Martinez Tribune The website of the Martinez Tribune.
Dear Neighbors:
Martinez is a city steeped in history and tradition. As a descendant of the early Martinez families who made their living fishing the Bay and working in the old cannery, I grew up to appreciate and value our town. As a City Councilmember today, I have a fuller understanding of the issues we face and a fresh perspective on what kind of leaders we need to shape the future of our community.
We need leaders that see the potential in our home town, while protecting its charm. Leaders that put the safety of our citizens first and ensure our police and fire stations are adequately staffed and able to serve the public need. Above all, we need leaders that listen to the troubles we face and take up the fight with us. For the past 16 years, that has not been the service we have received from our current Supervisor Federal Glover. No more hiding behind a closed door and buddying up to special interests. The time has come to take meaningful action; we need a strong fighter representing our interests.
That is why I am happy to support AnaMarie Avila Farias for Supervisor. She has a parallel background to mine, a third generation Martinez resident, and a dedicated public servant who has proudly served her community since she was 16 years old.
Her passion and dedication to Martinez as our Vice Mayor is apparent every day. I watched her fight for a stronger police force to keep our city safe, she protects our open space, and keeps an eye on our budget to ensure we continue to build our reserves.
That’s why she is also supported by: the Martinez Police Officers Association, Contra Costa County Deputy Sheriffs’ Association, United Professional Firefighters of Contra Costa County and the Central Labor Council of Contra Costa County.
AnaMarie will bring a new independent voice to the Board of Supervisors; she has courage and is willing to stand up to the political machine, end cronyism and restore the people’s confidence in county government. It is disappointing that my fellow colleagues cannot see these potential future successes, and instead support the status quo. Endorsing the incumbent demonstrates they are members of an entrenched political machine with stale ideas which prevent Martinez from progressing. It is a disservice to support a supervisor who is out-of-touch and disengaged with the issues of our Martinez community. Doing so only reflects poorly on the condition of the civic health of our city and highlights the lack of quality leadership at the Board of Supervisors. AnaMarie has the drive and determination to break the mold and bring about positive change.
It is time for a change at both the local and county level. On Nov. 8, or by mail ballot, please consider voting for AnaMarie Avila Farias for Supervisor, Courtney Masella-O’Brien and John Stevens for City Council. They are ready to shake things up, take action, and get the job done for us.
Sincerely,
Debbie Billecci McKillop
Martinez City Councilmember
Debbie McKillop:
In 2009, Ana Marie Farias supported the suppression of the Italian History in the Berrellesa Palms building decision so that the one person who would benefit would support her campaigns–and he does. That building also received variances based on the variances given to Ana Maria Avila Farias “Villa Del Sol”, which was allowed those variances if she paid into the housing trust fund–which she wriggled out of. Flash forward to 2015, the Italian History is up for the National Register of Historic Places and what do you and Anna Maria Farias do? Try to crush it with every bit of dirty lack of logic you can muster because you are again afraid of what the one person might think. You also defamed my work to please the one person who gets millions of our tax funds will Park and Rec has to beg for one dollar raises for lifeguards.
The way you use the Italian History and Joe DiMaggio to promulgate yourself is sinful. Far away in Colma, I know his long-buried bones ache from it. You are as much–and definitely more by your actions–the daughter of Gary Freitas than you are some distant cousin of Joe DiMaggio. So what someone is third generation Martinez? All that says is you have a limited world view and an illogical sense of entitlement. Couple this with a conflict of interest County employment brings to representing the people of Martinez, Ana Maria Avila Farias untoward if not illegal behaviors towards opposers, illegal misuse of our police force for your own agendas, the encouragement if not payment of Mike Alford and others to harass, harangue, and destroy the Democratic Process of public meetings and our sense of well being, and you and Ana and your like are a disaster and an affront to Democracy.
Anyway, the incredibly competent Terrance Chung (married to the former police chief of Richmond) for many years was top administrative assistant to Federal Glover. Even if Terrance has retired to Arizona (I have to check on that), I have no doubt Federal will find himself equally adept about finding the right support staff and continuing his service of the people with the staff and connection and personal intellectual capital he has acquired over the years. He also treats intelligence with respect.
I know I will get sucker punched right and left by you politicians and any other person in dire need of attention. I am used to it. In the end, the History of Martinez won out over all your lies, and you will not use it in such a way to win politic gain and then ultimately corrupt history when you have the chance–because as Catholics will tell you from their Good Book “The Truth Will Set You Free”. You and Ana Maria Avila Farias lie about people, you lie about history, and you misuse this government for your own wealth and your own gain.
Here is the History of Martinez which you and Ana Maria Avila Farias tried to destroy using City Staff and your dias powers: http://www.ohp.parks.ca.gov/pages/1067/files/ca_contra%20costa%20county_historic%20resources%20of%20martinez%20ca%20mpdf.pdf
YOU need to do better research…Terrance “Chung” was not the top administrative assistant to Federal Glover.
So what has Federal Glover done for you, Italian history or Martinez?
#Fedupyet?
What has Federsl Glover done for this part of District 5? The only time we even see or hear from him is during an election year. Does he even know that Pittsburg is not the only city in District 5? And claiming to have spent 1.8 billion dollars on highway 4 improvements part of which is not even in his district is garbage. To totally ignore the 680/4 interchange is a joke. That interchange needs major improvements. He killed any highway funds for that however. Then never forget he was part of the Board of Supervisors that voted themselves a 33% raise while cutting county employees wages back. Fortunately the voting public fought that and had it over turned. Anyone that believes Mr. Glover deserves more time should really think again, if he hasn’t done anything on this side of the district in 16 years what would make one think another 4 years will make a difference!
Kristin Henderson’s comment about Terrance Cheung is wrong. He was my Chief of Staff (not Federal’s) and he is not “retired”. He now works for Pima County in Arizona
This seems to be the disgruntled employee vote. Generations of Martinez founding families have created this community and policies that gave us parks including the waterfront. Stood up for residents when redeveloped threatened our downtown business and homes. They fought to save the hills, Franklin Hills now parkland.
Trading on family names whose stances are opposite to your actions on the council is unacceptable. Stand on your own record not on the shoulders of people we honor.
John, this is about the full extent of Kristin’s research abilities. She claims to know much, but so often fails to know fully or factually.
Pong Ping, you are a defaming liar, but I am used to that as well. You are likely with the Historic Society and you are waiting for me to say ONE wrong thing so you can say anything I have said is wrong. I guess you did not take a critical thinking class in college–that’s if you went to college at all. And, all I have to do is file another law suit against you and the Tribune will have to crack open its records to find out your real name. Compare to the findings you have made, ie Berrellesa Palms, Sharkey Building, Frederick Knapp Report, Library, even the Borland Home Pamphlet–the over emphasis of Marylin Monroe vs. the real history of this town–your use of everyone else’s work as if it were your own… I purposely wrote that to see what bugs would shake out of this dirty rug, to bring out the sucker punchers and sucker punching and there you showed up!
You wait around for these trusting townsfolk to hand you blindly their history and then pull yourself up with it. Have you been to the Bancroft Library, the California History Room, National Archives in San Bruno, etc. etc.? Have you gone out onto the national reference system to find facts? Do you even know the legal and academic definition of what makes something historic? The tone of your writing, I already know who you are.
But back to McKillop, it is very very true that she and Farias just use the historical stuff when they want promotion and then throw it out when a real decision is being made. And yes, they encouraged in various ways Mike Alford to berate and maraud all of us who opposed them.
Do you know as much about our jail, John Goya, as you do your staff names? And how does that work when 3/5ths of our Council works for the County and we have NO real representation in county matters?
Waiting for someone to tell me I spelled “Gioia” wrong. I say everything as merely my opinion, as it applies to public policy and involves long-term or conditional public figures. Even if I postulated a mistake about a BOS support staff name, it in no way usurps all the fine work in the area of history I have done for Martinez with my time and resources only to be beat down for it by the McKillops and Farias’s in the world, as well as the Historic Society and others.
Chung was the name of my first dog, and I typed this out really fast. I also have nerve damage in my hands and miss keys now. Some of that damage came from having to work so hard on history in this town while I watched the institutions that are supposed to be protecting it misuse it. But my work is excellent. Maybe not perfect, but it is the best this town has seen so far. I keep waiting for the historic society or the City to comment to the OHP on the validity of the work.
I want everyone to see this public record, esp. John Gioia:
https://1drv.ms/f/s!Ahq906-QWReGgds5iGHmI2GqCpafNA
Please email if anyone wants more information. The person who corrected the spelling of “Cheung”….you must work for the County in a high position. Speaking of shaking bugs out of dirty rugs: Here’s the Borland Home (Martinez Historical Society Museum): http://ohp.parks.ca.gov/pages/1067/files/ca_contra%20costa%20county_martinez%20mps_borland%20home_nomination.pdf
And for this, I was humiliated, beaten down, my personal life invaded and destroyed, the police set up against me, and all sorts of awfulness by the likes of McKillop and Farias. It caused me extreme emotionally harm, w which was their goal. You might note a big property owner’s name repeated by historic society members and then you should know that another developer/attorney/property owner has his subcontractor attorney “volunteering” for the Historic Society–including showing up to our court date and advising them inside the court room. This is against court rules. In small claims, you cannot bring representation.
Anyway….there’s a much bigger truth than me misspelling a name, or misappropriating BOS staff, with whom our council is far more familiar and yet will not save our old Jail.