One of the "Save Sierra College" challengers was on probation?
Posted by: Mike Spence | 08/12/2008 1:32 PM
As we all know, the "Save Sierra College" folks, which number Trustee Bill Martin among their strongest supporters, have endorsed the very liberal immediate past president of Women Democrats of Placer County, Elaine Rowen, to run for the seat that Jerry Simmons is vacating. Rowen is a long time liberal with roots in campaigns for such Democratic luminaries as Gray Davis, Bill Lockyer, and more recently, Rob Haswell, Charlie Brown and Barack Obama.
In that same press release, Martin and the "Save Sierra College" folks announced they would be endorsing an opponent against Trustee Aaron Klein, and that opponent is Emil John Vodonick, a Nevada City attorney.
Vodonick has already been out campaigning, telling people that balanced budgets aren't really important, claiming that the college's four balanced budgets have actually shrunk the reserves, and oh by the way, he also hates Tom McClintock with a passion and will vote for Charlie Brown for Congress (an unusual, but courageous strategy in this neck of the woods).
When "Save Sierra College" and their leaders, Bill Martin, Cheryl Maki and George Magnuson, go out and recruit candidates to run, the actions, judgment and agenda of that group are reflected in the candidates they choose.
Looks like someone forgot to "google" their own candidates.
Turns out that a simple Google search shows that Emil John Vodonick was suspended and placed on five years of probation for taking $53,000 of his client's money out of a trust account, and spending it on himself. He was caught in 1997, and ordered to make restitution by February 1999. When the deadline arrived, he had made no payments, set aside no money to make payments, and hadn't even bothered to ask for a time extension.
He was placed on probation on September 7, 2000, and after more deadlines came and went with no payments, and no attempt to make restitution, the probation was reinstated on December 17, 2004, and he was ordered to take ethics classes to learn how not to steal money from his clients.
Now, forget for a moment the fact that John Vodonick and Elaine Rowen are campaigning against the people who balanced the budget and brought accountability back to Sierra College.
If this is the kind of judgment that Bill Martin, Cheryl Maki, George Magnuson and the "Save Sierra College" crowd use in selecting John and Elaine to carry their banner, how can we trust ANY of their candidates to manage an $80 million college budget and protect the taxpayers?
What kind of judgment does Elaine Rowen have in choosing to run with a guy with a background as "probationary" as John Vodonick?
And who is funding the campaign to elect John and Elaine to office?
Martin, Maki and Magnuson need to come forward quickly and address these major issues with their team. They say where there's smoke, there's fire...but John and Elaine are already blazing.
Women's right to vote didn't exist until they fought for it. Blacks rights for equality didn't happen until...
there went the race...
Too funny. This one was over before it started. The save sierra college folks are not only running an attorney, they're running a corrupt attorney (sorry if that sounds redundant).
Lets remember that King George Magnuson could not even keep his dog from attacking a senior citizen. After the attack, King George blamed the women. Looks like we have an irresponsible member of the Rocklin City Council running for re-election and supporting a corrupt attorney for the Sierra College Board.
Check out this link that I received by email on King George.
www.georgemagnuson.com
Please also note that Rocklin School Board Member Todd Lowell has also taken the plunge and has endorsed Elaine Rowen as evidenced in her Ballot Statement.
Lowell should be recalled immediately.
Anyone else curious why the only local issue Bob or Lee are interested in is the McClintock election (note I didn't say race)?
They blog all day every day about McClintock and nothing but McClintock on a site where a majority of the audience thinks they're complete idiots, and we're supposed to believe they're anything but paid political hacks?
Anon
Just for you. My son is on the line talking about his upcoming deployment to Kuwait with his step-mother. He and I spent the bulk of last week at his step-mother's lake place near Fergus Falls MN. He called yesterday to tell me that he qualified with the M-9 pistol. He called again today to tell me that he did not qualify with the rifle. He will be given another chance to qualify in about a month. But never-the-less he will deploy to Kuwait. He let me know last week that he was sworn in for another 4 years. He is 27 years old and a SSgt. in the USAF and has almost 6 years in now. He went in on Sept. 11th 2002.
Am I proud of my son, you betcha. There are some things that transcend politics. Don'tcha think?
Anon,
Looks to me like Vodonick was a bad choice to run against Aaron Klein. I wouldn't vote for him.
Below is a comment I made to Aaron Klein back in June on an issue unrelated to Tom McClintock. Maybe you don't spend too much time here and are unaware that both Lee and I have commented on a wide range of local issues.
I live up the hill from Auburn in Placer County and Lee lives in Lincoln. I think that makes us locals.
So much for the "paid political hacks" charge. Try "concerned citizens" or "alarmed former Republicans". That fits us better.
Bob
June 11 Comment by Bob
Bob said:
Aaron K,
I appreciate your willingness to engage with people who don't see eye-to-eye with you. We have had a couple of exchanges here and on the whole I have a positive impression from them.
I had not been on the Sierra College campus for several years until just recently when my daughter's basketball team practiced at the gym on a couple of afternoons. I had read in the paper about issues with upkeep and maintenance at Sierra due to budget cuts, so I looked at the buildings and grounds from that point of view during my recent visits.
The buildings appear to be in pretty bad shape and the groundskeeping and parking lot maintenance also left a lot to be desired. In general the area around the main gym had a run-down look. The campus looks tired.
I have a close friend who is responsible for facilities (buildings and landscaping) at Humboldt State University. Most of the buildings at HSU are much older than those at Sierra. He has told me of their budget woes--money going to the UC system first and big cuts in his budget. Yet his campus grounds and buildings look absolutely beautiful.
I'm not sure what can be learned from that. But it's my sense that the cuts at Sierra have gone too deep jeopardizing capital assets like buildings, equipment and roads. I hope the BoD is working to address that.
Bob
Lee,
Glad to hear your son qualified with a pistol. Not being able to qualify with a rifle is embarrassing, as any vet with a hunting license prior to service usually passes with ease.
I'm sure the real men in the county can forgive you for being negligent in teaching your son the finer points of marksmanship, since you obviously taught him to love country more than life.
you should be proud.
Some minor corrections. I live in Sun City Roseville. I have been a registered (D) all my life except for a special circumstance in which I registered as a (R) However I am very much a switch hitter. I have given 5 times more money to (R) as to (D) this election cycle.
Regarding Aaron Klein, he and I have reached some sort of detente. He has commented in a very civil, respectful way toward me. That has gone a long way in defusing the feelings of animosity toward him.
I don't know how many reincarnations of anons have taken shots at me. Some have stuck around for fairly long times and then faded away. Name calling does not mean anything to me. It is white noise that may as well not exist. I am who I am and am comfortable with that...
Actually anon
My son is left eye dominant but right handed. He has qualified with the rifle before. He has had to re-learn how to shift to a left-handed mode of shooting.
Thus he qualifies with the M-9 with ease, as others struggle.
Stick around and let us know a little about yourself...
Sorry Lee, I am a right-handed pull hitter. ;-)
Re: Mark Klang.
The twice-defeated Rocklin School Board candidate casually mentions the "George Magnuson" website as if he came across it by chance.
In actuality, if you check domainsearch.com, you'll see the registrant is Joseph Scharrer, Klang's campaign manager when he was defeated two years ago. Scharrer famously earned the praise of Rocklin citizens when he said Rocklin high school students "couldn't count change at Taco Bell."
The malcontent machine is alive and well and disparaging people. It's sad to see people be so juvenile.
Hi Lee,
I mean no offense, but it is a fun issue to tease you with. I am also left eye dominent and right handed so I know your son's plight. Take a kid hunting though, and he'll adapt real quick as any of my brothers, huntn' buddies, or comrades will attest.
No biggie, you don't like guns. Sounds like the US Military was still able to teach your son to be a man:)
Anon - Mark has one advantage, he posts under his own name. You hide and take pot shots.
The facts are Magnusen has endorsed Elaine Rowen as has Todd Lowell. They will be held accountable.
The fact is Klang was taken out by the Teacher's Union who actively fund the members of the Current Rocklin School Board.
Aaron:
I don't support Elaine Rowen and respect anyone who wants to have a dialogue about qualifications and philosophy. I find the behavior of the guy running against Aaron Klein apalling and hope those who recruited him will disavow him.
Re: Klang. Klang was taken out by the voters of Rocklin -- and overwhelmingly so in 2004 and then again in 2006. He earned that through his treatment of people. Klang sought the support of the teacher's union in 2004 and didn't get it, then he complains about those who received what he wanted.
Now, his lieutenants create anonymous websites trashing people Klang doesn't like and then he passes those websites along like he has nothing to do with it.
I remain anonymous for a reason -- I don't want to see myself become a target of their latest defamation campaign. Sorry, I'm just not up for that -- I'd like to live my life in some peace. If Klang and Scharrer were willing to take down their disparaging web sites, perhaps a more open dialogue would be possible. They might get some respect, too.
Anon
So come out of the closet, everyone is an American here and we can take a shot or two. Sounds like guns are your thing. Do you know the 410 bolt action Mossberger? That was my pheasant and rabbit shootin‘ gun. Yes, a small gauge non semi-automatic as a hunting weapon. It seemed to even the odds but still I would be the first to get my limit. I didn’t use a dog either. I was just a simple farm boy without the resources of Dick Cheney.
I’ll rummage around in the archives and see if I can rustle up my vita just for you. And hope that you can man-up enough to actually tell us who you are and go into as much detail as I do. Nobody is going to shoot you.
… here is a bit of where I come from…
I was born and raised in SE Illinois. I won a free ride scholarship to the University of Illinois but managed to blow it by my junior year through immaturity.
At the age of 22, I received greetings from JFK. I quit my job as a junior chemist in Chicago to go to St. Louis for my draft physical because I was inspired by JFK’s inaugural address, …”Ask not what your country can do for you,,,ask what you can do for your country.”
I failed the physical the first day. After a blood draw, I was reading the eye chart when things went blurry and the next thing I knew was I was laying on a bench in a locker room. I asked them to please give me a second chance and so they put me up overnight, and I was sworn in the next day.
I served 18 months in Germany with a special weapons company. I was jumped in rank over my peers and soon became crew chief over a 15 man crew who was given a mission very important to our weapons company. We worked and lived 50 clicks from our home company and were left alone as long as we met our weekly quotas. Aaron knows a funny story about my work.
The military service was a very maturing experience. After discharge, I worked as a quality control chemist at US Steel, Gary Works. I had an epiphany that led me to take another crack at college 10 years after I dropped out. Using the GI Bill education benefits, I ended up with an undergraduate and a graduate degree from Indiana University.
I was recruited to work at the local mental health center in Bloomington Indiana where the home campus of IU is. I worked there for 25+ years. I raised a son and a daughter there.
My daughter just graduated from IU last December in 7 semesters, totally debt free. In between her 2nd and third year, she went to India where she spent 8 weeks taking a cultural anthropology class and volunteered at a women’s shelter. She is heavily into social service volunteerism.
My son is a Ssgt. In the USAF. He is a patriot as is his dad. He arrived at Lackland for basic in the wee small hours of 9/11 2002. He has just filed reenlistment papers(update, he has been sworn in for 4 more years). He volunteered for service over in the ME and will go over to Ali al Salem AB just 26 miles inside Kuwait from Iraq. This AB is reputed to be the hottest place on Earth.
I took early retirement at age 61 because of some very, very positive circumstances. I met this lady on the internets who was already established in Sun City Roseville. We married 7 years ago with me moving out here. That was a no-brainer. She is the most beautiful woman in SCR, physically and spiritually. I married way up
.
I did work for a year, half-time at HomeStart on Riverside here in Roseville. I have considerable experience with the homeless. And continue to serve the homeless through church outreach.
My wife brought me back into the faith. I am a Sermon on the Mount Christian. I believe that Christians have a meaningful place at the public square. But I also strongly believe in the Separation of Church and Hate. There is a budding movement called the Matthew 25 Network. I resonate to all that they want for this great nation.
I am a switch hitter politically. I have given 5 times as much money to Republicans as Democrats this election season. I rooted for the impeachment of President Clinton. My wife and I were very active in the recall of Gov. Davis. We are active supporters of Arnold. I am a registered Democrat.
I met Charlie Brown about 4 years ago. I know him to be a good man. I also know his wife, Jan, to be a very good woman.
I have had deep, deep misgivings about the direction this country has been going, well before the 80% woke up. Because of these misgivings, I have become much more politically aware. The first 2 years or so that I was out here, I did not give a hoot or even know who was in office locally.
I want to reclaim the country that I was endowed with. I want to pass on to my kids a country in better shape than it is now. I do not want to kick the can down the road for them to take care of.
I deeply regret the partisanship that is a cancer upon our body politic. Working together we can turn things around.
This is who I am
And this is what I believe…
See, that is not hard. If you are comfortable with yourself and what you believe in, it is easy to just be out there with exactly who you are…
Come join us in a good old fashioned sit-down at the table and we can talk about things…
.
For the record, I never asked for the teacher union endorsement. For those that do not know, I supported teachers when I was on the board. I was the one that got the school district to pay for the teacher's tuition for their National Board Certification. Of cource I would not get credit for that because the union was against it. They are against any financial reward for the top teachers. They would rather support teachers that should never be in the classroom.
There was one good thing that came out of my 2 campaigns. The union spent around $30K to defeat me. There were afraid that I would expose them as a liberal group that really puts the interests of children after their own liberal agenda.
I am proud of the work that I did on the board. Remember Tom McClintock also lost a few campaigns.
Regarding Joe's comment about Taco Bell. That is a true statement for many students not only in Rocklin but all over the country.
Lee - Lunch friday?
Freaking hilarious. Bill Martin is so screwed. So is Cheryl Maki, who is actually touting this guy's "integrity" on savesierracollege.com. How long can the mainstream media keep this quiet?