Sykes v. Touhey
It's meeting time in West Covina on Tuesday:
1. Closed session meeting to talk about two cases of anticipated litigation. Hmmm, could that be to discuss the claims filed by Community Development Director Chris Chung and Public Information Officer Sue Williams. Chung and Williams retained the same attorney and claim that Mayor Roger Hernandez subjected them to a hostile work environment. Chung is demanding $3 million; Williams hasn't asked for anything....yet.
2. Hernandez wants to set up a citizen task force to address the budget issues.
3. Hernandez also wants to talk about using private donations to start back up the televsion broadcasts. There is no indication on how much money that means and who the private donor is.
4. Councilman Mike Touhey wants to talk about districting. He asked that staff prepare a report to examine how to get districts on the ballot. Touhey's efforts comes at a time when those on the Fred Sykes camp are working to collect signatures to get a ballot measure diving the city into fifths in an election.
Sykes wants this to go before the voters "as soon as possible," but as a way to save money he recommends placing the measure on the special election for Congresswoman Hilda Solis' open seat. This is the second time Skyes has tried to get this on a ballot.
Touhey thinks that Sykes is doing this because Sykes just wants to get on the council and since he was rejected in the last election, he is drawing up districts.
Sykes denies that -- he said this is about equal representation -- and thinks that Touhey is doing this because he wants to draw up "Touney town."
Lets not forget Herfert Hamlet.
Maybe this is why Touhey is now jumping on board...The West Covina city council can work to an agreement or be forced by litigation...
From the LA Times: "The latest step along that road was a ruling in September by Madera County Superior Court Judge James E. Oakley, who invalidated, in advance, the results of the November school board election. Oakley said Madera's at-large voting system, in which all voters in the district cast ballots for all board members rather than for a candidate representing their section of town, violated the Voting Rights Act.
Relying on the remedy suggested by the law, he called for the district to be divided into seven trustee areas, with candidates to run in each.
Roughly 90% of California school boards use at-large voting, as do many city councils and other local boards. The state's Voting Rights Act, enacted in 2002, bans at-large voting if there is evidence that it "impairs the ability" of a minority group "to elect candidates of its choice or its ability to influence the outcome of an election."
Sue West Covina,
When was that in the LA Times? I am very interested in that. Thanks for bringing this up.
That means districts must be setup to reflect the cities ethnic makeup, Fred Sykes' District plan was based on population not ethnic (Minority Groups). Meaning in Fred's area they need a Filipino council member, I believe that is the majority population in district 5, I believe district 4 the majority population is Filipino also. District 1 is majority White and or Chinese. What is the ethnic makeup of Fred Sykes' District Plan? Regarding Hilda Solis' seat doesn't she have to be confirmed first then the Governor has time to call a special election. Roger Hernandez is running for the Assembly seat of Dr. Ed Hernandez, does his council seat get affected by this possible District Plan? Does he have to vacate his council seat to run?
It is high time for all city councils, school districts and community college districts throughout the San Gabriel Valley to have council/trustee districts to reflect the spread of power than centralized power.
Get the ball rollin ladies and gentlemen to force this issue.
You may just get a bunch of dummies as councilmembers. Leave well enough alone. Let the entire voting population decide. Even the use of the word "power" is and can be a joke. Just look at Mayor Ernie Gutierrez of El Monte.
Anonymous of 8:17PM,
RH, if he is running for the seat, would not have to vacate his seat on the council to run for the Assembly.
The news article does not say that the districts have to be set up to elect a minority member, what it means is that voter dilution cannot occur. All the districts have to do is be set up in a way that allows for the leading minority groups not to have their votes diluted by another (and usually larger) ethnic group. The theory of racial bloc voting is that racial minorities tend to vote the same way. While empirical evidence on this trend are all over the spectrum, the general belief is that this does occur to a degree. However racial bloc voting trends are also seen in white communities. Districts should try to be balanced as best as possible in racial makeup and population. This is not always possible however do to naturally occuring segregation. The best we can hope for is a balanced district that trys to blend the minority groups together the best they can and have them roughly equal in population.
Wow, this has to be one of the most civilized conversations I have ever seen on this blog. Here is the link to the LA Times Article....
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-madera4-2009jan04,0,6908778.story
I hope whatever happens that the people of WC really look closely at this. How will it affect our city? Will it make it better? I worry about it actually. I vote once every four years for one person... that's not right. I only get one person to take my issues to. What if that person is a jerk?
WC isn't experiencing issues with minorities not representing a group nor is it experiencing lack of representation. WC in the past as well as now has minorities. The Commission representation speaks well for this group too. They host a plethora of nationalities. But because Obama lives in another state not California or WC for that matter, is he not capable? Some say yes, some say no. Reality is it's not about your nationality, it's about quality of the job. As well as the electoral process! Lets not forget that fact.
Beware of the false comments as to why......
The argument that the "southside" of W.C., Sykes' area, doesn't hold any water. They have a rep. from their area. His name is Roger Hernandez. The fact that he's largely incapable of pushing policy because he's pissed in the wind so many times that he's covered in his own urine, is irrelevant.
When you vote for your rep's they're qualifications and how much you like them is only half the equation. The question you should be asking is "can they be effective." RH has demonstrated that he'd rather grandstand and make symbolic points than actually find ways to push policy. Since he got on the council he has found ways to alienate his council colleagues. Maybe his positions are righteous (for arguments' sake), but a righteous position is pointless if you're incapable of consensus building on your council.
You can hate/dislike/disagree with other council members, but at the end of the day you have to work with them. RH has demonstrated that he's virtually incapable of doing so. The first lesson any elected official on a 5 person board should learn is: How to count to 3.
Thank you for the link to the news article Sue West Coivina.
This is a POWER GRAB by Hernandez and Sykes to take over our WC Council.
Let me get this right Fred Sykes jumped his neighbors wall with a gun and a shovel because two dogs were fighting that were locked in a cage together. The owner was trying to get them apart, neither dog ever bit the owner. Fred Sykes determined the dog was a problem, told his neighbor to leave the cage. Fred Sykes said the neighborhood would be better off without this dog and shot it twice inside the cage. The dog died from the gunshot wounds it received. This Police report is on file with the West Covina Police Dept. Who allows this nut an unstable individual carry a gun? Does West Covina allow people to fire guns when the persons life wasn't in danger? The owner of the dogs was able to leave the cage without a problem because the owner wasn't being attacked. Two dogs owned by the same guy were fighting with each other that were locked in a cage together. What public threat or who's life was in danger when this nut Fred Sykes shot the dog? Why hasn't the Sheriff's Dept. taken away this medically retired because he's supposed injured, tax free retirement collecting bailiff's gun?, he's a nut!! Who made Fred Sykes the Judge and the Jury, your nothing but a dog killer!
We need District in West Covina because the South Hills are gets everything.