AnonymousBy William Smithers
Recent Op-Eds here have become a garbage dump for those who didn’t vote for Cathy Murillo for mayor or at any other time.
In her initial council candidacy, Ms. Murillo garnered more votes than any other candidate but one, astonishing the city’s politicos as to her popularity.
Following the mandate for district elections here, Ms. Murillo achieved one of the highest percentages of votes in the relevant campaigns, with her district citizens turning out by more than the average district campaign.
Among the most ignorant of her critics are those claiming illegitimacy because she did not receive a plurality in the mayoralty election; anyone who has a basic grasp of the English language knows her win was by plurality.
Traditionally, our mayor serves as the city’s representative on the SB County Association of Governments. Helene Schneider appropriately held this post; Ms. Murillo quite reasonably wishes to do the same.
An initial council vote instead granted the post to council member Jason Dominguez. But a recent re-vote awarded the post in traditional fashion to Ms. Murillo. Council member Randy Rouse reconsidered, recognizing that in our current district election mode, the post should be held by someone elected by the community at large. (Non-mayors in the past who have held this post were elected at large.)
Mr. Dominguez started a food fight and lost. Those who believe governing bodies should not be subject to heated differences hope for what never was and never will be.
Sorry if you lost. It’ll happen again.
No where in your article does it describe how she is a great mayor. Nice try though.
She was sworn in only a month ago but the whiners and doomsayers got sassy because there is a new sheriff in town.
I hope The Sheriff puts another candle on my birthday cake. We’re gonna bake a birtday cake. I’m gonna have a party with my birtday cake. Some sheriff.
The article says NOTHING about her abilities (other than her vote getting abilities), good or bad.
I don’t live in SB City, so didn’t vote for or against her. Watching, reading, and generally following local politics for decades though, she wouldn’t have gotten my vote, and she would be scrutinized pretty critically. Murillo doesn’t appear to: have any common sense; have any understanding that SOMEBODY has to pay for it; have any inclinations to collaborate for the common good. She’s a lock-step liberal local busy-body/ politician, doing what is expected of her.
We need independent REPRESENTATIVES, who don’t regard compromise as a dirty word, who aren’t loyal to either major parties, but are instead trying to do what’s best for the citizens, and who understands that government neither can nor should do everything for everyone (because it isn’t affordable, it reverses who works for who, and it seriously infringes on personal freedom and responsibility).
SBCAG Representatives have included NON-mayors: Greg Hart, Dan Secord and Gill Garcia. Murillo received a mere 14% of votes from actual registered voters. This does not give her right right to say that residents trust her. It means that 86% of registered voters either choose ANYONE but Cathy or didn’t vote! That IS a referendum! —————- Finally, IS Murillo desperate for the appointment because she if feathering her nest? Just think, where will she work AFTER being Mayor? What can she really do? She is illogical, irrational and not a team player. Who would want her? UNLE$$ she helped direct millions and millions $$$$ to you organization while she was on SBCAG. – Hart was a Council Member. He was on SBCAG. He now works for SBCAG and gets a BIG $$$$$$$$$ Salary. Start Connecting the Dots People!
I am one of many that obviously think Cathy will be an excellent Mayor. Looks to me like the Right Wing posters here are too busy propping up DT’s failing presidency to take note of the disastrous destruction this unwanted president does to our Democracy. We need more people like Cathy.
I hope The Sherriff gives you a book to read.
Not all of us Murillo critics are Trumpsters. While I don’t loathe Murillo as I do Trump, I do think she’s going to quickly prove herself to be the worst mayor Santa Barbara has seen in modern history.
CIVILENGINEER: FYI, she was not the ONLY candidate who walked on a bunch of doors and outworked everyone else. She did ABSOLUTELY NOTHING as Council Member for her district so, why the hell would you or anyone else think she would do anything different as Mayor? She is as useless as tits on a boar hog! Stop drinking the Kool-Aid!
A-1518136149: Obviously, you and CivilEngineer must be drinking the same Kool-Aid about Murrillo. You mention the destruction of DT but yet lack the ability to see the destruction in your own backyard? She is just like him and shame on you and the others who voted for her!!
Did Pueblo have someone write this political hack piece…?
Dominguez is about as worthless as Rowse. Both of them are in this for themselves. Murrillo only won because of the lack of votes….kinda like Trump. So really…if you didn’t vote, and the majority of you didn’t, you really can’t complain about her. I voted, but not for her. She was our council rep and did an awful job unless she was up for re election. Cathy has not exhibited any professionalism as a mayor and has more or less failed at the start. Give her a chance to settle in and figure out what she is doing. Not one of us has experience as a former mayor (or is there one in the edhat com?), so it’s easier to slam her than not…but still…give the lady a chance. If she’s this way after a full year, then we definitely have something to whine about, but as it is now, it’s just random people flinging crap at her with little basis. Just my .02
Nothing in this Op-Ed supports the statement that “Murillo is an Excellent Mayor.” It only briefly says she received more votes than anticipated (bravo?) and then goes on to talk about why she, by reason of tradition, should be on SBCAG, as opposed to Dominguez. Sorry, WM, but you lost on this one. Next time try some compelling arguments instead of grasping at straws.
Watching the meetings is….painful. A s*!t show, sadly. It’s abundantly clear Murillo lacks administrative and diplomatic skills sufficient for this job. I can’t stand Trump, either his politics or his style of governing, and feel Murillo is similarly awful. Post disaster, Limon, Jackson and Williams all stepped up and displayed great leadership and organizing talent. Murillo, in contrast, is busy wearing pink hat and feeling pussy power in the Women’s March while trying to sideline Dominguez. The city government is stalling, and it’s on her. You can be this nice person that people like, but that’s got nothing to do with the chops and skills for this job. Same problem Jimmy Carter had, and why he was a terrible president, though a great human being.
I also voted, but did not vote for her I agree with ZEROHAWK, Give her a chance of course it’s up to the community I voted for Jason Dominguez also and am happy for the most part with the job he is doing though I am hoping he doesn’t sway too much away from THE PEOPLE..When you are a politician it’s almost like joining the Union everyone ends up scratching backs it don’t matter if your a republican, democrat, whatever party sooner than later they all have to work together Give and Take…Hobo’s are not bums.
The crybabies have spoken.
Thanks for posting this. It’s going to make the anti-Murillo mob pretty upset. You know how Murillo won all those elections? By knocking on a bunch of doors and talking to voters and outworking everyone else running. So I don’t have any doubt that she will work hard for her constituents. And if you don’t happen to agree with her, find some candidates that are willing to outwork her.
I betcha the whiners and complainers are the same ones who demand Trump’s naysayers stop dissing him and give him a chance to prove himself. ‘Coz, you know… “do as we say not as we do”.
CIVILENGINEER – really? How is this conclusory and evidence-lacking op ed going to make anyone upset? It says ziltch, nada, nothing about why Cathy is “excellent.” No, I’m not upset, just feel bad that this is all she has to “support” her.
OCEANDREW – Nope. I hate Trump and can’t stand Murillo. It’s entirely possible to dislike someone’s “governing” tactics based on their actual record and proven inability to lead, political leanings aside….
OP here.
Perhaps mistakenly, I confined my Op-Ed to 250 words, believing this was mandatory. Let’s go one-by-one:
Anyone who thinks a candidate in a five-person race who receives less than the most votes should be elected is delusional. If you think a so-called run-off election is preferable for any community, you should have been organizing to achieve this, as I did when I was a county council member with the Green Party some years ago, not whining about the current legal results.
Anyone who denies that any former SB representative on the SB County Association of Governments was elected by Santa Barbara citizens at-large has no regard for the truth. You are of course free to believe that current law, enacted before district elections were mandated here, should be subscribed to despite the reasonable belief that such a representative was understood in that law to speak for the entire city of Santa Barbara. I, along with a majority of SB council members, believe that the spirit and intent of that law should be observed, rather than that someone elected only by a small part of the city should have that post.
I think it obvious that I have reminded Murillo nay-sayers of her election record to illustrate her continuing popularity with citizens here in both at-large and district elections. In other words, to this date most Santa Barbarans are comfortable with the performance – the excellence – of Cathy Murillo’s service to the community. If you are not one of these, fuming on these forums seems to be your only outlet until the next election.
As regards Ms. Murillo’s performance in her new role:
I have watched almost all of the 2018 council meetings. Ms. Murillo has had differences with council member Dominguez on procedural matters but she has never addressed him other than with respect. Re the new mayor’s response to the recent horrific environmental events, she has said she did not want to add to the difficulties of emergency responders by appearing where they would feel necessary to pay attention to her safety, and it is notable that council member Sneddon – who does not always vote with Murillo – made a point of publicly thanking the mayor for her behavior in this situation as “above and beyond” what might be expected.
Several public commentators have praised her for appearance at their homes or relevant sites to investigate their circumstances.
Cathy Murillo is an excellent mayor. I will make sure that the backbiters who did not get the mayor they wanted will not dominate the discussion because they could not assemble the political force necessary to get their way.
In fact, I doubt they ever will.
WS
Cathy has no common sense on many issues. On the issue of lack of affordable housing, her position is women should stop having children and work outside the home. That way, women would be able to live in 300 square foot studio apartments and the population would gradually decrease. No joke, that’s what she believes, and she is on an audio recording saying it.
Ha! Now I like her better. Though I would add that men, too, should stop having children.
Dominguez was elected by council procedures, it was Murillio who started the food fight and there is question if the second vote violated state law. Dominguez has more knowledge and experience dealing with the SBCAG scope of complexity and agencies from the local to Federal level. Internationally too, he was the legal officer for the UN International Criminal Tribunal. People should be used at their highest level and it would benefit the people of Santa Barbara to have him working for us.
Taxpayers are paying their salaries, we pay them to work not to fund their political stepping stones.
There is nothing in the charter that requires a member be elected at large and cherry picking information doesn’t change that. The SBCAG only states 1 person from each council. Perhaps the OP should go back and take a look at why the non mayors were chosen.
People tend to have short term memories. It did not end well for our last mayor’s last term on the SBCAG and she won by a landslide. The person appointed will have a say on how millions and possibly billions of our tax dollars will be spent and a popularity contest is not the way to make that selection.
https://www.independent.com/news/2014/dec/19/shunning-helene-schneider/
Murillo lacks intelligence. She does not understand what good public policy looks IS or how to make it. Her emotional IQ is almost non-existent. If you are not for her you are THE Enemy. Her reign will be filled with one gaffe and dysfunctional meeting after the other and her best day in office will soon be the day of the Mudslide. She is on a downward trajectory and Jerry Springer will soon have nothing on City Council meetings. — Mark my words. Dark days are here to stay.
Friedman is a Ding Dong and Murillo’s own Mini Me! Not much between the ears, but boy will he talk about how he makes decisions using decision triangles? And most of his decisions are lousy! 800 Santa Barbara was a disaster! And Santa Barbara is stuck with him! If he keeps his wagon tied to Murillo the City will be ruined!
Total Bernie supporter here! I am engaged and active politically. MURILLO isn’t qualified to be Mayor and that will damage the City.