Tag Archives: firefighters union

Video – Shows Scott Houston and Bryan Partlow urging the El Segundo City Council to enact Measure P into law without an election



This is a very short version video shows excerpts of City Council candidate Scott Houston and El Segundo firefighters’ union member and Measure P proponent Bryan Partlow reading nearly identical scripts at the February 15, 2011 El Segundo City Council meeting.


Both Houston and Partlow strongly urged the El Segundo City Council to immediately enact Measure P directly into law, without letting the voters vote on it. Then they had the nerve to say that if the City Council would not enact Measure P directly into law and thereby deny the voters their right to vote on it, as their second choice, they wanted a special election as early as possible because the voters had a right to vote on it!

What dishonesty!

An early election in May, June, or July, 2011, as Houston and Partlow requested, as opposed to putting Measure P on the ballot for the April 10, 2012 regular election, would have given the firefighters’ union a huge unfair advantage in winning because the firefighters’ union has much more money to spend and many more campaign workers. The firefighters are on 48-hours shifts and work only two out of every six days. They have four out of every six days off from work, and they get paid to sleep a third of the time during their two work days. This gives the firefighters plenty of time to work on their union’s Measure P initiative campaign.

Scott Houston may claim he changed his mind on Measure P, but he cannot change history and gloss over the fact that he very actively tried to deny El Segundo voters their right to vote on Measure P, the most important item on the April 10, 2012 ballot. … Continue reading

Posted in El Segundo Election Coverage, Firefighter and Police Union Compensation and Pensions, Firefighter Union Corruption, Government Employee Compensation and Pensions, Measure P - Firefighters Union Initiative, Videos | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Video – Shows Scott Houston and Bryan Partlow urging the El Segundo City Council to enact Measure P into law without an election

Scott Houston – Letter to the El Segundo Herald by Illeen Joscha

Scott Houston

Even if a majority votes “NO” on measure P, as they must to save lives and money, it will take only three union-aligned Council members to unilaterally vote to implement Measure P against the will of the voters.

This is not far-fetched. Candidate Scott Houston spoke at the 2/15/11 City Council meeting, during public communications, urging the City Council to enact Measure P as an ordinance and implement it without allowing the voters to vote on it! Houston read a script closely resembling the script read by Bryan Partlow, the firefighter union member who sponsored Measure P because he is the only union member living in town.

Watch the video at the city web site at ElSegundo.org. Under Links, click on “Video”, then on “City Council Archives”, then on the 2/15/2011 Council Meeting View Video link. Or watch the Houston video at http://www.youtube.com/user/PublicSafetyProject.

Houston has campaigned as a pro-business conservative, yet he is a progressive leftist (ultra-liberal, big tax and spender). Houston was endorsed by … Continue reading

Posted in El Segundo, El Segundo Election Coverage, El Segundo Herald Letters, El Segundo News, Firefighter Union Corruption, Letters to the Editor, Measure P - Firefighters Union Initiative, Union Corruption | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Scott Houston – Letter to the El Segundo Herald by Illeen Joscha

“NO” on P – Letter to the El Segundo Herald by Marianne Fong

“NO” on P

The firefighters’ union has financed a propaganda poll with many false claims to deceive voters into voting for Measure P. The pollsters falsely claimed firefighters are paid $100,000 annually.

The firefighters had average total annual compensation of $211,000 (maximum was $342,000), and average annual pension contributions paid by the taxpayers of $42,000 (maximum was $80,000). These figures don’t include Fire Chief Kevin Smith, who had total annual compensation of $358,000 including total annual pension contributions paid by the taxpayers of $84,000.

If Measure P passes, El Segundo will no longer have a Fire Department. L.A. County will provide our fire and paramedic services at a reduced level, without ambulances. … Continue reading

Posted in El Segundo Election Coverage, El Segundo Herald Letters, El Segundo News, El Segundo Tax and Fee Increases, Firefighter and Police Union Compensation and Pensions, Firefighter Union Corruption, Government Employee Compensation and Pensions, Letters to the Editor, Measure P - Firefighters Union Initiative | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on “NO” on P – Letter to the El Segundo Herald by Marianne Fong

Save Our City – Letter to the El Segundo Herald by Michael D. Robbins

SAVE OUR CITY

The El Segundo firefighter and police unions are putting our city at risk for their Royal Family sized paychecks and pensions. At the Feb. 7 City Council meeting, City Manager Doug Willmore explained how City Hall will be sold and leased back for twenty years, as collateral for a $10.3 million loan to pay for street resurfacing, other routine infrastructure maintenance and capital improvements.

El Segundo used to be a pay-as-you-go city, paying for infrastructure maintenance and capital improvements with General Fund revenues. But that was before the safety unions became very active in City Council campaigns, hired their own bosses, and ratcheted up their salaries, benefits, and pensions to ridiculous and unsustainable levels. … Continue reading

Posted in Doug Willmore's Great Chevron Shakedown, El Segundo Election Coverage, El Segundo Herald Letters, El Segundo News, El Segundo Tax and Fee Increases, Firefighter and Police Union Compensation and Pensions, Firefighter Union Corruption, Government Employee Compensation and Pensions, Letters to the Editor, Measure P - Firefighters Union Initiative, Police Union Corruption | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Save Our City – Letter to the El Segundo Herald by Michael D. Robbins

Measure P Costs More For Less – Letter to the El Segundo Herald by Michael D. Robbins

Measure P Costs More For Less

Voters must reject Measure P this April, or we will lose our local fire department, including firefighters, apparatus, and equipment; and we’ll pay more for less emergency services.

Measure P is not a merger of City and County fire departments, but a liquidation of the City fire department and a complete takeover by L.A. County. If Measure P passes, fire and paramedic services will be greatly reduced. El Segundo will permanently lose its three paramedic ambulances, because L.A. County does not operate paramedic ambulances, and El Segundo will lose its legal grandfathered status to operate them.

Residents will be forced to use and pay out-of-town ambulance companies, significantly increasing hospital transport times and costs in money and lives. … Continue reading

Posted in El Segundo Election Coverage, El Segundo Herald Letters, El Segundo News, El Segundo Tax and Fee Increases, Firefighter and Police Union Compensation and Pensions, Firefighter Union Corruption, Government Employee Compensation and Pensions, Letters to the Editor, Measure P - Firefighters Union Initiative | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Measure P Costs More For Less – Letter to the El Segundo Herald by Michael D. Robbins

City Council Rescinds Tax Hike Proposal – Letter to the El Segundo Herald by Arthur Christopher Schaper

City Council Rescinds Tax Hike Proposal

The El Segundo City Council has finally seen the light, the light of limited government that does not pawn off expenses on successful corporations.

The Council may not have yet mustered the political skill to curtail the outrageous pension liabilities that threaten to bankrupt the peaceful community south of LAX, but at least they have rescinded the option of floating a foolish tax hike that would harm a local and very national business in the city’s backyard.

Instead of trying to raise revenue, the El Segundo City Council needs to cut spending, cut entitlements, and cut any other unnecessary fiscal outlays. Like many, I respect the role of public safety officers, but local representatives, who receive a stipend to serve their communities, must step up and cast votes that represent the needs of the current community and future inhabitants, not just placate powerful public unions. … Continue reading

Posted in Doug Willmore's Great Chevron Shakedown, El Segundo Herald Letters, El Segundo Tax and Fee Increases, Letters to the Editor | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on City Council Rescinds Tax Hike Proposal – Letter to the El Segundo Herald by Arthur Christopher Schaper

A Holiday Prayer – Letter to the El Segundo Herald by Michael D. Robbins

A Holiday Prayer

For more than a year, I have written letters to inform residents about the wildly excessive and unsustainable city employee union compensation and pensions that threaten our city’s future. My facts and information come from official sources, mostly City Hall public records, and are independently verifiable.

One positive result has been the voters’ rejection of millions of dollars in new and unnecessary business taxes and residential trash fees. Another has been some, although greatly inadequate, city employee union concessions. … Continue reading

Posted in El Segundo Election Coverage, El Segundo Herald Letters, El Segundo News, Firefighter and Police Union Compensation and Pensions, Firefighter Union Corruption, Government Employee Compensation and Pensions, Letters to the Editor, Police Union Corruption | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on A Holiday Prayer – Letter to the El Segundo Herald by Michael D. Robbins

Unsustainable Collective Bargaining – Letter to the El Segundo Herald by Michael D. Robbins

Unsustainable Collective Bargaining

My June 23 letter was not intended to imply guilt by association for all firefighters because one was arrested for shoplifting. That case exemplifies how the politically active government employee unions have fostered an insatiable appetite for and sense of entitlement to other people’s hard-earned money. … Continue reading

Posted in El Segundo Herald Letters, El Segundo News, Firefighter and Police Union Compensation and Pensions, Firefighter Union Corruption, Firefighters Commiting Crimes, Government Employee Compensation and Pensions | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Unsustainable Collective Bargaining – Letter to the El Segundo Herald by Michael D. Robbins

Just the Facts – Letter to The Beach Reporter by Michael D. Robbins

As Ronald Reagan said, “facts are stubborn things.” Unlike the extremist rants against me, which now include calls for censorship and threats of death by withholding emergency services, I just deal with the facts in order to prevent my city’s bankruptcy and loss of vital services. The people attacking me resort to these sorts of threats because they have no facts on their side. My information comes from official sources as documented at PublicSafetyProject.org.

If Measure P succeeds in liquidating the El Segundo Fire Department, then all other South Bay Cities will suffer reduced mutual aid emergency services. Even worse, if the voters are deceived into passing Measure P, it’s likely to start a trend of union takeovers of other South Bay cities. … Continue reading

Posted in Beach Reporter Letters, California, El Segundo, Firefighter Union Corruption, Letters to the Editor, Police Union Corruption, Political Corruption, Union Corruption | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Just the Facts – Letter to The Beach Reporter by Michael D. Robbins

Unsustainable – Letter to The Beach Reporter by Bill Barks

I wish to applaud and express support for frequent letter writer Michael D. Robbins of El Segundo. Mr. Robbins is exactly correct in his comments regarding the firefighter/police unions and the fantastic compensation packages they have been able to carve out of various ill-advised city councils in the beach cities over several years. Let it also be clear that I applaud the skill and dedication of most of the firefighter and police professionals. However, this unsustainable compensation policy has to be brought under control. … Continue reading

Posted in Beach Reporter Letters, California, El Segundo, Firefighter Union Corruption, Letters to the Editor, Police Union Corruption, Political Corruption, Union Corruption | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Unsustainable – Letter to The Beach Reporter by Bill Barks