Next Week's Elk Grove City Council Swearing-in - Our Best to Worst List of Council Members

December 7, 2014 | This coming Wednesday, the Elk Grove City Council will swear-in four members - Mayor Gary Davis, Council Membe...



December 7, 2014 |

This coming Wednesday, the Elk Grove City Council will swear-in four members - Mayor Gary Davis, Council Member Pat Hume, Council Member-elect Steve Ly and Appointee Designate Darren Suen.

We wish all the gentlemen seated on the council best wishes as they pursue their respective political, economic, personal and benefactors agendas. As my dear-old departed Pop's noted through the years, "I never saw a politician retire poor."

Amazing that the Supreme Court of the United State currently has a composition of 33-percent female and yet the supposedly ethnically and culturally diverse city of Elk Grove has only been able to muster one female of the 11 people who have served on the city council for a batting average of .090 - pretty minor league given the overwhelming number of qualified females in our community. Too bad a well-qualified female candidate was not recruited for the recent District 1 vacancy. 

Maybe in 200 or so years Elk Grove City Council will reflect the current gender representation of SCOTUS and have had four females who served on the council.

Now for our Best to Worst list of Elk Grove city council. This list is based on who we view as being the most honest in their convictions, regardless of whether we agree with their positions.

Pat Hume

Readers of this site know we have frequently taken Council Member Hume to task. To his credit, in our view, Hume has been consistent in his stances on a number of issues. While we disagree with Hume on probably most issues facing the city, like his advocacy of Sphere of Influence application, he has never tried to represent himself or his interests as something different. You can't help but respect that.

Furthermore, given the perception that EGN might be hostile towards him, Council Member Hume is willing to engage and respond to inquiries. We may disagree with Council Member Hume on most issues, but he is willing to engage in a conversation to advocate his position.

Steve Detrick

Lots of people have been disappointed by Council Member Detrick for a variety of reasons. EGN has had our share of disagreements with Detrick, but he has always been willing to discuss matters. 

Detrick faces several challenges in the last two years of his current four-year term, but we believe if he acts on the ideals of his candidacy that swept him into office in 2008, a renaissance is possible. Its up to him to disprove F. Scott Fitzgerald's assessment that there are no second acts in America. Steve, it is up to you to prove that there are second acts here in Elk Grove.

Empty Slates -  Steve Ly and Darren Suen

Both of these incoming city council members have empty slates that will be filled-in based on their votes and how they deal with the critical issues.

Steve Ly

Steve Ly has repeatedly stated he, like his mentor Mayor Gary Davis, is laser-focused on bringing jobs to Elk Grove. The excitement and adrenal rush of the campaign are over, now comes the time to make good on your jobs commitment, and more importantly, governing for the next four years. 

Just what are you and the Mayor going to do to bring those jobs to Elk Grove? The citizens will be watching your efforts. 

Also, good luck facing off against Suen, Hume, Detrick and Davis and the residential developers who funded your successful campaign. We don't have much confidence you will stand for the progressive ideals of the Democratic Party you claim to possess - we suspect you are probably just another political hack in the pockets of the developers talking out both sides of your mouth, not unlike your mentor, Mayor Gary Davis. 

Having said that Steve, hopefully, you will prove EGN wrong and stand for independence and all the progressive ideals you espoused to your supporters during your last two campaigns. If not, you will be nothing that more than Mayor Davis' punk with a political career beginning and ending in Elk Grove. 

Darren Suen

Mr. Suen, who openly said he enjoys land planning during his confirmation meeting, has already stated positions that put him in the Pat Hume camp. Specifically, he said that he believes jobs will follow more residential development.

We believe more houses just leads to more sprawl, more crime and more environmental degradation. At least Suen has stated his position, one that we disagree with, on this matter. Suen will undoubtedly be easily reelected in 2016 (he may not even face opposition) after getting a boatload of money from the likes of his former employer, Reynen & Bardis. To his credit, he didn't hide his position on his desire to bring more rooftops to Elk Grove.

So it goes.

Gary Davis

The only thing we can say about Mayor Davis is President Abraham Lincoln's saying about fooling people. "You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time."

As long as Davis can continue to fool some of the people all of the time, think of his unabashed use of soccer and swim kids to float his parochial Olympic-sized pool and diving platform scheme or delusional soccer stadium initiative, he'll have a job in Elk Grove. Davis is proof that in politics, fooling some of the people all of the time, does in fact pay off.

Note to Ly and Suen - grow a thick skin unlike Mayor Davis'. 

 





Post a Comment Default Comments

13 comments

Anonymous said...

More jobs.......fast food jobs will follow residential development.

More high density low income housing projects will follow residential development.

Proud Heritage, Bright Future?

Elk Grove Thriving?

A City by the developers, of the developers and FOR the developers!

Increase in armed robberies, assaults and various street crimes

More sprawl, horrendous congestion and smog.

$100 million soccer stadium

Paid $6 MILLION for a piece of land that sold for $700,000 three years prior.

Garish 70 - 100 foot tall lighted freeway monument signs

Sister city to the Kingdom of Zamunda

Octopus Civic Center

Amusement park right across from single family homes in Madeira "the Jewel of Elk Grove".

Visions of the Olympic Trials.

3,600 units of high density very low and low income housing on the way to "Meridian" (the Southeast Plan Area) - Hood of the future to be known as Mack Road South.

Trash blowing in the wind,flat, bland, hot, windy sprawling, fast food joints, nail salons, gun stores, smoke shops, vape palaces, strip malls, cheap looking high density low income apartment projects, lack of symphony light opera and ballet, very few upscale restaurants, dollar stores, cookie cutter houses.

Texas?

No, Elk Grove brought to you by the rubber stampers.

Stockton and Modesto have performing arts centers, orchestras and other cultural amenities.

Stockton and Modesto have high quality local restaurants.

Elk Grove has fast food joints, chain restaurants and convenience store cuisine.

Bring on more garish 100 foot tall freeway signs, low income housing projects, liquor stores, fast food joints, shooting ranges, gun stores, smoke shops and nail salons.

Elk Grove Thriving!

Proud Heritage, Bright Future?

.

Laguna Pete said...

Dan, love the commentary and you're not one to pull any punches. You call it like you see it, and it looks pretty accurate to me.

We can only hope that Suen is reasonable and will lend an ear to the public on issues. Ly looks like a lost cause based on his rhetoric to date, but perhaps he can find the light.

For all of our sakes, I hope so.

Anonymous said...

Knowing that Gary Davis is in for another term really makes my stomach upset.

Every time I see him start to almost cry when someone doesn't agree with him at the meetings makes me want to put him on time out.

Anonymous said...

A bit of a thread drift here, sorry, but we must remember the 'appointee' issue and plan in advance how NOT to let this happen again, ever.

I see that the City of Sacramento is most likely going to have a mail-in ballot for its special election to fill the empty seat on its council. It will save a considerable amount of money.

Let's do this or anything else next time. Whatever it takes - we MUST reserve the election process. Elections are our right and should not be taken away from us.

This pattern must stop!

Anonymous said...

Anon. 7:37 I'm in total agreement with you, this process makes me even more distrustful of our city leaders. Whatever it takes, we should never allow anyone to take our rights away.

I believe it was mentioned that there are 29 other cities who use the Appointment process. Maybe that works for them, but it doesn't mean it does for Elk Grove. Could it be that the reason it doesn't is because our process has become tainted with all the backdoor wheeling and dealing by some of our council. Am I the only one who knew who the winner was going to be before the deadline even approached? Don't think so...remember that old saying, Loose Lips Sink Ships?

Top and Very Bottom Rankngs said...

EGN - Got the top and bottom right.

Hume - Deserves the top spot. However, he needs step up and represent more than his special interests. Smartest one up there for sure and he knows it.

Davis - Deserves to be at the bottom and even lower. A new side to Davis was revealed in this last election. We now see he will lower himself to political retaliation and more. Rumor has it he is trying to replace Nancy Chaires on the Elk Grove Planning Commission with Angela Perry, the Executive Director of the Elk Grove Chamber of Commerce. Davis didn't realize that would be a conflict of interest. Really?

Let’s hope someone steps up in 2016 and sends him packing. Now that Cooper is in the Assembly, Pan is in the Senate, and Notolli is in for the long haul, Davis has nowhere to go but back to a private citizen.

Anonymous said...

Wasn't it a couple of years ago that Davis tried to replace Frank Maita with Sophia Scherman...got voted down on that one. Don't tell me he's at it again...time for him to grind coffee beans full time and leave the big stuff to someone whos not selling out Elk Grove to the highest bidder. To think...I supported him at one time and now can hardly stand to even watch him at city council meetings. Have no trust what-so-ever in anything that comes out of his mouth. I'm not saying he's an evil person, just that he's become a very confused person in making any decision for this city. I don't even get that he even trusts what comes out his own mouth sometimes. Certainly not very convincing when you stutter & stammer your way through some selling point.

BUT...looks like that's what we get for another term + Ly to ditto all his votes. Hold on to your wallets folks, it's coming your way big time.

Anonymous said...

I sense some disdain for Steve Ly. Where could that be coming from, Mr. Gougherty? From the fact that he is Hmong and you were dumped by a gorgeous, smart, popular Hmong lady for a better man? You can't get over her, could you? If only you did not sleep around you might still have her.

Elk Grove News said...

Anon 19:31 -
Thank you for your patronage of Elk Grove News. You may not like Elk Grove News, but here you are!

Normally comments like this are deleted as they violate our terms regarding personal attacks. In this circumstance they will stand as is. However, should you continue this thread, the policy may be more stringently applied.

If you wish to discuss this matter directly with me, feel free to email me directly at dan at elkgrovenews . net

Again, thank you for your patronage and keep coming back.

DG

Bob L said...

Anon 19:31 is way out of line. Why such a personal attack?
You're a coward for posting an attack anonymously. Dan should have deleted your post. He's got more character than you ever will. Let's keep on the thread topic.

Anonymous said...

@Anon 19:31 ~ It's almost 2015 nobody cares that Mr. Ly is Hmong. We care about his policies and how he'll vote on development projects in particular. I follow our local political scene and followed the District 4 race but I have no idea what Mr. Ly stands for. All I heard was jobs, jobs, jobs but I don't recall hearing a plan on how to bring jobs. His first vote is tonight and oddly enough there are 3 projects of residential development on the agenda.

lynn said...

How prepared will the new councilmembers be prepared to vote? Have they each met with the developers for two hours? Have they read the lengthy reports? I sent in a green sheet comment, will they even read it.

Anonymous said...

I think people need to dig deep into a couple of the newly elected. I'd like to know that who represents City Council is someone who actually DOES something for a living besides NOT be where they are supposed to.

Follow Us

Popular

Archives

Elk Grove News Minute






All previous Elk Grove News Minutes, interviews, and Dan Schmitt's Ya' Gotta be Schmittin' Me podcasts are now available on iTunes

Elk Grove News Podcast




item