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AG mayor seeks restraining order on public speaker

October 10, 2014
Mayor Tony Ferrara

Mayor Tony Ferrara

By DANIEL BLACKBURN

Arroyo Grande City Council members met Wednesday morning to “discuss” hiring a private investigator who  apparently had already started his job, and Mayor Tony Ferrara angrily asked for a restraining order on outspoken critic Otis Page.

According to the agenda, the council was meeting to discuss hiring a private investigator from Ventura to look into a employee scandal and alleged cover-up. However, city employees said the company had already been selected, the private eye was hard at work, and the meeting was a “sham.”

Several city employees said officers who had first-hand knowledge of a recent city government scandal were contacted for interview appointments by Sintra Investigations in the days before the special council meeting, which had only the one item on the agenda.

Sintra Investigations will be looking into the late-night City Hall rendezvous on July 3 between City Manager Steve Adams and a subordinate employee, Teresa McClish, as well as the council’s handling of the issue. The incident was first reported by CalCoastNews on Aug. 19, and since then numerous Arroyo Grande residents have expressed dismay at the response by Mayor Tony Ferrara and his council mates in meetings and in letters to council members.

Ferrara, responding to one resident’s email asking the council to approve an independent investigation, recommended his fellow council members not reply to the resident.

“No need to reply,” Ferrara said in an Aug. 21 email to council members Tim Brown, Jim Guthrie, Joe Costello and Kristen Barneich, and copies to Adams and McClish: “This is an FYI. I wanted you to know where I’m coming from. Not about to take this crap from anyone.”

About 25 citizens attended the rare morning session, many criticizing a “lack of transparency” by city officials, a failure to fire Adams, and the already-completed deal with Sintra.

Resident Page said both the meeting and selection of the investigator was “a sham” as the council had already hired the firm. Ferrara then ordered microphones and public broadcast television cameras to be turned off, and demanded that a police officer escort Page from the council chambers.

A visibly irritated Ferrara asked a nearby police officer if he could “get a restraining order” against the outspoken Page, a police department employee confirmed. Ferrara was then informed that it was unlikely he would be able to secure a restraining order against Page.

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Emails to Council PRA 09-22-14 by CalCoastNews


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I’ll bring the tar if someone will supply the feathers.


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See you at the rally!

Come between 5:15-5:30 on Tues at the council chambers.


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hmmm…Not going to take crap from ANYONE ? You mean the same Citizens of Arroyo Grande you were elected to SERVE ??


And exactly why is a Citizens inquiry and/or request for an independent investigation CRAP?


I really want to know what Steve Adams and Tim Carmel have on This Mayor that he idiotically protects them at all costs, including the City he represents.


If the City Manger were to drop dead tomorrow Mr. Mayor, what would you do ? If you have given these two employees (Adams and Carmel) who serve at your pleasure, SO MUCH POWER AND JOB SECURITY that Adams can dictate to YOU when he plans to resign in order to save the City of Arroyo Grande from “the current events (his policy violation, criminal violation, contract violation) which have caused to much distraction for me to lead”, instead of terminate him for the obvious violation that has brought so many problems to OUR CITY.


What does this City Manager and City Attorney have on you Tony Ferrara that you allow your job to be a Paper Mayor, or is it one of collusion with these employees? Do you have so little control of the City business allowing for this “Plan to resign” by Steve Adams, (delaying said plan so he can “ensure a smooth transition and allow me to complete a number of important efforts underway.”) Why would you want Adams or Carmel involved in any further City business, especially the selection and/or training of his replacement given the situation you are in today…NONE of the protections you have afforded these two At Will employees can be justified by you…


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It’s a two way street, the city manger and attorney support any idea the mayor comes up with no concern for any legal issues it would cause and in return the mayor has control over the salary of the city manger and attorney.


The fact is both the city manager and attorney received raises since July 3rd, in fact the city mangers was raised on July the 4th, I think.


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Yes, the raise happened July 4th—how’s that for timing?????


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So the fireworks really spanned TWO days?


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Wow. Adams’ bleat sounds familiar. Let’s not forget that Lisa Soloman, the fondling Paso Robles cop chief, blamed her departure on CCN “whose reporting made it impossible” for her to do her job. So city “leaders” gave her $250,000 to go quietly and not sue the city for giving +her+ a hand job.


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Stick a fork in it Tony…YOU ARE DONE!


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We can’t assume that!

Too many still believe this is just NBD.

Walk fliers or post a yard sign, contact 10 of your email contacts and ask them to do the same.


The Police Officers Association has endorsed Jim Hill for Mayor. Make sure your friends are aware of this.


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Interesting editing — you have a future as a political propagandist. Not that I disagree with your point or failed to be amused by it, but that was a patently one-sided presentation of the situation with the continuous focus on Tony’s dour expression.


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The bigger they are the harder they fall.


Get ready to batten down the hatches, it shouldn’t be too long coming.


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HERE ARE RESULTS FROM LAT TIME MAYOR HAD COMPETITION WRITE IN HAS ZERO CHANCE


CITY OF ARROYO GRANDE

MAYOR Total

Number of Precincts 10

Precincts Reporting 10 100.0 %

Vote For 1

Ballots Cast/Reg. Voters 8119/11059 73.4 %

Total Votes 7077

TONY FERRARA 5434 76.78%

TIMOTHY J. MOORE 1596 22.55%

Write-in Votes 47 0.66


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Is this supposed to dissuade us? I can tell you that it doesn’t. If you don’t care or don’t want change, go somewhere else, rather than hang out here……


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That’s not entirely fair. Aren’t these comment areas for everyone? I’m surprised, LeAnn, considering how kind you’ve seemed in the past. Surely you don’t mean that only people who agree totally with you should be permitted to speak… do you?

Please say it isn’t so.


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I do think people who disagree with me should speak, but I don’t think they should come here with the gloom and doom that only dissuades people from making deeply needed changes in their community.


I am kind. But I will continue to stand up for what I believe as well, and that is, if you want to remain part of the problem, get out of the way………


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As for me, I’ve only ever sought clarification on this whole mess. But I see gloom and doom every bit as relavent as fiery speeches, because we all have the same right to be heard. Not everyone is as positive about what’s happening. For everything that has been said, there has been someone to point out the original speaker’s possible motives. Not everyone has your inside view.

Even just today, I repeat only what I’ve read here and they’re lining up to tell me how wrong I am. We all have a right to be confused and to seek understanding before we declare for one side or the other.

If that is “part of the problem,” as you see it, then I’ve misjudjed you. I’ll get out of the way, sure, no problem. As always, I’m sorry for the misunderstanding. If I’d know you wanted blind faith, I’d never have bothered you at all.


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SO TRUE FACTS NOT BLIND FAITH CREATE CHANGE NO ONE SHOULD BE AFRAID IF THEY ARE FACTUAL AND NOT JUST MAKING DECSIONS ON EMOTION AND BLIND FAITH


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LEANN IS CAPABLE OF RAISING HER GAME AND DEALING WITH FACTS IF SHE CHOOSES TO


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I don’t think you are part of the problem and I never said you were, BUT, people who do not see the corruption, lies, deceit, and power-tripping as reality are in the way—I am sorry if that is harsh, but from where I sit, it is the truth.


We know this is an uphill battle. And AAADADDYO, I do deal in facts and reality. I am not following anyone on blind faith—-I am certainly not following the lead of our current leaders.


The facts are fairly clear in this situation—there isn’t a lot of room for misunderstandings. I do not make my decisions based on emotion, but by what I see, here, and prior knowledge.


The reality is, the leadership in AG is not true leadership. The reality is the leadership in AG has not done right by the citizens of AG, the reality is the leadership in AG has misused the Brown Act and violated it outright, the reality is the leadership in AG has violated the ethics laws that supposedly govern all city governments in the states of California, the reality is our current mayor has become a bully and does not see that he has created this situation by not acting when he should have, the reality is there is a group of citizens who are not going to take his crap anymore and work for change. I don’t think any of the above statements constitute blind faith.


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And Ish, I don’t want blind faith from anyone who posts on here…that is an assumption you should not make about me. I am sorry people have lined up to tell you that you are wrong, that was certainly not me, I confirmed what I know and saw, to assist in answering your questions, which I did without judgement.


I never blasted you, I never judged you, and I never said anything to make you feel as though you didn’t know what you were talking about.


But I feel that I also have a right to stand up to someone who is reiterating how hard this fight is going to be with regards to unseating our current mayor—we know this, and are moving forward anyways—I shouldn’t be judged because I stand up for that.


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JUST REALITY


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What’s that from? 1968? How is that meaningful?


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2010


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Still not relevant. It’s four years later and people are done with this crap—-or haven’t you seen the signs in the community, the posts on this site, as well as the outrage at the council meetings? Are those facts lost on you? Or are those facts not relevant with regards to this?


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DID YOU HAVE CONCERNS PRIOR TO ISSUE WITH STEVE ADAMS I THINK NOT OTIS COULD HAVE RUN BUT DID NOT ASK HIM WHY


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Ummmmm, that is a very big assumption you are making about what I was concerned and not concerned about……I was concerned, but the events revolving around and directly after July 3rd kind of sealed it for me that I wasn’t necessarily satisfied with the current leadership……


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I can tell you why, because Otis and I discussed it.

He is an 84 year old man, and as he’s said, “It is not my time”.


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DOES THAT REPRESENT COMMUNITY AS A WHOLE?


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I can assure you that Tony and the current council do not represent community as a whole either……


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HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF


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but it doesn’t have to—-and that is the point here isn’t it? we just don’t have to settle——


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Perhaps Tony is using the “restraining order” as a ploy to obtain a CCW permit outta the Chief of Police before he exits stage left… or, perhaps he is already packing?


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WHAT IS CCW?


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Its a gun permit.


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Carry Concealed Weapon


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Why the negative votes everyone? Not everyone is well informed about the acronyms of every given field. There is nothing wrong with someone wanting to understand. Ignorance may not be a positive characteristic but it is only a negative one when it is willful. I am sure that I could confound many of you with some of the specialized “lingo” that I have picked up over the years and vice versa as well.


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Excuse me…

Mr. Moore did not run a campaign at all.


I think it is astounding he garnered as many votes as he did.

People are not gonna vote for King Tony.

They might leave it blank.

Over 1,000 people left it blank that time.


There was no nookie gate, no charter city, no failed Fire Authority.

There have been plenty of no’s coming from the people.

Vote Jim Hill


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DIFFERNCE IS MOOREWAS NOT A WRITE IN


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We will be lucky to have 50 per cent voter turnout this November.


Update on the Compton Ray debate.

Any word on AG sex scandal?


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TURN OUT WILL BE CLOSER TO 70% DO YOUR HOMEWORK


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Please turn off caps lock/ stop shouting.


Tx

The mgt


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sorry typing not my greatess skill was not shouting although i understand why that was thought , sould have spent more energy in typing class in 8th grade


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thank you for this—–


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I attended the forum and submitted two questions, one was regarding the FCFA vote, asking if the candidates supported it and how they would of or did vote on it, and second the opinion on how the A.G. has handled the city manger issue, starting from July 4th?


Neither question was asked. Now I did have to step out for a few minutes from 12:02p to 12:06p and could of missed one of them but not both.


Not really surprised neither question was asked.


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The email is indiciative of the attitude of supposed public servants. They no longer serve the public. They serve only themselves.


This goes from the President of the United States right on down to every local politician of both parties. It will never change until all citizens unite against both political parties instead of falling into the trap of pitting citizens against each other and the opposing party.


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IF THERE WAS ANY CHANCE OF TRUE COMPETITION , SOMEONE SHOULD HAVE RUN AGAINST MAYOR PRIOR TO ISSUE WITH ADAMS BUT OBVIOUSLY NO ONE WAS REALLY UPSET WITH MAYORS CONDUCT TO DO SO… WHY IS THAT?

ARE PEOPLE JUST UPSET OVER CURRENT ISSUE OR TRUELY HAVE BEEF OVER LONG TERM CONDUCT? IF THAT WERE TRUE OTIS OR SOMEONE WOULD HAVE RAN


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No one took out papers, because they felt their chances of winning were slim.


NOW the King is crumbling, and they feel they might be able to get Tony out.

This is about the MAYOR folks.

Let’s remember this.


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DOES HILL THINK HIS CHANCES AREBETTER NOW THAN WHEN HE COULD HAVE PULLED PAPERS THAT MAKES NO SENSE

PEOPLE SHOULD REMEMBER IT WAS NOT MAYOR WHO LEAKED SCANDAL AFTER DEADLINE IT WAS OTHER FOLKS


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He purposely kept in under wraps until AFTER the deadline! That’s why folks are screaming COVER -UP!!!!!


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There is a chance for true competition……the power is in the voter’s hands, not Tony’s, although I am sure he thinks very differently about that…..I think until this situation became public people were afraid to come out, there wasn’t a big enough group who were working towards the same end—-the situation and the lack of response and transparency around the situation led people to say “enough is enough.”


Or is my point not based on fact? People have limits and when those limits are crossed they are going to take actions to change the situation they are no longer happy with; history is a great teacher. Think Black Panthers, think Civil Rights Movement, think American Revolution, think student movements, think protests against the arms race, think protests against in the government in Egypt, what about the protests the lead to democratic movements in what used to the Soviet Union and in China? There’s too many to count—-these events happened because people recognized a pattern of abuses by their government and they wanted to create change.


The election for mayor and other council members in AG is not different than the above examples from history—-


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so none of my examples apply here? whatever…….


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It is hard to understand why no one ran against someone they have been so unhappy with. They had to be unhappy before this incident for it to escalate to this point. It seems it is easier to talk the talk than walk the walk and actually run for office. No one took out papers because they thought their chances were slim? Sounds like a slim excuse. On the principal at least one opponent taking out papers would give citizens a chance to show how they feel even if the opponent lost.


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Agreed under that premise wite in cadidate chances are slim so why run?

just an excuse Jim Hill could have run many other times if he was truly upset with Mayor and his record. facts beat out emotion every time


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If I remember right from a different CCN article, Jim Hill moved into the City of AG within the past 2-3 years so he could not have run against Crony Tony before that. I suspect that he was hoping that someone with more knowledge and experience within the city would oppose Ferrara and didn’t file because of that.


While Ferrara should be booted out of office for his actions/inactions on the Board of the South County Sanitation District, that is not a political issue that grabs the attention of the average voter the way this new scandal does. (Unfortunately, you are very wrong about facts beating out emotion every time. This entire country would be better off politically if that was the case.) I suspect that is why Hill stayed in the background prior to this — he knew about Ferrara’s failures and opposed them on the SCSD — but he was also a relatively new AG resident and that wasn’t a “hot button” issue.


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Jim had no intentions of running until a group of concerned citizens urged him, pleaded, and begged him to do it.

We all realize it’s a long shot, write-in campaigns are rarely successful, but if ever there was a time, it is now.

People are just beginning to see the “real” Tony, some have known him to be a bully for a long time.

Unfortunately it takes something like this to get enough people to pay attention. It’s even more difficult to get enough to do some homework, and educate themselves to the misreads of current leadership. People generally don’t want to put in the effort, but want to call those who do hysterical, or vindictive.

More accurately, they are more involved and thus have more knowledge.

Write-In Jim Hill for Mayor. It’s time for someone new in City Hall.


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and so that is exactly what is happening now cathy….that is exactly what is happening now—-why question why he is doing it now? As history shows, people have breaking points, and they choose to act—-Jim Hill (and others) chose to act…..it really isn’t that complicated…….


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Cathy,


Jim Hill’s candidacy is a chance for the citizens to show how they feel—–any election is a true chance for that, many just don’t take it…….


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There are plenty of us who were unhappy and upset with Ferraro prior to this. Why has no one else come forward and run? I can think of several possibilities — some of which apply to me.


It costs money to run for office — even local office — if you are to have a reasonable chance of winning. Some don’t have the money at all, others may not be willing to spend the money unless there is a degree of certainty for success. Yes, one could always ask around for donations and support but that is difficult to do without a track record and some people are psychologically uncomfortable doing that at all.


Being an elected official demands a very flexible daytime schedule. It is not compatible with many regular jobs and, at the city level, the compensation is not adequate to substitute for any full-time job.


Politics can be a nasty business — particularly if you run against someone like Ferrara. There are a lot of people who do not want to deal with the intense negativity of a campaign.


We are a very mobile society. A lot of people are relatively new to a given city. It takes time to build the kind of relationships and trust that will translate into political support.


It also is very beneficial to have exposure to some of the commissions that do the preliminary work for many city functions (Planning Commission, Recreation Commission, etc.) Getting on these commissions may require either time, political connections or both. Not being familiar with city processes and players makes life much more difficult for one new to politics.


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Please donate what you can to the Jim Hill campaign.


Contact@WriteInJimHillMayor.com


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Maybe people are scared of what Tony is capable of and choose not to put up with his bs


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So, wow, Tony really wrote that…….okay people, we have only one mission now, and that is to get Jim Hill Elected………If you have read the added emails below Mr. Blackburn’s article, you should—-it tells you a lot about our current mayor………guess what Tony, we don’t have to take YOUR crap….and we won’t—–we choose someone else—-


VOTE JIM HILL FOR MAYOR!!!!!!!!!!!!


WRITE-IN JIM HILL and

FILL IN THE BUBBLE


We all deserve a more responsive, responsible, transparent, and ethical city government than the one we currently have……we just do—-we work hard, we love our town, and we don’t have to be held hostage by leaders who refuse to listen to the people and do the right thing—-they have not done the right thing with this situation and they have continue to show their inability to truly build our community—-rather, all they have done is worked to divide it.


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Profiles In Courage Moment


This is one of those rare Profiles In Courage Moments.


They do not come very often in our lives.


Each Individual Can Make A Difference.


It is the time to display the courage that makes are communities strong and Democracy Stronger.


Just Vote and Encourage Others To Vote !


{ 0 } Name


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“Our”


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I have a suggestion for those in AG that are sick and tired of the Bully Tony and the lackey council. Caren Ray and Lynn Compton will be taking questions during their debate……..the questions should be coming from the audience directly so, ask the two ladies how they feel about the goings on in AG.

The response should be very telling to the voters in AG about how deep politics go and if some are willing to take a stance to win a seat.


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BETTER YEY ASKPEOPLE RUNNING FOR COUNCIL


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yes, because they will give you an honest answer……


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