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Former Mayor Carmen Sabatino has moved from your car radio to your computer.

Go to www.voiceofmodesto.org  at 10 this morning and click on Blog Talk Radio. The program is interactive and you can either call or text into the program.  The program is on demand anytime of the day or night

August 10, 2009

The Morning Mayor Today at 10

The following article was received from This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it and will be posted on the website along with other contributing articles.

Democrat Sandy Lucas is ashamed of Hispanics

The newly created, City Council District 2, has drawn two candidates.  In the last city-wide election all incumbents were unopposed.  The first district election drew candidates in every district.

Former Democratic Party official Sandy Lucas and now assistant to Republican power house George Petrulakis was very critical of Hispanics in a recent Modesto Bee interview.  Apparently not enough Hispanics chose to run in District 2.  Sandy is on the Bee’s people to quote list and speaks for the Democratic Party although she no longer has any official position.

Lucas said, “I’m incredulous and I’m embarrassed for them that you had this major stink made (but there are so few candidates).”

Sandra Lucas helped Petrulakis write the 2008 ballot measure which called for district elections and changed the city charter.  It was the Measure M election which used race as an issue rather than equal district representation.

The same council who approved of spending $3 million dollars to fight district elections to the U.S. Supreme  Court  became part of a corrupt process to draw the district lines and change the city charter so the mayor and council could raise their pay, among other things.

Former Mayor Carmen Sabatino who brought district elections and term limits to the awareness of Modesto voters said, “District elections was not about race or ethnicity. The goal was to create a system where citizens could be elected to office without reporting to Mike Zagaris or George Petrulakis for permission.  District candidates Kristen Olson and Joseph Muratore are already on the Zagaris slate.”

The Modesto Bee sponsored a candidate workshop where Republican speakers, George Petrulakis and Joan Clendenin spoke to educate candidates and warn of what could happen to unapproved candidates.   Petrulakis said his office had the ability to research every detail of a person’s life.

While the Modesto Bee conference room was full with candidates and politicians, Sandra Lucas and Bee editor Judy Sly did not participate.  They were out in the lobby greeting attendees, passing out literature, and then just hanging out.

Other speakers at the workshop made much of the fact that what is now District 2 had a history of very low turnout and participation is the democratic process.  In fact, establishment political consultant, Mike Lynch explained how District 2 could be won with 500 votes.

Lucas was more active in promoting the fraudulent Measure M campaign than doing outreach to a community that up until now had no reason to care about what city hall was doing to them because they could not do anything about it.  Lucas has yet to explain how she allowed the Measure  M committee and George Petrulakis to use a non-existent organization called the Stanislaus County Taxpayer’s Association to endorse Measure M.

Another commission member who helped map the districts was Larry Salinas, who has failed to give the commission credibility by saying, “If people are going to proclaim that there’s inequities and underrepresentation, then it’s our responsibility to step up and remedy that issue.  If we don’t do it soon, then shame on us, because that’s what started this whole process.”

Randy Siefkin comes close when he suggests why anyone would want a job that takes away jobs and services.  Siefkin also says that district councilmember’s might focus on the needs of their constituents rather than citywide concerns.

Former City Councilwoman Kenni Friedman, also on the Bee quote list, is now a convert to the benefits of district elections in keeping election costs for candidates lower.  In the 1999 election that elected Carmen Sabatino as mayor, Friedman and Lang spent over $250,000 in their attempt to be mayor.

That money came in the form of political contributions.  It took $685,000 of taxpayer money to make sure a new mayor was elected in 2003.

Why did the city spend so much money to fight district elections?

Former Mayor Carmen Sabatino says, “Maybe it’s because district council members might suggest that their district receive one-sixth of the city budget.  That might spark some political interest by residents of  District  2, but the money has already been spent.”