Good News: Martha Barbee in Run-Off for Re-Election

OK ... I was (gladly) wrong.

Martha Barbee, incumbent appointed councilmember for Redondo Beach, District One is in the Runoff.

One source informed me that she should have won outright, but for a third-party perennial candidate.

It's time to make sure that Barbee makes back onto city council.

Redondo Beach City Council is an interesting creation.

The mayor of they city of Long Beach normally does not vote on key proceedings.

If there is a deadlock on the city council, then the mayor votes (?).

If this information is wrong, please let me know.

Martha Barbee has a clear platform in her bid for a full term in her own right.

Here is key information from her campaign website:

I CAN WORK WITH OTHER MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL AND GET THING DONE

In case you forgot, the previous council unanimously appointed her to the city council!

LOCAL CONTROL OF POLICE AND FIRE

BRING BACK THE NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH: Neighborhood watch programs in our neighborhood create a closer sense of community and enhanced security for all of us – strengthening our sense of community.

Seriously! I cannot believe that any city would do without Neighborhood Watch

This is outrageous!

SCHOOL SAFETY

MAINTAIN AND ATTRACT BUSINESS AND EMPLOYERS

Barbee's election bid shows a commitment to helping businesses begin, grow, and thrive in Redondo Beach. The last thing that any city should be doing is ... pushing businesses out of business.

The Slow Growth-No Growth people are gobbling up local governing boards all over the South Bay. In Hermosa Beach, however, these Agenda 21 types are meeting stiff resistance. More South Bay homeowners need to wake up to the poor use of their property tax dollars, too.

MANAGE CITY REVENUES

Fiscal discipline is non-negotiable, and Martha Barbee wants to ensure that essential services do not fall away because of poor spending and no saving. Barbee's appointment is all aboard for spending

HOMELESSNESS

This divisive concern is turning into another third rail in South Bay politics.

What is leading to this untenable surge of homelessness within the Beach Cities? After all, this is one of the richest, safest regions of Southern California. How is it possible that an uptick in homeless vagrants has increased all of a sudden in this area?

What can cities do to curtail this problem?

RESPONSIVENESS: Maintaining a high level of responsiveness as your representative and fulfilling my duty in getting the City to provide us as residents the level of service that we demand and deserve.

Elected officials by and large have lost touch with a fundamental premise of their office: to serve citizens.

Big Green/No Growth types are all about serving an agenda,  and forcing everyone else to like it, or at least to shut up their concerns and criticisms about it.

Final Reflection

South Bay residents, Redondo Beach taxpayers: WAKE UP!

The last thing that this Beach City needs is another anti-business, anti-taxpayer technocrat more interested in stopping everything in the name of "protecting the planet."

Redondo Beach, Hermosa Beach, Torrance -- everyone in the South Bay -- it's time GOTV.

On May 16, vote for Martha Barbee for Redondo Beach City Council!

Endorsements include:

Steve Aspel, Mayor of Redondo Beach

Mike Gin, Former Mayor of Redondo Beach

Brad Waller, RBUSD School Board Member

Redondo Beach Police Officers’ Association

Redondo Beach Fire Association

Assemblyman David Hadley (ret.)

Redondo Beach Mayor Steve Aspel Endorses David Hadley, Exposes Al Muratsuchi's Desperate, Crooked Tricks

Redondo Beach Mayor Steve Aspel is an easy-going guy.

He is a Democrat, along with the rest of his family, but he is common-sense, invested in doing what is best for his city.

He stands up to labor unions.

He wants a good quality of life for his beach city community.

And he is open about his support and political affiliations.

If he supports a candidate, he will not back away.

He endorsed Muratsuchi in 2014.

This time, for Election 2016, he is crossing party lines (just as David Hadley has) and is endorsing the incumbent Republican!

Early on, in 2015, Aspel signaled that he was going to support  Hadley's re-election bid instead of backing FORMER Democratic Assemblyman Al Muratuschi.

It was already a risky move.

The Los Angeles County Democratic Party generally does not take well to the locally elected officials crossing over and supporting Republicans, especially one as well-connected and caring as Hadley.

The Democrats did not sit back and accept this decision.

They released a mailer which listed Aspel as one of Muratsuchi's endorsers.

In effect, the Muratsuchi campaign tried to force Aspel to dual endorse essentially, as if the political capital he would have to spend to renounce this tactic would be too great.

Right away, there was frustration among Hadley supporters.

What's going on?

On Sunday evening, October 23rd, 2016, Mayor Aspel cleared up all the confusion, affirmed that he was endorsing only one candidate, our Assemblyman David Hadley.

Check out his recorded remarks here:

It was comforting and encouraging that Aspel stood up to Al Muratuschi and his first dirty trick.

Then he exposed another dirty trick from Crooked Al.

He met with Muratsuchi earlier this month, and there were more whispers about what was supposedly going on.

Then Aspel announced something particularly disturbing.

For a little background ...

Aspel is running for mayor again next year. The election is in March, 2017.

Muratsuchi threatened Aspel: "If you do not endorse me, I will support your challenger, and I will throw a lot of Democratic money his way."

Aspel didn't budge, and did not care.

He is standing with a true representative who cares about the South Bay, not a hollow Democratic machine politician out for raw power at the expense of principle.

Thank you, Mayor Aspel, for standing your ground and standing on principle!