Everyone loves political signs... right?
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| Like rich and fatty foods, campaign signs should be consumed in small doses. |
Today's blog is about the race in EVMWD Board of Directors position (for District 3) that will be on the ballot in November. The seat was last won by Wildomar's George Cambero in 2014.
Before I weigh in I should tell you that I've known George for more than four years, and have been having breakfast with him (along with the other Wildomar/LE Goodfellas) on a nearly weekly basis since February.
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| Clockwise, Joseph Morabito, George Cambero, David Masters, Robert Garza, Billy Shawn Williams, Steve Enzio, Scott Rux and Christy. |
He has also donated to my campaign for city council, so it would be fair to say that I come into this a wee bit biased.
Facts are, I would have backed George for his 2nd term on the EVMWD Board of Directors even if we hadn't been having weekly breakfasts this year, and irrespective of his contribution to my campaign.
He has a long record of being an outstanding member of the Wildomar community, that does a good job both in town and in his elected position, and has rightly earned a second term.
Andy Morris is also running for another term on the EVMWD Board of Directors in Wildomar (District 5).
He didn't donate to my campaign, and we don't have a standing breakfast date either... still I'm backing his run, because he's an outstanding member of the Wildomar community and has done a good job in his elected position too. (Hmmm... in full disclosure, we are both in the Wildomar Rotary Club, and do see each other at meetings a couple of times a month... but believe me, being members in the same Rotary Club does NOT mean the other members are obliged to back a person's run for elected office... but I digress here.)
Let's jump to the meat of this blog.
***Ridiculous Campaign Signs***
When I first considered running for city council, I read a lot of information on the things to do and the things to avoid in a local election.
Key things to avoid: name calling and dirty politics.
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This flyer was put on the windshields of cars parked at a
Lakeland Village Neighborhood Watch meeting last month.
Wouldn't it have made more sense for McBride to have openly attended the meeting, and then personally introduce himself to the voters? George Cambero, though a longtime resident of Wildomar, has been attending those meetings regularly for quite awhile now.
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Looks like McBride failed this one.
The backside of this flyer was even more ridiculous than the front, but I have to admit, it's some pretty clever and slick marketing... not to mention some awfully pretty colors too.
Are likely voters really that easily led by the nose? He appears to be banking on it.
Isn't there a time when substantive points (aka: PROOF) have to accompany crass accusations?
The other important part of campaign advice I got was don't put too much value into campaign signs.
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Comedy Gold!!!
Ahhh... the memories of the 2016 election. |
According to the article I read, “There are only two reasons why you need to put up yard signs. One is to encourage your supporters, and the other is to scare your opponents.”
Someone out there might be saying, "Yeah, but I've seen a couple of your campaign signs out there, what about that smart guy?"
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| I've been honored to have so many people ask if they can put one of my signs in their yard. Like I tell voters at the door, if you have questions or concerns, even as "candidate guy", I welcome your emails, and will respond promptly. |
My answer is that I wanted to get my name out there so that when I showed up at a person's door to ask for their vote, they might have already seen it. The signs were step one, in a two step process.
When it comes to McBride, I've google searched "Vote McBride EVMWD, Jared McBride EVMWD, Lakeland Village McBride Candidate", plus a few other variations and didn't get any hits leading to a campaign page.
Maybe he just needs better SEOs.
I tried searching in Facebook for his campaign, and again, nothing came back.
I remember seeing McBride's first banner about two weeks ago. The first time I drove by it I thought he was offering mortgage refis. Then I saw the claim of "Corrupt Water District" the next time I drove by it.
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Hmmm... I guess that the next time I bump into Andy Morris I'll have to ask him his thoughts on being called corrupt. My guess is that he's not too fond of such accusations since he, like George, are the polar opposites of "corrupt".
If you want to see "corrupt" used properly in a sentence, check this out:
The CF Card in Joseph's phone wouldn't show the backside of McBride's scandalous flyer because it had become corrupt, and needed to be replaced. (Good thing I regularly take the photos off my phone)
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Corrupt? That's some pretty provocative language.
I brought it up to George at a breakfast we were having, and though he wasn't all that pleased with it (who among us would like to be libeled with banners hung all over town?) he suggested to me that if there is corruption, it needs to be reported to the DA or the FBI at once.
Then, because a banner at every intersection wasn't enough, team McBride affixed banners to more and more spots at locations already covered.
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| The intersection of Cervera and Central started off with one McBride sign (where you see number 4). When I had affixed my sign the week before, I had wanted to put it where you see the number 3, but there was a handmade sign by some school age kids thanking the fire fighters, so I put mine in another spot. The next week, three more McBride banners showed up on the same corner. Seems like a high level of insecurity to me. |
Since that still wasn't satisfactory, smaller signs of his started going up en masse all over the area, including utility poles.
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| A look at just one example of "if one sign is good, half a dozen must spell 'easy victory'" |
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| Here is a close up of the photo above. |
But that was a bozo no-no since it's clearly stated in the candidate handbook that you may not put signs in such places.
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| Seems like simple enough directions that anyone should be able to comply with. |
I've never been impressed with this kind of "in your face" campaigning. If it appeals to you, then you may have found the candidate of your dreams. ☺
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| The signs are literally all over this part of Wildomar. Since this is expressly forbidden, let's see if the signs get taken down by the proper authorities. I know that I wouldn't come within a country mile of them (other than with a camera) since it's also against campaign rules to touch other candidate's signs. |
The Cambero Team's approach has been going door to door, making himself directly available to the voters. There, in person, to answer what gets thrown at him. He's always at community events, and always ready to discuss all issues related to water. (I've heard talk of at least one meet the candidate event that he has in mind, it was rumored to involve pizza. ☺)
He also said he plans on attending the Windsong Valley Neighborhood Watch meeting too. See flyer for date and time of the meeting. It's not a campaign event, but he'll be there if you have questions for him.
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Though this meeting is geared towards residents of Windsong Valley, no one is checking I.D. upon arrival. Just make sure to arrive far enough before 6pm so you can set up a chair and get comfortable. The sun will be going down by 7pm and it'll be pretty dark by 7:30pm.
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I've been told that there will be Re-Elect George Cambero signs starting to go up soon, if there is any available space left in town that is! If you'd like one in your yard, contact him and he'll see to it that you get one.
Here is contact info for George Cambero.
Wildomar Rap opinion time
(you must be thinking: Wasn't this whole thing your opinion already?)
When it comes to water in California, Jack Nicholson didn't get his nose sliced up in Chinatown for nothing. The sordid history of water rights in this state go back well more 100 years and was pushed along further by an act of the California Legislature in 1928, primarily to build and operate the Colorado River Aqueduct.
If you want to say that the various water districts (starting with the macdaddy of them all: Metropolitan Water District) have been too buddy-buddy with elements of Sacramento (or Don Corleon'esque) since way back when, it would be hard to argue with you.
But to suggest through bold lettered banners that solid local citizens, like George Cambero and Andy Morris could be less than they appear is an intolerable smear and I hope not accepted by the voters here.
Reverse Angle Spin Time:
If we take one more look at google's definition of "corrupt" where it says, "having or showing a willingness to act dishonestly in return for [...] personal gain." I'd think that could apply to a campaign team that blithely disregards the rules that each candidate is told about when it comes to their signs.
If breaking a small rule like where signs are permitted to be placed doesn't faze a candidate, then how could he/she be trusted with your vote?
Just pointing out the obvious.
In the past I offered candidates of all the local races a chance to sit for a "better know a candidate" blog, but if a candidate starts off on such a bad foot, as McBride has, the offer becomes null and void. Sorry, that's on you.
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To believe with certainty we must begin with doubting.
– Stanisław Leszczyński
It was common to doubt Wildomar Rap when it first showed up in 2013. It took awhile, but now it's relatively believable.
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