Mr. Johnson opposed and worked against Weir in the 3rd Ward election?  Add political vendetta to this mess.

If I have it right, Weir's statement is mainly focused on his beef with The Bakersfield Californian that the paper is biased against him.

Weir's gripe with Johnson centers on Johnson's perceived inability to "understand" him.

Weir says he's reflecting the will of his constituents in calling for Johnson's ouster and rules changes in the commission appointment process, a claim he cannot support with any sort of documentation.

He says it's all about appointing his "own" commissioner.

Apparently the commission isn't buying it and supported Johnson's position on the panel with a nearly unanimous rejection of Weir's proposal.

He also denies any connection with the General Holdings, the Bluff's proposed developer.

Apparently, no one's buying that, either.

Get the rope.

I'm sorry the third ward voters don't want the following...

" Here’s what I believe, I believe that a like-minded Commissioner will advocate for responsible property development that is fair and equitable to all.  I believe that a like-minded Commissioner will support good long-term planning and will have respect for private property rights.  Such a Commissioner would share the views of the community and understand the value and the comfort of a long-term plan.  Such a Commissioner would exercise independence and demand the ability to do his or her job without interference from the Council or any other office holder or any news or opinion publisher."     -Ken Weir

Obviously they don't, IamRight.  They voted for Weir over Louie.  Weir can string pretty words together, but he doesn't walk the walk.

I mentioned this eslewhere on the blogs, but Ken Weir says he hasn't taken a position on upcoming projects but talks about some as-yet-unarticulated long-term plan.  If he'd maybe spell out what those plans are or what his vision is, maybe people could see what Weir stands for.

I really appreciate the fact that you continue to stir the pot, but you don't even live here right now.  It's probably hard for you to understand the entire picture reading merely what is on the Californian website.  You didn't even know Johnson worked for Maggard as an at-will employee.  Maybe you should read Marylee Shrider's article to give you a better perspective.  Here's the link.

http://www.bakersfield.com/...

IamRIGHT- the 3rd ward already has a planning commissioner like that- Russell Johnson. No need for a new one. Johnson supported the improvements to the existing Hillside Ordinance, (we had an ordinance already- the controversy surrounds the improvements to it) which allow developers to know the ground rules ahead of time, and keep politics out of planning. Actually, the development community supported it almost unanimously- pretty much just General Holding and its allies disagreed. Weir has not given one example of Johnson not supporting long-range planning or disrespecting someone's private property rights, probably because Johnson's record shows that he does.

Since the planning commission is supposed to be independent and separate from influence from the city council (they simply advise the Council and the Council can take their advice or ignore it, as they often do) and commissioners are supposed to work for the good of the entire city, not just one ward, Weir's comments about what "the 3rd ward needs" show that he plans to exercise undue influence on his commissioner choice. Commissioners are not actually tied to certain wards. Rather, the Councilmembers just take turns appointing them. It is not "his" commissioner, it is the city's. Weir's turn is coming soon enough.

Thank you LilyJo and I completely understand your concerns for Ward 3 and the city.  I also know though that Mr. Johnson is an at-will employee of Mike Maggard, which means he can be hired or fired if Maggard doesn't like something he does.  Considering that Maggard appointed him and then hired him, it seems kinda fishy.  It sounds to me that Johnson is not free of Maggard's political influence.

I can see why you would think that, and I would be concerned if Johnson was also a staff member for Weir, but he isn't. They are all supposed to be on the same side- doing what is right for Bakersfield as a whole. (even if they disagree when it comes to politics) Because Planning Commissioner is not a partisan job and is not tied to a certain ward, I just don't see any conflict. Several of the other councilmembers took great pains during Wednesday's meeting to explain that they don't interfere with their commissioner in any way. Because the City Council can (and does) override any Planning Commission decision they don't like, I see no reason not to believe them. Planning Commissioner is a thankless job and I, for one, am grateful to those, like Johnson, who spend the hours necessary to wade through all of the paperwork and try to make the best decisions possible for the city. I am glad Johnson supported the revisions to the Hillside Ordinance, and I hope he and the other planning commissioners continue to support anything that allows for long-range planning (like the trails plan for northeast Bakersfield, or the General Plan) and keeps planning decisions in front of the people they will affect. I am not happy with the results of our past haphazard planning , where many planning decisions were hammered out behind closed doors with the developer and the politicians. I am very concerned about what I perceive as Weir's arrogant attitude and narrow focus. He may well be a perfectly nice man, but his actions don't make it  look that way. If I were him, I would drop this planning commission thing, wait my turn to appoint and recuse myself from anything having to do with the Canyons, so that there would be nothing that even looked unethical.

IamRIGHT,

Some more information on this from the Kern County side of things:

As James Geluso notes on another blog post, Weir ally and Mark Abernathy client and Bako Councilman Zack Scrivner appointed Andy Stanley to the Bakersfield Planning Commission.

Stanley, like Johnson, works as a staffer for a county supervisor. In this case, Abernathy-client Supervisor Ray Watson.

Maggard also appointed political ally Jeff Flores to a seat on the Kern County Planning Commission.

Scrivner works for Assemblywoman Jean Fuller and worked, previously, for current Congressman Kevin McCarthy.

Maggard also appointed Ken Weir's wife, Laurie, to the Kern County Animal Control Commission.

James Burger

County government reporter

The truth of the matter is that  Barbara Patrick appointed Laurie  Weir to the Animal Control Commission - Maggard just asked Mrs. Weir if she would like to complete what she had started.

Keep Trying -- truth -- I've watched your politics down there for some time. I have a number of APN's (parcels) down there across the line (Hwy 155) so it behooves me to  "keep up" with what is going on down there......

She (Patrick) was the smartest Supe you guys had then and would be now (were she still there).

I am 180 from her politically, but she was a smart gal.........  No doubt..........