Jeff Pelline's Sierra Foothills Report

In November, I posted the Other Voices from county Clerk-Recorder Greg Diaz that contained some disturbing information about our latest elections: “For the second election in a row, I received written accounts from our poll workers that there was intimidation and disruption caused by poll watchers at some of our polling locations. Voters complained to our inspectors that they felt intimidated by some of the poll watchers.”

I sought copies of the allegations with a Freedom of Information Act request. A copy of all of them (a matter of public record to anyone, including the local media) is publicrecordrequest. The county had redacted some of the information, including names.

Let’s be clear: The allegations were not severe enough to merit any further actions by the clerk-recorder’s office, and the poll watchers are perfectly within their legal rights. But it is a reminder about the importance of poll etiquette, at the very least. It’s also important to understand, for example, that poll watchers had not visited the precinct before, no doubt making for an uncomfortable situation on both sides.

Some highlights:

•The complaints centered on some poll watchers in Truckee, according to the documents. “Early in the morning on Election Day, one observer came into the polling place and introduced herself as a member of McClintock’s campaign,” said one document. “He explained the rules to her and laid out the guidelines for poll observers. She was asking a lot of questions about all parts of the process to the point that he felt she was being disruptive of the flow in the polling place and preventing him from doing his job as the inspector.” There are also handwritten notes discussing this.

•”During the time those observers were there, (name redacted) said he talked to ‘at least seven’ voters who expressed discomfort at the presence of the observers, and felt as if they were being intimidated by the observers from the McClintock campaign,” it alleged later.

•”This is the first election I am aware of a poll watcher visiting us,” one email said. “I will refer to the persons as she or the two men,” it alleged. “Later in the day, she returned with 2 additional men. One in a suit and tie, the other wearing a pilot’s flight jacket with military patches. They all had very imposing, militaristic, in-your-face attitude. Again, based upon body language.”

•”We both felt there was intimidation and disruption caused by the poll-watchers at our location,” another document alleged. “I have never had this problem develop in any previous election worked.”

•”The one poll observer was obnoxious and intimidating,” read a poll worker survey, included in the document. “I was told he was there because the Republican party felt their votes weren’t counted properly at the last election.”

•”We had an absolutely obnoxious poll worker hang around. We all understand she has every right to be there but she was rude, aggressive and very much out of line,” alleged one comment.

It is the clerk-recorder’s duty to investigate such complaints. It would seem that under the circumstances our county clerk-recorder acted appropriately.

Let’s hope the next election doesn’t involve such complaints. As the clerk-recorder stated, “This should not be happening in Nevada County.”

Filed under: Uncategorized | 23 Comments »

Going to the extreme right blogs in our community is like going to the bar in Star Wars. I touched a nerve with Barry Pruett in pointing out the infighting among GOP leaders in Placer and Nevada County (a matter of much political press), so he resorted to his usual personal attack.

When I posted links to stories that showed this, he promptly erased my comment (like Pravda). Here are the links:

•“Park Brothers handiwork continued”

•“Is Tom McClintock OK with this”

•“Extremist politics will be our ruin”

The GOP leadership in Placer and Nevada County airs their “dirty laundry” on the internet, and then shoots the messenger for writing about it. The infighting among GOP leaders in both counties has gone on for years.

In my view, a lot of this latest round has to do with Tom McClintock’s lack of leadership in his district. His “my way or the highway” hard right rhetoric has divided, not united, us, including moderate Republicans.

In reality, he is supposed to be representing a small rural district, not seeking a national spotlight by lecturing Mexico’s leader and the like. Many moderates find his rigid ideology counter-productive, as has been documented here repeatedly.

Barry’s wife works for Tom, so I guess it touches a nerve with him too. (Does this means Barry indirectly receives government benefits? LOL.) In reality, nobody really listens to Barry since he lost every precinct in the county clerk-recorder’s race, but it’s important to call out his blogging ethics, since he fancies himself as a local GOP “spokesman.”

In his second term, I hope Tom learns to tone down his rhetoric and spend more time with all of his constituents, not just his like minded ones.

While the GOP leadership in both counties is putting on a “brave face” of unity, there are quiet discussions of finding a more moderate Republican to run against Tom in 2012, according to my sources.

Tom lost some precincts in our county and the total of his two opponents — Clint Curtis and Ben Emery — made his margin of victory much narrower than Barry and his friends would have you believe.

Filed under: Uncategorized | 3 Comments »

A lot of people around here on the extreme right like to go around bashing the government for “handouts” and wasteful spending. It’s reached a fevered pitched, in The Union’s editorials (including some by the publisher), CABPRO’s newsletters and the vocal hard right blogging contingent.

But you do not always want to bite the hand that feeds you.

At last night’s Nevada City Council meeting, for example, Robinson Enterprises was awarded a $60,000 contract to construct a one-mile section of walking trail at Hirschman Pond. The money comes from grant funds, to build a walking trail from the County Rood Center to Indian Flat Road near the Willo Restaurant, through old Hirschmans Pond hydraulic diggins.

Other examples of “government work” include:

•Expanding and rebuilding facilities at Sierra College, as reported previously.

•CORR has secured funding for construction of the Center for Hope, a wellness center focusing on substance abuse. It comes from a $9.3 million loan from the USDA.

•A new $108 million courthouse proposed for our county, as reported previously.

All told, the government work is helping to boost business for longtime local contractors during the commercial building drought. We (and they) ought to be thankful.

Filed under: Uncategorized | 13 Comments »

We watched the Nevada City Council meeting last night on television, and there was an interesting discussion about a lecture series in the city called “What’s Next in Science.”

“Nevada City is in a process of becoming a ‘model’ for other small communities to emulate. Our community has shown a deep commitment to understanding the challenges now facing all of us, locally and globally, to our social, cultural and economic systems. At the core of this ‘understanding’ is and should be, education.”

There would be four events in 2011 — one in September, two in October and one in November. The session titles are now only working titles.

•Watersheds to the Oceans — What we do with our rivers affects our ocean

•Ocean pollution

•The Gulf Oil Spill

•Trouble in Paradise — losing our coral reefs

•Exploring the Oceans

Future topics could include space science; conservation ecology; the business and boundaries of science; and natural disasters.

The series will be funded by private foundations, local businesses, individual donors and series subscribers.

The series organizers are locals Judith Kildow, with more than 40 years experience in ocean-related issues, including nearly three decades as a MIT professor, as well as Robert Bergman, the mayor of Nevada City.

In the coming months an advisory board of local citizens and several nationally known experts will be formed. More details are here. (You need to scroll down this document to find the appropriate discussion).

Filed under: Uncategorized | 13 Comments »

Our Congressman Tom McClintock is being drawn into a Placer GOP “family feud,” marked by mudslinging and name calling and “creepy” actions. It stems from a fight for leadership in the group, basically pitting the right against the extreme right. The background is here.

Placer’s Central Committee is running into the same criticism as the GOP central committee in our county — it is too far to the right, alienating moderate republicans. In my view, McClintock has been a catalyst in polarizing both groups because of his outspoken hard right rhetoric, documented here repeatedly.

Some of the GOP’ers have had enough of the hard right’s hard-hitting style. “Is Tom McClintock OK with this?” wrote Ken Campbell, a moderate who has challenged the leadership of the more politically extreme contingent, toppled in a recent election. The group will elect new leadership on Jan. 12.

“Today I will deal with an email I received on May 5, 2010. The subject line reads, ‘We Remember and Tom McClintock is Watching You.’ The body of the email states, ‘You’ve turned on everyone in office and now you’re turning on Tom McClintock. Your time is coming.’

“Evidently since I didn’t support Aaron and George Park along with their business-as-usual slate, it warranted an email warning.

“This is kind of creepy; Congressman Tom McClintock is watching me and taking note of what I do… government spying on individual citizens? I always believed individual citizens should be watching their government, not big-brother spying on common, ordinary American citizens.

“To be fair, I do not believe Tom McClintock O.K.ed this email, but he does know about it because I personally showed it to him.”

This week, McClintock’s office offered a response:

“Several factions within the Placer County Republican Central Committee (PCRCC) have invoked Congressman McClintock’s name in their ongoing dispute. Congressman McClintock has not taken sides in this contest and neither condones nor approves of the attacks these factions are making on one another. He has been — and wishes to remain — neutral in all races in the upcoming election of officers for the PCRCC.

The goal of the PCRCC should be increasing the Republican registration advantage in Placer County and electing Republicans to elective office. Placer County was recognized as the most Republican county in the state. We hope that in the next two years the PCRCC can make this their number one goal.

Jon Huey
Campaign Manager”

Filed under: Uncategorized | 31 Comments »