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Caren Ray attempts to intimidate voters

October 21, 2018

Coleen Kubel

OPINION by COLEEN KUBEL

I am a candidate for a seat on the Arroyo Grande City Council. I am running because I love the people of Arroyo Grande, and I have always loved helping people. I have been in public service in one way or another for over 40 years.

I have held precious lives in my hands while working as a 911 dispatcher, dispatching police, fire, and ambulance services to you, when you need help, or your house was on fire. I have seen the worst of mankind and the best of mankind and I can tell you, what I have witnessed in the past several weeks in the political campaigns for various offices in Arroyo Grande is beyond the pale.

I am writing this opinion piece because I want to make the citizens of Arroyo Grande aware of what is going on politically in our city. Some of you will believe me some won’t, but that is OK, this is the United States of America, and you have a right to your opinion, and so do I.

I also have a right to run for office, unobstructed, peacefully, and engage in very important conversations with the citizens of Arroyo
Grande without having someone mis-character my reasons for wanting to run for office, steal my signs, damage my signs, or any other behavior that could be considered intimidation of voters.

I have just been made aware of robo calls and texts that are being circulated that smack of voter intimidation. I will not repeat the entire script but the part that is troubling to me is “in order to keep your family safe, you need to vote for Caren Ray and Jimmy Paulding.”

Let’s think about this logically, if that were the case, why then, did the Arroyo Grande Police Officers Association endorse myself and Mayor Jim Hill only in this campaign, not Caren Ray and Jimmy Paulding. I have just given you part of my background in law enforcement, I refuse to believe that the citizens of Arroyo Grande can’t see through this voter intimidation attempt to gain votes anyway that they can.

Please understand that I and Mayor Jim Hill, are more interested in keeping the citizens of Arroyo Grande safe, then those putting out the false robo calls. We want our police department to be brought up to full staff to protect you! We want our fire department to be brought back in house to protect you, and save you money while doing that.

I am very saddened that the Fire Authority was brought into this as being a sponsor of one of the robo calls. They are better than that, and they know the truth.

Let’s stop this kind of campaign of false statements, voter intimidation, and let’s stop the sign wars. It’s ridiculous when property owners find signs in their yards or businesses that they did not give permission to have placed there, or signs stolen, of which I am a victim of, or Mayor Jim Hill’s sign’s, 11 of them damaged, along with city sidewalks, and city walls, and private property.

We are better than this in Arroyo Grande, and all of us should be standing up and saying “no more” of this kind of behavior. Why are we as citizens of AG allowing this to happen??

To my fellow AG City Council candidates, please do not let yourself be pulled into this kind of campaigning, you are all very special people, and we all deserve to be elected on our records, not on false statements or actions that would interfere with other candidates legitimate attempts to be elected fairly, and honestly.

Thank you, from a city council candidate who wants the best and safest city that we can possibly have in Arroyo Grande, who sincerely likes all my opponents, and who will always be looking out for you, my friends, and neighbors.

Coleen Kubel is a candidate for a seat on the Arroyo Grande City Council.


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Folks,


DO NOT elect Caren Ray in Arroyo Grande!


In my opinion, Caren Ray lacks the personal ethics and sound judgement necessary to hold public office, and taxpayers would be wise to cast a ballot for her opponent, Mr. Jim Hill.


When voters consider the very different public profiles of these two candidates, it is obvious that Jim Hill is the only credible choice to be the mayor of Arroyo Grande.  Caren Ray is a socialist and will work to grow big government, raise our taxes and use government as a club on the private sector.


On Election Day, Tuesday, November 6, Vote Mr. Jim Hill as Arroyo Grande Mayor.


1

Well hopefully She can go after the corruption between the developers, pot growers, and politicians.


3

All crazy innuendo and let’s see what unsupportable statement sticks approach aside, here are the realities. 

Uncivil discourse in local politics has taken hold in AG. Ray has never been the perpetrator of this. The man in charge in AG and the San District has long allowed this to occur and get worse. 

Sign Wars are big in AG for some reason, it’s just the landscape of the local politics. All candidates have experienced theft and vandalism, they just don’t all cry about it. Back in ‘14, Ray posted videos of it happening and no one cared so why bother now. A sad reality, but not unique to any one candidate. 

All candidates have come out against this behavior and it is the screwball in the crowd that actually do these things. 

The person suspected by many as being the paint vandal in known to have done the same thing in ‘14 but in support of Hills campaign. This person also headed up the Hill sign campaign in ‘16. So it looks more like a personal issue rather than a campaign action.


-6

Bobby N, err, Randy,


Nice try at deflection, but the fact remains that Caren Ray is responsible for much of the inappropriate behavior on the AG city council.  Considering her antics as a public official, her continued antics as a candidate for office are hardly surprising.


We deserve better than Caren Ray.


Vote Trusted incumbent Jim Hill for AG Mayor.


Stop Political Antics.


6

Bobby N or should I say Randy, thank you for your responses, they give me so many more issues to let the citizens in AG know about when they read them. Lets talk about the facts, not your theory of the issues. After reading your responses I’m not sure that your definition of reality or facts are the same as mine, but that is OK. That’s why we love this country and are so privileged to have the freedoms that we have. It it is very evident that you back Caren Ray very strongly, which is fine, but you won’t get away with distorting history in the name of defending Caren on my Opinion Piece.

May I suggest that you take time to investigate your own claims, before stating them on something like this. I am doing this to help you understand that what you are saying only makes you and Caren look worse in the eyes of the public. Why would you do that? You are supposed to be on her side aren’t you? Fact: Mayor Jim Hill is the most even tempered person that you could ever meet. That is in and out of politics. Everyone that knows him, knows that, he would never allow civil discourse to happen. Fact: Sign Wars should not be part of local political landscape in Arroyo Grande or anywhere for that matter. Yes candidates have experienced theft and vandalism I am sure, but not to the extent that Mayor Jim Hill has. Those signs cost a great deal of money, and no one should just be complacent about that type of behavior. It sounds like you don’t feel that way though! This attack on Jim’s signs and frankly mine as collateral damage also was targeted, and since no one else’s signs were damaged it kind of paints a picture of which side of the political spectrum the perpetrator was aligned with. This was unique to one candidate!! Question: You state the person suspected by many as the paint vandal in your last paragraph. Are you stating that you and others know who did this and haven’t done your civic duty in reporting that to the Police Department? If so many people know who did this, then Caren Ray must know as well. It would be her duty to let the Police Department have that information wouldn’t it? Randy I have so many more facts to clarify with you, and I would love to discuss the paint vandal further with you, but not knowing who it is, prevents me or Mayor Jim Hill from doing that, because that would be irresponsible to say something blindly without knowing the facts, as you have. Thank you again for responding.


5

I see no facts here, just inuendo and distortions, not further comment required. 

I have been called Adam, Bruce, Caren, Kristen, Matt, and now Randy. Some of those are insults and some would be compliments, but you should know the conspiracy is much greater than that. 


My suspicions of the paint vandal are just that and the information comes from a long history watching this site and recent posts. I believe I was very clear on that, I’m sorry for your distortion. I could be wrong, but I have my suspicions as do others clearly. That is certainly not real information that is worthy of police reports. 


14 days


-1

Thank you for your spirited exchange Bobby N. I can respect that you want to use this name, you would not want your real name to show up, like mine is. Totally understandable. So your suspicions of the paint vandal are just suspicions, that you have gained from this site and you have detailed accounts that you have posted connecting past campaigns with this present crime right, including who this person might be. Talk about distortion. I believe we have come to an understanding, we can agree to disagree. You should know that the conspiracy that you speak about is much greater than what you think, and I believe it will soon be revealed. Hope you have a good day, and thank you again.


0

Uncivil discourse in local politics has taken hold in AG. Ray has never been the perpetrator of this.


Before Randy, errr, I mean “bobby N” was dipping his pen in Caren’s inkwell, he was not around to witness Ms. Ray’s mean-spirited, dismissive and downright rude interactions when the local citizenry would come before the AG City Council to point out problems at the San District (during the Wallace Theft and Ocean Contamination years).


Sorry “Bobby”. You know not of the facts when it comes to your latest squeeze. She lovingly sat at the feet of one Tony Ferrera, soaking in his vitriol and disdainful treatment of “the common folks” brave enough to approach the dais. She is his new torch-bearer and the latest messiah to his old acolytes – aka Judith Bean, Bob Lund, Jim Guthrie, Trudy Jarrett et all. You know – all those folks “endorsing” her . . .


7

bobby N, If Caren Ray had video of the vandalism to her signs (as you say she did) and damage also occurred on public and private property — with the value exceeding the $400 felony threshold, surly the Sheriff or Police (depending on the jurisdiction) would pursue the perpetrator. If you know who the “screwball” is or recognize the car that was released in the photo last week, please inform AGPD. Furthermore, campaign documents reflect the Hill campaign manager for 2016 was Beatrice Spencer. Care to retract your statement above? Lastly, “uncivil discourse” has “taken hold in AG”? You should be celebrating any discourse, apathy has caused your city to find itself in financial straights. City services have had to be cut because the public was trusting the Ferrara council to spend wisely. The runaway costs at FCFA and PERS have revealed that Otis Page was right all along. RIP Otis.


2

Caren everybody sees right through your disingenuousness. You could care less about the people, all you really care about is all your developer buddies like Grossman and Tompkins getting their projects approved. BTW has your husband paid back the money he stole from his ex yet? Just curious


6

Robo calls are illegal.


8

That is what prompted this Opinion Piece, after being in Law Enforcement for a very long time I am aware of the illegality of Robo Calls, with a Fine of $500.00 per call. Thank you so much for your response.

Coleen


8

Instead of false claims or “law enforcement experience” a simple check of laws at the FCC reveals:

“Political campaign-related autodialed or prerecorded voice calls (including autodialed live calls, prerecorded voice messages, and text messages) are:


Not allowed to cell phones, pagers, or other mobile devices without the called party’s prior express consent.

Not allowed to protected phone lines such as emergency or toll-free lines, or lines serving hospitals or similar facilities, unless made with the called party’s prior express consent.

Allowed when made to landline telephones, even without prior express consent”


Sounds like the fire guys were well within their rights! 


1

My point which you apparently overlooked was that it was a false claim no matter which way it came in and smacked of “Voter Intimidation”. Robo Calls are illegal in California as of a couple of years ago, in 2014 I believe, when the TCPA was revised in order to help consumers fight back against robocalls. This was a simple check of California Robocall laws, and the Federal Trade Commission exact text which is on line. The Fire Authority Union who endorsed Caren Ray & Jimmy Paulding should have checked this out first. The point is, no one is going to jeopardize AG citizens, on either side of the political landscape, so why would someone say that they would other then to gain votes. I am not against the Fire Authority, they are very professional at what they do. I am against placing a $1,000,000 cost per year on the shoulders of AG residents to pay for Oceano’s share of cost.


6

I think the somebody saying things is the fire union and not any of the individuals. The question that should be asked is what did you and the mayor say that lead the union to believe this so strongly that they created this robo-call?


0

Randy, again thank you for your statement it opens up another door for me to step in and explain. I actually agree somewhat in what you have stated, that you think it is somebody saying things in the Fire Union, but my question is why would the union as a whole allow that to happen? To answer your “next question that should be asked”: I sat down with the union reps, I will not give you their names because that would be unfair to them. I explained that I had great respect for what they do, and how professional I believe they are at what they do. My husband was a volunteer Fireman for Grover Beach for many years so I know what it takes to be a Fireman. We talked for over an hour. Then we got into what the Fire Authority believes should happen. The Fire Authority doesn’t want to lose any Fireman if the Oceano Station has to close, and we don’t either, but I am not willing to place the burden of $1,000,000 per year on the shoulders of AG residents to keep the Fire Authority as it is now, paying for Oceano’s inability to come up with their share of costs. We need to bring the Fire Department back in house or create a JPA with Grover Beach. I told them the truth! I didn’t tell them that I or Mayor Jim Hill can make it equitable, between the cities, which is what just came out from Caren Ray, on the Congalton Show a couple of weeks ago. No explanation of how that will happen if she is elected as Mayor. I am not willing to say something that can not be substantiated by facts. So if being truthful and honest equates to “not keeping citizens safe in AG, and has motivated them to start an illegal Robocall, and to distort facts as they have, then I am very glad I stood up for the citizens of AG. Myself and Mayor Jim Hill want all of our citizens to be safe, just like all the other candidates in this race. Voter intimidation is not the way to change citizens minds, truth and honesty is. Thank you again Randy, I truly appreciate your responses.


3

Enough Randy. 

Always making excuses for Ray—it’s so obvious when you’re the ONLY one!


5

Shishkabob141 is right on! But take it further, the common denominator in the politics in SLO County is Adam Hill. Caren’s best bud, and Paulding is his most recent protege. Adam Hill wanted Lynn Compton out so he could have control of the County Supervisors board, and thought wide-eyed Jimmy would be great! Of course, that was way above Paulding’s abilities, so even though they spent all that money, he still lost. Now Adam is backing him to get into city politics to work his way up.


My pet peeve is when a Hill sign has been posted with permission from a local small business person, next you see a Ray sign on the same location! I have seen this 5 times already, and even worse, they plant the Ray sign in front of Hill in attempt to block it. Why would they even approach a business if a Hill sign is up? It’s obvious that the the business owner backs Hill. But that puts the owner in a bad position of not backing her as well, so they cave. You don’t see Jim Hill signs on all the developer properties that she has her signs on! He is smarter than that, and does not want to be “owned” by them. She is the queen of dirty politics! One has to question why she feels the need to have all the POWER?


If Ray and Paulding get elected, all the efforts Jim Hill has put into bringing transparency and honesty into Arroyo Grande will go to waste. It will go back to the reign of Tony Ferrara. If you are not part of their “club”, you don’t count. I bet John Wallace will re-appear on the Sanitation District, too!


15

Wallace still does work for the city.  

Tea party McClish has made sure to keep his coffers flowing. 

Hill hasn’t had the votes from Barneich, Ray, or Harmon to dump the crook but you sure have to think he’d love to!


4

One time Caren Ray has staff vandalize her opponents signs and damage private property, then she okays misleading robo-calls. Clearly Caren will do anything, even illegal, to get back into power.


17

My thoughts about this whole situation are very simple and logical. Who’s signs, have been stolen or damaged, and who is the target of the Robo Calls. Caren’s and Jimmy’s signs are not damaged, or stolen, and no Illegal Robo Calls have been made against them. I will leave it to the citizens of Arroyo Grande to decide who is looking out for their interests.


8

The FCFA has taken an anti-Hill position due to the fact that Chief Lieberman is close personal friends with crooked GB Mayor John Shoals. Their allegiance leads them to obstruct Hill and his attempts to do what is right for the citizens of Arroyo Grande. Make no mistake, Lieberman is an extension of Shoals, as is Barbara Harmon, AG’s disappointing representative to the FCFA.

Lieberman is an overpaid, unqualified leader who gained his position as a favor from disgraced Tony Ferrara and Shoals. Lieberman is all but certain to remain should Ray, Paulding, and Storton prevail.

Hill continues to fight the uphill battle, steadfast in his resolve to rein in costs and tighten the city’s belt. He is met with opposition at every turn from Ferrara holdovers and those who don’t want the light of day to shine upon their dirty secrets. Ms Kubel is being subject to the same treatment Hill has received in prior elections because she supports him.

Re-elect Jim Hill AG Mayor.

Elect Coleen Kubel to AG City Council.


21

Years ago I purchased cell phones from Lieberman. A few years later I saw that he was a Fire Chief. Well we all know that it doesn’t really work that way going from cell phone to Chief. Very clear what is going in Arroyo Grande and the voters have a chance to put an end to it.


12

Thank you for your response, my interests in bringing up these problems as stated above is to level the playing field. The citizens of

Arroyo Grande deserve to know what has been happening, what the Progressive Machine is trying to do in Arroyo Grande, and I will again lean on the honest, hardworking people who are my neighbors and friends to make the decision of who they think will look out for their best interests on the City Council. You can pick the candidates who have the most money, most signs, etc.. Or you can pick someone who has steadfastly looked out for the interests of Arroyo Grande residents since being elected, and for someone who will always put you first, over politics for City Council. As for me and my house I will choose the latter,


7

I would like to know why Lieberman drives an FCFA vehicle home? I see him driving it to and from his home and parked in front of his home. Is personal use of an FCFA vehicle part of his contract?


1

Lieberman I am sure is on call for emergencies, so he would have his work vehicle with him at home. As for personal use of his work vehicle, I have never heard of that being allowed in any contract like his. If he is using his work vehicle for personal use that is something that the citizens of

AG should know about, it’s being paid for by all citizens within the Fire Authority boundaries, and should be of concern to us all.


1

Jimmy Paulding is an empty suit, an entitled individual with no real life experience who wants to start at the top. Jimmy should get a job, work his way up in his chosen field, become active at the grassroots level then in 30 to 35 years offer himself for public office.


14