The Paper • Page 2 • October 30, 2014
‘Time for a Change’ Cont. from Page 1
er supervision of both our city manager and our city attorney. That, at a minimum.”
By contrast, the present Mayor, Sam Abed, vacillated on actions to be taken concerning our top administrators. He wants to wait for a lawsuit to be heard which, not incidentally, is AFTER the election. This, to us, smacks of a lack of leadership and the taking of decisive action when called for.
If/when an employee lies to you . . . they should be dismissed, for cause, immediately. We have other problems with Mayor Abed.
He is given to embellishing many of his statements with something other than facts.
Several months ago, for example, he told us of a survey he had taken which showed he was going to beat Olga Diaz by 20 points. We asked to see that poll. He said it had been conducted by a third party and they were unwilling to release it. "Sam," we said, "if you paid for the poll . . . you have a right to a copy of it and to use it as you wish." "Yes," he said, "but I don't want to tip my hand to my opponent."
Give Us This Day Our Daily Chuckle This week, a compendium of wit, wisdom and neat stuff you can tell at parties. Enjoy! Travel Tales
Siamese twins walk into a bar in Canada and park themselves on a bar stool. One of them says to the bartender, "Don't mind us; we're joined at the hip. I'm John, he's Jim. Two Molson Canadian beers, draft please." The bartender, feeling slightly awkward, tries to make polite conversation while pouring the beers. "Been on holiday yet, lads?"
"Off to England next month," says John. "We go to England every year, rent a car and drive for miles. Don't we, Jim?" Jim agrees. "Ah, England!" says the bartender. "Wonderful country...
Just two weeks ago he said that 80% of the people his most recent poll had conducted indicated they were happy with the direction the city was going. We asked to see that poll. Same answer. He would not share the poll or tell us who conducted it or within what demographic.
By contrast, a year ago we asked for a copy of Olga Diaz's poll which showed if it had been taken then she would have beaten Mayor Abed by 9 points. We had the complete poll, questions asked, and demographics in our email inbox that same day. She was responsive. Sam was not. There’s a lot to like about Sam Abed. He promised to hold Town Hall Meetings when elected Mayor. He kept that promise . . . and, for the most part, he conducted the meetings quite well. He runs a tight, well controlled, council meeting.
He has helped to turn the financial status of the city of Escondido around . . . from a deficit position to a comfortable surplus.
He is a man constantly on the move, always accessible by phone or in person (at least to the media). I’ve never had a single problem in reaching
the history, the beer, the culture..." "Nah, we don't like that British crap," says John. "Hamburgers and Molson's beer, that's us, eh Jim? And we can't stand the English - they're so arrogant and rude." "So why keep going to England?" asks the bartender.
"It's the only chance Jim gets to drive." The Beach Too Sandy? It's the Brits abroad
These are purportedly actual complaints received by “Thomas Cook Vacations,” from dissatisfied clients.
1. "I think it should be explained in the brochure that the local convenience store does not sell proper biscuits like custard creams or ginger nuts."
2. "It's lazy of the local shopkeepers in Puerto Vallarta to close in the afternoons. I often needed to buy things during 'siesta' time -- this should be banned."
3. "On my holiday to Goa in India, I was disgusted to find that almost every restaurant served curry. I don't like spicy food." 4. "We booked an excursion to a
Sam for questions or a quote. Even when he’s been upset with me over something I had written, he’s been professional and amiable. He is a sharp dresser, always well groomed and makes a favorable impression wherever he goes. But Sam is also a control freak. He did lead the movement to turn a $15.6 million deficit of four years to $5.9 million surplus in the last three years without using reserves or raising taxes. But to accomplish that he, among other things, closed the East Valley Parkway Library, cut back on recreational facility hours, including swimming pools during the summer months and has had a major impact on popular programs such as Tiny Tots.
He has touted a high-tech business center and led the city’s acquisition of private commerical properties that were to have housed the ill-fated minor league baseball stadium; we now own the properties but high-tech industries don’t seem to be interested. No takers so far.
The city is likely facing several major lawsuits because of the egregious handling of the Jim Maher matter. His top two
water park but no-one told us we had to bring our own swimsuits and towels. We assumed it would be included in the price." 5. "The beach was too sandy. We had to clean everything when we returned to our room."
6. "We found the sand was not like the sand in the brochure. Your brochure shows the sand as white but it was more yellow."
7. "They should not allow topless sunbathing on the beach. It was very distracting for my husband who just wanted to relax." 8. "No-one told us there would be fish in the water. The children were scared."
9. "Although the brochure said that there was a fully equipped kitchen, there was no egg-slicer in the drawers." 10. "We went on holiday to Spain and had a problem with the taxi drivers as they were all Spanish."
11. "The roads were uneven and bumpy, so we could not read the local guide book during the bus ride to the resort. Because of this, we were unaware of many things that would have made our holiday more fun."
administrators, Clay Phillips, the City Manager, and Jeff Epp, the City Attorney, apparently conspired or manipulated Mayor Abed into making a series of decisions that more closely resembled the Keystone Cops than a responsible city government. There are serious questions as to whether a felony violation of the Election Code and/or or other criminal codes may have been violated. Hopefully, appropriate law enforcement authorities, including the District Attorney and Grand Jury will investigate this matter. Unfortunately, these investigations, if commenced, will occur AFTER the election. More for the terribly unfair handling of the Chief Jim Maher matter, and the lack of transparency, I cannot in good conscience endorse Mayor Sam Abed. Weighing the two candidates, the choice becomes an easy one.
We thank Mayor Sam Abed for his years of service, and the many good things he’s done for the city, hoever, The Paper is proudly endorsing Deputy Mayor Olga Diaz for election to next position of Mayor of Escondido.
12. "It took us nine hours to fly home from Jamaica to England. It took the Americans only three hours to get home. This seems unfair." 13. "I compared the size of our one-bedroom suite to our friends' three-bedroom and ours was significantly smaller."
14. "The brochure stated: 'No hairdressers at the resort.' We're trainee hairdressers and we think they knew and made us wait longer for service." 15. "When we were in Spain, there were too many Spanish people there. The receptionist spoke Spanish, the food was Spanish. No one told us that there would be so many foreigners." 16. "We had to line up outside to catch the boat and there was no air-conditioning." 17. "It is your duty as a tour operator to advise us of noisy or unruly guests before we travel."
18. "I was bitten by a mosquito. The brochure did not mention mosquitoes." 19. "My fiancee and I requested twin-beds when we booked, but
‘Chuckles’ Cont. on Page 5