Candidates Forum and Five Questions

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These two articles came from last Wednesday's candidates forum:

Making Things Work is the subject of this Manteca Bulletin article, California's RDA Law.

Public Safety is City's Primary Task in this Manteca Bulletin article on police officer rehiring.

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This is my submission to the Manteca Bulletin for an upcoming publication of all the candidates' stump speech and stand on these five questions:

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One driving force in my campaign for a city council seat is my conviction that "governments were instituted of God for the benefit of man" and that "all governments necessarily require civil officers and magistrates to enforce the laws of the same; and that such as will administer the law in equity and justice should be sought for and upheld by the voice of the people..."

I have voted in almost every election for the past 30-plus years. I hold a B.S. in Accounting from Utah State University, an M.S. in Business Administration from CSU Sacramento, a CPA license, and have worked for a wholesale grocery distributor in this area for 20 years. My four grown children have married and presented seven grandchildren, with an eighth on the way. I have made my home in Manteca for the last 3½ years.

Manteca’s local government and some of its citizens need some tough love. Parents of willful or wayward children know that often only the full weight of natural consequences can teach the necessary lessons. The administration of a city must be run the same way.

After becoming a resident, I received an alternative education in Manteca politics and operations. Improvements in some key areas of city administration are mandatory in order to better serve the needs of Manteca citizens. Strong and effective code enforcement of the minimum standards of citizen behavior adopted in the Manteca Municipal Code will pay dividends in law enforcement, making it easier, safer, and less utilized. Especially needed are putting police and fire protection on solid financial footing, making desperately needed technology upgrades, and giving city managers flexibility in staffing. Some persons need to be shown the door. Roads, water and sewer will be monitored closely. My biggest task will be to ensure city finances are managed conservatively, making them and RDA projects open and understandable.

New development will be controlled, not eliminated, and redevelopment will be made to serve its stated function of revitalization. Despite the last explosive growth cycle and fabulous returns to certain interests, broad swaths of the existing city have been allowed to deteriorate and many civic amenities have been ignored as the population grew. I will see that the latter projects are given priority - right behind the policing functions of city government.

There has been talk at city council meetings recently about policies and procedures being written up for some departments, but that task must also cover the vital policing departments of the city. For too long, administrative decisions have been made on whim rather than reliance on law. As Ayn Rand put it, “Under a proper social system, a private individual is legally free to take any action he pleases (so long as he does not violate the rights of others), while a government official is bound by law in his every official act. A private individual may do anything except that which is legally forbidden; a government official may do nothing except that which is legally permitted. This is the American concept of ‘a government of laws and not of men.’ ” In terms of accountability, it is virtually impossible to measure performance against procedures that are not written down.

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Manteca Bulletin's Five Questions:
1. What do you see as the city's biggest challenge, besides public safety, in the next four years?

Manteca's biggest challenge in the next four years will be developing its means and living within them.

There is more to life than a tax base and the "means" are much more than tax money; they are the health, safety, morals, volunteerism, and self-reliance of the people.

A respected jurist this year suggested five responsibilities appropriate for all citizens, whatever their religious or philosophical persuasion: 1) Understand the Constitution; 2) Support the law; 3) Practice civic virtue; 4) Maintain civility in political discourse; and 5) Promote real patriotism through "the tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime." Some civic virtues are obeying the law, limited government through citizen self-reliance, military service, jury service, political participation, voting, and being moral in our conduct toward others.

At the same time, in terms of money, this means leaders should be wise in spending public funds for the greatest good. A tax given to the government is right because it is for a common good, but the government does not have a legitimate claim on the remaining property. This also means not relying on so-called sin taxes, such as marijuana legalization, to pay for essential government services. Some activities are simply not within the proper sphere of any level of government, such as "welfare programs, schemes for redistributing the wealth, and activities which coerce people into acting in accordance with a prescribed code of social planning."

President John Adams declared, "Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."


2. In the constraints of the current budget, would you favor hiring back police officers and, if so, how would you pay for them?

The policing function of any city government is its primary task. The people cannot outsource this "use of force" and the people cannot use force individually except for very limited circumstances. The individual right of self-defense is collectively granted to a government's policing departments. Until the City of Manteca can satisfactorily perform the policing function, namely law enforcement, code enforcement, animal control, fire protection and building safety, it should not perform any other function, operate any other program, or build any other government facility.

Every general fund program, including administration and support, as well as the enterprise and debt service funds for infrastructure, will be closely examined for cuts, closure, or true transfer to private enterprise. Staffing will shrink, labor contracts will be restricted to very short terms, and pay and benefits will be brought into line with the private sector. Sales tax revenues will increase along with the general economy (using the same theory as RDA increment taxes), as long as the city does not bribe big businesses with tax offsets, and as long as the city does not strangle small businesses with taxes, fees, undue regulations and mandates.

President George Washington warned, "Government is not reason, it is not eloquence - it is force! Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master!"


3. Your thoughts on the current level of city employee compensation - pay and benefits such as pension. Is it too generous, about right, or not enough? Please explain your rationale.

The overly generous practice of comparing city worker's pay and benefits to the average of a "shopping basket" of neighboring cities is exactly the same thing neighboring cities do! The built in bias is to always increase pay, never decrease it. The practice must be discontinued, or at least tied to similar positions in the private sector. Also, defined benefits pension plans disappeared from the private sector a generation ago for the simple reason that the unfunded liabilities (contracted retirement payouts without the money to pay them) threatened to put even the biggest of businesses out of business. The math works the same for government, only government has been infinitely slower to react to fiscal reality, thinking taxpayers will always bail them out. Think again.

There must be huge increases in public employee contributions toward their own retirement plans - or all-out conversion to defined contribution plans (such as fully funded IRA's, 403b plans, etc.), where one receives in retirement what one paid into the retirement investment system.

Much of the fault for this mortgage on future taxes stems from public service unions (or call them associations, or collective bargaining units, as you will) and their role of ensuring inflexibility in staffing, pay, and benefits. Especially offensive is the concept that public employee unions, especially public safety, hold taxpayers hostage for money with the monopoly power (state use of force) granted to them by the citizens themselves. Think again.


4. Should Manteca have a separate redevelopment agency commission appointed by the council?

Yes. The California Community Redevelopment Act (H&S Code, starting at Sec. 33000) expressly authorizes the two options of an appointed, 5- or 7-member agency with a commission, or the city council as the agency. An appointed agency has some distinct advantages over the current setup: 1) The members would be one step removed from favor-seeking campaign contributors; 2) The members could be specialists in RDA law and application, or at least more knowledgeable than the generalists on the council; 3) The members would be able to focus, undistracted by other city business, on the RDA projects underway and any proposed ones; 4) Considering the sheer size of the fund, and the scope of the projects, it is time Manteca government outgrows its parochial approach to accountability; and 5) This move would help, a little perhaps, to remove election politics from the equation when considering the revamping of Manteca's albatross intersection and its surroundings.


5. If elected, what would you like to look back on four years from now as your best accomplishment?

I would like to look back and say, “The people of Manteca make the best neighbors in the world!” because we and our city hall know and trust each other to do the right thing when needed. Being good neighbors translates into seeing our streets, schools, library, shopping centers, parks, and homes as clean, safe, inviting places to be. Being good neighbors translates into a robust local economy, helping to drive a regional economy, where people can work in productive jobs near to where their families live. Being good neighbors translates into realizing that “postage stamp” property rights are not absolute; what we can and cannot do has to be tempered by courtesy, sacrifice, some civil laws, and a long history of jurisprudence. Good neighbors keep their unwarranted noise, nuisances, and intrusions to themselves; they accord respect to those who live around them; and they abide by the rules adopted by this community as minimum standards of behavior. In fact, good neighbors are free and able to perform well above minimum standards – and usually do.

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Policing the City of Manteca

The same citizen who asked about dogs, in the previous post, also asked about reinstating law enforcement personnel.

4. What are you going to do to bring back the numerous Manteca police officers that were laid off?

My answer was probably not the "thumbs up" or "thumbs down" answer sought by most people. This person, however, had already demonstrated the ability to lay out a series of thoughtful questions, and Yes or No decisions without rationale are not acceptable to thinking people.

Fourth, the policing function of a city government is the city's primary task. [Use of force is the power delegated by all individuals to a civic body (city, state, country) in an exclusive, comprehensive social contract for the protection of all individuals' health and safety. Apart from martial force, civilian use of protective force is the definition of "civilized."] The people cannot outsource this "use of force" and the people cannot use force individually except for very limited circumstances of self-defense. The [main] policing functions are: law enforcement, code enforcement, animal control, fire protection and building safety. Policing must take priority over any and all other expenditures of the city.

Every general fund program, including administration and support, as well as the enterprise and debt service funds for infrastructure, will be closely examined for cuts, closure, or true transfer to private enterprise. Staffing will shrink, labor contracts will be restricted to very short terms, and pay and benefits will be brought into line with the private sector. Revenues will increase along with the general economy (the same theory as RDA increment taxes), as long as the city does not "bribe" big businesses to locate here with tax offsets, and as long as the city does not strangle small businesses with taxes, fees, and undue regulations and mandates. Government is supposed to be a servant, not a master.

The policing powers that ONLY the city can wield must be maintained and controlled by the city administration, not by public sector unions, or votes of individual officers, or failure by civic leaders. When government goes beyond serving the needs of the general public and serves, instead, only the whims of the influential, or the profits of the monied, or the demands of entrenched special interests, it then becomes a weapon wielded by a corrupted few to extort and control the many.

Dogs in Manteca

“You think dogs will not be in heaven? I tell you, they will be there long before any of us.”

(Robert Louis Stevenson, Scottish essayist, poet and author of fiction and travel books, 1850-1894)

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A citizen recently asked my "stance" on the subject of dogs and animal control in Manteca.

I am a registered Manteca voter who is deciding who should be on our City Council. Would you please answer a few questions for me:

1. What is your stance on the condition of the Manteca Animal Shelter?

2. What is your stance on Pit Bulls within our city limits?

3. What are you planning to do to help the animal shelter with the enormous amount of stray animals that they receive?

Thank you for your prompt response

[ ___ ]
A Registered Manteca Voter

This is my response in blue, with additional comment in red:

Dear [Registered Voter],

First, a new animal shelter design and funding plan has just been approved as part of the new city corporation yard on Main and Wetmore Streets. [This was a long-delayed action by the current and previous councils during the "boom" years. Except for the apparent vote-buying by this council, this city facility upgrade is a case of better late than never.]

Second, I have no problem with pit bull breeds, or any other dogs, in the city or anywhere, as long as the owners strictly control them and follow all city animal laws. Dogs only become problems when the owners make them so. [Dogs are not criminals; irresponsible and law-breaking owners are. Besides their inherent natures, animals do what their owners teach them or allow them to do. The Manteca Municipal Code and the Animal Control Department are as much a "policing" fuction of the city as is the Police Department.]

Third, most "stray" animals are not strays but feral, or dumped or abandoned by brainless people. There is only a finite capacity for adoptions out as owners become "saturated" with pets. Even shipping them out to other facilities has a saturation point. After the point of saturation, the only option is euthanasia, horrific as that sounds. They should be pets and have their rights as animals, but they are not people with human rights. [People should be stewards of the earth, its resources, and its life. Husbandry techniques for livestock and pets has been around for how many centuries? Unfortunately, many uneducated or uncaring people foster the problem of animal overpopulation, which puts conscientious people in the unsavory position of cleaning up after them. Even so, I am flat out opposed to animal rights activists who constantly push for granting human rights to non-human species.]

Thank you very much for taking the time to participate in our form of self-government. I appreciate your questions and hope my answers give you the confidence to make your choice of representative to Manteca’s City Council.

Richard Behling

Tough Love & Money: Propositions, Sales Tax, and Measure M(orphine)

The sales tax history of the State of California, and the City of Manteca in particular, tells part of a sad, sad story.

In 1978, California voters staged what has been described as a property tax revolt by approving a statewide ballot initiative known as Proposition 13.

Proposition 13 followed many years of rapidly rising real property taxes in California. From fiscal years 1967-1968 to 1971-1972, revenues from these taxes increased on an average of 11.5% per year. See Report of the Senate Commission on Property Tax Equity and Revenue to the California State Senate 23 (1991) (Senate Commission Report). In response, the California Legislature enacted several property tax relief measures, including a cap on tax rates in 1972. Id., at 23-24. The boom in the State's real estate market persevered, however, and the median price of an existing home doubled from $31,530 in 1973 to $62,430 in 1977. As a result, tax levies continued to rise because of sharply increasing assessment values. Id., at 23. Some homeowners saw their tax bills double or triple during this period, well outpacing any growth in their income and ability to pay. Id., at 25. See also Oakland, Proposition 13—Genesis and Consequences, 32 Nat. Tax J. 387, 392 (Supp. June 1979).


By 1978, property tax relief had emerged as a major political issue in California. In only one month's time, tax relief advocates collected over 1.2 million signatures to qualify Proposition 13 for the June 1978 ballot. See Lefcoe & Allison, The Legal Aspects of Proposition 13: The Amador Valley Case, 53 S. Cal. L. Rev. 173, 174 (1978). On election day, Proposition 13 received a favorable vote of 64.8% and carried 55 of the State's 58 counties. California Secretary of State, Statement of Vote and Supplement, Primary Election, June 6, 1978, p. 39. California thus had a novel constitutional amendment that led to a property tax cut of approximately $7 billion in the first year. Senate Commission Report 28.

(Ref: U.S. Supreme Court opinion, NORDLINGER v. HAHN, 505 U.S. 1 (1992)*)

When property owners passed Proposition 13 in 1978, the State of California, the counties, the cities, and the school districts all experienced a huge and immediate decline in revenues - and faced a future without the windfalls of the past. They were used to the "fat" and must now make do with the "lean."

Municipalities started diverting the skinnier local property taxes into project-restricted Redevelopment Agencies (RDAs) to keep it from going to Sacramento. School districts cried "Foul" and another proposition was passed to lock in a fixed percentage of the state general fund allocated to education. A system of pass-throughs was implemented to equalize the distribution of money and other sources of revenue became a government survival imperative.

One of those sources was ad valorum sales tax - raise the rates and keep raising them. Leading up to 1994, things got so bad where the people live that the state added a half-cent increment to the sales tax collections, earmarked for Local Law Enforcement (Counties and Cities).

The City of Manteca decided, leading up to 2007, just before another real estate bubble burst and recession ensued, that another half-cent sales tax was the ticket. They were using sales tax breaks as chips in a bidding war against nearby cities to woo big retail business into the new but empty shopping centers lining Hwy 120. The trouble is that they were already "locked in" to some long term and overly generous labor contracts, especially those of the public safety service unions. To both play (shoveling tax breaks out the back door) AND pay (front door revenues to sustain high local law enforcement costs), Measure M(orphine) was just the injection needed to sustain the frenetic activity. The voters were convinced to supply the drug.

However, the problems with morphine are: it is addictive; it only treats the pain, not the condition; and, it does not heal terminal patients. An overdose may just kill the patient outright - or incite the geese that lay the golden eggs to vigorously attack the profligate patient!

Voters are now being bombarded with, "Wait! Can't we just trade - or add - marijuana and morphine? Couldn't that solve our revenue problems?" See Proposition 19 - Legalizes Marijuana in California. Why not add another "sin tax?" Why not condone drug use while chasing the almighty $$$ ? Vote NO.

Thrusts, feints, strikes and parries, counter-strikes and hosts of other maneuvers continue to this day over the raising and distribution of various taxes, fees, and other euphemisms for the citizens' money. See Proposition 22 - Prohibits the State from Borrowing or Taking Funds Used for Transportation, Redevelopment, or Local Government Projects and Services. Initiative Constitutional Amendment. (And everybody thinks water politics is bad in California? Money politics is worse!)

Tough Love

The solution is to pare the government back to where it performs only the duties delegated to it by the sovereigns - the citizens. All other programs, transfers, activities, etc. need to be jettisoned or truly transitioned back to private interests. "Privatize" is merely a code-word for government out-sourcing, where the money is collected or paid by government out to a private firm - the money still goes through the government's books. Except for specifically delegated and essential services, do not let government touch the money! Every time it does, the money or service comes back to you in a diminished fashion and constitutes an interference in the economy.

When this approach to limited, efficient government is made to work, the repeal of Measure M(orphine) could be achieved.

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* Court humor: In the Supreme Court opinion referred to, above, Justice Blackmun used these words to sum up the position of protecting current homeowners from upward spiraling property taxes versus those who newly buy a home with the higher assessment values and, thus, higher beginning propertry taxes:

In short, the State may decide that it is worse to have owned and lost, than never to have owned at all.

It is a humorous, but true, adaptation of Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem In Memoriam:27, 1850:

I hold it true, whate'er befall;
I feel it, when I sorrow most;
'Tis better to have loved and lost
Than never to have loved at all.

Setting the Groundwork - Position on Abortion Public Funding

Richard W Behling
Position statement regarding abortions and the use of public funds
September 13, 2010

I am a lifelong member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS) and subscribe fully to the position of God and His prophets on the sanctity of life. Regarding abortions:

“Our members are taught that, subject only to some very rare exceptions, they must not submit to, perform, encourage, pay for, or arrange for an abortion.”

“Our leaders have taught that the only possible exceptions are when the pregnancy resulted from rape or incest, or when a competent physician has determined that the life or health of the mother is in serious jeopardy or that the fetus has severe defects that will not allow the baby to survive beyond birth. But even these exceptions do not justify abortion automatically.” *

On demand abortion is mankind's pathetic attempt to avoid the consequences of wrong reproductive choices. Regarding this most physically obvious of personal morality issues, that most unfortunate of U.S. Supreme Court decisions, Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973), created a legacy of cascading social error, wholesale destruction of human life, and incalculable moral harm to those who choose the "easy" way out. Beyond the morals arguments, there is no social justification for this practice. Not one cent of public funds should support the abortion practitioners, advocates, and industries that sprang up, or were legalized, in the wake of Roe v. Wade.

I would personally be overjoyed to see this pillar of evil demolished in my lifetime. Whether it is or not, millions of this generation will answer to their would-have-been children and to God, much higher powers than selfish indulgence and the erring SCOTUS.

There may not be much call to action in city council decisions, but my moral foundation stones of sanctity of life and accountability for one’s actions in life are set solidly.

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* Dallin H. Oaks, “Weightier Matters,” Liahona, Mar 2000, 15. From a devotional address given at Brigham Young University on 9 February 1999.

A Great Summation of Politics (Business and Government)

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"The free market is simply not capable of screwing up the entire economy without the devoted and unethical assistance from unrestrained and malignant politicians colluding with unethical and malignant businessmen, both of whom are insulated (for a while, at least) from the rule of law and from reality."

Wednesday, August 18, 2010
BETWEEN BRAINS
http://drsanity.blogspot.com/


This is certainly true for the national economy, when the federal lawmakers (oh, how I hate that word), those prostituted puppets, get to mucking around where they have no business mucking.

And a more focused look at California's self-strangulation from The City Journal. (hat tip, Manteca's City Managers Blog, August 14, 2010, "Some Issues Bear Repeating.")

As far as Manteca politics go, the collusion begins almost immediately upon qualifying as a candidate. Thus far, I've had solicitations from two "associations" representing individual professionals and small contractors to come and "interview" in return for (possible) contributions to my political campaign for city councilman. Their public posture is: "We can influence the votes of a block of influencial people on your behalf." The not-so-public deal is: "If we think you will protect and enhance our money-making ability, we'll give you $100 and expect you to vote in our favor on certain questions."

Gee, here I thought that a representative owed a duty, freely given, to individual citizens - not associations, unions, other big enterprises, less-than-general segments of private or public sectors, etc. - those entities other than citizens being known collectively as special interests.

Perhaps these two associations' political marketing dollars should be spent on the public, the voters, to influence their selection of officials, not on the officials to influence their fiduciary votes on the public's business (and maybe against the public's interests.) These associations are perfectly free to make such independent expenditures, as reaffirmed in the January 2010 Supreme Court decision, Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission.

"In this case we are asked to reconsider Austin and, in effect, McConnell. It has been noted that "Austin was a significant departure from ancient First Amendment principles," Federal Election Comm'n v. Wisconsin Right to Life, Inc., 551 U.S. 449, 490, 127 S.Ct. 2652, 168 L.Ed.2d 329 (2007) (WRTL) (SCALIA, J., concurring in part and concurring in judgment). We agree with that conclusion and hold that stare decisis does not compel the continued acceptance of Austin. The Government may regulate corporate political speech through disclaimer and disclosure requirements, but it may not suppress that speech altogether. We turn to the case now before us."

Perhaps these two associations should sponsor a public forum for ALL candidates to publically announce their views on whatever questionnes du jour these associations wish. You know, ...above board ...out in the open ...encourage public discussion of any issues.

Code Enforcement for Construction, Land Use and Civil Behavior

'sic utere tuo ut alienum non laedas'

[so use your own as not to injure another's property]

Manteca Municipal Codes are minimum standards of construction, land uses, and civil individual behaviors. Everyone is free to observe these laws even more strictly than just the bare minimum. Live your life giving offense to no one, and expect the same from your neighbors.

My views reflect my deep belief that property means nothing. A person enters life with nothing and exits the same way, taking only experience (which most often produces knowledge) and relationships - but not property. In the USA, some people acquire and control lots of property (wealth), others none, while most people are the stewards of enough property to sustain their temporary lives... then it is left behind.

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An interview by the Manteca Bulletin:

Behling vows to focus on ‘inner workings’ of city government
by Dennis Wyatt
July 19, 2010
http://www.mantecabulletin.com/news/article/16003/


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Zoning ordinances are constitutionally upheld as part of California state government's "police powers" in Miller v. Board of Public Works:

Supreme Court of California
195 Cal. 477; 234 P. 381; 1925 Cal. LEXIS 386; 38 A.L.R. 1479

GEORGE LEE MILLER et al., Appellants, v. BOARD OF PUBLIC WORKS OF THE CITY OF LOS ANGELES et al., Respondents

February 27, 1925

[Regarding] those [regulations] which prescribe the use to which buildings within certain designated districts may be put.

It is conceded, as indeed it must be, by the opponents of the ordinance in controversy here that it is within the police power, by zoning, to banish nuisances and "near-nuisances" from certain districts.

...the court... has held that certain business establishments, harmless in themselves, may become "near-nuisances" because of the character of the neighborhood in which they are operating. ... [A]ny zoning regulation is a valid exercise of the police power which is necessary to subserve the ends for which the police power exists, namely, the promotion of the public health, safety, morals, and general welfare. It will thus be seen that the police power as evidenced in zoning ordinances has a much wider scope than the mere suppression of the offensive uses of property, and that it acts not only negatively but constructively and affirmatively for the promotion of the public welfare.

...

Much is said about the constitutional guaranties attaching to the ownership of property in the individual. In this behalf it will be noted that:

(11) "It is thoroughly established in this country that the rights preserved to the individual by these constitutional provisions are held in subordination to the rights of society. Although one owns property, he may not do with it as he pleases any more than he may act in accordance with his personal desires. As the interest of society justifies restraints upon individual conduct, so, also, does it justify restraints upon the use to which property may be devoted. It was not intended by these constitutional provisions to so far protect the individual in the use of his property as to enable him to use it to the detriment of society. By thus protecting individual rights, society did not part with the power to protect itself or to promote its general well-being. Where the interest of the individual conflicts with the interest of society, such individual interest is subordinated to the general welfare.

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The next year (1926), the decision regarding Miller v. Board of Public Works was cited in Euclid v. Ambler:
U.S. Supreme Court

VILLAGE OF EUCLID, OHIO v. AMBLER REALTY CO., 272 U.S. 365 (1926)

Reargued Oct. 12, 1926.
Decided Nov. 22, 1926.
 
Building zone laws are of modern origin. They began in this country about 25 years ago. Until recent years, urban life was comparatively simple; but, with the great increase and concentration of population, problems have developed, and constantly are developing, which require, and will continue to require, additional restrictions in respect of the use and occupation of private lands in [272 U.S. 365, 387] urban communities. Regulations, the wisdom, necessity, and validity of which, as applied to existing conditions, are so apparent that they are now uniformly sustained, a century ago, or even half a century ago, probably would have been rejected as arbitrary and oppressive. Such regulations are sustained, under the complex conditions of our day, for reasons analogous to those which justify traffic regulations, which, before the advent of automobiles and rapid transit street railways, would have been condemned as fatally arbitrary and unreasonable. And in this there is no inconsistency, for, while the meaning of constitutional guaranties never varies, the scope of their application must expand or contract to meet the new and different conditions which are constantly coming within the field of their operation. In a changing world it is impossible that it should be otherwise. But although a degree of elasticity is thus imparted, not to the meaning, but to the application of constitutional principles, statutes and ordinances, which, after giving due weight to the new conditions, are found clearly not to conform to the Constitution, of course, must fall.

The ordinance now under review, and all similar laws and regulations, must find their justification in some aspect of the police power, asserted for the public welfare. The line which in this field separates the legitimate from the illegitimate assumption of power is not capable of precise delimitation. It varies with circumstances and conditions. A regulatory zoning ordinance, which would be clearly valid as applied to the great cities, might be clearly invalid as applied to rural communities. In solving doubts, the maxim 'sic utere tuo ut alienum non laedas,' [so use your own as not to injure another's property] which lies at the foundation of so much of the common law of nuisances, ordinarily will furnish a fairly helpful clew. And the law of nuisances, likewise, may be consulted, not for the purpose of controlling, but for the helpful aid of its analogies in the process of ascertaining [272 U.S. 365, 388] the scope of, the power. Thus the question whether the power exists to forbid the erection of a building of a particular kind or for a particular use, like the question whether a particular thing is a nuisance, is to be determined, not by an abstract consideration of the building or of the thing considered apart, but by considering it in connection with the circumstances and the locality. Sturgis v. Bridgeman, L. R. 11 Ch. 852, 865. A nuisance may be merely a right thing in the wrong place, like a pig in the parlor instead of the barnyard. If the validity of the legislative classification for zoning purposes be fairly debatable, the legislative judgment must be allowed to control. Radice v. New York, 264 U.S. 292, 294 , 44 S. Ct. 325.

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Camara v. Municipal Court is a San Francisco case that rose to the Supreme Court regarding code enforcement's "police power" to inspect private property to ensure compliance with local codes:

Supreme Court of United States.
387 U.S. 523 (1967)

CAMARA v. MUNICIPAL COURT OF THE CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO.

Argued February 15, 1967.
Decided June 5, 1967.

The warrant procedure is designed to guarantee that a decision to search private property is justified by a reasonable governmental interest. But reasonableness is still the ultimate standard. If a valid public interest justifies the intrusion contemplated, then there is probable cause to issue a suitably restricted search warrant. Cf. Oklahoma Press Pub. Co. v. Walling, 327 U. S. 186. Such an approach neither endangers time-honored doctrines applicable to criminal investigations nor makes a nullity of the probable cause requirement in this area. It merely gives full recognition to the competing public and private interests here at stake and, in so doing, best fulfills the historic purpose behind the constitutional right to be free from unreasonable government invasions of privacy. See Eaton v. Price, 364 U. S., at 273-274 (opinion of MR. JUSTICE BRENNAN).

Since our holding emphasizes the controlling standard of reasonableness, nothing we say today is intended to foreclose prompt inspections, even without a warrant, that the law has traditionally upheld in emergency situations. See North American Cold Storage Co. v. City of Chicago, 211 U. S. 306 (seizure of unwholesome food); Jacobson v. Massachusetts, 197 U. S. 11 (compulsory smallpox vaccination); Compagnie Francaise v. Board of Health, 186 U. S. 380 (health quarantine); Kroplin v. Truax, 119 Ohio St. 610, 165 N. E. 498 (summary destruction of tubercular cattle). On the other hand, in the case of most routine area inspections, there is no compelling urgency to inspect at a particular time or on a particular day. Moreover, most citizens allow inspections of their property without a warrant. Thus, as a practical matter and in light of the Fourth Amendment's requirement that a warrant specify the property to be searched, it seems likely that warrants should normally be sought only after entry is refused unless there has been a citizen complaint or there is other satisfactory reason for securing immediate entry. Similarly, the requirement of a warrant procedure does not suggest any change in what seems to be the prevailing local policy, in most situations, of authorizing entry, but not entry by force, to inspect.

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When everyone does no crime and follows MINIMUM standards of behavior, everyone enjoys the benefits of public peace, health, safety, morals and general welfare. Surely, these are things that Manteca residents want. What to do when a selfish neighbor refuses to conform? Call Code Enforcement.

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Nomination Form, Statement of Candidate Filed

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My nomination form, signed by thirty registered Manteca voters, is now filed with the City of Manteca Elections Officer (the City Clerk). Once the signatures and other paperwork are verified, I'll be an official candidate for a Manteca City Council seat in the November 2010 General Municipal Election.

The optional Statement of Candidate Qualifications is also filed and paid for. This statement will be printed in the County's Sample Ballot pamphlet, which is mailed to every registered voter before the election.

STATEMENT OF CANDIDATE FOR

MANTECA CITY COUNCIL

RICHARD BEHLING
Age: 57
Occupation: Accountant

My education and qualifications are: I have worked for a wholesale grocery distributor in this area for 20 years, making my home in Manteca the last 3½ years. I hold a CPA license, a B.S. in Accounting from Utah State University, and an M.S. in Business Administration from CSU, Sacramento. After becoming a resident, I received an alternative education in Manteca politics and operations. Improvements are mandatory. My cycling activity provides another grounded perspective on city needs.

Despite the last explosive growth cycle and fabulous returns to special interests, broad swaths of the existing city have been allowed to deteriorate and many civic amenities have been ignored as the population grew. I will see that the latter projects are given priority. Strong and effective city code enforcement will make policing easier and safer. Especially needed are putting police and fire protection on solid footing, making desperately needed technology upgrades, and giving city managers flexibility in staffing. Roads, water and sewer will be monitored closely. New development will be controlled. My biggest task will be to ensure city finances are managed conservatively, making them and RDA projects open and understandable.

Elect me to get the job done right.

Marijuana - Medical or Otherwise

My position is that marijuana remain illegal and unused.

In 1996, the California legislature passed the Compassionate Use Act of 1996. The Act was codified in California's Safety and Health Code, beginning with Section 11362.5. It exempts certain medically indicated and registered users from criminal charges for marijuana cultivation, possession and use, and exempts each user's one legally designated and registered primary caregiver from criminal charges for cultivation and possession, but not use.

The law also allows registered users and caregivers leave to group into cooperatives, for growing and dispensing the drug, but leaves implementation up to local jurisdictions.

Given this particular legal loophole, my position on medical marijuana is that individual users and caregivers take care of their own needs and follow Manteca's ordinance to enclose and secure any "weed." Manteca does not need a dispensary.

If the 2010 California Proposition 19 passes in November, a single city-operated dispensary may be necessary for control and taxation.

I also believe anyone who possesses a medical marijuana user card should be required to surrender his or her Driver License - it's one or the other, not both.

Indeed, from the California Safety and Health Code:

Section 11362.5. (a) This section shall be known and may be cited as the Compassionate Use Act of 1996... (b)(2) Nothing in this section shall be construed to supersede legislation prohibiting persons from engaging in conduct that endangers others...

California's Vehicle Code Section 312 defines a drug as:

The term "drug" means any substance or combination of substances, other than alcohol, which could so affect the nervous system, brain, or muscles of a person as to impair, to an appreciable degree, his ability to drive a vehicle in the manner that an ordinarily prudent and cautious man, in full possession of his faculties, using reasonable care, would drive a similar vehicle under like conditions.

My stance is the marijuana use produces a driving-under-the-influence impairment (DUI) sufficient to bar such user from driving on California's roadways, a stance backed up by research.

How Does Marijuana Affect the Brain?

Scientists have learned a great deal about how THC acts in the brain to produce its many effects. When someone smokes marijuana, THC rapidly passes from the lungs into the bloodstream, which carries the chemical to the brain and other organs throughout the body.

THC acts upon specific sites in the brain, called cannabinoid receptors, kicking off a series of cellular reactions that ultimately lead to the “high” that users experience when they smoke marijuana. Some brain areas have many cannabinoid receptors; others have few or none. The highest density of cannabinoid receptors are found in parts of the brain that influence pleasure, memory, thoughts, concentration, sensory and time perception, and coordinated movement.

Not surprisingly, marijuana intoxication can cause distorted perceptions, impaired coordination, difficulty in thinking and problem solving, and problems with learning and memory. Research has shown that marijuana’s adverse impact on learning and memory can last for days or weeks after the acute effects of the drug wear off. As a result, someone who smokes marijuana every day may be functioning at a suboptimal intellectual level all of the time.

Research on the long-term effects of marijuana abuse indicates some changes in the brain similar to those seen after long-term abuse of other major drugs. For example, cannabinoid withdrawal in chronically exposed animals leads to an increase in the activation of the stress-response system and changes in the activity of nerve cells containing dopamine. Dopamine neurons are involved in the regulation of motivation and reward, and are directly or indirectly affected by all drugs of abuse. (internal references removed)

Let's Get Democratic About Downtown

Yes, democratic principles of government have their limited uses within our system of Constitutional Representative goverment; direct democracy not so much. Due to the decades-long history of schizophrenic debate (and resulting inaction) regarding Manteca's downtown area, this may be one of those rare non-tax issues that demands to be put to voter referenda, such as these two:

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BALLOT MEASURE #1 - Concept of Downtown Manteca

VOTE FOR ONE:

Option A. Do nothing. No action = No expense. Continue the status quo into the long term future.


Option B. Make downtown car-friendly. Provide infrastructure by widening Main Street and Yosemite Avenue to at least four lanes to allow free-flowing traffic and provide only necessary off-street parking.

Option C. Re-route traffic and make downtown into a walking mall. Define, consolidate and close off a downtown district to through traffic. Walking, cycling, a transit center, motorized scooter chairs, emergency vehicle access, etc.

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BALLOT MEASURE #2 - Theme of Concept for Downtown Manteca


In the event Ballot Measure #1, Option C passes, please choose between the following Theme drawings.

VOTE FOR ONE:

Option A. Artist's Rendering (Modernistic)
Option B. Artist's Rendering (Futuristic)
Option C. Artist's Rendering (Old Western)
Option D. Artist's Rendering (Cannery Row)
Option E. Artist's Rendering (et cetera)
Option F. (et cetera)

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All natural persons, not businesses, have an opportunity to vote. Every voter with a stake in Manteca, whether large or small, gets to have his or her voice heard. If anyone declines to vote, so be it; other voters will decide without them.

Once the vote is tallied and the majority's will is known, adopt the results into an Ordinance to provide sure direction to City Councils into the future. With the major policy decision made, infrastructure development or redevelopment actions can then be carried out with some safety from the fractious cat fights and eventual erosions of will presented in past attempts to address this "litmus test" issue.

The City should be in the business of infrastructure; not in the business of business.

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Despite the above discussion, it is sad commentary on council members who did not "own" their position of representatives of the people - who had already democratically delegated their authority WHEN THEY VOTED FOR HIM AND HER!

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Edit:

This Manteca Bulletin article was published Thursday, based on an interview Wednesday which covered many subjects. I have included (most of) the comments because the newspaper's system drops them when the article is archived.

Behling: Put downtown to citywide vote
Idea is to get clear agreement at ballot box to end donnybrook
 
http://www.mantecabulletin.com/news/article/15938/

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TheSovereign:
Great, more direct democracy to screw things up even more than it has now. We need representatives that will actually make the decisions that we voted them in for. Instead, we will get more indecision, and nothing will come from it. Why elect someone who is just going to turnaround and have you make all the decisions. Lets have monthly citizen gatherings instead of the city counsel, and have the citizens decided what the city should do and the direction it goes in. Why have a council at all? Cantu4mantecamayor.com a man with a plan. That will work just as well.

TheMantecaResponse:
You just said what Behling just said and complained of him saying what you said. "Why elect someone who is just going to turnaround and have you make all the decision." Uh, that's what we all want and need in our government these days, not those in office who think they know what's best and controlling the people. Cantu is more Obama and tax and spend liberalism. In case you did not know, we do have monthly citizen meetings. It's just we have representatives. Do you know that that means?

Here is Mr. Behling's website. http://tlc4manteca.blogspot.com/

FJR:
Comment: Perhaps Mr. Brehling didn't read the replies by bloggers,on mooreheads suggestion of a Santana row in Manteca.How in the hell can we suggest something we can't afford.Does 8 straight deficits from this council suggest we can afford a Santana row.Doe's laying police officers off and cutting city workers benefits and pay, suggest we can afford a Santana row.I have only seen two candidates declare our true needs in this city in Infrastructure and that's Carlon Perry,mayor candidate and Mr. Anderson, who is running for council.We have a small population in this small city and quite a few people have felt the impact of what a long term lousy economy can do to their families.This is reflected in the 9.4% drop in sales tax revenue for this city.

Why would anyone in their right mind,vote to spend millions of dollars in RDA money on a Santana row,when our library,Dog facility and other needed infastructure has been neglected by the current council, for eight long years and has no current plans in place for any of them.

Most people can't afford frequent visits to a high priced mall like Moorehead can.Just dinner there could be half of some Mantecan's weekly grocery budget.Mr. Brehling we have had enough of big spenders,while our taxes is being spent and we face constant rate increases and heavy taxation by the state. You and Moorehead suggest big spending of RDA that supports schools and public safety,on something that is to expensive for the hard working people of Manteca.The fact is,why replace spenders on the council, when we have a big spender wanting to replace them? Mr. Brehling you just s##t your mess kit with me. {ed. What a wonderfully descriptive turn of the phrase!}

I fight for actual needs in this city,not some expensive high rolling Santana row we can't afford. I get critisized often for my conservatism,that is geared to our actual needs.I believe it's time to Spend RDA on our needs,for a change.What you and Moorehead is suggesting would be,just a continuation of filling the damn bank accounts of the RDA Agency,that exists on our taxes.

You Sir just made your first mistake in running for a council seat in my opinion. Fleener.

Richard_Behling:
Sov, I agree with you that elected representatives should have a spine and be leaders, making and holding to decisions based on their positions, without testing the wind on every little thing.

FJR, I agree with you that Debby Moorhead's suggestion of San Jose's project was a HUGE overreach in feasibilty and cost. Obviously, something proportionate to Manteca is called for.

But, what is called for? Much money and decades of citizens study groups, consulting firms, business surveys, politicians circulating through Pumpkin Faires - none of these methods have produced any vision that has "stuck to the wall." Go read my blog post "Let's Get Democratic About Downtown" and provide some constructive feedback (positive or negative, but not destructive) regarding the proposal.

Richard_Behling:
FJR, it will take years just to make these decisions and plan for Manteca's downtown development or redevelopment. Let's use this economic "down time" to plan it right, keeping in mind that to accomplish something like this will take many years and many future city councils holding to the plan.

mhoffman:
Right, because having no idea what to do is a sign of TRUE leadership ... Good grief.

"Manteca version of the Santa Row " How would we fill this retail space? Magic? Field of Dreams I suppose?

TheSovereign:
The problem with down town is that it no longer serves the purpose that it once did, and now the city keeps trying to turn it into something you would see at Disneyland. In order to really change downtown the city will have to buy every building, redo the fascias themselves, and then try and find businesses to want to move there. This isn't Livermore with the wide streets, and room for outside dining. They had the room and a higher tax base in order to make their downtown look upscale.

Fleener is right that there are more pressing issues in town than condos with store fronts. The two items he brought up along with repaving our streets as well as other infrastructure needs need to be addressed before spending tax dollars on folly like a downtown from Disneyland.

We need to find a way to draw more businesses to this town that will provide higher wages than retail. What is your plan Mr Behling to bring higher paying jobs that will provide greater tax dollars for the city? I am really interested, and I will listen to your suggestions.

Instead of building a new city hall because the one we have isn't big enough, rent the empty store fronts and move some of the city offices to these store fronts. In this case I agree with the notion of conservative if it means conserving what we have until the economy picks up. Use what we have to its fullest until we get to a place where we can grow again.

I would like to see a mayoral candidate put a moratorium on house building until house values stabilize, and/or rise before we add to the supply. Find a different tax revenue stream instead of bonus bucks from the contractors.

I would like to see this town not do what has happened across this country and let its infrastructure deteriorate while they spent money on frills trying to beautify their cities to look upscale.

analisa:
will us, the people of manteca get a vote ?

Jason:
Seriously, it’s not like there's not enough vacant buildings around town. Maybe someone can help me remember what the "re-development" agency is supposed to do. Something about taking the old stuff & making in new. Isn't there a strategy for this? Aren't there examples of what other agencies similarly named have done?

At this point why do we even care? Downtown has become a mute point. People got sick of the game & chose sprawl instead of a strategy. Developers just circumvented the whole mess & built their own downtowns elsewhere in Manteca. Guess what…..shops & people came….a lot of them.

Richard_Behling:
TheSovereign hit the nail on the head with the statement that downtown "no longer serves the purpose it once did," and understands my definition of conservative action over the next few years, while staying ahead of the planning curve. The question is, "Do we, or how do we, redevelop downtown?" Any Band-Aid approach will be - and has been - a complete waste of money, until a clear consensus emerges.

FJR, money WILL continue to be spent by the city on everything from salaries to operations to existing debt service to infrastructure construction and maintenance. Some of it will come from RDA as redevelopment (however defined) occurs. Candidate views on library, streets, animal shelter, business recruitment (also for TheSovereign) and other issues and amenities will come in the weeks ahead. Some of these things tie together and, incidentally, all of them require tax money. Election campaigns are all about redefining priorities, including expansions or cutbacks. (p.s. FJR, I love your wonderfully descriptive "turn of the phrase" regarding mess kits.)

Please each of you email me at RichardBehling.2010@gmail.com. I promise not to ask you for a campaign contribution. :)

FJR:

Comment: My idea for the city improvement, is to divide the city in four quadrants. Select one of these and run a pilot program.Condos over retail has been successful in many cities.If this is successful in bringing people into the town area.Then move on to another segment and develope it.By taking small steps in renovating the city,We as a city, can back off, before we unload a lot of tax money.This is taking a conservative approach at spending.Anything we do in the city area, will be a gamble. But we want get hurt financially, taking a step at the time.

Mr. Soveriegn also wants to proceed with caution, for he has been watching the trend in spending set by this council. He mentioned a new city hall, in addition to the infrastructure I mentioned, in a previous posting. This council has a huge bldg. they bought for 6M in RDA funding.This has the square footage to house a good portion of the city hall.This is the Qualex bldg.They just let sit,for it doesn't even give us a tax base. I also think the city should avoid any partnership on erecting a water slide in Manteca.I think this should be entirely owned and developed, by private interest.This would give us sales tax and property taxes for the city, without investing our taxes.I think the city should draw up a contract with a private party, to use the land free, as long as the owners remained in business. If they didn't,then all property would revert back to the city. Parking fees would be split 50 50 with the city, for the usage of the land.Our leaders should call on me more often to devise plans for them, that saves us tax dollars. Lets talk moritorium on building homes, that Mr. Soveriegn and I have both mentioned on more than one occasion. The city should refrain from giving any developer discount land incentives and our tax dollars. Then you wouldn't have to worry about a moritorium.Sales tax givebacks s/b something we should never do.If developers want to take a hike, then tell them don't let the door hit you in the butt.

I would also put the cities interest in the BLD up for sale.Twenty percent of the total income for the city is rediculous.That way the city would get out of this rediculous contract they signed with BLD.That way,we would receive a tax base for the city and sales tax as well.I don't believe the city signed a document, that prevented the sale of our city interest.

I would also unload the golf course this city subsidizes in play.This is not a business that is providing income for this city.RDA can't be expected to always pick up the lions share of our financing.Some has to filter into schools and public safety.

I would also sell off all surplus land and buildings to return our tax base to the city.We are not in the real property business.

Hang in their Soveriegn.

Mr. Brehling, your telling the people of Manteca, that anything planned for this city, will take years to develope.I have been a resident for eight years and many people have been here all their lives and I have seen nothing in the way of projects for this city or our needed infrastructure. I and others have seen this council spend us into eight deficits and tell us there is no damn money for our needs.We are tired of this bull Mr. Brehling.It want take years and it shouldn't. Plans for this city and it's future infrastructure needs, should be top priority over any project.Money has to be generated, perhaps in the fashion I suggested.The time is now and if your not up to the challenge, don't run for the job.I personally don't care for manana council members.If you want to be a council person,don't give us a future agenda, give us one that will be taken serious now.I don't cut no slack on slackers.I seen no time frame for any of your suggestions Mr. Brehling.One big spender is the same as the ones that exists on the council.Tell me why I should vote for you Sir, when we already have big spenders running as incumbants.Give us something tangible that we can relate to and I might consider voting for you.Apparently the high roller Debby Moorehead has influenced you in proposing a Santana Row for a population still in the latter part of the 60ks.

I am so estatic with this unaffordable dual concurrence.

Fleener.

Richard_Behling:

Jason and TheSovereign and I all agree that downtown Manteca's retail muscle has been relocated, in this case to Hwy 120, leaving a void in the "center" of town. Planning experts across the USA - and here in Manteca - have wrestled with what to do with downtown.

Listen to me carefully, Fleenor. Debby Moorhead's Santana Row is too big, too costly and clearly an overreach for Manteca, but her IDEA was received by most people as a MODEL for a scaled down unitary project. Today's John Harris article clearly illustrates the piece-by-piece approach, with reference to the 2020 study as his personal vision. Both approaches take time and money.

Don't mistake planning - real, detailed, advanced planning - as inaction. No city, including Manteca, can just go in and immediately reconstruct roads, water, sewer, etc. where private property interests exist. The basic options are 1) wait and buy the property or 2) take it through eminent domain for compelling government interests (and watch holy hell break loose!)

Upper level jobs won't come until businesses have suitable resources, bearable tax burdens, and a sustainable customer base.

The theory is government serves the people's personal and economic interests; the reality is governments have longer life spans than individuals and they move more slowly with longer planning horizons.

This next council's mandate - and my part on it - during this economic lull is to:
LOOK INWARDLY at administration,
OVERHAUL departments, systems, pensions,
SLOW DOWN the pace of all expenditures,
CUT OUT "welfare" transfers,
PLAN the amenities, services, and infrastructure that only a city can provide (and no more than that), and
WAIT for people/businesses to again create their own wealth.

p.s. In my view, the old Qualex building would make a terrific (and very large) animal shelter.

mhoffman:

How will RETAIL help anything without a Jobs plan? Seriously, this 'Field of Dreams' approach to Government is completely F'ed. It is possible that Manteca feels that DEVELOPMENT is the only viable job in this area. Perhaps they think that is they grease that wheel enough, it will just carry the town.

This whole mess sound just like 2000 all over again. One would think that even the dumbest legislator would learn the lesson of not doing the same thing that got us into this mess in the first place.

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October 2009 Public Announcement

Backing up to the beginning, my personal dealings with the city during 2008 and 2009 made it crystal clear that some big problems existed within the city departments:

• information was not available and never would (or could) be made available,
• personnel of several departments did not know the city laws, so certainly could not apply them,
• official response to conflict other than violent crime was ineffectual,
• various important systems were unconnected,
• enforcement department procedures were entirely missing, and
• elected officials were utterly dismissive of anything not on their personal or special interest-driven agenda.

Therefore, on October 4, 2009, thirteen months ahead of the election, I announced my candidacy in the Manteca Bulletin.

Richard Behling – stressing the need for more accountability, clearer and more transparent communication with residents, and new blood among leadership – has become the first candidate to officially announce for the 2010 Manteca City Council election.

The four-year terms of incumbents John Harris and Vince Hernandez end in late 2010.

Three people have already declared their intention to run for mayor in 2010 including incumbent Willie Weatherford as well as retired city planner Ben Cantu and tech company owner Samuel Anderson.

“An accounting career and background will help me get to the truth behind the smoke and mirrors of governmental fund accounting,” Behling stated in announcing his candidacy. “I will communicate those realities as simply as possible to as wide an audience of citizens as is possible. As a member of this city’s council, I will not take the place of the city’s finance director nor the city’s outside financial auditors, but will hold them accountable for simple, understandable, and current information regarding money flowing into and out of the city’s stewardship. Relatively inexpensive technology can make both summary information and detailed transactions available to taxpayers, ratepayers, fee payers, the press, and the individual.”

Behling works in Lathrop and is trained as a certified public accountant.

Behling, 56, noted it is up to the council to lead and set the standards as they hire – and fire – the city manager and decide by majority vote what polices they want in place.

He promises to open up the processes, discussions and decisions regarding the public’s business.

“The work product of public employees is public record, with rights of full access by any citizen, constrained only by privacy rights. If that openness winnows out certain public employees, so much the better,” Behling noted. “Again, digital technologies can deliver that information access and assist in raising - beforehand - the important issues that get smothered by the eye-glazing boilerplate items and staff recommendations in public meetings.”

Behling has been attending City Council meetings for more than a year and educated himself reading various comments including the city’s financial report which he noted receives solid praise from auditors but isn’t easily understood by most people.

He also believes the overwhelming number of unanimous votes either means decisions are made by the council in some form out of the public view or else it underscores his point about the need for change.

“There needs to be new blood elected at every election even if it is just one person,” Behling said, indicating he is advocating term limits for council members.

Behling moved to Manteca in August of 2006. Prior to that, he commuted for 15 years from elsewhere to his employment in Lathrop.

“During those years I became familiar with the Manteca area, which appeared prosperous and growth-oriented, and I purchased a home in early 2007,” he noted. “Everyone knows the story of what happened next in the economy.”

“The City of Manteca, too, is hurting financially and functionally,” he continued. “Its woes are compounded by an absence of ethics in its leaders and lackeys, a total lack of transparency in the conduct of the public’s business, and no general public knowledge of the truth regarding the city’s financial position… The expensive monument-building by politicians must end in order for Manteca to become the livable, family friendly community it should.”

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I also wrote about my motivations in another piece called "Don't Fight City Hall... Become City Hall."

The lackadasical, slap-dash arbitrariness that is the hallmark of the City of Manteca comes about, no doubt, from the behind-the-scenes political chicanery in this town. Politicians selling themselves and/or their votes to the so-called "influencial" causes disjointed policies, supercilious law-making, and uneven enforcement of the laws they themselves adopted.

In a press release over the weekend, I compared the City of Manteca to the computer game, SimCity, where "the player as Mayor" runs his/her city in any old arbitrary manner as he/she deems fit. Sadly, that particular analogy didn't make it into yesterday's Manteca Bulletin announcement of my intention to run for Manteca City Council in the November 2010 election.

My personal task for the four-year term is to avoid the pits, traps, bombs, and flaming arrows of power brokers and entrenched special interests, both outside and inside city covernment. My altruistic task is to help the innumerable common citizens retake control of their city from the "the Mayor as player," other purchased politicians, and their SimCity supporters who wield the money and influence to their own enrichment at public expense.

A little enforcement of current zoning laws would be nice, too.

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One stanza (of many) of my own verse:

We live in a town, you see, ruled by committee,
Who's idea of action is to preen and look pretty.
Their powers of judgment offend in extreme
And to listen for moments makes one want to scream.

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Finally, for those who enjoy political satire, here is a quote for you:

"Politics: A strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles. The conduct of public affairs for private advantage." - Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary

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Each of us has political power - the power to cast one ballot - at the polls on November 2nd.

See you there.
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The Oath of Office For Mayor and City Council

Where to start...

Of all the beginning places to define my campaign for Manteca City Council, the Oath of Office is the best.

I, Richard Behling, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of California against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of California; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties upon which I am about to enter.

I have read the Constitution of the United States, now it's time to re-read it and to read the California Constitution.

I am NOT swearing allegiance to voters, the Mayor, developers, city employees, taxpayers, the governor of California, the president of the United States, any one person, or any group of people. The oath is to uphold the two constitutions under which Californians live in the USA. Unconstitutional laws and regulations may be ignored, unenforced or, preferably, struck down and repealed; even better would be they are not enacted in the first place!

A public servant should always bear in mind that the supreme law of the land is the US Constitution - not Congress, not the Supreme Court, and definitely not any regulatory agency of the Executive branch. The same also applies to the supreme law of the State, and its political subdivisions, where one lives.

A public servant must bear in mind that the constitutions exist to LIMIT government intrusions into the lives, liberties, and pursuits of individuals and families. (Those three guarantees generally protect one's wallet, as well.)

Federal, state, and municipal laws that pass constitutional muster represent the responsibilities - or MINIMUM performance requirements - of citizens in dealing with each other. The laws establish relationships between citizens wherein both RIGHTS and RESPONSIBILITIES are balanced in order to preserve to individuals the God-given blessings they were born with.

Freedom is not defined as an utter absence of regulation (that is anarchy, or Law of the Jungle). All the other political theories of the world, the -ism's, are distinguished by various degrees and burdens of regulations.

Rather, freedom is defined as the ability to pursue your life goals without giving offense, that is, purposely intruding on your neighbors' pursuit of their goals, Of course, the reciprocal is true, that they do not purposely intrude on yours.

Preservation of those freedoms, pursuant to constitutional laws, is the oath that every public servant (officer, official, lawmaker, lawman, city worker, clerk and dog catcher) swears upon taking office.
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