VANGUARD REPORT: Covell Village Campaign Failed to Disclose Hundreds of Thousands in Campaign Expenditures
On November 3, 2005, literally four days before the 2005 election that would see Measure X, the Measure J vote that Davis voters would overwhelming vote down by a 60-40 margin, an article ran in the Davis Enterprise, whereby the No on Measure X campaign complained among other things that the Covell Village Company and their “Smart Planning – Yes on X” Campaign had failed to disclose the true cost of more than a dozen glossy campaign mailers sent to thousands of Davis voters as well as other campaign expenses such as campaign worker salaries.
The Vanguard has now learned over three and a half years later that there was significant merit to that complaint. On April 3, 2008 three amended statements using the Fair Political Practice Commission (FPPC) California Form 460 were filed with the Davis City Clerk, two and a half years after the termination of campaign papers were filed on January 31, 2006 claiming a zero balance and a final expenditure of $385,274.75 for the campaign that lasted from July 28, 2005 until December 31, 2005.
This week begins the long process of looking at the city budget where the City Council along with City Staff must deal with the short-term budget deficit and hopefully deal with the longer term structural issues dealing with employee compensation.
When the new Target was set to be placed on the ballot, the city went to great pains to assure existing neighborhood grocery stores that Target would not be a new competitor. Indeed Target specifically was forbidden from containing more than 20% food services in a specific effort to avoid competition either with the South Davis Nugget Market or the nearby East Manor Shopping Center which is now bare.
Last night at the Davis City Council meeting, the city unveiled the budget. Because the budget itself did not get to council until late in the afternoon, the city generally spoke in generalities rather than specifics. In the coming days and weeks, we will look at the budget itself more closely. For now, we want to focus on one particular issue that arose during the course of council discussion.
Davis Should Implement a Ban on All Non-Recyclable Takeout Containers and Impose a Fee on Plastic Bags used at Retail Stores
The Davis City Council on Tuesday night heard a presentation from Dr. Ed Schroeder and Dr. George Tchobanoglous that has the potential to change the way we proceed on the water project, but only if the council majority will let it. That became more clear after their presentation was over and the council proceeded to approve by a 3-2 vote a resolution authorizing the City Manager to Execute Consultant Agreement with West Yost Associates for Wastewater Reclamation Alternative Analysis as a SOLE SOURCE AGREEMENT.
As we have been reporting for months, Westlake Plaza has remained without a grocery store anchor that is required by the city’s general plan, since May of 2006. Earlier this year it looked like the group and the owner of the property had reached a deal with the Delanos, owners of a small Bay Area chain of stores to bring a roughly 11,000 square foot grocery store to the vacant store. However, that deal fell through when the owner apparently 
Chief Landy Black’s first inclination was to let the past be the past in response to comments by Former Davis Police Chief and current Antioch Police Jim Hyde in the magazine 110°.