The Fresno CVPPAC Endorses Blong Xiong for City Council

The CVPPAC Endorses Blong Xiong for City Council
By Mike Rhodes

The Central Valley Progressive Political Action Committee (CVPPAC), at a meeting on September 23, 2006, endorsed Blong Xiong for City Council in District 1. Tom Boyajian is the current council member representing this district, which stretches from the Tower District northwest to Shaw avenue. A map is below. Boyajian termed out and according to yesterday’s Fresno Bee has endorsed the Republican Scott Miller. Xiong is an independent and is backed by most organized labor and progressive groups in Fresno.

Earlier in the month CVPPAC members held an interview with both candidates in the race to ask them about issues of importance to the progressive community. Here are the notes from the interviews.

BLONG XIONG

CVPPAC Question # 1

Will you support having an Independent Police Auditor in Fresno? If so, describe what an IPA would do - who would they report to, what power would they have, etc. If you do not support the idea of an IPA, explain why.

"At this point I would not push for an Independent Police Auditor. I have been walking precincts and 70% of the people have never heard of it." Of the 25% of people who have heard about an IPA, they say it is not an important issue. It is on the bottom of their list of priorities. "However, I believe that it is important that we recognize that this is an issue." Community and Police relations are important. He said he would not support the mayor’s version of the IPA. because the Auditor would not be Independent. If we had an IPA it would have to be under the City Council.

CVPPAC Question # 2

Do you support measure C, which will be on the November ballot. Explain why or why not.

I will support the measure since it impacts on all of us. Many groups are supporting Measure C. Only a few are against it. Rapid Transit is important.

CVPPAC Question #3

Would you support a Living Wage Ordinance for city workers and those workers who have city contracts? The living wage ordinance being proposed would pay workers about $10 an hour with health benefits.

$10 an hour with benefits. "If the Living Wage targets specifically with city services and city jobs then that is something I would look favorable at." He would not support something (a Living Wage ordinance) if it impacts small and private businesses. He said he was inclined to support it if it is directed at city workers but he still wants to talk to both sides about this issue.

CVPPAC Question # 4

The Fresno City Council just passed funding ($1.2 million) for a video surveillance project. The Fresno Police Department plans to install many of these cameras in the Tower District. How do you feel about video policing? How do you feel about the section in the video policing policy manual that states that these cameras will be used to monitor peaceful political activities?

This is a big issue - there is no concrete plan that was written. "If it doesn’t infringe, it comes pretty close to that (infringing on civil liberties)." We need to have more public input on issues like this, how it is being implemented, and how it is being used.

CVPPAC Question # 5

If you had an opportunity to save the City of Fresno money by outsourcing services, would you do so? If you support the outsourcing of services to save money, tell us what impact you think this change would have on employees. We would be interested in hearing about how lower wages, lack of medical care for the employee and their family, and less job security would help morale at work and build healthy families in the community.

Saving money is not a good reason to outsource/privatize jobs. Money is only one factor in giving a group/business a contract with the city.

Question # 1 from the floor:

Do you think the FPD video surveillance feeds should be available on the Internet?

Blong did not have an immediate answer to this question. He thought that there should be a process for looking at the issue of making the images available to the public, but he did not have a position on this issue.

Question # 2 from the floor:

Have you spoken with members of the Central California Criminal Justice Committee or have you been invited to one of our meetings?

Yes, I have met with the group. We talked before the primary. I’m aware that work is being done. You cannot rely on only the police report. I was an investigator in the Public Defenders Office and that gives you a different perspective. He believes that the current criminal justice system works because it allows both sides to be heard.

Closing Comments:

Look at my experience in public service, there is a big difference between me and my opponent. Blong and his family has small business experience. He says he has been a public servant and an advocate to the people he serves.

SCOTT MILLER

CVPPAC Question # 1

Will you support having an Independent Police Auditor in Fresno? If so, describe what an IPA would do - who would they report to, what power would they have, etc. If you do not support the idea of an IPA, explain why.

I have spoken to people about it, but I do not support it. "There are cases of Police improprieties but I don’t think that IPA is the way to go but I don’t think the IPA is the way to fix it." Those who are inappropriate are young officers. It results from situations of personal experiences. IPA is not the answer. Police may need more training or incentives. We should give officers bonuses to live and work in the same area. Another idea is to give bonuses to officers who have been on the force for over 20 years.

CVPPAC Question # 2

Do you support measure C, which will be on the November ballot. Explain why or why not.

Yes, I support it. Without it we are in trouble. We need more money for infrastructure and improve air quality.

CVPPAC Question #3

Would you support a Living Wage Ordinance for city workers and those workers who have city contracts? The living wage ordinance being proposed would pay workers about $10 an hour with health benefits.

I am troubled by this. I do not support Living Wage ordinance as I understand it. I do support raising the minimum wage. He would consider supporting a Living Wage ordinance if it had an exemption for locally owned business with fewer than 25 employees. Entrepreneurship is important to Scott - he wants to help people to do what he has done (own a small business). There is a need to close the gap between rent and minimum wage - at the current minimum wage it takes three weeks for a person to cover rent. "I don’t think that the Living Wage ordinance is the right answer."

CVPPAC Question # 4

The Fresno City Council just passed funding ($1.2 million) for a video surveillance project. The Fresno Police Department plans to install many of these cameras in the Tower District. How do you feel about video policing? How do you feel about the section in the video policing policy manual that states that these cameras will be used to monitor peaceful political activities?

"I am very against video policing. It is a waste of money." Captain Maroney (who is in charge of the video policing project) could not answer what types of crimes it would deter. Scott said that it would not deter the types of crimes we have in the Tower District ( vandalism).

CVPPAC Question # 5

If you had an opportunity to save the City of Fresno money by outsourcing services, would you do so? If you support the outsourcing of services to save money, tell us what impact you think this change would have on employees. We would be interested in hearing about how lower wages, lack of medical care for the employee and their family, and less job security would help morale at work and build healthy families in the community.

"I support outsourcing certain types of labor, right now the tree program is almost entirely outsourced. It is underfunded, but the company that does it is Western Arborist." He says they pay their employees over $10 an hour and they do a better job than city employees would. He said a lot of work could be outsourced to nonprofit groups like Tree Fresno. "Maintenance on medians and islands could be done by volunteers." He mentioned the "pave off" as an example of how sometimes city workers can do a better job than private corporations. He also said that no current city employees would be laid off as a result of privatization. They might be reassigned but not laid off.

CVPPAC Question # 5

There are hundreds of homeless living on the streets in downtown Fresno. Describe the current policy being implemented by the City of Fresno to address the homeless problem? Do you have any recommendations for short and long term solutions to this problem?

"The current program is to load everything into a dumpster and I think that is wrong."What is the policy? I have been Downtown and went on a Ride Along with an officer that really supports the current program. I was overwhelmed by the homeless around F Street, the off ramp, and the train tracks. I have sympathy for the business owners in the area and I have sympathy for the homeless that cannot get out of that cycle. Being poor and having a mental illness is not a crime. I am committed to learning what to do.

Question # 1 from the floor:

How do you feel about the raise in pay for council members.

Scott was against it. The way the council did it. Timing was astute. It should have come from a citizen’s group. He is in agreement with the mayor on this.

Question # 2 from the floor:

Does the community have an obligation to help these people (the homeless) to better their life?

Scott said that people disagree about what the best policy would be to address the homeless issue in Fresno. Scott shared his personal experience of being young and uninterested in school. His mother’s employer helped to mentor him. The ability to have that job and a mentor changed his life. Obstacle is thinking you can’t change. Mentoring is important. It is important to believe that you can get out of a bad situation.

Biography of Scott Miller solicited by a CVPPAC member

Registered Republican - only one in the family. No party represents my views. Central Committee of Republican Party worked hard against me. They favored Cliff Archer. I was raised in Fresno, went to school at Edison High. I opened my own business in 1995 on Olive People have an obligation to self and community. I volunteer in the community. I am married to my high school sweet heart. I support same sex marriage. I am sensitive to Gay issues. I also received an environmental studies degree from UC Santa Cruz. Have worked on water resources and now is now interested in air quality. I’m a fiscal conservative.

Question # 4 from the floor:

Where do you see waste in local government?

Surprised departments run efficiently. The overlaps between departments and agencies need to be addressed. He mentioned an expense of a back hoe at the Elkhorn juvenile facility ($1,200 a day) that was not necessary. On the whole all is going well.

Closing Comments:

My main message is that we all have prejudices. "The one thing I want to get across is that I’m not a Fascist." He doesn’t want people to discount him just because he is a Republican.