WATER WAR WARRIOR: SCOTT O’NEIL’S LETTER TO THE EDITOR – “We all need to pay attention and get involved.”

“The City of Ridgecrest will never recover from a death spiral of oppressive police-state government, CORRUPTION and debilitating taxation.” – Miguel T. Tonnis

Update June 11, 2025 5:00 a.m PST

https://roadrunner395.com/2025/06/10/controversy-in-the-city-of-ridgecrest-is-this-a-mere-brown-act-violation-or-conspiracy-to-commit-fraud-and-a-federal-crime-california-assembly-bills-1413-and-1466

May 29, 2025 (Originally published)

By Miguel T. Tonnis

Here’s the latest Letter to the Editor, printed in the Daily Independent, from Mr. Scott O’Neil, concerning the obvious Brown Act violations committed by Ron Strand, Kyle Blades and Scott Hayman. Don’t look for attorneys or prosecutors to do anything to rectify black-letter violations of the law.

Having watched the City Council meetings closely over the last 10 years, and not wishing to distract from the important message in Mr. O’Neil’s Letter to the Daily Independent, I’ll give you my always valuable and informed opinions after his letter.

The Ridgecrest City Council’s next meeting is at 6:00 p.m on Wednesday, June 4th, 2025. Be there if you care.

“Ridgecrest City Council Continues To Hide Behind Brown Act Closed Session Provision”

Dated May 27th, 2025 (Daily Independent)

By Scott O’Neil

Several weeks ago I began writing letters, to the Ridgecrest City Council and the public, to express concern that Mayor Pro Tem Kyle Blades traveled to Sacramento to testify before a hearing in favor of two pieces of legislation relating to groundwater management — a topic that impacts us all. This appears to be in flagrant disregard for the Brown Act, which requires all such matters be publicly noticed and discussed so that residents are permitted their constitutional right to remain informed of and involved in their representative government bodies.

While the issues relating to groundwater management are contentious, and therefore essential for public inclusion, the underlying concern is the lack of transparency and accountability in local government.

I watched the May 21 council meeting to see if there was any movement on this potential Brown Act violation. In short the city officials and attorneys are hiding behind the Brown Act’s provision for topics that merit closed discussions (personnel or impending litigation). But even with these provisions, the discussions must be noticed as items on an agenda for discussion, and any action must be reported to the public. I have repeatedly asked for this documentation, which has yet to be provided. City officials apparently acknowledge that prior private discussions have occurred and they warn that future discussions will most likely also be held — also privately.

Even the city’s claims of “past discussions” do not line up with the documented timeline. The last time groundwater litigation topic was on the agenda (closed session) was prior to the actual introduction of the AB1413 and AB1466 bills. So, how could the city’s position on the bills have been discussed? Why in Ridgecrest is it a private discussion about the merit of these bills when in Sacramento they readily support a public hearing? What is private about who is to represent Ridgecrest in these hearings and the authorization of funding for the trip? Why is a detailed formal endorsement letter, signed by Blades, openly sent to Sacramento? If Blades’ (or the city’s) position on this legislation can be made public in Sacramento, why is there no record of it in our local government? The Brown Act demands the public be apprised on the discussions and decisions — even those made in private.

Kern County Supervisor David Couch asked questions of Blades, Councilman Hayman, and City Manager Ron Strand. However, our city officials were evasive and deflective in their response. Even if they believe their actions are justified, their process is flawed. And no end goal, lofty or not, is ever justified by the means.

The IWV Groundwater Authority has been charged with working with the public to establish a sustainability plan for groundwater management. For more than 10 years the diversity of positions, concerns, approaches and priorities has been well documented. It is unfortunate that the leadership of the IWVGA has been unable to procure public trust and buy-in for a plan, which even its architects admit has flaws that might be fixed later (although that in and of itself is a dangerous assumption to make in government). The bills moving through our state legislature, if passed, would ban current and future claims against the GA, and would essentially eliminate any check to the authority of the members of this appointed, not elected, board. The public would be forced to pay whatever fees were adopted, regardless of whether those costs actually contributed to a new water source or a solution for sustainability.

This is exactly the kind of behavior the Brown Act was adopted to prevent. However you feel about our the individual members of our city and IWVGA boards, however you feel about our potential plan for groundwater sustainability, every member of our public should be concerned about being boxed out of a “solution” that they will ultimately be forced to pay for, whether it solves the problem or not.

Kudos to Councilmen Gorman and Rajaratnam and Mayor Endicott for persistently seeking an open discussion on the merits of the two bills at the 18 Jun meeting. My Dad used to tell me “if something stinks it usually does not smell better with age.” We all need to pay attention and get involved.

Scott O’Neil

My comments:

I’ve crossed over the line to not giving a shit about Ridgecrest’s $300 million water pipeline when the country is on the verge of bankruptcy, so please take my opinion for what it’s worth – zero – and you should know that’s exactly how the Ridgecrest City Council values your opinions.

I can only say that residents in the City of Ridgecrest should be thorougly embarrassed by their representatives on the City Council.

While it may be true that we’re all busy, and the meetings are many times boring and without controversy, most of you are so stuck in a state of fear, apathy and discontent, you’ll never inform yourselves and get involved. The handful of residents that are involved are vilified by piggish buffoons such as the former mayor of Ridgecrest. None of you should have to put up with it, but you do.

Sadly, many of you are informed only by Facebook while sitting in your living rooms drinking or doing drugs. I don’t blame you, having done a little bit of that myself, and I don’t do Facebook. For myself, nothing is more enjoyable than calling in to City Council meetings during a lockdown with a ice cold beer in my hand. Being a merry agitator can be fun.

Uninformed and keeping you in the dark.

That’s the way the City Council wants you, and that’s why the real business is discussed behind closed doors, in committees or parking lots, and it’s why most of what the Ridgecrest City Council says and does during public meetings is simply performative. Ask yourself why is the City of Ridgecrest in the entertainment business and spending tax dollars on City Nights, Movie Nights and Balsam Nights?

Below is an example of the Ridgecrest City Council in action on May 3, 2023, with 12 viewers on the City’s Youtube Channel and most likely, an empty council chamber. Notice the former childish Mayor, who’s name shall not be mentioned, doing a double horned finger thing during a performative presentation for future police-state children. Isn’t he cute?

It’s why our nation is in such serious jeopardy, right here and right now.

Performative politics is why a handful of virtue-signalling, self-serving and hopefully former federal government employees will stand on a street corner in front of Denny’s or at the entrance to the Death Valley visitors center while exercising their first amendment rights, when they have no clue what it is they’re protesting against except bad orange man and DOGE, and you’ve just been silenced by four years of the federal government stomping on your first amendment rights.

It’s why the City of Ridgecrest will never recover from a death spiral of oppressive police-state government and debilitating taxation. It’s all government all the time in Ridgecrest. It’s the blob writ large. What can you do? You leave town and try to find a better place to live, work and raise a family, anywhere but the City of Ridgecrest and the State of California will do, but please don’t go to Arizona. They/we don’t want you.

Performative politics is why we elected Donald J. Trump to be our President. Hopefully, he’ll do what he says and get us out of another meaningless war in Ukraine and the Middle East. I’m still holding my breath.

We all need to stay informed and get involved, wherever we live. Ridgecrest is not unique, and the community doesn’t live in a bubble.

Black letter law refers to well-established legal rules that are clear, accepted, and no longer subject to reasonable dispute. It encompasses the fundamental principles of law that are documented in legal texts and widely recognized by courts.

For more information:

https://roadrunner395.com/2025/05/11/indian-wells-valley-water-war-update-kaboom-the-city-of-ridgecrest-just-blew-itself-up