๐๐ก๐ข๐๐จ ๐๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ฆ๐๐ฆ๐๐๐ซ ๐๐๐๐ข๐ฌ๐จ๐ง ๐๐ข๐ง๐ฌ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฐ ๐๐๐ฌ๐ฉ๐จ๐ง๐๐ฌ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐๐จ๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐๐ญ๐๐ "๐๐๐๐ฌ๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ฌ๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ" ๐๐๐ญ๐ญ๐๐ซ
๐๐ก๐ข๐๐จ ๐๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ฆ๐๐ฆ๐๐๐ซ ๐๐๐๐ข๐ฌ๐จ๐ง ๐๐ข๐ง๐ฌ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฐ ๐๐๐ฌ๐ฉ๐จ๐ง๐๐ฌ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐๐จ๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐๐ญ๐๐ "๐๐๐๐ฌ๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ฌ๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ" ๐๐๐ญ๐ญ๐๐ซ ๐๐๐ง๐ญ ๐๐ฒ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ ๐๐ญ๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ง๐๐ฒ ๐๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ก๐๐ฌ๐ญ ๐จ๐ ๐๐จ๐ง๐ฌ๐๐ซ๐ฏ๐๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐ ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ฆ๐๐ฆ๐๐๐ซ๐ฌ
We were stunned to discover that the Chico City Council, not content with their 6-1 conservative majority, is threatening Councilmember Addison Winslow with legal action for discussing public information with the press. Of course it's no surprise that they would want to get rid of him - Tom van Overbeek showed his cards yet again at the last Chico City Council meeting during a discussion of the state-mandated stipend increase for councilmembers. Tom's latest offensive comment was brazenly plutocratic, even for someone as elitist and tone-deaf as we know him to be.
We wish Tom's open disdain for constituents who don't also have a 12-car garage on their $1.5 million estate surprised us, but he's been openly disrespectful of community members from the start, like when he apologized to developers for โbeing tortured by our citizens."
Tom's behavior continues to appall decent people from all sides of the community, and the stipend comment was directed at Councilmember Winslow, who, at 28 years old, is the youngest and lowest paid of the current councilmembers. According to Tom, if you aren't wealthy, you simply aren't fit to serve. While this action also took place in closed session, we have little doubt who was behind the latest attack on our only progressive councilmember (and the only councilmember who has opposed Valley's Edge, the sprawling, dystopian South Chico development on the ballot in March). We have little doubt Tom's initiative was supported by council sycophants Sean Morgan, Andrew Coolidge, Kasey Reynolds, Dale Bennett and Deepika Tandon although this vote, like so many others, is being kept from the public.
The politically motivated attacks on Councilmember Winslow should alarm all of us. 6 out of 7 of the current councilmembers seats were purchased for them by Tom and his developer crony's "Safe" Chico PAC, which poured more than $500,000 into the last two city council elections, blowing away previous records for PAC spending on Chico elections. This is what happens when developers can buy our town.
It is also worth noting that the city regularly withholds information from the public (as when journalist Dave Waddell had to sue to access public information) and there is no watchdog in closed sessions. While the council should only be discussing a very limited scope (per the Brown Act) of primarily personnel/litigation strategy issues, too often decisions seem to have been made in closed session with no opportunity for public input. We've long suspected that the current councilmembers abuse the privilege of closed session, and this latest attempt to silence Addison shows how far they will go to protect information that is by all rights public.
You can read Councilmember Winslow's full response here.
