Update: Final line-up of candidates
We are reposting this Newsletter with the 3 following important updates:
1) OOPS!…A CORRECTION: the Email address for the City Council Candidate, Frank Chiella is info@votefrank4mb.com and his website is Frank4mb.com.
It is also corrected next to his name in the original Newsletter shown below.
2) Reporting on the “Political Old Guard:” Thank you for the numerous emails of gratitude sent to us after our publishing of the Candidate Line-Up Newsletter. It’s emails like yours that keep us going.
For those of you who asked about reporting on the Political Old Guard, please be aware that our first election season Newsletter was intended to introduce the New Voices running for Office. It’s going to take more time to research the council record of the 4 Political Old Guard that span many years. Two candidates were in office 8 years each and the other two were in office 4 years, including one completing her 4-year term.
We will issue many more Newsletters during the campaign, but in the meantime, we encourage you to email all candidates with your questions. See the suggested list of questions shown below to help you get started.
3) ATTEMPTS TO SHUT DOWN THE VOICE OF MBSTRONG: We believe it’s important for our readers to know that some of the Political Old Guard, along with some of their supporters, are attempting to control what we report to our readers, or are trying to shut us down.
Intimidation tactics have been employed against us for over a year. One individual has repeatedly been the target of intimidating texts and emails. During the Measure “A” campaign, letters full of false accusations were sent to some of our employers, and bullies submitted complaints with false claims to the FPPC about MBStrong. A sitting Politician spread lies about one of our writers in an attempt to discredit that person, but we stood up and confronted the lies, which resulted in the Politician issuing a retraction.
The level of intimidation increased dramatically soon after our recent publication about candidates. False rumors continue to be spread about MBStrong, including defamation of the character and personal reputations of individuals via group emails and text strings, and on Social Media. These intimidation tactics are intended to STOP our reporting or to gain CONTROL of what we report to the residents about candidates. But we will not submit to this pressure and we have retained legal counsel to protect our right to free speech and defend ourselves against defamation.
Even within our own ranks, some people want to give preferential treatment by downplaying or accentuating the council records for candidates they like regarding key issues such as Bruce’s Beach, Measure A, MB Fire Department, and Housing Density. But please be assured, we will not do that.
Our free Newsletter publishes fact-based information on critical MB issues. We do this work out of love for our city and our schools. We are CPAs, attorneys, medical professionals, educators, business owners, retirees, students, etc. We are homeowners and renters. Some live in surrounding beach cities and our kids attend MBUSD.
Plus, our Newsletter is the ONLY local source for residents to voice their opinion with the full protection and right to confidentiality.
If you like our work, please send us an email to let us know you stand with us: MBStrong2021@gmail.com.
~MBStrong
The following Newsletter is a reprint from yesterday, with corrections to candidate Frank Chiella’s contact information.
It’s a time of transformation.
As a resident so eloquently stated in a letter we published titled We Need Better Leadership, “Our leaders have forgotten the basic principle that We The People tell the government what to do, not the other way around.” [Read this inspiring letter HERE].
In this election, MB residents have an opportunity to elect leaders who understand this basic principle.
We believe an informed resident makes better decisions for our beach city that will transform our community and local leadership for the better!
It’s for this reason that MBStrong’s Newsletters cover vital issues we think residents need to know about, including decisions by leaders that have harmed the community they represent.
We spend a great deal of time, sometimes weeks, researching an issue to get the facts before we publish, and we are humbled that so many have come to depend on our newsletters as a reliable source on critical topics.
Hundreds of residents who have felt excluded or silenced in the past have been inspired to engage in our self-government again by voicing their opinions at the School Board and Council meetings and in emails to our leaders. Maybe some have been inspired to run for office.
The race is on…
The race is officially on for the 2 seats open on City Council and 3 seats open on the School Board. Now is the time to put 5 residents in these seats who understand they serve at the pleasure of We The People and who are committed to taking their lead from the residents throughout their 4-year term.
In the list of candidates below, we have included facts previously reported and facts recently attained in italics.
This is not a “voters guide” and we are not endorsing any candidates or recommending candidates in this email.
We implore residents to look at ALL of the candidate’s websites and scrutinize the information. Email them some questions, meet them at their events, and talk to your neighbors. And continue reading the candidate coverage in our Newsletters.
There are several Political Old Guard running again and some New Voices with fresh perspectives. As you ask questions of the candidates, let us know what you find out. We all want to learn more about those vying for our vote. MBStrong2021@gmail.com.
Some questions you can ask the candidates.
What is the worst decision you made when serving the community (or serving something else) and how would you have handled it differently?
Prioritize the 3 things you want to accomplish while in office and when you plan on accomplishing them.
What is your experience and background: owning/running a business, raising kids/running a household, corporate, nonprofits, education, medical, legal, finance/accounting, real estate, construction, other? Please explain how your skills will be useful if elected.
If you have served in office before, what 3 SPECIFIC accomplishments did you achieve for our Schools or City?
What do you think is the role of a City Council Member AND a School Board Member?
What is your opinion on State legislation, Ca Dept of Education regulations, and County mandates overriding our local laws or policies in our School District and City? How would you push back on the encroachment?
What is your opinion on EDSJI committees?
Our City has been running nearly every department on overtime as a policy to avoid hiring new personnel which would bring new pension obligations. What is your opinion and how would you address this?
Our Fire and Police Departments often lose personnel due to disabilities from job-related injuries, retirement, etc. When they are not replaced in a timely manner or not replaced at all (see point # 7 above), it causes massively excessive working hours for the existing crew. Officers and Firemen/Paramedics will eventually leave and it will become more difficult for the City to hire replacement personnel if the instability of the situation continues. Cities that have managed their departments like this decimate the departments to the point where they ended up moving them to County out of necessity. How would you address this situation?
When the Bruce’s Beach Task Force created their first draft of its History Report in early 2021, it was full of false rumors about the history of Bruce’s Beach. The Report was posted on the City website and remained posted for weeks without a disclaimer that it was a draft. The public and press had full access to the draft Report and repeated these false rumors worldwide. Consequently, MB became a target for mischaracterizations of our community and was falsely branded as a racist city. Many residents called for Council to take down the Report and hire a professional historical firm to get an accurate account of the city’s history. They did not. How would you have handled this situation if you were on Council?
Gascon’s soft-on-crime policies have emboldened criminals across LA County. In MB we see graffiti around our city and thieves walking out of stores with unpaid merchandise, and we all were horrified to learn of the Pasha jewelry store theft at gunpoint. Our MBPD are doing their very best to keep us safe, but common sense tells us things will only get worse under the Gascon policies. What will you do to address this?
What is your opinion about the Highrose project? Would you have handled it differently?
Beginning around October 10th, you will receive your mail-in ballot, so mark your calendars! The final day to vote is November 8th.
Candidates for MB School Board. There are 3 openings.
1) JOHNNY “U” URIOSTEGUI (New Voice)
Email: JohnnyU4mbusd@gmail.com
Website: ju4mbusd.com
“I am running for School Board to ensure district fiscal responsibility and educational excellence. I believe parents should be able to trust in the quality of their children’s education and that our schools can be restored with strong leadership.”
2) MIKE WELSH (New Voice)
Email: MikeWelshMBUSD@gmail.com
Website: MikeWelshforMBUSD2022.com
“Get Our Schools Back On Track By…Collaborating with and listening to parents and teachers; Offering top-notch, non-partisan education; Reversing the flight to private schools; Opening the books, and being financially transparent. See my short videos on my website.”
3) CHRISTY BARNES (New Voice)
Email: christy4MBUSD@gmail.com
Website will be up by 8/31: christy4schoolboard.com
“Go Back to Move Forward. Going back to the practices and standards of where we were - a medley of ideas and people focused on reading, writing, science, and arithmetic - so that we can move forward to where we need to be - an understanding of who we all are.”
4) KRISTEN “WYSH” WEINSTEIN
A founding member of the Committee on Measure “A,” along with Amy Howorth who is running for City Council (see below). The Committee created and organized Measure “A” which was a severe overreach in local taxation on the residents. It was rejected by the MB voters in June with a ~69% to 31% result. Read about the Measure “A” committee [HERE] and where the Measure “A” folks went so wrong [HERE].
Email: kristenwysh@gmail.com
Website: wysh4schoolboard.com
5) JENNIFER “JEN” FENTON Fenton. (Serving her 4th year on the School Board).
While Ms. Fenton was serving as our School Board’s President in the fall of 2021, she and the Board mailed a Cease and Desist letter to 3 residents in an attempt to silence complaints about the Board’s unwillingness to listen to parents concerned about introducing contested ideological teachings in the schools. Attacking parents who don’t heel to the new direction of the School Board has been a national trend that the MB School Board has followed. Please read our article which includes Ms. Fenton’s actions as Board President [HERE]. Our Newsletter linked the following article in the online publication, Red State about Ms. Fenton. See their article [HERE]. Quote from Red State: “it seems that Fenton is using them (the District’s attorneys) as her own personal enforcers.”
Email: jenchris.fenton@gmail.com
Website: jenfenton.com
6) CHRISTINA “TINA” SHIVPURI (New Voice. No known information at this time).
Email: Tina@shivpuri.com. Website: website coming soon.
Candidates for City Council. There are 2 openings.
1) FRANK CHIELLA (New Voice)
Email: info@votefrank4mb.com
Website: Frank4mb.com
“A Council member’s number one priority in governing is to take action on behalf of, and lead at the direction of the people. This means listening and not dictating to the community it serves. Read ‘The Issues’ on my website.”
2) RITA CRABTREE-KAMPE (New Voice. No known information at this time).
Email: Rita4MBcitycouncil@gmail.com
Website: coming soon.
3) STEWART FOURNIER (New Voice)
Email: stewart@stewartfournier.com
Website: www.stewartfournier.com
Mr. Fournier’s ideological statements under ‘priorities’ on his website appear to align with Council Member Stern’s initiatives, including turning a blind eye to the damage being done by DA Gascon, advocating for Measure “A,” and issuing “Kindness Awards” during Council meetings. An interesting observation is that shaming and scare tactics are often employed to argue his positions. Examples include, “A vote against Measure A is a vote against local education" and “positioning ourselves in an adversarial way with Sacramento has serious liabilities.”
Mr. Fournier merits a separate paragraph because his website contains remarks that have manipulated MBStrong’s statements, which provides insight for the voter. Mr. Fouriner took offense to MBStrong’s statement about Gascon's “soft on crime” policies contributing to the increase in crime in our City, as stated in our Jan. 31 Newsletter [see here]. So in an attempt to smear us for criticizing Gascon, he tried to mislead his reader by stating MBStrong was actually criticizing and “alluding to the record of our current and past [Police] Chiefs.” That is entirely false. MBStrong has, in fact, published glowing articles about outgoing Police Chief Derrick Abell as well as supportive articles about our new Police Chief Rachel Johnson.
If Mr. Fournier will deliberately try to mislead and deceive residents while he’s a candidate, then shouldn’t we expect more of the same if he’s a Council Member?
The following Council candidates are from the “Political Old Guard.”
4) MARK BURTON (Served on Council for 4 years)
Email: markfburton@gmail.com
Website: www.burtonforcouncil.com
Mr. Burton publicly advocated for Measure “A” and against Highrose.
5) DAVID LESSER (Served on Council for 8 years)
Email: davidlesser4mb@gmail.com
Website: www.davidlesser4mb.com
6) AMY HOWORTH (Served on Council for 8 years)
Ms. Howorth is a founding member of the Committee for Measure “A” with Wysh Weinstein, who is running for School Board. See the Newsletter about the Committee [HERE]. Ms. Howorth is also a founding member with Council Member Hildy Stern of MB United, the local Far Left activist group that is comprised of many of the former members of the Bruce’s Beach Task Force. When residents objected to the Task Force accusing our community of systemic racism, they emailed over 1000 letters to Council and took out ads in the Beach Reporter denouncing the false accusation. Ms. Howorth took issue with the pushback from residents and responded with a public comment at a Zoom City Council meeting stating, “If you say you are not a racist, then you might be a racist.” (March 16, 2021).
Website: amyhoworthcitycouncil.com
7) SUZANNE HADLEY (Serving her 4th year on Council)
Email: suzannehadley@gmail.com
Website: www.Hadley4mb2022.com.
HILDY STERN is also completing her 4th year on Council but has changed her mind about running for re-election. We previously reported on some of Ms. Stern’s decisions, including participating in stacking the Bruce’s Beach Task Force with Far Left ideologues, and as Mayor, not enforcing city codes against parties at Bruce’s Beach Park. However, Ms. Stern is unapologetically Far Left and vehemently defends her ideological positions. What you see is what you get with Hildy. She never tried to be something she is not. Her term ends in November.
Email us your comments: MBStrong2021@gmail.com
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