Worst-case scenario for Lompoc in November’s election?
For 4th District City Councilmember Jeremy Ball, it’s that he and Mayor Jim Mosby simply switch seats. Like musical chairs, Ball would get voted in as mayor and Mosby would get appointed to fill the remainder of the 4th District term.
How would that be any different than things are now?
Tone, according to Ball. Hmm. Great?
Then, the political shenanigans can continue to play out at council meetings! Gross.
Best-case scenario? For Ball, it would be some fellow liberal-leaning colleagues making their way onto the dais.
“I do feel like the city deserves to clean house,” Ball said, “to change this council from what a lot of people feel is just the ‘good ol’ boys club,’ to make it more representative of the people who live here.”
“Good ol’ boys,” indeed.
With Mosby and Councilmember Dirk Starbuck closing ranks behind embattled Councilmember Steve Bridge and his felony charges, it does seem that way. But, according to Mosby, Ball is basically running on the Bridge issue.
“I don’t have my entourage coming into City Council meetings yelling and screaming like he does,” Mosby said.
True, true. That was exciting, wasn’t it!
However, someone from Mosby’s entourage is having fun defacing Ball’s campaign signs around town. As Mosby tells it though, he may not even have an entourage. The current mayor’s campaign is “self-funded.” Must be nice.
“I haven’t gone out there and solicited and made promises to people,” Mosby continued. “I’m not going to go out there and take bribes from people. I don’t owe anybody any money.”
Interesting point of view. Ball’s raised about $20,000. Bribes! All of it. That entourage is bought and paid for! I don’t know if that’s true, but it sounds good, right?!
It does seem like Ball might be focused on public safety, specifically, the ailing Fire Department. If you follow the Lompoc Firefighters Association on Facebook, you might think the department is coming apart at the seams!
In July, the department didn’t have enough staff to man one of its engines, so that engine basically went offline. Turnover is ridiculous due to multiple things, the association said, including overworked staff and too many vacancies.
“The city is expanding. The Fire Department is shrinking,” the association said in a Sept. 27 post. “At what point do fewer firefighters and fewer available emergency units become an unacceptable risk to the city and the people who live here?”
It sounds like Ball might be paying attention to what the association is saying. He’s campaigning to strengthen the department and employee retention.
Perhaps that’s why the association endorsed him. Or maybe he took a bribe (dun dun duuun), aka a campaign donation!
He said the department has “among the highest call volume in the entire county” and “they’re among the lowest paid.” Santa Maria was talking about this very issue during the last election cycle. Hmm.
“We’re kind of just a revolving door for young people to get experience and go get paid better somewhere else,” Ball said. “Our Fire Department is in horrible shape, and it’s a consequence of many bad decisions or lack of attention over many years.”
The Canary is on fire. Send bad decisions to canary@santamariasun.com.
