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| Brother, can you spare Mayor-elect Stephen Cassidy a dime? San Leandro’s new top man will not take a salary until June 2011, at the earliest. |
SAN LEANDRO CITY COUNCIL WILL VOTE NEXT MONTH TO HAVE A MAYOR FOR FREE
By Steven Tavares
Mayor-elect Stephen Cassidy’s bargain basement pledge to run San Leandro for free could come to fruition during the council’s second meeting of the year, according to City Manager Stephen Hollister.
An ordinance will be prepared for the Jan. 18 meeting, said Hollister, who was advised by the city attorney. The council will consider whether to set the mayor’s pay at $0, effective Jan. 1 to June 30, 2011. Mayor Tony Santos made around $32,000 last year.
Cassidy had campaigned for mayor on the promise he would not take a salary until the city’s budget was balanced. Some have wondered exactly what this means since all municipal budgets are required by law to be balanced each fiscal year. Although the previous city budget was balanced, it was reconciled by dipping into the city’s reserve funds. Those dollars are currently dangerously low. Cassidy has not said whether he would have forego payment from various county and regional committees he may sit on as mayor.
During his inauguration speech Dec. 21 Cassidy may have cleared up any confusion by describing a balanced budget as when “revenues equal expenditures.”
If current financial projection hold for 2011, the council will likely take up extending Cassidy’s donation to the city’s budget when it votes on approving the 2011-12 budget sometime in June. San Leandro Finance Director Tracy Vesely said last week that she expect flat revenues in the coming year.
POLITICS HOMEGROWN http://www.eastbaycitizen.com
ebcitizen.com 
Then why is it given to them?
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They shouldn't be in the polling place to begin with. Did you miss out in school? That provisional ballot is bull#(#
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If they ask for a provisional ballot it won't count. Did you miss citizenship class or just school in general?
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Hey dufus, been to the polls lately? Can't tell me all these Mexicans who can barely speak English, aren't are the voting rolls, but demand a provisional ballot are Citizens of the United States. So STFU you commie.
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Illegal aliens can't vote dufus.
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Well, there were actualy union morons who had the audacity to say that Jerry Brown did a good job in the 1970's. The guy was a failure as; Mayor of Oakland, Attorney General, Governor and Secretary of State. Only a jackass would have voted for him. Well, them and illegal aliens.
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Dont worry, Obama is helping, wait…Jerry Brown will be able…wait (and see)…
A majority of Americans are stupid when it comes to who they trust in public office.
I feel for you followers.
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You can thank Babarbara Boxer for helping lead the exodus of jobs out of America. There isn't no regulation that bitch doesn't support. Out of Work? Voted for Boxer? TO DAMN BAD!
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It's more like a Depression. The housing bubble along with a hollowed out industrial sector.Low wage service sector jobs generate $50,000 to $70,000 in sales while industrial jobs $200,000 to $300,000.
Craig
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Good, all political servants should have their salary kept from them until they can turn things around; they withhold pay from employees, why not lead by example; oh wait, we have a President that cant even do that.
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If you think that by not haveing subprime loans there would have been a recession you really are an idiot. But look who we're talking to.
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Frank and the girls did cause the recession. Freddie an Fannie should be destroyed. They continued to force the banks to make more and more bad loans under threat of Congressional investigation. Sorry Craig, but your lies don't hold water. And Friedman had a track record of success when it came to economics. Something you Socialists don't.
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Which meant No doc loans.I agree Craig
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Of course Freidman was a tenured professor with all the perks of the university system, very socialistic.
The “big boys” call the shots on the mortgage business.More and more securitization. If Frank and the Democrats wanted to trip Bush upthey would have stopped sub prime loans which would have created a recession. Merril Lynch were telling the mortgage company “there's still a lot of money on the table, go get it.”
Craig
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Exactly Mary.
as Milton Friedman the nobel winning economist used to say:
“The power to do good is also the power to do harm.”
and more poignantly:
“If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert, in 5 years there'd be a shortage of sand. “
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Banks by nature are conservative, the whole subprime loan business was pushed by the Congress (Democrats) as a “do good” social agenda with admitedly good intentions, but poor research and logic, to help the working poor buy homes, then greed took over and created an entire industry lending to people with out the capabilty and in some cases the intentions to pay back their loans long term. Original blame though can squarely be placed on the Government and their ignorance about business and lending and their lack of proper oversight and regulation.
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Gee, how proooogreessssiivvvee. of you Craig. When all else fails, name call and insinuate. So much for compassion and human rights etc. I guess it only applies to people who agree with you. Nice.
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Game over Vargas, once again you're talking out your ass and the blog is all easrs.
Craig
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Sorry Craig, but once again you stuck your foot in your mouth. “TOO BIG TO FAIL” was concocted by Barack Obama and Tim Geitner, the Banks didn't want TARP, they had it forced on them. You cannot say that the banks made bad investments on subprimes when in fact it was people like you; Barney Frank, Maxine Waters, Pete Stark etc. who forced banks to make loans to people who were bad credit risk. If people like you would keep your mouths out of the banks business there never would have been a subprime industry. It's people like you who create victims. “OH the ghetto's are that way because the evil Banks won't lend money there”. So please don't think you're talking to a group of illegal aliens, ghetto people or leftists. I find your logic not only offensive but insulting. Mr. Agrella laid out the truth and facts very thoroughly on another thread yet you continue to spread lies.
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Thank you for your kind thoughts. The issue Mary is morality. The recent history of U.S.Corporation is to spend as much politically to control things but to make their products overseas. They control politics so working people have very few political options. The banks what a lot of people call “too big to fail”which means if they make bad investments like sub prime lending that fails then the government and ultimately the taxpayer
picks up the tag. No mater what you think about capitalism, it shouldn't give big banks the freedom to gamble on the taxpayers dime. Those things are morally wrong. Individuals can be unethical but when its done by banks and corporations it effects millions.
Craig
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Thanks for your kind prayers. I think the blog should allow people to express their opinion but name calling comments should be deleted.I'm not sure how Tavares would do that ,but it reduces the quality of the site.Mary the people who have the power in our country should practice good ethics.Everyone has personal responsibility, of course.The unethical corporate attitude involves controlling the politics of this country through money but producing things in other countries to the detriment of a descent U.S. standard of living. The banks, are able to gamble and yet still have the taxpayers money available to bail them out, which isn't ethical either.
Craig
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Craig, I pray for you. You are a very disturbed person. Make it a resolution to get the help you need this year.
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Craig your points are good ones. I am not sure that you can place blame on the conservatives. Place the blame on Nick. He is the crude, gutless conservative., along with a host of anonymous posters who are his nom de plumes, doppelgangers and associates. Blame the blog itself for not preventing anonymity. Blame the blog for allowing itself to be highly partisan. Blame the blog for reflecting San Leandro. Mel
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And you Craig are just as bad on the other end of the political spectrum with your rants entirely blaming corporations and banking. How about all the greedy and unethical individuals who do not pay back their debts and rip off the system every chance they get with theft, fraud and abuse??? Bottom line, its all about ethics and values going wrong in this Country, whether indivdual responsbility and greed or the corporate responsibilty and greed. It is really all about people going askew from the values and responsibilites they should uphold.
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Well Santos will leave office and the city in better shape than most cities. The real problems facing the city are a national economy that doesn't have enough demand. A Republican party that gets bribed with corporate contributions to always say no, even against blatant national interests.A gangster like banking industry which is able to shake down people with usury credit card interest rates.
This blog has been ruined by crude gutless conservatives. Progressives appreciate Tavares work but see the conservative bloggers and their comments as an insult to democracy and our country.
Craig
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Tony,
Sounds like you are right. Just as soon as get voted out of office, things in San Leandro began to improve. It's like the sun coming out after a bad storm and leaving a rainbow. Too bad you didn't save San Leandro all the grief and resign four years ago.
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I don't understand how Tony Santos can make all these false predictions of tax increases with a straight face and expect people to believe him.
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Santos you are an idiot, an absolute moron. There is no way in hell you can say that Measure Z will bring in $3 million a year of 7 years. The city will be crying poor mouth in 9 mouths. Just like when you jackasses raised the business license fees and came back crying. You left this City in poor shape financially, structurally and morally. Good Riddence to you!
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I thought I posted a comment; as I don't see it I will do it again. City does have improved revenue and could go into the 2011-2012 budget year in better shape than it did last year. First, property taxes are higher by $400,000 than last year; further, the city will receive a one time payment from the state in the amount of $1.7 million dollars, sales tax revenue was up by $700,000 in fisrt six months of this year; this amounts to $1.8million unanticipated revenue. The city will also receive $1 million from meaure z in this fiscal year and another $3.1 million from Kaiser; even though staff wants this money to go into a special fund, it is still available to the city to use. OUr fund balance at year end was to be $1.290,000, so if you add every thing up it total about $8.1 million; add the emergency fund of $5 million and city has over $13 million available to it to use if need be. This does not include improved xmas sales. I understand sales are up by 3.3% nationwide; if this holds here in SL, that could mean more than $1 million dollars. I leave office with a much improved financial picture. And don's forget, measure z will bring additional $3-4 million a year commencing in 2012-2013 budget years-measure z will be around for seven years and also good old mr. cassidy opposed measure z; yet it will be his life saver.
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Craig is a bitter, angry boy. He has no intellect so he seeks solace in statements that have no basis in reality or facts. His only solution is that of “free”; free housing, free healthcare, free food, free, free, free, free.
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Craig,
Then why are Democrats against new tax laws that would let the US repatriate money made by US-based mulitnational corporations in other countries? Oracle, Google and Cisco and many bay area tech companies that pay high salaries are lobbying for this so they can hire more American workers – but guess who is against it???
Don't believe the facts, believe what Craig tells you about the liberal party line, huh?
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The conservatives are saying “ship the government jobs offshore that's how we make our money.” Over and over again.the Republican solution is go lower cost by eliminating American jobs.”Don't believe what you see, believe what I tell you” they insist.The bankers got a bailout and then crapped a BRIC, investing not here but in Brazil,Russia ,India and China.
Craig
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Only Tony Santos and pro-union morons like Tavares think a budget that dips into city reserves is “balanced.” Their idea of a “balanced” budget is one that has equal opportunity of graft and corruption for all city council members and unions.
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The council should split the money 6 ways among themselves that's an extra $5000 or so each or $100 a week.
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