can talk about SB 25 which was going to help Wildomar. I don't know if it's even worth trying anymore with the current governor. 

Melissa Melendez:

SB25 was a bill where they took away the [portion of the] Vehicle Licensing Fees that went back to the cities. Wildomar was one city, and Menifee as well, where when they calculated their budget, they calculated that money in with the other money they were supposed to be getting.

Then the state, in 2011, took that money away, and so there went Wildomar's budget. There has been a bill three years in a row, my entire time in the legislature, they have done a bill to give that funding back, because it was promised to these cities.

The cities didn't do anything wrong, they played by the rules, but the state took it (VLF funds) away. Three years in a row I helped with this bill and three years in a row the governor has vetoed it.

Now I will tell you, and I don't mind saying this out in public, that I had a conversation with governor Brown a couple of months ago. We were at dinner, not just he and I it was a group of people((which led to some laughter among the attendees)). But it just so happened that he was sitting right across from me... I got the lucky seat.

So I said to him, "Governor Brown, we have this bill coming up which will really helps two cities in my district [by] giving back their vehicle licensing fees. They were pretty hard hit, what are your thoughts on that?"

And he paused for a minute, and he looked at me in his Jerry Brown way, and he said, "What was the percentage of votes I got in Riverside County?" 
((The assembled let out a protracted gasp at that))

He actually said that to me. 

I was stunned, I said, "uhhh... Well... you know, it was probably higher in some other areas of the state." 

And he replied, "I think it was about 22 maybe 23%, so I'm not really motivated."

So that bill is never going to pass (be signed into law), ever.

Despite my personal disbelief in the Governor coming to his senses here —and signing SB 817, allow me to be somewhat of a hypocrite and urge you to do something I'm not all that jazzed about.

Join the letter writing campaign. 

I hear you can even fax it or email it.

Here are links to past blogs urging past letter writing campaigns.

Link to 2015 Blog

Link to 2014 Blog

[This space reserved for 2017 Blog Link]

If you haven't had enough of my graphics, thought I'd throw in this one from last year.
The original caption was:
Every voice matters when a group is screaming at deaf people.

Please pardon the sarcastic tone of this blog. There are only so many times you can hear the same story and think the ending will be different this time. 

If all this VLF funds talk is new to you, just click VLF funds at the bottom of the blog where you see "Labels". That'll send you to many past blogs covering this topic.

•          •          •

What is the face of a coward? The back of his head as he runs from a battle.

— Francis Underwood 
(Kevin Spacey), House of Cards

Wildomar Rap reminds you that shouting at deaf people is about as useless as flipping off a blind person.

• Coffee With Assemblywoman Melissa Melendez October 2015

Today there was a community coffee for Assemblywoman Melissa Melendez at Las Palmas restaurant in Lake Elsinore. There was a small crowd of about 30 or so people, that enjoyed breakfast and coffee as we listened to our elected official go over some of the things still pending in Sacramento.

She mentioned:
• AB 74, which deals with Highway 74 coming under local control. It's awaiting the governor's signature.
• AB 545, requires an individual who is a repeated domestic abuser to remain in custody for no less than 48 hours. This is awaiting the governor's signature.
• AB 950, this will allow an individual the right to transfer their firearm(s) to a Federal Firearm Licensee if they are forced to surrender their firearms due to a restraining order. Goes into effect January 1, 2016.

At this point she threw it open to questions from the group.

Honestly, I heard a lot of talk from the crowd that really can't be dealt with by Sacramento, even if we had a fistful of Billion Dollar Bills. Things like, the general decay of the current generation. How the young generation doesn't have respect for their elders, etc.

Melendez handled such topics with adroitness and aplomb, but in the end, such things are not actually subject to legislation. We can't pass laws demanding parents actually be good parents... though the thought is nice.

Assemblywoman Melissa Melendez speaking to locals at Las Palmas restaurant in Lake Elsinore.

I did love it when one person mentioned that the societal decline could be traced back to violent video games, which received nods and applause... except from me. That's just flat out silly.

I steered the conversation back to legislation and asked the Assemblywoman her thoughts on SB 25 (SB 25 was the bill that would have helped Wildomar out by returning $1.9 Million per year to us).

Wildomar Rap:

Bringing it back to legislation, maybe you can talk about SB 25 which was going to help Wildomar. I don't know if it's even worth trying anymore with the current governor. 

Melissa Melendez:

SB25 was a bill where they took away the [portion of the] Vehicle Licensing Fees that went back to the cities. Wildomar was one city, and Menifee as well,  where when they calculated their budget, they calculated that money in with the other money they were supposed to be getting.

Then the state, in 2011, took that money away, and so there went Wildomar's budget. There has been a bill three years in a row, my entire time in the legislature, they have done a bill to give that funding back, because it was promised to these cities.

The cities didn't do anything wrong, they played by the rules, but the state took it (VLF funds) away. Three years in a row I helped with this bill and three years in a row the governor has vetoed it.

Now I will tell you, and I don't mind saying this out in public, that I had a conversation with governor Brown a couple of months ago. We were at dinner, not just he and I it was a group of people ((which led to some laughter among the attendees)). But it just so happened that he was sitting right across from me... I got the lucky seat.

So I said to him, "Governor Brown, we have this bill coming up which will really helps two cities in my district [by] giving back their vehicle licensing fees. They were pretty hard hit, what are your thoughts on that?"

And he paused for a minute, and he looked at me in his Jerry Brown way, and he said, "What was the percentage of votes I got in Riverside County?" 
((The assembled let out a protracted gasp at that))

He actually said that to me. 

I was stunned, I said, "uhhh... Well... you know, it was probably higher in some other areas of the state." 

And he replied, "I think it was about 22 maybe 23%, so I'm not really motivated."

So that bill is never going to pass (be signed into law), ever.

One guy, that logged the most speaking time from the floor, chimed in towards the end with a quote from Plato:
"One of the penalties of refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors"
 ...and then asked, "Do you consider yourself a career politician, and if so will you be running for governor?"

To which the Assemblywoman chuckled and said, "Oh good lord no!"

She then went on to explain that the political climate in California will most likely preclude any republican from being elected as governor for the foreseeable future.

A shot from earlier this year.

Melissa Melendez:

I can't imagine I'd ever run for Governor. Only because this state, I don't think is going to see a republican Governor for a very long time.  I don't think I am (After some hesitation choosing the right wording) "moderate" enough for enough Democrats to put me in office. I have my certain principles and I'm not going to change. I'm not crazy off to the right off the cliff, but I think for California, because we are a very liberal state, I can't see it happening. 

After the coffee session had ended I chatted for a moment with the Assemblywoman, reminding her that I lean Libertarian and she probably knows where the divisions lie between that and a traditional conservative like her.

She had pushed for audits of Planned Parenthood, and she must have known such a thing was a nonstarter in Sacramento. I asked her about the point of pursuing something that had no chance of advancing and I liked her candid answer, which I really knew all along, but needed reminding.

I'll be honest with you, sometimes as an elected you have to fall on your sword for your district because it's something they want you to fight for. Even if they know you're going to lose, by god they want you to fight for it. 

If you ever get a chance to speak with Assemblywoman Melissa Melendez take it. She's very personable and genuinely is interested in her district and her constituents.

Here is the Assemblywoman's contact info:

assemblymember.melendez@assembly.ca.gov

Local (951) 894-1232

Sacramento (916) 319-2067

 link to previous blog: Coffee With Assemblywoman Melissa Melendez

•      •      • 

The children now love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise.        
—  Socrates

Wildomar Rap wants to remind you that the more things change, the more you sound like a broken record when think the current generation stinks more than your own.

• Brown Thumbs His Nose At RivCo Again

I just heard that Governor Brown vetoed SB 25. The bill that would have restored much needed funding to the city of Wildomar ($1.9M per year).

It appears that our funding will never be restored as long as he's in charge. He obviously wasn't moved by the letter writing campaign that many residents in Wildomar participated in. I got a couple of quick reactions from the Mayor and Mayor Pro-Tem.

"I'm severely disappointed that he (Brown) didn't right a wrong"
Mayor Ben Benoit 

"I'm sad and mad"
Mayor Pro-Tem Bridgette Moore

I guess there is a tarnished silver lining in there somewhere. There were two bills that were dealing with these moneys to Wildomar (and the other three RivCo cities in a similar boat). SB 25 would have returned the VLF funds, to a tune of about $1.9 million per year. That is the one that got vetoed.

The one that he did sign, SB 107, will basically pay off the incorporation debts we still owe to Riverside County. A one time sum of $1.4, which had been on a payment schedule at $100K per year. It was part of a larger bill that takes away redevelopment funds to other areas and somehow our debt gets cancelled at the same time.

So, in essence, Wildomar will be getting $100K per year for six years, instead of $1.9 Million per year (based on about $50 per resident, something that most other cities still get). If you're a glass half full type, then you're seeing that we just got an additional $100K in the kitty. However, if you're a realist, you can see that Brown basically shanked us again and took off with nearly $2Mil per year.

There's not really much more to be said at this point. We've lived with belt tightening for several years now, and most of us have become inured to the governor's disdain for our area. C'est la vie.

•      •      • 

How foolish it is to be avenged on you neighbor by setting his house on fire. ― Nero

Wildomar Rap suggests hording all wooden nickles that come your way.

• Letter Writing Campaign Urged

Ok Wildomar, we're closer to getting our VLF funds back than any of the previous near misses of the past when Governor Brown pulled the rug out from under a bill (SB 25) that was on his desk aimed at restoring the looted money. It has a street value of $1.9 Million per year.  

Our city manager Gary Nordquist is encouraging a letter writing campaign to governor Brown. 
I have a sample letter for you. 

If you care about public safety, then this should be important to you.

All you have to do is use your own letterhead (or even just standard paper), add the current date and your name and you're set. For those that use Twitter, you can send it to Brown at his link. 

@JerryBrownGov  @BenJBenoit

Might as well tag the mayor while you're tweeting (or whatever the tweeters call it).

Below is a letter that the Mayor wrote on behalf of the entire council. I left it in a large format so that it could be easily read. I hope it doesn't play havoc with the way your browser reads it.

•

Link to sample letter

You can also use other forms of delivery. 

Governor Jerry Brown

c/o State Capitol, Suite 1173

Sacramento, CA 95814

If you'd rather call or fax, here is that info. 

Fax:(916)558-3160

Tel:(916)445-2841 

Link to the Governor's official contact page.

This is the site you have to go to in order to email him.

I don't know how effective such letter writing campaigns are, but if you remember Dr. Seuss's Horton Hears a Who you remember that it took the smallest voice in town to get through Governor Brown's thick skull. So please consider taking some time on behalf of your city, and speak up.

Every voice matters when a group is screaming at deaf people.

I really liked the other letter that Mayor Ben Benoit wrote, then tweeted to the Governor. It was brilliant on many levels. First, the layout, the wording and the jpeg was the same. Second, it's making light of his snide letter to Ben Carson about climate change (here's a link to the story if you missed it). All that was missing was a thumb drive.

Here are links to the blogs on this topic from last year.

Blog where we were still hopeful

Blog after it was vetoed

UPDATE

For the second year in a row, the governor vetoed this legislation despite the fact that it had unanimous support in both houses. The only "no" vote is the one that mattered... again.

Link to blog about it here.

  •      •      • 

There are two times in a man’s life when he should not speculate:  when he can’t afford it, and when he can. ― Mark Twain

Wildomar Rap would love to have the governor's ear... there's a 50-50 chance it could be made into a silk purse.