Black Voice News Online - Editorials By Hardy Brown

Editorials By Hardy Brown

Thursday, 01 March 2007

SB City Councilmembers Representing Special Interests

Hardy L. Brown

After evaluating the way San Bernardino councilmembers were voting on Measure Z fund disbursements and the remarks coming from their lips, it is apparent some are doing the bidding of the San Bernardino Police Union. Tobin Brinker even went so far as to say he made a promise to the union leadership when he ran for office that "he would support all of Measure Z money going to the police" irrespective of what the language said. Of course Brinker was financially supported and endorsed by the police union. Neil Derry and Chas Kelly were also heavily finance by...you guessed it, the police union. On the face of it there is nothing wrong with the union exercising the legal constitutional right to support candidates, however the ethical conduct of councilmembers is brought to question when they outright do the bidding of the Union and ignore the wishes of the voters.

Tobin Brinker

This is the way I see it; the police get their wages from the city taxpayers, to perform policing duties as their job description dictates. The police officers then give part of it in the form of campaign contributions to the union who then gives it to councilmembers; councilmembers make promises to the union and then give police personnel perks which sometimes are outside of the legal negotiation process of the city. In some quarters this could be called "quid pro quo" or "kickbacks" which is, "I will support you if you do this for my support." Now I am not saying this has taken place, but it appears based on the councilmember's comments to have taken place.

Neil Derry

Another issue in this is the disrespect of our youth. Neil Derry has said the citizens in our community that are under eighteen don't know anything nor do they vote, so why should he listen to them. During the last council meeting he even called one of the young ladies back up to the podium in order to intimidate her. My advice to Mr. Derry is that our youth might not vote, but they do spend hard money in this city which translates into SALES TAX that you want to spend without their input. They also are constiutients that need to be represented fairly. I have noticed that on this issue Mr. Derry, Chas Kelley and Wendy McCammack joined forces with people who do not respect our city or the people who live here and pay the taxes.

Chas Kelley

What would happen if the young people organize and then for one week or one month they stop not buying at the neighborhood stores, stop buying at the malls, stop purchasing anything that generates sales tax for the city. By doing so council members will not have anything to discuss or spend their money without their input. These "know nothing" people under eighteen could save these dollars and support candidates that will listen to them once they are elected. These "know nothing" students should discuss this issue in school during a civics class on how to do you organize a protest, boycott or how to set up political campaigns. According to Chas Kelley it would be quite simple in his ward; all you have to do is put up yard signs and slick flyers. Kelley insulted his residents when he said that the people in his ward do not read beyond that.

Now I am very familiar with being ignored and being considered insufficient in certain situations because of the color of my skin. I am also familiar with being dismissed because of my age and both are very hurtful especially when you have something to offer. In both cases I could do nothing about my color or age, yet they were being used against me by people in authority. Therefore when I was serving on the school board the voices of the students were important to me and I took the time to listen and incorporate their concerns into the decision when possible. One of the things my wife, Cheryl, often says about the paper is "we are a voice for the voiceless", putting it another way "we try to make people in high places, listen to the voices that are crying in the wilderness down in the valley."

< Prev		Next >

[ Back ]

BVN Vid Cast

Caroline Kennedy provides her first-ever sit-down interview and discusses her interest in the Senate seat currently held by Hillary Clinton.

BVN Calendar Events

January 2009

Su	Mo	Tu	We	Th	Fr	Sa
				1	2	3
4	5	6	7	8	9	10
11	12	13	14	15	16	17
18	19	20	21	22	23	24
25	26	27	28	29	30	31