Tag Archives: Letter to the El Segundo Herald

The Notorious Measure B – Letter to the El Segundo Herald by Edward Ryan

The Notorious Measure B

By now the USPS has brought us all a slick, full-color mailing which tells us to vote approval for the notorious Measure B. What a surprise: it is paid for by the cops’ and firemen’s PAC’s. Once again I urge my fellow residents to vote “No” and reject the 50% increase in the obnoxious TOT. We don’t need more taxes, we need fiscal responsibility. See you at the polls.

– Edward Ryan Continue reading

Posted in California, El Segundo, El Segundo Election Coverage, El Segundo Herald Letters, El Segundo Hotel Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT), El Segundo News, El Segundo Tax and Fee Increases, Elections, Firefighter and Police Union Compensation and Pensions, Firefighter Union Corruption, Fraud Waste and Abuse, Government Employee Compensation and Pensions, Letters to the Editor, Police Union Corruption, Political Corruption, Politics, Tax Policy and Issues, Union Corruption | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The Notorious Measure B – Letter to the El Segundo Herald by Edward Ryan

Vote Out the Incumbents – Letter to the El Segundo Herald by Marianne Fong

Vote Out the Incumbents

Now’s our chance to vote-out incumbents Marie Fellhauer and Dave Atkinson. Both of them, and un-elected Mayor Bill Fisher, are the Gang of Three who staged a coup and ousted Carl Jacobson from the mayor position in the middle of his term, without any legitimate reason. It was a disgraceful, unprecedented, destabilizing power-grab to make Fisher mayor to increase his re-election chances, and advance their agenda.

Fellhauer and Atkinson voted for $1,850+ paramedic ambulance hospital transport fees charged to residents and nonresidents, and many big tax and fee increases, including Measure A – eleven tax hikes in one measure, on residents and businesses.

They voted to bring in CenterCal and TopGolf, and change the golf course driving range into a giant sports bar with the driving range as a back-end, rather than keep it family- and kid-friendly.

The driving range lease requires reconfiguration of the golf course in addition to the driving range. It will take considerable land area from the existing golf course to expand the driving range, making the golf course less challenging and less safe.

Fellhauer and Atkinson voted to extend the driving range lease for up to 50 years, at CenterCal’s option, for substantially less money than was determined using Mike Dugan’s research and analysis. Most voters will be dead before the 50-year lease expires.

El Segundo voters voted-out Bill Fisher. Now it’s time to finish the clean-up job and vote-out incumbents Fellhauer and Atkinson. They don’t listen and are not fiscal conservatives.

– Marianne Fong
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Knows Who She’s Not Voting For Council – Letter to the El Segundo Herald by Donna Hooper

Knows Who She’s Not Voting For Council

A little less than three years ago, Spring 2013, Marie Fellhauer and Dave Atkinson joined with Bill Fisher in the sleaziest operation I have seen in the 48 years I’ve lived in El Segundo. They pushed Carl Jacobson out of his position as mayor in the middle of his term and replaced him with Bill Fisher. This is not the way decent people act and therefore I will not vote for either Marie Fellhauer or Dave Atkinson to continue on the El Segundo City Council.

– Donna Hooper Continue reading

Posted in California, El Segundo, El Segundo Election Coverage, El Segundo Herald Letters, El Segundo News, Elections, Letters to the Editor, Political Corruption, Politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Knows Who She’s Not Voting For Council – Letter to the El Segundo Herald by Donna Hooper

TOT aka Anti-Visitor Tax? – Letter to the El Segundo Herald by Edward Ryan

TOT aka Anti-Visitor Tax?

The transient occupancy tax (TOT) might be called the anti-visitor tax and is a nasty although widespread trend. It is now proposed to raise El Segundo’s TOT by 50% with the tired argument that it won’t cost us permanent residents anything, just make those outsiders pay. Of course, we will likely be hit with another city’s TOT, promoted by the same churlish reasoning, whenever we travel. So the net effect is a tax against anyone who doesn’t just sit at home. If surrounding cities have a higher TOT, fine, but we are proud of our safe and pleasant city and should only encourage more travelers to witness it. It is especially true because the proximity of LAX brings many foreign visitors into the neighborhood and they may well leave with a positive opinion of the United States if they experience El Segundo. Probably those visitors patronize our local businesses more than some of our cheapskate residents. And they must pay the high local sales tax. I urge my fellow citizens to reject the proposed increase. Within our city limits is a refinery operated by a corporation one of the world’s ten largest, if not in the top five, with enormous profits; we needn’t cast about for revenue sources.

– Edward Ryan
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Likes Small Town Feel? – Letter to the El Segundo Herald by Charles Fisher

Likes Small Town Feel?

I read with some interest the city council discussions in the March 3 issue of El Segundo Herald regarding mansionization and perhaps amending the City’s single family residence code. I confess I am not familiar with the details of the code but support the intent of the code.

Many of the reported comments seem to be from individuals with some financial interest in loosening of the restrictions. Alex Abad seems to feel we are falling behind Manhattan Beach in building “spec homes”. Alex, do we really want El Segundo to look like Manhattan Beach’s tree section with wall-to-wall homes?

Mr Rafiee reportedly said “it’s not about building big homes but useable ones”. However if it has to be big to be useable then it’s o.k.?

Mr. Glynn seems to feel that restricting mansionization would “hamper sensible design plans (can’t a smaller home be designed well?).

As to “damaging property values” how would restricting oversize homes
diminish the value of current homes?

Lastly, Councilwoman Fellhauer, while “government’s job isn’t to tell people what their homes should look like”, it should be o.k. to tell them what it should not look like. One of the many benefits of El Segundo is the “small town feel”. I feel that restricting property line to property line homes contributes to that atmosphere. I hope there will be more voices to support this opinion.

– Charles Fisher


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Police Union Fundraiser Mailer – Letter to the El Segundo Herald by Mike Robbins

Police Union Fundraiser Mailer

The police officers’ “association” (union) sent out their annual union fundraiser mailer, exploiting murders of police officers elsewhere to solicit money from residents and businesses. Giving them money is absurd for many reasons. If you already gave them money, try to get it back.

First, the non-deductible contributions go to their union. The police and fire unions spent more than $10,000 in their labor contract campaign for 11 half-page newspaper ads, two city-wide mailers, and mobile billboards driven around town with falsehoods attacking our city council for doing their job to protect our city from bankruptcy.

Second, the police and fire unions contributed $10,000 to Measure A in 2014. Measure A was eleven tax hikes in one measure, on residents and businesses, to pay for big past and future police and fire compensation and pension increases.

Third, the unions don’t need our donations. Police and firefighters are paid far more than nearly all El Segundo residents. Their total compensation has been about $150,000 to $385,000 each per year, with three to six million dollar pensions, due to union campaigning to elect city councilmembers who give the biggest pay and pension increases – and raise our taxes and fees to pay for it.

And fourth, the union solicitation is corrupt. It uses realistic-looking fake ESPD police badges, and many residents believe they will get faster and better service or avoid a ticket if they pay off the union and put the union’s police badge decal on their window.

– Mike Robbins Continue reading

Posted in Economy and Economics, El Segundo, El Segundo Election Coverage, El Segundo Herald Letters, El Segundo News, El Segundo Tax and Fee Increases, Elections, Firefighter and Police Union Compensation and Pensions, Firefighter Union Corruption, Fraud Waste and Abuse, Government Employee Compensation and Pensions, Letters to the Editor, Measure A - 5 New Taxes and 6 Tax Inceases, Police Union Corruption, Political Corruption, Politics, Tax Policy and Issues, Union Corruption | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Police Union Fundraiser Mailer – Letter to the El Segundo Herald by Mike Robbins

Union Offers and Counter-Offers – Letter to the El Segundo Herald by Mike Robbins

Union Offers and Counter-Offers

The police and firefighter “associations” (unions) spent more than $10,000 in their dishonest labor contract campaign since 5/28/15, including 11 half-page newspaper ads, two city-wide mailers, and mobile billboards driven around town, attacking Mayor Suzanne Fuentes
and our City Council for doing their job to protect our city from bankruptcy.

The unions claimed (7/30/15 ad) “We don’t want raises. We just want to stop the cuts.” False. The Police Union Contract Offers and Counter- Offers finally posted on the City website shows they want 9% in general pay raises (3% per year for 3 years), including retroactive raises, in addition to automatic 5% annual step raises, periodic longevity raises, and various special compensation raises hidden in their union contract. They want the City to pay most of the CalPERS Pension Employee Contribution, in addition to the full Employer Contribution. They want taxpayers to fund nearly all of their three to six million-dollar pensions and their healthcare. And they want to work only three days per week.

There’s no budget surplus as the unions claimed. The City must replenish the Reserve Fund, repay money borrowed from the Equipment Replacement Fund, and fund the backlog of tens of millions of dollars in deferred infrastructure maintenance.

Police and firefighter total compensation has been about $150,000 to $385,000 each per year, due to union campaigning to elect City Councilmembers. The unions are not being mistreated. It is they who are mistreating us with their Culture of Entitlement, Ingratitude, and Corruption.

– Mike Robbins


The police and fire union labor contract negotiation offers and counter-offers, released by the City of El Segundo after reluctant and delayed permission of the unions, will be provided here as soon as time permits.


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Posted in California, El Segundo, El Segundo Election Coverage, El Segundo Herald Letters, El Segundo News, El Segundo Tax and Fee Increases, Elections, Firefighter and Police Union Compensation and Pensions, Firefighter Union Corruption, Fraud Waste and Abuse, Government Employee Compensation and Pensions, Letters to the Editor, Police Union Corruption, Political Corruption, Politics, Tax Policy and Issues, Union Corruption | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Union Offers and Counter-Offers – Letter to the El Segundo Herald by Mike Robbins

Feels Neither is Right – Letter to the El Segundo Herald by Marc Rener

Feels Neither is Right

A “fee” over $1,800 to any El Segundo resident, for the transportation and mileage only, to the nearest emergency room, by city paid (taxpayers) paramedics in a city paid (taxpayers) vehicle. Why? the city wants to “recover” back some of the 14 million dollars it pays to the fire department for doing their job. Please note, at 3 a.m. paramedics would still be paid the same whether they responded to a 911 call or were left sleeping.

June 2014, Thursday morning at 7:30 A.M. a special council meeting, agenda page 4, to charge an “additional fee” (unknown to most citizens) for the transportation by El Segundo paramedics. They claimed a “recovery” of $180,000 to the city. I have invoices from Wittman, who’s doing the “recovery” collection, and what was paid to the City from June 2014 to July 2015. $180,000? try over $800,000.

The 9/15/15 council agenda about the budget, on page C-2, states “collecting for fire inspection fees and for non-resident paramedic transportation”. So is the budget fee statement incorrect or the city wrongfully charging its citizens? Either way taxpayers already paying for their city paramedic service should not be charged an “additional fee” if they use that service. What would happen if the people of El Segundo hired someone to “recover” the money for the days, months and years for fire services that they didn’t call for?

Neither is right, yet the city is doing it. Again why?

– Marc Rener Continue reading

Posted in California, Economy and Economics, El Segundo, El Segundo Herald Letters, El Segundo News, El Segundo Tax and Fee Increases, Elections, Firefighter Union Corruption, Fraud Waste and Abuse, Letters to the Editor, News, Police Union Corruption, Political Corruption, Politics, Union Corruption | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Feels Neither is Right – Letter to the El Segundo Herald by Marc Rener

Overpriced and Imperfect – Letter to the El Segundo Herald by Mike Robbins – With proof and background information

The following letter to the editor was published in the El Segundo Herald newspaper (HeraldPublications.com) on Thursday, August 27, 2015 in the Letters section on page 3. The El Segundo Herald has a strict 250-word limit, including the title.


Overpriced and Imperfect

The El Segundo police and fire unions have retired fire department employees extolling their perfection to defend huge pay raises. They’re overpriced, and usually do a good job, but not always. Here are some examples.

One police officer took an unauthorized and unreported hour break reading a newspaper in a patrol car at the beach during patrol duty. Another left a patrol car unattended with the engine running and windows down, in front of City Hall on Holly Ave., across from Stuft Pizza where kids hang out. That attractive nuisance could have cost lives and millions of tax dollars had a kid taken it for a joyride and crashed.

El Segundo police sergeant Rex Fowler caused an accident that killed Hawthorne police motorcycle officer Andrew Garton, during escort duty in Torrance for a royal funeral procession for Manhattan Beach police officer Mark Vazquez, who died of cancer. Garton’s widow sued El Segundo for $25 million for wrongful death, and Hawthorne filed a $718,655 claim for damages against El Segundo.

Firefighter Michael Archambault was arrested, convicted, and sentenced for shoplifting five products totaling $354.95 from Costco. He was allowed to retire early with a $110,251/ year pension.

An El Segundo resident, a firefighter for another agency, suffered permanent disability because, he said, the paramedics claimed he was okay and refused to transport him to the hospital while he was having a stroke, allowing them to get back to the fire station to watch a big sports game on TV.

– Mike Robbins


Here is proof and background information for the statements and examples in this letter.

This information was updated on April 21, 2015 to add the annual CalPERS pension income for retired El Segundo Fire Battalion Chief David K. Sharp for 2014 – a whopping $177,841.56 – not even counting benefits!

This information was also was updated to add the annual CalPERS pension income for retired El Segundo Fire Engineer (and firefighter union member) Michael J. Archambault for 2014 – a huge $111,937.56 – not even counting benefits!


The El Segundo police and fire unions have retired fire department employees extolling their perfection to defend huge pay raises.

David K. Sharp submitted an “op-ed” column which which was published on page 3 of the June 11, 2015 edition of the El Segundo Herald. It was basically an advertisement defending the excessive and unsustainable salaries and pensions of the El Segundo Firefighters’ Association (union) and their managers. He is a retired El Segundo firefighter who was a fire union member for most of his career, until he achieved his final rank of Fire Battalion Chief. He retired in 2007, and received $171,335.76 in 2012 and $174,770.76 in 2013 from his taxpayer-funded CalPERS pension after working for only 31.76 years.

Here is proof for David K. Sharp’s California Public Employee Retirement System (CalPERS) pension. It is provided by the TransparentCalifornia.com website. They obtained it from Public Records Act requests made to CalPERS.

Here is my summary and formatting of Sharp’s CalPERS pension information in the TransparentCalifornia.com database (I added his last position):

City Employee:     David K Sharp
Agency:            City of El Segundo, California
Last Position:     Fire Battalion Chief
Retired in:        2007
Years of service:  31.76
Pension:           CalPERS
2014 Total*        $177,841.56
2013 Total*        $174,770.76
2012 Total*        $171,335.76
  * Excluding benefits.

Note that public employee retirees in CalPERS get automatic pension Cost Of Living Adjustment (COLA) raises each year. Also, CalPERS pensions are a defined benefit pension plan and not a defined contribution plan like a 401(k), so CalPERS payments are guaranteed by the taxpayers regardless of investment portfolio performance and any risky investment portfolio mismanagement.

See David K. Sharp’s CalPERS pension information in the TransparentCalifornia.com database here:

http://TransparentCalifornia.com/pensions/search/?q=David+K+Sharp&a=&y=&s=

Rosemarie Radomsky, who submitted the “Who You Gonna Call?” letter to the editor of the El Segundo Herald, published on page 3 of the August 20, 2015 edition, is a retired City of El Segundo employee who worked as an administrative analyst in the fire department, according to a former El Segundo fire department employee. She is listed in the CalPERS pension database at TransparentCalifornia.com as a retired City of El Segundo employee with 10.85 years of service with the city. She retired in 2001.

See Rosemarie Radomsky’s CalPERS pension information here:

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Posted in California, Crimes, El Segundo, El Segundo Herald Letters, El Segundo News, El Segundo Tax and Fee Increases, Firefighter and Police Union Compensation and Pensions, Firefighter Union Corruption, Firefighters Commiting Crimes, Fraud Waste and Abuse, Government Employee Compensation and Pensions, Letters to the Editor, News, Police Union Corruption, Political Corruption, Politics, Tax Policy and Issues, Union Corruption | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Overpriced and Imperfect – Letter to the El Segundo Herald by Mike Robbins – With proof and background information

Cut the Raises – Letter to the El Segundo Herald by Mike Robbins

Cut the Raises

The El Segundo Total Compensation Survey on the City website shows the police and firefighters are substantially over-compensated when compared to ten other South Bay and nearby survey cities.

The police and firefighter unions changed their campaign slogan to “We don’t want raises. We just want to stop the cuts.” But they already got their raises – many huge raises during the Great Recession – that are budget-busters. And they are talking about only one out of many annual and periodic raises hidden in their union contracts, including raises on top of raises.

There are no new police or firefighter staffing cuts as they want us to believe. The City Council is funding three additional police positions. And if the firefighters got their way, we would have fewer firefighters per shift. They put Measure P on the 4/10/2012 ballot to maximize their compensation, but reduce staffing to only 12 firefighters and no paramedic transport ambulances per shift.

The firefighters lied to the voters, saying that signing their initiative petition would preserve our local fire department, when it would have disbanded it, forced El Segundo to contract with Los Angeles County for an inferior level of service, and transferred the firefighters to the County. The fire union lobbied the City Council (2/15/11 meeting) to enact Measure P directly into law without letting us vote on it. When we finally got to vote, 90.1% voted “No”, even though the firefighters probably spent over $100,000 on their campaign.

We cannot trust them.

– Mike Robbins


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Posted in California, El Segundo, El Segundo Election Coverage, El Segundo Herald Letters, El Segundo News, El Segundo Tax and Fee Increases, Elections, Firefighter and Police Union Compensation and Pensions, Firefighter Union Corruption, Fraud Waste and Abuse, Government Employee Compensation and Pensions, Letters to the Editor, Measure P - Firefighters Union Initiative, Police Union Corruption, Political Corruption, Politics, Union Corruption | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Cut the Raises – Letter to the El Segundo Herald by Mike Robbins