Recall Backers Solicit Support
Members of the group attempting to recall three City Council members have e-mailed a letter to 300 business owners in the city asking for their support.
Raul Murga of Pico Rivera Community for Truth in Politics said their goal is to get support ranging from financial donations to meeting places and other resources for the attempt to oust Mayor Peter Ramirez and council members David Armenta and Ron Beilke. "The businesses have a vested interest in this community, so it seemed like a good way to open up avenues of communication," he said.
Murga said he compiled the list of businesses without help from the Chamber of Commerce.
The e-mail they received said, "As you may or may not know there is a recall attempt in process in the city of Pico Rivera ... This e-mail is to inquire as to the availability of resources for that purpose."
Beilke, a chamber member who was among those who received the e-mail, said it was inappropriate. "It's wrong to include businesses in a recall, but I am not surprised because there are no deep pockets in this group and a recall can be expensive," he said.
Edgar Fragoso, the manager of El Rodeo Restaurant and Nightclub, who also received the e-mail, said the recall proponents should not be contacting businesses for help. "A recall effort is for residents, not businesses in the city," he said. "This sends out the wrong message."
But Murga disagreed.
"They should absolutely be involved because it affects how they do business in Pico Rivera," he said.
The three City Council members were served with recall papers Aug. 1 following a council meeting at City Hall. Proponents need at least 5,000 signatures, representing 20 percent of the city's registered voters, to put the recall on the March ballot.
Since the initial serving, the council members have all filed responses criticizing the group leading the recall.
The responses will be included on recall petitions, when the city clerk gives approval to circulate them in the city.
Murga said as of Monday he was still awaiting notification from the city's clerk's office that the petitions had been approved.

By Debbie Pfeiffer Trunnell Staff Writer,
562.698.0955, Ext. 3028
debbie.pfeiffer@sgvn.com

In the August 19, 2006, Whittier Daily News "Your View" section, Ron Bilker's paid supporter, Esther Celiz, explains all the former payola schemes, pay to play political nonsense that was going on with the former council members that included Ramirez and Armenta.

Celiz attempted to defend the current mayor but fell short (yeah, I know she is 4'8" tall, but that isn't what I'm referring to!). She failed to address the current spending on incompetent boobs, hacks and "YES" people on the City payroll.

She failed to state what specific actions the mayor is taking to correct the theater failure, Borders Bookstore and Krispy Kreme incident. In fact, she did not detail what will happen after Borders' et al, contract is up for renewal.

Celiz failed to provide any direction the mayor is considering when it comes to the stables or arena. She failed to address if the mayor has a plan to recover monies from Ventura Productions for breach of contract, in part because they failed to maintain the property in the condition they obtained it and the City is considering pouring more money into that "money pit" to correct the problems that negligence caused. She failed to address the 10 murders occurring in the City of Pico Rivera year to date and she failed to address the plan, any plan.

As for steak and lobster, how would she know if she has not enjoyed a nice meal herself. As long as she is NOT questioning the mayor she will maintain her minor, inconsequential role as a commissioner. Yes, we all can point fingers and play the blame game, but Celiz is going to have to return to the mayor for a new script if her goal was to persuade and influence the residents to support the mayor. As for this voter, I support the recall. Where do I sign?

Group files blank recall

Members of Pico Rivera Community for Truth in Politics, (http://www.pr-ctip.org/) the group targeting Mayor Pete Ramirez and council members Ron Beilke and David Armenta in a recall effort, filed blank recall petitions for approval by the city clerk Thursday at City Hall.
The two blank copies for each person being recalled, included responses from the three council members.
The filing began the 10-day process to get approval for signature collecting or the return of the petitions for any corrections.

The Pico Rivera Chamber of Commerce will hold its quarterly networking luncheon at noon on September 12, at St. Marianne's School, 7922 Passons Blvd., Pico Rivera. Guest speakers will discuss the Big Brother/Big Sister Program. The cost is $10 for members and $20 for nonmembers.For more information, call: 562.949.2473.

Job Review Held in Closed Session
Council members held a closed-door meeting to evaluate the performance of City Manager Chuck Fuentes, a requirement of his contract.City officials refused to comment on the meeting, saying it was a personnel matter. Fuentes' one-year contract stipulates an evaluation after about six months on the job, said City Attorney Jamie Casso.Fuentes was hired in December, replacing former City Manager Dennis Courtemarche, who was fired by the council.

Horse owners protest closure plan for stables

PICO RIVERA — About 20 horse owners and their supporters gathered Sunday outside a Weinerschnitzel restaurant here to object to the city trying to close a horse stable near the Pico Rivera Sports Arena.Members of the Pico Rivera Equestrian Boarders Association and Pico Rivera Community For Truth in Politics held a noisy rally with bullhorns and banners outside the Wienerschnitzel at Rosemead and Washington boulevards owned by City Councilman Ron Bielke.Bielke and Mayor Pete Ramirez could not immediately be reached to comment.City officials say the Equestrian Center, which has 168 stalls near Bicentennial Park and the Sports Arena in the extreme northeast part of the city, are a financial drain on the city and pose an environmental hazard, according to Raul Murga of the Community for Truth in Politics.The city announced plans to close the stables Friday, but Murga said the boarders will not leave.“We’ll dig in and see what happens then,” he said.Boarders who pay to house their horses in the stables generate $300,000 a year in net revenue, and blame the city for subleasing the site for far less, which has deprived the city of more than $2 million over the past three years, Murga said.Further, Murga said the city has offered no proof that environmental contamination is being caused by the horses in the stables.“They cannot produce a document that says [the stables are] out of compliance,” he said. “It’s all conjecture that they could be out of compliance [with environmental regulations].”The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began leasing the land to the city in 1976, Murga said. The 50-year lease mandates that the city develop and maintain recreational venues on the site for the benefit of the community and Pico Rivera residents.The city created a park, the stables and the arena which plays host to concerts by Mexican recording artists, but has failed to oversee the management company leasing the stables, Murga said. He also blamed the Corps of Engineers for failing to ensure that the city maintain the stables.“Why do they want to put the people out?” Murga asked. “Basically, this makes the horses homeless.”He said there are no other stables in the area.

June 28, 2006
Compliments of Los Angeles Wave (City News Service)
On the Net: http://www.wavenewspapers.com/

Recalls Redux in Pico Rivera

Pico Rivera Isn't it about time Pico Rivera city activists look at other remedies beside recalls to settle their differences?
Recall is the last straw in most cities. But, it seems to be the first straw in Pico Rivera.
But don't get us wrong. We're not commenting editorially at this time because we're opposed to the latest recall effort, which is now under way in Pico Rivera. We'll reserve judgment.
Our commentary at this time is based on a Pico Rivera recall review published in this newspaper Monday (“New recall attempt echoes city's history,” Aug. 7).
The article reported that various Pico Rivera city councils have been subject to seven recalls and recall attempts since 1993, on average that's almost one every two years.
“It's wildly unusual to have that many in one city,” said Barbara Stone, retired political science professor from Cal State Fullerton.
Hindsight also told us that recall has become more of a habit in Pico Rivera than a political necessity to resolve differences of opinions or philosophies or personalities.
On Tuesday, a group calling itself Pico Rivera Community for Truth in Politics legally declared its intent to circulate petitions to recall Mayor Pete Ramirez and council members David Armenta and Ron Beilke. Ironically, some leaders in the the latest recall effort also were involved in the earlier unsuccessful recall against former Councilwoman Beatrice Proo and councilmen Carlos Garcia and Gregory Salcido. In the subsequent City Council election, they helped defeat Proo and helped Ron Beilke get elected. They also vowed to seek the defeat of Garcia and Salcido in the March 2007, council election.
Those particular recall advocates opposed the previous council majority of Proo, Garcia and Salcido because those three voted to grant then-City Manager Dennis Courtemarche a $40,000-a-year raise. Now, they want to recall Ramirez, Beilke and Armenta because that new council majority appointed Chuck Fuentes as the new city manager, who they felt was unqualified, and they opposed the new council majority's action closing the city-operated equestrian stables. If you are finding this difficult to follow, could it be that this complicated political bickering and periodic clamor for recall is turning off a lot of Pico Rivera voters who simply would like for their city to settle down and go about business like other cities do?
It seems that it is time for some Pico Rivera politicians and activist elements to explore a pathway of solid municipal principles and try to remain above the realm of attacking adversaries' personalities.