The City Council unanimously chose Trinidad Perez out of 11 original applicants seeking to fill a seat left vacant when Councilwoman Cari Thomas was elected mayor.

“I am just happy,” Perez said Thursday night outside City Hall. “It’s home. This is my community and I want to continue to do some things for it. God has granted that.”

Perez said he thinks it’s experience with the city that earned him the seat: He’s spent eight years on the council and served on the Planning and Parks and Recreation commissions. The 16-year resident has also had leadership roles on Adelanto Little League, Victor Valley Boys and Girls Club and the AYSO All-American football league.

Perez, 52, was the next runner-up in the 2010 election. Perez and former Councilman Gene Piehe both lost their seats amid public outrage over recent water hikes that had doubled and tripled some bills.

To read more about Perez, see the full story in Friday’s Daily Press. Get complete stories every day with the “exactly as printed” Daily Press E-edition, only $5 per month! Click here to try it free for 7 days. To subscribe to the Daily Press in print or online, call (760) 241-7755, 1-800-553-2006 or click here.

VICTORVILLE • Three new appointed and elected judges were assigned to Victorville Superior Court as the new calendar year began.

Judge Debra Harris transferred from Joshua Tree to take on one of Victorville’s two family court calendars. Harris, a Republican, replaces Robert Lemkau who was turned out of office and retired from the bench last month.

The Victorville resident was appointed by former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in July 2009 after she worked for the San Bernardino County Public Defender’s office for 15 years.

Judge Lynn Poncin, who was elected in June in an unopposed judicial race, begins her bench tenure in criminal court, where she was a lead family violence prosecutor. She worked for the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s office for 13 years.

On her election website, Poncin stated she would continue to protect victims of crime and give them a voice in the courtroom.

Judge Elia Pirozzi is scheduled to start his criminal court calendar in Victorville on Jan. 24, moving from Superior Court in Rancho Cucamonga, where he resides. Schwarzenegger appointed him in May 2007.

Prior to his judgeship, Pirozzi maintained law offices in Ontario and Redlands, specializing in real estate and business law. Pirozzi is a former candidate for Congress and State Assembly and former chairman of the San Bernardino County Republican Party.

Judge James Hosking, who defeated Lemkau in the June election, has been assigned to the family court in Joshua Tree.

Former Victorville judges Christopher Marshall and Bridgid McCann were transferred to San Bernardino and Rancho Cucamonga, respectively.

To read more about the new judges, see the full story in Monday’s Daily Press. Get complete stories every day with the “exactly as printed” Daily Press E-edition, only $5 per month! Click here to try it free for 7 days. To subscribe to the Daily Press in print or online, call (760) 241-7755, 1-800-553-2006 or click here.

Tomoya Shimura may be reached at tshimura@VVDailyPress.com or (760) 955-5368.

“The strength of the American economy lies in the hands of its people. Unfortunately, policies that have been put in place over the past two years have only served to stifle innovation, burden small businesses, and essentially halt the flow needed in a free market economy. The figures released today by the Department of Labor, while only slightly improved, illustrate the effect of the current failed policies of the Obama Administration and the Democratic leadership in Congress.

“The Democrats’ policies to grow a larger, more intrusive, and more expensive government have further crippled the economy and have left over 14 million people without jobs. The new Republican majority is focused on job creation, which will require creating an environment of certainty for business owners, so they can plan for the future, grow their companies, and hire new employees. We must breakdown the bureaucratic barriers that have been placed on small business, which is the strongest engine for economic prosperity. In fact, one of our first actions of the 112th Congress is to vote on a repeal of ObamaCare, the new health care law that if implemented would cost taxpayers and employers $2.6 trillion and add $701 billion to the deficit.”

VICTORVILLE • Through the shadow cast by investigations and financial woes, Mayor Ryan McEachron is keeping his eye on one clear goal for Victorville in 2011: breaking ground on the La Mesa/Nisqualli interchange.

“I know it’s like a broken record,” McEachron acknowledged, having campaigned on promises of the long-awaited bridge in 2008. “But we have everything in place but the funding agreement. …My highest priority for this year is to make sure that that funding agreement gets approved, we’re out to bid and we break ground.”

The project involves building a bridge over Interstate 15 connecting Nisqualli and La Mesa roads, with on-ramps and off-ramps that would provide residents with another access point and relieve traffic on Bear Valley Road.

Caltrans granted Victorville the right to oversee construction of the interchange and all design work is complete. The city has also taken possession of all land in the project’s right-of-way, McEachron said, though payment on some properties is still being decided in court.

McEachron hopes to have a funding agreement for the $93 million project approved by the Victorville City Council and county transportation board SANBAG as early as February or early March. Staff can then advertise the project and go out to bid, in a process that should take three months. That means construction could begin this summer.

Aside from that massive undertaking, McEachron said he hopes the city will concentrate less on public projects in 2011 and more on getting private businesses to flourish.

“I’d like to see us get back into the mode of economic development and creating jobs,” McEachron said, with his eyes on Southern California Logistics Airport and the Foxborough Industrial Park.

While there’s “nothing specific on the horizon,” he’s hopeful that the city’s new wastewater treatment plant will allow it to attract more clients like Dr Pepper Snapple Group to SCLA.

Construction should also start during the first quarter of this year on two new Walgreens stores and two long-discussed Walmart Supercenters, at Dunia Plaza and along Palmdale Road at Highway 395.

To read about other items also on the agenda for 2011, see the full story in Thursday’s Daily Press. Get complete stories every day with the “exactly as printed” Daily Press E-edition, only $5 per month! Click here to try it free for 7 days. To subscribe to the Daily Press in print or online, call (760) 241-7755, 1-800-553-2006 or click here.

Brooke Edwards may be reached at (760) 955-5358 or at bedwards@VVDailyPress.com.

VICTORVILLE • After 38 years on Victorville’s City Council, Terry Caldwell may be ready to try his hand at another political office — though he isn’t saying just yet which office that might be.

Caldwell, 72, announced just before the filing deadline that he wouldn’t be running for reelection on Victorville’s Council this past November, citing his age and desire to spend more time with his family as contributing factors. But since stepping down from the dais Dec. 7, Caldwell has said publicly several times that he might be considering a run for a new position.

William Buck Johns, president of Inland Energy, the company behind several of Victorville’s energy ventures, has told community members that he plans to support Caldwell in a bid for 1st District Supervisor Brad Miztelfelt’s seat in 2012.

To read more about Caldwell, see the full story in Tuesday’s Daily Press. Get complete stories every day with the “exactly as printed” Daily Press E-edition, only $5 per month! Click here to try it free for 7 days. To subscribe to the Daily Press in print or online, call (760) 241-7755, 1-800-553-2006 or click here.

Throughout his campaign for the coveted chairmanship of the House Appropriations Committee, Inland Rep. Jerry Lewis has repeatedly insisted that he has support from the fiscally conservative Tea Party movement. Now he has it in writing from one leader of a national Tea Party group.

Lewis’ detractors have questioned his commitment to cutting spending, which will be job number one for whomever Republicans tap to head the committee that holds the federal purse strings. They have pointed to his history of steering millions of dollars annually to projects in his district, four-fifths of which is in Bernardino County and the rest in Riverside County, through the use of earmarks.

Lewis, R-Redlands, has sworn off earmarks and has vowed to fight to roll back spending to 2008 levels if he gets the Appropriations gavel.

Sal Russo, a co-founder and chief strategist for the Tea Party Express, is convinced that Lewis is the man to impose the will of the movement credited with helping Republicans regain control of the House in last month’s elections.

“We need a skilled leader to turn that mandate into a reality, and I have more confidence in Jerry Lewis than any other member of Congress to do it,” Russo wrote in a letter sent Monday to incoming House Speaker John Boehner.

Russo and Lewis go back a ways. When Russo worked for then-Gov. Ronald Reagan, they supported Lewis’ candidacy for the California Legislature.

The Republican Steering Committee is expected to vote Tuesday on whether to give the appropriations position to Lewis or one of his two challengers, Reps. Harold Rogers, R-Ky., and Rep. Jack Kingston, R-Ga. As Speaker-designate, Boehner will get five votes and has major sway over the decision.
— Ben Goad
bgoad@PE.com

November 08, 2010 12:38 PM
Peter Day
Star Editor

About an hour before the polls closed last Tuesday, the Voglers’ recent repeated personal attacks on Councilmember Thurston “Smitty” Smith finally struck a nerve so deep that the response almost literally shook council chambers.

During the public comment period, Smitty’s wife Margaret Smith took to the podium to share her concerns. All was silent as Smith talked about the pain and anguish she felt as a result of the attacks by Councilwoman Rita Vogler and her husband Al Vogler, the latter sponsoring the large “NO” billboards on Main Street and three mailers.

“Vogler, I just want to publicly tell you how pathetic you, your spouse and your daughter are,” she said. “The lies and manipulation about me, my husband and my deceased son are unfathomable. You attempt to portray yourself as a caring and giving individual where nothing, nothing could be further from the truth.

“You don’t have a clue about the population you represent. As you will recall, I have personally asked you on many occasions to stop making horrible comments about the people in the complex you had your business in.” (Rita Vogler’s travel agency was located in the Cardenas shopping center.) “You know that I am Hispanic and you have continually offended me with your comments. You are full of yourself and pathetic. You brag about your money. Nobody cares, Vogler.”

Smith also addressed one of the cornerstones of the Voglers’ criticisms of Smitty Smith — that he didn’t support Vogler for another term as mayor. Instead, he was named mayor, which was officially supported by all five council members, ironically including Vogler.

“I must ask you if you ever stopped to view yourself online after a council meeting,” Smith said. “I have and a lot of other people have. You are pathetic. Your comments are self-serving and self-centered. Your buddy Bosacki didn’t have the guts to tell you how ashamed he is when you speak. That’s why nobody seconded your nomination as mayor after your husband tried to undermine Smitty.”

The most personal segment of Smith’s comments were when she addressed the death of her son Brandon, who died in an off-road motorcycle accident during a race.

“You are so full of yourself that when my son passed you would come into my home and you couldn’t stop talking about yourself for a minute,” she said. “You never once gave me the opportunity to talk or even ask about my feelings. You always wanted to share your own little stories, Vogler. You talk ad nauseum about yourself. You don’t represent this community.”

Smith also said that Vogler was self-centered during council meetings.

“Your job as a council member is supposed to be looking out for this community, not boring us citizens with your rhetoric and anybody that wants to go and look at the last couple meetings can see. Why would you ever talk about your high school and how the boys never asked you to dance? Nobody cares about you. Thank goodness you’re not running again.”

Smith continued making her comments until her husband, the mayor of Hesperia, asked her to wrap it up because she had exceeded her allotted speaking time.

Did Rita and Al Vogler go too far during this campaign season? Were the councilwoman’s words at the end of council meetings too personal? Were Al Vogler’s mailers and billboards too inflammatory?

More than 6,100 voters who voted for Smitty to stay on the council apparently thought so.

To read this story in the Hesperia Star, click here.

VICTORVILLE – Federal and local investigators continue to request stacks of documents from the city as part of ongoing probes into bond sales and financial records.

Requests for information have become so intensive that three full-time workers are dedicated to processing them, said Councilman Ryan McEachron.

“It’s more or less an ongoing investigation and no outcomes at this point have been shared with city staff,” McEachron said. “I’m not sure how much longer this will go or how long it will take them to come out with any kind of a report.”

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission launched its investigation in August, directing city employees to stop deleting e-mails or throw away paper records, including document drafts and Post-it notes, said city spokeswoman Yvonne Hester.

The SEC has declined to comment on the matter. McEachron says the agency is focused on bond sales that took place between 2005 and 2008.

The city has about $464 million in outstanding bond debt, with all but $83 million of it falling under the Redevelopment Agency, said Hester.

The $83 million city bond funded the failed Foxborough power plant. The agency’s debt was issued to pay for infrastructure improvements to roads, sewers and hangars at Southern California Logistic Airport, Hester said.

In April 2009, the San Bernardino County Grand Jury began investigating handshake agreements allegedly made between former City Manager Jon B. Roberts and developers without council approval, McEachron said. Roberts is now city manager in Steamboat Springs, Co.

When last year’s Grand Jury disbanded in June, a special Grand Jury panel was formed to pick up where the previous one left off.

For legal reasons, McEachron said he couldn’t comment on specific deals, but generally speaking, Roberts allowed certain developers to forgo paying the cost of infrastructure improvements they’re usually required to pay for, such as traffic signals or street improvements.

Instead the city footed the bill, he said.

“I think that, without a doubt, there is a focus of the Grand Jury into some of the things that were done while (Roberts) was in charge,” McEachron said. “Whether or not it’s him specifically or someone else, it’s yet to be seen. We don’t know if they’re focusing on any one person or people.”

When contacted by phone Friday, Roberts only said, “I’m not familiar with what (McEachron’s) referring to.”

McEachron said he found it odd Roberts shifted payroll responsibilities from its typical place in the Finance Department to the Information Technology Department. The councilman also said he disagreed with a decision made by the council prior to his 2008 election that increased the amount of money Roberts could spend – $25,000 to $125,000 – without council approval.

In response to increasing allegations of corruption from residents, McEachron in December asked the council to commission a forensic audit of the city’s finances to root out possible malfeasance.

The council voted 4-1, with Councilman Mike Rothschild dissenting, to go forward with it. The council lobbied the county’s Board of Supervisors to pay $195,000 to hire an outside auditor. The audit has been under way for over six months with the Grand Jury providing oversight, schild said.

Although it’s possible some bad management decisions were made under Roberts, said Rothschild, he doesn’t believe any illegal activity occurred.

Aside from county taxpayer money used to pay for the audit, complying with the volume of information requests related to it and the SEC investigation have racked up $120,000 in internal costs to the city, Rothschild said.

“It’s a complete waste of taxpayer money. We can’t afford to pay $120,000, but we still have to pay it,” Rothschild said. “It’s an enormous pressure and I haven’t got a clue as to what they’re looking for. There’s nothing there to the best of my knowledge. If there was, I’d be one of the first to jump in and point fingers.”

McEachron said he hopes the audit will provide the city with answers.

“If someone did do something wrong, then they should be held accountable for it,” McEachron said.

Possible replacements include Sharon Runner, Steve Knight
November 05, 2010 8:41 AM
Natasha Lindstrom

SACRAMENTO • Sen. George Runner’s winning bid on the state Board of Equalization has set the stage for a local special election this spring to decide who will serve the remaining two years of his legislative term.

Nobody has officially jumped into the race, but likely candidates include former Assemblywoman Sharon Runner — Runner’s wife — and Assemblyman Steve Knight, R-Palmdale.

“My name’s in the hopper, and I want it to be in the hopper, but I also want to support a person who will win this seat and who we can get behind. The discussions are just starting…. but obviously I am the sitting assemblyman in the biggest portion of the 17th Senate district,” Knight said by phone Thursday. “My focus is we need a good, strongleader, we want a leader from the High Desert, and we want to keep it in the Republicans’ hands.”

The 17th Senate District includes the majority of the Victor Valley and Antelope Valley, along with portions of Ventura County and Santa Clarita and San Fernando valleys.

Sharon Runner said in a statement that she cannot legally announce whether she plans to run for her husband’s vacant seat until Dec. 31 — when she finishes her term as an appointed member of the California Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board.

George Runner plans to resign from his legislative post when he is sworn in to the Board of Equalization on Jan. 3, he said.

The governor must then call for a special election, which will likely happen in late spring. The primary election should only be followed by a general election if one candidate can’t secure more than 50 percent of the vote, George Runner said.

To read more about George Runner, see the full story in Friday’s Daily Press. To subscribe to the Daily Press in print or online, call (760) 241-7755, 1-800-553-2006 or click here.