4 • Valley Voice
State Senate Election May Impact Tulare County
Not many people in Tulare County will be voting in the July 23rd runoff between Andy Vidak and Leticia Perez. But come 2014, one of those two candidates will probably be representing much of Tulare County in California’s state senate. This is just one of the many twists and turns that have characterized the election. The 16th District has been redrawn and now is the 14th State Senate District. Whoever wins this special election July 23rd will be the incumbent in 2014 and probably our future state senator. And they could be our representative for the next twelve years until they term out. Right now only Dinuba, Woodlake and Lindsey can vote in the special election because the senator who resigned represented the old district. It all started when Democrat Michael Rubio resigned to spend more time with his family, and take a lucrative job with Chevron. It’s been suggested that he pay part of the million dollars that it takes to run this election since he did not fulfill his commitment to his constituents, but that is not how the game is played in Sacramento. In the political scrum that ensued, many big name Central Valley politicians, such as Fran Flores, Nicole Parra and Alan Autry, floated the possibil-
ity of running, but either bowed out or were forced to the sidelines by their political party. The last two standing who got their party’s endorsement were Democrat Leticia Perez, from Bakersfield and Republican Andy Vidak from Hanford. Round one – over, almost. A week before the filing deadline, Leticia Perez was told that she, in fact, did not live in the district as she had been told earlier by the elections office. Two days before the deadline she found a home that not only had to be in the 16th senate district but was also in her Kern County supervisorial district, in which she has been a board member for three months. In addition to her place of residence, the California Constitution states that a candidate has to live in the district for at least a year before running for office. In a previous case that was similar to Ms. Perez’s situation the court declined to intervene. Kudos needs to go to Mr. Vidak who chose to focus on the issues and not go to court. Round one-now officially over. On a side note, If she wins, Ms. Perez will be able to move back to the home she owns next year, which is in the 14th state senate district. Round two - the campaign. There were only seven weeks for the candidates
to woo the voters, which was a hardship for them, but a blessing for the residents of the district who had to listen to a barrage of television campaign ads and receive a deluge of mailers. As far as the issues, Ms. Perez does not support raising taxes but does support raising the minimum wage. She supports fracking and building the High Speed Rail. Mr. Vidak is campaigning to oppose any new taxes, reduce the size of government and bringing jobs to the Valley. He is opposed to the High Speed Rail and is vocal about bringing safe, clean drinking water to small communities whose water is contaminated by nitrates. Both candidates have been successful raising money, but to the great chagrin to the Republicans, Ms. Perez’s biggest contributor is Chevron. Can you say “fracking.” Round three – election day, May 21st. By Tuesday night Andy Vidak had 52% of the vote and was declared the winner. As Mr. Vidak celebrated his victory on Wednesday, he received a congratulatory call from President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg and was already making plans for his arrival in Sacramento.. Ms. Perez conceded the race Tuesday night seeing the impossibility of overcoming such a deficit. She and the three
4 July, 2013 CATHERINE DOE other little known candidates would have had to win just over two thirds of the remaining provisional and absentee ballots to push Mr. Vidak under the 50% mark and deny him an outright victory. And that is exactly what happened. Andy Vidak, who lost a congressional race to Rep. Costa by the slimmest of margins, now fell short by just 115 votes to clinch the primary. In the final analysis, Mr. Vidak did not clinch the primary, but he did soundly beat Ms. Perez 49.8% to 43.9%. Special elections, like this one, also tend to favor Republicans, increasing his chances to win the run off on July 23rd. On the other hand, the district is 51% Democrat and only 29% Republican. Trent Hager, Ms. Perez’s campaign manager said, “I do not know of a single legislative district in California where the GOP holds a seat where their registration under 29%.” Other factors include that the district is a majority Hispanic and she will not have to split the vote with other Democrats. There is also that minor detail that no Republican has held the seat for twenty years. But who is counting? My prediction? Two minutes after a winner is declared it’s show time for campaign 2014.
Supervisors Approve $1.76 Million in Salary Increases A $1.76 million salary increase for county employees unrepresented by bargaining groups was approved by the Tulare County Board of Supervisors at its June 25 meeting. No opposition was presented prior to the vote. “Seeing as no one stepped forward speaks a lot,” said Supervisor Phil Cox. “2008 was a difficult time. Now we are reaping the benefits from staying the course. There are rewards for being conservative and making conservative projections. We are doing better than most counties in California. These employees deserve this raise. It is a just compensation.” “I want to thank the board for being so fiscally responsible,” said Supervisor Pete Vander Poel. “The employees deserve it and I’m excited about it.” “We are one of the few entities to get rid of furloughs and we can even increase salaries of employ-
ees,” noted Supervisor Allen Ishida. “What we need to watch out for now are the extra costs of the Affordable Health Care Act and Realignment.” The last time the county approved similar salary adjustments was December 2008. The board voted to approve another pay raise since then, with the proposal listed on its consent calendar, but later rescinded its decision. There are 540 employees in unrepresented bargaining groups, which include the board of supervisors, county elected officials, confidential clerical workers, professionals, mid-management, executive management/department heads, probation management and assistant department heads. Of the $1.76 million included in the salary increase proposal, $530,000 will come from the general fund. County Administrative Officer Jean Rousseau said after more than four
years of conservative budgeting, the county is able to offer salary increases to bargaining units whose contracts are set to expire this year, or who had a reopener to current agreements. “Tulare County is in this position today because of the conservative measures the board of supervisors has taken during the Great Recession,” Rousseau said. “Looking forward, we will continue to take cautious measures when considering salary increases, cost-of-living adjustments or equity adjustments.” Approved salary increases include: • The board of supervisors will receive a 3 percent increase, effective 60 days after adoption of the annual budget. This will provide each supervisor with a $98,550 base salary. • County elected officials will receive a 3 percent increase, upon adoption of annual budget. • Unrepresented employees will re-
STAFF REPORTS ceive a 3 percent increase, effective July 14. - Probation officer-supervisors will receive a 4 percent increase, effective July 14 and 4 percent equity adjustment on January 26, 2014. • The positions of chief deputy county counsel, attorney-supervisors, attorney-supervisor (at will), attorney civil V, and attorney-chief child support will receive an additional 2 percent equity adjustment effective January 26, 2014. The proposed increase will be just one of a few agreements reached with different bargaining groups this year. For example, the following bargaining groups have already reached agreements on June 11 with the county: • The Tulare County District Attorney Investigators Association (TCDAIA) employees will receive a 3 percent increase effective July 14. • The Government Lawyers Association of Workers (G-LAW) employees will receive a 3 percent salary increase effective August 11. In addition, attorney V’s in that group will receive an additional 2 percent salary increase effective January 26, 2014. Other bargaining units whose contracts expire this year include: Tulare County Corrections Association (TCCA); United Auto Workers (UAW); District Attorney Criminal Investigators Association Tulare County (DACIATC); and Professional Association of Tulare County Physicians (PATCOP). It is anticipated that contract agreements for these bargaining units will be brought to the board of supervisors this month. Bargaining units whose contracts expire next year include: Service Employees International Union (SEIU); Tulare County Professional Firefighters Association (TCPFA); Professional Law Enforcement Managers Association (PLEMA); and the Tulare County Deputy Sheriff’s Association (TCDSA).