How to Choose Candidates in an Election
I just wrote this in response to an Annika post.
(1) Unless there's some absolutely pressing need, don't vote for incumbents. They have to earn their keep, and normally they don't.
(2) Whoever strikes with the first negative ad loses. If you're getting enough money to air negative ads, then someone's funding you who probably doesn't have my best interests in mind.
(3) Don't be afraid to write in candidates that you like (Deborah Acker, here we come). It won't make a difference, but you'll feel better.
Regarding Acker, see my posts on 5/16/2005, 6/5/2005, 6/7/2005, and 6/8/2005.
This is probably as good a time as any to note that if you know my Ontario Emperor e-mail account, don't pat yourself on the back. I hardly ever check it. This message is for you, Sam Crowe.
Volume 1 September 26, 2006
Sam Crowe Announces His Candidacy
Former Ontario Councilman and City Attorney, Sam Crowe has announced his candidacy for City Council in November's election. "I'm running for Ontario City Council in order to restore the public's confidence in the Council, and to refocus the priorities of the City," announced Crowe.
"It's time we focused on quality-of-life issues in Ontario, like traffic congestion, faster emergency response times, a new hospital and solving our homeless problems. I also think we need a limit on campaign contributions to reduce the influence of special interests on the priorities of the City Council," said Crowe.
"As a resident of this community for over 50 years, I believe I understand the needs and the desires of our residents. I have served on the Planning Commission and the City Council. For nearly 20 years, I was the City Attorney. I played a significant role in the expansion of the Airport, development of Ontario Mills and the creation of our successful auto dealerships. The revenue those projects brought to the City have enabled us to prosper without tax increases. I'm proud of those achievements."
Crowe has been endorsed by hundreds of Ontario residents. In addition organizations representing working families in Ontario have endorsed Crowe's election, including the Central Labor Council AFL-CIO, Operating Engineers and Teamsters. Additionally, Sam has many supporters in the Fire Department, on the Police Force, in the Business Community and in the Teaching Profession that endorse him as well.
This is the first of a series of Newsletters you will receive from Friends of Sam Crowe. They are designed to keep you informed about the race for two open seats on the Ontario City Council.
We will send these Newsletters on a regular basis (about three times a month) to keep you informed about Sam's campaign until the election in November. After the election, Sam plans to write three or four issues a year because it is so difficult to get certain types of accurate and truthful information from the City without filing a lawsuit.
See Sam's plan for the community, read his ballot statement, and review a list of endorsements, all at the croweforcouncil.com web site.
Volume 2 October 10, 2006
Sam Crowe speaks out regarding vital Ontario issues
The process of informing residents of issues facing our City needs to be improved considerably. Backroom deals and favors to developers must go. When major decisions come before City Council, our elected representatives should hold deliberations in public and they should always ask, “How will this decision benefit our residents and how could it possibly hurt our residents and their quality of life?” We need to go back to including the public in the decision making process and do away with private deals, conflicts of interests and special favors to large political campaign contributors.
"I need your support to put the resident’s interests first. Public debate and an open forum should be welcomed, not discouraged."
Let’s join together to insist that all major projects be aired in public well in advance of the Council’s final approval, and in many cases before the Planning Commission makes its recommendation. We also need to put a rein on the City Staff so that they do not place their desire for the economic development of the City before the economic interests of our residents who may be negatively impacted by their decisions.
Many residents feel disenfranchised by city officials because they are often times cut off from speaking at public meetings, and many residents feel that they are discouraged from participating in the democratic process in other ways as well. For example, several years ago the filing fee to run for City Council was approximately $700. Right before this election they more than doubled the fee to a whopping $2,840. It is painfully obvious the City Fathers (and one Mother) are making it a lot more difficult for the average qualified resident to run against them for public office. We must insist they roll this fee back to the more reasonable pre 2006 level.
I need your support to put the resident’s interests first. Public debate and an open forum should be welcomed, not discouraged. I promise, as your representative, to be responsive to your interests and that is why I am running a grass roots, people first, campaign. I have a dedicated and hard working committee of volunteers that I am proud to call my friends. Please see their message below and feel free to contact me at any time. Thanks for your time and I look forward to working with you to make sure Ontario stays a great City.
A message from the Committee to elect Sam Crowe
The Friends of Sam Crowe, is the official name of our committee to elect Sam Crowe. We would like to thank you for the outpouring of support many of you have given to our campaign. It is especially gratifying to see that we are number one on "Google", the world’s premier web site Search Engine. We appear to have been number one since the publication of our first newsletter over a week ago. If you want to see for yourself, type these key words into your Google Search. Enter either, "Sam Crowe Ontario" or "Sam Crowe for Council" and see if we are still at the top of the list.
See this now >
We have web page hits from far away places like Israel, China, France, Germany and a lot of hits from Great Britain and other western European countries. We also have a lot of hits from the United States and presumably from many of you, our Ontario subscribers. Even more important than being number one on Google is being number one on election day. If you can help us you are certainly invited to do so.
To see a more detailed plan for the future of our community, read Sam’s ballot statement, or review his list of endorsements, at the crowe4council.com website. If you would like to be included in Sam’s list of supporters please go to the "Contact Sam" page and fill in the contact form and click "submit." Be sure to include your phone number (so we can verify your request) and in a few days we will include your name along with those of your friends and neighbors. Thanks for looking and more importantly thanks for your vote. We sincerely appreciate your support.
Volume 3 October 17, 2006
Early Voting for Ontario Residents
Early voting has begun for Ontario residents who want to test the new electronic voting machines purchased by San Bernardino County.
Beginning on Monday, October 16th, and running through Thursday, October 19th, residents will be able to vote at the Ontario City Library from 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM. “This is a great opportunity for voters to test drive the future of voting,” said Sam Crowe, candidate for Ontario City Council. “It’s one more way for Ontario residents to participate in selecting City Council members. I’d encourage everyone to try it.”
For those who wish to vote by absentee ballot, a request form can be downloaded by clicking here.
For those who wish to vote at the polls on election day, a list of polling places will be posted on our web site as soon as they are available.
Thank you for your interest.
Sam Crowe
Volume 4 October 26, 2006
A Message from Sam Crowe
My staff of Volunteers at Crowe for Council has compiled a list of items that do not impress them with this campaign. They are not impressed with:
HOLLOW CAMPAIGN PROMISES, GLOSSY RHETORIC AND PHONY PUBLICITY PHOTOS.
COSTLY CAMPAIGNS FINANCED PRIMARILY BY DEVELOPERS, BIG BUSINESS AND OUTSIDE INTERESTS.
CANDIDATES THAT SPEND HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS ON FANCY FLYERS, CAMPAIGN ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS, AND HIGH PRICED HIRED CONSULTANTS.
THE WAY THE CURRENT CITY COUNCIL CONDUCTS THE BUSINESS OF OUR CITY.
On the other hand we are impressed with the following:
SMALL DEDICATED GROUPS OF LONG TIME RESIDENTS AND FAMILIES, WHO WORK HARD FOR INTEGRITY AND FAIR REPRESENTATION AT CITY HALL.
INDEPENDENT THINKING CANDIDATES BEHOLDEN ONLY TO THE RESIDENTS AND THEIR INTERESTS.
CANDIDATES THAT HAVE BOTH VISION AND INTEGRITY AND DON'T MAKE HOLLOW PROMISES JUST TO GET ELECTED.
CANDIDATES WITH A PROVEN RECORD OF DEDICATION AND LEADERSHIP.
If you agree with my staff of volunteers please mark your ballot for Sam Crowe, Candidate for Ontario City Council
A Message from the Committee to Elect Sam Crowe (also known as the Friends of Sam Crowe)
We have received two other important endorsements. Sam has been endorsed by the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin in an editorial published October 11, 2006. They also endorsed challenger Jim Bowman over incumbent Alan Wapner. The second important new endorsement is from the Southern California Pipe Trades District Council 16. We received this just a few days ago although the endorsement letter was dated September 21, 2006.
We are still number one on "Google", the world’s premier web site Search Engine. We appear to have been number one since the publication of our first newsletter almost four weeks ago. If you want to see for yourself, type these key words into your Google Search. Enter either, "Sam Crowe Ontario" or "Sam Crowe for Council" and see for yourself.
Thank you for your support. Sam and his Committee appreciate it very much and together we will continue to earn your trust and support by speaking for the common good of the community as a whole.
So I went to Google and tried typing in the name "Sam Crowe," quoted, with no other descriptive information. The first hit was against "Sam Crowe's Arkansas Birding." An English Sam Crowe on MySpace was number 5. croweforcouncil.com was number 6. Ironically, the first listing for the Ontario Sam Crowe wasn't from Crowe for Council, but from The Black Voice News. The post is over a year old and concerned the prior mayoral election:
Sam Crowe for Mayor
Posted on May 24, 2005 - 08:57 AM by blackvoice
On June 7, 2005 the citizens of ontario will go to the polls and cast a vote for the leadership of the city in the position of mayor. This is a special election because the position was vacated when Gary Ovitt became a Supervisor for the County of San Bernardino.
There are two fine people seeking the office, one is Paul Leon currently occupying a seat on the city council and Sam Crowe, Esq., who served on the council from 1964 through 1972 and has served as the city attorney for over thirty years.
I am encouraging the citizens to give their vote to Sam for some of the reasons that have been beneficial to the Black community. When Senator Nell Soto was looking for someone to head up the Inland Empire Small Business Financial Development Corporation that would be inclusive for all ethnic groups she turned to Sam. Sam helped her assemble a diverse group of citizens from across the Inland Empire to charter this business to make loans to small new and old businesses. Mike Teer of Riverside and I were selected to be a part of that group.
When Governor Gray Davis was looking for someone to appoint to the Superior Court in San Bernardino County the name put forth was Katrina West, Esq. of the Covington & Crowe law firm of ontario. Katrina West, an African American, was appointed and currently serves as a Judge. With the rise in diversity it is critical to have leadership that has a proven track record with diverse populations.
Therefore I want you to join with me and endorse Sam Crowe for Mayor of ontario.
You have to get to entry 232 in the search before you see me (namely, the June 2005 archive of this blog). This is what I said. This is what Ontario Emperor said:
I'm no big fan of Crowe....Public financing of elections? Opposition to Wal-Mart (and the implicit endorsement of Stater Brothers, Albertsons, Vons, Ralphs, and all the other companies that have displaced mom and pop shops in the past)? Please.
And here's what a Daily Bulletin letter-writer said:
As an Ontario resident and longtime observer of Ontario politics, I found the Daily Bulletin profiles of Ontario’s two mayoral candidates to be quite telling.
Of particular concern to me was the Sam Crowe piece....
Accusations of overbilling by his law firm and a city audit did reveal discrepancies to the tune of some $500,000-plus a year. According to your article, this was because of a questionable billing system that allowed junior associates to work for the city at the same rate as the senior partners. Not illegal but certainly unethical.
Councilman Jerry DuBois, a current Crowe campaign crony, claims the overbilling was due to a misunderstanding caused by several changes in city managers.
Now doesn’t that raise a whole new batch of questions? Does that mean that Mr. Crowe felt free to overbill with his knowledge of the unstable situation? I had been led to believe it was due to Mr. Crowe’s firm not correctly billing the city. Now Councilman DuBois says it was due to the city not watching the till. Let’s see – inability to adequately manage, or severely ethically challenged? Neither is a trait I’m looking for as my mayor.
For his part, Mr. Crowe does not address the over-billing issue, instead claiming he resigned because of Brown Act violations. Now there’s a campaign statement for you. Does anyone remember him claiming that eight years ago? I sure don’t....
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