FILLMORE City Council
7 of 7 Precincts Reporting
3 New City Council Members Elected
(1) RICK NEAL - 2,063
(2) MANUEL A. MINJARES - 2,037
(3) DOUGLAS TUCKER - 1,507
Defeated Incumbents
Mayor - GAYLE WASHBURN - 1,017
Mayor Pro Tem - JAMEY BROOKS - 922
Defeated Candidates
SANDY PELLA - 977
ALEX MOLLKOY - 549
Total Votes: 9,087

FILLMORE City Clerk
7 of 7 Precincts Reporting
1 New City Clerk Elected
NANCY BLENDERMANN-MEYER - 1,615
Defeated Incumbent
CLAY WESTLING - 1,598
Total Votes: 3,239

FILLMORE City Treasurer
7 of 7 Precincts Reporting
1 New City Treasurer Elected
(1) SHANNON GODFREY - 1,640
Defeated Candidate
GRACE DONAHUE - 1,527
Total Votes: 3,190

Douglas Tucker:
In my opinion the council should deal with disagreements and criticism with professionalism, accountability and integrity. Each city council representative will have their own perspective; this is why it is so important for them to listen to each-other and the community prior to making decisions. I have received a lot of negative comments about how the council treats persons expressing their opinions only to have their comment refuted 1 council member at a time. The Council needs to treat everyone with respect and dignity. They need to ensure that they are fair when the public speaks including with time allotments and how the council responds to speakers.
If two or more council members disagree then agree to disagree and take the conflict to the closed session for resolution or simply vote and move on to the next agenda item. A council should truly have the best interests of the community at heart, they should be fair, have a code of ethics and conduct and they should most importantly put aside their personal differences and truly represent us the Fillmore citizens. If this is accomplished, the new media, citizens and each council member will unit and we can focus on the problems we face today and ensure we have solutions for our future. We may not always agree, but isn’t that one aspect of the U.S.A. that makes us the best nation in the world, our freedoms should be embraced not taken advantage of.
Douglas Tucker
Candidate for Fillmore City Council

Rick Neal:
Getting along with CONTINUED »

Enlarge Photo

Each Year, the National FFA Organization is proud to honor the FFA members who show the utmost dedication to the organization through their desire to develop their potential for premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education. That honor, the American FFA Degree, is bestowed up on a select group of individuals for years of academic and professional excellence. The American Degree is the highest level that can be achieved as an FFA member. Attaining the American FFA Degree requires a solid commitment to agriculture and FFA, and is earned by less than one percent of FFA members.

Aaron Largen and Riley Wright, FFA members representing the Fillmore FFA Chapter in California were selected to join that exclusive list and were awarded the American FFA Degree at the 85th National FFA Convention & Expo. The convention is known as the largest student gathering in the United States and occurred October 24-27, 2012 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Fillmore FFA Chapter is under the direction of Ag Advisor, Joe Ricards.

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Writen by U.S. Attorney’s Office

October 26, 2012 - Southern District of California

Fourteen individuals were charged following a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)-led investigation into the theft of over $1 million from Citibank using cash advance kiosks at casinos located in Southern California and Nevada. According to an indictment unsealed earlier today, the defendants stole the money by exploiting a gap—which required multiple withdrawals all within 60 seconds—in Citibank’s electronic transaction security protocols. FBI agents assisted by the Glendale Police Department and the Los Angeles Police Department arrested 13 of the defendants in the Los Angeles area Wednesday and Thursday.

According to court documents, the alleged scheme worked as follows: defendant Ara Keshishyan recruited conspirators who were willing to open multiple Citibank checking accounts. He then supplied his co-defendants with “seed” money, which was deposited into the recently opened accounts. After the money was deposited into the checking accounts, Keshishyan and his conspirators would travel to nearly a dozen casinos, including the Morongo, Pechanga, San Manuel, Agua Caliente, Chukchansi, and Spa Resort casinos in California; the Tropicana, Wynn, Bicycle, and Whiskey Pete’s casinos in Las Vegas; and Harrah’s in Laughlin. When inside the casino, the conspirators, including Keshishyan, used cash advance kiosks at casinos in California and Nevada to withdraw (all within 60 seconds) several times the amount of money deposited into the accounts, by exploiting the Citibank security gap they discovered.

The indictment alleges CONTINUED »

City of Fillmore

Some Agendized Items:

*El Dorado Mobile Home Estates Vesting Tentative Parcel Map for a Mobile Home Resident Ownership Conversion of an Existing Mobile Home Park.

*Request City Council to Adopt Resolution Authorizing the Acting City Manager, Finance Director and City Attorney to Examine Sales and Use Tax Records.

*Request City Council to Review and Approve the Executive Search Services Agreement for the City Manager and City Finance Director Positions.

*Receive and File – Comment Letter on County of Ventura Recirculated Draft Environmental Impact Report for the Grimes Rock, Inc. Expanded Mining Facility Project.

SANDRA PELLA:
At this time, the city council has not sent out an RFQ to American Water. The council is acting in a prudent manner by entering into negotiations with American Water in an attempt to reduce maintenance and operational costs for the water treatment plant. Contracts are often negotiable, and considering the financial status of the city, the council is being proactive. The American Water contract was awarded in 2006, two years before the incumbents took office. Although incumbents Gayle Washburn and Jamey Brooks adamantly opposed the water treatment plant contract, they are now bearing the brunt of criticism for decisions made before they were elected, and the impact of those devastating decisions to the community. Four out of the five sitting council members favor negotiating the American Water contract, and if necessary, are open to RFQ’s from other vendors if an agreement can not be made.
The negotiations with American Water should be conducted in a respectful and business-like manner. It is proper business etiquette to allow the company holding a contract to make a proposal. American Water has serviced the city as agreed, and the action to negotiate is not a reflection on the company’s performance. They have also generously contributed chemicals to the community pool, and deserve to be commended for assisting the city with the cost of operating the pool. In its dealings with American Water, the council must be concise in communicating what amount of contract reduction is necessary, and allow sufficient time (perhaps 30 days), for American Water to either approve or disapprove the terms before considering other possible RFQ’s to competitive vendors.

GAYLE WASHBURN:
For clarification, there has CONTINUED »

James Alvarez Jr.

In September of 2012, a Thousand Oaks resident placed a personal advertisement on Craigslist, seeking male companionship in the unincorporated area of Piru.

The suspect and the victim exchanged text messages and e-mails then met in Piru late one evening. At the conclusion of their meeting, the suspect stole the victim’s cell phone and portable GPS unit and fled.

The victim reported the crime to the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office. Fillmore Police Department detectives investigated the matter which led to the suspect being identified as James Alvarez of Fillmore. The victim later identified James Alvarez from a photo lineup.

At the time of the crime, James Alvarez was already a fugitive from justice, having an active warrant charging him as a felon in possession of a firearm, in addition to several other misdemeanor warrants. Alvarez was considered armed and dangerous. Based on the Craigslist investigation, Detectives knew Alvarez had returned to the Fillmore area.

On October 16, 2012, CONTINUED »