In the end, the race ended like it was fought – hard fought, close, with the city apparently as deeply divided as ever. The final vote margin, at least on election night, was 1212 votes. 8014 people voted yes, 6802 voted no.
54.1 to 45.9 margin, deceptively comfortable. The reactions: polar opposites.
The room was packed with firefighters and community members opposing cuts to fire staffing. The council listened to the community concerns, they listened to the firefighters like Captain Joe Tenney, who argued that former Interim Fire Chief Scott Kenley’s plan sounds good on paper but falls apart in the in the real world, and they blinked.
Councilmember Lucas Frerichs stated his discomfort with moving forward with these cuts outside of the broader context of the budget. Mayor Pro Tem Dan Wolk made a motion to bring this decision back within the context of discussing the budget. Councilmember Rochelle Swanson would then push for an earlier, a May 14 check-in date.
By Jeff AdachiA group of state judges wants to persuade the public to cash in one of our fundamental rights: trial by a jury of our peers.
The idea, floated by the California Judges Association as a cost-saving measure, requires passing a state constitutional amendment to shrink juries in misdemeanor criminal cases from 12 to eight members. Paring down juries is a dangerous bargain.
By Brett Lee and Rochelle SwansonWalt Whitman said of the United States, “Here is not merely a nation, but a teeming nation of nations.” We say Davis is not merely a community, but a teeming community of diverse and engaged communities.
As the Measure I election comes to a close, we would like to take a moment to say thank you to the citizens of Davis for becoming so engaged in this election process. Whether Measure I passes or fails, this election has once again reaffirmed the fact that the citizens of Davis care deeply about civic matters. We believe we all want the same thing — continue to foster the wonderful quality of life here.
Davis’ Mayor Joe Krovoza writes in an op-ed, “No Davis issue has aroused as much passion and debate in recent years as the Measure I campaign.”
And while he might be forgetting past city debates on land use and other issues of passion, Measure I is certainly up there in terms of scrutiny, debate and intensity. He adds, “As is certainly the case for every citizen, the future of our community water supply is of intense interest to my fellow council members and me. “
If all goes as planned, by the end of the day today, the city could conceivably wrap up lengthy issues involving fire and water. But as we know, things rarely go as planned, and while water has gotten the bulk of the attention with a highly contentious election wrapping up at 8 pm tonight, fire will take center stage this evening before the ballots are all counted.
The firefighters’ union, led by Bobby Weist, their president, have worked hard to drum up support from the community.
By Vanguard Court Watch Interns On Monday, March 4, an arraignment for the James Mings case was held in Department 9.
In the fall of 2011, Mr. Mings turned himself in following the death of Kevin Seery in Davis, and Mr. Mings was subsequently charged with first degree murder. Jury selection for Mr. Mings’ trial was interrupted last week due to Deputy DA Martha Holzapfel’s unexpected illness.
The case of Eliaser Aguilar is the exact type of case that Proposition 36, passed overwhelmingly by the voters last November, attempted to address. Mr. Aguilar spent nearly 14 years in prison for a single count of possession of meth in 1999.
The Aguilar case, in fact, illustrates the flaws of the previous system. Mr. Aguilar, you see, was not being punished for his use of meth so much as he was for his previous offense, back in 1987, when he was 30 years old and committed a string of armed robberies.
It is a simple letter sent to seniors. It reads, “Many of you, our Davis seniors, have approached Citizens for Clean, Reliable, Affordable Water concerned about Measure I’s huge rate increases and its financial impacts on the community, especially on those with fixed incomes.”
This is a core question of the No on Measure I campaign that is being driven home to Davis residents concerned about the costs of the project, who may feel that the answers they are getting are not adequate.
The Vanguard reported on Sunday on a report from the Davis Enterprise that Davis High Principal Jacqui Moore told the paper she will not be returning as principal in the fall, citing “philosophical differences” between herself and the school board, but declining to elaborate further than that.
The Vanguard is now backing off that report. The Vanguard has learned that Jacqui Moore was sent an email that she interpreted to mean she had been terminated during last Thursday’s closed session.
In two days it will be over and we really have no idea what the result will be at the end of the day on Tuesday after the polls close. People I have spoken to have talked about the intensity and the nastiness of the race. Friends are divided. Many just want it over.
The Davis Enterprise reports this morning that Davis High Principal Jacqui Moore told the paper she will not be returning as principal in the fall, citing “philosophical differences” between herself and the school board, but she declined to elaborate further than that.
The Davis Enterprise, on the eve of the water election, uses their Sunday editorial to argue, “Money-saving change will not jeopardize public safety.” The Enterprise writes, “While all eyes will be on results coming in from the Measure I election on the surface water project, we hope the council will give plenty of serious attention to these necessary changes.”
Back in May of 2009, the Vanguard wrote an article entitled Why Do Firefighters Make Substantially More Than Police Officers in Davis?. The article not only reports on the discrepancy in pay, but the questions that then Councilmember Lamar Heystek asked of then City Manager Bill Emlen.
Last week, the Vanguard showed that the Rancho Yolo ratepayers are actually advantaged under the water rate system and will pay far less at the Multi-Family Rate (MFR) than the Single-Family Rate (SFR).
Our complaints about the fairness of the coverage of Measure I and the surface water project must have caught the attention of Davis Enterprise columnist and leading opponent of the surface water project, Bob Dunning.
In his Wednesday column, Mr. Dunning argues, “Fair and balanced? No, The Enterprise isn’t Fox News.”
By Joe KrovozaOn Tuesday, March 5, all ballots are due to the Yolo County elections office for a “yea” or “nay” on Measure I – a binding vote on whether or not Davis should proceed with a joint regional surface water supply project with Woodland. What’s the plan? Draw new surface water from the Sacramento River north of I-5’s overcrossing, treat it, and use it as our primary source of water.
The driver for the project is a groundwater basin that is degrading, primarily in its quality. This is problematic since both cities rely entirely on groundwater. The degradation is now serious enough that Woodland has been fined for wastewater discharge violation. Davis must anticipate the same.
By Vanguard Court Watch InternsThe trial of James Mings ground to a halt on Wednesday when Deputy DA Martha Holzapfel fell ill, causing Judge Richardson to send the jury home.
When the trial resumed on Thursday morning, Ms. Holzapfel was still ill. Her supervisor, Deputy DA Rob Gorman was supposed to take her place and select the jury.
