Debate begins
The moderator opens the forum, says the forum is brought by the chamber of commerce.
He introduces the candidates, James F. Penman and Marianne Milligan.
Moderator reads rules, saying candidates have 2 minutes for opening statement and to answer each question, and 15 seconds to explain top priorities ...
Ray Gonzalez of Edison is the moderator.
First is qualification statement.
Milligan starts, says her name. She says she has represented cities for over 13 years.
"This brings more diverse experience and a broader perspective," Milligan says.
She says she has made her home in San Bernardino, and the city hasn't changed enough in 20 years, an amount of time in line with Penman's inauguration as city attorney in 1987.
"Divisiveness accomplishes absolutely nothing," she says, implying that Penman is a divisive force in City Hall.
Penman responds.
He says San Bernardino has been his home since 1949. He talks about high school and college careers locally. At age 23, he says, he was hired to run the Home of Neighborly Service on the West side. Penman continues to draw on what he sees as among his strongest points, his homegrown status.
"I've saved the city of SB over $17 million" by not contracting out the majority of legal services.
Penman emphasizes his family's connections to the city of SB.
"This is not just a job for me," he says.
On 3 priorities.
Milligan says public safety and code enforcement and economic development and modernizing the office.
Penman says closing parolee houses, enforcing municipal codes.
Win the Flesh club lawsuit, he says.
Comments
Jim Penman’s opponent claims that she has Made San Bernardino her home and that in the last twenty years Mr. Penman has been City Attorney not much has changed. Is she saying she has been in the City twenty years? Who really can tell us how many years she has actually been a resident here? I am sure that is another ambiguous statement made, otherwise, was she not paying attention when Mr. Penman had some mild cooperation in closing down illegal, substandard, and dangerous parolee homes? Was she not paying attention when the Muscoy railroad disaster happened and the City Attorney, Jim Penman, insured that all the people who suffered were given a voice in that disaster? The railroad was held accountable due to Mr. Penman’s efforts. Was she not paying attention when the group of four entrenched council people that engaged in illegal practices were sent packing?
Can she describe for the City of San Bernardino’s citizens what she was doing or where she was doing it at during these many instances? What can she hang her hat on as an equal to what our City Attorney does on any given day.
She states that she will not be divisive because that can hurt the City. WELL, she has the experience to prove it in Costa Mesa. That divisiveness did not stop at ruining a respected City Attorney’s reputation, his health, and ultimately, his job and the jobs of all those in that City Attorney Office. The allegations she made were proven to be false and without merit. Of course, she is not being divisive nor is the Mayor or his money machine that just keeps putting out fires that this opponent can’t help but set in her quest to be the Mayor’s next rubberstamp.
She states that she wants to modernize the City Attorney’s office. Did we not hear this statement from Supervisor Postmus in his bid for an office that he was not qualified to hold from lack of any experience. When he won the election with a big money machine, didn’t we, the taxpayers, have to modernize the furniture, carpeting, décor, and equipment that cost us in the millions of dollars. Of course, the five or six new added permanent assistants were in that modernization also. Do you, the voters, really want to pay to fix something that is not broken? Mr. Penman will not cost us a million dollars in shopping sprees for stuff that works fine now. Let’s not shoot ourselves in the foot by placing a person who does not know what Jim Penman does. What he does in one day, she cannot do in a month. Let’s tell the Mayor “NO”. Don’t be complacent. Get out and vote for Jim Penman, a real San Bernardino resident who knows what this City needs.
Posted by: Joe Ortiz | October 11, 2007 2:18 AM
Joe,
If you mean that, in the month SBNow Blog has been up, Marianne hasn't been posting her 8AM-5PM, like Jim Penman has, you're right.
Instead, Marianne Milligan has been filling TEN new code inspector positions to alleviate the 6-week backlog on response time we've endured her for the tenure of Jim Penman. And, she's accomplished it at no cost to The City.
My thanks go to Marianne Milligan for the positive impact her presence has already had on long-time problems in SB.
With the votes of those in SB happy to see the changes she's already brought to town, with no increase in costs, Marianne Milligan will continue to clean up the messes around town left in the wake of SB's Penman Debacles.
Your Friend & Neighbor,
Voting For Marianne Milligan & Asking That You Do, Too,
Susana Atanasova
Posted by: Susana Atanasova | October 12, 2007 3:12 AM