Please note: The Gazette regrets the misspelling of four candidate names on the recent invitation sent out by Communities Building Together. The Gazette was not responsible for editing that text. We hope everyone turns out for Saturday's event at City Hall. Free food and drinks!

Candidate statement videos are published on the Gazette’s website here. Several candidates chose not to participate.

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EDITED 10-31-12, at 11:00 p.m.

I won’t be long-winded; time and space are both short, and the most important election in our nation’s history, and in Fillmore’s history, is upon us.

As for our national election, and I mean this most sincerely, if Barack Obama is reelected for another four years it will take a couple of generations to recover our solvency, our military strength, and our traditional American character. We elected this strange man who has absolutely no experience in business, or in foreign, domestic or military affairs. He’s a complete empty suit. He bows submissively, and borrows massively from our worst enemies. He is the most radical leftist in government whose true religious sympathies can be identified by the Islamic ring he wears on his finger.

So, if you are looking for four more years of poverty, weakness, and social disorder, he’s your man.

As for me, he personifies just about everything anti-Christian, anti-democracy, and anti-American; he’s a true menace to American greatness.

Save America – vote for Mitt Romney.

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Now, let’s try to save Fillmore from the Katzenjammers. I hope never to hear that word again, which can happen only if Gayle Washburn, Jamey Brooks, and Clay Westling are voted out of office.

I only have time to respond to the most recent flier to come flying out of Klub Katz. Here we go:

Gayle Washburn states online that in an effort to correct the $131,000 in water/sewer bill delinquencies, she presided over “a unanimous vote from the council – to hire a collection agency to collect the debt” That's a false statement. The truth is (check the video) the vote was 3-2, with Jamey Brooks and Eduardo Gonzalez voting “No”.

Washburn and Brooks claim:
1. A telephone “push” survey was biased. Wrong. No one was forced to answer the questions which were professionally proposed.

2. The sewer plant, again, was “too big and too costly” Wrong. Ample evidence of the falseness of this claim can be seen by looking at the links in last week’s Realities. We built the most economical plant that would satisfy very strict state and federal water quality standards. It was very costly but the cost was cut to the bone in planning and construction. Our plant is being copied nationally; even internationally, for its efficiency. A group from South Korea visited our plant recently. $83 million is a huge debt for this small town to pay off, but not as costly as having to pay $25,000 PER DAY for failing state and federal mandates. Again, get the FACTS from last week's Realities. Blame the liberal fascists who hike the water quality standards beyond our power to comply! 3. Open books for the city? What a joke. From the time they ran off all top management and brought in friends of friends to run things, all has been chaos. Pay for our interim managers, etc. has cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Gayle Washburn did in fact fire our city counsel, unlawfully. Now we have two law firms to pay. The El Dorado lawsuit fiasco could cost another $500,000, after spending $320,000 on a suit we will finally lose 4. The water bills. Fully 20 percent of delinquencies here are due to Councilman Gonzalez’ two businesses. He was appointed to the council as a long-time political friend, keeping his debt quiet. I've been told offers to purchase these businesses have been made and rejected. The big thing here is that Gayle and Jamey kept his debt ($95,000) hidden from the public before, during, and after his appointment. He should not have been appointed.

No time for more. Want honest, open, friendly government again? Vote for MANNY MINJARES, RICK NEAL, DOUG TUCKER, SHANNON GODFREY, and NANCY BLENDERMANN-MEYER.