 Where Rialto Democrats come together to talk about national and local public policy issues affecting you.

The Greater Rialto Democratic Club is the only area Democratic Club to host regular presentations by Congressman Joe Baca (distinguished as the Inland Empire's only Democratic Congressman), San Bernardino County School Board Member Gil Navarro, Rialto City Councilman Joe Baca, Jr., San Bernardino Municipal Water District Director Mark Alvarez, and Rialto School Board Members Edgar Montes and Joe Ayala at the monthly meetings.
INLAND: Region’s lawmakers abstained on lots of bills in 2011 Local News Webmaster Monday 19 December 2011 - 21:46:03 Wow. Our local elected state legislators find it difficult to take a stand on issues important to all of us. Check out the abstention vote tallies to see which legislators lack a backbone. INLAND: Region’s lawmakers abstained on lots of bills in 2011 BY JIM MILLER SACRAMENTO BUREAU jmiller@pe.com Published: 27 November 2011 09:57 PM Floor votes Inland Southern California lawmakers cast the following floor votes in 2011: Assembly Legislator | Aye votes | No votes | Did not vote | Tim Donnelly, R-Twin Peaks | 880 | 721 | 109 | Wilmer Amina Carter, D-Rialto | 1,641 | 4 | 65 | Mike Morrell, R-Rancho Cucamonga | 962 | 659 | 89 | Brian Nestande, R-Palm Desert | 1,165 | 424 | 121 | Paul Cook, R-Yucca Valley | 1,097 | 488 | 125 | Kevin Jeffries, R-Lake Elsinore | 1,062 | 490 | 158 | Jeff Miller, R-Corona | 1,109 | 546 | 81 |
Senate Bob Dutton, R-Rancho Cucamonga | 1,026 | 485 | 80 | Gloria Negrete McLeod, D-Chino | 1,430 | 41 | 120 | Joel Anderson, R-Alpine | 967 | 611 | 13 | Bill Emmerson, R-Hemet | 1,055 | 358 | 178 |
Source: Statenet SACRAMENTO – Instead of voting yes or no, members of Inland Southern California’s legislative delegation abstained on hundreds of bills that came before the full Assembly and Senate this year. Lawmakers sometimes were absent or away from their desks when a vote was taken. The vast majority of nonvotes, however, reflected lawmakers’ intent, such as protesting a budget bill, trying to compel changes in legislation, or mollifying a colleague. Critics say the abstentions have the same effect as voting no, but without the public accountability. Voters elected lawmakers to vote, they say, not to “take a walk” on controversial bills. Among Inland legislators, state Sen. Bill Emmerson, R-Hemet, abstained on the most bills in 2011 – 178 – based on voting data maintained by State Net, a legislation tracking service. That is twice as many nonvotes as colleague Bob Dutton, R-Rancho Cucamonga, who did not vote on 80 bills. Among the region's Democratic lawmakers, Assemblywoman Wilmer Amina Carter of Rialto did not vote 65 times and state Sen. Gloria Negrete McLeod did not vote 120 times. Emmerson abstained on legislation that dealt with federal stimulus funding for energy-efficiency projects (passed the Legislature and signed into law), scrapping the academic performance index for schools (passed the Legislature and vetoed), and a budget-related bill (passed the Senate and stopped). The senator said he missed some votes to attend events in his district. On most of the other bills, Emmerson said, he abstained because he opposed the measures but had been assured that his concerns would be addressed by the time the bills received final consideration later. “I think sometimes when you do abstain, you have a better ability to work with groups and make changes,” said Emmerson, who is viewed as one of the more moderate members of the GOP caucus. Republican lawmakers abstained on several Democrat-crafted budget measures this year. Assemblyman Kevin Jeffries, R-Lake Elsinore, said the Democratic majority made the bills public only a short time before putting them up for a vote. “The number of bills that are rammed down our throats in the wee hours, and the number of bills that are ‘works in progress’ and will be significantly revised after we vote on them are all causing me to abstain more often as the process gets worse in the Legislature,” Jeffries said in an email. Passing most bills requires 21 votes in the Senate and 41 votes in the Assembly, not just a majority of those present. Abstentions by members of the Democratic majority often play a role in a bill’s failure. Of the 120 abstentions by state Sen. Gloria Negrete McLeod, D-Chino, four involved bills that failed on the Senate floor. Those included a measure that would have imposed greater privacy rules on social-networking websites. Negrete McLeod said her colleagues know ahead of time when she won't support their bill. “An abstention is essentially a no vote. But for me, personally, it's a courtesy to my colleagues,” she said. She added, “I know people say you're obfuscating your duties. I say baloney.” Several years ago, a group of USC graduate students studied 5,162 bills introduced during the 2001-02 session. Of those, 6 percent failed in committee or on the floor. In almost every case, abstentions made the difference. Frustrated with the abstention-caused defeats of bills it supported, the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, now known as Consumer Watchdog, drafted a ballot initiative that would have docked lawmakers’ pay if they didn’t vote. Jamie Court, the president of Consumer Watchdog, said the proposal polled well but never advanced because of a lack of money. “I don’t think it’s getting any better, that’s for sure,” Court said of abstentions. “Walking is the principal way legislation dies.” Failing to vote can become a campaign issue. In the 2008 presidential race, critics jumped on Democrat Barack Obama’s voting “present” 129 times as an Illinois state senator. In 2006, the Democratic primary for a seat on the Board of Equalization featured criticism of then-Assemblyman Jerome Horton’s high abstention rate. He lost to then-Assemblywoman Judy Chu that year but was later appointed to the board after Chu went to Congress.
Baca announces run for 35th District Local News Webmaster Monday 13 June 2011 - 07:30:23 Congressman Baca launches re-election...
Baca announces run for 35th District Posted: 09/12/2011 06:48:42 PM PDT Rep. Joe Baca, D-San Bernardino, on Monday said he plans to run for the newly created 35th Congressional District seat. State Sen. Gloria Negrete McLeod, D-Montclair, previously announced she will run for the seat. Assemblywoman Norma Torres, D-Chino, has formed an exploratory committee. Since his election to the House of Representatives in 1999, Baca has represented the 43rd District, which includes all or parts of Fontana, Rialto, Ontario, San Bernardino, Colton and Bloomington. The 35th District, approved by the state Citizens Redistricting Commission last month, consists of Chino, Montclair, Pomona, Ontario, Bloomington and portions of Fontana and Rialto. Baca had earlier considered running in the new 31st Congressional District, which includes San Bernardino, Redlands, Loma Linda, Grand Terrace, Rancho Cucamonga and southern Upland. Baca's hometown is Rialto. His district office is in San Bernardino. "It was a very hard decision I had to make," Baca said, "because I really have represented San Bernardino, Colton and, of course, portions of Rialto for almost 20 years. "But when I look at it, I'm the incumbent with 61 percent of the 35th district being in my current district." McLeod, Torres and Baca share similar platforms. If elected to the new seat, each aims to create jobs and protect such federal programs as Medicare and Social Security. McLeod said she has endorsed Baca in the past. In reaction to Baca's announcement, McLeod echoed what she said about the possibility of Torres' running. "It's a free country," McLeod said. "I will do the best job I can and I will try to let the constituents know I am running for the seat. I feel I will represent them well in Congress." Torres said Baca's announcement doesn't change anything for her. "We don't want to see a representative go to Washington and forget to come home," Torres said. "We want a representative to go to Washington and impact the daily lives of working people, and we need a representative who will come home and allow community input on the decisions they're making." Voter registration totals in Baca's current district give Democrats about a 50 percent to 30 percent advantage over Republicans. Democrats also have a similar lead over Republicans in the new 35th District, and a 4-point lead in the new 31st.
Congratulations to our newly elected Democrats! Club News Webmaster Wednesday 01 December 2010 - 19:00:00 This was a great election season and we look forward to getting our Democrats to vote in 2012!
Congratulations to Rialto Mayor Pro Tem Joe Baca, Jr.! With no opponent, he will be reappointed to the Rialto City Council at the December 14, 2010 Rialto City Council Meeting.
Congratulations to our newly elected and re-elected Democrats! Certification Complete
Rialto Democratic Wins United States Congressman Joe Baca - 65.50% State Senator Gloria Negrete McLeod - 66.92% State Assemblywoman Wilmer Amina Carter - 69.78% Community College Board Member James Ramos - 30.83% (Top Vote-getter) County School Board Member Gil Navarro - 50.07% (A mandate from the voters!) Rialto School Board Member-Elect Edgar Montes - 21.44% (Elected in the top 2)
Regional Democratic Wins Fontana School Board Member-Elect Leticia Garcia - 14.07% (Elected in the top 2) Fontana School Board Member- Elect Sophia Green - 14.30% (Top Vote-getter) Colton City District 1 Councilman David Toro - 71.61% Colton City District 2 Councilman Frank Gonzales - 52.02% Colton School Board Member-Elect Randall Ceniceros - 65.23%
Statewide Democratic Wins United States Senator Barbara Boxer - 52.2% Governor-Elect Jerry Brown - 53.8% Lieutenant Governor-Elect Gavin Newsome - 50.2% Secretary of State Debra Bowen - 53.2% State Controller John Chiang - 55.2% State Treasurer Bill Lockyer - 56.5% State Attorney General-Elect Kamala Harris - 46.1% State Insurance Commissioner-Elect Dave Jones - 50.6%
Follow the Dirty Republican Money Local News Webmaster Friday 12 February 2010 - 19:00:00 Dirty Republican Money has been traced back to the Colonies corruption scandal. Follow the dirty money trail below.
Many of Republican PACs listed below have targetted some of our local Democrats in recent elections. Remember to vote responsibly. Vote Democrat!
 Postmus, Erwin charged in "biggest corruption scandal" in county history Local News Webmaster Wednesday 10 February 2010 - 19:00:00 It's called the biggest corruption scandal in San Bernardino County history!! Everyone is talking about all thechaos and problems in the Republican ranks.
It's great to be a Democrat!! Register Democrat today!
 Postmus, Erwin charged in
"biggest corruption scandal"
in county history
By Joe Nelson Posted:02/10/2010 10:47:07 AM PST
Prosecutors today charged two former top county officials with conspiracy, bribery and extortion, and identified five other co-conspirators in what was described as the "biggest corruption scandal in San Bernardino County's history."
Former Assessor William Postmus, 38, of Victorville, and former assistant assessor James Erwin, 47, of Highland, were arrested early this morning and booked into jail in lieu of $225,000 bail and $380,000 bail, respectively.
During a news conference at the District Attorney's Office, District Attorney Michael A. Ramos and state Attorney General Edmund G. Brown described a wide-ranging conspiracy to secure a legal settlement between the county and Rancho Cucamonga developer Colonies Partners in November 2006.
Two Rancho Cucamonga developers, a public relations consultant for the developers, members of the Board of Supervisors and one chief of staff to a county supervisor conspired to illegally secure the landmark $102 million settlement, which was not signed off by any of the county's attorneys or their outside counsel. "What is significant here is the most appalling corruption case in decades, certainly in the history of San Bernardino County and maybe California itself," Brown said during the news conference. "Individuals corrupted public office and were able to grab more than $100 million of the taxpayers money through this scheme."
Brown called the case "a shocking example of how money can corrupt the government process and not only bring government in discredit, but cost the taxpayers so much money at a time when people are being laid off and the state, cities and the county are facing a real fiscal crisis."
Erwin is charged with two counts of corrupt influencing, two counts of offering a bribe to a supervisor, two counts of extortion, one count of misappropriation of public funds and one count of forgery. He faces a maximum of 12 years in prison.
Postmus is charged with one count of accepting a bribe, one count of conflict of interest and one count of misappropriation of public funds. He faces up to eight years in prison if convicted.
At the time of his arrest, Postmus was found in possession of methamphetamine, an addiction he has been battling for more than three years. He has a pending drug possession charge in San Bernardino Superior Court.
"Also part of a conspiracy we have five unnamed and uncharged co-conspirators, two of whom began the scheme to obtain tax dollars by corrupt means," Ramos said.
He said conspiracy is two or more people agreeing to commit a crime, which requires at least one overt act to commit the crime.
The criminal complaint listed 45 overt acts, beginning in 2005 with a trip to China and ending with overt act 45, a forgery, by charged defendant Jim Erwin in 2008," Ramos said. "The overt acts will detail the threats, the extortion, the inducements and the bribery."
He identified two general partners of Rancho Cucamonga-based Colonies Partners, one media consultant for Colonies, one chief of staff for a county supervisor and a county supervisor as the co-conspirators, all identified as "John Does."
None of the five co-conspirators have been charged because prosecutors do not feel they have gathered enough evidence to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt in court, Ramos said.
The investigation, however, is far from over, Ramos said.
"I want to make this very very clear today, this is an ongoing investigation and things can change as to those uncharged co-conspirators," Ramos said.
In November 2006, the Board of Supervisors approved, after nearly four years of legal battle, the landmark $102 million settlement with Colonies Partners. Supervisors Bill Postmus, then the board chairman, Gary Ovitt and Paul Biane voted in favor of the settlement. The lawsuit stemmed from a dispute over costs for flood control improvements at the Colonies Crossroads residential and commercial development adjacent the 210 Freeway in Upland.
Within six months of the settlement, Colonies contributed $400,000 to political action committees tied to the three supervisors who voted in favor of the settlement and one operated by Erwin, who served as an intermediary on behalf of Colonies during the settlement negotiations.
Mark Kirk, Ovitt's chief of staff, ran one of the political action committees and took a $20,000 consultant fee once the contribution was received. Erwin also received a luxurious trip to New York City, a Rolex Daytona watch and the services of a prostitute from Burum for his role in the settlement negotiations, according to court records and officials law enforcement documents
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