Category Archives: California

Video – Scott Houston in Raising Taxes 101 – El Segundo – Public Safety Project – T0758

Posted on March 25, 2012 by Mike


Scott Houston in Raising Taxes 101

El Segundo City Council candidate Scott Houston has completely misrepresented his true record, politics, and agenda. Houston is a Progressive (ultra-liberal, big tax-and-spender), not a fiscal conservative. He even described himself as a Progressive when he previously ran for another position.

Houston claimed in his campaign literature that he is for “low taxes”. However, as demonstrated by the video above and the links to the official El Segundo City Council meeting minutes below, Scott Houston urged the City Council to raise not one, but two taxes during the recession, at the August 3, 2010 El Segundo City Council meeting.

Houston urged the City Council to put both a Utility User Tax (UUT) and a hotel Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) hike on the November 2, 2010 ballot for the legally required voter approval. Houston then criticized Councilman Carl Jacobson for opposing tax increases in favor of controlling city government spending.

And without any proof, Houston claimed these tax hikes would not impact any businesses. However, representatives of the businesses that would be adversely impacted spoke, providing facts that proved Houston was either ignorant or intentionally lying.

Clearly, Houston was in lock-step with the fire and police unions, urging the City Council to increase taxes to help pay for the huge pay raises of more than 15 to 23 percent given to those unions during the recession.

The August 3, 2010 El Segundo City Council meeting minutes state, at the top of page 4:

“Scott Houston, Resident; spoke in favor of placing a TOT and UUT increase on the November ballot.”

“Marsha Hanson, Executive Director of the Chamber of Commerce; addressed the chamber’s concerns regarding the proposed UUT and TOT increases. The Chamber urges Council to find new spending reductions.

“Joe Hardy, Hacienda Hotel; spoke regarding the UUT proposal and stated that slowly increasing taxes on the business community was not the solution to the budget deficit.”

“Lily Craig, Chevron; spoke regarding the UUT proposal, and stated that slowly increasing taxes on the business community was not the solution to the budget deficit.”

“Mike Robbins, Resident; spoke against raising any taxes, and employee compensation.”

You can read the August 3, 2010 El Segundo City council meeting minutes yourself on the official City of El Segundo web site at:

El Segundo City Council Meeting Minutes Index
http://www.elsegundo.org/depts/elected/minutes.asp

El Segundo City Council Meeting Minutes for August 3, 2010
http://www.elsegundo.org/civica/filebank/blobdload.asp?BlobID=8044

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT: … Continue reading →

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Video – Scott Houston in Raising Taxes 101 – El Segundo – Public Safety Project – SHORTEST VERSION – NO ANNOTATIONS – T0333

Posted on March 25, 2012 by Mike


Scott Houston in Raising Taxes 101 (shortest version, without title slides)

Note: This is the shortest version of this video, and it lacks annotations that explain the video.

El Segundo City Council candidate Scott Houston has completely misrepresented his true record, politics, and agenda. Houston is a Progressive (ultra-liberal, big tax-and-spender), not a fiscal conservative. He even described himself as a Progressive when he previously ran for another position.

Houston claimed in his campaign literature that he is for “low taxes”. However, as demonstrated by the video above and the links to the official El Segundo City Council meeting minutes below, Scott Houston urged the City Council to raise not one, but two taxes during the recession, at the August 3, 2010 El Segundo City Council meeting.

Houston urged the City Council to put both a Utility User Tax (UUT) and a hotel Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) hike on the November 2, 2010 ballot for the legally required voter approval. Houston then criticized Councilman Carl Jacobson for opposing tax increases in favor of controlling city government spending.

And without any proof, Houston claimed these tax hikes would not impact any businesses. However, representatives of the businesses that would be adversely impacted spoke, providing facts that proved Houston was either ignorant or intentionally lying.

Clearly, Houston was in lock-step with the fire and police unions, urging the City Council to increase taxes to help pay for the huge pay raises of more than 15 to 23 percent given to those unions during the recession.

The August 3, 2010 El Segundo City Council meeting minutes state, at the top of page 4:

“Scott Houston, Resident; spoke in favor of placing a TOT and UUT increase on the November ballot.”

“Marsha Hanson, Executive Director of the Chamber of Commerce; addressed the chamber’s concerns regarding the proposed UUT and TOT increases. The Chamber urges Council to find new spending reductions.

“Joe Hardy, Hacienda Hotel; spoke regarding the UUT proposal and stated that slowly increasing taxes on the business community was not the solution to the budget deficit.”

“Lily Craig, Chevron; spoke regarding the UUT proposal, and stated that slowly increasing taxes on the business community was not the solution to the budget deficit.”

“Mike Robbins, Resident; spoke against raising any taxes, and employee compensation.”

You can read the August 3, 2010 El Segundo City council meeting minutes yourself on the official City of El Segundo web site at:

El Segundo City Council Meeting Minutes Index
http://www.elsegundo.org/depts/elected/minutes.asp

El Segundo City Council Meeting Minutes for August 3, 2010
http://www.elsegundo.org/civica/filebank/blobdload.asp?BlobID=8044

VIDEO TRANSCRIPT (including the missing annotations): … Continue reading →

Posted in El Segundo, El Segundo Election Coverage, El Segundo News, Videos | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Video – Scott Houston in Raising Taxes 101 – El Segundo – Public Safety Project – SHORTEST VERSION – NO ANNOTATIONS – T0333

Schools but not cities – Letter to the Beach Reporter by Edward Caprielian

Posted on March 22, 2012 by Mike

Lack of visibility and public input during city employee union contract negotiations

Schools but not cities

Question: Are Manhattan Beach residents afforded public hearings on city employee labor negotiations such as those provided between the Manhattan Beach School District and its teachers?

Answer: Absolutely not! The Educational Employment Relations Act requires hearings by school districts to “enable the public to become informed” and provide the public “the opportunity to express itself” and to “know the positions of their elected representatives” before negotiations.

The Meyers-Milias Brown Act covering local government labor relations requires no such public hearing, but neither is there a prohibition. The Manhattan Beach City Council, true to its historic repressive policy of not informing the public and respecting our intelligence, prohibits such efforts.

Question: Has the Manhattan Beach City Council (MBCC) barricade produced fiscal responsibility?

Answer: Absolutely not! Present contracts are replete with fiscally irresponsible provisions including diminished management authority; requiring salary increases but prohibiting decreases; allowing “stealth bonuses” for “extra duties” without required qualifications; and deficient disciplinary procedures including employees receiving pay while being investigated for misconduct with no provisions for deducting income earned from outside employment while on administrative leave.

Because elected officials and managers receive pay and benefits equal to or more than employees, they too benefit from these deficiencies including personnel policies resulting in inadequate measures of managerial performance and “investment vehicles” resulting in accrued vacation and sick leave paid out at current salary rather than when accrued. … Continue reading →

Posted in Beach Reporter Letters, Firefighter and Police Union Compensation and Pensions, Government Employee Compensation and Pensions, Letters to the Editor, Manhattan Beach, Manhattan Beach News, News, Union Corruption | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Schools but not cities – Letter to the Beach Reporter by Edward Caprielian

Responsibility to identify – Letter to the Beach Reporter by Karl W. Jacobs

Posted on March 22, 2012 by Mike

Responsibility to identify

To all El Segundo voters: I am a long-time (25-plus years) resident and small business owner in El Segundo and I am sick and tired of the “nasties” that seem to crawl out of their holes at election time. In particular, I address those who hide behind the e-mails circulating from “omg.elsegundo.” I do believe in free speech, but, those who belittle persons with whom they disagree or have issues, justified or not, should at least be willing to identify themselves.

I have posted questions and responses to both our former city manager’s blog and to omg.elsegundo, without any replies from the writers of the unproven allegations on Chevron USA and the discrediting of a current city councilman running for re-election. Note that all of the candidates for City Council have stated their stands on the issues and have gone on the record. There was a very informative two-page article in the El Segundo Herald on March 15. … Continue reading →

Posted in Beach Reporter Letters, Doug Willmore's Great Chevron Shakedown, Doug Willmore’s Great City Shakedown, El Segundo, El Segundo Election Coverage, El Segundo News, Letters to the Editor | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Responsibility to identify – Letter to the Beach Reporter by Karl W. Jacobs

Padding the budget – Letter to the Beach Reporter by Ashleigh Teator

Posted on March 22, 2012 by Mike

Padding the budget

Today I tried to take my dog to the dog park but it was closed. He had been very excited so I was going to throw the ball around with him in Dominguez Park next door since there was nobody around. Next thing I knew there was a police office there who was eager to write me a ticket.’He then called in animal control and two other police officers who proceeded to get in my face, harassing me and threatening to arrest me and impound my well-behaved miniature Schnauzer for being off-leash.

I now realize my dog technically should have been on his leash and will of course follow this rule in the future. However, I think we have too many officers with too little to do if such a small issue attracts that kind of attention. I think the city should realize that if it takes four officers to give a girl and her dog a superfluous ticket, they need to reconsider their budget for law enforcement. … Continue reading →

Posted in Beach Reporter Letters, Firefighter and Police Union Compensation and Pensions, Government Employee Compensation and Pensions, Letters to the Editor, Redondo Beach | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Padding the budget – Letter to the Beach Reporter by Ashleigh Teator

Dirty politics – Letter to the Beach Reporter by Dianna K. Day

Posted on March 22, 2012 by Mike

Dirty politics

Recently there have been some nasty reports by media outside El Segundo, presenting a one-sided view of supposed shady dealings by the city and Chevron. The purpose was to shock the audience, not present a thoughtful, balanced picture of questions about the company’s taxes.

What was shocking to me, as a lifelong resident of El Segundo and a Chevron employee, was the blatant misinformation, inaccurate statements wrongly presented as facts, and the lack of equal time given to those who didn’t share the anti-big-oil hysteria promoted by the reporters and producers.

It would have been nice to hear from the former mayors, community leaders and others who were troubled not by the idea of looking into Chevron’s tax history but by the rush to put a tax increase on the ballot without first fully investigating the facts. It would have been nice if the TV producers had interviewed those folks instead of an out-of-town political activist with no ties to our community.

Now there’s an unsigned ad in the El Segundo Herald encouraging voters to watch this biased, unbalanced “report,” which slams not only Chevron but a current City Council candidate, and then go to the polls. … Continue reading →

Posted in Beach Reporter Letters, El Segundo, El Segundo Election Coverage, El Segundo News, Letters to the Editor | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Dirty politics – Letter to the Beach Reporter by Dianna K. Day

The Firing of El Segundo City Manager Doug Willmore – Part 2

Posted on March 18, 2012 by Mike

By Michael D. Robbins
Former El Segundo City Councilman
Founder and Director, Public Safety Project

This is Part 2 of a 2-Part Article. The first part covered the controversy Doug Willmore created and the facts surrounding his firing. This second part covers the old 1994 legal settlement agreement to the MRC-Chevron-City of El Segundo tax dispute.

March 18, 2012

There has been much controversy surrounding the firing of El Segundo City Manager Doug Willmore at the special meeting of the El Segundo City Council on February 9, 2012. This controversy has been created by Doug Willmore himself, and by anti-business news organizations he enlisted to smear Chevron, Councilman Carl Jacobson, and the entire city of El Segundo. Carl Jacobson is the only City Council member who voted to fire Doug Willmore and who is running for reelection. Councilman Don Brann is not running for reelection, and Councilwoman Suzanne Fuentes is not up for reelection for another two years.

Regarding the MRC-Chevron-City Legal Settlement

I was on the City Council during the 1994 MRC-Chevron-El Segundo tax dispute legal settlement, and I know first-hand that the decision to approve that settlement agreement with MRC and Chevron was unanimous, legal, legitimate, and reasonable. And the decision was made in a public meeting. … Continue reading →

Posted in Doug Willmore's Great Chevron Shakedown, Doug Willmore’s Great City Shakedown, El Segundo Election Coverage, El Segundo News, Firefighter and Police Union Compensation and Pensions, Firefighter Union Corruption, Government Employee Compensation and Pensions, Police Union Corruption | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The Firing of El Segundo City Manager Doug Willmore – Part 2

The Firing of El Segundo City Manager Doug Willmore – Part 1

Posted on March 18, 2012 by Mike

There has been much controversy surrounding the firing of El Segundo City Manager Doug Willmore at the special meeting of the El Segundo City Council on February 9, 2012. This controversy has been created by Doug Willmore himself, and by anti-business news organizations he enlisted to smear Chevron, Councilman Carl Jacobson, and the entire city of El Segundo. Carl Jacobson is the only City Council member who voted to fire Doug Willmore and who is running for reelection. Councilman Don Brann is not running for reelection, and Councilwoman Suzanne Fuentes is not up for reelection for another two years.


Candid photo of Councilman Carl Jacobson as he speaks with a constituent after the March 6, 2012 City Council meeting. Photo copyright © 2012 by Michael D. Robbins.

It is clear that Willmore is trying to get Jacobson unelected, possibly out of revenge, but more likely for financial gain at taxpayer expense. Willmore has filed a claim against the City, the legally required precursor to a lawsuit. Willmore did not turn in his signed release form agreeing not to sue the City within the time limit specified in his contract. Thus, Willmore has walked away from his six-month severance pay of more than $100,000.


Doug Willmore’s 3-page claim against the city of El Segundo, his former employer, as the precursor to a lawsuit.

After reading Willmore’s claim, and knowing much about the surrounding facts, it is clear that Willmore is trying to shakedown our city and its taxpayers for multiple millions of dollars. By pursuing frivolous litigation against the City, his past employer, in such a high-profile manner in broadcast and print news media, it appears that Willmore does not plan to get another job nor to work another day in his life. Willmore is alleging retaliatory firing and age discrimination, among other things. He is even demanding that the City pay for his psychiatric treatment, even if it is for a pre-existing condition.


A portion of page 3 of Doug Willmore’s claim form, and Doug Willmore at a City Council meeting. Graphic and photo copyright © 2012 by Michael D. Robbins.

Willmore has two allies and supporters on the City Council – Mayor Eric Busch and Mayor Pro Tem Bill Fisher. Busch’s term expires with the coming April 10 election, and he is not running for re-election. This will leave Willmore with only one ally and supporter on City Council, but he needs three to have a majority that will vote to give him a large “settlement” payout as a “gift of public funds” or “hush money”. Willmore must know plenty about Busch’s dealings with the city’s firefighter and police unions.

The safety unions gave Mayor Busch and Mayor Pro Tem Fisher thousands of dollars in campaign support, and received millions of dollars per year in excess and unsustainable compensation and pensions. Where else can someone make a thousand-to-one return on their “investment”? This might be viewed as a form of laundering of public funds into campaign money in a way that is incredibly efficient for the unions and incredibly inefficient for the taxpayers.

KCET SoCal Connected producer Karen Foshay knowingly and intentionally produced a propaganda hatchet-job show attacking Chevron (“BIG OIL”), Councilman Carl Jacobson, and the city of El Segundo (“SMALL TOWN”).

Despite all the fancy artwork and video production techniques, that does not guarantee that anything in Foshay’s KCET TV show is true. … Continue reading →

Posted in Doug Willmore's Great Chevron Shakedown, Doug Willmore’s Great City Shakedown, El Segundo Election Coverage, El Segundo News | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The Firing of El Segundo City Manager Doug Willmore – Part 1

A Message From Chevron El Segundo Refinery General Manager Frank Semancik

Posted on March 16, 2012 by Mike

Subject: A Message From Chevron El Segundo Refinery General Manager Frank Semancik
From: Chevron El Segundo General Manager, Frank Semancik (XXXXXXXX@chevron.com)
To:
Cc:
Bcc:
Date: Friday, March 16, 2012 9:39 PM

Dear Community Leader,

Chevron is proud of the long tradition of trust and mutual respect we have with the City of El Segundo as well as the other neighbor cities and residents in the South Bay. We strive to conduct our business with the high moral values reflected in the community and, we sincerely believe we have demonstrated that commitment consistently over the 100 years our company has operated its facility in our hometown, El Segundo.

That is why it has been so disheartening and disappointing that in recent weeks, some have chosen to use deceptive tactics focused on Chevron to try and sway a local election and pit neighbor against neighbor. “Anonymous” special interests are seeking to drag our community into a debate on issues long settled by the elected representatives of the City of El Segundo. In doing so, they have completely ignored this key fact: Chevron has publicly stated its 100% commitment to work collaboratively with the City of El Segundo to resolve issues about the City’s tax structure discussed at the Council’s December 20, 2011 meeting.

We feel it’s important to set the record straight. Here are the facts:

  • The unsubstantiated rumors and allegations concerning the utility user taxes (UUT) Chevron pays in El Segundo are false and fail to accurately reflect the public record.
  • The distorted figure alleged to depict our UUT contribution to the City of El Segundo represents only a small portion of the almost $2 million Chevron pays annually in combined UUT’s.
  • Chevron’s agreement with the City is not unique, and is in fact similar to the UUT bills companies like ours pay in other local cities, including the City of Los Angeles.
  • The UUT issue being deceptively portrayed was reviewed in an open and public process with the full understanding of the City of El Segundo’s elected officials and City legal staff.
  • Public records clearly demonstrate that the City UUT ordinance was made available for public review, certified, approved, adopted, signed and attested to during a regular and open meeting of the City Council. And most importantly, the UUT ordinance was approved by every member of the City Council.

We again commit to being open and honest in our communications and, as always, welcome your interest as our valued community partner. Thank you for allowing us to set the record straight.

Sincerely,

Frank Semancik, on behalf of the Chevron El Segundo Refinery, joined by Rod Spackman, Lily Craig, Jill Brunkhardt and Jeff Wilson Continue reading →

Posted in Doug Willmore's Great Chevron Shakedown, El Segundo Election Coverage, El Segundo News, El Segundo Tax and Fee Increases | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on A Message From Chevron El Segundo Refinery General Manager Frank Semancik

Are Chevron’s Taxes Too High?

Posted on March 16, 2012 by Mike

By Michael D. Robbins March 15, 2012 Are Chevron’s taxes too high? Possibly. Fired City Manager Doug Willmore gave a PowerPoint slide presentation at the December 20, 2011 regular meeting of the El Segundo City Council. He claimed that Chevron … Continue reading →

Posted in Doug Willmore's Great Chevron Shakedown, El Segundo Election Coverage, El Segundo News, El Segundo Tax and Fee Increases | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments