November 2nd you will be able to vote for TWO candidates

David Lugo: The current council made the decision to make Two Rivers park the permanent home for Fillmore Little League which was a great thing for them no longer will they have to worry about raising costs that go along with the use of school property. They can know every year where they will be playing.
I disagree with the decision they made on prop. 218 it is a decision that I feel could have been avoided and if elected I will do my best to see that they do not raise in the future the city council has the power to not increase the rates on a yearly basis, my vote will be NO on increases. “Your Voice”

Brian Sipes: For years I've been a proactive citizen of Fillmore advocating for fiscal prudence with our tax dollars at City Hall. Since I have attended most City Council meetings, various subcommittee meetings, and community workshops, I've seen some good, well thought out decisions made by the current City Council. A decision that prompted my approval from the City Council is the small business ordinance that now gives local businesses an extra 5% credit when bidding on projects with the City of Fillmore. This is a victory designed to keep local businesses competitive with outside contractors. This measure subscribes to my vision of keeping Fillmore, the last, best, small town, in Southern California.
I firmly disagree with the City Council's decision to assess extreme administrative penalties exceeding over $10,000 to a specific property owner that had an excessive amount of vehicles in their driveway. I do not favor draconian measures that appear to be unreasonable. This specific incident was overly harsh and property owners cannot afford these steep penalties. Instead, I would promote a policy that would direct City staff to work with property owners to comply with City codes. It takes constant communication and being accessible from those whom represent City Hall.

Patti Walker: The council implemented policies that support and enhance economic development. Since the March 2010 adoption of the City’s Strategic Plan, much has been accomplished. Council directed staff to review signage to focus attention on the downtown corridor, workshops were provided to enhance business opportunities, and recently we’ve seen the start up of the farmer’s market.
In this economic downturn, the Council enacted policies that support local businesses. The Council adopted two resolutions, one pro-rates business license fees and another allows for a 5% bid credit to local businesses.
The Council worked to make government more transparent and accessible. The manager provides a Weekly Update posted on the city’s website every Friday outlining what is occurring in each department at City Hall.
Never before has the budget been posted on the website. Also available are Council meeting agendas which included staff reports, minutes and warrants available for public review. This information is provided no later than the Friday prior to the Tuesday Council meeting.
With two staff vacancies, implementation of many Council directed issues are on hold. The Council was focused on finding a City Manager. Immediately thereafter attention turned to the 2010/2011 budget. Currently attention has been focused on the hiring of a Finance Director. This position is very important and much has been on the back burner until the Finance Director and Deputy City Manager positions are filled. Being able to round-out the staff by filling these two positions will allow the City to run smoothly and efficiently.

November 2nd you will be able to vote for THREE candidates

Question #4: Who decides the direction of the District — the School Board or the Superintendent? What kind of relationship do you envision between them?

Dave Wilde: Both members of the school board and superintendent should have a vision for the FUSD. Constant dialogue and assessment must be in place to ensure neither lose sight or focus of that shared vision. The school board, however, has final say.
The superintendent is selected by the school board and should represent who they feel can best lead our district in a positive direction. That person has many responsibilities. Several important ones are: Make affective use of both district and school staff. With staff help develop and propose both plans and strategies to move our district forward. He/she must ensure that district monies are used in a responsible manner. Lastly, to ensure our students and staff a safe environment in which learn and work.
With that in mind it is still the school board's responsibility to over see and make final approval on these efforts. They are ultimately responsible and must make every effort to make decisions that reflect our school's primary product and that is the education of our students.

Lucy Rangel: The direction of the District is set by the School Board. This is one of the primary responsibilities it has to the entire community. If it is to govern effectively, the Board must ensure that a long term vision is established for the school system. This vision should reflect the consensus of all board members, the Superintendent, staff, and the community as to what students need in order to achieve their highest potential. The focus should be on learning and achievement for all students. The Superintendent should provide leadership based on the direction of the board; and he should accept accountability for implementing the vision, goals, and policies of the district.
Together the board and the Superintendent form the governing team. I envision this team to have a trusting relationship – one of mutual respect. The board and the Superintendent should work together collaboratively in order to move towards the district’s vision and goals. Communicating openly with trust and integrity is the type of relationship that is needed to ensure that our students receive a high quality education.

Mark Austin: The School Board should primarily be the entity deciding the overall direction of the Fillmore Unified School District (FUSD). The School Board should establish this direction by providing a clear vision of what they expect of the Superintendent. This does not appear to be happening within the FUSD and thus there is no accountability at either the School Board or administration levels. In the FUSD, the Superintendent’s primary role should be to provide strong leadership and to establish goals that facilitate the implementation of the School Board’s vision. The Superintendent is responsible for the daily oversight of the District from the direction given by the School Board.
I envision the relationship between the School Board and Superintendent to be one of shared respect. School Board members must remember that they are an elected body that serves the community and is responsible for the Superintendent. In other words, the relationship is much like an employee and employer. The School Board must hold the Superintendent accountable for meeting the community’s expectations. www.votemarkaustin.com.

Kimberly Rivers: One role of the Board is to set the vision of the District and to hire, evaluate and provide oversight to the Superintendent who carries out that vision. The Superintendent is accountable to the Trustees who sit on the Board as representatives of the community. As a trustee a goal of mine for the Board would be to demonstrate a strong “back and forth” relationship with the Superintendents office. And should the Board feel the Superintendent is off track, it should seek information, provide feedback and support, to bring the efforts more in line with the intention of the Vision.
To be clear, I feel it is important that the Board have a strong sense of oversight and hold the office of the Superintendent responsible for all the duties assigned to that office including the quality of education provided, responding to issues and concerns raised by the community, administrators, faculty and staff, while at the same time challenging and empowering the Superintendent to use his/her skill-set to improve and innovate where needed and respond to the needs of the students and all employees of the District.
Ultimately I feel that a School Board and a Superintendent should be clear on what is needed along the road to achieve the Vision. There are sure to be bumps along the way, and a good collaborative relationship allows for that, but the Board and Superintendent should be proactively transparent, accountable and always in communication with the Community at large. www.votekimrivers.com.

Tony Prado: Ideally, the direction of the District rests with the five elected Board members. In reality, to get five individuals to agree on all matters related to the District is very difficult. Therefore, the concept of team building or building a consensus of ideas becomes very important. This is where the role of the superintendent comes to play. At California School Board Conferences it has been stated that a superintendent acts a as sixth board member. A good superintendent will then guide the Board towards problem-solving and systems-thinking when issues arise.
The superintendent has enormous responsibilities. He helps the Board develop its goals and works with the Board to develope the superintendent's goals. Ideally, this reinforces the importance of a positive, productive relationship with the Board. The reality is that he will not make all Board members happy. As long as there are three Board members, a majority that agree on an issue, the decision is made.
My community involvement in various areas and having coached for more than 20 years in a variety of boys and girls sports, I believe gives me the ability to be a good team player and if necessary a team leader. Working with the other Board members and the Superintendent we can chart a course for the District into the future. In essence, I working with the other Board members and the Superintendent can provide vibrant leadership and a common voice for the District. Therefore, remember to vote for Tony Prado.

Marie Wren received a proclamation from the City of Fillmore after retiring from the Senior Center Board.
Enlarge Photo

The Sept 14th Fillmore City Council was a joint meeting of the City Council and Planning Commission. The meeting began with about 40 in attendance and went late into the night, ending close to midnight. The agenda covering a wide range of topics that included water and sewer rates, counting of the protest ballots, street cleaning, baseball backstops at Two Rivers Park, Fillmore’s legal publications “Newspaper of Record” along with a few others.

Again, as with the City Council’s last meeting, the main focus was on questions from the public in regard to Proposition 218 which is the Water Ordinance 10-821, a proposed water and sewer rate increase. But the awarding of the contract for legal publications t the Gazette also was of great interest. Consideration for the Award of Contract for City Legal Publications, “Newspaper of Record” for FY 2010-11 became a heated topic with many voicing their views.

Citizen Kenneth Creason stated he was deeply opposed to giving the award to the Fillmore Gazette. He mentioned the Gazette’s lack of coverage of “good news” sighting the paper’s omission of a donation made to the Fillmore Senior Center for their salad bar (Front Page, April 15th edition under “Presentations” - http://www.fillmoregazette.com/front-page/medical-marijuana-city-morator...). Creason also said he cancelled his subscription to the Gazette because “Roy Payne” was allowed to write Letters to the Editor over the 250 word limit while no one else was (a false claim already exposed in response to Councilmember Gayle Washburn’s Letter dated 09/03/09 - http://www.fillmoregazette.com/letters/september-3rd-2009). Both false claims can be viewed as such online (hardcopies available at Fillmore Library for viewing).

Councilmember Jamey Brooks stated, “Mr. Farrell is a slanderer…I will never vote for him.” Councilmember Laurie Hernandez defended the Gazette by speaking directly to the naysayers, “He writes about me too—it’s an opinion. I vote yes.” Councilmember Steve Conaway asked City attorney Ted Schneider, pointedly, if the Ventura Star could publish the city legals. Schneider said “No”. Conaway also asked if awarding the Star the contract would put the city at legal risk. Schneider answered “Yes”.

The City of Fillmore had asked both the Fillmore Gazette and the Ventura County Star to give bids on the contract. The Ventura County Star is not the adjudicated paper of record for the city of Fillmore, the Gazette is, and law requires that if there is a local paper it must be awarded the contract..

A vote was taken with CONTINUED »

“It is the mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to erase Israel from the map of the region.”
(Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei)

“I don’t believe he would have hesitated to give the order to nuke the nation of Israel if he had had the bomb…Allah had given us the responsibility of eradicating the Jews, and my father didn’t question that…”
(Reformed terrorist Mosab Yousef speaking about his father Sheikh Hassan Yousef, one of the seven founders of the Muslim terrorist organization Hamas)

Note: Mosab Yousef is a reformed Hamas terrorist. Mosab has openly denounced terrorism, and assisted the Israeli Security Services in combating numerous acts of murder by fanatical Muslim extremists. Mosab’s fight against Radical Islam is chronicled in the excellent book, ‘Son Of Hamas.’

The entire geographical size of the nation of Israel is smaller than the state of New Jersey. In speaking with an Israeli Air Force F-16 fighter pilot he told me it takes approximately 12 minutes to fly from northern to southern Israel, and approximately 3 minutes to fly from eastern to western Israel.

Almost immediately after the United Nations Partition Resolution 181 of 1947 granted Israel statehood, five Arab nations, Egypt, Iraq, Jordon, Lebanon and Syria attacked Israel. This became known as the War Of Independence. After the Holocaust in which 6 million Jews were slaughtered, and after fending off the attack of five Arab nations who violated the United Nations agreement and attempted to destroy the Jewish people for a second time in 1948, the Jewish people finally had a homeland.

One strategically placed nuclear bomb launched into modern day Israel would destroy the Jewish homeland thus creating a second modern day Holocaust. Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has stated on numerous occasions and as recently as last week that The Islamic Republic of Iran’s goal is to destroy the “Little Satan” (Israel), and the “Great Satan” (The United States). Recently when Iran paraded its military fighting force and weaponry during a public display of its “military might”, the missiles had “Death To Israel” and “Death To The United States” emblazoned of the side of the missiles.

In a past statement CONTINUED »

After just a few weeks in his new role with Fillmore Unified School District as School Resource Officer (SRO) Deputy Leo Vazguez feels right at home during the busy and noisy breaks between class at Fillmore High School. Vazguez mentions, “It’s been busy… a lot of citations and a lot of paperwork.” So far he has visited every campus, although most of his time is spent at Fillmore High, Sierra High and the middle school responding to requests for assistance. When asked about how the kids respond to the SRO on campus he replied, “I’m sorry to say [some are] uneasy… and usually those are the ones that are causing problems. A lot of them are positive. I know a lot of the kids from patrol [and] from my neighborhood, a lot of contacts, good and bad. The ones I’ve had bad contacts [with] they usually walk away, the ones I’ve had good contacts with they come shake my hand.”
Vazguez grew up in the Lincoln Heights area of Los Angeles, and in Arcadia. After high school he served a tour in the military and then worked for ten years as a lab technician. For the past eight years he and his family have called Fillmore home. He has been with the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department for 13 years. He enjoys collecting and riding motorcycles with friends and his family, even inspiring students in town to get good grades with the reward of going motorcycle riding. Responding to a question about why he has chosen to work with young people he comments “I just like working with the kids…I want to make sure they grow up to be normal law abiding citizens…hopefully I can help all the kids at all the schools… and make a little difference, hopefully I can help”

Vazguez also serves as CONTINUED »

5:15pm Saturday - Fillmore - Vehicle Accident Leads to Arrest - Olive @ Ventura St. 32 year old Gamino Reyes a Fillmore gang member and convicted felon, caused a three car collision by rear ending a stopped vehicle in front of him. The ensuing investigation revealed that Reyes had a loaded 40. Caliber semiautomatic handgun in the vehicle that was concealed. In addition he had open containers of alcohol. Gang officers arrested Reyes and determined that the gun had been stolen 2 years earlier in Arizona. Reyes was booked for a host of charges including Felon in possession of a gun. Possession of a concealed weapon in a vehicle, loaded firearm, and Stolen Property.

3:30am Sunday - Toland Road - Foot Pursuit - Deputy Gonzales was parked on Highway 126 just west of Fillmore. He was observing traffic, looking for drunk drivers. He attempted to stop a gray Volkswagen Jetta for a vehicle code violation when the driver and his passenger quickly stopped on Toland Road and both fled on foot. The vehicle was stolen out of Santa Barbara. Deputy Gonzales gave chase on foot through the brush. Deputy Gonzales apprehended 29 year old Jason Kohr (From Santa Paula).
Sheriff K-9 dog Vex and his partner Deputy Reeder responded to help Deputy Gonzales.
Vex found the second suspect, 23 year old Elgin Goodwin (From Camarillo), hiding in bushes. He refused to surrender. Goodwin sustained bite wounds from Vex and was captured. Both men were arrested for possession of a stolen vehicle and booked at jail. A search of the stolen car reveled a semi auto gun hidden in the passenger compartment.

November 2nd you will be able to vote for TWO candidates

Question #3: The council has expressed the goal to help local businesses. Where do you stand on city support of local businesses (as we saw with Wm L Morris); and if you have a personal problem with a business could you rise above it and be objective?

Adrian Grimaldo: Small business is all around us. I was raised in a small business atmosphere my entire life. Grimaldo Enterprises has been in the same location and in operation for close to 30 years. Some 90% of California's businesses are run by local entrepreneurs and every year they are forced to pay higher taxes, interest rates, and larger utility bills. We need to curb these fee's to allow business to reinvest and prosper. I see these issues as inspiration for a solution. I am an optimist this is where my passion for education comes into play. Assisting local business could result in money for our schools and investments in key elements of our infrastructure like technology. I am a Business and Environmental Science major with an emphasis on small business with a minor in water science.
The year is 2010. It's time to tech up and embrace our agrarian backbone. By empowering innovation we can create jobs, utilize resources and give our economy a much needed boost. I want to see contract negotiations for a turbine facility to be built immediately in our Industrial Park. A similar facility was supposed to be built in Santa Paula, but their loss could be our gain. This would create hundreds of jobs. Entry-level assembly positions could be provided starting at $13.00-$15.00 an hour. For this to be possible we would need to draft a proposal immediately. This money would come from U.S. Department of Energy to support Wind Energy Development; currently being offered as of 9/13/2010.

David Lugo: First I want to apologize to the voters of Fillmore for not answering last week’s question. Had I answered it I would have said…My vision for Fillmore is to improve the services the city provides without raising taxes, reduce the cost in the budget and assure that the city builds back its’ reserves. In the last two years this Council over spent and reduced the reserve account from 40% of the general fund to only 21%. I remember Councilman Scott Lee lead the effort to have a healthy reserve and pledge to follow his lead. Another one of my priorities is to have a slow well planned growth that pays for its’ self. It is a privilege to build in Fillmore not a right.
Now today’s question.
I feel the city should help its local businesses as much as possible. We need to keep our businesses in town and also figure out ways to make it easier for new businesses to become locals. There are too many empty store fronts in town as it is and by helping our locals we can possibly keep that number from rising and who knows they can probably expand their businesses by opening a second location or renting an open vacancy next to them. I have not had a problem with a business in town but if I did that would be personal and like I always say don’t take your personal problems to work with you so I could be objective. “Your Voice”.

Patti Walker: I will continue to support and help local businesses at every level.
For instance, through the Storefront Rehabilitation Improvement Program a business owner can apply for financial assistance to offset lease payments, make improvements to the exterior or interior of their building or to comply with handicap access or seismic safety requirements.
Financial assistance has been provided to various local businesses and individuals throughout the years and all decisions to do so were based on varying factors with each having their own terms and conditions of repayment.
Policies are in place which provide the Council with the guidelines that govern to whom and to what degree financial support can be given.
In one instance, I did not support providing financial assistance to a local business. In that matter, I and one other council member voiced concern about providing assistance to a business desiring to move from Central Avenue to the Railroad Promenade. We expressed a concern the move would cause a reduction in foot traffic down Central Avenue. My concern was not based on any personal problem with the business but the affect the move would have on the downtown as a whole. The move did occur and that business has since closed.
I strive to base my decisions not only on the application but also on the location of the business and the surrounding businesses, whether the business has a competing business nearby, if it will provide a service to the community, and the financial impact to the City.

Brian Sipes: Being a small local business owner, I know firsthand how important it is to support our local businesses throughout Fillmore. When I attended the City Council's Goal Setting Workshop back in March, I made a presentation to the City Council listing ways that the City Council can support our local businesses. I firmly believe if we intend to be a "business friendly community", then we must focus on eliminating blight. When I served as a Board of Director for the Fillmore Chamber of Commerce, I repeatedly heard from potential entrepreneurs that blight was a colossal deterrence in bringing their business to Fillmore. This is an issue that I will tackle if elected.
I was pleased to see the majority on the City Council approve an ordinance that gave a 5% credit to local businesses bidding on City projects. If elected, I will also work to implement reduced business license fees to encourage business growth and assist businesses that are struggling through difficult times.
A responsible City Council member must be objective and rise above personal issues with a specific business. My line of business has given me opportunities to deal with situations and rise above conflict. Just as any legitimate business person recognizes their duty to their customers regardless of personal issues. My professional experience will assist me in fulfilling my duties as a City Council member.

November 2nd you will be able to vote for THREE candidates

Question #3: Where do you stand on adding, or not adding, Charter schools into the District? Explain your supporting reasons? Some of the community interpreted the transfer of teachers from Piru to other schools as reprisal for supporting the Charter. What is your interpretation and opinion of the transfers?

Tony Prado: For the purpose of clarification, being the only candidate who is a current Board Member, I am not speaking for the Board or the School District. Also, my duties and responsibilitiles as a Board Member require me to speak carefully regarding school employees and their rights.
My opinion, on the first part of this question is very simple, if the desire for a charter school is parent-driven and a majority of the parents want a charter school, then I would support it. The fact is, the Piru Charter School issue was not parent-driven nor were the majority of parents in favor or it. Also, the Spanish speaking parents were ignored, the Piru English speaking community was ignored and the District was ignored. There was little or no concern as to how it would effect the teachers in the District or the students in the District. The Charter was an ill-conceived idea by a small selfish group of individuals.
There was an Emergency declared at Piru Elementary School. The teachers at Piru School were divided. Feelings and emotions by the teachers were very strong. There appeared to be a lack of courtesy and respect by those for and against the Charter. Effective teaching and learning were in danger in the classroom. Action was necessary and with the recommendation from the District staff an emergency was declared. The Board voted in favor of this emergency.
Today the environment at Piru Elementary School is calm and peaceful. Effective teaching and learning is taking place.

Dave Wilde: Last year I had the opportunity to be on the Piru campus at least once a week working with one of our second year teachers. I can tell you for certain that there was a lot of tension between the two groups of staff members. Even after the California State Board of Education turned down the charter group the tense atmosphere continued. I had a number of concerns. Two are very important. The first is whether a positive learning environment could be created and maintained for the students of Piru under those conditions. The second is whether affective collaboration between instructors in an effort to improve instruction could exist. With those huge concerns in mind I don't think the district had any choice but to move some people around. Those individuals involved still have jobs including benefits. I think we would all agree that the well being of the Piru students comes first.
I have no real feelings about charter schools in particular. I do, however feel that providing parents with a choice is important. A couple of years ago a committee was formed of parents and district staff to discuss ways to improve our schools and the idea of magnet schools and academies was talked about. With budget problems some of those ideas have been put on the back burning, but I would love to see them re-explored. Schools to address gate students and those with special interests in math, science, arts, and language skills would be great for our community of students.

Kim Rivers: I feel FUSD has a great opportunity at collaboration with instructors who are striving to foster academic excellence. It is the duty of a Board that when any discussion, proposal or formal petitions for a charter are brought before them, they consider whether it will enhance the educational options already offered within FUSD. Both California State law and policies of VCOE encourage charters as a way to improve academics, and expand educational options.
To transfer teachers involuntarily FUSD had to declare an emergency and invalidate a section of the certificated contract. How did this action benefit students? To invalidate a labor contract is a serious action, which I know has many district personnel concerned. I feel that this action was taken to prevent any further efforts by these teachers to create a charter school within the District, a right that California Law grants to a majority of certificated members at any school. As a Board member it will be important to me that the District has the highest regard for the legal rights of staff at all levels and that the actions by the District, and ultimately the School Board never leave the District vulnerable to legal action.
I am also concerned about the environment created by Board decisions. It may be hard for employees of FUSD to question a policy, proposal or action, or to suggest something new, if there is a culture that uses reassignment, termination or any other form of intimidation to prevent collaboration. www.votekimrivers.com

Lucy Rangel: Because of the manner in which the Piru Charter proposal was handled by the Petitioners and the District this past year, I would not be in favor of a Charter school in our district at this time. This controversial issue caused division in our district among parents, staff, administration, and our communities of Piru and Fillmore. I would, however, be in favor of a Charter school or even a Magnet school in the future. It takes a great deal of time planning and organizing any type of public educational institution if it is to be successful. Collaboration with the District is a must; and of course, the parents, staff, and community must be supportive of this concept. Everything planned must be in the best interest of all our students.
As far as the transfer of teachers from Piru to the other schools, I can certainly understand why some of the community interpreted these transfers as reprisal for supporting the charter. Since I was not in attendance at all the meetings regarding the Charter proposal, I do not know all of the details. My opinion, however, is that the District was aware of the potential effect that the State’s decision would have not only on Piru School, but also on the entire community. From previous meetings, they also had known that the school climate had already been affected. They should have taken immediate steps to facilitate recovery for all parties. Then, perhaps, the transfer of teachers would not have been necessary.

Mark Austin: California state law has promoted the creation of charter schools (which are public schools) primarily to increase learning opportunities for low-achieving students. This has been done by encouraging and allowing for the creation of charter schools to use innovative teaching methods. In others words, to think outside the box. The state intended to create competition within the public school system by allowing charter schools to innovate and thus provide an educational alternative. Adding charter schools within the boundaries of the Fillmore Unified School District (FUSD) would allow for the provision of unique educational programs. This alone would result in competition between charter schools and the FUSD schools for students. The addition of charter schools would cause the FUSD to scrutinize itself internally and externally, and would force the FUSD to improve the overall quality of education or continue to lose students and funding to charter schools. But the real issue is not whether charter schools should be added in the FUSD. The issue is that existing schools within the FUSD are not meeting the grade.
The involuntary transfer of four teachers to other schools seems to be related to their support of the Piru Elementary School Charter. One merely needs to review the Resolution adopted by the FUSD (June 3, 2010) - that links the involuntary transfers to the Charter attempt. The Charter is mentioned numerous times within the Resolution and is used as the primary reason to declare an emergency circumstance, thus allowing for the transfers. www.votemarkaustin.com