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THE SILENT MAJORITY

“I know what people want because I went door to door and asked them.” This is part of a conversation I had with a council member. The essence of the story was that The Silent Majority just wanted the City to work, without all the drama. Although I did not press for details at the time, the following things went through my mind . . . and . . . well, for the most part I agree with them. When picturing the following scenario: When asked what they wanted for their city government; I imagined that these were the responses given.

I want the streets fixed . . . Me too.

I want emergency services to show up when I call . . . I agree with this one.

I want clean water that is safe to drink and the street lights to come on at night. . . . Check and double check.

I want jobs like we had when Mare Island was in its heyday . . . I too want the influx of workers earning and spending money here.

And I don’t want to be bothered with the rest . . . Okay, this last statement is where I feel the term ‘Silent Majority’ came from. People who just want what we all want but do not want to be bothered with everything else.

We humans tend to try and oversimplify everything. “If we just do this . . .” If we just do that . . .” “If we just put an LNG plant on Mare Island we will start the economic boom we all want.”  “If we just buy a building and announce it is the new police station we will not be bothered with all the details.” But self-governance is anything but simple. One of my favorite writers, Aaron Sorkin of West Wing, The Wire and The Newsroom, wrote this line for a speech given by Michael Douglas playing Andrew Shepherd, President of the United States.

“America isn’t easy. It’s advanced citizenship. You’ve got to want it bad . . .”

I have heard the term Silent Majority used in attempts to quiet the opposition, here in Vallejo. Well to me, remaining silent, means only one thing: Apathy. Perhaps it is simply a case of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it don’t matter. The Silent Majority does not seem to mind enough to speak up at Council Meetings or to share their opinions publicly. So, I can only infer, that these topics do not matter to them. A few examples: The LNG plant – if more people wanted it than opposed it, it would have happened. Orcem? – Same thing. 400 Mare Island Way?  Honestly, if the council majority had the support do you really think they would have capitulated to consider alternatives?

The silent majority has always been a thing in American politics. But only because politicians cannot get them out to vote for them. Do you believe that if our council members really believed that a majority of the voting population would support them that they would have changed their votes on these topics? It is always about the votes. Follow the money, follow the votes.

The squeaky wheel gets the grease that is how it is in our culture. America isn’t easy. It’s advanced citizenship. You’ve got to want it. Those who show up to meetings, host meet and greets for candidates, organize candidate forums, protest in the streets, post their opinions in the media, and/or vote; are the not-so-silent voting majority.

It’s a simple thing of mind over matter. If you mind, then it matters.

With gratitude,

Tommy Judt

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NEW SALES TAX? – LET’S CONNECT THE DOTS

The City of Vallejo is planning to place a measure on the ballot this November to increase the sales tax in Vallejo by .0875%.  There hope is to raise $18 million ostensibly for road repair. Now if this money was only for road repair, right here is where I would end sharing my opinion. I would tell you that I support it. The Mayor recently stated, if we want nice things we have to pay for them and I agree with him. Here is the thing, just like Measure G these monies are not just for road repair. The wording of the resolution puts the monies into the General Fund to be used . . . however.

One reason given for this language is a General Fund tax measure only needs 50.1% of the votes to pass. A specific tax spending measure needs 60%+ (I am not sure of the exact percentage.) So the argument is that the Measure will have a better chance of passing if it is a General Fund Tax.

Well, I do not trust them, even with oversight, to spend these monies just on road repair. They will just get mixed together with everything else and I predict we will still have potholes.

Help me connect the dots here:

  1. The City needs more money but turned down a $9 million cash offer for North Mare Island and took $3 million instead.
  2. Last year Sales Tax income locally grew by $4million+ due to overall economy growth coming out of the pandemic.
    • As a business person, if I need to raise revenue I have the choice of doing more business, depending on capacity, or raising prices. And we have more capacity in Vallejo. Our local businesses could easily do more business. Raising prices will inevitably influence some people to shop elsewhere reducing projected income. According to the last census, 75% of Vallejoans make $75,000 or less per year. By raising the Sales and Use Tax they make it more expensive to live in Vallejo.
    • The City Council every year states that Economic Development is a primary goal. It seems to me if Staff seriously focused on this Council goal that we might not need to raise the tax rate. If we could increase business in Vallejo by 20%, and this is not an unreasonable business goal since the General Lift in the economy gave us a 10% increase, then our tax income would increase by about $8 million. Not to mention the extra money available to be spent locally by these business owners.

Speaking of spending locally, here is the first area that the City could focus on. We all know that spending money locally benefits everyone in the City. Why does not the City have a year round Buy Local program operated in conjunction with our separate Chambers of Commerce?

It is up to you to decide. I agree, if we want nice things we have to pay for them. For me, it all comes down to a matter of trust. I think that staff should focus first on the Council’s Economic Development Goal rather than trying to raise prices. I know our local businesses would appreciate it.

With Gratitude,

Tommy Judt

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I AM CONFLICTED – PT2

 

For nothing is either good or bad

But thinking makes it so

Hamlet – William Shakespeare

 

 

There is a saying, of sorts, perhaps many of you have heard it before. It goes something like this.

‘Wow, this would be a great job, if it weren’t for all the customers.’

 

Vallejo has a problem . . . too many customers. At least that is how it feels to me peering inside, into the brick façade of City Hall.  I should clarify, lest I be blamed for attempting to master vagaries. We have a City structure that has a Council and a City Manager. The Council legislates, the City Manager administrates. We have a City Charter, which I have not yet read, (have you?) which outlines the legal authority of each body and office.  In short, we elect our City Council and they, in turn, hire a City Manager. The Elected Council set priorities. The City Manager creates a budget in an attempt to meet those priorities.  The Council votes to approve the budget or not. And so on, and so on, ad infinitum.

 

For the record, I have the deepest respect for our Council and the City Manager. Al of whom I have met, shaken their hands and most know me by my first name. (Whether or not they have the good taste to read local authors, I do not know.) I have sat with most either in Commission interviews, in their offices or on the street. I have spoken to them in depth and in passing, sometimes on the phone, most often on the street. Such is the bliss of a small town. I know each and every one to be an honorable person. So what I see happening now I find to be . . . shocking.

 

The City Council is overworked and certainly not adequately compensated for the time they commit to our City. The City Manager’s Office is understaffed and over worked, the same as our police force. We have recovered from one bankruptcy and may very well be looking at another.  I am a simple man of simple means living with my peers in Vallejo. We only have so many resources to go around and so many needs and wants. Too many customers, not enough income. We live with a severe case of Economic Scarcity. British economist Lionel Robbins defined the discipline of economics in terms of scarcity:  Economics is the science which studies human behavior as a relationship between ends, and scarce means . . .

 

I remember a particular lecture in Culinary School about survival. Hmm? Why would the topic of survival come up in a cooking school, you ask? The topic of the lecture was Grand Buffets, where they originated, what they should include and how to manage them. Out teacher, the former valet to the French President, painted this picture. “You have and endless buffet in front of you, to which you can return countless number of times. Yet there are still people who will overfill their plates out of a primal fear of not knowing when their next meal will come. So the gorge now in case they cannot eat tomorrow.”  It is a primeval survival instinct born of scarcity.

 

“Tom,” you ask, “why must you walk us down such long roads? Can’t you just make your point so I can go back to Facebook?”  No, life is complex and the answers to our troubles even more so. Yet recently I have seen our City Manager, a man whom I greatly respect, try to distract us with pretty pictures on the internet. UniteVallejo.net. Perhaps you have seen his video.  While a very good idea in concept, it comes off as little more than smoke and mirrors, or worse yet Pablum, to a constituency hungry for substance.  If only we would focus our attention on the positive then the negative would go away.  I realize that your office is stressed Mr. Nyhoff, and that would very much just like a little room to breathe in order to manage all that you have on your plate. Still, I ask you not give in to your survival instincts. We customers, would rather skip this type of meal. Unfortunately I must draw attention again to our City Manager. This time his comments at a recent City Council meeting regarded the Use of Force by Vallejo PD. He did not feel that they were excessive.

 

Here in lies my conflict. I respect those who work hard for us, in this city. But I am having a very hard time with the silence and inaction around certain extremely important issues. Let me explain.

 

Something has happened in America and it started shortly after 9/11. It was called the Patriot Act. It suspended portions of our constitution, but worse yet, moved out moral compass away from humanity. Flower Power only held us for so long and the pendulum has swung back toward . . . I do not recognize what. I cannot even really define it.  Basically we live in a time of a New Normal.

 

 

Our police force, whom I also respect very deeply, recently held a Use of Force Forum which I happily attended. We were given a thorough overview, in my opinion, of the case history defining the Use of Force for Police Departments. Captain Iacono was a passionate and well informed speaker. His mastery of the Use of Force protocols was evident. The department’s dedication and commitment to constantly train our officers was impressive. Under staffed and overworked, I can understand how easy it would be to operate in survival mode as a police officer in our town.  The Norm has shifted. Courts, since the passage of the Patriot Act, have allowed greater discretion with regards to the Use of Force. Our police department is merely following the guidelines set forth by the courts. With this reference, Mr. Nyhoff was not wrong, I am sad to say.

 

 

My conflict? We are better than this. We are not just customers, consumers of this City’s resources. We are also the stewards of it. The Norm has shifted in our society and it is time for us to move it back, if that is what we want. It would be so easy for me to end my thoughts here, but that would be cheating. As I mentioned, if I know about a horror, even a small one, I become responsible for that knowledge. And if I say or do nothing, then I am a failure, a fraud, or worse yet someone who stood by while the atrocities happened.

 

Captain Iacono said something else, which disturbed me. He said, POST, California Peace Officer Standards and Training, did not offer De-escalation training guidelines. Everybody wanted it but nobody had it. I believe that he was correct but that is no longer the case. With some deep internet searching I found at least 2 organizations that offered this type of training. One was from POST, the other from Black Swan founded by Chris Voss a former FBI negotiator. I contacted Black Swan and was told that they were discontinuing that program. That it was too expensive for local governments to afford. (Black Swan mainly teaches negotiation, which is how I originally found them. Chris Voss is often heard saying, “No, is the beginning of the negotiation.” They said no and I kept writing letters.  Captain Iacono wants more training, AB 392, redefining the Use of Force in California is including training in their language. So I wrote again and again. I presented conceivable options as to how Black Swan may offer an affordable training series. I got their attention, and just this week they promised to discuss my ideas.

 

 

Mayor, Council Members and Mr. Nyhoff, as a citizen with no power to negotiate, I was able to influence a well-respected firm, to reconsider offering their program that meets the concerns that both our officers and citizens have: More training in Tactical Negotiations (De-escalation.) The questions I now have for you are these:

 

How might we, the City of Vallejo, lead in the way in California on this issue?

 

How might we offer our hard working police officers the additional knowledge they need in order to do their jobs safely and provide them with different tactical approaches to public engagement?

 

What effect might it have on our limited resources of time, money and patience?

 

 

Thank you for taking the time to read and consider my thoughts.

 

 

Please follow my Facebook page The V-Town Social Club and don’t forget to stop in my website http://www.the-v-town-social-club.com

Until next time,