By David Puddy

5/20/09

It continues to amaze me how arrogant our council majority (Davis, Bartee, Sunga, Wilson, Hannigan) appears to be with such failures on the record. Over and over you make poor decisions and with hindsight it is proven that you've made the wrong choices and we as citizens pay for them with bad roads, and overpaid public safety. When will you all open your eyes and stop listening to each other as you justify yourselves as a collective idiocy group up on the dais. The two contrary votes up there (Gomes, Schivley) continually are proven in time that they were correct. If logic, critical thinking and predictive ability would win elections we might have a good group of people up there able to make smart choices. Unfortunately, it's money and greed that select our council members along with an apathetic population. Must be tough to be in the majority making decisions that have bankrupted Vallejo.The latest poor choice is to fire a professional city manager because our mayor wants a healthy retirement check. Seems that eviction law doesn't butter his bread. Is a severance package of $390,000 for no work in return a smart choice for a bankrupt city? I highly doubt it and time will prove your detractors correct in time as always. Viva Vallejo!

Posted by Mark Hutchins for David Puddy

By Aprille Tenorio

5/11/09

Dear Mayor Davis, City Council Members, City Manager Tanner, Police Chief Nichelini, and City Attorney Soley,

On Friday, May 8, 2009, just before 4:00pm, I heard a commotion outside of my home.  I looked out of my living room window to see approximately 15 high school aged kids gathered on the sidewalk in front of my house.  I could not hear what they were saying, but their tone and posture suggested a fight was imminent.

 Unresolved Employment Contracts

By Dennis Albright

3/18/09

Council Members,
 
With time running out on negotiations with Fire and IBEW, I urge you to please not cut the kind of contract deal with either of them that you did with Police and CAMP.  It would be again inconceivable to make those kinds of consessions now that we finally have the leverage we sought through the Chapter 9 process to make these contracts affordable, especially Fire.  The price of the previous consessions will make it extremely difficult to agree to anything less than draconian contract reductions now, however, given the $12 M FY 09/10 budget shortfall and no hope of passing a "revenue augmentation". 

Will Contracts be Rejected?

Closing arguments to be heard tomorrow from 1:30 to 3:30 PM in Sacramento Bankruptcy Court.  The fate of contracts for IAFF (firefighters) and IBEW workers in The City of Vallejo hang in the balance.  The court is at:

501 I Street, Suite 3-200--Sacramento CA 95814

courtroom 28--Judge Michael McManus presiding

By Mark Hutchins

Once again you all have the opportunity to place Binding Arbitration (BA) on the ballot for the voters to decide what is best for our city. You heard the arguments last week to allow us to vote for or against it in November of 2009 from residents in Vallejo who are very smart and well versed on this subject area. None of the people speaking last week had anything to gain regarding BA. They don't get pay raises, they don't get increased overtime, they don't have political aspirations. All they want is a financially healthy Vallejo. It is quite clear that the city has not benefited from having BA in our charter.  So why not let the citizens make the final determination? All I ask is that my representatives do what is best for all of Vallejo. I want to see a selfless Mayor and Council Members. I want to see people on the dais that serve all of us and not themselves.  I want to see a true understanding of the issues at hand, and votes that represent common sense rather than self interest. Is it a pipe dream that I hope to see my representatives do the right thing?  Real integrity is doing the right thing for all of Vallejo, not for yourselves.