The new City Council will be sworn in at the next City Council meeting on Wednesday, December 8th. This is the first time since its incorporation that two new RSM council members will be seated at the same time. With the loss of incumbent Neil Blais by a slim margin of 20 votes, after ten years, the City Council will be down to only one member of the original council that was put in place upon the City's incorporation on January 1, 2000, Gary Thompson. This is a bigger loss for the City than for Neil, although it's unlikely that most residents recognize it. With the negative campaigning, and the backlash to the hits on Gary Thompson, Neil Blais basically got lost in the shuffle. He ran a clean campaign and played by the rules, as did Gary Thompson. However, Thompson spent only about a fourth as much as the other three candidates in the top four, and had to contend with additional campaign expenditures specifically attacking him. It seems that the residents felt the hits on Thompson were so distasteful that they came out to the polls specifically to send the message that they didn't believe the negative, false statements that were being made. Comments from the newly elected council members have included that this was a landslide victory, and a clear mandate for change. With 1.5% being the largest margin between any of the first four candidates, is this really a mandate? Further, isn't it a greater mandate for Thompson than the other two who spent four times as much and still ended up winning by relatively few votes? We will see very quickly what the new council members believe their mandate represents, and whether they will be as attuned to the original vision of RSM as past councils have always been. |
Showing posts with label Steve Baric. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Steve Baric. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
And the winners are...
The City Council election results have been certified by the Orange County Registrar of Voters. The final results are:
Thursday, November 18, 2010
It's unofficially official!
The Rancho Santa Margarita City Council horse race is finally over, sixteen days after the election. While the Orange County Registrar of Voters won't finalize and certify the election results until closer to the end of the month, they reportedly only have three more ballots to count for RSM City Council. As of today, the newly elected City Council includes Jesse Petrilla, Steve Baric, and Gary Thompson.
After the first absentee ballots were counted on election night, the results favored Jesse Petrilla, Neil Blais, and Gary Thompson. Steve Baric was in fourth, in a race where the top three candidates are seated. By the end of the night, after the electronic ballots from all 31 precincts were counted, Gary Thompson had moved into second place, followed by Steve Baric, with Neil Blais in fourth.
Five days later, as more of the absentee ballots were counted, Baric moved into second, with Blais third, and Thompson fourth. Once the provisional ballots came into play, in another three days, Thompson moved to third and Blais was in fourth again.
Thompson's current margin over Blais is a mere 18 votes. Given the current counts, Neil Blais has officially conceded the election, and the City is looking forward to their next meeting in December, when the Council officially reorganizes.
Congratulations to the winners. What a horse race this has been!
After the first absentee ballots were counted on election night, the results favored Jesse Petrilla, Neil Blais, and Gary Thompson. Steve Baric was in fourth, in a race where the top three candidates are seated. By the end of the night, after the electronic ballots from all 31 precincts were counted, Gary Thompson had moved into second place, followed by Steve Baric, with Neil Blais in fourth.
Five days later, as more of the absentee ballots were counted, Baric moved into second, with Blais third, and Thompson fourth. Once the provisional ballots came into play, in another three days, Thompson moved to third and Blais was in fourth again.
Thompson's current margin over Blais is a mere 18 votes. Given the current counts, Neil Blais has officially conceded the election, and the City is looking forward to their next meeting in December, when the Council officially reorganizes.
Congratulations to the winners. What a horse race this has been!
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Separation of church and state?
The first negative political campaign in the history of the City of Rancho Santa Margarita is in full swing, and it centers around Serra Catholic School, city council candidate Jesse Petrilla, and a Petrilla supporter from outside of RSM. It started with an independent expenditure political action committee formed by a Coto de Caza (not within Rancho Santa Margarita city limits) lawyer and Jesse Petrilla contributor Michael Caspino with a title beginning with "Concerned Parents of Rancho Santa Margarita..." Mr. Caspino should be smart enough to know that he doesn't live in RSM, and that his contributions to Mr. Petrilla's campaign are public record. He's perfectly entitled to his opinion, but why bring the church into it? To further damage it's already sullied reputation?
The purpose of the committee is described as being opposed to the re-election of City Councilman Gary Thompson, claiming he doesn't support Serra Catholic. Councilman Thompson's response is "I'm Catholic myself. Why would I be negative toward a Catholic school?"
The initial email sent by this group mentioned the school principal and encouraged parents to vote for Jesse and to donate to his campaign. It was very strongly worded. It can be seen here under Latest News.
A second email has recently surfaced, and it encourages Catholics to support both Jesse Petrilla and Steve Baric (a CYA tactic to divert attention from the fact that Jesse is behind this). It inaccurately states that there are essentially (their way of manipulating the truth) two vacant council seats and three candidates. There are in fact, three open council seats and five candidates.
This email has been circulating among the Catholic community. The RSM Watchdog has received it from several RSM residents very angry that church-related email lists are being used for this smear campaign by individuals who live outside of RSM. Those residents have gone back to their sources and without exception, the emails have come from outside of RSM, and the senders have sent retractions.
OC Register columnist, Frank Mickadeit wrote a column about the Catholic involvement in this election. He met with the Coto attorney and was told that even though it came from his Facebook account, the first email wasn't sent by him. Yeah, sure. How can that be? Clearly, Mr. Caspino got caught with his pants down and is trying to cover his butt by blaming others.
Serra Catholic is officially staying out of this, and rightly so. But the misuse of their resources and this misleading information is still circulating among the Catholic community. It's a shame that non-RSM residents feel compelled to drag down the reputation of the City and the Church in support of their personal views.
The purpose of the committee is described as being opposed to the re-election of City Councilman Gary Thompson, claiming he doesn't support Serra Catholic. Councilman Thompson's response is "I'm Catholic myself. Why would I be negative toward a Catholic school?"
The initial email sent by this group mentioned the school principal and encouraged parents to vote for Jesse and to donate to his campaign. It was very strongly worded. It can be seen here under Latest News.
A second email has recently surfaced, and it encourages Catholics to support both Jesse Petrilla and Steve Baric (a CYA tactic to divert attention from the fact that Jesse is behind this). It inaccurately states that there are essentially (their way of manipulating the truth) two vacant council seats and three candidates. There are in fact, three open council seats and five candidates.
This email has been circulating among the Catholic community. The RSM Watchdog has received it from several RSM residents very angry that church-related email lists are being used for this smear campaign by individuals who live outside of RSM. Those residents have gone back to their sources and without exception, the emails have come from outside of RSM, and the senders have sent retractions.
OC Register columnist, Frank Mickadeit wrote a column about the Catholic involvement in this election. He met with the Coto attorney and was told that even though it came from his Facebook account, the first email wasn't sent by him. Yeah, sure. How can that be? Clearly, Mr. Caspino got caught with his pants down and is trying to cover his butt by blaming others.
Serra Catholic is officially staying out of this, and rightly so. But the misuse of their resources and this misleading information is still circulating among the Catholic community. It's a shame that non-RSM residents feel compelled to drag down the reputation of the City and the Church in support of their personal views.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Coming soon! A new RSM City Council member
The city of Rancho Santa Margarita will have a new council member after the November election. There are three open seats and only two incumbents. The two incumbents, Neil Blais and Gary Thompson are well-respected and widely recognized as two of the most important visionaries in Rancho's cityhood efforts and subsequent development that has RSM ranked consistently as one of the best places to live in the country and one of California's safest cities.
There are three new candidates running for city council this November. They are RSM Planning Commissioner Steve Baric, retired business owner Larry McCook, and military reservist Jesse Petrilla.
From all accounts, Steve Baric is the one to beat. Besides being a planning commissioner, he is a high-ranking official in the California Republican party, and has the financing and endorsements to show for it.
Larry McCook was a last minute candidate who didn't have the opportunity to submit a ballot statement. He doesn't have the name recognition or backing, but all agree he has good intentions.
Then, there's Jesse Petrilla. With Jesse, there is much more to him than meets the eye.
Jesse first appeared on the political scene in RSM last year when he scheduled a meeting with then-Mayor Gary Thompson, and told him that he was planning to run for city council as a stepping stone to higher office. After that, he went to the city council and asked them to impose term limits. When he was turned down, he decided to pursue a ballot initiative, which he never completed, and cost the city close to $15,000, at a time where significant budget cuts are necessary.
Jesse has been to exactly three city council meetings, including the one where he asked for term limits. At one of the other two meetings, he attended just to make a speech about spending cuts that he felt should be made on the 2010-2011 city budget. At that meeting, he chastised the council for including things in the budget that had already been cut, then left immediately after his speech, before hearing city staff correct his mistakes. Note that he had no problem spending the city's money for his personal agenda, but didn't have a clue as to what was actually in the budget. Why would anyone want such a self-centered individual making their budgetary decisions?
When it came time for ballot statements, Jesse tried to fluff up his military credentials and got caught. When the city clerk called him on it per the advice of the city attorney, he threatened the city with a lawsuit and threatened the clerk's job. Again, is this someone the residents can rely upon to act in the city's best interest?
Jesse has made running for City Council his full-time job. He's done an excellent job of canvassing the city to let everyone know he is running. He claims to be a business owner, but that is a sham. His business name is Petrilla Entertainment. What does Petrilla Entertainment do? It has developed several crude video games all targeted towards his anti-jihadist activities, which have included organizing a hanging in effigy of Osama bin Laden in front of a Los Angeles County Mosque. His website, or is it former website? www.petrillaentertainment.com , says it all, which is nothing.
According to the California Secretary of State's office, he dissolved his business entity at the end of 2008. Jesse's claim to fame in RSM is being a founding member of the recently formed RSM Business Alliance. The RSM Watchdog is still looking for Jesse's business...
If anyone has proof that Jesse Petrilla is a businessman and not a self-serving opportunist using the title of businessman as a front, the RSM Watchdog would love to see it.
Remember to vote for the best qualified candidates for City Council on November 2nd, when you will have the opportunity to once again prove that Rancho Santa Margarita deserves to be called one of the best places to live in the USA!
There are three new candidates running for city council this November. They are RSM Planning Commissioner Steve Baric, retired business owner Larry McCook, and military reservist Jesse Petrilla.
From all accounts, Steve Baric is the one to beat. Besides being a planning commissioner, he is a high-ranking official in the California Republican party, and has the financing and endorsements to show for it.
Larry McCook was a last minute candidate who didn't have the opportunity to submit a ballot statement. He doesn't have the name recognition or backing, but all agree he has good intentions.
Then, there's Jesse Petrilla. With Jesse, there is much more to him than meets the eye.
Jesse first appeared on the political scene in RSM last year when he scheduled a meeting with then-Mayor Gary Thompson, and told him that he was planning to run for city council as a stepping stone to higher office. After that, he went to the city council and asked them to impose term limits. When he was turned down, he decided to pursue a ballot initiative, which he never completed, and cost the city close to $15,000, at a time where significant budget cuts are necessary.
Jesse has been to exactly three city council meetings, including the one where he asked for term limits. At one of the other two meetings, he attended just to make a speech about spending cuts that he felt should be made on the 2010-2011 city budget. At that meeting, he chastised the council for including things in the budget that had already been cut, then left immediately after his speech, before hearing city staff correct his mistakes. Note that he had no problem spending the city's money for his personal agenda, but didn't have a clue as to what was actually in the budget. Why would anyone want such a self-centered individual making their budgetary decisions?
When it came time for ballot statements, Jesse tried to fluff up his military credentials and got caught. When the city clerk called him on it per the advice of the city attorney, he threatened the city with a lawsuit and threatened the clerk's job. Again, is this someone the residents can rely upon to act in the city's best interest?
Jesse has made running for City Council his full-time job. He's done an excellent job of canvassing the city to let everyone know he is running. He claims to be a business owner, but that is a sham. His business name is Petrilla Entertainment. What does Petrilla Entertainment do? It has developed several crude video games all targeted towards his anti-jihadist activities, which have included organizing a hanging in effigy of Osama bin Laden in front of a Los Angeles County Mosque. His website, or is it former website? www.petrillaentertainment.com , says it all, which is nothing.
According to the California Secretary of State's office, he dissolved his business entity at the end of 2008. Jesse's claim to fame in RSM is being a founding member of the recently formed RSM Business Alliance. The RSM Watchdog is still looking for Jesse's business...
If anyone has proof that Jesse Petrilla is a businessman and not a self-serving opportunist using the title of businessman as a front, the RSM Watchdog would love to see it.
Remember to vote for the best qualified candidates for City Council on November 2nd, when you will have the opportunity to once again prove that Rancho Santa Margarita deserves to be called one of the best places to live in the USA!
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