Math whiz wrote on Aug 8, 2008 10:24 PM:Four chances to get rid of the Sam and Ed show......Back to retail guys.

EscoWatchDog wrote on Aug 8, 2008 10:57 PM:Welcome to the race Barron, I look forward to meeting you and getting to know more about your vision for our city.

Danny P. wrote on Aug 8, 2008 11:22 PM:During the wild fires, I coordinated the volunteers and donations to help 2500 people in EHS and Dennis French was the person who was there, day and night with me and all the volunteers; thanks to all his great conections and love for others , we were able to get several semi-trucks full of donationsand to provide for our brothers in need.
right now both of us are working in a project to provide food to the most needed families in escondido.
He's running as a Republican and I feel please to see that finally there will be a Republican that will embraze the core values of that party and will keep big brother away from our lives.
now Republicans will have a great choice with a man who really cares for this community and walks the walk.

Incredulous wrote on Aug 9, 2008 4:02 AM:Barron committed political suicide here. Make Lori's job easier? Can the pro-sanctuary city sector possibly be less intune with what will save Escondido. What is it about poverty and lawlessness that creates such a lure for these people? Open your eyes - we are fast becoming a 3rd world barrio. Success isn't usually attracted to failure.

Concerned wrote on Aug 9, 2008 7:11 AM:Should be an interesting race. I hope beefing up the PD is on the to do lists of all the new candidates.

Jaque wrote on Aug 9, 2008 8:17 AM:French in place of Gallo, but Sam survives a bitter battle. Olga goes back to doing what she does best...

LOYAL MEXICAN AMERICAN wrote on Aug 9, 2008 8:36 AM:Jaque: What does Olga do best?

Jaque wrote on Aug 9, 2008 9:16 AM:Running a small business and disingenuously griping about the little world around her.

What does "loyal mexican american" mean? You afraid to choose a side?

Undocumented wrote on Aug 9, 2008 10:10 AM:I hope Mr. Sam Abed is living up to his principles by checking all his customers for their legal status....he wouldn't profit from ilegals!

Gaptooth tribal armband tattoo girl wrote on Aug 9, 2008 10:50 AM:Olga Diaz comes off like an angry little girl. She has the wrong temperment to be on the council.

Memo wrote on Aug 9, 2008 11:37 AM:I like the Sam & Ed show--we don't need any more pro-illegal alien sympathizers on the city council--Pfeiler is enough! Incredulous(4:02am) hit the nail on the head with his comment about poverty and lawlessness--enough is enough! This city already looks like T.J.!! Keep fighting, Waldron, Abed & Gallo!

januaryM wrote on Aug 9, 2008 1:04 PM:to JanuaryM
[-] wrote on Aug 7, 2008 10:47 AM:You had some misinformation in your comment about the new Police station. It is NOT on hold...it is very much under construction and will be finished next late summer. Any gap in funding between the $50 million allocated from Prop P funds and the actual cost of construction will be made up by the proceeds from the sale of the old police station and old fire station 3, interest earnings on the bond
and other capital funds that may be available to use if needed.
---------------------------------
ANSWER
Prop P money went into the General Fund.Plus,there is NO prospect for the sale of the old fire station land.What happened to the sale of the old Police property? Was this another Gallo "the realtor" deal? As usual the Council puts all it eggs in one basket,where they rot.If either property is sold,the money should be used to pay DOWN the DEBT of the BOND not increase its budget.Maybe Jeff Epp will "rescue" the city again with a typo or decimal point error.Like he did with the Police/Fire contract costing taxpayers over $900thousand a year! How does a City Atty Mr.InEPPness get a $45thousand dollar a year raise when he makes a huge boner like that? Makes NO attempt to correct it.These people run the city and spend at will taxpayer dollars as if it were monopoly money.Nobody gets fired for doing a bad job they get raises & promotions.Its hard to fire relatives with fat city pensions.
WE can begin a change right here in Escondido.Take back OUR CITY beginning with voting in new blood with better ideas, INTELLIGENCE & SKILLS.
I want to thank the NCTimes for allowing ordinary citizens like me to post on their blog.We now have a louder voice.YOU ROCK!
Who wants a clean house? NOTE NOV 2008
januaryM

French for council wrote on Aug 9, 2008 1:42 PM:It's about time that we have a real Republican in this council. Abed and Gallo are a disgrace of the GOP; finally a business man who cares for his community and no for the developers!

To JanuaryM wrote on Aug 9, 2008 2:03 PM:You are facts about Prop P are wrong. The funds did not go into the general fund. Where do you get your false information from?

two faces wrote on Aug 9, 2008 2:03 PM:Why nothing was done two years ago when Abed was acussed by Marty Emerald of channel 10, of hiring illegals and contractors without license to fix his building in Grand ?
when he was interviewed,he was shaking and couldn't come with the name of his licensed contractor!
I agree with JanuaryM, it's time to clean house and give to our city a better chance.

heartless politicians. wrote on Aug 9, 2008 2:50 PM:what happend with Christian love?

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/01/11/news/inland/1_01_211_10_07.prt

soaring eagle wrote on Aug 9, 2008 2:54 PM:Ease up folks. Let's hear the campaign lies from all the candidates before making a decision. I would bet a lot of money that most of the posters here are either just a bunch of whiners or working on the campaign of one of the listed candidates. All of you have until November to make fools of yourselves, don't start too early or you will look like total buffoons by November.

eagle wrote on Aug 9, 2008 2:59 PM:LOYAL MEXICAN AMERICAN
[-] wrote on Aug 9, 2008 8:36 AM:

What exactly is your statement by using the handle "LOYAL MEXICAN AMERICAN". Is there a point here that I might understand more easily with an explaination? Please educate this "LOYAL AMERICAN" so that I might understand the differences between our groups of "AMERICANS". I really don't think there is a difference, do you?

To JanuaryM wrote on Aug 9, 2008 3:20 PM:Are you the President of the Chamber of Citizens?

Name of wrote on Aug 9, 2008 3:29 PM:The name of Abed's contractor (that Abed told Marty Emerald that he couldn't remember) was...none other than Sam Abed himself. Don't believe it...look it up.

Citizens of Chamber wrote on Aug 9, 2008 4:07 PM:I think that based on these challengers, the incumbents look like good choices.

Gaptooth tribal armband tattoo girl wrote on Aug 9, 2008 4:19 PM:I agree with the stances taken by Sam Abed and Ed Gallo. Unless the incumbents take a stance against illegal immigration, I will support Sam Abed and Ed Gallo.

Clean it up wrote on Aug 9, 2008 4:27 PM:What is "the good image of our city"? Unfortunately there is likely only one way to achieve that and I'm certain Mr. Barron, and especially Ms. Diaz, will not do anything about it. I'm afraid they'll add to the problem. The person to get my vote will be the candidate who HONESTLY addresses the seriousness of the illegal immigrant problem. The candidate who admits our schools are overcrowded because of it. Our hospitals are overburdened because of it, neighborhoods have decreased property values because of it. The infrastructure of this city is quickly being destroyed because of it. My hard earned income is going to support it, and for some reason, Someone feels it is my responsibility to help these people. I have enough trouble supporting my own family these days let alone them. The guy or gal who gets my vote will come up with an HONEST attempt to get "the good image of this city" back to where it was when I first came here. This city is embarrassing now. Voelker, you need to come up with some more ideas. Someone PLEASE help Escondido.

Mexicat wrote on Aug 9, 2008 4:42 PM:I considered or entertained the thought of running for council but am not. Now, I know this is going to sound racist but since I have a Spanish surname I don't think I would get many votes and I consider myself to be fairly conservative. I don't know what I would on the council but I would try my best to better the city's image. You see, I was born and raised in this town and belive Escondido has alot of potential. If it didn't then we wouldn't have so many investors in this city.
For now, Voelker has my vote.

Mexicat wrote on Aug 9, 2008 4:44 PM:To the Memo comment: You really think Escondido looks like TJ, besides Mexican people, what part of Escondido looks like TJ and be specific, you Temecula living fiend. Have you ever been to TJ?

januaryM wrote on Aug 9, 2008 5:13 PM:Ive had other council candidates over for a tea and conversation with my neighbors and friends in the past.The last election the major players didnt attend the Forum they were invited too.I think I may invite Mr Barron over to chat with us too.Other bloggers ask if I am with a group.No, but I am considering joining one or beginning one.I just gag at the thought of A bed and a jug of Gallo playing with tax dollars.

Al wrote on Aug 9, 2008 6:12 PM:It is appreciated that Mr. Barron wants to clean-up the image of Escondido! But how he intends to do that when he also opposed the rental ban is beyond me(?) We need city leaders who will pull out the welcome mat for ILLEGAL's. Enough! So many parts of this town look more like TJ. Mayor Do-Nothing Pheiler and all council candidates that ignore the ILLEGAL issiue need to go! They have made us the notorious armpit of morth county.

Jack wrote on Aug 9, 2008 8:40 PM:You better hope Sam & Ed are returned to office. We are just now starting to see the start of the cleaning up of Escondido. If Olga and her friend get in, you can bet we will even more illegals from Mexico.

Oh Sure Jack wrote on Aug 9, 2008 9:32 PM:All the illegals are going to swarm to Escondido. Oh Sure, Jack. That makes total sense.

Why don't you just say that you support Abed & Gallo. Why do you have to be a slob and say that Escondido will get "even more illegals from Mexico".

That is just plain ignorant!!

The reason we are just starting to see any clean up is because elections are in November. So, the incumbents have been working hard to make the city look pretty so they can brag about how great they think they are.

If Waldron who is in her third term or Gallo who is in his second term had been paying attention - maybe our city would never had gotten "that bad".

I wonder...do you believe as Abed said in 2006 that there are 35,000 illegals living in Escondido? If you do, then you believe that every 1 of 4 people living in Escondido is an illegal. If you believe that then you would probably be interested in some ocean front property on E. Valley Pkwy. But, you should probably keep in mind that Abed admitted that his calculations were not entirely accurate. So...in other words...Abed will say whatever it takes to get into office.

P.s. What have any one of these incumbents done to address the negative impacts of illegal immigrants? Nothing! A Big Fat Nothing! But, keep voting for them...keep drinking the kool-aid and keep their pockets full.

p.s.s. Can you say $9.8 MILLION Dollar Deficit?

Sam and Ed are done wrote on Aug 9, 2008 9:34 PM:Any challenger running would be a significant improvement upon Sam Abed and Ed Gallo. I can't wait until these incompetant, self-serving,talking heads are out of office. Then we may have a chance to regroup as a city and fix the damage they've done. I can't believe I voted for these guys last time. I feel swindled. Get ready guys, the voters won't be fooled again.

Dont Fall wrote on Aug 9, 2008 9:55 PM:Don't fall for the Gallo charm.

Yeah. He seems like a personable individual. But, in reality he is a pawn for the Chamber of Commerce - as is Sam Abed.

I voted for Gallo - once. Now, I know the truth. And I won't make that mistake again.

I never voted for Abed and NEVER will!!! I would rather not vote than to vote for other of these incompetents!!! I'm glad we have other choices!!!

Gotcha wrote on Aug 9, 2008 10:27 PM:I read here that J.A.Que (how clever) and Pablo are fans of Abed. They believe in things being ACLU proof. That's pretty weird. Why would J.A.Que and Pablo support someone who constantly gets the city into trouble with the ACLU? First it was the rental ordinance and then it was the mobile home group. And people are talking about the parking permit ordinance could be challenged. That seems like a huge waste of money and time and it makes Escondido look bad. We are tired of Abed making our city look bad. Sorry that J.A.Que & Pablo are fooled by the hype! Maybe they just don't understand what Mr. Abed is really doing to us - dragging us down because of his paranoia. He is not good for the city.

Michelle wrote on Aug 10, 2008 12:03 AM:Ed Gallo as in North County Transit District. NO WAY!!! Let's get him out of office before he completely destroys what's left of the public transit system.

James wrote on Aug 10, 2008 8:11 PM:Sam and Gallo must go.Escondido would be better off if Sam was pumping gas and Ed was retrieving shopping carts.
Making Border Patrol Agents out of Landlords will never work.Marriotts a
mess.Financial responsibility,YEAH RIGHT!

Got Supermercado wrote on Aug 11, 2008 5:44 AM:Sam should stick catering to his undocumented customers.

ItsInTheProcess wrote on Aug 11, 2008 7:30 PM:Why is everyone jumping to conclusions?

Isn’t this the process we all believe in? The dialogue; the kicking around of ideas and thoughts? Isn’t the whole point to keep evolving based on the ever-changing needs of our society? I don’t see anywhere that any of the new candidates are taking a position on any of the issues just yet. This thing just got started.

I think we need to learn who Barron, Diaz, Voelker and French are and what they believe in.

I do know that whatever our City Council has been doing isn’t working. That is clear.

So is it better to stay with the known no matter how bad it is, or to listen to new ideas and THEN make comments and decisions.

You all seem to get lit up by this very real immigration issue. But do any one of you feel competent enough to see all the legal, social and economic angles of the issue and how they will ripple though? I doubt it. It is just popular to take a side, any side.

Adlai Stevenson gave a speech in 1952 - speaking then about the Communist Party - that resonates true of several issues in our country today; “The tragedy of our day is the climate of fear in which we live, and fear breeds repression. Too often sinister threats to the Bill of Rights, to freedom of the mind, are concealed under the patriotic cloak of anti-communism”.

This retarded habit of blanket statements and generalization of rules and laws based on religious, racial, cultural and ethnic biases has got to stop. It makes people sound ignorant and usually creates more problems than it solves.

I am a father and a business owner in our beautiful community so I am involved and affected by ALL these issues no matter how they swing. However, and at the risk of insulting some of you here, I don’t like to sound stupid and jump to conclusions without having all the facts.

Let’s get through the process. At the end of the day, that is what it is for.

Thumbs Up wrote on Aug 11, 2008 11:01 PM:Thumbs Up to "ItsInTheProcess".

Very well said. It is such a relief to read some real intellectual thoughts. Thank you for your thoughts. I agree.

Gary wrote on Aug 30, 2008 1:21 PM:Ive known chuck for 20+ plus years,if you want an honest good hearted intelligent official give him a chance.

Stumped wrote on Sep 11, 2008 11:16 PM:French has been here nearly 20 years and he has been involved in teaching kids baseball. He seems to have been there forever.
He has 8 kids that I know of.. His son Daniel was a wrestler at San Pasqual that took them to state. His other son Adam works with his dad. He is always wanting to help people.
Whatever the case. We need change! Go French