Matt Rowe Spells Out Platform For Fullerton
Here’s a youtube clip made by Recall Election replacement candidate Matt Rowe. It contains a very useful reminder of why ex-police chief and the creator of the FPD Culture of Corruption, Pat McKinley, is incapable and unwilling to fix the mess he made.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nd9BMYzScdw
Wow, this guy stands for accountability and responsibility. Is Fullerton really ready for that?
Lets see……Intelligent, well spoken West Point grad with a degree in engineering. Long time Fullerton resident. Actually has some ideas on how to start putting this city back together. Anyone that thinks the McKinley, Bankhead and Jones shouldn’t be replaced by individuals like this have some serious mental problems!
Well well well i find it funny he is a damn freakin good replacement for these types of characters buck wild in my hometown
Wow! I’m impressed so far….and looking forward to learning more about Matt.
Honesty and integrity..now there is something-lets try that on for a while?
Right to the point.
Go Matt!
Excellent points by Matt.
FPD taking up 50% of the budget, NOW add up all the lawsuits pending!!!
NOT GOOD!!!!
Maybe Chief Hughes can explain that???
YES, who wants Fullerton to be remembered as the City like Bell City Calif. but with Sinister Overtones.
sin·is·ter [sin-uh-ster]
adjective
1.
threatening or portending evil, harm, or trouble; ominous: a sinister remark.
2.
bad, evil, base, or wicked; fell: his sinister purposes.
3.
unfortunate; disastrous; unfavorable: a sinister accident.
Left handed
Wow Fullerton is really bouncing from the bottom…
Don’t be hasty, nothing has bounced yet.
Oh crap! He readeth the machine well and is beginning to sound like he might almost have a clue what’s going on. Good job. Keep at it.
With tax revenue down, how does Matt propose to pay for MORE spending in Joe Felz’s Parks & Rec? And the same goes for infrastructure he wants, how will that be paid for?
Tel E,
Matt isn’t a professional politician, and I think the cue cards he’s reading aren’t a bad thing. I’ll take a leader who makes excellent decisions over a seasoned talking head any day of the week. He wrote every word of that speech and those ideas are his– not someone else’s special interest chatter.
You raise a great concern about funding. The budget is a very complicated animal with many problems and proposed solutions. We’re not going to answer them all in a blog post, but here’s something to chew on.
A 15% shave of the police budget puts Fullerton’s costs near the median for the North Orange County area. That’s $6 million a year.
Infrastructure, including parks and recreation, needs to continue to be a priority for our city as an important part of our investment in the future. $6 million replaces a lot of water line, mows a lot of grass, and keeps a lot of kids of the street.
We’ll need plenty of creativity and we’ll face tough decisions to solve the city’s spending woes. Concern over redevelopment, our debt payments, and our pension liability means every dollar can’t be wasted. Matt looks forward to making sure that the city’s rationale for its tough decisions is transparent to the community as well as providing new creative solutions to a tired budget.
— Rowe4Fullerton
I’m sure that he, like Pat McKinley, is a man of very high character, but you should vote for me instead because I’m neutral on the recall.
To Fence sitter. He didn’t say he was neutral on the recall. If you listen you can tell he is just the opposite.
Mr. Rowe is for the recall, but I am neutral. Wait, which way is the wind blowing? Also, the mayor likes me.
To tel E. Did you miss the part about 50% of the city budget going to the PD and re-negotiating. This would be a savings in the millions that could go for this as well as huge future savings from fewer lawsuits against the city with proper oversight of the PD.
I wonder if part of renegotiation includes disbanding the Kops and contracting with OCSD. Sure they suck too, but they’re cheap(er).
50% of the city budget went for the police department in 2011? Can anyone tell me what percentage of the murders in Fullerton in 2011 were committed by the police department? Can anyone tell me what percentage of all of the city’s lawsuits stemmed from the police department? I guess we get what we pay for.
To Truthseeker. Sometimes you don’t get what you pay for. I think this is more the case with the Fullerton PD..
On a similar note, at last nights council meeting one of the lady speakers shared a statistic about the roughly 10% of FPD since 2010 alone have been criminals. Of course, these are just what we know of.
She may have given a statistic also about the percentage of criminals within the citizenry of Fullerton which I believe was less than 10%.
I wonder how many other PDs in So. Cal. have 10%of their police force criminal?
As a hole, my guess would be L.A.C.S. is at least 15%.
The irony of this guy having the same name of an FPD sergeant. The same FPD sergeant whos an openly racist and recently appointed to lead the Gang unit…SMH
Don’t confuse the two. But yes. I see the irony. Probably a lot of people in this country with your name as well.
The Police Department and the Fire Department combined actually make up almost 80% of the General Fund Budget!
Do you think we got our monies worth, especially under the so-called leadership of Pat McKinley (16 plus years) and then Chief Sellers (2 years)?
Sounds like that fact has the making of a good mailer. How do we get the taxpayers out of this financial strait jacket?
Excellent question!
BTW, if you do a video I’ll be happy to publish it.
No. We did not get our monies worth and I am sick of all the political BS. That is why I am voting for Matt Rowe. He looks like he has the ability and courage to do the job without being influenced by anything other than what is best for Fullerton and it’s residents. Don’t you agree?
If you agree with the principles outlined by Matt, Barry Levinson is the more pragmatic choice. In this race, a vote for Matt Rowe is a vote for Doug Chaffee. If you are a conservative and believe that we need conservative values in this office, please vote for Barry Levinson.
I like Matt. Well-spoken, intelligent and I do believe sincere in his positions. However, because of resources and pre-existing name identification, this race is very likely between liberal Doug Chaffee and conservative Barry Levinson. In my opinion, Chaffee is one who trusts government and believes that government’s role is to intrusively manage our lives and gather our resources to do so. Levinson understands that the government that governs least governs best. In reasonably stating his experience as a Royce staffer, Rowe is likely to take conservative, small government votes from Levinson vs. liberal, tax and spend votes from Chaffee. If you believe in the principles that Matt outlined and want to see that change in Fullerton, Levinson is the wiser, pragmatic vote in this race. I seriously considered supporting Matt and came away from the conversations with a tremendous amount of respect for him. I will not reveal private conversations; however, it was ultimately clear to me that Barry was more committed to individual freedoms than was Matt.
This is where the rubber meets the road folks.
Say, Chris, how committed is Dan Hughes to “individual liberties?”
See where I’m going with this? It’s a judgment thing.
Chris,
We respectfully disagree. The recall is about standing up for what’s right. Advocating for any voter to compromise is contrary to the point of the recall.
If you– the voter– believe in accountability, leadership, and decision making, vote for whomever you see fit. We hope that’s Matt.
I agree with Chris’ concerns that Rowe may be influenced by Congressman Royce’s big government while masquerading as a fiscal Republican in Wash DC. Royce serves on Congress financial committee that deals with government sponsored enterprises (our tax dollars used to support select/favored private enterprise, think solar panel production in northern California) and Royce serves on the foreign affairs committee(think big, happy defense contracts). Rowe is West Point grad, military man first in is adult life and now seeking to enter municipal politics as a stepping stone to where? How independent is Rowe from Royce?
I do too. In the end I am suspicious of anyone who is not openly contemptuous that empty suit Royce, and at the same time I am suspicious of anyone who would get an enthusiastic thumbs up from serial repuglican endorsers like Robyn Nordell or who would be remotely sympathetic with crackpot developer-corporate shill ‘property rights’ apostates like Jack Dean. Admin once said he wasn’t a ‘lesser of two evils’ kind of guy but face it, those are the only kinds of choices we will ever have.
So Chris. It seems that you think the old “Status Quo” is how to vote. Repuplican against Democrat. It appears your afraid Livinson will loose with Matt Rowe in the race. In other words you don’t want him in because your boy won’t win with Matt running against him. Isn’t this the whole problem? You want a person elected because of his party affiliation and not because he is the best choice for the city or people. After all, we are talking about city council here and not a national or state election.
WHOAAA, Hold up!
Chris, it takes some nerve to transfer credibility to Barry Levinson for a speech written by me, spoken by me, and posted by me. If people agree with the principles outlined by MATT ROWE, then they should VOTE for MATT ROWE!!
I have spoken to Barry Levinson for hours, and he has HIS OWN ideas that he is very capable of articulating. Don’t for a minute try to take the product of my labor and efforts, and attempt to say that the vote should go to Barry if someone agrees with things that I have said. Chris, you have made your choice and that’s your right. You endorse Barry- great. Don’t hijack my support and try to hand it to him.
By the way, you have spoken with my many times about whether you might support me, and we have fundamental disagreements on issues that I think you are extreme on. You think motorcycle helmet laws, fireworks bans, and seatbelt laws are an extreme abuse of government power- I call them sound public safety laws. So if people are curious as to why you don’t support me, let’s be upfront and let them know.
Barry and Doug, have name recognition because they have run before and they are considerably more established. So, what? I’m running my own race. The people of Fullerton can decide for themselves whom they want to represent them on council.
-Matt Rowe
Hello Matt. I agree. I have noticed this the past couple of months on these blogs. In this case it was Chris Thompson trying to give Levinson credit for your words and ideas but I have also noticed this with Levinson himself. I’ll see a comment or answer you made on the blogs and then Levinson will take your words and ideas and try to make them look as if it was something he came up with. I wonder if anyone else has noticed this?
Doug has run three times before. Lost them all. A little bit of courage and he might have one. But the Old Guard Lefties in Fullerton are not known for their courage, just a sense of self-righteousness and superiority.
Provincial liberals
In just one sentence you managed to show great candor, and capture the essence of the Chris Thompspon conundrum; he’s a smorgasbord of beliefs ranging from perfectly sensible to Randroid crazy.
Thompson is perfectly entitled to his own opinions just so long as neither he nor anybody else thinks he represents any opinion other than his own.
I am curious Nipsey, which of my Randroid beliefs do you find crazy?
My favorite is the celestial polyhedron of property rights.
It’s an indisputable fact that property right are divisible. So the real question is applying the best common sense to each question that arises and never letting government force be self-serving and evidently arbitrary.
And whatever you do please don’t bring God into it.
I would certainly have to agree that I am probably in a 5% category on that issue. To some extent I may be overcompensating for the degree to which NIMBYism seems to dominate local property issues. Anything else though? I’m seriously curious.
The lack of name recognition is exactly why I want Rowe!!
Wait a minute there, Chris. You won’t tell us what you talked about but we are supposed to trust the conclusions you arrived at?
C’mon. Just admit that you believe Levinson is the better bet for purely practical reasons and leave the other BS out of it.
We’ve never met. Why in the world should i trust your judgment? You’re making yourself look faintly ridiculous.
I stand by exactly what I said. If you believe Matt is the better choice and you don’t mind the risk of facilitating Chaffee’s win, go for it. I met with Matt with the full understanding of his having left the Republican party and was VERY hopeful that we agreed on a variety of positions so that I could support him regardless of that fact. I don’t vote Dems or minor liberal party candidates because of their ridiculous platforms. I would support the right independent. Matt is clearly a talented guy. The bottom line is that Matt and I are maybe 70% aligned in our political philosophies and Barry and I are 90% aligned. If you want know who my “boy” in this election is, that would Travis. Travis and I, as far as I can tell, are 99% aligned in our political philosophy.
Going backward, to LLA, it’s fairly amazing that you could accuse me of supporting the status quo when I spent the past 5 months working full time to recall the status quo…gathering 30% more signatures than were required I might add.
To Rowe4Fullerton, I think that is the best possible point you could have made to counter mine. It’s always been a struggle for me to weigh pragmatic, vs. idealistic. The bottom line is that if you find Rowe to be the better candidate, it is totally reasonable to take the calculated risk of placing Chaffee in office by voting for Rowe.
To Richard Wright, re-read my comments about Dan. I severely backed off of my support of Dan as a result of his promotion of Goodrich, and yet you would have thought that I anointed him based upon the responses on the blog.
Chris. The comment about “Status Quo” refered to “Republican vs Democrat”. Read the exchanges between Levinson and Rowe below. Levinson comes off as petty and insignificant. Rowe has real life experience and real answers. For city council Rowe is the better choice and because he has no party preferance it is even more clear of a choice.
Matthew Rowe on March 9, 2012
“Fullerton needs a new group of public servants to examine our challenges with fresh eyes and new solutions. I have respect for Mr. Levinson and Mr. Chaffee, and their many years of doing business in Fullerton, but they don’t have the leadership experience that I have when it comes to dealing with public safety. I realize that Fullerton is not Baghdad, and that is precisely why I think that a review of FPDs tactics, techniques, and procedures needs to be carried out to ensure the proper escalation of force procedures are followed – to protect the public as well as the police.”
Matt welcome to the race for Pat McKinley’s seat.
I am very excited and honored to be able to throw my hat into the ring to remove McKinley.
First off; a sincere thanks for your military service. All patriotic Americans I believe share my sentiments.
However, I urge you to be very careful, when comparing yourself to your competitors.
In your statement above that I quoted word for word you said ” I have respect for Mr. Levinson and Mr. Chaffee, and their many years of doing business in Fullerton, but they don’t have the leadership experience that I have when it comes to dealing with public safety.”
Let me set the record straight, I have never done business in Fullerton. I have never worked for a company, public or private within the city.
The only so-called work I have performed is to be a current volunteer as Commissioner of the Parks and Recreation Committee since early 2011 appointed by Councilman Bruce Whitaker, who after looking at all the candidate running to unseat Pat McKinley, told me personally that he will be supporting my candidacy 100%.
My other involvement has been my consistent speaking out at council meetings to expose Pat McKinley when he fails to accurately portray the crime rate under his watch or his involvement with Officer Rincon, etc.
Being an outspoken defender of my community as a volunteer is not what I would characterize as doing business in Fullerton for many years
I also along with my wife Susan got an Ordinance passed by council in 7 short months, to protect all Fullerton neighborhoods from convicted child sex offenders by not allowing them to move into our neighborhoods that are close to a school, park or day care center. This passed in September of 2011. I believe it was the first ordinance of this kind to pass in Orange County. Since then almost a dozen other cities and the county have passed laws to help protect us from those predators.
So I think it is fair to say that I have done some good work on the safety issue for our citizens as well.
Thank you Councilman Whitaker for your ongoing support and the confidence you have shown in me to get the job done. You do not know Bruce how much your support means to me.
If I am fortunate enough to win this recall election, in my mind you will always still be the man!
Thank you!
So please Mr. Rowe please refrain from making statements about me that leaves a false impression with the folks.
It is not the right way to start your campaign.
Best of luck and may the best person win!
Reply Quote #125 by Matthew Rowe on March 10, 2012
Barry, thanks for your response and for welcoming me to the race for McKinley’s seat. I appreciate your kind words of support for my service, and that is humbling coming from an outstanding citizen such as yourself.
Although, I would like to say that I think you took offense where none was given. In reference to my comment,
”I have respect for Mr. Levinson and Mr. Chaffee, and their many years of doing business in Fullerton, but they don’t have the leadership experience that I have when it comes to dealing with public safety…”
It was a general statement about your involvement in the affairs and business of the city, in any capacity, whether for work, volunteering, applying for permits, purchasing goods and services from Fullerton businesses. I suppose that I could have said “many years of involvement in Fullerton,” but I didn’t spend too much time word-smithing it. I do not know your background in particular, so I was making a general statement, and not any specific claim about yourself. Please don’t consider that a dig or an attack. Just like I told you in person at the last city council meeting, I have great respect for you; you are a brilliant speaker and concerned citizen; and, I wish you the best of luck in this election, even though I am also running to replace Pat McKinley.
With regard to the public safety issue, I laud your work with your wife in helping to pass an ordinance to restrict the places available for sex offenders to live. However, I stand by my claim that you don’t have the same experience when it comes to public safety. That’s not an attack; to the best of my knowledge, that’s a fact. Have you ever conducted a formal investigation into possible criminal wrongdoing by people within your organization? Have you trained others on handling a restive mob and restoring order while respecting the rights of the people demonstrating? Have you ever had to detain people, search their belongings, and gather evidence? Have you ever searched a home, looking for a gunman, not knowing whether he was going to shoot you in the face when you opened the door? I have done these things, and I have done them professionally. I am not a police officer, but I do have more than enough experience to know about escalation of force and how to keep peace and order. If I can do that in Baghdad in ’06-’07, while being shot at on a regular basis, then I’m pretty sure that I have the knowledge and the legitimacy to work with Fullerton police leadership on understanding the scenarios and challenges that officers face, while ensuring that they have the proper tools and training to keep Fullerton a safe place to live for all of us.
Congratulations on earning the support of Bruce Whitaker. Even though I grew up in Fullerton, I have lived in 8 places, on 3 continents in the past 10 years; so unfortunately, I do not have a lot of the same connections that you do within the city. I am counting on getting my name out there and introducing myself to people from all over the city between now and June 5th. My website will be up soon, in order to help people make an informed decision about the future of Fullerton.
Also, I am not so sure that the “best person” always wins these elections. If that were the case, we wouldn’t have these current clowns who are in office now. But, I agree with your sentiment that we need quality people, who care, on the city council. Best of luck!
Respectfully,
-Matt Rowe
Barry only worries when issues come to his neck of the woods, or try to move in next door.
Were you and Travis in agreement about slaughtering the last Mastodon (for freedom!), because that’s my favorite 1% of the issues.
Also, I suppose I could use Doug Chaffee and “name recognition” in the same sentence, but Barry Levinson? Come on!
I support Travis and I hope he doesn’t get on here and make a fool of himself like you just did, Chris.
Or maybe someone else was posting under your name? Is this really you?
Hi Karma. I agree with you 100% about Chris. Travis and Matt Rowe are not even running for the same seat and you can vote for each of them if you like.
I am aware of that, but Chris’ political “hackness” is shining bright like the Northern Star and it makes me really uneasy having him tell people who they should vote for if they think like him. A perspective I did not have before in Chris. In fact now, I question my own support of Travis if Chris feels he and Travis are 99% aligned. But I will let Travis’ actions and words speak for himself, to be fair.
Maybe we should just hand Chris all our ballots?(thats a joke)
Chris Thompson’s statement appears to have been basically driven by what he thinks is the practical problem of splitting votes between two reform candidates and a third, undesirable one.
How he arrived at the conclusion that Mr. Levinson is more committed to individual liberty than Mr. Rowe is, only he can explain.
That is exactly what Chris Thompson is doing. He is worried about Matt Rowe splitting the vote. If you look at my response to Chris at #35 above it may answer your question about being committed to individual liberty. By the way , does anybody know what platform Chaffey or Paldin is running on? I haven”t heard anything from either of them. Do we need an attorney on city council?
Karma. I find it somewhat disturbing that Chris is 99% aligned with anybody. This isn’t my 1st rodeo and I can’t ever remember aligning myself even 80% with one party or another. I think that is a lot of the problem with our larger political races. Neither party will endorse or contribute to a candidate that doesn”t fit 100% into the party’s mold. That is what I like about Matt Rowe, not to mention the intelligence and experience. The military academies in this country are not politically biased as the “Commander in Chief” can change from time to time and it looks as though Mr. Rowe has taken this to heart. “Duty, Honor, Country” the grads of “West Point” live by this. I can tell by his campaign slogan “People First- Fullerton Always”
Karma,
I totally agree with you. I think most of us can make up our own minds. Travis and Matt both can speak for themselves, without Chris telling us who to vote for.
I don’t know Mr.Levinson, he always speaks in a VERY politically correct manner. I am sure he is a nice guy and very talented.
I thought that all the way up until his comments regarding his knowing Captain Hamiliton and speaking highly of him. OKAY!!!
I guess his personal knowledge and friendship might have blinded the glaring issues surrounding FPD, that would also suggest Hamiltion might have some responsibility in one of the most glaring scandals to hit the City.
That was a serious RED FLAG for me.
My humble apology in advance if I am wrong, but what has Mr.Levinson said about many of the FPD scandals?
What are the tuff questions Mr.Levinson has asked that I missed?
Just a internet observation!!
ACU,
I can answer your question to a degree.
Barry has spoken before the council many times since August 2011, when I started attending and has called Pat McKinley out in terms of his dirty deeds as the former Chief of Police to include his lousy track record for his last 5 years as chief, as well as his hiring of an unfit duranged Cicinelli, etc.
Not sure if he has spoken much of the overall corruption or the Kelly Thomas death beating by FPD.
Thanks WG, hopefully Mr.Levison realizes there are MANY more players in Kelly’s death than Ramos and Cincinelli, PERIOD!!!
And it does NOT jump from them to McKinley either.
Chris Thompson, a different type of politician……well….not really.
A vote for Chris Thompson is a vote for Bony Tushala….and America!
A little jealous aren’t we?
Suuuuuuureee
Jealous of a guy incapable of holding down a full-time who lives off his wife and his allowance from Tony?
FYI, you’re leaving a cyberspace spoor trail a mile wide.
Amen…AGREE WITH #37 “Chris Thompson’s statement appears to have been basically driven by what he thinks is the practical problem of splitting votes between two reform candidates and a third, undesirable one.”
Matt Rowe and Barry Levinson both seem like good solid candidates to replace the one who is in the seat now. BUT I do agree that if we have to choose one or the other, it is going to take away the votes that are needed for one of them to win over the other “popular” 4 time running one Doug Chaffee. Sad to say this is reality how votes like this goes.
It is too bad that Rowe and Levinson aren’t running for separate seats.
Your comments are insightful. I would have preferred not to run in the same race as Barry. I filed my papers because I wanted to run against Pat McKinley, and I did this several days before Mr. Levinson filed papers. In fact, at the city council meeting prior to when he filed papers, I informed Mr. Levinson that I was running for Pat McKinley’s seat. So, if Chris Thompson or Barry Levinson have a problem with me splitting the vote, and improving Chaffee’s odds (in their opinion), then that is a choice made by the candidate himself, and not by me. I am running to fill McKinley’s seat. I hope to take as many votes as I can from Fullerton voters, whether they come from Democrats, Republicans, third party voters, or independent voters like myself. I’m not buying this Ralph Nader / Ross Perot / Ron Paul analogy, and I’m not stepping aside. People finally have options; let them vote.
-Matt
I will always respect Chris for being one of the ones that started the recall. But with that said and everyone is entitled to their opinion, this blog is about Mr. Matt Rowe and his campaign. Let’s not muddle it with someone/something else.
Bony Bushala: Your comment that I only care about my neck of the woods is so completely off base.
As far as Fullerton Ordinance No. 3149, it helps protect all children by keeping convicted child sex offenders away from all Fullerton schools, all Fullerton day-care centers and all Fullerton parks.
I am very proud to say that Fullerton Ordinance No. 3149 was the first one passed in Orange County. Now there are over a dozen cities in Orange County that have passed similar ordinances.
Before going to the city, I tried getting something done statewide, but there was not the votes to get it done. Then after I went to the city, I contacted both the OC District Attorney’s office as well as Supervisor Shawn Nelson. Due to my efforts there is an ordinance prohibiting access to by these predators to all county parks.
Bony Bushala do not speak blindly without any regard to the truth. It just makes you look very silly!
You are absolutely correct Barry..
I wouldn’t doubt it if Bony’s been smokin’ too much elephant tranquilizer.
Mr. Levinson. Was this not a state law to begin with? Maybe not with the exact wording but something very similar. I don’t disagree with the law. As far as I’m concerned I say hang-em from the highest tree. But can you tell me why the law you sponsered is not redundant and is that why the state didn’t vote for it. Are there not county and state laws already in place that do the same thing? If not ,where is the law that you sponsered different? Also as a “Condition of Parole” are these convicted felons not regulated to stay away from such areas and would violate their probation?
#58 jumped to 59. Mr levinson could you please answer my questions regarding Fullerton Ordinance #3149 Thanks LL
How long was this loop hole open? And all this hard work began when it tried to move in next door, right?
I don’t mind looking silly, but then, I’m not the one running for office. Oh, and it’s Bony Tushala, not Bushala..no relation…other than we both love brownies I hear. I hope you can pay more attention to details in the future, kinda looks bad.
Or Levinson could drop out and solve Thompson’s problem.
Matt, question-I hear those union reps are pretty rough and seasoned-what are your thoughts on how to handle those and others who may not want to “cooperate”?
My answer is pretty simple. The city can’t afford it. The labor agreements are negotiated every 3 years. Fullerton has needs; and the mistakes of previous councils have put us on an unsustainable path toward ever increasing pensions and goodies for the police and fire unions. It’s time to spend within our means. I’m not advocating anything Draconian. As my campaign manager, rowe4fullerton, pointed out. Fullerton’s cost per capita for police services are roughly 15% higher than the average for north OC. Just by bringing ourselves in line with neighboring cities, we could potentially save up to $6M a year, that could be better spent on real priorities for Fullerton residents and businesses, without sacrificing public safety.
What is your thoughts on West Coyote Hills?
Coyote Hills is up for referendum in November, as I believe it should be. I see it as a zoning issue, and not a property rights issue, like some people are making it out to be. Zoning should be decided in the best interest of the community-at-large, so I think a voter referendum makes sense. I personally do not want to see some of the last remaining natural landscape in Fullerton “developed,” because I think that we will be better off as a city if we harbor a good balance between commerce and community. I run through the trails of Coyote Hills on occasion, and I think these spaces promote a healthy and active lifestyle, respect for nature, better views (which help property values), and less traffic than might exist otherwise. But again, the voters will have their say in November, as they should.
-Matt
Mr.Rowe, your comments about contracts are correct. But before taking the cuts to rank and file, PLEASE cut from the top down.
Don’t care what anyone says, FPD and many other city PD’s are TOP HEAVY!!!!
If a few supervisors have to work harder than before OH WELL!!!!
The troops will swallow the NO PAY raises much better if they see that their leaders are taking cuts too.
If Dan Hughes loves fullerton so much, he should NOT hesitate to take a 20% cut in pay and benefits.
Reality Is that you wont be cutting anyone’s pay more than 5%. So with that in mind, you will cutting the fire and police staffing levels by 25%, closing fire stations, and laying off numerous employees. This affects calls for service, response times, etc. just look at LA City Fire right now in the political fire.
Do you think you will really cut pay and benefits of Fullerton employees by 25% or more? Having no negotiations experience, explain how you accomplish this?
Just wondering what your plan is to lower the police and fire budget from 90% to 75%. My family’s vote and my neighborhood vote will be riding on your answer since we are all city employees.
Thanks. 😉
YOUR skills from 1988 won’t help you in 2012.
How do you cut pay, YOU do it if nothing else by not giving any pay raises if push comes to shove. The days of robbing peter to pay paul seem to be over.
Hmm look at the water tax issue might explain that to those who are asleep.
Cutting supervisors positions WILL NOT impact calls for service. Cutting supervisor positions starting with Captains my very well save having to cut the worker bees.
DON’t pull the BS everyone else does by yelling YOU will all die if you do these cuts.
I SAID cut MANGEMENT first then work downward if the need arises. If the Captains at FPD were doing such a great job, ME and YOU might not even be having this conversation.
One just needs to compare our two postings and your is headed in the TYPICAL direction I have seen many times before.
NO more than 5%, no supervisory cuts, and PAY for all the lawsuits a couple morons created?
OKAY!!!!
Glad your here RI without you. I love how you use the City of Los Angeles to compare things to when it soots your agenda, but when other issues that don’t favor your agenda you IGNORE it.
I bet you were a hell of a tuff customer to deal with when you were a captain??
Maybe with a Forrest Gump type, but not with anyone paying attention.
Andrew Goodrich and Coffman rough? Hahahahaha!
Sorry.
They’re mean and infinitely selfish, but they ain’t rough. The problem is that the cops and firemen haven’t had to negotiate with people they didn’t put into office.
Oh, there’s a new day a-comin.’
How about DEVIOUS?
What if they use their crack negotiating team? The Priceline Pitbulls? I can see them now, bumping bellies.
That question is for Barry too
Mr Levinson. Could you please answer the questions to #58 Sincerely LL
Is there anything about Barry’s financial status in the past that we as voters should know about?
I’m using iPad, don’t confuse errors with my doing
Matt Rowe, concise and precise because he speaks the truth. Fifty percent of city of Fullerton’s budget spent on its police force that acts like thugs instead of officers entrusted with protecting and promoting civic peace in our community.
Rowe is correct when he says our water and sewer lines and our roads should be in better condition.As for increasing and improving parks and recreation, this is the first I have heard that Fullerton lacks parks and recreation. Maybe Rowe supports saving Chevron Hills from development ? I hope he is more specific . Independent? That term conjures up many political images, why the need to be discreet? If Rowe had added two more sentences after starting he was an independent would have given us a better idea of his political leanings.
Who cares, who Chris T endorses, it is up to each of us, to meet and read about each person running for each seat,this is how we got here the first time, no one gave a crap a voted these numb headed douches in, so here we are, we have several great candidates, running, I figure any and all are better than what we have. I agree each candidate is running for that seat,not against each other-until we get past party lines in the political arena we are dead in the water. We need leadership,not a morally bankrupt party line to tow. I think we are better than that. I say vote your conscience,not who tells you to. I have faith in the citizens, I know in this city-they will choose their right candidate,who ever that is!
I barely care.
In response to an earlier question from Karma, yes, this is me. It is from my usual IP address and admin can go ahead and let you know if that’s untrue.
I don’t know how to be any more clear with everything I’ve said on this post. I’ve been wrong before, but these are my opinions. Matt will come in 3rd or lower. The majority of his votes will come from those who would otherwise vote for Levinson. We will never be able to quantify it, but if Levinson comes in 2nd to Chaffee, it may very well be because Matt did reasonably well…which I think he will. It’s just that simple. I like Matt. I like Barry. I just think Barry is the only conservative in this race that has a realistic shot of beating Chaffee and I am more philosophically aligned with Barry than with Matt.
I’m not in this for my health. I actually want to elect reformers who will put being conservative with taxpayer’s money high on their priority list. Reformers who will put the interests of the people in front of unions. Reformers who will exercise their leadership OVER city staff and employees. I believe both Matt and Barry would do that. Unfortunately they pull from similar constituencies. This isn’t rocket science people. If you think I’m wrong then vote for Matt…or Doug, because the result will be the same if a lot of people do so…Chaffee wins.
Matt and I spoke today and I promised him that I would say this. When I said a vote for Rowe was a vote for Chaffee, that only meant in the context described above. I absolutely did not intend to compare Matt Rowe TO Doug Chaffee. I would vote for Matt a thousand times before I would vote for Hotel Tax Doug.
Statements like Mr. Thompson’s are why I’m volunteering on this campaign.
On June 5th, we all have an opportunity. Fullerton urgently needs fixing. It can’t wait.
We can do things the way we’ve always done them– we can compromise, hope for the best, vote based of fear for what might happen, and hedge our bets that the price for our compromise isn’t paid for by a shortage of leadership.
Or, we can not. We can vote for the best, vote based of the expectation for what will happen, and bet on our city’s future and finally get leadership without strings attached.
Don’t buy the hype. Vote the issues; vote the man. Anything else won’t fix what’s broken and you sure won’t feel good about in on June 6th.
Don’t do that man. You care and you know it.
Travis/Greg/Barry in June. What would be cool to see is Matt taking Quirk-Stumbles seat when she bails on Fullerton to fail even harder in the race against Norby. I actually have hope for our town; it can’t get any worse and a lot of uninvolved people are now involved. I dread the worst but hope for the best lol.
YES!!!! MATT ROWE NOVEMBER 2012!!!
Matt Rowe June 2012
It was a joke.
Chris Thompson is not exactly a fool when it comes to winning elections. Look at his election stats and I think you are forced to acknowledge that he knows election strategies better than most in Fullerton.
I happen to agree with his take on a vote for Matt is a vote for Chaffee. That happens all the time and is what Bankhead, Jones, and McKinley rely on to win. It splits votes and it means Chaffee will win.
It says nothing about Matt’s qualities or abilities. Matt is articulate, intelligent, and looks to be a good human being. But Matt doesn’t have or is not willing to spend the resources to get name recognition and win. Barry has never stopped campaigning since 2010 and has established huge name ID.
Matt’s a great guy but a vote for him is like a write in for Ron Paul in November. It just doesn’t make sense to throw away a vote on a candidate who cannot win.
It comes down to basic election strategy. Chris is right. Sorry but sometimes the truth hurts.
Dr. Fishbeck, I’m intrigued that you know what my capabilities are and what I’m willing to spend. Considering that I’ve never heard of you, and I know the people with whom I have discussed such matters, I would say that your analysis is garbage, and you are trying to discourage people from voting for me because I’m not your guy. That’s understandable, but it’s also the reason that we never end up with strong-minded candidates in office- just puppets who rely on brokered deals among their party backers and benefactors. That is what’s wrong with politics today. That matters at the state and federal level, but not so much in a city race.
Thanks Matt. You are too young to know me.
In reference to national and state elections, it all begins at the local level.
Barry is about as far from a puppet as a person could be. Unless you can prove that he is beholden to someone, you may want to be a little more cautious. When Barry speaks, he speaks on facts and knows the details. But I digress.
Matt, if you choose to run in November, I think you will do well.
People should vote for who they believe in but it should also be someone who they believe can WIN. You just aren’t quite there. Sorry Matt.
I know you are a good guy but now I’m repeating myself, something I deplore.
Godspeed-
Dr,
As far as I can tell, Mr. Rowe made neither the assertion that Mr. Levinson is a puppet nor did he attest to the accuracy of the facts used in his arguments.
Perhaps you should be more cautious. Perhaps you should dig a little deeper. Perhaps you should have a little more faith.
What Matt did allude to is that the path to diluted principles begins with brokered deals and compromise. I would think that sort of wisdom wouldn’t be dismissed so easily.
It was faith in well-intentioned politicians that brought Fullerton to this point.
Diluted principles brought Fullerton to this point.
No, voter apathy from having faith in unethical and unprincipled officials are the culprit. Unless you believe voters do not have a hand in the exercise of government. Is that what you are implying?
I’m stating (not implying) that advocating that voters pick the winning team instead of choosing the best leader is a bad, bad idea.
Stop encouraging diluted principles. Stop fear mongering, get on board, or get out of the way.
“It was faith in well-intentioned politicians that brought Fullerton to this point.”
That is highly debatable.
So Doc. 30ish years of age is “too young to know you” Do you live in a cave or was this a feeble attempt to make Mr Rowe sound too young. He appears to be in his 30″s.
Wow, glad my grandpa bled so we can vote an election strategy…I figured it was the common man with his vote that changed the tide of events-truth? now that is..funny.
Michelle,
People should vote for who they believe in but it should also be someone who they believe can WIN. Sorry for the bluntness but more words need not be wasted.
It wasn’t the common man with his vote but the common man with his musket that changed the tide of events. Votes help but when tyrannical leaders ignore those votes, the people are left with little choice. Hence the presumable reason your grandpa bled.
Make me strong in spirit
Courageous in action
Gentle of heart
Let me act in wisdom
Conquer my fear and doubt
Discover my own hidden gifts
Meet others with compassion
Be a source of healing energies
And face each day with hope and joy
Last I checked, Matt did his time with a musket.
Ergo voters should just give him a pass?
You should be more careful with your assertions.
Absolutely not. No candidate should ever be given a free pass for any reason.
By the same token, no voter should ever assume which candidate has the right to win and which do not. Vote for whom you feel is best qualified to lead.
Are you really trying to make an argument that Matt’s unquestioned military service is reason enough to give up my vote? That’s the same as playing the race card. That argument is low and diminishes Matt’s political qualifications.
I’m implying that it’s rather ironic that the good Dr’s choice of metaphor was rather ironic. No other argument implied.
How you chose to vote is up to you and you ought to do so based on who you think should do the best job for the office being sought.
Dr. The man with the musket was thought not to stand a chance against the larger more well known British army. How did that work out for them? Funny you should bring this up. There is a fort at West Point called Fort Benedict Arnold. It was named after Benedict Arnold , an officer in the Continental Army. He threw in the towel and sided with the British because he “knew” the Continental Army” just couldn’t beat the British. The rest is history. History repeats itself.
Louis (I love your stories) I agree and it proves my point. Votes are predicated on the power of the people to grant powers to the President, Congress, and the Supreme Court.
Sorry it contradicts your point.
Lets see now. If Matt Rowe is splitting the vote for Barry Levinson would not the converse be true? Wouldn’t Levinson be splitting the vote for Rowe? I believe Rowe is the better man for the job with more ability judging from everything I have heard and everything I have read from both of them. If Thompson feels Rowe is a threat he is pushing for the party and not the person. I believe our city needs leadership and not a party.
And that is why liberal Democrat and RINO plant Doug Chaffee will win with 3,000 votes over the right-of-center Barry Levinson. Matt will walk away with about 4,000 votes. Oh well.
Well DR. Maybe your candidate should pull out now. According to you people want to vote for people that will win. According to you Chaffee wins. Does this mean you are voting for Chaffee?
I will be voting for Barry Levinson, unless someone proves more capable of beating Chaffee. To date that person has not appeared.
Louis, I despise repeating myself but will give it the old college try one last time: People should vote for who they believe in but it should also be someone who they believe can WIN. Lots of SHOULDs in there.
Voters ought to vote for who they feel is best qualified for office. A compromised vote yields a compromised candidate.
Amen.
I 2nd that Amen.
“People should vote for who they believe in but it should also be someone who they believe can WIN’
Dr-There SHOULD be a period right after “they beleive in”. instead you put a “but” in there and dismissed the entire idea.
Sean Paden is worthy of discussion but no one is talking about. Why not?
Maybe because nobody knows who the hell he is and he hasn’t done a single thing about it.
Of course I suppose we could talk about whether he is an Ackerman plant.
Matt would be a good councilman if he won.
People your vote is just that. Your vote. Between Chris T and the good Dr. they may have changed several votes and not for their candidate. Very strange.
No, I don’t think so. Most of the people here seems like they were going Kiger, Seborn, Levinson to begin with. Or maybe better way to say that is not thinking about Mr. Rowe but after this, I am sure they are at least thinking about Mr. Rowe positive or negative.
As a registered voter living in Fullerton, the number one concern is those three guys being recalled cannot have a 3-2 vote. They will get their way everytime. Simply put, they are not looking out for the best interest of this city. It seems like they don’t know what they are saying most of the time but maybe that is just to hide the fact that they are serving their best interests and their friends. And trying very hard not to look like they are.
The only one I am satisfied with is Councilman Whitaker. Unfortunately, that is one vote up there. So from that, Kiger, Seborn, Levinson are safe bets that they will be in line with Whitaker. But with that said, safe bets isn’t always better. I am aware of that.
For McKinley’s seat, Mr. Chaffee doesn’t seem trustworthy to do what’s in the best interest of the city which leaves Mr. Rowe. Someone said politicians are only good or less than the people that campaign for them. Knowing them is just as important as knowing who they back. In this race, it should be about tranparency. I won’t risk a vote again of candidates I don’t know who and/or what they represent. Nor will I vote for council members based on their history that doesn’t look like it stinks on the outside so to speak. That’s what is so great about FFFF though. Going to fundraisers and city events seem important too.
xxxxx
Nah, Im going with vote your conscience,not the possible winner, I would rather uphold a looser with integrity then to cast a vote for the lesser of two evils,or three evils in this case. Where and when did Fullerton go so wrong?
You got it sister! Matt will fix Fullerton just like he fixed…?
there is something to be said about blind leadership
Mr Chaffee- where were you the last year, I have never seen you at city council, I saw you once at a meet n greet for Loretta Sanchez 2.0 the lame version- or Sharon Squirt coffee clutch, then I did see you once at a water meeting, but where have you been? You want to be a leader where have you been, through Rincon, Kelly Thomas,Sellers, and the other 11 bad cops that have done harm to this city, where were you sir? Thats right, at home,not standing besides citizens in trouble or a city needing direction, you did nothing, so you dont get my vote, or anyone with in earshot I will ask- Where was Doug Chaffee, Chris Thompson, was out doing something ( alot in fact), and he has young kids, So Mr. Chaffee….who are you again?
“opportunistic” and “lawyer” are usually synonomous.
Brief and to the point. Also very, very true.
Oh, leave Doug alone. He can’t help it that he has no spine. He’s actually afraid of the gerontocracy.
I have never heard much about/from Chaffee (So much for “name recognition”) but if what you say is true Citizen M, and he supports Sanchez and Slithering Silva, he is dead to me.
I don’t see where Mr. Levinson answered the question posed by Louis L’Lamour regarding Ordinance No 3149. Did I miss it?
He supports Loretta sanchez and the 2.0 the lamer version…are you serious? A big boo!!! If this is true,his career politically is careening..and now has wrecked..O well now, that is an issue we can put to bed. Now on to vetting the other 6 that have potential….
I saw Jane, Matt, Barry, Greg,Bruce- at protests and various events around town, I appreciate the fact they showed up, asked questions, supported the event, family member and organization- these guys have showed up- I still have only seen Mr Chaffee 3 times in a year, after he went up for election, never ever before. Im not sure I want another Fair weather-pocket stuffer,or a no-show.
My former mistress has endorsed his campaign to replace McCueBall.
That’s enough for me. Oops! Here she comes with that damn broomstick!
Chaffee was at one council meeting (the one with tricky Dicky Ackerman) where Chaffee was asking for your tax dollars to build low income apartments. besides asking for handouts, hes mia.
Old Dougy Boy has been around city hall alot with his hand out. Hes back there in the shadows.
Chaffee has been sticking Fullerton with low-income housing projects for 20 years.
ABC = Anyone But Chaffee.
Well remember last time, you got McPension.
I really can’t see much difference, frankly, apart from the fact that McKinley is a sick, narciscistic fuck. Otherwise I see a fairly similar political profile.
BTW, I didn’t vote for either one.
Matt,
Is it true, that if you are elected, you will put in place a playoff system in college football?