By Chief Allan Cantando, Antioch Police Department

On the night of Wednesday, August 20, 2014, members of our SWAT team partnered with the Contra Costa Sheriff’s J-Team and conducted a proactive crime suppression detail in the Sycamore Drive corridor.

Officers conducted one probation search, 48 pedestrian stops, 105 traffic stops, and 13 suspicious vehicle stops during this operation! By the end of the night, 12 arrests were made for outstanding warrants, possession of controlled substances, possession of a firearm, and resisting arrest.

I could not be more proud of the tireless efforts and fantastic work by the officers, dispatchers, and support staff dedicated to serving the City of Antioch. I am also grateful for the assistance being provided by neighboring law enforcement agencies, including Sheriff David Livingston and his J-Team, who continue to help us when resources allow. And finally, I am truly thankful for the continued support we receive from members of this great community!

Collectively, we are ALL making a difference!

What do you want in Contra Costa? BART? Buses? Bikes? Roads? Ferries?

In an effort to obtain greater input on the transportation needs and priorities of county residents the Contra Costa Transportation Authority will host a workshop this Thursday, August 28 at 7 p.m. at the Pittsburg City Council Chambers located in the Pittsburg Civic Center at 65 Civic Avenue.

The Countywide Comprehensive Transportation Plan, or CTP, is one of the key planning tools called for in the Measure J Growth Management Program (GMP). Specifically, Measure J requires the Contra Costa Transportation Authority to:

Support efforts to develop and maintain an ongoing planning process with the cities and the County through the funding and development of a Comprehensive Transportation Plan

The CTP provides the overall direction for achieving and maintaining a balanced and functional transportation system within Contra Costa – including a series of strategies and implementing actions – while strengthening links between land use decisions and transportation. It outlines the Authority’s vision for Contra Costa and it establishes goals, strategies, specific projects, and other actions for achieving that vision.

The Authority adopted its first Countywide Plan in 1995. The first major update to the Plan was adopted in July 2000. The second major update, which helped define the Measure J Expenditure Plan and GMP, was adopted in May 2004. The third update was adopted in 2009.

During 2014, the Authority will undertake a fourth update to the CTP. The 2014 Issues and Opportunities brochure, (available for download on the CCTA website, below) sets the stage for the 2014 Update.

If you can’t attend Thursday night’s meeting, you can participate online by sharing your ideas and seeing what other ideas have been submitted by visiting www.keepcontracostamoving.net, and calling (925) 256-4720 or emailing 2014CTP@ccta.net to get a copy of the survey mailed to you.

For more information on the CTP, visit http://ccta.net/_resources/detail/11/1.

By John Crowder

A review of emails obtained through a California Public Records Act request reveals that the Contra Costa County Office of Education (CCCOE) considered the issue of a possible conflict of interest for board member Richard Asadoorian in the Dozier-Libbey Medical High School (DLMHS) conversion charter school petition appeal. Asadoorian is married to Antioch Unified School District (AUSD) Board Member Barbara Cowan, who voted against the DLMHS conversion petition. There had been some discussion that he should recuse himself from the appeal process.

Emails reveal that county staff were considering how to advise Asadoorian on this matter by mid-April. In an April 11 email from CCCOE Controller Jane Shamieh to Associate Superintendent Bill Clark, she relates a discussion she had with attorney Adam Ferber, from whom she had been seeking advice on the charter question. She says, “He (Ferber) asked if the board member (Asadoorian) with the conflict is going to recuse himself.” She continues, “When I told him I wasn’t sure he said that he absolutely should.” She goes on to say that this opinion is based on community property law, and that his wife has a financial interest because she is paid by Antioch.”

According to Asadoorian, he was approached by county staff with a recommendation that he recuse himself. “Staff presented cases based on common law. My own attorney looked at it, and (rejected their analysis). My own legal counsel saw no case study substantiating the idea that I should recuse myself, and I know other spouses have been in similar situations.”

Indeed, conflicts of interest are extremely common, in government and otherwise. The existence of a conflict of interest is not, in and of itself, an indication of unethical behavior or wrongdoing. Conflicts can exist whenever a situation occurs in which a person has more than one interest at stake in a decision. Concern arises when the possibility exists that a secondary interest might overshadow a primary interest. In this case, the questions raised were twofold. One was whether or not Asadoorian would be able to vote differently than his wife simply because of their relationship. The second, and the one being addressed by the CCCOE, was whether the stipend she received as an AUSD board member might influence his vote.

With respect to laws concerning conflict of interest, the husband/wife relationship is not even a consideration. Examples abound of relatives holding government offices (even the same offices held by Asadoorian and Cowan, as Walter and Cynthia Ruehlig were similarly situated in the not-so-distant past) and, while there exists the possibility of someone wanting to do a favor for a relative, conflict of interest laws do not generally focus on this relationship because it is so difficult to quantify the effect. Therefore, such laws focus on financial interest, because they are easier to quantify and are more objective.

In this case, Cowan is not employed by AUSD, but she does receive a stipend of $400 per month for her service on the board, along with another, smaller payment she receives in lieu of insurance offered to board members. It was argued that Asadoorian has a financial interest because of community property laws.

Public officials are expected to put their duty to the public (their primary duty) ahead of any secondary interest (such as an interest Asadoorian might have in the stipend received by Cowan). Conflict of interest laws are supposed to prevent decisions that could reasonably be perceived as being unduly influenced. Ultimately, it was up to Asadoorian to make the decision as to whether or not he might be influenced by the stipend his wife receives. It is hard to imagine that this small stipend could exert that level of influence. This is especially true when you consider that some, if not all of it, must be expended by her in the performance of her duties, i.e., local travel and other necessary expenses associated with serving on the board, for which she is not reimbursed.

Asadoorian ultimately determined, after consultation with county staff, and with his own attorney, that it was not appropriate to recuse himself. After a thoughtful consideration of the matter, it is hard to understand how he could reasonably have been expected to do otherwise.

The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and the Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA) are widening State Route 4 (SR-4) through Pittsburg and Antioch. As part of this construction work, the contractor will be installing drainage ditch alongside the highway at Contra Loma Boulevard.

In order to ensure crew and public safety during this work, the contractor will close all lanes of SR-4 in the eastbound direction from Contra Loma Boulevard to Lone Tree Way/A Street on the mornings of Thursday August 14 and Friday August 16 from 12:01 am to 4:00 am. And again on the morning of Saturday, August 16 from 2:00 am until 6:00 am.

The detour for this work will be as follows:

o Eastbound motorists will be directed off the highway at the Contra Loma Boulevard off-ramp and left onto Fitzuren Road, right onto G Street, left onto Putnam Street, and then left onto Lone Tree Way and then onto the EB on-ramp.

The Highway 4 projects include improvements to the entire project corridor that will help revitalize eastern Contra Costa County. The projects expand Highway 4 from four to eight lanes between Loveridge Road and SR-160, and add a BART extension from Pittsburg to Antioch (eBART). The projects will also expand the highway from two to four lanes from Lone Tree Way to Balfour Road. This will greatly improve transit accessibility for the region and help reduce traffic congestion and enhance the quality of life for the more than 250,000 residents of eastern Contra Costa County. The projects have been carefully staged to keep 130,000 vehicles per day moving as major construction and demolition work continue, and include over $1.3 billion in State, Federal, Regional Bridge Toll, and Contra Costa Measures C & J sales tax funds.

Caltrans and CCTA appreciate your patience as we work to improve the highways. For the most current information on all Highway 4 corridor closures please visit our website at: http://4eastcounty.org.

Sacramento, CA – Restore the Delta (RTD), opponents of Gov. Brown’s rush to build water export Tunnels that would drain the Delta and doom sustainable farms, salmon and other Pacific fisheries, today called Governor Brown’s water bond proposal to have taxpayers buy water for future fish flows to satisfy exporter mitigation requirements “nuts.” RTD said the governor’s bond measure is not “tunnels neutral,” and contains $485 million to buy water to replace what will be pumped into the tunnels.

“Charging taxpayers $485 million to replace water sent through the tunnels to enrich mega-growers in Westlands and Kern Water Districts is nuts,” said RTD Executive Director Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla. “With that Ponzi scheme included, this bond will become a referendum on the tunnels.”

The governor’s flow language would allow public funds to be used to purchase water that could be diverted into the Delta tunnels. “The half-billion dollars in funding for purchase of water upstream of the Delta, and later diverted into the tunnels is a massive transfer of wealth from the rest of us to a few mega-growers who hog 70% of the water exported from the Delta,” said Barrigan-Parrilla. “Water transfers are needed by the BDCP for mitigation — essentially they can’t operate the new tunnels without putting more water in the River, which the BDCP will purchase – at taxpayer expense – from water districts and growers in the northern Sacramento Valley.” 

Here is simple language that could fix the bond measure’s shift of costs from water exporters to taxpayers: No water purchased under this division can be used directly or indirectly for exports from the San Francisco Bay Delta. That’s tunnels neutral.

Restore the Delta board member and water law expert John Herrick, said, “Legally it is the obligation of the projects to protect these fisheries and return their populations to pre-project or other levels. Until the projects have undertaken and accomplished this restoration of the fish populations, no public funds should, or can be legally used to recover the fish. Hence, any proposal for state or federal funding of new habitat for fish rearing or purchased water for fishery flows is a transfer of the projects’ contractors’ obligations onto the general public. Such a transfer is not just bad policy, it is illegal.”

The Department of Fish and Wildlife would use up to $485,000,000 from Sections 79733 and 79737 to buy water that would be dedicated under Water Code Section 1707 for in stream use in waterways upstream of the Delta.  However, once that water reached the tunnel intakes it could be diverted into the tunnels. The new wording does not prevent that. This water would be available for export from the Delta the same as any other water purchased by the exporters. The public would be paying for that benefit to the exporters.

Restore the Delta is a 15,000-member grassroots organization committed to making the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta fishable, swimmable, drinkable, and farmable to benefit all of California. Restore the Delta works to improve water quality so that fisheries and farming can thrive together again in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. www.restorethedelta.org.

By John Crowder

At their Tuesday, August 12 meeting, the Antioch city council decided not to fill the vacancy created by the death of Councilman Gary Agopian and tabled the idea of setting a minimum wage in the city.

As reported earlier, under state law the council had the option of calling a special election or appointing someone to the vacant seat. However, as city attorney Lynn Nerland pointed out, a special election could not be held until November 19, and the seat is already set to be filled at the general election on November 4. This meant that the only option effectively under consideration was whether or not to appoint someone to the seat, and, if that decision was taken, what process to follow.

Willie Mims, of the East County NAACP, was the only member of the public to speak on the item. He wondered why the city did not yet have a policy in place to fill such vacancies, and told the council that it would be prudent to fill the position, suggesting they find someone with views that were similar to those held by Agopian.

With respect to the need for a policy, Mayor Wade Harper questioned Nerland who confirmed that many cities purposely do not set up a specific procedure to follow in order to allow for flexibility based on the circumstances. Harper also asked how long the process would take to conduct interviews and make an appointment, to which city manager Steve Duran responded that it would typically take 45 to 60 days, leaving only two council meetings before the general election.

Council Member Tony Tiscareno stated that, while he tended to agree with Mims that an application process is more fair than an out-and-out appointment, with ten candidates vying for the two open council seats, it would be better to wait for the election to fill the vacancy.

All members of the council concurred that it would be better to allow the November 4 election to fill the seat, and, on a motion to that effect put forward by Mayor Pro Tem Mary Rocha, they voted 4-0 in favor.

The idea to have a minimum wage law specific to Antioch was also on the agenda. Four members of the public spoke on the issue, two in favor, and two opposed.

In favor were realtor Mark Jordan and Mims, who is a Pittsburg resident. Jordan said that he had raised the issue at a council meeting late last year, and that a higher minimum wage was a “progressive issue,” and about fairness. Mims said that it was important to give folks a livable wage.

Opposed to the measure were Realtor Lori Ogorchock, a candidate for city council, and Dr. Sean Wright, CEO of the Antioch Chamber of Commerce. Both expressed concern that, with the crime rate in the city already negatively impacting businesses choosing to locate here, adding the higher costs of a separate minimum wage would only make the city even less competitive.

Duran echoed those sentiments, also pointing out that staff wages would rise if Antioch increased the minimum wage. “There’s not a lot of upside in that,” he said, referring to the proposed idea.

While council member Tiscareno seemed sympathetic to the idea, he wanted more information. Council Member Monica Wilson expressed concern that raising the minimum wage might negatively impact the ability of the city to bring an end to the Friday furloughs.

Mayor Harper summarized the sense of the council when he said that he would not advocate pursuing a minimum wage for Antioch at this time, and that the council should just move on.

In other news, members of the public were on hand to express their continued dismay over crime in the city, and a handful of people expressed concern that the Nick Rodriguez Community Center might be demolished. Notable among the speakers was Karen Rodriguez-King, daughter of Nick Rodriguez, who opposed the demolition of the center.

In discussing the process undertaken by the city on the Rivertown RFP, the council ultimately decided that, in order to receive more feedback from the public, the bidding process should be extended to October 31. The motion to extend the bidding passed on a 4-0 vote. An extra focus group was also added in order to ensure all interested parties have a chance for input into the plan.

The next regularly scheduled meeting of the city council is set for Tuesday, August 26.

By Barbara Zivica

Regrettably Antioch has still not adopted a policy in regard to filling a City Council vacancy since the situation arose in 2000 when Donald Freitas was sworn in as Mayor, leaving a vacant council seat. Shortly thereafter, the council, consisting of then Mayor Mary Rocha (having just lost her bid for county supervisor), Arne Simonsen and Brian Kalinowski voted to appoint council candidate Jim Conley, third-place finisher in the previous month’s election and the only candidate council members could agree on.

Previously, a vacancy had occurred in the Mayor’s seat, in 1994 when Joel Keller was elected to the BART Board mid-way through his term as Mayor. None of the then Council Members, including Mayor Pro Tem Allen Payton, and Council Members Mary Rocha, Elizabeth Rimbault and Ralph Hernandez, could get the necessary three votes for the appointment. So, the council majority chose to appoint former Police Chief Len Herendeen to fill the position for the remaining two years.

A vacancy occurred again in 2008 when Jim Davis was sworn in as Mayor, leaving his prior council seat with two years remaining on his term. Unfortunately, the council did not appoint the third place finisher, Arne Simonsen who was one of 14 applicants to fill the vacant seat. They decided instead to appoint Martha Parsons, the union-backed Democrat fundraising consultant for Torlakson and DeSaulnier.

The options for addressing a vacancy on council remain the same now as they did then:

1) Call a special election to fill the vacant seat.

2) Invite applications for appointment to fill the city council vacancy and establish dates and rules for the application process, or

3) Appoint a person to fill the Council vacancy until the election results in November are certified and the elected council member seated.

According to the city attorney, not appointing someone and waiting for the November election would incur no additional staff time or costs and involve some savings as to the salary and benefits provided council members. The option of appointing someone directly would have the opposite effect.

Thankfully the council agreed unanimously to fill Gary Agopians’s vacant seat through the election process.

The city received fourteen applications but only ten filed their nomination papers by the filing deadline. Eight qualified for the ballot. The city clerk is awaiting verification of signature count for another candidate and one did not qualify due to insufficient number of valid signatures of registered Antioch voters.

Councilman Tony Tiscareno is one of the qualified applicants. He was appointed by the council to complete Wade Harper’s term when Harper was elected mayor in 2012, midway through his first term on the council. Tiscareno must run for election this November in order to retain his council seat.