by Jack Lee
Last night our 4 liberal Chico City Council members rolled over and obligated us to a number of steps demanded in a resolution on Global Warming. This was brought to them by a small group of people that seemed caught up in the hysteria surrounding this subject . It was voted on without the usual due dilligence, much to the chagrin of the 3 sensible council members who simply wanted to know all the details before a vote was taken.
without going off on a tangent everytime
some special interest group barks at them!
This whole thing started with Greg Nickel, the controversial mayor from Seattle. Here are a few things you should know about Greg so you’ll understand why three councilmembers might have been hesitant on approving anything he was pushing: Nickel is facing ethics violations charges for illegally using city funds and a City Hall production crew to record a video promoting a multi-billion dollar tunnel project that the city doesnt even need. Nickel cost his citizens million in cost overruns for his pet projects and it’s still growing. But, it gets worse, much worse and his spending is ruining the city. Now he’s off on this global warming kick, but not before proclaiming his city a “sanctuary for illegals”. This has put Seattle at odds with Homeland Security and Immigration, not to mention contributing to a sharp rise in violent crime in the city. Gun crime rose 25 percent last year in Seattle, and it’s up another 12 percent this year, thanks in no small measure to Mayor Nickel’s policies. This is your poster boy for the movement our Chico City Council signed onto last night. Isn’t that just great?
The Council should have never rushed into this, Mayor Gruendl was totally wrong and Councilmen Dan Herbert, Steve Bertagna and Larry Wahl were right when they asked for more information before taking a vote. This was a big committment and there was much to consider, but these four wouldn’t take the time for a decent evaluation.
“This has nothing to do with supporting or not supporting it. I had no information to go on tonight,” Herbert said. He also noted he felt the 34 people who spoke Tuesday night were done a “disservice” because he wasn’t prepared to ask questions and follow along with their testimony. Said the ER article in today’s paper.
Gruendl said Wednesday, “I really think it puts the city of Chico on the map as a front leader in embracing the environment.” It puts us on the map alright, but not necessarily in a good way. It just tells people how emotion driven the liberals on the city council have become and how quick they are to pander to the far left.
Councilmen Dan Herbert and Steve Bertagna stressed that they incorporate environment-friendly and energy-saving strategies into their personal and professional lives. Herbert also noted that Chico was already pursuing sustainable practices that put to shame the cities listed by supporters as examples of what the resolution achieved.
Gruendl, Andy Holcombe, Ann Schwab and Maureen Kirk didn’t let the council do their normal research and leaped into this one way too quick, because they were pandering to the liberal left. I suspect Kirk and Gruendl were hoping to buy some votes with this charade. We deserve better and I hope you remember this come Nov. 8th.
NOTE: Several years ago the City Council decided not to address issues that did not pertain directly to city business, especially in the final month before an election. This was to remove any hint of impropriety because such issues were an open invitation to political grandstanding, especially by persons running for re-election or another elected office. These four, Kirk, Gruendl, Holcombe and Schwab ignored thier own rules for ethics and did it anyway.