Well, the attempt to recall recently elected Alisal trustee Guadalupe Guzman appears to be going nowhere.
Relatives of former Trustee Meredith Ibarra took out recall papers against Guzman early September, but the effort did not qualify and nothing more has happened since then, Monterey Registrar of Voters Claudio Valenzuela said Thursday.
I decided to get updated information because there's rumors a recall movement is brewing against Salinas City Elementary Trustee Foster Hoffman. Hoffman frequently votes against the majority who votes with Trustee Janet Barnes, now facing a recall attempt herself. Supporters of her recall need to collect nearly 2,300 signatures by Oct. 28 to submit it to the voters.
Valenzuela tells me his office has received inquiries for a potential recall against Hoffman, but no paperwork has been turned up yet. Stay tuned.
Showing posts with label meredith ibarra. Show all posts
Showing posts with label meredith ibarra. Show all posts
Thursday, October 9, 2014
Monday, August 25, 2014
Alisal recall moves forward as Castaneda reportedly loses his cool
My colleague Jeff Mitchell at The Californian wrote in July that Juan Sandoval, an Alisal Union School District employee leading a recall effort against Salinas Councilman Jose Castañeda, reached an agreement with the councilman and his supporters to suspend the recall effort. Read all about it here.
It doesn't look like the truce with the supporters lasted long. Sandoval, who's also leading the effort to recall Alisal Trustee Meredith Ibarra, is taking a hit in the form of a mini-documentary. Very nicely produced. And so much effort went into research. Fascinating.
The documentary has the fingerprints of the Ibarra family -- staunch Castañeda supporters -- all over it. You can find the video here.
I bring this up for two reasons: one, because the recall election is in full swing, and if the video is any indication, it sounds like it's getting nasty over there. Two, because part of the agreement asked of the councilmember to seek psychological counseling -- as reported by Mitchell.
And judging by yet another fine piece of journalism by Mitchell, either the counseling didn't happen or is not working. Mitchell wrote that Castañeda almost went to blows with the city attorney and the assistant city manager last week, after a meeting in which only two councilmembers and the mayor agreed to a $400,000 settlement with former librarian Elizabeth Martinez. Apparently, Castañeda wanted to know how the settlement was reached, and he was trying to use his charm to get the information out of city employees.
I doubt it worked, but you never know.
The great thing about having elected officials such as Castañeda and Ibarra is that they provide endless opportunities for writing juicy stories. The sad part is the damage inflicted on the children, starting with the example they set on so many different fronts. Behavior, to begin with.
It'll be interesting to see how the Alisal recall unfolds. Stay tuned.
It doesn't look like the truce with the supporters lasted long. Sandoval, who's also leading the effort to recall Alisal Trustee Meredith Ibarra, is taking a hit in the form of a mini-documentary. Very nicely produced. And so much effort went into research. Fascinating.
The documentary has the fingerprints of the Ibarra family -- staunch Castañeda supporters -- all over it. You can find the video here.
I bring this up for two reasons: one, because the recall election is in full swing, and if the video is any indication, it sounds like it's getting nasty over there. Two, because part of the agreement asked of the councilmember to seek psychological counseling -- as reported by Mitchell.
And judging by yet another fine piece of journalism by Mitchell, either the counseling didn't happen or is not working. Mitchell wrote that Castañeda almost went to blows with the city attorney and the assistant city manager last week, after a meeting in which only two councilmembers and the mayor agreed to a $400,000 settlement with former librarian Elizabeth Martinez. Apparently, Castañeda wanted to know how the settlement was reached, and he was trying to use his charm to get the information out of city employees.
I doubt it worked, but you never know.
The great thing about having elected officials such as Castañeda and Ibarra is that they provide endless opportunities for writing juicy stories. The sad part is the damage inflicted on the children, starting with the example they set on so many different fronts. Behavior, to begin with.
It'll be interesting to see how the Alisal recall unfolds. Stay tuned.
Thursday, August 21, 2014
Monday's the last day to register to vote in Ibarra recall
If you live in trustee area 1 of the Alisal Union School District, and you've been following the saga of Meredith Ibarra and efforts to recall her, you'd probably want to know the last day to register to vote in the election is Monday.
You can register to vote, update your registration, or verify your registration status at the Elections Department, Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 1370-B South Main Street in Salinas, or online here.
Registration forms must be received or postmarked by Aug. 25 to be qualified to vote on the Sept. 9 Recall Election.
Go vote!
You can register to vote, update your registration, or verify your registration status at the Elections Department, Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 1370-B South Main Street in Salinas, or online here.
Registration forms must be received or postmarked by Aug. 25 to be qualified to vote on the Sept. 9 Recall Election.
Go vote!
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Alisal Board seeks to muzzle Meredith Ibarra
Alisal Union Trustee Meredith Ibarra did not take well to a proposal that would limit the amount of time a board member can drone on about agenda items during board meetings.
Currently there's no limit on how many questions a board member can ask, or how much he or she can comment on an item. The always eloquent Ibarra has been told twice in recent meetings to stop being disruptive. Newly elected Board President Maricela Cruz has had Ibarra's microphone shut off to prevent her from talking, to no avail.
A newly introduced board policy would limit the amount of time a board member can comment on agenda items to five minutes, or longer if authorized by the board president.
The policy would also have disruptive board members removed from the board room and placed in a separate location to allow for their participation remotely. But the board president could stop the disruptive board member from participating remotely if the behavior persists.
Ibarra clearly felt she was being the target -- mmmmm -- and made it clear she's going to file a complaint.
"You don’t have a right to revise and approve this policy," Ibarra told her fellow trustees. "Just for you to know, this is a violation and I’m going to be acting on this issue."
To which, Cruz responded:
"People need to have control of themselves, and if they don’t, somebody else will. As a new board we have the right to revise policies."
Wednesday's was the policy's first reading. It will be enacted at the next scheduled meeting.
Currently there's no limit on how many questions a board member can ask, or how much he or she can comment on an item. The always eloquent Ibarra has been told twice in recent meetings to stop being disruptive. Newly elected Board President Maricela Cruz has had Ibarra's microphone shut off to prevent her from talking, to no avail.
A newly introduced board policy would limit the amount of time a board member can comment on agenda items to five minutes, or longer if authorized by the board president.
The policy would also have disruptive board members removed from the board room and placed in a separate location to allow for their participation remotely. But the board president could stop the disruptive board member from participating remotely if the behavior persists.
Ibarra clearly felt she was being the target -- mmmmm -- and made it clear she's going to file a complaint.
"You don’t have a right to revise and approve this policy," Ibarra told her fellow trustees. "Just for you to know, this is a violation and I’m going to be acting on this issue."
To which, Cruz responded:
"People need to have control of themselves, and if they don’t, somebody else will. As a new board we have the right to revise policies."
Wednesday's was the policy's first reading. It will be enacted at the next scheduled meeting.
Monday, January 27, 2014
Juan Sandoval serves José Castañeda with recall papers. Again.
It's was a busy week for Juan Sandoval. First, he served recall papers to Alisal Union Elementary School District Trustee Meredith Ibarra.
The signatures were validated and the recall petition will proceed, Juan told me.
A few days later, he said he served Salinas Councilman José Castañeda with recall papers.
He says he does not want to wait until their terms expire to boot them out of office.
We'll see if he's successful this time gathering the required number of signatures.
The signatures were validated and the recall petition will proceed, Juan told me.
A few days later, he said he served Salinas Councilman José Castañeda with recall papers.
He says he does not want to wait until their terms expire to boot them out of office.
We'll see if he's successful this time gathering the required number of signatures.
Thursday, January 23, 2014
Meredith Ibarra receives recall papers
Juan Sandoval, the Alisal employee who's trying to recall Salinas City Councilman José Castañeda, has served recall papers for Alisal Union School District board member Meredith Ibarra.
And he has papers ready to serve Castañeda a third time for another recall effort, he said Friday.
Sandoval served Ibarra with recall papers at the Alisal board meeting Wednesday evening. He was sure to have people on hand to record the event.
Sandoval will need to take several steps before the recall can proceed. His second attempt to recall Castañeda fizzled earlier this month when Salinas City Clerk found he did not have enough valid signatures to proceed.
" I have not been able to serve him, but I have the signatures ready," Sandoval told me about his paperwork against Castañeda.
Sandoval said he'll be able to handle two recall petitions at the same time, and that he does not want to wait for Ibarra to serve out her full term.
"As a parent, I'm concerned for my daughter. (Ibarra) keeps being disruptive, she does not understand what it means to be a board member. It's all a political game for her."
And he has papers ready to serve Castañeda a third time for another recall effort, he said Friday.
Sandoval served Ibarra with recall papers at the Alisal board meeting Wednesday evening. He was sure to have people on hand to record the event.
Sandoval will need to take several steps before the recall can proceed. His second attempt to recall Castañeda fizzled earlier this month when Salinas City Clerk found he did not have enough valid signatures to proceed.
" I have not been able to serve him, but I have the signatures ready," Sandoval told me about his paperwork against Castañeda.
Sandoval said he'll be able to handle two recall petitions at the same time, and that he does not want to wait for Ibarra to serve out her full term.
"As a parent, I'm concerned for my daughter. (Ibarra) keeps being disruptive, she does not understand what it means to be a board member. It's all a political game for her."
Monday, December 30, 2013
Of Alisal texting and traipsing among crop circles
Happy almost new year! Allow me to take a small break from reporting on the exciting world of Crop Circles to bring up some interesting commentary on a story I've reported on previously.
I decided to bring it up because it's the talk among Alisal observers: how Trustee Meredith Ibarra seems to receive her marching orders from brother Jose Ibarra.
For those of you who follow the Alisal, you may recall a heated meeting a couple of weeks ago when Trustee Ibarra kept interrupting the meeting, presumably to prevent several actions to take place. The meeting on Dec. 18 was postponed for the next day, when the actions were actually approved.
Several people noted how Meredith Ibarra kept looking at her iPad, and also how her brother Jose was texting constantly during the meeting. There's not way to prove who they're texting, but you know how it goes. Speculation is rampant that brother Jose is cyber whispering in his little sister's ear what to ask and what to say. This video shows Ibarra texting frenetically -- to the point that he misses questions from his boss, Superintendent John Ramirez. And Meredith Ibarra glued to her iPad.
Who knows what really goes on, but one thing's for certain. New board president Maricela Cruz could not make Trustee Ibarra stick to the meeting, so making her put her iPad away is going to be next to impossible.
I decided to bring it up because it's the talk among Alisal observers: how Trustee Meredith Ibarra seems to receive her marching orders from brother Jose Ibarra.
For those of you who follow the Alisal, you may recall a heated meeting a couple of weeks ago when Trustee Ibarra kept interrupting the meeting, presumably to prevent several actions to take place. The meeting on Dec. 18 was postponed for the next day, when the actions were actually approved.
Several people noted how Meredith Ibarra kept looking at her iPad, and also how her brother Jose was texting constantly during the meeting. There's not way to prove who they're texting, but you know how it goes. Speculation is rampant that brother Jose is cyber whispering in his little sister's ear what to ask and what to say. This video shows Ibarra texting frenetically -- to the point that he misses questions from his boss, Superintendent John Ramirez. And Meredith Ibarra glued to her iPad.
Who knows what really goes on, but one thing's for certain. New board president Maricela Cruz could not make Trustee Ibarra stick to the meeting, so making her put her iPad away is going to be next to impossible.
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