Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, October 17, 2020

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 Mountain Views News Saturday, October 17, 2020 

PORTRAIT OF OUR NEIGHBORS by Stuart Tolchin


ROBERT KENNETH GJERDE

 I believe there is a true HERO living just a few doors away from me in 
the lower canyon of Sierra Madre. He looks like everyone else except that he 
is a very tall person, perhaps a representative of the Norse Gods to whom he 
may bear some relation. This is Robert Gjerde. Surprisingly people like you 
and me often do extraordinary things although that is not obvious from our 
appearance or from casual small talk. 

 During these horribly disputative political times there is much talk of 
the God Narcissus, someone hopelessly absorbed with himself. The complete 
opposite of narcissists, according to philosophers may be described as heroes. 
Heroes are people who, for whatever reason, view the world as “a theatre for 
heroism” a place to do good.

 Before I attempt to describe Robert in detail I want you to know that he 
is by no means a perfect person. His home and his yard are an accumulation of 
bewildering objects whose purposes are known only to him. He has explained 
to me that he has a great zest for beginning projects but that frequently this 
zest and its accompanying energy dissipates before the project is completed 
resulting in a kind of semi-permanent chaos of ongoing projects. Living in 
these times is not easy for anyone nevertheless, Robert and his two teenage 
children manage to live mostly harmoniously amongst the various projects as 
they cope with the responsibilities of virtual education. 

 On days when our neighborhood bears have overturned trash cans I 
have observed Robert cleaning up the mess in front of homes in the canyon. 
Additionally, Robert still manages to continue doing incredible things that 
benefit the community. He is the administrator of the Sierra Madre CA Facebook group, is involved with the Sierra Madre 
Rose Float Association, he creates websites for other people and organizations, is actively involved with Sierra Madre CERT 
(Community Emergency Response Team) and has pursued multiple grants to benefit this organization. He will spend weeks 
mastering skills such as welding which he will then use to repair equipment which can be of service to others. He has created a 
wireless emergency communications system that should stay operational during a disaster when nothing else works. He kept 
Sierra Madre residents realistically informed about the dangers and nearness associated with the Bobcat Fire. There’s really a 
lot more. 

 Enough of what he does—the question for me is WHY DOES HE DO IT? I did my best to question Robert about his 
motivation. He explained that he is somewhat introverted and loves digging into detailed projects and researching them to 
death. As a child he loved taking apart watches and almost never put them back together. He really likes finding problems and 
then figuring out solutions. No challenge seems too big for him. While he wants to be a perfectionist, he usually falls short. 
This often leads to a sort of crisis-management which might explain his involvement in disaster preparedness. He seems to 
thrive on the idea of disasters. He went out into the business world and for a time was extraordinarily successful. Changes in 
the economy have made it harder but he still survives and provides for his children. Still his greatest joy comes from being of 
help to others and he is continually involved in being of assistance. (If you saw the huge electric Menorah in the center of town 
last year, that was his creation and he is not even Jewish.) 

He is an incredible inspiration to many of us in Sierra Madre. I wish my parents had given me a watch to take apart instead of 
telling me not to touch anything and not to rip my pants. I wish it was that easy!


In addition the County of 
Los Angeles has an item on 
the ballot and the State of 
California has twelve ballot 
measures for you to vote 
on. The League of Women 
Voters at the invitation of 
this newspaper, presented 
the Pros and Cons of each 
on Zoom last week. You 
can view the presentation 
and listen to the discussions 
by going to: https://us02web.
zoom.us/rec/share/cqcy-p2uMvannMTl81W9JVP4E5SNPWumr5OY1aoA2YD7sY2Nf6mmp2NTAKWUoGwg.
QcIo4jvULGvaGxRl Passcode: 8YE=q&M4.

Mountain Views News Recommendations:

Every election, the Mountain Views News brings together its 
'Editorial Advisors' to discuss the candidates and issues that are 
on the ballot. When done, we have our endorsement list to share 
with you. 

PRESIDENT/VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

 JOE BIDEN/KAMALA HARRIS

US HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 27TH DISTRICT

 CONGRESSWOMAN JUDY CHU

US HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 28TH DISTRICT

 CONGRESSMAN ADAM SCHIFF

CALIFORNIA STATE SENATE DISTRICT 25

 ANTHONY PORTANTINO, JR.

CALIFORNIA STATE ASSEMBLY DISTRICT 41

 ASSEMBLYMAN CHRIS HOLDEN

PASADENA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT - 6

 CRYSTAL CZUBERNAT

SIERRA MADRE CITY COUNCIL - 2 YEAR SEAT

 EDWARD T. GARCIA

SIERRA MADRE CITY COUNCIL - 4 YEAR SEATS

 ANDY BENCOSME

 ROBERT PARKHURST 

LA COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY

JACKIE LACEY

Susan Henderson, 

Editor/Publisher


California Proposition 14, the Stem Cell Research Institute 
Bond Initiative

A "yes" vote supports issuing $5.5 billion general obligation 
bonds for the state's stem cell research institute and making 
changes to the institute's governance structure and programs.

California Proposition 15, the Tax on Commercial and Industrial 
Properties for Education and Local Government Funding 
Initiative

A "yes" vote supports this constitutional amendment to require 
commercial and industrial properties, except those zoned as 
commercial agriculture, to be taxed based on their market value, 
rather than their purchase price.

California Proposition 16, the Repeal Proposition 209 

Affirmative Action Amendment

A "no" vote opposes this constitutional amendment, thereby 
keeping Proposition 209 (1996), which stated that the government 
and public institutions cannot discriminate against or 
grant preferential treatment to persons on the basis of race, sex, 
color, ethnicity, or national origin in public employment, public 
education, and public contracting.

California Proposition 17, the Voting Rights Restoration for 
Persons on Parole Amendment

A "no" vote opposes this constitutional amendment, thereby 
continuing to prohibit people who are on parole for felony convictions 
from voting.

California Proposition 18, the Primary Voting for 17-Year-
Olds Amendment

A "no" vote opposes this constitutional amendment, thereby 
continuing to prohibit 17-year-olds who will be 18 at the time of 
the next general election to vote in primary elections and special 
elections.

California Proposition 19, the Property Tax Transfers, Exemptions, 
and Revenue for Wildfire Agencies and Counties 
Amendment

A "yes" vote supports this constitutional amendment to: 

*allow eligible homeowners to transfer their tax assessments
anywhere within the state and allow tax assessments to be transferred 
to a more expensive home with an upward adjustment;

*increase the number of times that persons over 55 years old or
with severe disabilities can transfer their tax assessments from 
one to three;

* require that inherited homes that are not used as principal residences, 
such as second homes or rentals, be reassessed at market 
value when transferred; and

*allocate additional revenue or net savings resulting from the
ballot measure to wildfire agencies and counties. 

California Proposition 20, the Criminal Sentencing, Parole, 
and DNA Collection Initiative

A "yes" vote supports this initiative to add crimes to the list of 
violent felonies for which early parole is restricted; recategorize 
certain types of theft and fraud crimes as wobblers (chargeable 
as misdemeanors or felonies); and require DNA collection for 
certain misdemeanors.

California Proposition 21, the Local Rent Control Initiative

A "no" vote opposes this ballot initiative, thereby continuing to 
prohibit rent control on housing that was first occupied after 
February 1, 1995, and housing units with distinct titles, such as 
single-family homes.

California Proposition 22, the App-Based Drivers as Contractors 
and Labor Policies Initiative

A "yes" vote supports this ballot initiative to define app-based 
transportation (rideshare) and delivery drivers as independent 
contractors and adopt labor and wage policies specific to app-
based drivers and companies.

California Proposition 23, the Dialysis Clinic Requirements 
Initiative.

A "yes" vote supports this ballot initiative to require chronic 
dialysis clinics to: have an on-site physician while patients are 
being treated; report data on dialysis-related infections; obtain 
consent from the state health department before closing a clinic; 
and not discriminate against patients based on the source of 
payment for care.

California Proposition 24, the Consumer Personal Information 
Law and Agency Initiative

A "yes" vote supports this ballot initiative to expand the state’s 
consumer data privacy laws, including provisions to allow consumers 
to direct businesses to not share their personal information; 
remove the time period in which businesses can fix violations 
before being penalized; and create the Privacy Protection 
Agency to enforce the state’s consumer data privacy laws.

California Proposition 25, the Replace Cash Bail with Risk 
Assessments Referendum

A "no" vote is to repeal the contested legislation, Senate Bill 10 
(SB 10), thus keeping in place the use of cash bail for detained 
suspects awaiting trials.

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