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Big money backs mayor

Businessman helping Johnston, Fritchen campaigns


By Scott Smith
Record Staff Writer
October 17, 2012 12:00 AM

STOCKTON - Big money backing incumbent Mayor Ann Johnston and two council candidates has poured in from a wealthy businessman who lives in Nevada and made his fortune in the auto repossession industry.

Patrick K. Willis also bought Stockton's glitzy University Waterfront Plaza Hotel two years ago and turned around the once bankrupt business, giving him a personal interest in the city's vitality.

Anthony Silva for Mayor!

He also supports incumbent Councilman Dale Fritchen and newcomer Randy Hatch in the Nov. 6 election, contributing a total of $67,500, which makes him the largest single contributor, according to the candidates' most recent campaign statements.

Willis contributed $37,500 to Johnston, giving her a campaign fund of $105,235, including $20,000 from Stockton developer Alex Spanos. Willis was not available for comment Tuesday.

This is Stockton Life for young Adults

Michael Fitzgerald bringing the Truth to the Table

News10: What concerns Stockton residents?

"GET IN-VOLVED!"

This is the Solution for Stockton residents, simply becoming involved will spread around the world like an infection of a positive result for everyone. This is Stockton's moment of glory, and it seems as if it is I that has to rise up for the rest to follow. Mistakes are the only lessons in life, don't be afraid to make mistakes, otherwise you'll never learn.

"RISE-UP! LET'S LEND A HAND TO ALL NEIGHBORS IN NEED!"



"Elevate the game, instead of placing the blame, It's like life'll neva' change, its always staying the same."

truth be told: Ron Paul - U.S. is a Republic, Not a Democracy

truth be told: Ron Paul - U.S. is a Republic, Not a Democracy: Ron Paul - U.S. is a Republic, Not a Democracy By: Dr_Ron_Paul Last week marked the conclusion of the grand taxpayer funded spectacle...

Stockton promotes official to CFO

By Scott Smith
Record Staff Writer
September 14, 2012 12:00 AM
STOCKTON - City officials announced Thursday that they hired a new chief financial officer from within the ranks, making her the third person to fill that position within a year.

Vanessa Burke, Stockton's assistant director of the Administrative Services Department, will step into her new role overseeing the city's finances effective Sunday.

Burke is a certified public accountant with more than 20 years of experience in the public and private sectors, began working for Stockton on Dec. 1, 2011. Her annual salary as CFO will be $145,704.

Burke served as a key figure in preparing Stockton for its Chapter 9 bankruptcy filing, which was made at the end of June.

"The past eight months have been among the most rewarding of my professional career," Burke said in a news release. "Getting the city's fiscal house in order will help the city to achieve the sustainability necessary for the future and for its citizens."

To finish reading this article, click here!

Stockton, here's your chance to speak your mind!

"I Have a Voice:
Memoirs of our Community"
TOMORROW!

SEPTEMBER 14, 2012 5:30 - 8:00 PM
MEXICAN HERITAGE CENTER & GALLERY
111 S. SUTTER STREET
STOCKTON, CA 95204
Parking just north on South Sutter
Street has been free after 5:00

Celebrating the contributions of community

A celebration event of a 65 week campaign of interviews with an Exhibition of this cover campaign at the Mexican Heritage Center and Gallery on September 14, 2012 at 5:30 PM.

There will be an exhibiton of the covers and interviews, entertainment and awards for participants.

There will be a raffle available at this event to nominate someone you believe should be interviewed in the last 10 cover editions in this specific campaign at the event.

SPECIAL RECOGNITION GOES TO:


Agueda De La Torre
Andrea Guiterrez
Andres Guiterrez
Angel and maria Corona
Angela Jarimillo
Benny Doja
Brenda Perez
Candy Vargas
Carlos Contreras
Connie Martinez
Daniel Esparza
Daniel Raya
Daniel Corona
Edith Cortez
Erika Flores
Erika Cuevas
Frances Hernandez
Frank Reyes
Gabriel Alfaro
Gene Bigler
Gina Valadez
Gretel Quintenel
Griselda Olivas
Ileana Perez
Issaid Bulfeta
Jeremy Turhune
Jose Cuevas
Leticia Hurtado
Lilia Towns
liliana Calderini
Lleana and Francisco Ortiz
Maria Valdovinos
Mayra Cuevas
Michael Cardenas
Michelle Morales
Mirna Juarez
Nicole Gonzolez
Noe Dr. Mora
Ramon Medina
Reggie Galindo
Richard Soto
Rocio Alvarez
Ruben Valdovinos
Susana Quize
Veronica Ramos
Vidal Morga
Yolanda Castellanos

Vinnie Paz - End of Days (feat. Block McCloud) [Official Music Video]

VINNIE PAZ -END OF DAYS!

White to take case against mayor to federal judge

By Scott Smith

Record Staff Writer

August 31, 2012 12:00 AM

STOCKTON - Former mayoral candidate Ralph Lee White this month will ask a federal judge overseeing Stockton's bankruptcy to let him pursue his case against Mayor Ann Johnston over term limits.

White said he believes the city inappropriately lumped the suit he initiated among 54 cases the City Attorney's Office froze under a provision of the U.S. bankruptcy code, which gives the debtor temporary relief while it reorganizes finances.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Klein on Sept. 18 will hear White in person making his plea to lift the stay against on his suit.

"I will have an opportunity to speak," White said Thursday. "And I will quite naturally speak my mind."

White and the Stockton Black Leadership Council in May took Johnston and the city to court, arguing that the mayor had exceeded the number of terms allowed under the city charter.

The case hinged on Section 606 of the city charter, which says:

          "No person elected as either Mayor or Councilmember shall be eligible to serve, or serve, as either Mayor or Councilmember for more than two (2) terms..."

He will ask Judge Klein to allow him to have Superior Court Judge Holland reconsider his ruling and possibly petition the state's Third District Court of Appeal for a review.

Johnston declined to comment for this story. City officials, who have defended her right to run for a second term as mayor, also had no comment.

Contact Reporter Scott Smith at (209) 546-8296 or    ssmith@recordnet.com.       Visit his blog 

Hunger In California: Study Shows Nearly Four Million Residents Can't Afford Food

By Joanna Lin

For Larry Sly, executive director of the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano, the good news is that the number of people the food bank serves has leveled off over the past couple of years. The bad news: The food bank still feeds 132,000 people every month.

The food bank today serves 46 percent more people in Contra Costa and Solano counties than it did in 2006, before the recession began. Those in need include people with financial emergencies, others who need sporadic help and still more who come in month after month; many never imagined they'd someday stand in line at a food pantry, Sly said.

"The recession I know is technically over … but we're not seeing it here at all," he said. "We see nothing to indicate that things are getting better for the people we serve."

Nearly 58 percent of low-income residents in Contra Costa County could not afford enough to eat in 2009, according to a recent report by California Food Policy Advocates and the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. The county's rate of "food insecurity," as it's called, was higher than anywhere else in the state and jumped from 16 percent two years earlier.

The analysis [PDF], based on data from the California Health Interview Survey, found that more than 40 percent of low-income California adults in 2009 – 3.8 million in all – could not afford enough food at least once in the previous year.

To finish reading, click here!

White, Pitsch, still fighting Ann Johnston's illegally sought Candidacy

By Scott Smith
Record Staff Writer
August 18, 2012 12:00 AM
STOCKTON - City Hall, under a provision of the federal bankruptcy code that gives debtors a bit of breathing room, has suspended 54 pending lawsuits, mostly those known as trip-and-fall cases.

But Ralph Lee White, a wealthy bail bondsman, former councilman and recent mayoral candidate, said the city has wrongly entangled him with one of those frozen decisions.

White earlier this year sued Stockton and Mayor Ann Johnston, arguing that an ambiguously worded line of the city charter means Johnston has already termed out of office. She was ineligible to seek another term, he said.

Making this argument, White lost his first round in San Joaquin County Superior Court, and he also lost his mayoral bid at the polls in June's primary election.

But White hasn't given up his fight to bring clarification to the city's charter.

He said his case shouldn't be subject to a suspension because he isn't seeking millions in recompense, like other litigants. The city is using its ailing finances as an excuse to skirt his challenge, he said.

"If the charter is our constitution, we have to follow our constitution," White said. "You can't put a stay on our constitution."

White and the Stockton Black Leadership Council originally brought the suit, citing problems they saw in Section 606 of the charter, which dictates term limits. It says:

"No person elected as either Mayor or Councilmember shall be eligible to serve, or serve, as either Mayor or Councilmember for more than two (2) terms ... ."

Johnston, who declined to comment, has served two terms on the City Council and now seeks a second term as mayor.

Superior Court Judge Lesley Holland heard the case in May and ruled in Johnston's favor, while criticizing the charter's language as being less than clear.

After White's courtroom defeat, his attorney, Michael Babitzke, who declined to comment, filed a new writ of mandate under the names of another failed mayoral candidate, Gregory Pitsch, and four other residents.

And then the city on June 28 filed bankruptcy. Officials shortly thereafter invoked the court stays.

City Attorney John Luebberke defended the move against White, saying this provision of the bankruptcy code is to be construed broadly.

The city is not arbitrarily selecting to temporarily stop White's suit or any of the others, he said.

"We're not using it. It's the law," Luebberke said. "We can't pick and choose."

Rather, the city filed notices to let the relevant judges, litigants and their attorneys know of the provision halting the cases. The city has to pay to defend the case, creating a financial burden, Luebberke said, refuting White's claim that his suit doesn't have financial ramifications.

Most of those suspended in Stockton's bankruptcy are tort cases, like trip-and-fall lawsuits filed against the city. Others include employee-related litigation and those arising from scuffles people have had with police officers, Luebberke said.

Among the suits also on hold is one filed by former Deputy City Attorney Lori Whittaker, who in 2009 accused then-Stockton City Attorney Ren Nocky of sexual harassment.

Another stay applies to the city's legal battle with the Stockton Police Officers' Association over millions in pay cuts the city imposed on its officers. But the association's Sacramento attorney, David E. Mastagni, said police had no problem with the suspension.

"We're working with the city to get a contract," he said. "We agreed to have ... the whole case stayed."

But White, who suspects foul play is at work in his case, may have a good argument, said Riverside attorney Franklin Adams, a partner of Best Best & Krieger LLP.

The bankruptcy code allows for stays on certain cases to prevent a rush by creditors to the courthouse with everybody wanting to collect. Adams said that based on his limited knowledge of the case, White wants a ruling on the city charter and nothing more.

"I don't think that's what the stay was intended to prevent," Adams said.

If White wanted his advice, Adams said he would suggest approaching U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Klein, who is overseeing Stockton's Chapter 9, and ask for a "comfort order."

Under such an order, White could ask the judge to send his case back to the San Joaquin County Superior Court, and then return it to the federal bankruptcy court with a resolution, Adams said.

"Some bankruptcy judges are willing to do that," he said.

White argues that if the incumbent mayor beats challenger Anthony Silva on Nov. 6, and if a court later were to rule that Johnston is ineligible to serve, the city will have the expense of holding a special election.

"I ain't asking for no money," he said. "There's no money there to be asked for."

Contact reporter Scott Smith at (209) 546-8296 or ssmith@recordnet.com. Visit his blog at

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Lots of talk, few specifics on pension reform

By Matt Augustine

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — While members of city council will likely have their share of problems with the mayor's proposed budget as they begin to work their way through the more than 400 pages of numbers, the one thing most seem to agree on is that the city needs to reform its pension system or face the possibility of bankruptcy.

"We're not going to be like Stockton, California...we're going to do this right," says Mayor Alvin Brown.
However, exactly what that reform will entail is another issue entirely. Specific details of a pension reform plan, even tentative or speculative ones, have been non-existent.

"I would say this: If we don't reform the pension system, in a few years, we could be looking like some of the other cities," says councilman Steven Joost, referring to cities like Stockton and San Bernardino, California, which have filed for bankruptcy due largely to bloated pension funds.

The city of Jacksonville will pay out $150 million in pensions this year -- a $46.5 million dollar increase from last year and about 15 percent of the total general fund budget which adds up to about $945 million.

Joost says the first thing city council has to do is pass the budget. Once that's done, he says, they can start working on pension reform seriously. However, council president Bill Bishop says it's going to be a long road.
"I really don't know how that's going to go. The pension issue is highly complex. There are a lot of moving parts, there are a lot of people involved," he says.

Mayor Brown vowed during his budget speech that Jacksonville would not end up like Stockton or San Bernardino, and says the wheels are already in motion for a pension reform plan.

"We're going to present a pension plan by the end of the year that's going to be fair and sustainable," said Mayor Brown. "It's not sustainable, we've got to do pension reform and we have to protect the taxpayers and the city employees, and the only way to do that is to make sure we do pension reform, and we're working on that. I don't want to get into specifics but we're literally working on that. We'll present a plan by no later than the end of the year."

Brown says the goal is to have it done before next year's budget.

Valley News: More CA Cities are Going Belly Up

Valley News: More CA Cities are Going Belly Up: By The Record July 15, 2012 12:00 AM And then there were three. First Stockton. Then Mammoth Lakes. Now San Bernardino. Three Califor...

Stockton bankruptcy: Retirees sue to stop cuts to health benefits

A group of Stockton retirees is seeking a restraining order against the bankrupt city's efforts to cut their health benefits, part of the city's "pendency plan" aimed at keeping it solvent while it seeks protections from creditors.

The city informed retirees by letter they must pay their premiums by July 30 or "medical coverage will be canceled retroactive to July 1."

Promises of lifelong health benefits have been blamed in part for Stockton's failure, which was also brought on by the housing bust, unemployment and borrowing for downtown development that did not bring expected results.

PHOTOS: California cities in bankruptcy

Dwane Milnes, who was Stockton's city manager from 1991 to 2001, has been widely criticized for giving retirees full retirement healthcare in return for agreements from unions not to seek raises. The unfunded liability for those benefits is $417 million.

Milnes now represents the retirees in bankruptcy-related negotiations.

"It is not unfair to make changes in the retirement plan," Milnes said. "The world changes and when the world changes you have to adapt. But the question is, how do you change it in a way that is respectful of those most in need?"

Plaintiff Alfred Seibel, 58, a retired parks worker, said he can't afford the premiums and can't afford to lose coverage.
With the city's cuts, Seibel's health insurance costs would be $1,126.66 per month, or about 51% of his net income.

"I am already taking generic meds for cholesterol and triglycerides against my doctor's advice, I can't afford the $70 co-pay. My wife cries all the time. She don't understand how when they promise you all this stuff, then they [can] just take it away," he said in court documents.

A retired parks caretaker who worked for the city for 31 years, Seibel also suffers from a work-related herniated disc and enlarged lymph nodes that doctors say are from chemicals he used on the job.

The suit seeks class-action status covering all retirees, but Milnes said he and other managers with higher incomes would be willing to give up their benefits.

"The ones we're talking about are the ones who worked for us for years. For crying out loud, we know them, we know their families. We know about their breast cancer, their husband's diabetes," he said.

The budget the Stockton City Council adopted slashed contributions to current employee and retiree health benefits and eliminated benefits for employees with fewer than 10 years of city service. It eliminates city-funded medical benefits for retirees by July 2013.

There are about 2,400 city retirees, about 1,000 of whom receive health benefits. Two-thirds of the city retirees do not meet poverty requirements for California's low-income healthcare program but cannot afford private insurance, Milnes said. Those who are over 65 can get Medicare, but they must pay for medications and doctor's office visits.

Stockton Vice Mayor Kathy Miller said the lawsuit was not unexpected.

"All I can say is that there is a group of retirees who think it's more important for the taxpayers to pay 100% of their retirement than to keep police officers on the street," she said. "They know the situation. They know 80% of our discretionary income is for public safety. There is no way we can close the budget gap without these cuts. But they think they should come first."

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— Diana Marcum

Oprah gives to young Stockton campaign

Posted by
CNN's Dana Davidsen
(CNN) - Oprah has added another campaign to her exclusive list of political donations.

Joining the likes of Barack Obama and Newark, N.J. mayor Cory Booker, Michael Tubbs was lucky enough to grab a little 'Oprah Effect.'

– Follow the Ticker on Twitter: @PoliticalTicker

According to his campaign's website, Tubbs is a 21-year-old politician who is running for city council in Stockton, California, a place ranking first on Forbes list of 'America's Most Miserable Cities' and has become America's largest city to file for bankruptcy.

A Stanford grad and Stockton native, Tubbs met Oprah while she was touring Stanford with the African Leadership Academy at a luncheon on campus. After hearing about his aspirations to revitalize the city, Oprah asked the young Democrat how she could make a donation, sending him $10,000 - one third of his campaign fundraising goal, BET first reported.

Tubbs told CNN that he feels so "thankful and humbled" by the media mogul's donation and feel that Oprah's political sentiments mimic those of his constituents.

"Oprah has only given to two other campaigns, which is a common narrative among our donors," said Tubbs who also says many of his donations come in $10-20 per month increments.

Tubbs' campaign slogan is "Reinvent Stockton" and, if elected, he could become the youngest city council member in Stockton's history.

"The city is at a crisis moment," said Tubbs, characterizing the November election as a "choice between chaos and community."

Born to a 16-year-old mom and incarcerated dad, he calls himself a "political breath of fresh air," promising to provide a fresh look at the economically wounded community, according to the candidate's website.

Tubbs election bid is showing strength with a win in a June 5 primary, grabbing just over 55 percent of Stockton voters, trumping incumbent Dale Fritchen's just under 44 percent, according to San Joaquin's Registrar of Voters. The only names on the ballot, Tubbs and Fritchen will face off again in November.

"When we started in January, we were motivated by a simple idea: that given the state of the city, that now was the time to ReInvent Stockton. Since that time we've talked to thousands of voters, walked every precinct in District 6, and have built a diverse coalition of volunteers and supporters that include school board President Sara Cazares, Delta Board of Trustee members Mary Ann Cox and Janet Rivera, Congressman Jerry McNerney, and even national icons like Oprah Winfrey. Yesterday, the residents of District 6 made their voices heard over the chorus of critics and told my opponent and the rest of the city that, "Now is the time to Reinvent Stockton,"" said Tubbs in a statement issued after his primary win.

Stockton to Become Largest US City in Bankruptcy

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Stockton, Calif. Files for Bankruptcy

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Oh Zee's Words of Wisdom: What is REALLY going on in Stockton? City's Police...

Oh Zee's Words of Wisdom: What is REALLY going on in Stockton? City's Police...: This Is what the City of Stockton really couldn't resist at the low price of $300,000. A New armored vehicle for the S.W.A.T. team. W...