A reader writes to say that Claremont City Councilmember Ellen Taylor's at it again (so much for "civility). Of course, because it's Ellen, the Claremont 400 double standard applies, so no worries, Ellen, slap away! Hey, we don't make the news, we just report it. Also, Vulcan Mining (CASM's nemesis) makes a cameo:
Thu, 26 Apr 2007 10:31:09 -0700
Subject: April 24th Claremont City Council Meeting
To: "claremont buzz"
Subject: April 24th Claremont City Council Meeting
To: "claremont buzz"
Deja Vu all over again at the Claremont City Council on Tuesday, April 24th.
According to council watchers
According to council watchers
present at the meeting (you can see a taped broadcast of this event on Monday, April 30th at 8pm on the local cable station) when the discussion about approving the recommendations made by the Human Services Commission for distribution of CBO (Community Based Organization) money from the city's general fund came around, Councilmember (oops----Mayor Pro Tem) Ellen Taylor wanted to give Shoes That Fit , a local non- profit that provides shoes and clothes and school supplies for needy children, $1500 more than the Commission recommended.
This is the same thing that former Councilmember Sandy Baldonado did the previous year for a few of her favorite charities when CBO funding recommendations were presented to the council. Except that it worked for Baldonado with Mayor Peter Yao and Councilmember Taylor supporting her recommendation. Calaycay and McHenry voted no, for various reasons I hear, but perhaps it occurred to them, as it evidently did to some of the council watchers at the April 24th, 2007 replay of the 2006 event, that if councilmembers want to give away even more of the taxpayer money to charitable groups than their Commission recommended, perhaps they themselves should pony up the extra money.
This time around, after initially saying that perhaps the council should give an extra $5000 and send it back to the Human Services Commission to make further
recommendations for distribution, Yao voted against the additional $1500. Calaycay, now taking on the questioning role McHenry used to play (albeit a softer and gentler version) opined that all the organizations recommended for funding were worthy of council support and it would not be fair to give additional money to just one group no matter how deserving. Evidently Elderkin and Pedroza felt similarly and the vote was 4-1 with Taylor dissenting. Her parting shot to the council after the vote came in, and heard by at least half the people in the council chambers (if you view the tape , see if you can hear it) was "Heartless.....". Some watchers heard "people" as the second word, some heard "council" but everyone heard "heartless".
Some watchers suggested that she could take some the $914 per month she gets from the city for deferred compensation and give that to Shoes That Fit, and , in fact, watchers tell me that Calaycay and Pedroza pledged to give their own money to the group. Evidently Taylor was not pleased with the vote and let her chagrin show and poor Pedroza , her seatmate to her right, took the brunt of it. Perhaps Sam should reconsider the seating arrangement and switch with Calaycay as they were seated in the initial meeting of the new council?
Speaking of Shoes That Fit , it is a very deserving outfit whose Executive Director is Roni Lomeli ( the wife of LaVerne City Manager Marty Lomeli and who are both Claremont residents), and whose Secretary/Treasurer is J. Michael Fay (who is not a resident of Claremont but manages to act as Treasurer for Claremont non-profits and local Candidates ,Paul Held among other luminaries) . In their Fall 2006 newsletter ,on the front page no less, is a glowing report of the wonderful contributions that Vulcan Materials has made to the organization. The newsletter reports that Vulcan "is one of Shoes That Fit's fastest growing corporate donors. Not only has Vulcan generously supported Shoes That Fit with donations from their foundation, but they have helped Shoes That Fit expand into our 33rd state with their new chapter in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and they have chapters in Upland, San Bernardino and Azusa, California." Wow! Maybe that is one reason Forbes Magazine voted Vulcan as the number one business in social responsibility in the nation (perhaps that was in their field, but check it out on the Forbes website, forbes.com). The Vulcan employees seem to love the partnership also. This is also from the Fall 2006 Shoes That Fit newsletter" "It's a great feeling to be able to help these kids," says Richard Lopez, assistant plant manager in Upland, CA. "This industry attracts a lot of rough and ragged type guys. But Shoes That Fit has really softened these guys up." " And yet another testimonial from the Upland plant " " Everyone participates," says Richard Lopez. "It is a really heart-warming experience. Some of the folks here got teary-eyed reading the letters from the kids we helped." " Wonder what CASM (Claremonters Against Strip Mining) thinks of this view of Vulcan?
If any of you readers of this blog would like to find out more about Shoes That Fit, you can go to their website, www.shoesthatfit.org, and if you contribute money, maybe you can tell the city council contact@ci.claremont.ca.us that you have made a contribution of private funds to support Shoes That Fit. Even better, you can make a contribution in the name of Ellen Taylor since she seems to short on both cash and civility.
This is the same thing that former Councilmember Sandy Baldonado did the previous year for a few of her favorite charities when CBO funding recommendations were presented to the council. Except that it worked for Baldonado with Mayor Peter Yao and Councilmember Taylor supporting her recommendation. Calaycay and McHenry voted no, for various reasons I hear, but perhaps it occurred to them, as it evidently did to some of the council watchers at the April 24th, 2007 replay of the 2006 event, that if councilmembers want to give away even more of the taxpayer money to charitable groups than their Commission recommended, perhaps they themselves should pony up the extra money.
This time around, after initially saying that perhaps the council should give an extra $5000 and send it back to the Human Services Commission to make further
recommendations for distribution, Yao voted against the additional $1500. Calaycay, now taking on the questioning role McHenry used to play (albeit a softer and gentler version) opined that all the organizations recommended for funding were worthy of council support and it would not be fair to give additional money to just one group no matter how deserving. Evidently Elderkin and Pedroza felt similarly and the vote was 4-1 with Taylor dissenting. Her parting shot to the council after the vote came in, and heard by at least half the people in the council chambers (if you view the tape , see if you can hear it) was "Heartless.....". Some watchers heard "people" as the second word, some heard "council" but everyone heard "heartless".
Some watchers suggested that she could take some the $914 per month she gets from the city for deferred compensation and give that to Shoes That Fit, and , in fact, watchers tell me that Calaycay and Pedroza pledged to give their own money to the group. Evidently Taylor was not pleased with the vote and let her chagrin show and poor Pedroza , her seatmate to her right, took the brunt of it. Perhaps Sam should reconsider the seating arrangement and switch with Calaycay as they were seated in the initial meeting of the new council?
Speaking of Shoes That Fit , it is a very deserving outfit whose Executive Director is Roni Lomeli ( the wife of LaVerne City Manager Marty Lomeli and who are both Claremont residents), and whose Secretary/Treasurer is J. Michael Fay (who is not a resident of Claremont but manages to act as Treasurer for Claremont non-profits and local Candidates ,Paul Held among other luminaries) . In their Fall 2006 newsletter ,on the front page no less, is a glowing report of the wonderful contributions that Vulcan Materials has made to the organization. The newsletter reports that Vulcan "is one of Shoes That Fit's fastest growing corporate donors. Not only has Vulcan generously supported Shoes That Fit with donations from their foundation, but they have helped Shoes That Fit expand into our 33rd state with their new chapter in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and they have chapters in Upland, San Bernardino and Azusa, California." Wow! Maybe that is one reason Forbes Magazine voted Vulcan as the number one business in social responsibility in the nation (perhaps that was in their field, but check it out on the Forbes website, forbes.com). The Vulcan employees seem to love the partnership also. This is also from the Fall 2006 Shoes That Fit newsletter" "It's a great feeling to be able to help these kids," says Richard Lopez, assistant plant manager in Upland, CA. "This industry attracts a lot of rough and ragged type guys. But Shoes That Fit has really softened these guys up." " And yet another testimonial from the Upland plant " " Everyone participates," says Richard Lopez. "It is a really heart-warming experience. Some of the folks here got teary-eyed reading the letters from the kids we helped." " Wonder what CASM (Claremonters Against Strip Mining) thinks of this view of Vulcan?
If any of you readers of this blog would like to find out more about Shoes That Fit, you can go to their website, www.shoesthatfit.org, and if you contribute money, maybe you can tell the city council contact@ci.claremont.ca.us that you have made a contribution of private funds to support Shoes That Fit. Even better, you can make a contribution in the name of Ellen Taylor since she seems to short on both cash and civility.
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