Westside Reader August 2015

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22 • Westside Reader Westside Opinion August 2015 C a M e R o n s M y t h the summer hillary would like to forget daV e B o s s e R t is it time to start talking annexation again? by Cameron Smyth Contributing Writer by Dave Bossert Contributing Writer While much of the political world is focused on the Trump phenomenon and the outcome of the most recent Republican debate, Hillary Clinton is having a summer even the most ardent Clinton opponents could have never imagined. A campaign, which as recently as May was expected to be a smooth coronation to the nomination while Republicans battled it out to the convention, has quickly become a question as to whether Hillary will even last through 2015. I tend to fall on the side of those who feel the election is still a long way out and there is plenty of time for another Clinton recovery, but as each day passes and a seemingly new scandal emerges each week, the potential for another mainstream Democrat to join the race grows. But don’t take my word for it . . . let’s look at the numbers: Poll after poll, conducted both nationally as well as within key states shows a disturbing trend, and sadly for Mrs. Clinton, I believe she has yet to bottom out. You see, many of the most recent polls occurred in late July/early August — well before her campaign conceded that classified documents were stored on her personal, non-protected computer, leading to multiple investigations and forcing her “shadow” Huma Abedin to retain her own legal counsel. Quinnipiac University polls (which can hardly be seen as “partisan Republican”) in three swing states, show Clinton trailing Jeb Bush, Marco Rubio and Scott Walker. In Colorado, Clinton trails Rubio 38%- 46%, Bush 36%-41% and Walker 38%- 47%. In Iowa, she trails Rubio 36%-44%, Bush 36%-42% and Walker 37%-45%. And in Virginia, she closes the gap but still trails Rubio 41%-43%, Bush 39%-42% and Walker 40%-43%. Nationally the slide follows what is being seen in individual states: In May she led both Bush and Walker by 10 and 8 points respectively. Now, she trails Bush 42-41 and only leads Walker 44-43. Ironically, she does her best against Republican front runner Donald Trump, leading by double digits. Clinton also recorded her worst national favorability score ever in the Quinnipiac survey. Nationwide just 40% of voters view her favorably, compared with 51% who do not. By a 20 point margin (57-37) responders said Clinton is not honest and trustworthy and 52% said she didn't care about their needs or problems. These have to be the most disturbing . . . a majority of Americans just don’t trust her and view her lacking when it comes to her character. Mainstream Democrats worst fear is now coming true with the momentum generated by Bernie Sanders, which shows no sign of slowing down. Sanders recent stop in Los Angeles, where over 27,000 supporters packed the Sports Arena, dwarfed the largest crowd to see Clinton this season — a paltry 5,000 for her kickoff event. And if that wasn’t bad enough, the most recent released poll (mid-August) now has Clinton trailing Sanders 44-37 in New Hampshire. And although an Iowa poll released Aug. 16 shows Clinton leading Sanders by double digits in the Hawkeye state, 54% remained undecided and she actually trails Sanders by 7% when it comes to the “honest and trustworthy” question. Her campaign continues to tout national polls where she maintains a large lead over Sanders, although none have been taken since her most recent scandal made the front pages. All of these factors certainly demonstrate a vulnerability to the Clinton campaign, however she still retains a huge financial and organizational advantage over any potential democrat. That being said, it is clear that Vice President Biden is now slowly testing the waters and will wait until at least September when more national polling is released to make a decision. Biden’s supporters are encouraged by his performance in the same Quinnipiac poll that shows Clinton struggling — Biden received his highest favorability rating (49%) in seven years, with 58 percent saying he was honest and trustworthy and 57 percent saying he cared about them. With less than six months to Iowa, Biden (and all potential candidates) need to decide if they want to jump in. However all is not dependent on what happens in the first caucus. Biden recently met with advisors in South Carolina and he may choose to forgo Iowa and New Hampshire completely and focus on primaries occurring a bit later in the cycle. Whatever transpires, we can expect 2016 to be a long, brutal, and entertaining election year for both parties and we could not have said that when the summer started. . . . WR Cameron Smyth is a lifelong resident of the Santa Clarita Valley who served six years on the Santa Clarita City Council before being elected to represent the Valley in the State Legislature. After leaving the Assembly in 2012, Cameron returned to the private sector and continues to reside in Newhall with his wife and three children. At the August West Ranch Town Council meeting there was a brief discussion as to whether or not it was time to start talking about the topic of annexation again. This subject has percolated up over the last fifteen-plus years and it seems to be bubbling once more. By all rights the Westside communities should, and probably could have, been annexed into the city of Santa Clarita a decade and half ago. The breakdown in discussion over the years has generally centered on a few members of the city leadership and their calcified views. Their script was that all the previous annexations to the city were a net loss. Meaning that it cost more in city services than the tax revenue those areas generated, which meant that the city grew in area but not in income. That scenario dictated that the city would not engage in any negotiation and hence any past dialogue with the West Ranch leadership ground to a halt. The main reason why the West Ranch communities should negotiate annexation is because there is a large tax revenue generating base along The Old Road. The Valencia Marketplace, Hamburger Hill, and Magic Mountain among others place The Old Road corridor into the top tier of tax generating areas in Los Angeles County. It makes the West Ranch area ultimately a net positive for the City of Santa Clarita in that there would be a lot more revenue for the City than the cost of additional city services to that area. Also, let’s not forget that there is a relatively new infrastructure in place on the west side. Streets, sewer systems, underground utilities, and traffic lights are less than twenty-five years old and have been well maintained. That means that there is less investment needed aside from some minimal signage being changed out. In fact, it would be a seamless blending of the communities into the city should an annexation take place. The difference this time around regarding annexation is that the city leadership dynamic has changed. Some have retired and others have decided to exit city politics altogether. Add to that, Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich is termed out of the L.A. County Board of Supervisors as of November, 2016, and who will fill that seat is anyone’s guess right now. The supervisor has done an immeasurable amount of good for our Westside community which is greatly appreciated, but there is no guarantee that would continue once he is out of office. Another change in recent months is that the County has approved a measure to raise the minimum wage which does not have an effect on the City. This has caused concern for many business owners in the unincorporated SCV areas, several of whom are starting to raise the annexation question as a possible panacea to avoid that wage increase. Although, the City will not be immune from a possible minimum wage hike in the future, especially with the political makeup of our valley evolving. And finally, the City of Santa Clarita will likely move to district representation at some point. Doing so would provide a more equitable arrangement for the diverse areas that make up the city presently and in the future. There is a confluence of changes coming in the next few years. That is why this may be an opportune time to look at jump starting annexation negotiations for the Westside with all these changes unfolding. When I say negotiate, I am talking about guarantees that some of the tax revenue from The Old Road stays in the West Ranch communities by way of increased services. Examples of additional services might include more sheriff deputies dedicated to the West Ranch area and possibly a sheriff sub-station. Increased parks and recreation programming as well as grandfathering in the Rioux Park 4th of July fireworks show so that it will continue into the future. The landscape maintenance districts (LMDs) need to be looked at for efficiencies and also interchange/common area beautification projects. There are many other aspects of the community that need to be examined with a reasonable and pragmatic eye during an annexation discussion. But the important thing is that there is a productive dialogue and everything be placed on the table for discussion. Some items may not be practical while others are completely doable. It is also important for all to know that if there isn’t a willingness to have positive, productive dialogue, then any annexation effort will be futile. The planets seem to be aligning in the coming months for a meaningful and fruitful discussion of annexation for the West Ranch communities. That’s of course if the city of Santa Clarita leadership realizes that the Westside is within their reach, provided that they are willing to negotiate for it. WR Dave Bossert is a community volunteer who serves on a number of boards and councils. He is an award winning artist, filmmaker and author. His commentaries represent his own opinions and not necessarily the views of any organization he may be affiliated with or those of The Westside Reader. Dave writes a regular weekly column online at www.thescvebeacon.com
August 2015 Westside Reader • 23 s C ot t w i l k unclaimed property treasure hunt by Assmemblyman Scott Wilk Contributing Writer There is nothing better than stumbling upon cash in the pocket of your jeans or lying around the house that you forgot about. Have you ever wondered if you have more money floating around from a closed bank account or a previous job that you are unaware of? Well, you just might be in luck. The state of California is currently holding onto $7.1 billion of Unclaimed Property, which belongs to approximately 27.9 million individuals and organizations in California. Unclaimed Property can be anything: inactive bank accounts, safety deposit box contents, stocks, mutual funds, bonds, certificates of deposit, dividends, matured insurance policies, just to name a few. After learning about this program, I thought I’d give it a go; sadly, I was not one of the lucky 27.9 million folks with hidden money. The overall process was extremely easy — and fun! So I thought hey, why not make an event of this and try to reunite others with their unclaimed property. I hosted an event called “Refund Friday” at the Santa Clarita Senior Center and kicked off with donuts, coffee and a brief overview of the program and how to use it. Once word got out, we had over 30 people drop by. The lowest amount found by a person was 20 cents and the highest amount was $3,600! All together about $6,000 in Unclaimed Property was reclaimed. The look on attendees’ faces when they discovered money was priceless, but nothing compared to the moment when a man who was down and out found $126 dollars and wept with joy. That was easily the highlight of the morning for me. The process took each participant about five minutes, tops, and for the lucky individuals who found money, checks were received seven to ten days after completing the claims process. After the positive response from the first “Refund Friday” event, I partnered with the Santa Clarita Valley Latino Chamber Business Alliance to host an event at their recent Networking Breakfast. The room was packed and roughly $3,200 was found. Each year, the State Controller’s Office sends out notifications to people, in hopes of linking the rightful owners to their property before it’s sent to the State for safekeeping. If you have missed, or failed to respond to, a notice regarding unclaimed property, you can find it on the State Controller’s website. There is no official time limit to when you can claim your property from the State, but the sooner you search, the quicker you will receive your money. If you are interested in learning more about unclaimed property or are curious to see if you have anything to claim, you can visit the State Controller’s website at http://www.sco.ca.gov/upd_msg.html to use the simple search tool. In an effort to help constituents, I will be hosting more events like these to hopefully find more homes for more unclaimed property. This is one instance where I can rightfully say, “I’m from the government and I’m here to help.” WR Assemblyman Wilk represents the 38th Assembly District, which encompasses Simi Valley, the northwestern section of the San Fernando Valley and most of the Santa Clarita Valley. win $100 Cash identify the artwork below from one of the advertisements in this publication You Think it You Write it We Print it l e t t e R s Readers are encouraged to submit their views, reviews and questions as letters to the editor for publication in the Westside Reader. Submissions may be sent by mail or email. Letters are subject to being edited due to space constraints. Letters to the editor must include the author’s name, town and phone number for verification. Email: Info @westsidereader.com Mail To: 25876 The Old Road Suite 66 Stevenson Ranch, CA 91381 and be entered into a drawing to win $100 Cash. email the name of the advertiser, the page number the ad is on, and your city. to: info@westsidereader.com
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Westside Reader August 2015

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