Sheldon
Who did the research on Padre Serra? No name is mentioned. It goes to show you how false press is released to the public and how uneducated certain people are. The Padres including Padre Serra helped Native Americans against the abusive and cruel Spanish Soldiers. It was the Spanish military who treated the Indians so badly and, many Native Americans were decimated because of illnesses the Spanish military brought with it.
W. Moyer
Moyer:
First let me explain that none of the comments about Padre Serra were mine. I have nothing against him. My article was about Stanford University removing his name from many of their buildings, so a name was mentioned. Stanford University is hardly uneducated and considered one of the finest colleges in the United States. If you disagree with their decision you should be contacting them. By the way, many other organizations are coming to the same conclusion.
The funny statue was just that and meant no disrespect for the padre.
Thank you for your comments.
Sheldon
District 1 Conflict of Interest
In elections, a conflict of interest, whether legal or the mere perception of conflict will taint the entire process. In Ventura City Council District 1 race, the Executive Director of the Downtown Ventura Partners, Kevin Clerici, is running to represent the downtown and the Avenue area of Ventura.
There is nothing against Mr. Clerici personally. He is a good person and means well. However, just because the FPPC says he can run, his actions, both on the dais and behind the scenes, are open to question, no matter how innocent his intentions might be.
The Downtown Ventura Partners receives 40% of its operations revenue through a special tax. That tax is voted on by downtown property owners. The City of Ventura controls 33% of the downtown properties. When there is a vote within the special property district, the City of Ventura, directed by the City Council, votes as a block and therefore controls the outcome. When only 72% of the property owners vote, the City’s 33% becomes 46%, in effect. That means the City needs another 5% of the downtown property voters to vote yes. Therefore, the City Council has almost total control of the downtown special tax vote.
With the special district tax, the Downtown Ventura Partners (DVP) receives $485,186 in annual special taxes. On top of that, the Ventura City Council also awards DVP another $172,000. Of their entire budget, the Downtown Ventura Partners (DVP) receives over 52% of its revenue, either directly or indirectly, from votes by the Ventura Council. Therefore, Mr. Clerici would be voting on his own livelihood.
Mr. Clerici receives a salary of $85,000 from the Downtown Ventura Partners (DVP). Therefore, even if he recluses himself on downtown issues, the citizens in District 1 will be underrepresented with Mr. Clerici as their representative.
Bob Alviani Ventura
The Breeze asked the Downtown Ventura Partners to respond. Mr. Clerici’s candidate statement is
in this issue.
RE: Alviani Letter to the Editor
Mr. Alviani is confused about the downtown Ventura special district and the non-profit, Downtown Ventura Partners (DVP) that contracts with the city to manage it.
The city’s Property-Based Improvement District (PBID) straddles three of the new city council districts (1,2 and 7) and no single council member will be the exclusive representative.
Mr. Alviani states that “The City of Ventura directed by the City Council, votes as a block and therefore controls the outcome (of the PBID elections).” He bases this on his erroneous assumption that the city owns 33% of the property within the district when the real number is less than 23%. If just 25% of the other property owners voted contrary to the City Council, those owners would prevail.
All future city council votes on the PBID and other DVP programs will be controlled by a permanent majority of council members from the eastside. If either the city or property owners conclude that there isn’t appropriate value for their investment, they may terminate contracts with our non-profit or overturn the PBID at any time.
The DVP board asked its executive director Kevin Clerici to reach out to the state’s Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) and the City Attorney to provide preliminary advice on potential conflicts prior to Mr. Clerici filing as a city council candidate. If he is elected, there will certainly be votes on which he will have to recuse himself but it does not disqualify him from running or serving.
Meanwhile, DVP will continue to make downtown a clean, safe and vibrant hub for all of Ventura.
David S. Armstrong, President
Downtown Ventura Partners
There is no exquisite beauty without some strangeness in the proportion.
~ Edgar Allan Poe