A staff report to the Antioch City Council, which will be meeting on July 12th, presents the council with a resolution to extend the council’s prior resolutions encouraging each City of Antioch elected official (mayor, city council member, city treasurer and city clerk) to voluntarily agree to an irrevocable 10 percent reduction in their salaries and a $100 monthly decrease in their auto allowance for the fiscal year 2011-2012.

Prior to the November 2012 election, the council could revisit whether it wants to rescind the resolution and make any changes in compensation permanent by ordinance.

The staff report points out that the maximum council salary is determined by a statutory formula based on population or by increases of no more than 5 percent for each calendar year from when the last salary adjustment was adopted pursuant to an ordinance. While Antioch, a general law city, can not reduce the salaries of council members during their current terms of office, an increase for all council members can occur when one or more is eligible for a salary increase because of starting a new term of office.

The report does not address the recent Contra Costa County Grand Jury Report (2010-2011) which found that 8 of the county’s 16 cities spend more than the countywide average of $39,377 for salary and meeting fees. The cities are: Antioch, Concord, Danville, Hercules, Martinez, Richmond, San Pablo and San Ramon.

The Grand Jury also found that 12 cities and 9 special districts prove health care benefits, and 12 cities and 3 special districts provide pension benefits with potential long term financial implications. Antioch provides both health benefits and pension benefits to elected officials.

Antioch, mandated to reply, responded to the Grand Jury report by saying the city partially agreed with the findings regarding salary and meeting fees but questions the value of a simple mathematical average for cities with varying populations.

The City also agreed that, in order to increase transparency, it would combine council compensation and benefits and include that document in its annual review and in the future will review its policy of pension or deferred compensation for Council members. The staff report for the July 12th meeting, however, doesn’t address the council’s health and pension benefits.

CCC Board of Supervisors Redistricting Draft Proposal 16 (12A)

Final Vote Could Happen Tuesday

By Allen Payton, Publisher

The Contra Costa Board of Supervisors have narrowed down the field of redistricting plans to three final maps, of which two of them split Antioch. The third one, while keeping Antioch and all the other 52 communities in the county whole, continues the current gerrymandered Districts 2 and 3 in an attempt to preserve the status quo, as much as possible. One of the plans that splits Antioch, also creates a district that places most of the city and far East County in the same district as part of Walnut Creek.

After two months of public input, including 14 workshops throughout the county, and with a variety of maps submitted by members of the public, as well as county staff and the Supervisors, and an overwhelming majority of residents supporting what became know as Concept 6, the Board could decide Tuesday at their regular weekly meeting to adopt a new map for their districts, in the decennial redistricting process. But, it takes three votes to make that happen and so far there is not consensus of which three Supervisors will support which plan.

Concept 6 was submitted by a group of citizens from throughout the county, from various political parties and walks of life, known as the Contra Costa Citizens Redistricting Task Force, of which I am Chairman. It’s the only plan that splits only one city, Concord – the county’s largest – while creating the most compact districts and the smallest population difference from one district to another. Both compactness and as equal population as possible are legal requirements in the redistricting process. Our group is continuing to push for adoption of our Plan A2/Concept 6 as the best plan submitted with the most  public support, countywide.

The county staff created Concept 4 and columnist Dan Borenstein of the Contra Costa Times published a plan on May 1st, which the Supervisors included in their process and labeled Concept 5, both of which were similar to Concept 6. Then Supervisors John Gioia and Federal Glover submitted plans which were also very similar to Concept 6. All of those plans split just one or two cities, Walnut Creek and/or Concord.

The final three plans are known as Proposals 15, 16 and 17.  Proposal 15 is a modification of Proposal 9 which was submitted by Supervisor Gayle Uilkema of Lafayette. It keeps Antioch whole and in the same district with Pittsburg, Oakley and Bethel Island, as it is now, but places Bay Point into a district with Concord, Pleasant Hill, Clayton, Pacheco, Clyde and an unincorporated section of the county next to Martinez known as Vine Hill. It also places all of Walnut Creek in District 2 which will continue to be gerrymandered by including Lafayette, Moraga and Orinda with Hercules, Rodeo, Crockett, Port Costa and Martinez. That district was created in 1981 to hurt then-Supervisor Nancy Fadden by lumping in two distinct parts of the county with differing views into the same district, so as to hurt her for reelection, because it was assumed every time she took a vote for one part of her district the other part would be unhappy.

Finally Proposal 15 keeps the San Ramon Valley in the same gerrymandered District 3 with Brentwood, Knightsen, Byron and Discovery Bay, where Piepho lives. That district was created in 2001 to hurt the chances for higher office of then-Supervisor Donna Gerber. It crosses to hill ranges and in order to get from one part of the district to the other, you have to either drive through one or two other districts or out of the county. The plan has a population deviation of 5.39% so it is the closest to the Supervisors’ criteria they adopted in February, this year and the maximum rule of thumb in redistricting of 5%, of the final three plans.

Proposal 16, a modification of Proposal 12, submitted by Supervisor Karen Mitchoff of Pleasant Hill, splits Antioch down Lone Tree Way with the western half in a district with that stretches to Hercules, much like the current 11th State Assembly District. The eastern half of the city would be in a district with the rest of East County and a part of Walnut Creek – which the plan also splits – in an attempt to satisfy the desires of Piepho who grew up in Walnut Creek and wants the city in her district. However, she has stated her top priority is to keep Walnut Creek whole, unlike the current three-way split which the city experiences, today. (Only Proposal 15 accomplishes that, but it doesn’t include the city in her district). With a population difference of almost 7% between districts, Proposal 16 violates the 5% criteria.

Proposal 17 appears to be a compromise plan as a revision to Concept 6 and the Gioia and Glover plans, and the desires of Mitchoff to keep Concord whole, plus Mt. Diablo and the Concord Naval Weapons Station in her district. However, it splits off about 10,000 to 11,000 residents from each of four cities – Antioch, Concord, Walnut Creek and Pinole. Another downside is that the population deviation is almost 8% at 7.95% which could be legally challenged in court and might not stand up, especially since the plan splits four cities.

The Board has until August 15 to adopt a plan or the process is handed over to the County Assessor, Registrar of Voters and the District Attorney to draw the new district lines.

All three of the latest map proposals, plus Concept 6, as well as all of the other maps and public input submitted throughout the process, can be found on the county’s redistricting website at www.ccredistricting.org.

The Board meeting is at 11:15 a.m., Tuesday, July 12 in the Board Chambers, Room 107, Administration Building, 651 Pine Street in Martinez. For those wishing to email or call the Supervisors with your opinions, their contact information can be found by clicking here.

by Edi Birsan

Courtesy of HalfwaytoConcord.com

The mayors of Oakley ( Jim Frazier), Brentwood ( Robert “Bob” Taylor) and Antioch (Jim Davis) joined with the Vice Mayor of Pittsburg (Ben Johnson) at the Antioch City Council Chambers, in a recent non-partisan forum hosted by the East County Democrats for Action club.

Questions asked from the audience covered the following topics:

1. Brentwood has a substantial kids shadow government program where the kids spend time with council members and city staff. It took a few years to develop but the kids have come around to incorporate it into the education culture of the city.

2. Both Oakley and Brentwood have substantial financial reserves 29-30%

3. Oakley recently cut all its building fees by 50%

4. Frazier of Oakley is looking forward to the development of its $1 billion state power plant that has committed sizeable contributions to the city’s income base. He was also very involved in Highway 4 improvements.

5. Antioch and Pittsburg have several Council members involved in direct meetings with respective school boards.

6. Antioch has an Academy program to help you based on a Tennessee model, the details of which were not given.

7. Davis of Antioch said he had to be careful in answering about Section Eight impacts on his city because of pending lawsuits, but said he holds the position that the program has to be a “hand up not a hand-out” approach.

8. Redistricting was very interesting because of my own interest in the matter, with Frazier, Davis and Taylor all echoing the positions of wanting an East county district. Brentwood emphasized its association with Oakley and Antioch. Johnson of Pittsburg simply said they were happy with Glover an opening not taken by the others, nor did he talk about any association with Antioch. I suspect that Frazier and Davis are far more interested in the Redistricting than the two other representatives which may give us some indication of future moves.

9. Taylor of Brentwood came back repeatedly that much of their problems come from higher levels of government including Sacramento and Washington including the White House.

10. There were various comments about Mayor Taylor’s Turkey routine where he dresses up as a turkey to raise money for turkey’s to be donated at Thanksgiving. There was mention of over 750 turkeys’ that were raised and he apparently gave 200 plus to Oakley folks.

11. Frazier was very proud of La Clinica Raza coming to Oakley to help the community’s needy. He said he has donated half his salary to them with other chunks going to various charities.

The audience included East County Supervisor Mary Piepho, Councilmember Rocha from Antioch, as well as other organization leaders such as Chuck Carpenter, Chairman of the Democrat Central Committee.

The event was the first of its kind for the club and it is expected to be held annually.

CCC Board of Supervisors Draft Redistricting Proposal 17 (6A)

CCC Board of Supervisors Draft Redistricting Proposal 16 (12A)

CCC Board of Supervisors Draft Redistricting Proposal 15 (9A)

By Ed Diokno, Policy Analyst, Office of Supervisor Federal Glover

Redistricting is the redrawing or adjusting of electoral district boundaries following the federal Census to account for population shifts and growth during the previous decade. The redistricting process is governed by the U.S. Constitution, State and federal law.

California Elections Code § 21500 requires the County Board of Supervisors to adjust the Supervisorial district boundaries every ten years following the federal Census so that the districts are as “nearly equal in population as may be” and comply with the Voting Rights Act. This year, the Board of Supervisors is required to redistrict the five Supervisorial districts using 2010 Census data. The County’s redistricting process will include broad opportunity for public review and input.

Contra Costa County is committed to an open and transparent redistricting process by hosting community workshops throughout the County, providing all maps and data on-line, and potentially the ability to create redistricting options on-line.

The 2010 Census revealed that Contra Costa County has 1,049,025 residents. Extracts of the data for California, counties, places (incorporated cities and Census Designated Placed or CDP) and census tracts are available on the Demographic Research Unit website.

American FactFinder will also provide on-line access to more Census 2010 results.

July 12, 2011: Continuation of Board of Supervisors Public Hearing on Map Proposals.
The Board of Supervisors will continue the Public Hearing to Consider Proposal to adjust the boundaries of county supervisorial districts based on the 2010 Census at 11:15 am on July 12, 2011.

These are the 3 options being considered for the new Contra Costa County supervisors’ districts. Most likely there will be further revisions and proposals.

Proposal 15:
http://64.166.146.155/docs/2011/BOS/20110712_154/8406%5FDraft%5F11x17%5FProposal%5F15%2Epdf
Proposal 16:
http://64.166.146.155/docs/2011/BOS/20110712_154/8406%5FDraft%5F11x17%5FProposal%5F16%2Epdf
Proposal 17:
http://64.166.146.155/docs/2011/BOS/20110712_154/8406%5FDraft%5F11x17%5FProposal%5F17%2Epdf

The Redistricting Board item is listed as D.4 on the Agenda. Please follow the link to view the Board’s Agenda. http://64.166.146.155/agenda_publish.cfm#ReturnTo0. You may also find this information on the website at www.ccredistricting.org

Publisher’s Note: You can view the Contra Costa Citizens Redistricting Task Force plan, labeled Concept 6, which garnered the most support throughout the recent public process, by clicking  here and the data for the map by clicking here.

Antioch City Clerk Jolene Martin administers the oath of office to Antioch's new Chief of Police Allan Cantando as his wife Cherith and their son Connor look on.

By Allen Payton, Publisher

After spending his entire law enforcement career with the Antioch Police Department, 45-year-old Allan Cantando rose through the ranks to become Antioch’s Chief of Police, last Friday, July 1. He was given the oath of office at an official ceremony, today, Thursday, July 7.

In attendance at the ceremony were a couple hundred family members and guests, including the mayor and city manager, current and past mayors and council members, community leaders, other police chiefs in the county, as well as three former Antioch Police Chiefs.

Both City Manager Jim Jakel and Mayor Jim Davis offered their remarks before Cantando was sworn in  by City Clerk Jolene Martin.

“Sometimes I second-guess myself,” Jakel said. “This is the right decision, right from the beginning.

“He’s held virtually every position in the department. He’d do a good job in any community. But he has connections. Just look at the diversity in this room. He’s linked in,” Jakel added.

Mayor Davis spoke directly to the new chief.

“It is with great pleasure that I congratulate you on your advancement, Allan, to Chief of Police. The council is 100% behind you.”

Elwood "Woody" Cantando places the chief's lapel pin on his son Allan's uniform as Allan's wife Cherith watches proudly.

Then, with his wife Cherith by his side, holding their 17-month-old son, Connor, Cantando was given his oath of office by Martin, as cameras flashed and video cameras rolled to commemorate the event.

He then invited his father, Elwood “Woody” Cantando, to pin the chief’s lapel pin on his uniform.

Then an at-times emotional Cantando was given the microphone  and thanked his wife and family members, who he had introduced earlier, and the Chiefs of Police that had given him his start, and those who mentored him in his career, plus those in the Antioch Police Department.

“This is something I’ve dreamt about since I became a police officer,” he said. “Thank you to Jim Jakel for his confidence in me. I was overwhelmed by the support of the stakeholders in this community.”

He referred to a book about successful people, entitled “The Outliers” and how it takes being in the right place at the right time with people who have mentored them.

He spoke of Jim Nunes, the former Pleasant Hill Police Chief who gave him the opportunity to become a cadet in that police department.  Cantando shared how proud he was to wear “that cool, little shiny police badge.”

Retired Pleasant Hill Police Chief Jim Nunes with Chief Cantando. Nunes gave Cantando his start as a cadet with the Pleasant Hill PD.

“I became a part of a profession I love,” he stated.

Cantando mentioned former Antioch Police Chief Len Herendeen who had hired him and was in attendance at the ceremony. He spoke of the recently retired Chief Jim Hyde who mentored him and finally of former Chief Mark Moczulski who encouraged him to apply for positions and promoted him to Lieutenant then Captain.

He concluded his remarks with a commitment.

“I love this department and love this city and as a department, we’ll make a collective difference,” Cantando stated.

The public is highly welcome to attend the Antioch Mello Roos Board meeting on July 11th at 7 p.m. at 510 G Street. The Board is soliciting public input to pass on to the City Council as to what to do with the remaining $1.7 million available in the Mello-Roos fund for improvements to Prewett Park.

Anyone unable to attend can take the Antioch Herald poll or e-mail comments or suggestions to walter.ruehlig@gmail.com.

Restore the Delta, along with sixteen other Delta community/political leaders, sent a letter to Congressman Tom McClintock, Chair of the House Sub Committee on Water and Power, to express widespread opposition to HR 1837 (Nunes).

Recent massive fish kills at the water project pumps in the south Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta highlight the folly of H.R. 1837, Congressman Devin Nunes’s resolution to guarantee water supplies to the west side of the San Joaquin Valley.

Nunes’s San Joaquin Valley Water Reliability Act would undo years of efforts to balance Delta restoration with water supply reliability and to restore the San Joaquin River.

Says Restore the Delta Executive Director Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, “H.R. 1837 is an end run around California’s water rights laws. It puts junior rights holders ahead of Delta agriculture, Delta municipal water users, and fisheries. Forget public trust protections.”

Recovery of the West Coast’s recreational and commercial fishing industries is threatened by operation of federal and state water projects, which create conditions hostile to fish. Since April, eight million fish have been killed at the pumps, despite the fact that reservoirs are full.

Export contractors have refused to pay for fish screens at the pumps.

Nunes argues that federal endangered species protections have cost tens of thousands of jobs in impoverished San Joaquin Valley communities. But research by Dr. Jeffrey Michael of the University of the Pacific’s Business Forecasting Center has shown conclusively that San Joaquin Valley job losses are lower than claimed and have been driven by the housing construction collapse.

Even with pumping restrictions to protect salmon and other species, average exports from the Delta are now similar to what they were in the 1980s and 1990s. Several years of dramatic increases in pumping during the past decade have driven some species of fish to the brink of extinction.

Millions of tax dollars have been spent on scientific reviews confirming the adverse effects of project over-pumping.

Restore the Delta is a broad-based coalition including Delta farmers, environmentalists, fishermen, business leaders, and concerned citizens. Restore the Delta advocates for a more comprehensive and thoughtful approach to address the state’s water needs, including projects that safeguard the Bay, the Delta, the environment, and the people of California.
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Just a quick reminder that the Antioch July 4th Parade will be held tomorrow, Monday, July 4th (hey, what a coincidence!) at 10 a.m. on 2nd Street in historic downtown Rivertown.

Be sure to get there early to get a seat along the parade route.

Presented by Delta-Antioch Kiwanis, Allied Waste, the City of Antioch, Mayor Jim Davis, Antioch School Board Trustee Walter Ruehlig, Antioch Chamber of Commerce Community Foundation, American Legion Post 161, Antioch, and the Antioch Herald.