By Allen Payton

In a post on his campaign’s Facebook page, Antioch Mayor Wade Harper announced his campaign for re-election, on Friday, August 5, 2016.

“Under my leadership as mayor of the city of Antioch we have become a safer and more prosperous city.  Our sound Strategic Management Plan is working to reduce crime, improve economic development and remove blight & graffiti city-wide.  That’s a promise kept.  That’s effective leadership!

As a former police lieutenant of the 2nd safest city in California and now mayor, I refused to layoff police officers.  Instead, I asked Antioch tax payers to fund more cops on the streets, you did!  We’ve had the most aggressive hiring practice, recruiting about 40 police officers since passage of Measure C.  That’s a promise kept.  That’s effective leadership!”

Harper is referring to his time working for the City of Tracy, before retiring after being elected Mayor in 2012. The City currently has a net four additional sworn police officers since the City Council placed Measure C on the ballot in August, 2013 due to officers retiring, quitting the force or being terminated.

Harper first served in public office when he was appointed to the Antioch School Board in January, 2009 to fill a vacancy created by the death of Joyce Seelinger. He was then elected to the Antioch City Council in 2010, before running for Mayor.

With Harper running for reelection, candidates for Mayor have until Friday, August 12th at 5:00 p.m. to file their required papers. The election is on Tuesday, November 8. So far he is expected to face three challengers, should those who have pulled papers complete the filing process.

By Allen Payton

In a press release issued Thursday, August 4, 2016, the Antioch residents who support a park and event center on the old lumber company lot in Antioch’s downtown, announced a second effort after their first initiative failed to get enough valid signatures to qualify for the November ballot.

They are “testing the adage that ‘you can’t fight city hall’” the release states and are calling the historical Antioch Lumber Company yard site “ground zero” in that fight. The 1.25 acre parcel is situated between E Street, West 2nd and West 3rd Streets, in Antioch’s downtown, also known as Rivertown. Overlooking the San Joaquin River, the vacant parcel was utilized as a lumberyard for decades. It is one of nine city-owned parcels the council is considering selling and gave direction to City Manager Steve Duran to negotiate with developer City Ventures in a closed session, in August, 2015. (See the related article, here).

Since the early 1990’s, the release continues, citizens have advanced various park-like proposals for this parcel, the most current envisioning a town square suitable for 4th of July celebrations, car shows, summer concerts in the park, farmers’ markets, Holiday De-Lites, Rivertown Jamboree, movie nights, dog shows and other community events including farm-to-fork, wine tasting, and multicultural affairs, the press release explained.

In February, 2015, Rivertown residents met with Duran, to share their vision for this parcel.

“To their shock and surprise, Duran having listened for only a short time, responded that this parcel would never be used as a park,” according to the release. “He explained that instead, it would be utilized as high density housing, notwithstanding there are already 840 residences within one-quarter mile of the Rivertown business center, that the city’s own consulting firm said the proposed residential project was infeasible, and that there is precious little space for community events.  People in attendance were stunned.”

“Since that meeting, interested citizens have attempted to meet with city officials to explore options, to no avail,” the release claims. “When these overtures fell on deaf ears and Antioch city officials began meeting with City Ventures, a developer, to discuss construction of high density housing, the ‘Save Our Yard’ movement was born.  This movement eventually spawned the Town Square Initiative which was a proposed ballot measure intended to allow the citizens of Antioch to determine how this site will be used.”

Duran Responds

In an email response, Duran stated, “I don’t think I was quite so blunt; but I recollect that I tried to explain why I think the site was zoned residential under the 2003 General Plan and why no staff or consultant has ever recommended the City build an event center three blocks from an event center on the City’s best housing site.”

“Yesterday’s press release to which you refer also asserted that the City wouldn’t meet with her to discuss the proposal dated 10/28/14 for a park & event center that on the old lumber yard site,” Duran continued. “In fact, our real estate consultant and I met with Joy Motts and Wayne Harrison on Friday, February 20th to review and discuss their proposal for the vacant dirt lot that was once the site of the Antioch Lumber Company yard and warehouse.  At that meeting, we requested additional information from them, which they never provided and I subsequently offered to meet with them again.  They never responded to that request either.  Mayor Harper and I had met with representatives from their group previously in this regard.”

In the press release the group claims that “the Town Square Initiative has met with unprecedented opposition by city officials” and specifically accuse Antioch City Clerk Arne Simonsen, the city’s election official, of being “a vocal critic of the Town Square Initiative,” and creating “one obstacle after another in his apparent attempt to keep this initiative off of the ballot.”

They stated “first, he rejected the petition itself because the language of the city attorney’s summary was modified at the proponents’ request, even though the city attorney had agreed to the modifications.  Second, he gave the proponents the wrong information concerning when the initiative had to be turned in.  Third, he refused to accept forty or fifty voter registration affidavits from initiative proponents on behalf of people who had signed their petition, effectively nullifying these otherwise valid signatures.”

Simonsen Responds

“I handled their initiative petition the same professional way I handled the one from Lamar Thorpe for the card room initiative,” he stated. “When I received the notice of intent to circulate, from proponent Jim Lanter, I immediately got it to then-interim City Attorney Derek Cole. He has up to 15 days to get it back to me. He took almost the entire time. When he gave me his summary, I got it to Jim Lanter. Then their next step was to publish it in a newspaper of general circulation. Once it was published they had 10 days to bring into me proof of publication. When they brought it in, I sat down and compared what I was given by the city attorney with what they published in the newspaper. They were not the same. So when I saw they were not the same, I called Derek Cole and said “hey, I have a problem.” He said, “well I got a call from Dave LarsEn, who wasn’t happy with some of the verbiage in the title and summary that Derek had submitted to me. Between the two of them, Cole agreed to some changes which he gave to Dave Larsen, and that’s what was published. There’s only one problem. According to the elections code, there’s only one way to change the title and summary once it’s been submitted by the City Attorney to the City Clerk. They have 10 days to submit to the court a writ of mandate to seek changes in the title and summary.

Derek Cole wanted me to allow the change. I told him “you were speaking with the proponents’ attorney on a side bar and didn’t include me in the conversation.”

“I contacted some master municipal clerks and asked them what to do,” Simonsen continued. “They told me, the only way to change it was the writ of mandate, because the notice of intent was not the same and that terminates their initiative process, because they did not go through the proper state Elections Code procedure.”

“Both attorneys failed to follow the Elections Code,” he stated.

As to the second accusation, Simonsen provided an explanation.

“They have 180 days from the publication of their notice of intent,” he said. “That would have brought them into early September. Then it would be on a following General Election. But they wanted to make this year’s General Election in November. So they had a shortened time frame of four months instead of six months to gather their signatures.”

“Normally, the County Elections Office takes less than 28 days to do the signature verification, which is what I told them,” Simonsen continued. “But, the Elections Code says they have up to 30 business days to perform the verification.”

“Dave Larsen, their attorney, saw that,” he stated. “I gave him a hard copy of the section of the Elections Code with all that in it. Why didn’t he look that up and advise them?”

Regarding the claim that Simonsen rejected voter registration forms, he said “I didn’t reject them. I told them I cannot accept them. The voter registration forms must be mailed or delivered to the County Elections office.”

Elections Code section 2102 states “the affidavit of registration shall be mailed or delivered to the County Elections official.”

“I didn’t look at the voter registration forms,” Simonsen continued. “They were supposed to be mailed or delivered within three days. Why, when I told them I couldn’t accept them, didn’t they deliver them to the County Elections Office?”

What actually caused the initiative effort to fail to make the November ballot, was that the County Elections Office determined there weren’t enough valid signatures submitted, after performing a sampling process. (Please see the related article here).

When reached for comment, initiative proponent Jim Lanter referred comments to Larsen and another leader of the effort, Joy Motts.

Larsen, who worked as a city attorney for 30 years, responded to Simonsen’s accusations.

“When you look [at the Elections Code], the definition of county elections officer it includes city clerks,” Larsen continued.

In response to Simonen’s statement that the attorneys didn’t follow the law regarding the ballot summary language, Larsen disagreed.

“The two seasoned city attorneys agreed, that since the city attorney is tasked with writing the summary and title, the city attorney can change his mind,” he stated. “When the proponents’ attorney calls and asks to make changes…it’s ridiculous to say the city attorney can’t change the ballot summary. We can certainly do that short of a writ of mandate. You only go to court when the two parties can’t agree on something.”

“You always error on the side of allowing the citizens to be heard,” Larsen added. “The idea that you have to go to court if the two parties are agreeable is ridiculous.”

Motts Claims Obstruction

When reached for comment Motts shared her experience and perspective of what occurred.

“I think it’s important for people to know of the obstructions we ran into along the way,” she stated. “We had an expectation that Arne works for the people and that he would provide us with accurate information, because he’s our elections officer. He doesn’t really work for the city.”

When asked if she approved the press release before Larsen sent it out, she said, “Yes.”

She also shared what County Clerk Joe Canciamilla told her.

“Joe told us that Arne should have accepted those forms,” she said. “He explained that many times initiative petitions come in with voter registrations forms.”

“Arne is an elections officer. Per the law he is obligated to accept those,” Motts stated. “The same day we turned in the petitions, we also picked up the registration cards from the signature gatherers. They handed 30 or 40 originals, plus 75 to 100 copies. They said ‘turn those in with the petitions’ because they’ll accept those.”

“Arne said he wouldn’t accept them and made some comment about if they weren’t registered the day they signed, they weren’t valid. But, that’s not true,” Motts stated. “If they signed the day they filled out their voter registration card, they’re valid.”

When asked what happened to the registration forms, she responded, “We immediately left [Simonsen’s office] and mailed the voter registration forms to the County Elections Office. The originals for the 75 to 100 copies had already been mailed in, but we didn’t know when.”

“Arne inserted himself in the process and made us stop the process and pay another $200,” Motts added. “The deadline [Arne gave us] probably messed us up more than anything.”

The count took less than either the 30 business days allowed or 28 calendar days, as estimated by Simonsen.

Motts said the information Simonsen provided the group didn’t show anything about the 30 business days the County Elections Office could take to count the signatures.

In a May 24th email from Simonsen to Motts, he wrote “you would have to submit your papers by mid July,” and attached a form showing the key dates for the November election. However, the form does not explain the 30 business days that the County Elections Office had to count the signatures.

“The way I found out was I just happened to call the county with questions about the validation process,” she continued. “This was toward the end of June. This guy said we have 12 initiatives in front of you. That’s when we went into a panic.”

That’s when Larsen sent his letter the new Antioch City Attorney. Ltr to City Atty re Petition

“That cost us $250 an hour, a whole bunch of money,” said Motts. “We reached out to Supervisor Federal Glover and Joe Canciamilla, to help expedite the process.”

Motts admitted that even had Simonsen accepted the additional voter registration forms that they might not have had enough valid signatures for the measure to qualify for the ballot.

“Joe also told us that based on the random sampling that even if we had those registration forms, that the probability would have been that we would have failed to have the required signatures,” she continued. “So I don’t know.”

Canciamilla Responds

When asked about the claims by the group regarding Simonsen not accepting the voter registration forms, Canciamilla offered an explanation.

“We’ve had 10 petitions from various cities. Every city clerk has turned in voter registration forms with those petitions except Antioch,” Canciamilla state. “I’m not saying what Arne did was wrong, but that’s what we get normally when they send along the petitions.”

“Arne is the elections official for Antioch,” he continued. “As I told the proponents, we aren’t the arbitrator. Unless we’re asked for advice, we don’t proffer it. Local measures are the city clerks’ call. I advised the proponents that the proper place for challenging is with the superior court. They take up a writ and put it before a judge. That is the mechanism for challenging.”

“We’re Not Going Away”

Asked why they were making this a personal thing and attacking Simonsen, Motts responded.

“We don’t have time to go after Arne, but we’re not going away,” she said. “We just want people to know there was obstruction all along the way. It cost all of us money and heartache, and maybe the ability to get it done.”

Nevertheless, the group’s press release states “The fight has only just begun.”  They also have committed that “a new petition will be circulated shortly; a special election will be sought; and in the meantime, proponents will be tracking the legality of each step the city takes.”

“In short, the verdict may be out concerning whether one can really fight city hall, but in this case, every effort is being made to do exactly that,” the release concludes.

For more information on the group’s effort, visit www.savetheyard.com.

The Antioch Police Department is excited to announce the 73rd installment of the Neighborhood Cleanup Program. This is a collaborative community effort which involves active participation from the Antioch Police Department Crime Prevention Commission; Neighborhood Watch Program; Volunteers in Police Service; community volunteers and the Public Works Department.

Collectively, “We”, everyone who works and lives in the City Antioch, can make a difference and improve the quality of life. It’s our community and it’s our chance to make a difference.

The City of Antioch Neighborhood Cleanup program is not just for residential neighborhoods. It is a program that will change venues on a monthly basis and it will include business and commercial areas as well. Neighborhoods that are free of trash and refuse are inviting, and a clean community instills a sense of community pride.

The 73rd Neighborhood Cleanup event will occur on Saturday, August 6^th from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Volunteers will meet at Gentrytown Park (Monterey Side). We will be cleaning the neighborhoods between Monterey Dr. and Mission Dr. down to Rio Grande Drive and Gentrytown Park.

Volunteers will receive instructions and the equipment necessary to accomplish the goal. The targeted area is within walking distance. Excluding inclement weather, future Neighborhood Cleanup events are scheduled for the first Saturday of every month and the locations will be announced in advance.

Remember, cleaning up your neighborhood can make life better for your family, your neighbors and your community.

By Lieutenant Don LaDue, Antioch Police Field Services Bureau

On Thursday, August 4, 2016 at approximately 4:19 am, the Antioch Police Department responded to a home in the 2500 block of Desrys Blvd. for a report of a female resident who was awakened by three unknown males in her home. The resident woke after hearing her dog barking so she got up and that’s when she saw the subjects in her house. The resident screamed and the males ran out a back door and went over the fence onto the Turner Elementary School property.

Officers conducted an extensive area search for the subjects that included the use of a police K9, but the males were not located. The resident had never seen the males before. They gained entry through an unlocked rear door. It does not appear anything was taken and there were no injuries.

This incident is still under investigation and anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to contact the Antioch Police Dept. at (925)778-2441. You may also text a tip to 274637 (CRIMES) using key word ANTIOCH.

By Acting Sergeant James Stenger #3604, Antioch Police Field Service Bureau

On Wednesday, August 3, 2016, at approximately 1:33 PM the Antioch Police Department received a call from a citizen regarding a fire inspector having a subject at gunpoint on G Street and West 14^th Street. APD officers arrived and found there was a vehicle collision with injuries at the intersection.

A Contra Costa Fire Inspector had a 19-year-old male from Hayward detained. The fire inspector believed the 19-year-old male was attempting to flee the scene of the collision on foot.

It was learned the fire inspector was traveling southbound on G Street when the 19-year-old male passed him illegally. A 41-year-old female from Antioch was pulling off of West 14th Street when the 19-year-old struck her broadside. The 41-year-old female was transported to a local hospital for injuries sustained in the collision. A 19-year-old Antioch male who was a passenger in the responsible vehicle was also transported to a local hospital for complaint of pain. The 19-year-old male from Hayward was issued a citation for illegal passing and speed violations and was released on his signed promise to appear in court.

There will be no further information released regarding this case at this time. Anyone with information is asked to all the Antioch Police Department non-emergency line at (925) 778-2441. You may also text a tip to 274637 (CRIMES) using the key word ANTIOCH.

By Allen Payton

Antioch residents have been getting phone calls over the last few weeks and asked to participate in a survey about issues affecting the city. Individuals have been commenting on social media wondering who was behind it. Some thought it might be the city, others speculated it might be City Ventures, the developer with whom city staff has been negotiating the sale of nine parcels in downtown, which are owned by the city. One of those parcels is the old lumber company lot.

“It’s ours,” City Manager Steve Duran admitted in a phone interview on Wednesday, August 3, 2016. “The survey is on all issues: crime, blight, homelessness, economic development…the whole issue of housing and the [downtown] event center on that site.”

The city did it “to help us with the messaging,” he continued.

The survey lasted about 15 minutes according to those who had been called and participated.

“It cost a little over $30,000,” Duran stated. “It’s a long one. It surveyed 500 people in English and 200 in Spanish. We wanted to get a good statistical sampling.”

Asked about the cost and length of the survey, Duran responded.

“If you’re going to go out with a survey, you want to get as much information as possible,” he added. “We’ll begin getting results probably next week.”

Asked if city staff will release the results of the survey to the public, Duran said he wasn’t sure. But, if so it will be after they provide it to the council members. He said he’ll check with the city attorney and get an answer. It’s a public record, so it probably will, Duran added.

Sale of Downtown City-Owned Parcels

The city staff’s negotiations with the City Ventures for the sale of the downtown parcels have resumed, now that the initiative effort for a park and event center on the lumber company lot, known as “The Yard” failed to gather the necessary signatures to place it on the ballot.

“We were waiting for the initiative on the yard to be decided,” Duran said.

Asked if the city could have sold the other eight parcels, and deal with the old company lot, later, he responded, “That’s the key parcel. It’s the biggest and best housing parcel.”

So, it didn’t make sense to move forward with just the other, smaller eight parcels.

He didn’t offer a date for when the proposed sale would be brought to the council for a decision.

Marketing Video

Duran also touched on the video the city paid to produce, to help promote the community and specifically the downtown, to outside interests.

“You want to put your best foot forward,” he stated. “It’s a vision of where we want to be.”

Some residents have been critical of the video for painting too positive of a picture of the community.

“We know we have some work to do,” Duran shared. “But you don’t go out pointing out the negatives.”

UPDATE, 8/5/16:

In an email response to later questions about the cost of and approval for the video, Duran wrote, “We contracted for two videos at $19,000. One is not done yet.  So that’s about $9,500 per video. The Council does not approve our marketing materials, so they did not approve the videos. The Council did not approve the survey.”

“My contractual approval authority is $50,000 per contract,” he continued. “The City Council approved the City’s budget and staff implements the City’s strategic plan within the approved budget.  Contracts over $50,000 are taken to the City Council for approval.  This is pretty standard practice for cities.”

A link to the four-minute video is available on the city’s website or can be viewed on YouTube by clicking here.

In July, Governor Brown signed a bill by Assembly Member Jim Frazier (D – Oakley) to remedy an inconsistency within the State Highway Operation and Protection (SHOPP) by stating that projects relating to operational improvements on state highways are eligible for inclusion in the program.

“I commend the Governor for signing AB 2289 into law,” said Frazier. “This bill adds another layer of transparency to ensure that these funds are used in the appropriate manner. As we increasingly look to traffic operation improvements to provide greater efficiencies in the operation of the state highway system, AB 2289 makes it abundantly clear that these operational improvements are to be included in the SHOPP.”

For nearly 20 years, investments in state highways, bridges, and projects to improve traffic operations facilities have always been included in the SHOPP. Oddly, current law governing the preparation of the SHOPP does not explicitly include operational improvement projects in the list of projects to be included in the SHOPP. AB 2289 puts the ‘O’ in the SHOPP.

“The Commission appreciates Assembly Member Frazier’s leadership to ensure that operational capital improvements are included as an eligible component for asset management planning and capital expenditure through the SHOPP,” stated Susan Bransen, Executive Director of the California Transportation Commission.

AB 2289 had the support of the California Transportation Commission, Automobile Club of Southern California, San Diego Association of Governments, Associated General Contractors, Transportation Agency for Monterey County, and San Francisco County Transportation Commission. This bill passed through the legislature with widespread bipartisan support and will become effective on January 1, 2016.

Assemblymember Frazier represents the 11^th Assembly District, which includes the communities of Antioch, Bethel Island, Birds Landing, Brentwood, Byron, Collinsville, Discovery Bay, Fairfield, Isleton, Knightsen, Locke, Oakley, Pittsburg (partial), Rio Vista, Suisun City, Travis AFB, Vacaville and Walnut Grove.