Remarks On Gun Rights At Sunnyside Council

January 28, 2013 by 2 Comments

Monday night, I made the following remarks about gun rights during the meeting of the Sunnyside City Council.  My thanks to the City Clerk for researching the text of Ordinance No. 15 (passed in 1902).  In the future, I would like to make a visit to the city archives to see some of the other treasures our city’s founders bestowed to us.  It is my great pleasure to serve the people, and promote freedom everywhere I can.

STATEMENT ON GUN RIGHTS, 1/28/13 SUNNYSIDE CITY COUNCIL MEETING

Recent discussion of gun rights has prompted a public response from some officials in our state. These responses include remarks from the governor, the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, our legislators, and also our county sheriff.

Some are begging for more government control over citizens, and think they should be in charge of allowing them to possess firearms, and where (if ever), they should be allowed to carry them. Others advocate for greater freedom, pushing for increased rights of individuals.

Yakima County Sheriff Ken Irwin issued a statement last week in which he cited the U.S. and State of Washington Constitutions. He later clarified that he is opposed to the proposed ban on certain types of firearms that is being put forward by the President and his allies in Congress.

Elected officials take an oath to uphold the federal and state constitutions mentioned by our sheriff. Unfortunately, some municipal government officials in Washington do not always respect that.

For example, on January 15, 2013, at a meeting of the City Council in Oak Harbor, a failed attempt to trample on the 2nd amendment rights of citizens occured. Video of the incident is making the rounds on the Internet.

During that meeting, a Councilman asked a gun rights supporter if he was carrying a firearm in council chambers. He demanded an answer even after the city attorney said the citizen was not obligated to give one. The citizen did choose to answer, and confirmed he has a Concealed Pistol License, and was carrying a firearm.

In response, the councilman made an unconstitutional motion to strip the citizen of his firearm on the spot. The motion failed, causing the Mayor of Oak Harbor to apologize to the citizen for the behavior of some of his colleagues, and spoke to the oath of office that all electeds take. The councilman who made the motion left the meeting rather than stay in a room where citizens exercise their right to bear arms.

I would like to take just a moment to remind my colleagues, and members of the public, just what our oath of office supports, as it relates to gun rights.

The 2nd amendment of the US Constitution states:

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

For those that question whether that applies to individual citizens; can you imagine George Washington leading an army if citizens did not possess firearms?

The other constitution that warrants our attention, is our own Washington State Constitution. Article I, Section 24 has the relevant language on the right to bear arms:

The right of the individual citizen to bear arms in defense of himself, or the state, shall not be impaired, but nothing in this section shall be construed as authorizing individuals or corporations to organize, maintain or employ an armed body of men.

If one is still in doubt, our state constitution is much more explicit in its language that the right to bear arms is an individual right.

This is not a new debate among the people, nor is it the first time restrictions have been proposed by politicians.

Our city founders first regulated the rights of citizens to carry weapons within three months of the city’s founding. Ordinance No. 15 Prohibiting Carrying Concealed Weapons and Fixing Punishment Therefor was passed in 1902. This handwritten ordinance was signed by our first Mayor, James Henderson. One should take note that at the time, the city also did not allow gambling, alcohol, or dancing.

Times have changed since then, and I am not about to suggest we take away our citizen’s guns, anymore than I want to take away their dance halls or their beer! In over 110 years as a city, our citzens have repeatedly demonstrated at the ballot box that they prefer more freedom over less freedom.

In the present day, citizens of Sunnyside may obtain a Concealed Pistol License by submitting an application through our local police department. I encourage everyone to do this, even if they do not own a firearm.

By exercising their rights, citizens can send a message to politicians that they do not want more government restrictions on personal freedoms. When more citizens apply for a Concealed Pistol License, it demonstrates that the people are serious about maintaining their rights and personal safety, as outlined by both our federal and state constitutions.

 

Related articles
About these ads

Filed under Constitutional Issues, Freedom Issues, President Obama, Sunnyside Council, Traditional Values, Uncategorized Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Making Sausage, Sunnyside Council Style

December 31, 2012 by Leave a comment

Thursday night the Sunnyside City Council finally passed a budget for 2013.  Sure, I had joked with some city staff about taking a vote just before the ball drops on New Years’ Eve, but we beat that deadline by just a few days.

The process by which government budgets are made is sometimes compared to making sausage.  My sausage normally comes from the local grocery, but my father and I took a deer to get processed into venison sausage when I was younger.  Seeing the animals in the meat locker, and going over options for seasoning the meat gave me some insight into how the stuff gets made.  Our budget workshops are the monetary equivalent of that grisly process.

After one budget workshop meeting, a colleague said, “That meeting was as painful as giving birth.”  It is a sentiment I agree with.  The problems in city finances are not of the city manager’s making.  He came in this year, was handed a bad situation, and  dealt with it to the best of his ability.

At the last meeting, I said the city’s experiment with a two-year budget has been a failure.  I am glad that council is now going back to annual budgets.  In addition, changes in staff working with city finances will bring new perspectives to the situation.  New software systems are being used, and will hopefully yield a better picture of finances as we move into the New Year.

I look forward to taking a turn on the City Council Finance Subcommittee, beginning in 2013.  We are in a better position moving forward, but still have tough decisions ahead of us.

The majority of council did not want to cut as deeply into the city budget as I advocated for.  The result is a budget that relies more heavily on tax increases than I am comfortable with.  However, the city’s police force will maintain its number of patrol officers, which are doing fantastic work in bringing down crime from seven year averages.

Just a few hours after our council meeting concluded, surrounding agencies from Yakima County Sheriff’s Office, Mabton Police Department, Grandview Police Department, Benton County Sheriff’s Office, and the Prosser Police Department came to aid the Sunnyside Police Department in responding to a shooting at Dark Horse Inn.

Image Via Google Maps

Dark Horse Inn, image via Google Maps

The Sunnyside Police Officers voluntarily sacrificed an opportunity to negotiate cost of living increases, and gave up physical fitness incentives totaling $40,000 in the coming year, to help the city keep the same number of officers out on patrol.  One report indicates that when the first officers arrived at the Dark Horse, over 100 people were running from the scene.

Most normal people would not want to be in a room when someone pulls out a gun and starts shooting.  Police officers are wired differently.  They have to be.  They pressed on, surely fearing what they might find on the inside.  They will be doing this in the future for less pay and benefits than they received in 2012.

We are blessed to have men and women in our police department that are willing to make these types of sacrifices for the citizens of our community.  We are better off for it.

Six out of seven council members seem to agree, as a budget was passed that keeps all of our patrol officers.  The one dissenting vote had nothing but criticism to offer, and was stunned into silence when the Mayor asked if they had any other options.

Related articles

Filed under Sunnyside Budget Issues, Sunnyside Council, Sunnyside Crime Issues, Uncategorized Tagged with , , , , , , ,

Comments on Proposed 2013 City Budget

December 21, 2012 by Leave a comment

The Sunnyside City Council continues to work on its budget for next year.  I made these comments during the budget meeting held on Thursday night.  Work continues and a final budget has not yet been adopted.

1. An increase in pay for the city manager position is justified. Looking at the position and not who is occupying the chair, a city our size needs to pay the city manager more than what we are currently doing.

Our budget needs to reflect this. Our city manager needs to be paid more than patrol officers and department heads within the city.

This is not a proposed increase in pay for Mr. Sweet. He is under contract as interim city manager. There will be no change in pay for him unless council approves changes to his contract.

2. It has been pointed out that the city’s budget problems have been looming for several months. Previous city administrators were only willing to propose increases in taxes and fees when I first got on council in order to fix our budget problems.

I will not support a budget that simply increases taxes. We can not take more money from citizens, without first looking for ways to serve taxpayers with greater efficiency. The current city manager is willing to make necessary changes to improve services to the public. His proposals reorganize job descriptions, and also give us options to make cuts, before imposing tax increases on our citizens.

Although I do not agree with all of the recommendations, they are welcome and appreciated.  It gives us some options and places to start our conversation on ways to balance our budget.

3. Municipal jobs are not lifetime appointments. When the tax base is flat or down in a stagnant economy, and expenses are up due to union contracted pay raises, and increasing cost of benefits, we have to make organizational changes.

Sometimes this means cutting numbers of personnel.

No one desires to do this, however, it may become a necessary business decision for the good of the community.

Increases of revenue also need to be considered. While few desire to pay more in taxes, we need to find ways to pay for services voters have approved.

4. City employees should consider their job descriptions to include “additional duties as assigned.” In other words, be flexible, and willing to take on tasks traditionally performed by others when the city had more employees. In many cases, staff are already doing this. Greater flexibility across all departments will make these painful budget decisions easier to get through.

Bargaining units have shown a willingness to be flexible by bringing new proposals to council for consideration.  These ideas give council some more options, and may help us find solutions.

5. The police are doing a great job. I recently had conversations with an attorney from the prosecutor’s office, and with a defense attorney in Yakima County. While they sometimes are representing different interests before the same judge, they both complimented Sunnyside for the crime free rental housing ordinance, and other initiatives the Sunnyside Police Department is using. They both noted these new tactics are very effective in reducing violent crime in our city. We are fortunate that we have not had a shooting in our city since March. Compared to where we were just a few years ago, this is nothing short of remarkable.

6. Finally, I can not stress enough the importance of providing for public safety. Budget proposals made by the city manager ensure that the public will continue to see the same level of patrol officers on our streets. We are not cutting boots on the ground in our fight against violent criminals. The public will continue to see a large police presence in our city.

The kind of city I want to live in has large numbers of police officers on patrol, with a crime rate so low that people question why we have so many police officers. I am perfectly happy to have Sunnyside be that peaceful place.

Filed under Sunnyside Budget Issues, Sunnyside Council, Uncategorized Tagged with , , , , , , ,

Highlighting A Critical Need – Sunnyside’s Water Supply

July 26, 2012 by Leave a comment

Well #6 Temporarily Out of Service; Well #7 Being Monitored Closely

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

These pictures show repairs being made to Well #6.  It was shutdown when the pump began to bring up sand.  The City Council has made an emergency appropriation of about $90,000 to fix the issue, and get the well back into service.

As a young boy growing up in the Southeastern U.S., water supply was not usually a big concern. We averaged over 50 inches of rainfall each year, and had large man made lakes that served as reservoirs. We also had aquifers and wells to augment our sources of water.

Growing up in a rural area, my household supply of water came from a public well managed by a water utility district. My grandfather served, for a time, as one of the local water commissioners. I still remember being at play in his yard, when utility crew came up to his house in their large rig, and one by one, they went to see my grandfather inside. Later, I was to learn that due to some unexpected problems, these men had performed extra work for which they needed to be paid. My grandfather had the checkbook for the water utility, was giving each employee a handwritten paycheck!

During the late 1980s, we experienced a severe drought. Water supplies reached critical lows. Lawns turned brown, fields failed to produce crops, pasture grass, and hay. Herds of livestock were threatened when ponds dried up completely. Reservoirs reached unheard of lows.

Residents were asked not to wash cars at home, or fill residential swimming pools. Operators of car washes and other industrial users were close to having their water supply reduced, or in some cases, cut off all together.

The times were tough, but we somehow got through it. The drought eventually ended, and the reservoirs slowly filled back up.

Long-time residents of Sunnyside are more accustomed to hearing officials discuss water. Our dry climate and reliance on irrigation demands it.

Residents need to also take notice of our municipal water supply. Currently, our city’s water supply is provided through five public wells. These are known by the imaginative designations of Wells #6, #7, #8, #9, and #11.

Currently, Well #6 is offline. The pump at this well shutdown when it began to pull up sand. Emergency expenditures have been authorized by the City Council to diagnose and repair the problems.

This is the high demand season for water usage, but public works is able to meet the needs of the city through the other existing wells.

Now enter Friday the 13th: I am not a superstitious man, but on this date we experienced an unscheduled shutdown of Well #7. 40% of the city’s wells were offline. City employees scrambled to provide water for citizens, and get the well back into operation. Large industrial users were advised of the problem, and asked to implement conservation measures.

Replacing a blown fuse seems to have fixed the issue at Well #7, but it is being monitored closely to ensure there is not a larger problem needing to be addressed.

This is a wake-up call for all of us. In order to maintain our quality of life, and ability to grow as a city, we must maintain a dependable supply of water to industry and households. In addition, we must retain capacity we can tap into as we continue to grow.

The City of Sunnyside is currently able to meet demands, without citizens being asked to make unusual  sacrifices.  City staff are researching issues of water rights, and weighing options to bring additional wells online.  Their hard work ensures that we have water to drink, that our municipal swimming pool is available in the summer, and that our industrial users can continue to operate.

This is not an issue we think of much, so long as we have water when we turn on the tap, and when we reach to flush in our bathrooms.  Through the hard work of city staff and contractors, let’s hope it stays that way.

Like this post? Please consider throwing something in our tip jar:


		


				


				

					

						Filed under Sunnyside Budget Issues, Sunnyside Council, Uncategorized
						Tagged with , , , , , , , , 					

				


			


		
			


				


					
Sunnyside School Board and City Council Issue Joint Proclamation


					

						

							April 3, 2012
															by 
																											

					


					
Autism Awareness
Autism Awareness (Photo credit: Wikipedia)


April Is Autism Awareness Month


Members of the Sunnyside School Board and Sunnyside City Council all have expressed support for autism awareness this month. Last Thursday, March 29, members of the school board unanimously approved a resolution of support; followed last night by the city council also voting unanimously for a similar proclamation.


Council Member Jim Restucci was absent from last night’s meeting, but spoke to me ahead of time and expressed his support for the proclamation as well.


Dr. Liebe addressed the City Council Monday evening, speaking about symptoms of autism, and services available through Children’s Village, an organization she works with in our area. Dr. Liebe mentioned working with a child yesterday that is two years of age, and that new research into autism is allowing some children to be evaluated when they are as little as six months old.


The proclamation approved by the school board and city council mentions the prevalence of autism as 1 in 110 births, however Dr. Liebe said the prevalence is increasing. New numbers from the CDC, (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in Atlanta, Georgia), now show the rate of autism is 1 in 88 births.


Cody Gardiner, Director of Special Education in the Sunnyside School District, addressed the Sunnyside School Board on autism last week, and was also on hand at the meeting of council to relay information about services available through the schools. Entities such as Children’s Village work with kids until they are three years old, and then they are eligible for services through the school district.


Mr. Gardiner mentioned developmental preschool programs, which students can enroll in with an Individualized Education Program, or IEP. He also said that getting these types of intervention services early is of tremendous benefit to the children as they progress through the school system.


The following is text of the proclamation approved by the Sunnyside City Council:


A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE


CITY OF SUNNYSIDE, WASHINGTON, SUPPORTING


AUTISM AWARENESS WEEK


WHEREAS, autism effects all persons regardless of race, religion, socio-economic status or geography; and


WHEREAS, autism is a lifelong developmental disability which occurs in approximately 1 in every 110 births, the causes of which are not fully understood; and


WHEREAS, a child is diagnosed with autism every 20 minutes; and


WHEREAS, speech and language may be absent or delayed, and cognitive abilities may be affected, causing the person with autism to relate in different ways to people, objects and events, and causing great stress to families; and


WHEREAS, while there is no cure for autism, it is well-documented that if individuals with autism receive treatment early in their lives, it often is possible for those individuals to lead significantly improved lives; and


WHEREAS, early diagnosis, research, training, education and therapies are vital to reducing the effects of autism; and


WHEREAS, the City of Sunnyside, jointly with the Sunnyside School District, support awareness efforts in order to educate parents, professionals and the general public about autism and its effects.


NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SUNNYSIDE, WASHINGTON, along with the Sunnyside School District, as follows:


SECTION 1. That the City Council supports the proclamation of April 2012 as Autism Awareness Month.


SECTION 2. This Resolution shall be effective upon passage, approval and signatures hereon in accordance with law.


PASSED this 2nd day of April, 2012.


Related articles


		


				


				

					

						Filed under Sunnyside Council, Uncategorized
						Tagged with , , , , , , , 					

				


			


		
			


				


					
Public Criticism of City Officials


					

						

							March 23, 2012
															by 
																											

					


					
Editorial submitted to, and printed by, the Daily Sun News on March 23, 2012:


At a recent council meeting, a motion was made to bind city council members to an unconstitutional code of conduct. While noble in intent, I took a principled stand to allow council members and the public the opportunity to express criticism of city officials.


At all times I have said that people should treat each other with dignity and respect. In my view, allowing citizens to express themselves is important to the functioning of our representative form of government. I learn from others, and appreciate all points of view. In order to make good decisions, council members need to hear all points of view from the citizens.


People should be treated with common courtesy because that is the decent thing to do. There are some that think this issue should be dealt with by the Sunnyside Municipal Code. I respectfully disagree. We can not legislate good manners by issuing a decree from council. Furthermore, it is abhorrent to think that the government is going to be in charge of determining who is exhibiting the proper “respect” towards others.


One provision of the so-called code of conduct is “never publicly criticize an individual employee.” The code of conduct also prohibits this same criticism in private conversation. In effect, it prohibits council members from calling out corruption, incompetence, inefficiency, or a host of other issues that may need to be addressed.


This does not pass the smell test. My colleagues who are crying the loudest for “respect” are unwittingly failing to perform the full duties of their position. Despite the best of intentions, those that are trying to silence their opposition on the altar of “respect” are missing the big picture. Scott M. Missall, a municipal law attorney, recently sent a fax to the mayor addressing this issue. A copy of this communication is being provided to this newspaper along with my comments. Mr. Missall says:


“…each Council member is an independently elected City official, and it is therefore incumbent on him or her to abide by state law and the constitution, which each Council member has sworn to uphold, in the execution of their duties. It would be in derogation of those responsibilities and statutes for any Council member to be less than forthcoming in public about governance or management issues connected with the performance of a city manager. Similarly, it would be improper for one Council member to attempt to curtail another Council member’s public comments or concerns about a city manager’s performance.”


While I respect my colleagues on council, and appreciate the work they do for our community, I will continue to do my part of the heavy lifting as well. Whether it is tackling the issue of out of control legal bills ($770,000 in a 28 month period), or laying off police officers which allowed shootings to increase from 17 to 38 (a 124% increase from 2009 to 2010) and homicides to increase an astounding 600% in the same time period; I will not stop pushing for public safety and sensible spending as priorities at City Hall.


The good news is that the police department’s “Gang Elimination Strategy” is producing positive results for our city. According to statistics recently compiled by the city’s crime analyst, shootings decreased from 38 in 2010 to 21 in 2011. This is a 45% reduction following the hiring of additional officers, and implementing an aggressive stance against the violent offenders. This strategy saw homicides decrease from six in 2010, to only one in 2011.


And while council has not received a monthly financial statement from city staff in 2012, until the recent hiring of Mr. Sweet, our new Interim City Manager has promised we will be getting monthly financial reports from this time forward.


Armed with this information, we can make the difficult decisions that will be required in order to stop using reserve funds to balance the city budget. With all due respect, these are the sensible spending patterns that citizens should expect from Council.

		


				


				

					

						Filed under Constitutional Issues, Sunnyside Budget Issues, Sunnyside Council, Sunnyside Crime Issues, Uncategorized
						Tagged with , , , , , 					

				


			


		
			


				


					
Hicks, Raines, Restucci Take Oath of Office


					

						

							December 12, 2011
															by 
																						Leave a comment
																				

					


					
Monday night, three men took the oath of office for Sunnyside City Council.  Craig Hicks, Jason Raines, and Mayor Jim Restucci were sworn in for the term that begins in January by Municipal Court Judge Steven Michels.


Oath Administered By Municipal Court Judge Michels


I would like to personally thank Judge Michels for taking the time to administer the oath of office to us.  The hard work is about to begin!

		


				


				

					

						Filed under 2011 Election, Sunnyside Council, Uncategorized
						Tagged with , , , , , , , 					

				


			


		
			


				


					
Former City Council Member Supports Raines, Hicks


					

						

							November 4, 2011
															by 
																						1 Comment
																				

					


					
Former Sunnyside City Council Member Chad Werkhoven announced his support of Jason Raines and Craig Hicks in a letter to the editor today.  It was published in the Daily Sun News.


This is the text of his letter:


Sunnyside has taken several tremendous steps forward in the last year in our war against gang violence. Send a message that you support our city’s efforts by turning in your ballots and voting for Jason Raines and Craig Hicks for the Sunnyside City Council.


/s/ Chad Werkhoven, Sunnyside

		


				


				

					

						Filed under 2011 Election, Sunnyside Council, Sunnyside Crime Issues, Uncategorized
						Tagged with , , , , , 					

				


			


		
			


				


					
Diego Weighs In With Support For Raines


					

						

							November 2, 2011
															by 
																						Leave a comment
																				

					


					
Diego, who is a contributor to this blog, offered his support to Jason Raines for Sunnyside City Council with a letter to the editor in today’s Daily Sun News.


This is what he said:


It is said that local elections usually fail to attract quality candidates. That is not the case in Sunnyside.


My friend, Jason Raines, is a candidate for city council, running on the importance of prioritizing spending and public safety. Unlike most politicians, Jason offers ideas and solutions, not rhetoric.


His passion for keeping streets safe earned him the distinct endorsement of the Sunnyside Police Officers Guild.


Please join me in supporting Jason Raines, the solution-based candidate.


/s/ Diego Trejo,


Grandview

		


				


				

					

						Filed under 2011 Election, Sunnyside Budget Issues, Sunnyside Council, Sunnyside Crime Issues, Traditional Values, Uncategorized
						Tagged with , , , , , 					

				


			


		
			


				


					
Former Planning Commissioner Supports Raines


					

						

							October 28, 2011
															by 
																						Leave a comment
																				

					


					
Jim Warren, a former planning commissioner for the City of Sunnyside, has endorsed Jason Raines for City Council.  A letter of support was printed in today’s Daily Sun News.


Here is the letter from Jim Warren:


During recent years, I have gotten to know Jason Raines and have come to know his passion for making Sunnyside the best place to live in the Yakima Valley.


Jason wants public safety to be the priority for the city budget, but also seeks greater efficiency at city hall.


We have had multiple conversations about how to improve our municipal government, to include greater transparency and skillfulness in implementing policies.


As I have gotten to know him, I am impressed with his honesty and concern for others. Jason is the type of person we need on the city council.


Please join me in supporting Jason Raines for city council.


/s/ Jim S. Warren, Sunnyside


Related articles


		


				


				

					

						Filed under 2011 Election, Sunnyside Council, Sunnyside Planning Commission, Uncategorized
						Tagged with , , , , , , 					

				


			


		
		

			
← Older posts

			

		


	




















	

	


	

		Follow
		


					


			

			
Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.


			

						
Join 1,976 other followers