Status Quo

STATUS QUO… Government agencies send plenty of press releases by email, announcing new hires, upcoming meetings and the like. In most cases, the agencies avoid politics, as things can get sticky – for example, state law prohibits public employees from using government resources for campaign activities.

So a Nov. 7 press release from the City of Seaside, which announced that “projected winners [are] now emerging in key leadership positions” following election results, left Squid scratching Squid’s head.

It noted that the three incumbents were all leading their races – just facts, no big deal. But it went on to not-so-subtly weigh in. Mayor Ian Oglesby’s vote count, it read, indicated “confidence in his pursuit of Seaside’s vision.”

It included a statement from interim City Manager Craig Malin, who said the projected results “bode well” for the upcoming task of hiring a permanent city manager – “If the preliminary results hold, city manager candidates will know they will be part of an excellent team,” he said.

Squid wonders what would have happened if a challenger upset one of the incumbents. Would the city still consider it an “excellent team”?

Squid is also not sure about the city’s statement that the results reflect voters’ “passion for inclusion, growth and progress” – it sounds like the same ol’, same ol’ is in Seaside’s near future.

DO OVER… Squid lives and dies by the ocean food chain and also, in Squid’s line of work, by deadlines. Apparently not the case for Citizens Supporting the Recall of Andrew Sandoval, a group attempting to remove the Salinas District 5 councilmember who is two years into a four-year term. The group claims they gathered 115 signatures on their Notice of Intention to Circulate a Recall Petition against Sandoval, but they missed their first deadline – whoopsies!

Per Election Code, that means a complete do-over. As City Clerk Patricia Barajas notified recall proponent Tyler Burrola on Nov. 8: “As a result of the deficiency noted above the recall efforts must start over.”

Burrola’s petition starts off with damning words about the whole council: “Salinas is suffering a leadership crisis from the chaos created by our City Council. The ringleader of this chaos is Councilmember Andrew Sandoval.”

Whether or not you view it as chaos – compared to the feeding frenzies that take place in Squid’s watery lair, it all seems rather tame – Squid wonders what will happen for recall effort 2.0. The results of the Nov. 5 election mean Sandoval will find himself an odd man out, rather than aligned with allies. Maybe that means more “chaos,” maybe it means less, only time will tell. But to end the deadline chaos, maybe someone on the committee should get a calendar.