Mountain Views News          Saturday, April 7, 2012

SECTION B

SATURDAY MARCH 31, 2012

VOLUME 6 NO. 13

WE ARE ALL WE HAVE

Sierra Madre’s Future Quality of Life is the Real 
Election Issue 

 On Tuesday, voters in Sierra Madre will make decisions that will have an impact on 
the quality of life in this city far beyond the terms that we are electing councilpersons 
for.

 At stake is whether or not this town will continue to be self sustaining as a result 
of community involvement and good leadership or whether it will fall prey to the 
politics of fear and hysteria.

 At stake is whether or not the residents of this town will make informed decisions 
about their choices to fill the city council.

 At stake is whether or not voters recognize that the council member selection 
process has been polluted with the volatile issue of an alleged tax increase.

At stake is whether or not Sierra Madre will be lead by truth or suffer the consequences.

 I think the issue of transparency should also play an important role in choosing who will fill the vacant seats 
on our council. Therefore, in my opinion, any candidate who has not been transparent and honest should 
definitely not be elected. In addition, any candidate with newly found interests that just happen to arise in 
time for their campaign should not be elected. And last, but certainly not least, any candidate who helps 
intentionally propogate incorrect information or half truths is not worthy of sitting on our council. With 
that said, our choices are narrowed a lot.

Further candidates who do not understand and/or mistate the purpose and goals of the Utility Users Tax - 
Measures 12-1 and 12-2 should not sit on our council. THESE MEASURES ARE NOT A TAX INCREASE. 
The city already has the authority to raise the Utility User Tax to 12%. It has only been raised, since 2008, to 
10%. MEASURES 12-1 and 12-2 SIMPLY ASK VOTERS TO EXTEND THE EXISTING LAW IN ORDER 
TO MAINTAIN THE QUALITY OF LIFE WE CURRENTLY HAVE IF NEEDED. To say otherwise is simply 
not true.

In choosing candidates to support, I, and those to whom I have sought their opinions, were looking for 
people who could provide Sierra Madre with bold leadership. We were looking for candidates that were 
contemplating solutions instead of dwelling on problems. We were looking for consensus buildres and 
people who were willing to represent the entire community, whether they agree with them or not.

Support for the Utility Users Tax was definitely one of the criteria is selecting candidates to support. In my 
opinion, any candidate who opposes the extension of the UUT, clearly does not understand Sierra Madre 
finances. We may not ever increase the UUT to 12%, however, state law says that tax measures of this kind 
can only be on ballots in election years when council candidates are also on the ballot. That means, that in 
order to budget properly for two year cycles, these measures need to be in place now. 

People elected to represent us on the Council should never manipulate the facts in order to gain favor with 
voters. Sierra Madre does not have unlimited resources or means to generate the revenue required to keep 
this town operating. We have no sales tax base. There are no strip malls, car dealerships or even companies 
with lots of employees. We have a limited property tax base. And candidates who try to compare us with 
cities that do have these resources just don’t get it and should not be elected. 

We are a small town and the only real resource that we have is you and I. 

Shall we cut city services until we become totally dependent on the county (which is broke by the way)? Do 
you anticipate that if we have to rely on LA County for Police, Fire,and Public Works that they are going to 
make Sierra Madre a priority? Or shall we recognize that if WE want to keep this town like it is, WE have to 
make the necessary sacrifices.

So, when you compare the seven people who are vying for our votes, the choice becomes crystal clear. 

FOR THE TWO YEAR SEAT VACATED BY FORMER MAYOR JOE MOSCA

 WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO VOTE FOR COLIN BRAUDRICK.

“Colin Braudrick is a 15 year veteran of the Los Angeles Police Department 
who brings a greater insight into the biggest and most important part of our 
city operations – public safety – than any candidate in recent memory. He 
knows what is needed (and what is not) to effectively protect Sierra Madre. 
But Colin is more than his chosen profession. He brings to this race personal 
courage, compassion, and a firm belief in the importance of community. 
He has been a unifying force on the General Plan Steering Committee as it 
considers the policies that will define the future of Sierra Madre. He has been 
a strong advocate for the cherished institution that is our local library as he 
serves on the Library Board of Trustees and his work on the Little League 
Board reflected a commitment to the physical wellbeing of our children. Colin 
is a leader who brings sensible passion and commitment to the task ahead.”*

FOR THE TWO 4 YEAR SEATS THAT ARE OPEN:

VOTE FOR JOHN HARABEDIAN

 “ John Harabedian is an insightful, forward thinking candidate who brings a 
balanced perspective our town needs. His prior work as a local government 
policy analyst, his extensive education in public policy (yes, he is a policy 
wonk and every council should have one), and his legal training provide a skill 
set every council needs. He also bridges the town’s past and future in a way 
few candidates can. Having been born and raised here he deeply appreciates 
our community’s traditions, while at the same time he offers a generational 
perspective and optimism that knows the future of our city will be as good 
or better than the past. John knows the town’s history but he won’t govern 
by nostalgia as evidenced by the fact he has advocated specific operational 
changes in the way the city does business as initial steps toward developing the 
new policies the city will need to guide us in the years ahead.”* 

VOTE FOR GENE GOSS

“Gene Goss is, as my friend and former colleague Joe Mosca said, the kind of person we always wish 
would run for city council. He is instinctively a voice of reason whose first 
order of business is to forge consensus around ideas to get things done. 
Gene does not run for public office to push an ideology; he is concerned 
with results. He is also committed to the public good. He has taught 
and advocated civic involvement as a professor of political science and 
government but has married his scholarship to the practical experience of 
making an institution work. He has been a leader outside the classroom in 
the operation of a highly regarded community college where his instinct 
for consensus building has yielded results in peaceful labor relations and 
technological advancement. Gene’s goal is simple; preserve our community 
by planning for its future with fiscal caution and wise investment in the community resources that 
work.”* 

(We have quoted John Buchanan and his assessment of the candidates, for we agree whole heartedly!)

And of course, Honorable mention goes to Bill Tice for his tenacity in trying.

If WE really treasure Sierra Madre, then let’s do what is best for our city. Vote for Braudrick, Goss 
and Harabedian on Tuesday, and vote YES ON MEASURES 12-1 and 12-2

Inside This Section: 
Legal Notices 
Opinion 

 Letters To The Editor and more......


Susan Henderson,

Publisher/Editor

YES ON

12-1 & 12-2

This editorial is the opinion of Bill 
Coburn, publisher of Sierra Madre 
News Net and 17-year Sierra Madre 
resident. It is not intended to reflect 
the views of any other person or entity 
with whom I am associated.

 

I’ve had several people ask me 
if I was going to write anything 
about Chris Koerber and MaryAnn 
MacGillivray and their conservative 
stance, and the possibility 
that they are affiliated with 
the Tea Party. I didn’t really see 
much point, as I (and many of the 
Sierra Madreans with whom I’ve 
discussed the issue of party affiliation 
in Sierra Madre politics) 
don’t really care if a City Council 
candidate is affiliated with the Tea 
Party , the Democratic party or 
the Republican party. I’m more 
interested in how they stand on 
Sierra Madre issues, though I do 
admit that I’m more inclined to 
figure a Tea Party member and I 
are going to be coming at things 
from very different angles. I just 
don’t get how some people think 
Sarah Palin would make a good 
president, or how somebody who 
forgets where they put their loaded 
gun as they enter an airport is 
the right person to be making important 
decisions in Sacramento.

 

I really think MaryAnn is a very 
capable Council Member, even if 
I don’t agree with her on some issues. 
It’s not because of her political 
party, it’s because we don’t 
agree on the issues. I even wrote 
an editorial in her defense when 
I felt the other Council members 
weren’t giving her proposal 
proper consideration (an editorial 
her campaign manager chose 
to post on Facebook this weekend). 
I also think Chris would be 
a capable Council member, but I 
disagree with him on the issues as 
well. I didn’t endorse Braudrick, 
Harabedian and Goss based on 
political party affiliation, I did 
it because we agreed on the issues 
more than I do with MaryAnn 
or Chris. Until yesterday, I 
didn’t know Harabedian’s political 
party, and I still haven’t talked 
with Goss or Braudrick to find out 
what their affiliation is (I think I 
can assume from the Democratic 
party robocall last weekend what 
Colin’s affiliation is, though). I 
do know, though, that they aren’t 
affiliated with the Tea Party because 
they were forthcoming and 
straightforward with their answer 
to the question “Are you affiliated 
with the Tea Party” when it was 
asked at a City Council candidate 
forum held at City Hall in March.

 

The fact is, anybody that wants 
to find out if Chris Koerber is involved 
with the Tea Party can do 
so with a simple Google search. 
Google Chris Koerber Tea Party, 
and the first three results are 
Tweets on Chris’s Twitter page 
with the hash tag “Tea Party”. The 
eighth result quotes Chris as saying 
he’s proud to support a Tea 
Party Congressional candidate 
in Georgia. Easy enough. Heck, 
according to Sierra Madre Patch, 
Chris even spoke during public 
comment at a City Council meeting 
in November of 2010, saying 
“Tim (59th District Tea Party Assemblyman 
Tim Donnelly) wanted 
me to make sure that I thanked 
the people of Sierra Madre for 
their support.”

 

As you can see in the embedded 
video, (go to www.sierramadrenews.
net) Chris, when asked if he 
was affiliated with the Tea Party, 
chose not to answer the question 
directly, opting instead to poll the 
attendees as to how many wanted 
to see their taxes raised, announce 
the results, and say thank you. 
Immediately following, MaryAnn 
MacGillivray, when asked if she 
was affiliated with the Tea Party, 
responded that “I don’t know 
what you mean by affiliated with 
the Tea Party, but I’m certainly not 
in favor of raising taxes either.”

 

Why have I decided to write 
about this now? First, I watched 
as Patch.com posted two polls of 
their readers about the election, 
and the Tea Party issue got quite 
a bit of attention, meaning it’s important 
to some of the voters in 
town, even if it’s not an overriding 
factor for me. Then this afternoon, 
someone suggested I visit 
the TeaPAC Pasadena website and 
click on the link to their Facebook 
page, then look at their photo albums. 
Here’s what they wanted 
me to see: https://www.facebook.
com/media/set/?set=a.242957369111850.56299.227420357332218&type=3. 

What I can’t figure out is why 
these two candidates, who are 
shown speaking, as candidates, at 
a TeaPAC function, don’t want Sierra 
Madre voters to know about 
their affiliation with the Tea Party. 
Why did they evade the question, 
rather than standing up for what 
they believe in? And to say “I 
don’t understand what you mean 
by affiliated with the Tea Party”? 
MaryAnn, you’re a highly intelligent 
woman. This picture of you 
speaking as a candidate at a TeaPAC 
website launch party shows, 
BY ANYONE’S DEFINITION, 
that you are affiliated.

 

I don’t understand why these two 
candidates think we should vote 
for them, if they aren’t willing to 
tell us who they are and what they 
believe. I’ll be voting for Colin 
Braudrick, Gene Goss, and John 
Harabedian.

 

Guest Editorial

by Bill Coburn, www.sierramadrenews.net

 This is One Definition of 

“Affiliated With”


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