https://youtu.be/O-np0OdFvME
Wednesday, August 19, 2020
Monday, August 17, 2020
Protect Marina's Ground Water
CAL-AM WATER COMPANY IS
PLANNING ON STEALING MARINA'S
GROUND WATER SUPPLY
Video: A brief introduction to the City of Marina, California, and the key points explaining the environmental injustice of the proposed Cal-Am slant well desalination plant which would be imposed on Marina if it allowed to be built. This video was shown to the CA Coastal Commission on November 14, 2019 at a public hearing, part of strong opposition voiced by many individual citizens, regional elected officials, environmental and community groups.
Marina's ground water supply is in jeopardy. California American Water Company, the largest publicly traded (For Profit) U.S. water and wastewater utility company, is planning on stealing our water! According to Citizens for Just Water, "CalAm has no groundwater rights and the experimental Slant Well extraction of groundwater will cause further harm to an aquifer in overdraft. Cal Am’s desal project relies on using Marina's groundwater to feed their experimental desalination project for the Monterey Peninsula Water Supply Project. Cal Am does not have water rights to this water. A Stanford groundwater study shows that this project will cause harm to the aquifer which is already identified as 'critically over drafted'. The project will impact our beaches and federally recognized threatened wildlife but serve no water to Marina. Our community was not asked if we wanted this project. It is being forced on our less wealthy community to serve the peninsula hospitality and real estate interests."
The California Coastal Commission will be meeting on September 17, 2020 to decide the fate of Marina. Please join us in the fight along with the City of Marina, Citizens for Just Water, and many others! To get more information to either speak as a concerned citizen to the Coastal Commission on September 17th for one minute, or to just join our mailing list email Therese Kollerer with Citizens for Just Water at therese.c4justwater@gmail.com or visit https://www.citizensforjustwater.org/.
Wednesday, August 12, 2020
City Council to Appoint New Council Member!
City Council to Appoint New Council Member!
Instead of looking for the best qualified candidate possible, in a town hall meeting via Zoom on July 27, 2020, Mayor Bruce Delgado presented a check list describing his ideal candidate. Mayor Delgado's list included the candidates race, socioeconomic status, age, council meeting attendance, etc...
Council Member Urrutia has announced he will resign his council seat on August 5, 2020 with just over 2 years left in his term. He stated that he and his family will be moving to Rocklin, CA where extended family will assist with the distance learning of their children.
This leaves the City Council with a couple of options. The last day the City could publish an election notice was July 13, 2020, however the City Council could petition the Monterey County Elections Office to allow them to modify their original election notice to fill the vacancy. The last day for a candidate to file their papers for Declaration of Candidacy/Nomination is August 7, 2020.
Unfortunately in the same town hall meeting on July 27, 2020, Mayor Bruce Delgado announced that the council will not allow the voters of Marina to choose their new council member, but will rather appoint one according to the City Charter. If the remaining 4 council members are unable to come to a consensus within 40 days of Urrutia's resignation, Mayor Bruce Delgado will have the ability to unilaterally make the appointment.
UPDATE:
At the last City Council Meeting on August 5, 2020, Council Member Urrutia did not tender his resignation. He expressed a desire to continue on the City Council until he has completed a real estate transaction, at which time he will resign. This unfortunately has tied the hands of the City Council, which will now be forced to appoint a new Council Member.
With the new district voting implemented this year and an appointed replacement for Urrutia, the City of Marina will soon have 3 of it's 5 City Council Members chosen by less than half of the citizens/voters of Marina. So much for a government by the people. Marina will now have to settle for a government controlled by half of the people... All in the name of "diversity".
Marina's Democracy Has Been Stolen!
Marina's Democracy Has Been Stolen!
Who is Dan Cagape? According to a report from the Monterey County Weekly, he was the “resident” of Marina named by H. Frederick Seigenfeld, an attorney in Santa Barbara, in a letter sent to the City of Marina that threatened litigation if the Marina City Council did not transition from at-large elections to district elections.
The city had two options, pay a ransom in the sum amount of $30,000.00 to keep your democracy intact until 2022, or immediately transition and forfeit your democracy without a fight. It is regrettable that the City Council did not have the gull to stand their ground and fight for the voters of Marina. The City Council under the leadership, or rather lack thereof, of Mayor Bruce Delgado decided to cower to a bully in the name of “diversity”. Apparently your democracy was not worth the fight.
Some members of the council even voiced their support for the district elections. In an article published on December 12, 2019 by the Monterey County Weekly entitled “An effort to diversify representation in Marina draws lines that protect incumbents.” by Marielle Argueza, Council Member Adam Urrutia was quoted saying, “Even beyond the question of race and ethnicity, this is about the voters picking their representatives.”
The lines have been drawn and by a City Council vote of 3-2 the voters of Marina have been segregated under the guise of diversity. In actuality the lines appear to have been drawn to protect the incumbent seats on the council. To quote Council Member Urrutia from the same article referenced above the City Council, “ended up picking goofy districts and gerrymandering them like crazy, specifically to protect those who are sitting now.” The voters of Marina have now lost the ability to vote for all 5 city council seats, including the mayor. Instead they are now limited to only 2 votes; 1 district council member and 1 at-large mayor. To add insult to injury, only 2 council members are up for re-election in November 2020, which means that over half of the voters in Marina will NOT have a voice in this upcoming election.
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