By Allen Payton, Publisher

The new, grass-roots organization, known as “Take Back Antioch” formed under the leadership of Antioch resident Brittney Gougeon is now seeking formal, non-profit status and needs your help.

They’re raising $850 to pay the registration costs.  According to a post on Facebook, today, they raised 13% of that in just one evening, for a total of $119.

To learn more about the group visit their website at www.TakeBackAntioch.com. If you’d like to contribute to the effort, simply click on the “Chip In” button in the “Non-Profit Status (501c3)” box on the lower right side of the page.

In addition, supporters can purchase “Take Back Antioch” shirts in either black or red, by clicking on the “Store” button at the top of the page.

For more information, contact Gougeon at info@takebackantioch.com.

Sister City Relationship Efforts Continue

By Allen Payton, Publisher

Antioch Mayor Jim Davis and members of the Antioch Rotary Club were invited by Chinese Consul General Gao Zhansheng to join him at a reception in San Francisco, celebrating the Chinese New Year, last Wednesday evening, January 19, 2011. It was the same night Chinese President Hu Jintao was the guest of honor at a state dinner with President Obama in Washington, D.C.

Davis and Rotary President Darien Croce, Past President Allen Payton and members Gloria Martin, James Shen and Zhou Ming enjoyed seeing General Gao and meeting his wife. They were then treated to a Chinese buffet dinner, following speeches by Gao and other dignitaries, including Davis, State Senator Leland Yee and former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown.

This was the second time the group met with Gao. He was a guest speaker, last year, at a lunch meeting of the Antioch Rotary Club, arranged by Shen and Zhou. During the lunch, Davis and Gao discussed establishing a Sister City relationship.

Thanks to the efforts of Shen and Ming, a city near Shanghai, China has expressed interest in becoming a Sister City with Antioch. The Antioch City Council is expected to discuss sending a letter of interest during one of their meetings in February.

The following is from the Antioch Police Officers Association website:

The Antioch Police Officers’ Association concluded its membership meetings Tuesday and Wednesday nights with an agreement reached between the City of Antioch and the Police Association to continue the current police contract concessions until March 1st of this year.

The action averts the 6 police officer layoffs for that period of time.  Those officers were originally slated to be laid off on january 2nd. This is a direct result of productive talks at the table and a desire of all involved to work toward a common goal of keeping the City financially solvent during a time of economic crisis.

Tom Fuhrmann-President
Antioch Police Officers Association

Says Public Safety Is Number One Priority of Local Government, Pledges to Fight for Funding

By Allen Payton, Publisher

After a hard-fought, vitriolic campaign, underdog candidate Mark Peterson, a 25-year deputy district attorney, 15-year Concord councilman and three-time mayor, won by an 18% margin in November and was sworn in as Contra Costa County’s new District Attorney, yesterday to an overflow room filled with deputy district attorneys, judges, law enforcement personnel, elected officials including Congressman John Garamendi as well as many supporters.

After speeches by one of his court-room opponents in the Public Defender’s office, David Headley, former council colleague and now State Assemblywoman Susan Bonilla, former Concord Mayor and Retired General Dan Helix, Sr., as well as Appeals Court Judge Mark Simons, the 52-year-old Peterson was given the oath of office by Contra Costa Superior Court Judge John Kennedy and then had his turn at the podium.

He gave a gracious speech, speaking to those in the DA’s office who supported him, as well as those who didn’t, as well as in the Public Defender’s office and on the bench, and thanked the Concord Police Officers Association and Contra Costa Firefighters who supported him in his campaign. Peterson also recognized, his opponents Dan O’Malley and Elle Fallahat, who were given a round of applause.

“We were never enemies. We were political opponents,” Peterson said. “We were colleagues then. We are colleagues, today.”

Peterson also introduced and thanked his wife Penny, daughters, one of whom did led the Pledge of Allegiance, and one who sang the National Anthem, and parents (it was his mother’s 81^st birthday), who he credited for teaching him the value of hard work, which he applied during his campaign and it paid off.

“My parents are great heroes to me. They were missionaries in a small town in Alaska …where I was fortunate enough to grow up,” he stated.

Peterson then asked and answered the question, “how did I get here?”

He also thanked the Seeno and Garaventa families, who supported his campaigns, financially.

He quoted President George Washington, who said, “The administration of justice is the firmest pillar of government.”

He acknowledged the seven new Deputy DA’s he had the privilege of swearing in, earlier in the day.

He mentioned lists of individuals in both the DA’s and Public Defender’s offices, as well as judges he appeared before, and the court staff who have had an impact on him and his career.

“Each one of those is a part of who I am, today,” he said. “Each one of those cases has helped influence who I am today.”

“And I know the criminal justice system is not a perfect system,” Peterson added. “But it’s an inherently a very, very good system and the system works because everyone in this room who’s a part of it does such a great job. And of course we have a Court of Appeals here to tell us when we’re wrong. (To laughter). And hopefully we don’t do it too often.”

He then recognized the DA’s office, including the 85 Deputy DA’s, the 25 investigative staff and the over 40 support staff and had them stand, which they did to applause.

“We have an excellent staff,” Peterson acknowledged. “I know during these last couple of years that we’ve had some bad publicity and we’ve had challenges in our office and there’s things we want to improve and want to work on and make better. But we have an excellent office. We do a very good job protecting this community.”

“The people in our office are committed to public safety and committed to keeping our community safe,” he added.

“So each one of you has contributed to who I am. Each one of you has shaped the perspective I bring to the District Attorney’s office. So in a very really sense each one of you will be helping me in lead that office.”

“So when I screw up it’s your fault,” Peterson joked. “ Not really. I hope that doesn’t happen. I really do mean that each one of you is part of me leading this office.”

He mentioned his service on the Concord City Council and the successes in reducing crime by over 40% and adding 29 police officers to the department.

“I’m very proud of that relationship. I think I learned a great deal from it and it was a privilege to serve in that capacity,” Peterson shared. “Although I was mayor and you might think I got a little prideful, I take the job seriously, but I don’t take my job too seriously.”

He then read some responses and one letter he framed which he received after he proposed fast food restaurants post calories next to a list of food items on the wall, so people can know.

A note from his staff said, a man had called to voice his opinion and said “he’d rather see the I.Q. of those running for office posted on election night, so he would know if he’s voting for a moron or not.”

Peterson said, “I got a big kick out of that so I framed it and it hang in my office. So I will take my job seriously, but I hopefully won’t take myself too seriously.”

He then touched on budget concerns the county and his department currently face.

“I know these are tough economic times. I pledge to work with the county to look for ways to save money,” Peterson exclaimed.

“But I want to remind everyone that the number one priority in local government is public safety. I pledge to work collaboratively with the Board of Supervisors,” he stated. “The Board has a difficult task ahead of them. I will fight for funding. I have a responsibility, a duty to represent every citizen, every voter in every city and every unincorporated area of this county.”

“I promise to speak professionally, but forcefully for those citizens and voters,” Peterson said. “Our office is understaffed and underfunded. I believe we must look for structural changes to the county budget.”

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Hernandez: 113 employees making $100,000+, pension spiking to $300,000

City Manager denies pension spiking taking place

By Dave Roberts

Tuesday night, in the first Antioch City Council meeting after what may have been the bloodiest December in city history, residents blasted the council for allowing the police force to decline, including the possible layoff of six officers, while crime escalates in the city.

Former Councilman Ralph Hernandez asked city officials to join in an investigation of how the city got to the point of having to potentially lay off police officers or face the possibility of bankruptcy. He places the blame on excessive salaries and benefits for city employees.

“One of the things that we found, of which the public should be aware, of why we are in such financial dire straits: in 2009 there were 113 employees that made over $100,000 in pay,” said Hernandez. “We had a couple of employees that were set to retire. And because of the questionable contracts that the City Council had approved, you had one employee that made $298,000, which is almost twice his yearly salary. Another employee, a police lieutenant, made $225,000. He spiked his retirement. Of the 113 who made over $100,000 in pay, 93 of those were officers of our (police) department. We are not blaming the officers. It is the decision makers that allowed it to happen.”

Hernandez suggested there could have been tradeoffs between council members and union officials: generous compensation packages in exchange for electoral support. “We are going to ask several bodies to conduct a thorough and complete investigation as to what happened,” he said. “It is not the citizens’ fault for the financial mess that we are in. It’s not the employees’ fault, although the employees have benefited greatly. It’s the ultimate decision makers and some of the staff that have allowed this to happen.

“So, we need answers. It’s a lot like Bell, California. The decision makers allowed that to happen. People were spiking their retirement pays and other things. We ask you to join us. The population of Antioch deserves those answers. We are not picking on employees. They have made a tremendous amount of money. That is one of the reasons why we are in the problem that we are. Ultimately, what we want to know is this: How much total is the City of Antioch paying out total toward retirement? That includes the city’s share and the employees’ share. That will probably give you some answers.”

The council members did not respond to Hernandez’s comments. City Manager Jim Jakel, via e-mail, denied that pension spiking has taken place in Antioch: “I spoke to Ralph at the meeting.  No pension spiking occurred. The two employees (both with I think 25 years or more and senior positions) he mentioned retired and had payments of accrued benefits and leave under existing contracts – most of it is non PERS (Public Employees Retirement System), which means it has no impact on pension. No one who has worked for Antioch has ever had a pension of $296,000 a year, nor is it likely any time in the next several decades if ever.

“I know little about Bell, but have heard his (city manager) pay was $800,000 and a similar size pension. My pay in 2009 was $218,000 and likely will be less on my 2010 W-2. My pay is below the mid-point for City Managers in Contra Costa. I haven’t got an official pension estimate, but with total public service today of about 22 years between Martinez and Antioch, I think my pension would be more like $125,000 – but that is just a ballpark number.”

Jakel could not confirm Hernandez’s finding of 113 city employees (out of 275 currently) earning $100,000 or more in 2009. But he said that five of the top 15 earners in recent years have retired.

Jakel declined to respond to Hernandez’s call for an investigation, saying via e-mail, “The Council will be getting an update on the budget on Feb. 8 as previously scheduled. No mystery as why to we are running out of money. Revenues have dropped from $47 million to slightly more than $34 million in a 4-year period. So we have by attrition or layoffs reduced staff by more that 30% and used the fund balance to maintain operations at very basic levels.

“The retirement data is all on our website in the CAFR, but in short, PERS payment for retirement from that document is $4,928,575 for fiscal year 2010. Unfunded liability as calculated by PERS totals about $40,500,000.”

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During each weekend in January, there will be some minor delays between Pittsburg/Bay Point and Pleasant Hill stations due to track maintenance.

On the weekend of the Martin Luther King, Jr., holiday, the delays are necessary to accommodate work to modernize facilities at Pleasant Hill Station. BART’s best estimate is that delays for trains bound for San Francisco will be minimal (under 5 minutes) with delays of 10-20 minutes for trains in the Pittsburg/Bay Point direction.

We recommend that you adjust your travel plans accordingly to take into account these delays.

Schedule for January track maintenance work on Pittsburg/Bay Point line:
Saturday, January 8:Work begins at 6:00 a.m. and ends at 4:00 p.m.
Friday, January 14: Work begins at 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, January 15: Work continues all day
Sunday, January 16: Work continues all day
Monday, January 17: Work scheduled to finish at 4:00 a.m.
Saturday, January 22: Work begins at 6:00 a.m. and ends at 4:00 p.m.
Sunday, January 23:Work begins at 6:00 a.m. and ends at 4:00 p.m.
Saturday, January 29: Work begins at 6:00 a.m. and ends at 4:00 p.m.
Sunday, January 30: Work begins at 6:00 a.m. and ends at 4:00 p.m.

The Antioch Chamber of Commerce announced today that it will temporarily be closing its offices while the chamber goes through some restructuring. Staff were let go last week after months of financial struggles.

Sean Wright, the Chamber’s current Chairman indicated that though Chamber membership remains strong, the non-member activities – events like the Annual Gala, State of the City, Economic Summit and other revenue-producing activities like selling city maps and advertising opportunities – that typically bring in sponsorship dollars and involve the community-at-large have steadily declined in revenue.

“Businesses are feeling the effects of the recession and that has finally trickled down to the Chamber activities,” said Wright. “This was obviously our last resort after trying for months to reduce costs in other ways. We have every intention of continuing to serve our members with networking opportunities, ribbon cuttings and the resources that our Chamber has typically provided but may have to do so with the help of volunteers in the short term.”

Alternatives are being reviewed to make sure the office is manned part-time so that members’ calls are answered, new businesses are able to get the resources they need, and the Chamber continues to be an active part of the Antioch community.

The Antioch Chamber of Commerce has served the community continuously since 1938.

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Power Plant Company Responds to Supervisor Glover’s Request

In a time of need, Calpine donates $10,000 to Food Bank Calpine acted on Supervisor Federal Glover’s appeal for donations to the Contra Costa Food Bank during these tough economic times.

“Calpine, as a member of the East County community is always generous when it comes to helping our residents,” said Glover. “Calpine is a prime example of a responsible business giving back to the community it serves.”

He points out that the energy producer, which has a plant in Pittsburg, also pays for the supervisor’s annual Thanksgiving Turkey Giveaway. Last year, the supervisor was able to give away 600 free turkeys through the courtesy of Calpine.

Calpine officials will hand over the $10,000 check to Supervisor Glover at the food bank headquarters in Concord on Wednesday (Jan. 5) at 1 p.m.

Supervisor Glover wrote in an oped last month in another newspaper about the food drive and competition between Contra Costa and Solano county employees to raise funds for the food bank. In the column, he wrote: “Our Food Bank has clearly seen the impact of the recession …Over 89,000 Contra Costa residents a month must now use the Food Bank — an increase of 63 percent in 3 years, and 28 percent of those being helped are children.”

Several years ago, Solano and Contra Costa counties entered into an annual competition called, “County Cares Food Fight” in which each county’s workers try to outdo each other by raising money for the food bank. The supervisor’s office and other departments also compete among themselves to see which office can raise the most funds.

“In the end, the competition benefits the food bank so they can continue to distribute groceries to the needy,” said Glover. “We’re grateful to Calpine for stepping up to the plate once again.”

For more information, contact Supervisor Glover’s office at 925-427-8138 or  Lisa Sherrill of the Food Bank at 925-676-7543.