Sheriff Rupf explains reasons for anti-Piepho mailer
By Lisa Vorderbrueggen
Friday, May 30th, 2008 at 8:08 pm in 2008 June primary, Contra Costa County, Contra Costa politics.
Contra Costa County Sheriff Warren Rupf spoke with me at length via telephone late this afternoon about his decision to put $12,500 of his own money into a mailer targeting incumbent Supervisor Mary Nejedly Piepho. I also spoke with Piepho and asked for her response to the sheriff’s remarks. (Click here to see my earlier blog entry on the subject, which includes copies of the mailer.)
I’ve put some of this content in my column for Sunday but since there have been so many questions for Rupf about the mailer on among the comments and the election is so close, I decided to post a more lengthy version here than space will allow in the newspaper.
Rupf says he was inspired to write a big personal check on the cost of the mailer after he read the Contra Costa Deputy Sheriffs Association endorsement letter of Piepho, calling its representation of her record on public safety “180 degrees from reality.” He says the union is pandering to Piepho because it is currently in contract negotiations with the county and believes its support will translate into support at the bargaining table.
The sheriff is a vocal supporter of Piepho’s challenger, outgoing Assemblyman Guy Houston of San Ramon.
“I feel even more strongly than the money,” Rupf said. “We are in a hole that is driven by a lack of leadership and a lack of support for public safety services … At the same time, I believe there is a concerted and calculated effort by the Piephos (Mary and her husband, Discovery Bay Community Services District member David Piepho) to blame the sheriff for a lack of staffing and service.”
Rupf’s mailer says the budget shortfall forced him to “lay off deputies while Mary Piepho gave herself a whopping 60 percent raise at the expense of your safety.”
It’s true. Piepho voted in 2006 with her colleagues for a pay raise from $59,000 to $95,000 a year.
But Rupf has not laid off any deputies. He cut 16 civilian positions this year, although he says budget shortfalls have left him with 70 vacant deputy positions over the past four budget cycles.
“ ‘Laying off’ might not fit the classic definition here but my frustration is that we’ve cut back or laid off every collateral service… and we’re only marginally able to cover the 911 beat and our jails,” Rupf said.
The Deputy Sheriffs Association rejects this argument. Click here to read its letter.
The push to fund the retiree health care liability out of existing service levels and ever declining dollars will further exacerbate the situation, Rupf continued.
“Everyone on the board is running for something else or interested in something else and no one is running the business of the county,” Rupf said.
If the trend continues, Rupf says he will run for the Board of Supervisors in 2010 despite the drop in “pay and prestige” and the likely ire of his wife. (He earns $185,000 a year as sheriff.)
For Piepho’s part, she calls it patently unfair to put the blame on her shoulders for declining county revenues and defended her public safety record.
She says the sheriff’s numbers of vacancies is a “slight of hand” designed to make it appear as though he been shortchanged when the board has actually helped him with recruitment and retention through the creation of a two-tier retirement system that’s less expensive for new hires.
“My first year on the board, the Sheriff’s Department was slated for cuts and I went to bat for him,” Piepho said. “This is not about my record. It might be about personality, but it’s not about my record.”
Rupf’s unhappiness with Piepho clearly extends beyond her vote on the pay hike or even the budget. He has endorsed her colleague, Supervisor Federal Glover of Pittsburg, who has a nearly identical voting record.
Their conflict has its roots in Discovery Bay after vocal residents, including David Piepho, voiced dissatisfaction with law enforcement levels in a manner the sheriff considered unproductive, to put it politely.
The chasm expanded and the sheriff formed his own citizen advisory committee in far East County, bypassing the locally elected board. Piepho said he undermined the community leaders and has repeatedly rebuffed her efforts to create a collaborative relationship.
The two later sparred publicly over a no-tow ordinance in the Delta and their split is seemingly irreparable at this point.
As to the question of whether the sheriff can legally finance an independent expenditure in a supervisor campaign, Rupf said he consulted with an attorney was told he could do it with the use of personal funds.
If Piepho or someone else files a complaint with the state Fair Political Practices Commission, he says he is ready to answer their questions.
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May 30th, 2008 at 10:04 pm
Lisa reported how much Sheriff Rupf spent on his mailer.
But here’s the number she doesn’t want voters to know.
May 30th, 2008 at 11:13 pm
Bill quit trying to hijack this site and go home.
Perhaps you will have better luck on your site serving up your latest batch of kool-aid.
If you have those numbers why don’t you share the sources? Hmmmm?
I invite you to be clear, are they for Piepho or against Houston. I would imagine a seasoned professional like you knows the difference.
If they come from independent sources perhaps they just prove that Houston has a lot of “non friends” in this county. Isn’t he in real estate? Why is that industry spending money against him? It is obvious he is “developer friendly” yet they are on his case too? And now the deputies? Is anyone left that likes this “GUY”? Oh, the sheriff himself does-all alone. That counts for one out of how many sworn deputies? 600-800?
It is evident that he had a lot of trouble getting endorsements. Especially local ones, so he must have really ticked off a lot of former friends.
What I hear from people across the board is “I thought I used to like Guy Houston, but I really wasn’t paying attention. Now that I am, I really don’t like what I see”. And then there is the whole Dublin thing. Open space candidate? Sure, like we are buying that. Concrete, wood stucco and a gridlocked 580 speak louder than words.
Seems to be the popular sentiment.
My guess is it will be reflected in the vote on Tuesday. Then again we won’t know until then.
Time for full disclosure Bill…Just what are you putting in your kool aid today?
May 31st, 2008 at 1:29 am
WOW! I’m glad Bill G-R put that comment in here. Over $215,000 spent by the big oil companies to defeat Houston and keep Piepho in office is significant and should be reported. I’m curious how much they spent to help Glover beat Nunn? Troublemaker sounds like Tom Koch.
May 31st, 2008 at 1:31 am
Lisa, don’t you think $215,000+ being spent by the oil companies to help defeat Houston is significant? I think most Times readers would think so.
May 31st, 2008 at 1:33 am
Lisa V. wrote: “Rupf’s unhappiness with Piepho clearly extends beyond her vote on the pay hike or even the budget. He has endorsed her colleague, Supervisor Federal Glover of Pittsburg, who has a nearly identical voting record.” - My point exactly. The Sheriff should also be opposing Glover.
May 31st, 2008 at 10:46 am
Troublemaker reminds us that there is an entire gang of special interest toadies who will do anything, spend any amount, and defame any person to keep the status quo in Martinez.
May 31st, 2008 at 11:39 am
Sheriff Rupf’s response in a word; Predictable.
Lisa has correctly identified the root of this argument; “after vocal residents, including David Piepho, voiced dissatisfaction with law enforcement levels in a manner the sheriff considered unproductive, to put it politely. “
Well, it is I and many of my neighbors that make up those vocal residents. The Piephos, while partly speaking for their own interests, are mostly advocating for their constituents as both hold elected positions to represent us. You can ask any number of our residents how long the complaints have gone on about poor police service coverage out here. I can assure you it extends back well before Piepho’s term. The Sheriff striking back with his hit piece is by proxy him taking his frustrations out on us, the ordinary citizens. That is unacceptable and offensive on so many levels.
The letter exchanges are public documents available for all to read. I see nothing in them that is “unproductive” or in any way disrespectful in the manner they were presented.
We deserve a better, more professional response from the Sheriff to the policing concerns of our community.
Sheriff Rupf is a man who says he welcomes criticism. But he doesn’t promise you he will take it constructively or respond appropriately. So what is the problem out here in Discovery Bay? Are we just a bunch of whiners? How about that fact that we are the largest concentration of unincorporated population within the County(for which security is one of his primary duties). We contribute in the neighborhood of $25M annually in property taxes, an additional half a million dollars annually in a second tax for enhanced police services via P District monies and we get LESS THAN ONE dedicated Deputy per shift for between 12,000 and 15,000 people. For 3 shifts we account for less than .3% of the Sheriff’s total Deputy count and he can’t understand why we’re feeling a little shorted?? It’s a tinderbox situation to have such pathetic coverage. In the event of some major unrest a responding Deputy could be put in a lethal situation. That is unacceptable.
In January of this year there was a town hall meeting after an unfortunate high profile break-in. Over 400 residents were in attendance to express their concerns over a perceived growing crime problem. Does that sound a community happy with existing police presence? Does it sound like just a couple of complainers?
We deserve a Sheriff who can more honestly discuss the monetary issues and his apparent poor allocation of the discretionary resources in our community.
Mr. Rupf indicates he’s looking beyond his term in office. I’m sure it will come as some surprise to Gayle Uilkema that he intends to run against her in the middle of her term. Perhaps it’s time for Rupf to consider moving up the date of that slow ride in the retirement sunset. He’s done his best and we should send him off with our thanks and gratitude for his time in service. But get some new blood in here that is willing to tackle the budget cards they are dealt. Get someone who spends less time complaining, politicking and brow beating their detractors and more time actually running the department. Blaming everyone else for the department’s problems is not the sign of a great leader. Nor is paying for a mailer with outright falsehoods.
Piepho’s voting record speaks for itself. She has gone bat for the Sheriff to secure the maximum amount of dollars possible under very difficult budget circumstances. Supervisor Piepho is guilty of nothing more than challenging some of the Sheriff’s resource allocations and his ignoring Discovery Bay that extends back over a decade. Forget this shameful attempt on his part to rewrite history and make it sound like the complaints originated with her. Forget this Discovery Bay committee he organized. As one attendee has put it, “it’s his eyes and ears on the ground”. In other words, that advance notice, canary in the coal mine deal so he can stamp out complaints before they get legs. I didn’t say resolve them, just tamp them down.
We deserve a Sheriff who doesn’t run the show like he’s in some Banana Republic.
To be clear, I have nothing but high praise for the rank and file Deputies who are the face of law enforcement that I see on our streets. I have conversed with a number of them and profusely thanked many of them for what they do. They are not the problem. The problem as I see it is the attitude at the top.
I have lost all faith in Sheriff Rupf. This lack of emotional self control is putting my community in danger. For a man who is offended by being called a politician, he spends entirely too much time acting like one. I think it is past time that we stop the goon squad tactics and get back to serving the citizens of the county in a respectful manner and that begins with learning to accept criticism. If Sheriff Rupf is unable to do so, then perhaps it has come time for him to step aside and let someone who can.
We’ve all heard the talk. Let’s see the walk.
May 31st, 2008 at 12:38 pm
Steve,
Let me get this straight, you are glad BGR put out some undocumented opinion here? Wow there is some powerful research there. So far everything that I have seen put out by Reefer is completely false or at best misleading.
I would imagine at some point that Lisa will de-bunk his claims that BIG OIL has spent over 200,000 on Mary Piepho. Your words not mine; “Over $215,000 spent by the big oil companies” Something tells me that is not correct.
215k from BIG OIL? Produce the facts or go away.
If you are so good at research, please tell us how much Houston has taken from special interests? Including Indian Gaming, Developers, Unions, etc. Not to hard to find! He actually braggs about it!
Personally I think if you are getting your information for the likes of Reefer, then you will be in for a lot of dissapointments. I would really trust Lisa for a clearer picture.
No matter how many times you switch gears and switch arguements we keep coming back to the same place. Your candidate has no substance.
And Bill, you are running out of room. Calling me names, suggesting that I am special interest or pretending to imagine that you really have some insight on things belongs back in your fantasy blog. Not here.
May 31st, 2008 at 1:25 pm
Troublemaker cannot read or would rather twist truth, there were more than one culprits mentioned. But Troublemaker lives in a world of narcissistic hyperbole.
East Bay Business Coalition spent around $100,000 and Big Oil spent upwards of $75,000. You can grab the forms 465 and 496 and take your shoes off and count it up yourself.
Too bad Lisa led everyone on a merry wild goose chase instead of reporting the bigger picture. Looks like maybe she got played by her girl friends.
Here’s the press release that is currently being plastered all over the internet and circulating around Bay Area newsrooms.
http://www.prweb.com/releases/contra-costa-county/contra-costa-politics/prweb988294.htm
May 31st, 2008 at 2:59 pm
Lisa,
YOU ARE A FAILURE NOT REPORTING THE 215,000 SPENT BY BIG OIL AND THE UNIONS TO DEFEAT GUY HOUSTON!! THE NEXT TIME I SEE YOU AT A POLITICAL EVENT I WILL TELL YOU WHAT A FAILURE YOU AND THE CC TIMES ARE!!
THIS IS UNBELIEVEABLE!!!!!
May 31st, 2008 at 4:19 pm
Troublemaker - actually, the quote from Bill G-R’s website is “BIG OIL, unions, real estate and developer interests have so far spent $215,298.64 to smear Guy Houston and ensure Mary Piepho retains her Supervisor seat.”
May 31st, 2008 at 4:23 pm
And one more thing, Troublemaker, neither Piepho nor Houston is my candidate. I just think something so big should be reported.
May 31st, 2008 at 6:45 pm
CLICK HERE FOR INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURE DOCUMENTS LISA VORDERBRUEGGEN AND THE CONTRA COSTA TIMES FAILED TO REPORT
May 31st, 2008 at 7:13 pm
Stunned in East County doesn’t have a clue what it takes to run a Sheriffs Department. He talks about the Sheriff using the P1 money. If you knew what the regulations with regard to the P1 funds you might be a little smarter. Let alone the restrictions on gated communities and private property and deputies entering without being requested. Perhaps you need to read a little more about the law before you go spouting off about Sheriff Rupf. I don’t believe you could hold a candle to his position. However you are quick to critize it. I am curious just what you do for a living.
May 31st, 2008 at 9:05 pm
Steve,
Just trying to get you to stick to the facts. Like so many over at the kool aid factory (H2C) it appears that you change your angle every other post. Clearly just scroll up and read your post(s) #3 abd #4. Both clearly identify your focus in regard to independent expenditures limited to “Big Oil”.
Either way the Candidates (Houston, Piepho or any of the other candidates in other races) do not control independent expenditures- “IE’s”.
In this particular case it does appear that Houston is short on supporters and long on those that want to see him out of politics. I wonder if the GOP considered doing an IE? They certainly rejected him for any partisan seat.
Stick to the facts and we won’t need to have this unnecessary back and forth. Comprende?
May 31st, 2008 at 9:13 pm
Bill Gramm-Reefer wins this round, and Lisa has egg on her face. The $75k from Tesoro and Chevron both of whom are trying to get their real estae tax bills reduced by some $50m per year each is very damning. Money corrupts. $37k for them is small change. Piepho should not have taken their money.
June 1st, 2008 at 9:08 am
BGR hasn’t “won” anything. This is just another of his hypocritical hypotheses. He knows good and well IEs are not bound or controlled by candidates and if that $215k had been backing his “Guy” he’d be telling you the same thing I’m going to tell him right now;
Boo-freakin’-Hoo.
Cry me a river, Billy.
Maybe your guy shouldn’t have pissed off all his special interest buddies(banks, credit card companies, Developers, lobbyists and Indian Gaming all contributed to him earlier) If they weren’t so pissed off about him moving their money to a lower office run they could be there to support him now. He’s burned his bridges and now you want to cry foul! He’s been outraised 2:1 in the home stretch by Piepho in regular contributions, so it looks to me like your guy is falling further behind and desperate to close the gap.
Take this garbage back to the cesspool where your illiterate posters will eat it up. This is independent thinker land where that junk don’t sell.
June 1st, 2008 at 10:26 am
While I appreciate the thread that is going on - I would like to return to the issue of the Sheriff’s endorsements. His arguments against Piepho make it insane for him to strongly endorse Glover. The real question should be how does he reconcile that! I think he should not assume he will be reelected sheriff nor elected as supervisor. He seems quite arrogant - possibly delusional and maybe even schizophrenic - if he blasts one supervisor for voting for the raise and praises one who did the same.
It is also interesting that his endorsments in various races do not match other law enforcement bodies. Does he have his depeartment and the county interests at heart or simply his own political agenda and career goals.
June 1st, 2008 at 10:31 am
Troublemaker - OK. So I didn’t print BGR’s entire list of financial backers of Piepho’s reelection in my earlier posts. I corrected it in post #11. No angle changing. The angle is the HUGE amount of money being spent by special interests who have business with the county to reelect Piepho that has gone unreported. I wrote nothing of whether the candidate can control the IE’s. This is not an indictment of Piepho. It’s a question of why such a big story hasn’t been pursued by Lisa or any other Times reporter. That is the focus of my comments. Can you comprende, amigo?
June 1st, 2008 at 11:30 am
Troublemaker is an anonymous coward that can’t stand the people who don’t kowtow to his childish screed
June 1st, 2008 at 11:34 am
Troublemaker, Non Nonsense and Studnned in East are all probably the same anonymous coward
June 1st, 2008 at 11:53 am
Bernie,
Lisa did not report it that way because Piepho did not take their money. They do this “indepedently” without approval or dissaproval from the candidate. The candidate could not stop it if they wanted to. I believe if falls under free speech.
This is why they are called independent expendatures. They are independent of the candidates campaign and effort. If you look at any mailer which is an “IE” on any campaign (for or against any candidate) is will clearly state; Not authorized by a candidatee or a committee controlled by a candidate”.
So not only does Bill Gram Reefer want you to believe a falsehood he actually knows better. So if tricking you was a win, then he got over on you.
I believe Piepho is the only candidate that I can recall in any race that does not and has not taken money from special interests. That is an amazing feat. The difference here might be that Houston openly takes money “from anyone”. In my book, that pretty much ends any debate over who is bought and paid for.
June 1st, 2008 at 12:06 pm
p.s.
No Reefer, that kind of crap only exists on your halfway to concord slam site. You are the admin and you know it better than anyone here.
You continue to amuse us!
Like I said before there are many reasons for posting anonymously. In this case being a coward is not one of them-I would gladly take you on any day. Quite frankly you play loosely with the facts and are not very sharp. That is why you do so well on your own site until someone “one ups” you and then you conveniently kick them off. How’s that going anyway?
I say that with a clean record because I have never posted there. You appear to be on a mission to find out who disagrees with you, so just look to the outcomes on election day that should give you a clue.
June 1st, 2008 at 3:09 pm
Trouble staying on topic, Billy?
Let’s build from Irishlass’ list of arrogant, delusional or schizophrenic. I would add simply egomaniac.
Those sorts of character flaws should not be in an important law enforcement position. I think there is no question this recent, most flagrant double-speak and outright lying would haunt him in any subsequent run for public office. It brings into question the core of integrity. A calculated move one would only exercise in a desperate situation, which appears to be the case with Houston.
Looks like it’s back to the private sector for Guy come Tuesday.
Billy, either that spelling problem is contagious on your site or you write to yourself more than I first suspected. If you’re a journalist, or a wannabe in your case, wouldn’t that at least be a top 3 priority?
June 1st, 2008 at 3:16 pm
“….Gladly take me on any day? Is that a threat now from the girly wimp that is afraid to reveal who he is? Ooooh…I’m scared.
The word for you is punk.
What you call One-upping is in fact brow beating. You wonder why Nonsense got kicked off Halfway. Yet you continue to pull the same act here to anyone that calls you on your shit.
Sadly, the outcome on Tuesday will not change the fact that you will still be an insane sociopath as well as an anonymous coward.
June 1st, 2008 at 5:15 pm
“gladly take me on any day”?
Is that your idea of “one-upping” or is it simple browbeating and intimidation that you’ve managed to do to anyone here or elsewhere who has the audacity to disagree with you?
June 1st, 2008 at 10:21 pm
Wow Reefer-really making points today!
BTW- what did you “call me on” hmmm? I see that you are calling me names now. That is mighty clever! You are quite the case study in hypocrisy which is exactly why you cannot identify with it.
Take a few deep breaths, you seem kind of agitated.
You know it’s funny, I watched you try to ‘dis Lisa for lack of traffic on this (her) blog, but now it appears it is rocking and rolling with activity. How are things going over at your site? I’m thinking not good since you are trolling over here. Am I calling you out now? Never mind, you don’t have to answer.
When you are done taking pot shots at elected officials (people that actually step up to the plate) then I would gladly educate you about what constitutes real cowardice.
In the meantime, let’s get back to the business of politics because it really is o.k. to disagree as long as you stick to the facts. Can you work on that for me?
June 1st, 2008 at 10:58 pm
I think Lisa was much to kind to the sheriff in today’s column. He said one thing in a last minute hit piece against Piepho and just the opposite in the Contra Costa Times the same day. He has admitted that he might not have gotten the facts right in the hit piece. Hummm, how convenient for the arrogant, sexist sheriff to forget the real facts in a mail piece he paid for and then get it right in the newspaper.
Mary Nejedly Piepho refuses to be his lap dog so the big boy’s chest is out and he is trying to teach her a lesson. I sure hope the public sees through the childish antics of a frustrated control freak. It is way past time for him to retire.
June 1st, 2008 at 11:02 pm
And now I learn Sheriff Rupf not only collects his pension from retiring from the Sheriff’s Dept. and ALSO collects his big fat salary from being the elected sheriff. He takes home more than $300,000 from the county coffers. I wonder how many deputies we could put on the streets with that money.
June 1st, 2008 at 11:04 pm
How many bridges can Guy Houston burn in one election? First he is Mr. Developer in Dublin, against labor, and a conservative anti-choice Republican.
June 1st, 2008 at 11:10 pm
I think Bill has some sort of allergic reaction when he gets too close to a fact, if the exchanges on his site are any indication.
Clever tactic taking this waaaay off topic, Bill. Do you have any relevant commentary to offer on this mailer we were discussing which has turned out to be lies? Do you approve of the #1 law enforcement official in the county engaging in that sort of behavior? Do you think it in any way helps the public safety that his time is spent on this sort of crap instead of better deploying his resources?
What is a hack blog site like yours doing releasing a PR? Leading independent online news source??? What were you smoking when you wrote that one? I think that “independent” white dress you’re wearing has a few stains on it and you’ve got your nose so far up Houston’s rear end you can’t see sunshine. That makes you a propaganda mouthpiece, not a serious news source.
Speaking of which, Cracker Jack Bill, maybe you’ll enlighten the folks on who these new IEs are from obscure individuals for substantial amounts of money. Both Houston supporters. That doesn’t pass the smell test and we wouldn’t want you looking like a hypocrite twice in one weekend after you bad mouthed Lisa V on the same subject.
Lose an election -AND- break campaign finance laws? You guys are in a hole. You oughta stop diggin’.
June 1st, 2008 at 11:15 pm
How many bridges can Guy Houston burn in one election?
First he is Mr. Developer in Dublin, against labor and a conservative anti tax, anti-choice Republican.
Now that he has moved to Contra Costa to run for Supervisor he became best buddies with labor by agreeing to support PLAs, became a sudden opponent to development, supports taxes (measure D, etc.) and starts slamming Mary because Lynn Leach supports her.
The latest mailer by Ms. De Marcus is so misleading that it deceitfully implies that because Leach supports Piepho that Piepho agrees with everything Lynn believes. What a smear.. Then they smear her for being too close to Dems…
What it comes down to is that Mary is consistent and capable of working folks from different philosophy’s to get things down.
June 2nd, 2008 at 8:31 am
Lisa,
Why is this not reported in any of your articles ??
BIG OIL, unions, real estate and developer interests have so far spent $215,298.64 to smear Guy Houston and ensure Mary Piepho retains her Supervisor seat. That’s an awful lot of money changing hands to not be noticed by an ace political reporter.
June 2nd, 2008 at 9:29 am
Dear Patriot Johnny:
To be honest, I haven’t had a chance yet. Friday is my column deadline and I was on the phone the good part of the day trying to unravel the Rupf-Piepho mailer issue for my column. (I didn’t finish up my column until after 7 p.m. Friday night, which didn’t endear me to my editor who had to wait to read it.)
Plus, I do my best to never work weekends and instead, spend them with my husband and my children. (I was addicted to my job in my youth but I got over it.)
But as I had originally planned, you will hear at length from me today in the blog and probably in tomorrow’s paper a full wrap-up of campaign finance numbers for the East Bay supervisor and state assembly/senate races.
I was waiting until this morning because Friday at 5 p.m. was the last campaign finance deadline for the supervisor candidates and I picked up at 8 a.m. this morning from the clerk’s office an 8-plus-inch stack of finance reports.
It’s absurd to suggest that I have “refused” to publish campaign finance numbers. I have written hundreds of stories about campaign finance reports over the years. But I’m only one person and can cover only so much ground in a single day.
June 2nd, 2008 at 10:09 am
Lisa,
There was no suggestion from me about refusing. However, for the sake of fairness It would be nice to report this info before tommorrows elections end.
I am very critical of the newspapers voluntary endorsements as I feel they should remain neutral and objective. When I see the media post a laundry list of who and what to vote for It really sickens me.
June 2nd, 2008 at 11:20 am
Rupf pulls down both a $185k salary plus a six-figure pension. That sort of double dipping should be illegal. Why does any retired cop pull down a $120k per year pension. Why doesn’t the electorate wake up on this? Elected officials must be held accountable for giving away the store to the unions.
June 2nd, 2008 at 2:22 pm
Yep Bernie the Sheriff is caught trying to chastise the Supervisors for initiating a pay adjustment because the former boards had failed to take action for almost a decade! It is no wonder they were over 60 percent down.
But for Rupf to try to hang this on the Supervisors (Mary Piepho in particular) who were formerly making 59k a year compared to his 185k is really the story. From what I repeatedly hear, more and more people are on to Rupf’s political antics.
I guess he forgot to put that in his hit piece against Piepho.
June 2nd, 2008 at 6:53 pm
Now that Billy has voiced his objection to Lisa having a private life, we’re officially into the twilight zone. Maybe Lisa didn’t get the memo that the world revolves around BGR’s priorities?
The best word that can describe BGR at this point is “unhinged”. Of all the things going on in the political world right now, he’s absolutely foaming at the mouth over this one race. That, my friends, is obsession with maybe just a dash of paranoia tossed in.
Billy, step outside and go for a walk. I think you need a little fresh air.
June 2nd, 2008 at 6:58 pm
Sorry Reefer but you hold the title of disingenuous and misleading. You see, unlike you, Lisa has no special or hidden agenda. She simply reports what she sees and learns. While I may not always agree with her position at least she states both sides and the supporting resources. She has a tough job and has to put up with the likes of you. I don’t envy her.
Here is an upfront example of your sleight of hand for all of us to examine up close.
Scroll up to your post #9 and click on the highlighted words “press release”. Well press release is a bit of a stretch -but humor me here.
If you click on that it takes you to your so called press release. On that site which you have doctored up, there is a Guy Houston link and a Mary Piepho link. Hmmmmm guess what, click on the Houston link and it takes you right to his website (how convenient) but click on Piepho’s and amazingly you are transferred to your asylum known by many as halfway to nowhere. Thanks for showing us the real you. You are a real hack.
Billy Boy we are squarely on to you. You are the poster boy for “Disingenuous and Misleading”. In fact from what I understand you pilfered Mary Piepho’s contact list and sent it out your nonsense to her many supporters. People with ethics would call that move disingenuous. I also hear that you have been blasted right and left for that effort. Pretty funny really. How is it that your actions continue to backfire smart guy?
Game over. Now go back to your room before you embarrass yourself any further.
June 2nd, 2008 at 10:23 pm
I got some political spam yesterday from Bill Gram-Reefer. What was disturbing was that the spam was sent to an address that I’d only used once: when filling out a survey on Guy Houston’s state government website. Gotta tell you Mr. G-R, I was neutral on this race until you pulled this. I know that the records are probably public and that Mr. Houston’s web site goes has no privacy policy whatsoever so there is probably nothing illegal in your using this data but it was a clumsy and oafish move that has completely backfired on you.
June 3rd, 2008 at 2:51 pm
Right on Creeped out. I am hearing the same thing!
Thanks Reefer, You are really helping Piepho.
Keep up the good work. You fit in perfectly with Houston’s campaign.
All the best!