North Pole

Drawing Lots?

By North Pole | 03/11/09

A good old fashion north county insider says there was a meeting of various Republican elected and party officials - mostly from north county - last week. One of the topics was the increasing Democrat presence in north county. I hear that there was some griping that Supervisor Bill Horn, who has been enthroned in north county for almost twenty years, doesn't have a political operation that registers voters or builds Republican clubs or the... read more »

Human Sacrifice

By North Pole | 02/27/09

It is now clear that after a decade of hearing how fiscally brilliant our County Supervisors are, the county pension system is for all purposes in collapse. It's also clear that the outrageous pensions increases voted on by all five of the sitting Supervisors are the reason for the collapse. This is all covered in an excellent ongoing investigation by the Voice of San Diego and you can read it HERE. I'm not going to try to rehash it all - it's... read more »

Off With Their Heads...

By North Pole | 02/14/09

I just read the post directly below by Bill Meeker, which takes readers to a Voice of San Diego SLOP column that discusses the pension crisis the County of San Diego is now in. The crisis is because in one foul vote Supervisors Horn, Cox, Slater, Jacob, and Roberts voted to DOUBLE pension benefits in 2002, on our dime! From that time on, as the column points out, the Board of Supervisors has struggled to pay the bill - in good times. Well it's... read more »

Bad Process in Oceanside, Good Results

By North Pole | 02/13/09

While I've argued in this blog that it is bad for the Democratic process for Oceanside to appoint a Treasurer to a three year term (the sitting Treasurer passed away shortly) instead of appointing an interim Treasurer and waiting until the probable November 09 election, the pick of investor Gary Felien was in fact just the sort of fellow I would have voted for if he were up for election. So, in the end, the results were good, the process still... read more »

A Town Hall on the Telephone?

By North Pole | 02/10/09

I was called by Republican Congressman Brian Bilbray tonight and invited to participate in a "town hall" on the telephone. I thought that I was in for the normal one-sided lecture that politicians usually give, but instead it was participatory (somehow) - listeners were allowed to ask questions, even from time to time questions that were obviously pointed. As a citizen I think there should be more town halls, more chances to interact. I also... read more »

Bilbray Under Attack By DCCC On Radio

By North Pole | 02/05/09

DCCC Press Release: The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), chaired by Congressman Chris Van Hollen, today announced the DCCC is launching a Putting Families First ad and grassroots campaign in 28 targeted Republican districts.  The ads focus on the Republicans out of step priorities by putting bank bail outs and building schools in Iraq before the needs of the Americans in the struggling economy. The Putting Families First... read more »

Over the Wire Today (Not Sure I Agree)

By North Pole | 02/04/09

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Rider Points Out Govt Employee Racket

By North Pole | 01/26/09

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Oceanside's Sanchez RIGHT for Once

By North Pole | 01/22/09

Here we go again... what is with our local Republican officials twisting and turning to avoid or manipulate the Democratic process. This time it's Oceanside, where Treasurer Rosemary Jones (88) passed away. Rosemary was elected every four years for sixteen years by the people of Oceanside to serve in this office. However, the four Republicans on the city council voted against actually holding an election and instead have decided to appoint a... read more »

Assessor Recommends Supervisors Appoint Democrat

By North Pole | 01/21/09

Republican Assessor Greg Smith has recommended to the Board of Supervisors that they appoint Smith's "top assistant" David Butler to his post in between now and the next election. Butler first said he would not run for the office, but has backed off and now plans to run if appointed, which says something in itself. The kicker: as noted in the comments to my earlier post David Butler is a partisan Democrat. read more »