George Barich
for Cotati City Council.
Because Experience and Character
Matters !
A Real Moderate can make a big difference
in City Hall.
Meet George
To be frank, if you have reached this
web site, you are an informed voter, and I am proud to be
your neighbor. I would rather lose this election by
being too frank and too honest, than watch my city lose
it's battle to stay afloat financially, face Chapter 11
bankruptcy, and lose it's small town charm with each passing
year. So, let me introduce myself to those of you
who don't already know me.
Over the last ten years I have attended almost
every city council meeting and every city workshop of every
shape and size no matter how bizarre. I've been called
a Reformer, a Whistle-blower, an independent thinker, a
harsh critic of city mismanagement, a breathe of fresh air,
and a town hero by some who have witnessed firsthand my
crusade to protect our town. To others who desire to conduct
city business behind closed doors and as far away from public
criticism as legally possible, and feel threatened, I have
been called a troublemaker and even worse.
I accept all the labels that have been
bestowed upon me as compliments, quite frankly. I
wear them all as badges of honor and proof that I am doing
my job. Putting our town first, before self, has always
been my motto. In 2004, I decided to support
councilman John Guardino and threw my entire support behind
him to defeat the emotionally challenged incumbent and "Big
Spender", Lisa Moore.
I am very proud of my political activism
in Cotati, and I hold it as one of the great achievements
of my life. To me, it's a lot like my other volunteer
work. I have challenged city leaders to think outside
the box. It's important in a representative democracy
to lead by example, and that's just what I've done. With
a college degree in Government, with an emphasis on Public
Administration, I have combined my education with my 40
years of business experience to serve our city.
I have been known to ask all the right
questions at exactly the right time and have changed the
political landscape of our town in a positive way. I
have even inspired other citizens in town to gather up the
courage to stand up, come forward, and take a more active
roll in governing our town by encouraging them to follow
my lead.
Sure, I could have chosen to play it safe
this election and kept a small profile. Moving targets
are hard to hit and it's true in politics as well. I
could have chosen STYLE over SUBSTANCE and dazzled voters
with what they want to hear. I could have chosen to
be vague in my campaign material, talked through both sides
of my mouth while going door to door, and refused to have
a web site where voters can actually go and get to know
who it the heck they're voting for. But that would
be too easy, and that's what separates me from the other
candidates in this campaign.
I rarely enjoy doing anything nice
and easy. Nothing easy is really worth having,
and saving Cotati from the last eight years of Janet Orchard's
failed leadership and the raping Cotati's General Fund will
take nothing less than a miracle. The debt our city
is carrying is simply staggering, which I will speak more
to in detail below.
I can't tell you how many times citizens
have told me that they have watched me stand up and speak
the truth at City Hall when no one else dared to.
I refuse to be intimidated by bully tactics of city leaders
and their staff members who spin the truth or outright lie.
My leadership, politeness, and professionalism at
City Hall has given many citizens the courage to stand up
for their rights, to exercise their free speech and take
a bigger role in our town. If I have done little else
than to empower the average citizen and remind him/her that
this is their town too and they have a right to speak out,
I have accomplished a lot. Yes, like the forefathers
of our country, I shake things up, keep it fresh, and I
keep city leaders and bureaucrats on their toes and let
them know there is little that they can get away with on
my watch. I try to keep city leaders from veering
off track and to stay on point.
I believe we need more citizens who
will hold government's feet to the fire, and to keep the
heat on !... especially if the local press will not.
We have a responsibility to citizens past, present, and
future not to become a socialist run municipality and to
reject the intellectual terrorism that government can inflict
on its citizens to wear them down and beat down their spirits
at every opportunity.
Now it's election time, and it's time
for REAL change from a citizen of proven character who has
the strength and leadership skills to stand up to our runaway
city government. I don't run my household
on a credit card and neither should our city borrow and
spend irresponsibly. Current city leaders
have refused to balance a budget on what it only brings
in, and have borrowed millions of dollars we can't afford
to pay back as things now stand. The incumbent
candidate, Janet Orchard did not authorize our city to borrow
millions of dollars because of any city emergency of any
kind. Certainly not. She and her cohorts borrowed
and spent to make good on promises made to her campaign
endorsers. Janet Orchard, Pat Gilardi, Lisa Moore,
Janet Kurvers, and Harold Berkemeier have all spent your
money like drunken sailors ashore on holiday. Now, we are
paying the price for their needless and irresponsible spending.
Our town is now drowning in a sea of
red ink, the city reserves are almost depleted, sales tax
revenues have fallen far short of the projections of overzealous
land developers, and big city employee retirement contributions
are looming in the city's near future that must be paid
out which are astronomical. For example, it will take
26 more years of huge yearly "mortgage payments"
to pay for our new little police station, and other city
debt, at a whopping final cost of $24+ million dollars of
principle and interest payments on what was a 4.4 million
dollar building our town could not afford to build in the
first place.
City leaders borrowed millions of dollars
through a huge municipal
bond program to the horror of many citizens who were
simply outraged. The huge bond measure was pushed
through City Hall and came at us like a freight train, late
at night, where public input would surely be at a minimum.
Much of the bond proceeds were used to build a shiny
new police facility that many say was simply not necessary
and over the top for a little town that could not afford
to borrow and spend to this extent. Some of us
objected to the police station design to be something out
of the 1970's, void of any GREEN amenities whatsoever, and
cut our beautiful Civic Center park in half. We threatened
to sue the city and demanded that the design go back to
the drawing board, and it did. I attended all the
police station workshops to make sure our new police facility
would be something we can be proud of, if built, while Janet
Orchard was frustrated with the costly delays. I worked
closely with our police chief to proceed with caution and
to at least spend the borrowed money wisely to reduce the
pain this project would put on the community. Each and every
citizen is responsible for $11,000. to pay for our entire
indebtedness in the next 26 years. We've done the
math thanks to the late Don Van Dyke, longtime resident
and finance expert.
City leaders never had the business
sense to acquire city money the old fashion way by earning
it first before spending it. No, they took a lesson
from state and federal government "Spendaholics"
and borrowed irresponsibly. This ultimately jeopardized
our town's future and made it likely that our town will
fall on tough times and default on it's bond obligations
(payments) if and when the economy took a turn for the worse.
Well, the tough times are upon us now just like we warned
would surely come our way, and where will the bond payments
come from now? It's crisis time at Cotati City
Hall trying to figure all this out, but they don't want
you to know about the looming crisis that faces us. They
just want to get re-elected and hope things simply turn
around.
City leaders have been the troublemakers,
the slackers, and have not lived up to their responsibilities
to insure the viability and financial stability of our municipality
which is now seriously threatened. The audacity of
city council mismanagement, inaction, double talk, and apathy
has been simply staggering. How they have cashed their
city paychecks with no guilt or remorse is simply unbelievable
to me and to many other citizens and business owners who
have now urged me to run for local office.
The results of all this mismanagement by city
leaders has resulted in a reduction in essential city services
like police, water-sewer repairs/upgrades, and road maintenance
which has now placed the problem squarely on the backs of
the residents and our kids who will do without. We
are definitely worse off than we were eight years ago. I
am ashamed that I didn't do more to stop the madness. But
for ten years, I tried very, very hard to turn the situation
around. I offered constructive criticism; I complained,
and I politely offered real solutions and viable alternatives
every inch of the way. I begged citizens to come to
public meetings to see the fiasco for themselves and to
get more involved. Unfortunately, I was ignored
by the feel good, do nothing, inexperienced leaders at City
Hall who are directly to blame for the mess we are in today.
My public participation as a model citizen
fell on deaf ears of those who did not understand the gravity
of the situation of 'Borrowing Gone Wild'. Now, with
your vote, I will join with councilman John Guardino to
stop the Gravy Train mind set at City Hall, get government
back to work on basic issues they have ignored, and attempt
to restore our town's greatness. If it takes meeting
each and every week and on the weekends to hold workshops
with the citizens to work out the solutions to save our
city, we can do it.
I am calling for full accountability
and a back to basics approach to city problems to cut the
fat to get our town back on track. No magic
wands. No easy fixes. No more looking to the
state and federal government for handouts, grants, or bail
outs... Those days are over folks. The party is over
at City Hall with the spending orgies and golden parachute
retirement packages for employees. We should run City
Hall like a business because essentially it is a business.
I have the business experience my opponents simply don't
have, and will use it to save our town from possible bankruptcy
protection.
I have been fighting for Cotati's future
with a spotless attendance record at open city meetings
and been consistently vocal and active in city affairs.
As an Independent Moderate, I am not bought and paid for
by any political party, and have refused all offers of financial
assistance with my campaign. With no political ambitions
whatsoever, I was asked to run by Cotati business leaders
and residents alike to step in and stop the madness at City
Hall by having a greater voice for change. With great reservation
and reflection on what this election means to our town,
I decided to answer the call to help take back our town.
As I have said many times in the past in open public
debates, ...if you actually want to become a councilperson,
you need to have your head examined... Real leaders are
chosen by other local citizens to run for office and end
up serving with great reservation and humility...
I bought my first home in Cotati in 1994 which
I promise you will be my last. Cotati is my home
and always will be. I'm here to stay and will not
have my town ruined without a fight. She deserves
a good fight. I can't turn my back on her in
her time of crisis. I won't run; I won't
quit, and I won't stand by and watch our town become the
next Rohnert Park at the hands of people like Janet Orchard,
Pat Gilardi, Pru Draper, and our Chamber of Commerce who
want new businesses to flood into our town without much
thought or consideration to what that means for our town's
future.
Now you can be part of the solution with me."
George Barich Click
here to learn more about what
I stand for.
I am endorsed by current Cotati City Councilperson,
Patty Minnis. Click
here for her bold letter in 2004 that begins to address
just some of our city problems.
10 years of vocal participation
in city government. Bachelors Degree in Government, USF,
1983, Class Valedictorian. American Red Cross
Volunteer, ( Hurricane Katrina Relief Worker) Regular Food
Bank Volunteer at Food For Thought, Neighborhood Watch Captain
for Cotati/West Side NWP, Member of The Coalition to Protect
Cotati's Future since 2004. CERT member ( Community Emergency
Response Team, Cotati )
fondly named "City Watchdog" by
The Press Democrat, and "Council Critic" by Jud
Snyder of The Community Voice for service beyond the call
of duty of any citizen in recent memory.
Key issues facing Cotati
I will not ignore.
(*** click on these items
for more information)
Over-Spending, Over-borrowing,
& Over-Regulation by City Hall.
Our
city is drowning in a sea of red ink. Fix our city's
financial crisis.
Huge
city expenditures and public works projects with no means
to pay for them.
Water and Sewer Rates that are sky high,
out of control, and need to be rolled back.
Campaign financing. Which city leaders and
candidates are bought and sold.
Candidate endorsements big and small. Why
do they do it? Who wants special treatment from our elected
officials? Is this why elected officials have no time for
citizens because they are pre-occupied with receiving endorsements?
The Big Money handouts to local charities
from the city's shrinking General Fund. How did we
allow this to happen?
Term Limits NOW. It's long overdue.
Televise and record the city meeting NOW.
Stop the stalling and double talk...
The Growing population in Cotati and the
loss of our small town character.
Extremists hijacking local government meetings
for their own political theatrics.
Shameless Imposters
now running for a seat on Cotati City Council. Where did
they come from, and who is really financing these campaigns?
City staffers that must be fired and must
go NOW.
Cotati's Homeless Crisis? Where do
they go when all city bathrooms are locked? Anywhere
they want !
Emergency preparedness and our lack thereof.
Why haven't we banned Styrofoam in Cotati?
"Cotati's GREEN hypocrisy"
Will Cotati soon become a "Sanctuary
City" for convicted felons and illegal aliens?
Cotati scores "Very High" for
walkability. What's the problem for city leaders and
planners? Why did City Hall spend thousands of dollars on
consultants to make Cotati Walkable when it is already walkable
to most everybody? Follow the money for the answer. www.walkscore.com
The "Sovietizing" of Cotati; limiting
freedom of speech and reducing public input to discourage
public participation at all costs.
City Festivals
that continue to lose money for the General Fund. What is
this all about?
A Chamber of Commerce that is committed
to relocating more business into town at all costs with
no concern of the social ramifications. Why is
there no talk of increasing home-based businesses and only
talk of rolling out the red carpet for big box stores and
formula based businesses?
Streets and roadways in a state of disrepair
and a lack of funds to fix them.
Cut through traffic into our neighborhoods
and the city's commitment for more of the same.
Our ever growing police department that
may bankrupt our town like what's happening in Vallejo,
CA. Who authorized the massive police build up, why
did they do it, and how can our police department be saved
from it's insatiable appetite for more money.
The Rent Control Fiasco and our Mobile Home
Parks in crisis. Why are the attorneys the only ones smiling?
Our Small Town Charm becoming a thing of
the past.
The C-Myth: Cotati can be everything to
everybody.
Web site under Construction More
info to come. Thank you for your patience.
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