Please also write a column on all of the details you left out!  For example...the fact that there is a conflict of interest.  Hello!  Johnson is dipping into both the city and the county pools.  He was appointed by Maggard and works for Maggard.  Hmmm...there's probably no influence there.  There has to be some reason that Johnson is fighting so hard to keep that position.  Could it be he's getting something from Mike?!?  DUH!  Also, you failed to mention how David Couch called this an embarassment when he himself is an embarassment.  Isn't he the one who said everyone who lived in Bakersfield should speak only English?  Um, yes he is!  You keep on writing your slander filled articles...I'm sure you're perfect!

How does Johnson have a conflict?  Maggard didn't hire Johnson, he appointed him to a position.

We won't need to WATCH OUT if we recall Ken before the June 11th meeting.  Now it's our turn to "oust" Ken Weir.  

TomW: Maggard hired Johnson after he appointed him. Johnson's day job is working for Maggard.

Thank you citybeat!  Johnson is Maggard's chief of staff!  CONFLICT!!!!!!

"And I take exception to his comment that, other than his park gripe, my column wasn't worth commenting on! I think there was plenty in it for him to complain about!"   -You are correct there is plenty for him to complain about. Your column was completely one sided & full of inaccuracies! Ken Weir has NEVER stated that he is in favor of the Canyon Project. Nor have I ever known him to be anyone's puppet. He should be complaining about the fact that every time he speaks to the Californian you and your staff misquote him!

"Best "new" word by Councilwoman Irma Carson  - unpleasanty." -It must be nice to be able to edit everything you say! Irma does not have that luxury! She misspoke and I find it VERY ignorant of you to bash her for a little hiccup in a LONG meeting!

"Best visual immage - Councilwoman Jacquie Sullivan chasing down and punching out taggers as she said she'd like to do. Now THAT would be a YouTube winner!" -Do you sincerely find this quote to be acceptable? You are really bagging on Weir and Carson instead of Sullivan? Sullivan is sitting in a public forum talking about violence as a solution for tagging, yet you are complaining about Weir and Carson? You should really get your priorities straight! I also find it down right hilarious that even with spell check you still cannot spell "IMMAGE" yet you want every word out of Irma's mouth to perfection!

Bigqueen: Um, not legally. A conflict of interest is when you work for two entities with competing ends. Weir recuses himself from minor stuff just about every meeting because his clients include companies that sell to the city. His clients want to make as much money as possible from the city; the city wants to pay as little as possible to his clients. That's a conflict of interest, so Weir recuses himself.

The city and the county, on the other hand, should be working toward the same goal, in cooperation. I have a hard time seeing how working for the county and being on the city planning commission would be a conflict. I see a greater potential conflict in Zack Scrivner, who works for Jean Fuller; the state wants money, the city wants money, there's going to be a conflict. I doubt that would become a legal conflict, though.

CITYBEAT- If the "the state wants money, the city wants money" makes sense as a conflict. Wouldn't it be safe to say that "the county wants money, the city wants money" makes sense as a conflict?

The fact that Johnson works for Mike is a conflict!

Truth: No. The city and county really aren't in a position to take money from each other, at least not through planning processes. (Property taxes through annexation, maybe.) 

The state, on the other hand, could take money from the city, holding tax money that would otherwise go to the city. They are in direct conflict. When Alan Tandy talks about the state, when he gets worked up about it, it often sounds like he's one step away from cussing them out as thieves.

As to your video question, yes, as I e-mailed you. Weir is generally reticent. He does not answer direct questions. He does not correct errors. I put together his position as best I could from what he has said, which is typically clear as mud no matter how often he claims it's perfectly clear. And then, when I got wrong (according to him, now), he did not bother to contact me, and so the error persisted. I'll be addressing with my editors how best to go forward.

Sorry, Truth, missed this the first time:

"He should be complaining about the fact that every time he speaks to the Californian you and your staff misquote him!"

Actually, he should be responding to questions. Seriously, on this particular issue, I have printed *every* *word* he has provided me. It's easy when all he provides is a short e-mail. But then, he stopped responding entirely. He does not answer direct questions, and then is upset when the story doesn't go the way he wants it -- not upset enough to do something about it, like, say, answer questions.

Other council members have no problem calling me. Sometimes they quibble with my word choice. Sometimes they think I'm outright wrong. And most of the time, if they're bothering to contact me, they're right. Last Thursday, both Zack Scrivner and Russell Johnson called me to dispute something in the wording on the Web site. And in both cases, we made a change.

I know he has it, but maybe you can pass this on to Weir: 395-7320. That's my phone number. It's direct to my desk. I'm usually there after 10 a.m. I take lunch at variable times. Some council members even have my cell number.

Really, I'm not that hard to get along with. Five of the other council members seem to have no problem with this. They don't like me all the time, but they don't jot me down on their List of Affronts, they tell me what they think I've done wrong. One of them I'm a little iffy about. Ken Weir is the only one who refuses to even try.

I think it was the volume of disapproval from ordinary Kern county citizens (galvanized by what they'd read in the BC) that made the difference at the council meeting.

Every time my daughter turns her nose up at what she considers phony and backward about Bakersfield, I point out how we always seem to come together when it matters.

Bravo to Council members Benham and Couch, the current and former Planning Commissioners and the citizens who were involved enough to show up and let their voices be heard! And to the Californian columnists who kept this in the spotlight. This is how it should work - everything out in the open - no more closed room secret deals. I was very proud of my community last night.

Anyone who was at the Council meeting last night, and has any discernment, could figure out who the political cronies and bad guys/gals were.  Weir's demeanor was autocratic, arrogant, angry, self-aggrandizing and paranoid.  AS FAR AS THE ONLY TWO PRO-WEIR(D) BLOGGERS ON THIS PAGE AND ELSEWHERE ARE CONCERNED, you won't need to be concerned about Russell Johnson's "conflict of interest" after he is elected in a Weir-recall election to be the next Ward 3 Councilmember.

Russell Johnson is one of the finest, gifted young servant-leaders I have ever encountered.  He exemplifies what Bakersfield needs in the next generation of leadership, right now!  We need him on the City Council.

Ken Weir is a throwback to underhanded clandestine politics.  He needs to be recalled, right now!

THE REAL WINNERS LAST NIGHT WERE THE CITIZENS OF BAKERSFIELD, BUT IT AIN'T OVER YET.  WATCH THE BACK ROOM MANEUVERING AND SEE WHAT COMES OUT OF THE L & L COMMITTEE MEETING, MAY 20TH. 

WARD 3 VOTERS!  BE READY TO SIGN THE RECALL PETITION, REAL SOON.

Why do the citizens of the city of Bakersfield keep electing these jokers?  I had forgotten about David Couch.  Ken Weir is shady, Sullivan is irrational at best, ignorant at worst,  David Couch likes to wallow in xenophobia when he's having a bad day, and Irma Carson votes with Weir?  What?  Sue, how do you stand it? 

James, thanks for the correction.  

What a transparent dweeb. If he had so much support, why weren't they at the meeting?

And why is Johnson trying so hard  to keep his job?????  I nominate that as the dumbest question of the day.

I also was impressed with the community action.  For all those on Weir's side, where were you?  If this was important to you then why could you not make the time to show up?  I am disappointed in the people who talk so much, yet do so little, when it comes to these things.  Whether or not you agree with what happened last night, you must recognize the success of a community to come together and voice there opinion.

Truth:

I didn't run spell check on the blog. My sincere and heartfelt appologies for adding an extra "m" to image and for trying to have a little fun after a long tense meeting.  It clearly increased your blood pressure which can obviously ill-afford even the slightest boost.

This is a very peculiar set of circumstances. The newest Council Member has shown little or no ability to work with others. His term has been one acrimonious and deceptive maneuver after another. This latest escapade demonstrates how little understanding Mr. Weir has regarding both his role on the Council and who his constituents are. What is funny about all this is that the political opponents to the views and development policies Mr. Weir represents could not have picked a better candidate themselves to advance their own causes.

The end result of all this politicking is to focus much more dramatically on the need for nonpartisan well qualified individuals with planning expertise to staff the appointed positions.  The impetus of needed change should be about the assurance that planners are simply not rubber stamps for any elected Council Member. It does not serve the public good to bring special political interests into the planning process. Determining what growth we need, and the very best use of land to accommodate both governmental mandates and quality of life interests for the public at large should be the planners goal. 

We already suffer from too much sprawl with a lack of adequate roadways and public transit within this metropolitan area. Our city has a huge surplus of single family homes and development projects on the books currently, which has translated to the biggest decline of home equity since the Great Depression. We live in a region congested with pollution we must address quickly.  These are the big issues which we elect our local officials to attend to and to solicit our input for guidance to remedy. I don't see much of this happening from our elected officials these days. I see only grandstanding on proclamations that have no impact on everyday lives, and political maneuverings to serve the ends of clients rather than constituents. Time to go if you cannot do better than that.     

CathyB:

"and Irma Carson votes with Weir?  What?"

I'm sure you've heard "follow the money" all too often, however it bears repeating since it is the golden rule of politics in America today.  If you access Ms. Carson's campaign filings with the City Clerk you'll find some familiar names as campaign contributors (Gordon Downs, Schrivner, et. al.).  Politics 101 says you dance with the one who made it possible to attend the prom.  Weir and Carson have the same date for the dance.

A side note to noholdsbarred:  Keep up the good work!

These blogs and the letter to the editor page clearly are read by those who "lead" our city,and I applaud all those who said something about this situation.I certainly hope those in Ward Three continue with the recall effort~ the objection goes way beyond his stance,or is that dance?, on The Canyons project....I would hope all council persons take note and start to work for the citizens.

ThatBonnyLoon--

I would attend the city council meetings and write letters to my city representative if I lived in the city, but I don't.  I live in the county.  Maybe I'm wrong in thinking I really have no business in meddling in city affairs, even though they affect me, too.  I don't know.  It's a weird position to be in.  I guess I could contact my county rep, but I don't think that would do any good.  Anyway, there are those of us who really have no choice but to sit on the sidelines and watch what happens.  Unless you can think of some way we could have an impact without "interfering."

adampayne once again demonstrates why he writes, without a doubt, the most eloquent, succinct and correct opinions anywhere at bakersfield.com. Kudos to you, sir. The 10:38 a.m. posting is in the running for Post of the decade.

noone~ He can write! Always a pleasure to read.

I'm sorry I couldn't make it to the meeting...I have two small children and nobody else to watch them!  I have known Mr. Weir for a long time and these accusations just aren't true.  I just want to say...if the people on here who comment against Weir truly believe that being Gordon Down's accountant makes him for The Canyons, then don't you also have to believe that being Mike Maggard's appointment and employee makes Russell Johnson vote for Mike.  Johnson gets paid by Maggard...who's to say he's not doing Maggard's bidding on the commission - hello back room deal!  It is a CONFLICT because Maggard controls Johnson's income and according to the logic on here, he would then also control his opinion.  If you all think that Maggard and all of the other council members who were so vocal last night are all on the up an up, you are wrong!  You just don't know them that well!  You haven't seen what I've seen! 

Last night's meeting was a disgrace. Weir's 10 minute rant about the Californian, Johnson, and the special interest group that was there to support Johnson was appalling. Weir could not even give the community that he (supposedly) serves the dignity of an explanation. Mr. Weir does not seem to understand that he gave up the right of being secretive when he decided to run for public office, but I am not sure why I would even expect anymore from a man who cannot follow the rules and cannot wait his turn like his predecessors have. Mr. Weir keeps saying he just wants the same opportunity that everyone else has had, well Mr. Weir if you wait your turn like everyone else you will get your chance like everyone else. I know there are biological age requirements to run for office, perhaps the next ordinance the council decides on should be one to determine the mental age requirement, Mr. Weir acts like a spoiled kindergartner, having a tantrum to get his way. Did anyone else catch him on 17 this morning? Did I hear his response correctly when asked about the philosophical views that differ between him and Johnson? Did he actually say he doesn't know where those comments came from? Was it not him who used that excuse, for the removal of Johnson, just yesterday morning one the exact same station?

Last night's meeting also made me proud of this community. I think it took a lot of courage for other planning commissioners to stand up in defense of Mr. Johnson; after all they could be dismissed just as easily. There were many people at the meeting who had never even met Mr. Johnson but were there to support him and show their disgust in the backdoor, good ol' boy politics of Mr. Weir. I also found it interesting that the chamber was filled with supporters for Mr. Johnson or opposition of Mr. Weir, but if there was ONE single person there to support Weir they did not make themselves heard. So if Johnson is so grossly neglecting the desires of the 3rd Ward, where were all of these disgruntled residents?

This morning on the news Mr. Weir went back to talking about changing the ordinance, which is what he originally wanted. Mr. Weir once again demonstrated his lack of self control and being able to wait, since this item was already scheduled to go to committee in May before he made the direct attack on Johnson.

I have seen several posts on these blogs asking about starting the recall process. I happen to know of several other people who have already said they are willing to do whatever it takes to remove Weir. We might not all live in his Ward or even in city limits, but his politics still affect our lives. If you can't sign the petition you can still help by walking the precincts to collect the signatures, by informing residents of Mr. Weir's antics. If anyone knows of any persons already organizing this movement, or if anyone is seriously interested in being part of this movement, email recallweir@yahoo.com

Well, Mr. Weir does have the right to defend himself!  Why is it that everyone is so concerned by this, but nobody is concerned about David Couch being a racist?  He is the one who said everyone here should speak English or go!!!  Nobody wants to recall a council member who obviously discriminates against a large population in our city?  Wow!  Talk about a good ol' boy.  You can't tell me that's not embarrassing.  Is it also okay that Sue Benham defended Johnson because she runs with Maggard's crowd?  She herself said she wanted the committee to be free of coercion, but I guess it's okay to let Maggard (her friend) guide the direction of the committee.  Sure, those agreements didn't happen in the back room.  Keep telling yourselves that.  If you're going to have a recall, based on your comments, your going to have to get a petition for Benham and Couch too!

There are quite a few efforts to cause a distraction from the Ken Weir-Johnson issue on this blog.  The subject of David Couch is irrelevant and should if required, be the subject of another time.  Weir sounds like he wants to further politicize an appointment which is supposed to be non-political.  A pox on him.

Not at all!  It's just that people are actually writing facts about the situation.  Deal with it!  Weir tried to get rid of Maggard's puppet and paid employee...TRUTH!

I'm glad Mr. Weir is trying to rid the city of Maggard's posse member.  Time for that influence to go.

RecallWeir, actually, the rules are pretty strict on who can sign or even collect signatures.  In order to sign or collect signatures, you have to be a resident of Ward 3.  I'm trying to put together a road map of the recall process, but it looks like in order to have the recall on November 4th, you'd have to *submit* your 4300 or so signatures by July 23rd and you can't even start collecting them until you have gotten 10 people together to submit a petition to the state and they approve it, then you publish a notice, the recallee has a week to show intent to respond and another week to respond which puts you out about a month from now if you sent something off with your "i"s dotted so you'd have a very small window to get everything actually signed.

If you're interested, you can pick up a packet from the City Clerk or I'll have one posted here as soon as I have access to a scanner (Monday at the latest).

TomW: The clerk's office scanned it in this morning and e-mailed it to me, so I just posted it over here.

ObDisclaimer: I am in no way endorsing or supporting a recall. I have quite enough to do this fall with Sullivan-McCallum, Florez-Gilmore, a possible mayoral runoff and two more potential city council races without y'all adding a recall to the mix. So, no hurry. I'm just saying.

James, you're just rocking this thing.  Lucky for the politicians in this town you're just reporting the news.  Well, kinda lucky I guess.  You'd make a killing in an Abernathy/Harper role.

It's flipping hilarious what you people get upset about.  You should probably all get together and focus on something that actually benefits the community.  I see that you're hellbent on making an example out of Ken Weir...I get that much.  Has anyone ever even considered trying to list out your vision for this community and offering it to Mr. Weir?  I understand you didn't get a returned call yet, but I am sure he has a lot of calls to deal with right now.  I didn't get a response from Sue Benham for the letter I sent her yet either.  While I still stick by ousting Maggard's employee, has anyone ever considering forgiving him for a mistake?  I'm positive that none of you are perfect.  I'm also positive that this is a town full of faith based people.  Where's your faith?  Where's your forgiveness?  Before you throw stones at Mr. Weir, please make sure that your glass house is tidy.  Have you read Marylee Shrider's column yet...maybe you should!

"Fool me once, shame on you.  Fool me twice, shame on me."  Or as GW would say, you never fool me again.  That's my issue with Weir.  This is not the first time he's resorted to secrecy.  Time to go.  He had his chance.

Has anyone ever even considered trying to list out your vision for this community and offering it to Mr. Weir? 

How much does *THAT* cost?

gube:  That picture of our fearless leader has quite obviously been digitally enhanced.  He in all modesty would never brag about his IQ like that!

lol