OCEANSIDE — The Oct. 15 City Council meeting opened with a request from Councilman Jerry Kern, and a second from Councilwoman Esther Sanchez, to postpone resident recognitions until after November elections.
Military veteran Chuck Atkinson, businessman and volunteer Chuck Lowery, and Alliance to Improve Oceanside Neighborhoods president Dana Corso were on the agenda to be recognized.
Following the meeting Kern said he felt the timing was inappropriate to recognize Lowery and Corso who are also running for City Council seats.
“The last council meeting before elections, Dana Corso and Chuck Lowery, really?” Kern said. “It was a political stunt that I don’t think would have gone well.”
Kern said he also asked for a postponement in recognizing Atkinson, who he nominated, in order not to have his request distract from Atkinson’s accomplishments.
“I asked to take it off the agenda because I didn’t want them to use veterans as a political football,” Kern said. “I told Chuck (Atkinson) not to come. Chuck doesn’t deserve that.”
Mayor Jim Wood and Councilwoman Esther Sanchez nominated Lowery and Corso respectively, a week before the meeting. The nominations were included as addendums.
Lowery said he was honored to accept the award that recognized him as a business owner and volunteer. He said he initially planned to use the opportunity to bring attention to the Oceanside Charitable Foundation, Tariq Khamisa Foundation, and TERI’s Arts Advisory Committee, which he serves as a volunteer.
“The mayor has been really good about recognizing community groups in place that have gone above and beyond what regular residents do,” Lowery said. “It gives us a base of awareness in the community.”
Prior to the meeting Lowery got word that objections to the timing of his recognition were raised, and he requested his recognition be postponed.
“I don’t want it to look like a campaign thing,” Lowery said. “Being recognized now or in December is not critical to me. I’ll still do what I’m doing.”
Lowery said there was also friction among city council members about the timing of Kern’s nomination coinciding with the final meeting before elections, and sentiments it was politically motivated.
Both Lowery and Atkinson invited fellow volunteers to attend the meeting, and then cancelled plans.
“We don’t want to have a city council that fights about everything they do,” Lowery said.
The meeting concluded with 40 plus speakers sharing their thoughts on issues off the agenda, including comments on city council candidates.
Tensions mounted, and a speaker’s comments about a city council candidate incited outbursts and shouting from council members. A five-minute break was called, Wood and Kern apologized to speakers for council outbursts, and public comments continued.
8 comments
Why don’t you just contact the candidates if you have any questions? Debates only represent who are the better trained actors and liars. I guess you must like watching soap operas because that what debates are. I didn’t go to any of those forums. I emailed some of the candidates about some issues I had and they responded quickly. My friend who is part of the mobile park community wondered why Rob didn’t attend the forums and she emailed him and said his answer made perfect sense. He even offered to come to our home and neighborhood and talk about issues we may have had. My friends whose kids are in pop warner and the Samoan community reached out to Rob and said he has been helpful and told me he offered the same services. Lowery, Kern, and Tran have been helpful and pleasent with the contact I had with them. Corso barking hate all the time turns me off.
Corso a “Republican,” give me a break. She is only a Republican because Oceanside is slightly more conservative. Wood said he is a Republican too, remember that? Anything for extra vote’s, right? NO legitimate San Diego Republican group supports her or him and she was called out with her flip flops. I agree with everyone about Felien. I am going with Lowery and Tran, I am sorry but Corso is all over the place to me. Now her website is now up, weeks before the election? (It looks like a 5 year old created it) All the other candidates’ sites have been up since August or before. Lowery gets his point across on his site, Kern and Robs websites have plenty of insight on their ideas and goals. Gow is right about Corso and Wood.
If Lowery wins a seat then nothing else really matters. They got their majority back. Good day to you all and we’ll see what happens on Tuesday.
Rob Tran? I have never seen him in public, nor heard him debate, no show at the forums for candidates..hmmm something is fishy. Mayor Wood supports both Lowery and Corso for council. Dana IS a registered Republican, and is a lot more “conservative” than many of the candidates and even the incumbents. She is against the Gregory Canyon landfill project, which is a no common sense idea (fueled by greedy people). She also understands the “agenda” of anti-property rights, limited water rights, and the larger issue of the anti- freedom crowd. Yes, be very careful what you vote for.
Note to Chris Gow & “Lizzy”:
You’ve been VOTED OFF THE ISLAND.
Thanks for playing.
How many neighborhoods does Gow represent? Answer: ZERO. Nobody saw her at the Army Corps. meetings on Gregory Canyon, or the working with City staff re utilities in senior neighborhoods, or the Budget Workshops, or the Mobile Home Fair Practices hearings, or Cavalier’s trial, or at Council meetings, or protesting puppy mill stores, or at street rallies for this election, or the other 1,000 things Corso & ACTION do. Nope. Those who CAN, DO. Those who CAN’T, WHINE. So, Gow’s in FAVOR of ending rent control? Must be since failing to vote for both Lowery & Corso is a de facto vote for Kern or Felien, who must be laughing at Gow’s attempt to fracture her own voting base. DUMP KERN & FELIEN IN 2014.
Correction: Mayor Jim Wood nominated Dana Corso for recognition.
Councilwoman Esther Sanchez nominated Chuck Lowery.
I agree with Chris Gow. Corso is all over the place and will say anything just to get elected. Read her statements the past few months and you will see nothing makes sense. It’s all the same political talking points. She is also sending out fake flyers now claiming she is a Republican like Reagan just to get more votes. (She is as liberal as you get) No republican group supports her. I am glad more people see how she really is. She is late with everything, seems unorganized and has an ego problem. I thought they were penalties for not following campaign rules and to turn in documents on time.
Mayor Wood, who I voted for last time will not get my vote next time. I can’t believe he backed Corso so quickly. It was a greedy power move and uncalled for. This recognition ceremony is a joke and a pure political move. This is sad and it seems to me that Lowery is a yes man now. I was going to vote for Lowery but now contemplating that choice. Both sides are playing politics and nothing is going to change whoever gets elected.
I sure hope Rob Tran wins now and gives a big wake up call to these candidates. Kern and Tran or Lowery and Tran is the way to go if you ask me. Sanchez should be Mayor and Felien is an evil crook riding on the coattails of Kern and Feller.
For the life of me I can’t figure why the Mayor would want to recognize Dana Corso. Sure she is President of ACTION but all it is is a club not even recognized as any sort of non-profit group or PAC, let alone recognized by the State of California. She is head of a PAC, Taxpayers for Oceanside Neighborhoods and that is a valid PAC. Problem there is she, acting as Treasurer, can’t even manage to file required financial reports on time. Even in her campaign filings they are always late. Your can check this out on the City website under Election Information. Where has she been since 2012 when it comes to neighborhoods that she states she represents? Seventeen of those 42 neighborhoods are mobile home parks and several other names she lists are sections of Rancho Del Oro. My question to you is, would you want someone deciding issues for Oceanside when they can’t even fill out a simple, required summary page correctly or on time? I certainly don’t.
Yet no one will publish the police calls for Battery to Gary Felien’s residence! What a joke.
Comments are closed.