Tag Archives: City Hall

543 Ballots Remain to be Counted for the April 12, 2016 El Segundo General Municipal Election

Posted on April 20, 2016 by Mike

By Michael D. Robbins

Due to a new California election law, vote-by-mail ballots will be counted if they are postmarked on or before election day, and they are delivered to City Hall on or before the Friday after the election. Although City Hall is closed every Friday, the City has a special permit or arrangement for the Post Office to hold all mail that would have been delivered on Friday had City Hall been open, and deliver that mail on Monday segregated from the regular Monday mail delivery.

The total number of uncounted ballots, including provisional ballots cast at the polls on election day, and vote-by-mail ballots received by the new deadline, has swelled to 543 ballots. All of these ballots must be verified that they are not duplicate ballots for the same voter (e.g., if the voter voted both their vote-by-mail ballot and a provisional ballot at the poll), that the signature on each ballot envelope matches the signature on the voter’s registration card, and for provisional ballots, that the voter is registered to vote.

It is possible but highly unlikely the election outcome will change. The only possible change is for City Council candidates Don Brann and Marie Fellhauer. The outcome for the other City Council candidates, and for Measure B – the 50 percent increase in the Hotel Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) from 8 to 12 percent – cannot change. … Continue reading →

Posted in California, El Segundo, El Segundo Election Coverage, El Segundo Hotel Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT), El Segundo Measure B TOT Tax Hike, El Segundo News, El Segundo Tax and Fee Increases, Elections, Politics, Tax Policy and Issues | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on 543 Ballots Remain to be Counted for the April 12, 2016 El Segundo General Municipal Election

City Manger’s Misconduct – Letter to the Beach Reporter by Michael D. Robbins

Posted on March 27, 2012 by Mike

City Manger’s Misconduct

New evidence of fired City Manager Doug Willmore’s misconduct was revealed with the latest public records release of city documents and emails (available at ElSegundo.org and PublicSafetyProject.org).

Willmore politicized City Hall. His secretary, Mickie Tagle, used city-paid time and public resources to do political opposition research against Chevron and against residents who criticized Willmore’s efforts to shakedown Chevron for an additional $10 million per year in taxes. One email showed she even tried to dig up dirt on me! Finance Director Deborah Cullen was also enthusiastically involved in Willmore’s shakedown efforts.

The emails show Willmore was doing Mayor Eric Busch’s bidding, taking direction from Busch in his attempt to extort more money from Chevron, without a majority of Council members even knowing about it. The city manager is legally required to take direction only from a majority vote or consensus of the City Council. Busch and Willmore targeted Chevron because they “can’t move” their refinery, and because of environmental politics.

The emails also show the fire and police unions have been behind this push to raise taxes to pay for their wildly excessive and unsustainable compensation and pensions. … Continue reading →

Posted in Beach Reporter Letters, Doug Willmore's Great Chevron Shakedown, El Segundo, El Segundo News, El Segundo Tax and Fee Increases, Firefighter and Police Union Compensation and Pensions, Letters to the Editor, Union Corruption | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on City Manger’s Misconduct – Letter to the Beach Reporter by Michael D. Robbins