TVT Weighs in on City Manager Scandal

TheVerifiableTruth.com weighs in on the City Manager Firing Scandal and the Tyranny of Mayor Dale

Tuesday, December 04, 2007

Barstow's Mayor allegedly attempted to interfere with RFP process for $15 million contract

An 11.30.07 story in Barstow's Desert Dispatch suggests that Mayor Lawrence Dale was attempting to manipulate the process in order to guarantee that Micromedia Filtration, Inc. would be awarded a $15 million contract to modify the City's waste water treatment facility despite the City Council's direction to release an RFP and conduct a search for all qualified contractors.

A memo dated Oct. 30, written by Rodriguez and addressed to the council, accuses Mayor Lawrence Dale of interfering with the process, wanting to directly award the $15 million contract to Micromedia Filtration, Inc., instead of reviewing bids from other firms. Rodriguez wrote that he’d been given direction to award the contract to Micromedia in a meeting held on Oct. 18 with Dale and council member Steve Curran. Dale and Curran disputed Rodriguez’ allegations.

“The Mayor told me that the Council’s direction to me in this matter had been to write a (Request for Proposals) that would result in a contract award to Micromedia by effectively eliminating other potential bidders,” Rodriguez wrote in the memo.

Certainly if these allegations are true, this isn't the first time in the Mayor's seven year tenure in office that he has attempted to manipulate outcomes in order that his friends might receieve favorable treatment and even millions in financial gain. Clearly he's perfected that behavior in his quest to win a casino for his Detroit friends behind BarWest LLC.

One must wonder what he gets in return for such rewards to his friends because he doesn't report any campaign contributions or gifts from such individuals as required by California's political reform laws. Is his Railroad Foundation or other "charitable" affiliate benefiting?

Mayor Lawrence Dale has a history of closed doors and backroom secret deals. He's calendared an unprecdented number of closed sessions and previously unscheduled meetings.

When a previous independent Council majority voted against him on various matters, Mayor Dale was relentless behind the scenes trying to undue nearly every one of their decisions.

Mayor Dale often attempts to squash public debate and reigns over Barstow with an iron fist. Anyone who crosses the Mayor will eventually be a victim of his covert attacks and relentless need for revenge. Hector Rodriguez is the latest example.

Previously Congressman Buck McKeon had carried a an ear-mark to secure half a million dollars in new money for this project that would ulltimately be awarded to Micromedia Filtration, Inc.

end

Why the City Manager Was Fired

It hasn't been much of a secret that Mayor Dale never wanted Hector Rodriguez to be the City Manager from the beginning when he voted against his confirmation.

It is no secret that Dale has been scheming to get rid of him ever since.

Dale didn't like him because he isn't white, isn't Republican, and isn't part of the old crony guard that has been running Barstow for years.

But most importantly, Dale didn't like him because Hector has integrity. He stood up to the Mayor's corruption in general while performing his duties in the most professional and competent manner in recent history.

But at the heart of Dale's contempt for Hector is the issue of MicroMedia. After throwing away 1.7 Million dollars that the City had already spent on the HDR contract, the Mayor tried to railroad the contract into the coffers of his buddies at MicroMedia. Hector wasn't about to compromise himself by going along with the Mayor's questionable schemes and Dale fired him.

Now that Barwest compromised our election process and imposed their puppets on the Council, Dale now has the power to do whatever he wants and treat the city like a cheap whore.

None of this was ever a secret and was in fact quite transparent. But finally Reporter Jason Smith has exercised a little journalistic investigation and the story is now in print for all to read. Here is that story:

November 30, 2007 - 8:53PM

Memos show disagreement between Council, staff preceded city manager’s departure

By JASON SMITH Staff Writer

BARSTOW — Internal city documents show that the termination of City Manager Hector Rodriguez’ employment contract was preceded by disagreements between City Council members and city staff over the city’s wastewater-treatment plant upgrade contract.

A memo dated Oct. 30, written by Rodriguez and addressed to the council, accuses Mayor Lawrence Dale of interfering with the process, wanting to directly award the $15 million contract to Micromedia Filtration, Inc., instead of reviewing bids from other firms. Rodriguez wrote that he’d been given direction to award the contract to Micromedia in a meeting held on Oct. 18 with Dale and council member Steve Curran. Dale and Curran disputed Rodriguez’ allegations.

“The Mayor told me that the Council’s direction to me in this matter had been to write a (Request for Proposals) that would result in a contract award to Micromedia by effectively eliminating other potential bidders,” Rodriguez wrote in the memo.

“(T)his was in direct contradiction of Council’s direction to me. As city manager, it is my charge to carry out the direction of the Council majority. For me to do otherwise would be both illegal and unethical ... Council’s direction to me was to administer an open Request For Proposals process, the ultimate outcome of which is unknown at this time.”
Rodriguez stated in the memo that Dale had spoken directly with members of Buerau Veritas, the consultant which the city hired to assist with the request for proposals process, to select the wastewater contractor.

“The very reason why I requested assistance was due to interference from the Mayor in the negotiations,” Rodriguez wrote. “This interference appears to be occurring again, likely jeopardizing the fairness of the Request For Proposals process and opening up the door to litigation.”

Rodriguez did not return calls seeking comment. Dale and council member Steve Curran disputed Rodriguez interpretation of events, calling it a misunderstanding.

“I did not direct the City Manager to create an RFP that would eliminate potential bidders for the wastewater facility upgrade project,” Dale wrote in an e-mail. “In fact, the City’s consultant Bureau Veritas is now moving forward with an RFP process that will be advertised with all potential bidders.”

Dale wrote that he spoke with the city’s consultant because he worried that the firm is not moving fast enough to choose a contractor. Upgrades to the wastewater-treatment facility were mandated by the Lahontan Regional Water Quality Board because of elevated nitrate levels in the water. The city could face fines from $1,000 to $10,000 per day if it does not meet the July 2009 deadline set by Lahontan.

Citing a contractual settlement, Dale declined to state if the disagreement with the city manager was related to the council’s 4-1 decision on Thursday to terminate Rodriguez’ employment contract.

Curran said the bid-seeking process for the wastewater upgrade contractor is difficult due to the unique nature of the technology that Micromedia uses in its plant.

“The council voted 3 to 2 to go with Micromedia. ‘Go’ is a misused term. When you say ‘go with Micromedia,’ do you mean the firm Micromedia, or the technology behind Micromedia?” Curran said.

He voted against the council’s July 16 decision to cancel the city’s previous contract with contractor HDR Engineering in favor of Micromedia. The city spent $1.7 million on with HDR, but allegations of project delays and rising costs led the council to switch firms. Micromedia says its plan for the facility would save the city $1,183,600 annually in operating costs or potentially reduce each resident’s sewer bill by $11 a month
Curran said he isn’t comfortable with awarding the construction contract to Micromedia because of the young company’s lack of a track record.

“Our hopes are that other companies that use this technology will come up,” he said.

Curran said that some of the concerns outlined in the memo are related to an ongoing disagreement over city staff members’ interactions directly with council members. Curran said that although he’s heard rumors, he’s not aware of council members directly giving instruction to city staff.

“I would appreciate it if the city staff would come to me and say that this is happening. All we’ve heard is hearsay,” he said.

According to the Barstow Municipal Code, the city manager is responsible for day to day
operations of the city and the management of city employees.

“The city manager works for the City Council. The staff does not work for the council, the staff works for the city manager,” Curran said.

An Oct. 26 memo written by Rodriguez to the council and city department heads issued communication guidelines between city employees and council members.

“There have been occasions when Council members have met directly with staff, and when Council members’ expressions of opinion have been interpreted as direction,” he wrote.
The memo continued, “Council members may not give direction to subordinates of the City Manager ... Staff is required to adhere to this directive. Failure to do so will be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination.”

The communication guidelines were rescinded by a decision of the council on Nov. 5, the same day that the council voted to place Rodriguez on indefinite paid administrative leave.
City attorney Yvette Abich said that it was necessary to reverse the memo’s guidelines in order to clarify the communication policy so that council members can ask questions of staff members.

“Essentially the City Council is to work with the City Manager in giving direction to city staff, but the city staff is free to talk to city staff on the basis of inquiry,” she said.
She declined to comment further about the termination of Rodriguez’ employment contract or the circumstances surrounding his departure.

“The law says we can’t talk about personnel matters,” she said. “He’s got a right to privacy, and we have to respect that.”

Attorney Bob Conaway Defends Free Speech

After Robert Vasseur wrote another one of his indiscernible rants in a letter to the editor where he resorts to his usual meandering and always irrelevant attacks on me, local Attorney Bob Conaway responded with a letter of his own.

Mr. Conaway poignantly defended my constitutional rights to free speech and the right to dissent. Just like any elected officials, attorneys take an oath to defend and uphold the U.S. Constitution.

Thank you Bob for taking that oath seriously and being counted on the side of Free Speech!

Letters to the editor,
November 29, 2007


Barstow residents entitled to criticism

Robert Vasseur’s letter to the editor (”City manager’s removal might be justified,” Nov. 19) highlights one of the current problems facing this country — a tendency to try and make dissension and or vigorous debate something which is partisan. That we have dissension at City Council meetings is patriotism in play.

I have met the city manager, Mr. Rodriguez, and I believe he has the qualifications to serve Barstow well based on a solid resume of prior experience. If there are other problems we aren’t being told about, I suppose the Brown Act can be blamed, but whether the blame is somewhere else or not, people like Larry Halstead have a right to voice that opinion.

As long as Larry lives in Barstow, he has a constitutional right in public comment periods to criticize government operations and leaders in Barstow. As a regional director for the California Democratic Party, I have sat in council chambers and have heard Larry make it clear that while he is a member and president of a local democratic club, he does not speak for the state party and as a California Democratic Party state officer, I can assure Mr. Vasseur the Democratic Party is not organizing nor supporting a recall in Barstow nor is there anything going on except for the usual voter education process and the get-out-the-vote drives for the upcoming elections.

Barstow, party affiliations aside, appears to suffer from less than full and honest disclosure of what government is doing or thinks it’s doing in the public interest, of insider dealing that dead-ends the city with nothing to show for it except busted tribal (and or Chinese business) deals and or financing agreements (and a fat bill for attorney fees, costs, spent staff time), a sewage spill that could have been avoided (along with the fat fines the city had to pay) ... and well I could go on.

I do respect the work and dedication of Barstow’s city employees and elected leaders. I only wish Larry Halstead’s first amendment right to criticize was similarly respected, not because he is a Democrat, but because he is a fellow American.

Bob Conaway
Hinkley


"Bob Conaway's letter to the editor here is really good and to the point. The establishment never likes a whistle blower and Larry Halstead is a whistle blower when it comes to the iniquities of the Barstow establishment. Of course there will be name callers who lack substance and couldn't argue their way out of a brown paper bag, but Larry will still be there doing his patriotic duty by blowing the whistle on this crooked city establishment. Dissent is the highest form of patriotism and Larry certainly is dissenting from our current political situation in Barstow. I see absolutely nothing wrong with that and all of Larry's critics can just sit and meditate on what it means to exercise one's constitutional freedoms in this country.

Jeffrey Quillinan

In response to someone hiding behind the pseudo name of Splixx, who left a stupid comment left on the Desert Dispatch website in regard to the above letter, Jeffrey Quillinan left the following comment:


"Larry is no joke and Larry is not just "out for himself" as Splixx alleges here. I vouch for Larry's honesty in his attempts to warn Barstow of the underhanded dealings of our present City Council with regards to Barwest. Larry is a good citizens and true patriot. Splixx doesn't know what he is talking about when he posts negative things about Larry Halstead. That much is truly evident by his vitriolic nonsense here."

Jeffrey Quillinan

Meet Some Friends - Jerry Brown

Say there Tom Shields, Lawrence Dale, Tim Silva, Ron Rector, Bill Postmus, Brad Mitzelfelt, Nurseries Products, MicroMedia, and Adelanto Mayor Jim Nehmens; I got a couple of friends of mine that I want to introduce you to. Let's start with your new Attorney General.

Meet Jerry Brown

Jerry is a big hero of mine for many reasons. First and foremost because he is the most progressive Governor California has ever head. In fact he was so progressive that he was way ahead of his time. This made him vulnerable to criticism from small minded people like you. I’m sure you didn’t like him any more even when he was Governor. He was our first environmental Governor. He and his Daddy were the only Democratic Governors to ever to serve a full two terms. Because this was before term limits, he is eligible and considering a run for Governor. As somewhat with an appreciation for Civil Rights and Ancestral Rights, you can count on the fact that he would never sign Reservation Shopping Compacts like BarWest. As an environmentalist, I am sure he would never allow the outdoor composting of human sludge.

When I met Jerry Brown at the CA Democratic Convention in San Diego last April, I told him that I was a big fan and that HIS signature as Governor, appeared on my UC Davis Diploma. Before he even shook my hand, he took a step back and gave me a look up and down. He then made the pronouncement that: “Nope, can’t be; you aren’t old enough.” I thanked him for the compliment and said that I finished in 1976.

Jerry Brown was born in San Francisco (as was my father) on April 7, 1938. In 1958, he entered Sacred Heart Novitiate, a Jesuit Seminary, intending to become a Catholic priest.
However, Brown left the seminary and entered UC Berkeley, where he graduated with a BA in Classics in 1961. Brown went on to Yale Law School and graduated with a Juris Doctor in 1964.
When he ran for governor in 1980, his platform slogan was: "Protect the Earth, serve the people, and explore the universe." Three main planks of his platform were a call for a constitutional convention to ratify the Balanced Budget Amendment, a promise to increase funds for the space program, and, in the wake of the 1979Three Mile Island accident, opposition to nucleas power.

After his failed Senate race in 1982, many considered Brown's political career to be over. During the 1980s, Brown traveled to Japan to study Buddhism, studying with Christian/Zen practitioner Hugo Enomiva-Lassalle under Yamada Koun-roshi. He also visited Mother Teresa in Calcutta, India where he ministered to the sick in one of her hospices.

Upon his return from abroad in 1988, he announced that he would stand as a candidate to become Chairman of the CA Democratic Party in 1989. In June 1998, he was elected Mayor of the city of Oakland, where he got high praise for his economic revitalization and bringing solar power to Oakland. In early 2004, Brown expressed his interest to be a candidate for the Democratic nomination for CA Attorney and won the position in 2006.

As the top cop of California, Jerry Brown wants to focus on Environmental issues and government corruption. He recently set his eyes on San Bernardino County by filing suit to make them instigate certain environmental protections against global warming. The County quickly complied and the suit was settled.

I think we need to get focused on government corruption and wrong doing here in Barstow. I also think he needs to investigate our Waste Water Treatment contract with MicroMedia, our continuation violations with Nitrates and the Soap Mine Road, Pacific Holt situation and the ongoing sewage leakage into the Mojave River. Then he could investigate BarWest influence peddling here in Barstow and the corruption that involves. Then we could finally get to the bottom of all the ‘deals’ that have been made and how and why Dale acts like a pawn for BarWest.

And finally, the Nurseries Products company and how they are railroading the good citizens of Hinkley one more time. I just know he could uncover all the reasons that our leaders have taken campaign contributions from Nurseries Products and why they voted against us. I believe in Jerry and I think he could help us get a permanent ban on the outdoor composting of human sludge.

We really need your help Jerry and we know that you will not let us down like all of our other agencies, Barstow City and the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors. We have a lot of hard working people that will be happy to give you all kinds of help cleaning house (and yard) here in the greater Barstow area.

So thank you in advance Jerry!

Red Faced Mayor Exposed as Pawn of BarWest

Be careful of what you do in the dark,
as it WILL be revealed in the light!

Mayor Dale held a hastily called 'Special Meeting' on Tuesday, August 28 at 3pm. The word went out through the community that Dale was going to use the power of his three vote coalition to shit-can City Manager Hector Rodriguez. Dale never liked him and voted against his confirmation. He has been working overtime to undermine him ever since. More on this in another post but leave it to say here that the Council Chambers were packed with Rodriguez supporter representing a wide spectrum of the community. Included in the audience was former Council Members Gloria Darling, Helen Runyon, and Gil Gurule. After blasting the Mayor for trying to get rid of our much beloved City Manager the audience went to the lobby to await the outcome of the closed session.

When the Council resumed the open session, it was announced that the matter of the City Manager’s job status would be continued. The Mayor then skipped ahead to another highly contentious issue, the MicroMedia contract which was the real story behind his attempted firing of the City Manager. Between the two of these agenda items the Mayor was well on his way to having the worst meeting of his life if not the worst day of his life.



But then came the big bomb shell of the night during Council Reports. (see 51:45 in the "Following Closed Session" video). Joe Gomez took the mayor to task on his unauthorized letter of August 21 that he unilaterally sent to the U. S. Dept of the Interior. The letter written on City stationary, was referenced as "Re: The Chemehuevi Tribe's Recent Assault on Barstow" The three page letter is a vicious attack on the Chemehuevi and their claims of Ancestral Rights in the Barstow area.

Councilman Gomez reported that he had confronted the Mayor on August 20 when the Mayor had showed him the letter and before it was mailed. He had put the Mayor on notice that he could not send a letter out like that on his own and that he must get approval from the Council at large. This goes way beyond a breach of ethics and may well be a violation of government codes.

Joe continued to chastise the mayor for sending the letter on city stationary for over five minutes. He told him that he had warned him not to send it and that the mayor was getting in the way of Barstow ever getting a casino. Since the BarWest Compacts are DEAD by ALL accounts except within the BarWest Kool-Aid Club, the Chemehuevi casino project is the only hope left for Barstow to ever see a resort casino project in this city. Furthermore, Joe told the mayor that he was inviting a lawsuit from the Chemehuevi. Joe had copies of the letter along with a memo from the Nick Mederios (the city's lobbyist), a letter from Tribal Alliance of Sovereign Indian Nations (TASIN), and a letter from Chairman Wood, which he made available for circulation.

A red-faced, pissed off Dale sat and listened while Councilman Gomez leveled charges that could well be the death blow to Dale’s sorry, and in my opinion, corrupt career. At the conclusion of this explosive revelation, Dale asks: “Are you done with your comments? I intend to respond, I just want to make sure you are done with your comments.” Dale then turns to Councilman Curran for him to give his comments under Council Reports. While Steve had yet had a chance to read the letter, he chimed in that as the head of ethics for the council, he had issues with the mayor sending out the letter and agreed with everything that Gomez had said about it.

When the mayor finally responded (see 1:1:35 in the "Following Closed Session" video).He stood by his decision to send the letter and during the comments he was looking straight at me. I was on the front row and I started laughing at the ridiculous hypocrisy of his comments. The mayor noticed and remarked about my laughing and I can be heard to shout hypocrite at him. He said it wasn't hypocritical and said that he does not regret sending the letter.

The audience was in shock by this whole revelation and everyone sat with their jaw dropped. I believe that this was the beginning of the end for this mayor. It was easily his worse night ever. It was a beautiful thing to witness. There is consensus that it is a total impossibility that the mayor wrote this letter. I have been told that Dale only has a sixth grade education, He simply doesn't have the talent that Tom shields does and the letter reflects Tom's style. If you listen to the mayor, he sounds like a damn hillbilly as he totally slaughters the English languages with poor verb use and sentence structure like: "he done gone and..…”

Led by Shields and his accusations of me extorting him and the tribe, the BarWest Kool-Aid Club has been on a all out attack of me with allegations that I am a paid hack for “the other side” which he also refers to as “those wealthy greedy tribes.” But from the beginning, Dale has been working overtime to violate the Ancestral Rights of the rightful legitimate local tribes. BarWest has been flying him around in a Lear Jet on lobbying junkets. He has totally transformed the Council into a public relations firm for the truly greedy outside Detroit developer that specializes in the vile practice of Reservation Shopping that is the curse of all tribes that respect the concept of Indian Sovereignty.

In the process, Mayor Dale has been complicit with Shields in helping BarWest to buy influence, corrupt local leaders and compromise the institutions they represent. The good people of Barstow have been lied to and deceived at every turn as the mayor has divided the town and put at risk the chances that we may ever have a casino project in this town. As I told Larry that afternoon, he should not be lulled into a false sense of security. Even as we speak, plans are underway to file complaints with the District Attorney, the Grand Jury, the U. S. Attorney, and with the Attorney General of both CA and the U.S. I have ever reason to believe that this will all end with indictments, recalls, or both.

The True Story of My Involvement with Indian Gaming

The True Story of My Involvement with Indian Gaming

Originally I was project neutral on the issue of Indian Gaming in Barstow. I wasn’t until my research showed the pattern and practice of BarWest buying influence and bullying their way into a process of violating the Ancestral Rights of local tribes as they engage in the despicable practice of Reservation Shopping that I saw the light. I was also turned off by their right wing orientation and their relation to the Jack Abramhoff scandal and Rep. Richard Pombo who I consider one of the worst, most corrupt congressman ever.

Pombo who was soundly defeated in last year’s election was the guy that Tom Delay established as the powerful chair of the House Resources Committee. He used that position to try and abolish the Endangered Species Act, reverse the ban on oil drilling in the protected artic areas, and run interference on the investigations of his mentor Tom Delay. Pombo himself was the number one object of the Jack Abramhoff scandal.

Upon these myriads of revelations, I denounced my support for the BarWest project and for two years or more I started speaking out about all of the influence peddling that BarWest was doing in Barstow. In my opinion, BarWest bought and paid for our Mayor who has been doing their bidding ever since.

During the last election, BarWest made a deal with Chamber of Commerce President Tim Silva that if he would turn the Chamber into a PR branch of BarWest, they would make him the next Councilman. Tim got the chamber to support BarWest and against the Chemehuevi, something that would violate the ethics of any chamber and is undoubtedly illegal when the city gives this chamber $50k in annual support along with cheap rent at the Harvey House.

On the last day before the deadline to file, I was talked into running by some LOCAL activist that felt by doing so I would be able to amplify my voice on issues that I was already speaking out on, such as the environment, local corruption, equal access and economic development. As it turned out, Tom Shields had already secured victory for his two candidates primarily by getting the local caucus and the rest of the BarWest Kool-Aid Club to get out the absentee vote. Shields ran their campaign like the Carl Rove of Barstow and it was financially backed through their local PAC. He ran a slick campaign, the likes of which Barstow had never seen and that their two candidates would never have been able to wage on their own. It was a campaign that did not even rely on the involvement of the candidates themselves. In fact he was instrumental in canceling the only debate that would of exposed the total lack of experience and incompetence of his two candidates.

Initially, I had no expectations of winning but my message of economic development, exposing corruption and protecting our environment, resonated with the community. It also garnished the attention of some highly respectable residential and commercial developers. These were quality 'community planning' oriented developers who had a 50 year history of having been scorned by the local cronies who have held power in Barstow since time immortal. The local cronies use Mayor Dale and Economic Development Director Ron Rector to steal projects away from any developer that is not part of the ‘local cronies’ and move them to the cronies‘ properties.

The developers that supported my candidacy felt that the only way to proceed on their quality projects was to change the political landscape. The irony is that they are all Republican and they supported this strong Democrat leader because I have a background in business and have always worked closely with the business community which is most often Republican in orientation. My parents were both GOP Republicans (NOT neocons) and I was raised in a GOP environment. While I have never been a Republican, I have embraced many of the old values of the GOP such as balancing the budget, less government regulations, protecting privacy rights and civil rights. All of which have been lost on the neocons that are destroying the Republican party in my opinion. Nonetheless, any of the old fashion GOP type people that I have been involved with are those that can relate to my approach and values in business.

Along with some small individual donors, these Republican developers who I highly respect, financed 100% of my campaign. It was not until a week before the election that I made contact with a member of the San Manual Tribe when I was participating in an event of Congressman Joe Baca. I told them that I was fighting the cause for Ancestral Rights and Indian Sovereignty and against reservation shopping. I explained how I was alone in fighting for what is the cause of the true legitimate Native American fight for self determination and that I could sure use some back up. After much deliberation within their tribal leaders, they broke from their long standing policy of NOT getting involved here in Barstow and reluctantly made a one-time campaign contribution of $2500. That much needed contribution was received a month after the campaign and was used to retire some of my campaign debts.

For the record, I have NEVER received a singe penny from any tribe to represent them in any capacity. I have NEVER been asked to represent a particular position or take any action on their behalf. I Have solicited input on how I could support a legitimate project here in Barstow but have yet to get any input or advice whatsoever.

Over the course of the past few years, I have come to know Chairman Wood of the Chemehuevi Tribe and on one occasion I had the opportunity to meet their Vice-Chair Shirley Smith. I have been taken back at how honorable they have been and have always taken the high road. I know for a fact that they did not support either Measure H or the recall of Councilman Luellig. I have NEVER seen nor is their ANY record of the Chemehuevi ever attacking BarWest or engaging in the underhanded tactics that is the hallmark of BarWest.

As a Political Scientist, I have a life long passion for the values and causes of the Democratic party. I have been a community activist on issues such as the environment, alternative medicine, equal right, code enforcement, and civil rights. I have come to view Ancestral Rights as being the equivalent of civil rights for Native Americans.

While I would feel honored to serve as a consultant to any tribe seeking to secure or preserve their Ancestral Rights, this has yet to happen. If it did, you would hear it out of my own mouth first and not something that would be hidden before being leaked by the likes of BarWest and their scumbag spin doctor Tom Shields who is now making false allegations of extortion against me. I would wear a consulting contract with a tribe with legitimate Ancestral Rights like a badge of honor. And I would be anxious to be ‘in the face’ of the Mayor, Tom Shields and the entire BarWest Kool-Aid Club. All of my ‘speaking out’ on this issue has been motivate SOLELY by a desire to expose local corruption and standing up for Ancestral Rights. Also, I feel that by speaking out on this issue it might hasten the day when a legitimate, local tribe can bring a casino project to this historically economically depressed community.

I am currently serving as a consultant on economic development and politics. I do this to support what is my main cause and passion. My wife Michelle and I are the founders of the Earth Haven Foundations for Kids which deals with children who are born with substance abuse to parents that are drug addicted. We are the adopted parents of a total of eight of these children and we will take on more when funding becomes available.

THIS is your 'Verifiable' honest to God truth. In my opinion, Tom Shields and his BarWest Kool-Aid Club are directly attacking these child victims by attacking me with their filthy lies, character assassinations and deceptions which are nothing more than the worst kind of libel and slander. But then we all expect nothing less from these sleaze bags.

Welcome Back and Yes, I’m Back too!

I started this blog back during my campaign for City Council of Barstow in last November’s election. I also started a website, BarstowPolitics.org. Both of these were meant to serve the needs of my campaign and then continue on as a forum to address political issues that I am somehow involved with.

By my own admission, I am not the most tech savy person on the planet. But I am also far from getting the award for the most technically challenged either. My VCR would still be blinking 12:00 if it were not for my wife. But I have figured out how to post my writing and pics to this blog.

Now being a webmaster is still just out of my range despite some minimal efforts to learn. I think I need to take a class because frankly I am tired of it getting in the way. When you don’t have the know-how, then you have to rely on someone who does and of course, that takes money. For those reasons, the website is not up right now but I do hope to have it back up and running soon.

My best intentions aside, by the time the campaign was over, I was totally involved in numerous projects involving code enforcement, economic development, and political networking, primarily with our state leaders. This is in addition to my regular life.

My wife Michelle and I are together the adoptive parents of eight children. These are all very special children, who by no fault of their own are born addicted to drugs and with a nine month history of substance abuse that includes: heroin, crack cocaine, speed, alcohol, and cigarettes. It was because of these children that we came to move to Barstow in search of more affordable housing. We are now involved with the establishment of The Earth Haven Foundation for Kids, a non profit organization that we are creating to bring attention to children like these and help address their needs. I promise to post a more in depth piece about this in the near future.

So between raising these children (ages 5-10), launching the foundation, my consulting work, my political involvements, and my ever present home/yard improvement projects, my time has been stretched thin.

The other factor in the continuation of my procrastination in getting back to this blog is due to my obsessive nature. Ever since the campaign, I have wanted that the first thing I posted was a,

Big Giant Thank you,

to all of those people that supported my campaign! I was so amazed and overwhelmed at the number and diversity of those people that were drawn to this campaign for a better community.

I am as proud of my Republican support as my Democrat support. My campaign was OUR campaign for change and for accountability in our local government. It is an effort that did not begin or end with my campaign. But the campaign did become a lightning rod for a range of issues that united people from all walks of life. Again thank you from the bottom of my heart. Without your support, my voice would not have been able to resonate with those citizens that are hungry for change. I still plan to write an in depth analysis and my experience of the campaign!

I am also committed to working on some post regarding my involvement with code enforcement, economic development, green energy, Indian gaming, and issues involving local politics. All of those items were already on my to-do list, prior to my attendance at the CA Democratic State Convention held in San Diego this last April.

That event was one of the most exciting weekends that a political junkie like me could ever experience. I met many of the Presidential candidates and many of our state and party leaders. I left there with enough material to keep me posting on this blog for months. I plan to do a post on each of these Democratic leaders and will post one of my own pictures with each entry.

The obsessive part of me has been putting off posting any new stuff until I can catch up on posting all of the aforementioned. Finally the progress addicted side of me has taken over. I am going to start with this general info post and follow with whatever is currently in the focus of my attention. When I get time, I will start posting the older stuff in what will be guaranteed to be random in order.

So thank you so much for dropping by. This blog is an avenue for my voice but it is about those issues that unite us in an effort to bring some progressive changes that effect us all. Please drop by as often as you get a chance. Pull up a chair and make yourself comfortable. And by all means, tell me your thoughts, criticisms, and suggestions. It is not at all important for us to agree on everything. It is critically important that we have the debate. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

For all you do to participate in the political process, I am deeply grateful!

Peace and Blessings,

Larry