Sunshine v. Clean Government
Dear Gentle Reader,
My blog title "San Diego Sunshine" may conjure up visions of beaches and surfers, sunbathers and volleyball players. Yes, during the past week you’d be able to find all of the above in my neighborhood.
But, if it makes you feel any better, the picture is not all that rosy, aside from the weather. Our (adopted) fair city is a mess, financially. This week federal prosecutors indicted five current and former members of the city’s pension board for multiple felonies including conspiracy, wire and mail fraud. There may be additional indictments in the weeks ahead.
Last month Congressman "Duke" Cunningham, who represents north San Diego County and parts of the city, tearfully resigned from office after pleading guilty to bribery.
Also, during the past year, three members of the San Diego City Council were charged with taking bribes from a strip-club owner. One was convicted, one died before going to trial, and the third will receive a new trial on reduced charges.
Our new mayor didn’t mince words on Friday: "Our general fund is a disaster." Because of funny business by the pension board and their off-book record keeping, the city doesn’t even know what the current deficit is. Estimates are now running to $2 billion. That’s getting to be real money. (Read: higher taxes.)
Our former acting-mayor acknowledged in a newspaper article today, "Streets don’t get cleaned regularly, trees don’t get trimmed, and potholes don’t get filled as quickly as needed. Even worse, library and park and recreation center hours are cut, public pools are closed, and police community-service officer positions are eliminated."
Sunshine is nice, but I have this old-fashioned expectation that my elected city officials exercise oversight so that we don’t end up paying hefty pensions for people who have manipulated the system.
For someone who grew up in down-to-earth Iowa and lived most of her adult-life in Wisconsin where the government might be described as "squeaky-clean," all of this corruption is disappointing, to say the least. Not that it’s limited to San Diego—Washington, D.C. is also headlining indictments of government officials. However, the "misery loves company" idea just isn’t very comforting.
Government officials in the Midwest may not be as self-assured or articulate or sophisticated as in California. But "honesty" is a family value we’d like to see revived in San Diego.
My blog title "San Diego Sunshine" may conjure up visions of beaches and surfers, sunbathers and volleyball players. Yes, during the past week you’d be able to find all of the above in my neighborhood.
But, if it makes you feel any better, the picture is not all that rosy, aside from the weather. Our (adopted) fair city is a mess, financially. This week federal prosecutors indicted five current and former members of the city’s pension board for multiple felonies including conspiracy, wire and mail fraud. There may be additional indictments in the weeks ahead.
Last month Congressman "Duke" Cunningham, who represents north San Diego County and parts of the city, tearfully resigned from office after pleading guilty to bribery.
Also, during the past year, three members of the San Diego City Council were charged with taking bribes from a strip-club owner. One was convicted, one died before going to trial, and the third will receive a new trial on reduced charges.
Our new mayor didn’t mince words on Friday: "Our general fund is a disaster." Because of funny business by the pension board and their off-book record keeping, the city doesn’t even know what the current deficit is. Estimates are now running to $2 billion. That’s getting to be real money. (Read: higher taxes.)
Our former acting-mayor acknowledged in a newspaper article today, "Streets don’t get cleaned regularly, trees don’t get trimmed, and potholes don’t get filled as quickly as needed. Even worse, library and park and recreation center hours are cut, public pools are closed, and police community-service officer positions are eliminated."
Sunshine is nice, but I have this old-fashioned expectation that my elected city officials exercise oversight so that we don’t end up paying hefty pensions for people who have manipulated the system.
For someone who grew up in down-to-earth Iowa and lived most of her adult-life in Wisconsin where the government might be described as "squeaky-clean," all of this corruption is disappointing, to say the least. Not that it’s limited to San Diego—Washington, D.C. is also headlining indictments of government officials. However, the "misery loves company" idea just isn’t very comforting.
Government officials in the Midwest may not be as self-assured or articulate or sophisticated as in California. But "honesty" is a family value we’d like to see revived in San Diego.
posted by Patty G. | 10:09 PM
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