Hello Hesperia, Thanks  for visiting. This website is about you and the quality of life in Hesperia. I started it in 2005, concerned with the lack of progress that the Hesperia City Council had made in paving residential roads. The issue of improving roads is still the number one concern of Hesperia residents, far and away. The roads in Hesperia are the 24/7 reminder of local governments failure or success. Your vote is your voice on November 2nd.

Local Government 101

In Hesperia, the City Council job is a non-partisan, part time position.  2 meetings a month with a small stipend for pay.  That means that you have to live in Hesperia to run, and the only people who get to vote are the people who live in Hesperia. The only issues that the City Council has any say in are Hesperia issues, and they have nothing to do with party politics or any other level of government. Just what goes on in Hesperia, not the County, not the State, not on the Federal level. No Republican or Democrat political positions, no teaparty or liberal rhetoric. Just Hesperia issues,concerning the residents of Hesperia, that's all the City Council job is about. Politics causes the problems in government, it is not the solution to problems. Politics is why nothing gets done at other levels of government, and its why local government should be free from politics. Thats why the City Council job is defined as non-partisan. 

Non-partisan means no political party. There are no Republican, Democrat, or any other political party links to the City or conducting the public business of the citizens of Hesperia . By law, no local City tax money can be spent nor can any City resources be used on any partisan or non-partisan political event or campaign.   

The photo below documents such a violation of law by using local Hesperia tax dollars and City of Hesperia  resources for "politicians" supporting a  ballot measure that has nothing to do with Hesperia and will not effect Hesperia in any way.

Local Republican's speak in favor of Texas oil companies Valero and Tesoro ballot measure.  What does it have to do with Hesperia?  Why Hesperia City Hall as the site?

On the "soft" Hesperia Mayor's position, like the City Council job it is a part time job that has no extra pay or no extra power. The City council appoints one of the Council members to the position every year. It is a ceremonial appointment, and who ever is in the position has no more authority than the other 4 City Council members. The Mayor does not speak for the City or for the Council, the Mayor's actions or behavior while Mayor are not a reflection of the City or the City Council. The appointed "Mayor" can speak at community gatherings or ground breaking ceremonies, try to run the Council meetings twice a month, and represent Hesperia at other government meetings. But the position has no extra power or authority than any of the other 4 councilmembers.

The dog catchers job is described in its title. If you were elected to the dog catcher job, you would be expected to catch dogs and keep your political veiws to yourself. The City Council job is the same. You are elected by the people of Hesperia to work on Hesperia issues and thats it. I don't care what your political views are, just do what you were elected for and keep your politics to yourself.

On August 3, council members Smith and Leonard shouted NO! into the microphones at City hall on the question of letting the people of Hesperia vote on a November ballot measure. They shouted NO! to letting the people of Hesperia vote on the level of services that they wanted. The proposed ballot measure did not contain any tax increase or hike of any kind, it was a sales tax reduction of 1/2 of a cent from what you are paying now. What they killed off was the publics right to vote on Hesperia's future. They did not vote down anything to do with raising taxs, they voted against the people in Hesperia voting on a ballot measure that has everything to do with Hesperia.

Ironically, 17 days later "Mayor" Smith used City of Hesperia tax dollars and City of Hesperia resources to promote a state ballot measure that has nothing to do with Hesperia and the people who live here. After he denied the people of Hesperia the right to vote on a local ballot measure that could of helped Hesperia on August 3.

So you don't get to vote on a local Hesperia ballot measure, but "Mayor " Smith can spend your tax dollars to tell you how to vote on a state ballot measure? Strange logic and reasoning so far in this election season, I'm sure it will get stranger as it goes.

3 seats on the City Council are up for grabs this November and what direction the Council takes will be determined by who gets elected. Political and special interest groups have candidates in the mix who will be representing their agendas. They will be touting endorsements from business groups and other politicians, and they will fool some voters into thinking that they are on your side. What is said during the election is quickly forgotten, after the election.

Some elected officials get caught up in their new found fame and it becomes all about them instead of the people of the community. They change, right before your eyes. They take credit for everything and anything, while having nothing to do with most of it.  And suddenly, after being elected to a nonpartisan office, think that their political opinion is what the community wants to hear. The basic needs of the people in Hesperia are ignored and the special interest or political agenda becomes their priority. Lets not go down this path again this year. Elect some members of the community who will represent you and work on making Hesperia a better place to live. Its not about politics at this level. Its about results in the community. When personal political veiws come before doing whats right for the community, the community suffers for it. Hesperia was making progress, now it is going backwards. Roads will not get paved, cuts in public services are coming next year. There is no upside to setting Hesperia back 10 years.

Here's the quote for some of the comments made at recent Council meetings.

Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.

Abraham Lincoln

Book mark this website and check back often as I will be updating more often, as the election nears. The good news is that you can vote in a City Council that represents your interests this November. Make sure that you are registered and make sure that you vote.   

What happened Tuesday Night 8-3-2010?

The No Votes of Leonard and Smith cost the residents of Hesperia $15 Million dollars in revenue for roads and public safety. You don't get to have a vote in what happens in Hesperia. What I saw was a staged protest designed by the Hesperia Star and the Daily Press that was fed with mis-information to the public from them. The people of Hesperia never had a chance to have a say in their future with 2 City council memebers voting down the publics right to vote on the ballot measure. Who won? What did they win? Nothing, except to force their political opinion on the residents of Hesperia. From where I sit, I can tell you for sure who lost. The people of Hesperia lost, big time. $15 Million Dollars of revenue over the next 5 years thanks to Smith and Leonard. No roads will be getting paved for the next few years. There's no money. Cuts in the fire district are almost a sure thing as the general fund had to bail them out this fiscal year with a million dollars. Cuts in the fire budget mean emergency services will take longer to respond, which may put people and property at more risk. Lives could be lost due to longer response times. I'm going to be listing all of the parties that spoke out against the people of Hesperia and what they said. But for the immediate future, if you have any complaints on the roads, or the lack of public services, the 2 councilmen who voted against your right to vote on these issues are Mike Leonard and Thurston Smith. Next year when the cuts are deeper, again you need to talk to Mike and Smitty for their solution to the funding problems in Hesperia. The other "candidates" for City Council (that I won't be voting for either) that spoke out against the people of Hesperia getting to vote on their future were Russ Blewett and David Holman. Lets start over with citizens who don't have a hidden agenda. 3 new faces on the council would be a good start.

Its now on them. They took control away from the public. They decided for you. Deal With IT. 

Leonard and Smith while denying the public the opportunity to vote on a painless short term funding remedy now have the responsibility to come up with an acceptable plan to deal with the revenue shortfall. I will be asking them and all of the other candidates for city council to show the people of Hesperia their "better" solution to the fire district revenue decline. You killed off the public making the choice option, now its time for your plan to be presented. How is the City going to fund the Fire District at the current levels? How are you going to pave roads in Hesperia without tax revenue? What are you proposing to cut and who will lose their job?

^{With their 2 no votes on the question of a 1/2 cent revenue measure making it on the ballot for the people of Hesperia to decide. Hesperia City Council members Thurston Smith and Mike Leonard decided against letting the citizens in Hesperia participate in the City budget process Tuesday night. They also killed any chance for revenue to keep the road paving program alive.The number 1 citizen choice when asked ,}

^{"_{If the City government could change one thing to make Hesperia a better place to live now and in the future, what change would you like to see?" 36% stated- Improve Streets, Roads.}}

^{As much as I try to figure out why, I am still at a loss to explain the logic in their no votes. It's about the democratic process, this is not Iran or some 3rd world dictatorship . Fear of the voters making a decision that they don't agree with politically is a close as I can get to of making sense of their no votes and keeping the issue away from the voting public.}

^{The irony of Mike Leonards firemans union dilemma is obvious to everyone but Mike Leonard. His no vote will be the reason that firefighters will lose their jobs next year. How is that supporting public safety? I hope that those firefighters will ask Mike and their union to explain how cuts in staffing and hours over a 1/2 of a penny sales tax reduction is worth their job. Good luck Mike.}

^{After we know who is running for office, I will be posting their connections to special interest groups and who is backing them for office. Check back after the filing deadline for full election coverage here.} 

^{I have posted the Revenue Measure Feasibility Study-Draft Survey Report on a separate page for download. It contains some very interesting and surprising information. The big question now is not if people support or oppose a 1/2 cent sales tax increase for 5 years to pave some roads and help pay for public safety, the question is will the voters in Hesperia get to make that call. I started this website in 2005 and have spent countless hours working on it with the goal of getting the roads paved in Hesperia. I can live with paying 1/2 a cent tax on every dollar spent in Hesperia going towards roads, if the people of Hesperia vote that way. The problem is getting the question on the ballot. Some believe that the citizens should not have a say in how tax money is spent. That they know better than the voters as to what is important and what gets done. What do you think? Would you like to vote on it? Or vote it down? Or trust who ever is on the city council at the time to make the call? To validate that the roads in Hesperia are still far and away the number one concern of the residents of Hesperia the survey showed that 36% of respondents said roads, when they were asked. This was not a multiple choice question, it was what would you like City government to focus on? What is important to you?}

^{Question 3 of the survey was, "If the City government could change one thing to make Hesperia a better place to live now and in the future, what change would you like to see?"}

The most common response to this question was improving streets and roads in the City, which was mentioned by 36% of respondents. Approximately 14% of respondents were unsure or could not think of anything they want the City to change, which is a positive response as it indicates that there are no particular problems within the City’s scope of responsibilities that concern these voters. Other specific changes mentioned included improving public safety (11%), attracting new businesses (5%), limiting growth and development (4%), improving sewers and storm drains (4%), improving government process and leadership (4%), attracting employers and jobs (4%), and reducing traffic congestion (4%). No other category was mentioned by at least 4% of respondents.
 

This is an editorial that ran in the Riverside Press Enterprise that I fully agree with.

SCUTTLE ANONYMOUS WEB BOARDS
 It must have seemed like a great idea at the time.

   There was this new medium, the Internet, and newspapers were posting stories on it, and someone decided to create a forum where readers could discuss and debate what they just read. It must have seemed an inspiration kissed by the spirit of Jefferson: a free public space where each of us could have his or her say.

   Unfortunately, the reality of the thing has proved to be something else entirely. For proof, see the message boards of pretty much any paper. Or just wade in the nearest cesspool. The experiences are equivalent. Far from validating some highminded ideal of public debate, message boards — particularly those inadequately policed by their newspapers and/or dealing with highly emotional matters — have become havens for a level of crudity, bigotry, meanness and plain nastiness that shocks the tattered remnants of our propriety.

   Why have message boards failed to live up to the noble expectations? The answer in a word is, anonymity. The fact that on a message board — unlike in an old-fashioned letter to the editor — no one is required to identify himself, no one is required to say who he is and “own” what he’s said, has inspired many to vent their most reptilian thoughts.

   So, some of us are intrigued by what recently happened in Cleveland. It seems someone using the alias “lawmiss” had posted scathing personal attacks on the Web site of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Some of those comments and attacks evinced an unlikely familiarity with cases being heard by a local judge, Shirley Strickland Saffold. When lawmiss made a comment about the mental state of a reporter’s relative, the paper decided to trace the nickname. It found that the postings came from Judge Saffold’s personal e-mail account.

   Saffold claims her 23-yearold daughter authored the comments. Sydney Saffold, who lives in another city, supports her mom’s story. Believe them if you choose.

   Meanwhile, the paper has been criticized by some observers for unmasking lawmiss, and there is some merit to that. But it would’ve been “more” wrong to have evidence that a judge viewed an attorney appearing in her court on a capital case as “Amos and Andy” — to use one example — and do nothing about it.

   The larger point is that the paper should not have offered its message posters anonymity in the first place. “No” paper should. A confidential source necessary to break the big story is one thing. But the only imperative here is to deliver more eyes to the Web site.

   As any student of Sociology 101 can tell you, when people don’t have to account for what they say or do, they will often say and do things that would shock their better selves.

   That’s the story of the mousy, mosque-going schoolteacher swept up in the window-breaking mob during the big blackout. And it is the story of newspaper message boards, which have inadvertently licensed and tacitly approved the worst of human nature under the guise of free speech.

   “Enough.” Make them leave their names. Stop giving people a way to throw rocks and hide their hands. Any dropoff in the quantity of message board postings will surely be made up in the quality thereof.

   That’s my opinion. If you don’t like it, well, at least you know who to blame.