THE 2009 MODESTO CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT ELECTIONS WERE RIGGED ?
November 3, 2009.
The City of Modesto's 2009 election for the City council elections has been " rigged " for lack of a better word.
The Modesto City electoral district map was to be redesigned so that those voters in each district would have a greater influence in the outcome of city council elections of council members.
This was due to a lawsuit filed by Latino community activist and Voter Salvador Vera, who believed the Latino citizens in South Modesto, West Modesto and the Airport District did not have a voice in their vote because of the District Map was more heavily leveraged so that white voters would elect a white representative by the majority of votes if running against a Latino candidate.
To solve this problem the City of Modesto had a new district map redrawn by many people who presented their version of what the new election map should be in 2008.
www.modbee.com/reports/districtelections/story/329332.html
Maggie Mejia, a South Modesto resident who addressed the boundary-drawing commission, said she would prefer to separate south Modesto from West Modesto if the neighborhoods had enough residents to make up their own districts.
www.modbee.com/reports/districtelections/story/358600.html
This did not happen with Swehla's map proposal.
Out of all the Maps presented to the Modesto City Council for review, only two were selected to represent the new Modesto City voting districts to elect council members.
www.modbee.com/2250/story/204310.html
This map which was selected was drawn up by Ryan Swehla, according to the Modesto Bee, and Ryan Swehla commented to the Modesto Bee reporter after his district map was selected by the MODESTO CITY COUNCIL.
Swehla doing his bit for a better community in Modesto.
By ADAM ASHTON
Ryan Swehla spends a lot of time in Modesto City Hall these days.
Many of those hours downtown are meant to advocate for for a Bay Area nonprofit that wants to build a 150-unit affordable housing project on Ninth Street. He's the Modesto liaison for the company, EAH.
He's a regular at a mix of city advisory commissions that SHAPE proposals that go to the City Council. He helped write Modesto's new entertainment law, and he sits on the city's Board of Zoning Adjustment.
Swehla, 29, recently stepped into Modesto's move to district elections for next year's council races when he designed a map that showed how the city should make that switch. About two dozen people offered plans. Swehla's was one of two that are considered finalist's
www.modbee.com/local/v-print/story/373658.html
What does this have to do with the current election and the winners and losers in this council race?
Joe Muratore is the front runner in the race for district-4, council race. Joe Muratore (developer consultant WWW.BENCHMARKCRES.COM) is a business partner with Ryan Swehla in a three businesses . the WHITNEY GROUP, SENTINAL ROCK REALTY TRUST , LLC. and VALLEY ENERGY PARTNERS along with Modesto City Council member Brad Hawn...........who chose this map?
The City Council members.
Kristin Olsen who's husband has business with the ZAGARIS COMPANY...a DEVELOPER.
Brad Hawn................developer business partner.
Janice Keating...........pro-developer.
Garrad Marsh..............a developer.
Just to name a few.
The map was designed and suddenly Joe Muratore wishes to be a city council candidate..........it was planned out.
Look at the candidates for district-4
Joe Muratore......developer/consultant (white)
Jeff Perine...........relative to MPD officers.(white)
Robert Stanford....community activist for Hispanic rights.(trashed by the BEE)
DISTRICT -2
Al Nava..................Hispanic war veteran (trashed by the BEE)
Dave Geer.............Security Police Officer and (white.)
DISTRICT-5
Joe Cataline...........Hispanic businessman. (trashed by the BEE)
Kristin Olsen..........developers shill/COUNCIL MEMBER and white.
Now that you know who designed this plan will you protest?
I ask every Hispanic and every African American and every minority to protest this election if you believe this election was handled unfairly.
Do you believe this map was chosen to favor white candidates? I DO.
PROTEST,PROTEST,PROTEST and then PROTEST AGAIN!
THIS BLOG OR COMMENT WAS WRITTEN BY WAYNE2008 WHO IS A PROTESTER AGAINST WHAT HE BELIEVES IS MISMANAGEMENT OR CORRUPTION IN OUR LOCAL GOVERNMENTS. WAYNE IS ALSO AN ADVOCATE FOR THE ETHICAL TREATMENT OF THE MENTALLY ILL, AND IS AGAINST RACISM IN ALL FORMS.
- wayne2008's blog
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CONSPIRACIES!
Pull the race card. That's nice.
Before the vote it was all about "vote against developers and their mission to destroy the city. Vote for Nava, Cataline, and Stanford".
District boundaries wasn't mentioned much or at all in the last two weeks by you, TS, or Stanford.
So now the vote is over, the voters OVERWHELMINGLY voted against the annexations, and thus, against the developers. Yet all of your candidates lost. Why do you think that is?
Oh right, it's the developers again working against you.
<Put's on my tinfoil hat>
303
Its as plain as day, and you can't see what is before you.?
Yes it is a conspiracy. look at it again.
I have some tinfoil for you..
It will protect you from everything! I promise!
I ask every Hispanic and every African American and every minority to protest this election if you believe this election was handled unfairly.
One caveat, you can only protest if you actually voted. ... That's going to be tough.
NO I think even the white residents
Should protest this rigged election, every race should protest this rigged election .
Developers rigged this election in hopes of that all the measures would pass.
They already figured that Muratore would win with the way they designed the district map.
303.........prove me wrong or zip it!
Your not always right, and your wrong here.
Already sour grapes?
It seems that some will not ever recognize what the voters decided:
"The race is over!!!(?) The voters have made their choices... As of 11:30PM - Muratore is at 54%, Perine 33.5%, and Stanford at 12.2% Dist. 4 (all were mentioned as this was the hottest contested race on the HIVE)
Olsen is at 64.4%- Dist. 5
Dist. #2... Geer 55%
MID - Wild 60.5% Div.2
VAN GRONINGEN 60.1% Div. 3
Warda 54.5% Div. 4
Modesto City School Board with 98.4% of votes in:
SUE ZWAHLEN, CINDY MARKS, RUBEN A. VILLALOBOS, NANCY CLINE
Measure A - NO 60%
Measure B - No. 64%
Measure C - No 61%
Measure D - No 64%
Measure E - No 69.4%
If these percentages stay the same throughout this election process, then I would like to be one of the first to congratulate those who won their race. This count was at 91.5% of the County vote counted (100% of Modesto City wide votes counted).... Out of the 209,110 registered voters in the county only 31,180 (so far) bothered to make the effort to vote... that's a disappointing 14.91%.
Hopefully the City and County can now get down to the real business of keeping our community moving toward a stronger economy and improved government/citizen relations. It is time to now put our differences behind us and move forward, united in the goal to make our community a better place to live.
Again, congratulations to all the candidates for your participation in this election"
We can either now work together to better our community or spend the next four years accusing the winners of "rigging the race"... If the latter is the case, the Hive (and our community) will continue to be a place of winners and a place of poor (for use of a better word) “also ran”. I would hope that would not be the case... only time will tell. We have enough problems to work on without that.
Is this what I think it is?
wayne08 wrote: "Look at the candidates for district-4
Joe Muratore......developer/consultant (white)
Jeff Perine...........relative to MPD officers.(white)
Robert Stanford....community activist for Hispanic rights.(trashed by the BEE)
DISTRICT -2
Al Nava..................Hispanic war veteran (trashed by the BEE)
Dave Geer.............Security Police Officer and (white.)
DISTRICT-5
Joe Cataline...........Hispanic businessman. (trashed by the BEE)
Kristin Olsen..........developers shill/COUNCIL MEMBER and white."
Is wayne2008 playing the "Race Card" (is that what he is saying he wants to do?). Up until this point I actually thought that this election (although it has been fought hard and at times played very low) overall was not Chicago or New Jersey style politics. After reading wayne2008's post - I am not so sure any longer that some here have not stepped over the line of decency into the cesspool of pitting one group of citizens against another based on race. It was bad enough that some tried to make it the rich versus poor, or have versus have not... but this is the lowest I've seen yet.
Wayne2008 should be ashamed of himself. Race bating has no place in our community (and not on the Hive either). I noted that wayne2008's candidate (Robert Stanford) was not listed by race... only those he opposed.
wayne2008 wrote also: "I ask every Hispanic and every African American and every minority to protest this election if you believe this election was handled unfairly."
It seems wayne2008 does not trust anyone who voted to have voted in an honest and open election. His candidates lost and that is the reason (the only reason) he is angered to the point of stirring up anger in Modesto. Sour grapes does not become you wayne... The elections are over... they were votes of the people. Don't make yourself look bad by showing an attitude like this.
In case wayne doesn't understand what race bating is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_baiting
BMOORE
Suspiciously, Muratore's business partner happens to design a plan that favors Joe Muratore to win the election.
And what about south Modesto gets annexed then suddenly some guy named Geer decides to run against a minority candidate...........yeah right, its the same old thing nothings changed.
Hispanics and Blacks get rolled over once again, it would have been in the interest of the city that hispanics and blacks won the city council races.
heck, not one black candidate was in this race that should tell you blacks already figured this election was fixed.
Bmoore how many Blacks are in these races ?..........none!
bmoore I am playing the so called race card
because thats what it is, so if someone calls the election as it is, they are playing the race card.
HEY ! RACISM STILL EXISTS !
HEY! bmoore where did you go ?
Im not done yet, RACE BAITING give me a break here, this whole election was based upon race.
The hispanics wanted a voice and the citizens of Modesto wanted the hispanics and African americans to have that voice on the city council......so they voted for measure "N" a new plan, and what happened...........it got derailed by the greedy developers and their shills. All races should protest this election. read my links!
"Hispanics and Blacks get rolled over once again,"?
Wayne, wayne, whine.... To get on the ballot a person has to run for office (become a candidate). For a person to win, people have to go out and vote for them. You really can not be serious when you try to blame all this on "race" can you? No one stopped anyone from running. No one stopped anyone from registering to vote. No one stopped anyone from getting up and going to vote. Sure, it would have been great if someone you liked had come forward and had a campaign that people bought into. However, that did not happen. People who wanted to run..... did! People who wanted to campaign.... did! People who wanted to vote.... did! Those who did not... well, who is to blame for that... just the people who chose not to. This election could have gone your way had you all made that effort and mobilized your base. That did not occur, so now you blame everyone but yourselves. Sad!
As the dictionary calls it: "sour grapes
pl.n.
Denial of the desirability of something after one has found out that it cannot be reached or acquired. The attitude of affecting to despise something because one cannot or does not have it oneself. When someone says something critical or negative because they are jealous, it is a case of sour grapes. " This is clearly the case here.
All I can say
We are going to have to watch this council like a hawk. What people don't realize is all measures are advisory which means our council has the final say. We voted down all measures, yet we voted in those that will push them through. I don't know about you, but I am going to have lots of giggles, when those that voted for them have backs turned on them and start getting pushed around. Their are also going to be so many conflicts and I bet that all won't be publicized.
@wayne
Hispanics and Blacks get rolled over once again, it would have been in the interest of the city that hispanics and blacks won the city council races.
heck, not one black candidate was in this race that should tell you blacks already figured this election was fixed.
Bmoore how many Blacks are in these races ?..........none!
Wayne....when reading your comments, some might come to the conclusion that you are in support of segregation. I certainly hope this is not true. I find it hard to fathom that you can believe only whites can support whites, blacks can support blacks, and latinos can support latinos, without any mixing of race and representation.
Need I remind you that we are one race.....the human race.