The Proctor Is In: AP Blows Our Cover

Curses, Publius! Our anonymity is destroyed. Aaron Proctor has posted our mug shots online.

Bill Bogaard and the Future of Local Politics

The Planning Report recently made several articles available in its archives. One of them, happily enough, features Pasadena Mayor Bill Bogaard and it's an interview worth reading (TPM, so you know, is a planning and development newsletter for the LA metropolitan region that primarily publishes interviews with the movers and shakers in government and public investment).

The Q&A with Bogaard ranges over a variety of topics, many of which have graced the pages of Foothill Cities: the 710 tunnel, the Gold Line extension, the aging Rose Bowl. Heck, even the Affordable Housing Bunny gets some coverage. But what really caught our eye came at the end of the interview. The second to last question reads:

As the mayor of an important California city, you are aware of how digital revolution in communications and its impact on political dialog and civic participation. What are the challenges to governing brought on by MySpace and similar media?

Bogaard's response deals primarily with the challenges facing local newspapers, noting that "Some people are predicting that in five years newspapers as we know them will be gone." And undoubtedly local newspapers provide information in a way that citizen journalists and commentators just can't. But the question strikes at the very heart of the Foothill Cities endeavor. Government at the municipal level has the most influence on our day to day lives, and, at the same, is most likely to be influenced by the individual. And yet City Hall remains a cipher to the average Jane, its actions seeming to be the provenance of a removed, insular elite, while the White House and the state capitol receive far greater attention and interest.

It's into that breach that Foothill Cities throws itself. We're here to have an "impact on political dialog and civic participation." That is, we want to increase both. As much as we like to chuckle at the mania for political expression in Sierra Madre or the scheming of the "Claremont 400," there's something to be lauded in the both cases. Local politics really matter because it's where the rubber meets the road, where the abstract principle gets put into practice. Eminent domain abuse matters a hell of a lot more when it's your lifelong barbershop being bulldozed or your home that's been "blighted" out of existence. It's one thing for the President to promise more police on the streets, but it really matters if Glendora puts more men in blue on Myrtle Ave (especially if their priorities are a little, ahem, off). And allegations of corruption mean a lot more when it's your local redevelopment agency, which may have changed the face and demeanor of your community, that is being challenged.

We're optimistic that the digital revolution will increase participation in local politics, and we think that's a good thing. Bill Bogaard's not so certain, as he ponders what might happen if local newspapers die off:

I think it will make public service more difficult. The amount of information will be more, but its quality will be less. There will be more people, perhaps, accessing and reading information. That could be helpful. But it’s hard to predict; that subject would make a good discussion—either at thoughtful seminar or a lengthy conversation over a glass of wine.

Ah, now you're talking, Bill. We'll take you up on that offer any time, perhaps at a preferred local eatery. We could call it the "Think 'n Drink with Bill Bogaard: Politics and the People." Any sarcasm aside, I honestly think that would be a great conversation and one worth having.

Until Bill gets back to us, we'll continue that "lengthy conversation" with you, the folks of the Foothill Cities.

Best Comment of the Week

As promised, on Fridays we'll be noting the best comment of the week. This week, our honoree is none other than Aaron Proctor, former candidate for Mayor of Pasadena, for his response to Pasadena Election Drama. Proctor's thoughts?

Robin Salzer. A name you can trust, smothered in brown mustard and barbecue sauce.

Heh. For AP's take on the same issue, click here. Future winners may receive Cancun timeshares as a reward for their creativity or insight. Currently, finances permit only free publicity. Congrats, Aaron.

[Foothill Cities does not necessarily endorse the opinions of commentators by handing out said award. Foothill Cities may, in fact, disagree with the opinions voiced by said commentators. Foothill Cities does, however, give the award based on the comments it finds "best," and Foothill Cities reserves the right to define "best" however the hell we want. Please use comments responsibly.]

Comments Enabled at Foothill Cities!

So says the headline over at Eye Level Pasadena. Thanks, Jill!

Comments Ahoy!

Regular readers may have already noticed, but I'll call attention to it nonetheless. We have enabled comments on posts here at Foothill Cities. We'll be tinkering with the system to ensure its smooth operation (lest spambots or partisan flamers overrun the public posting areas), and we may need to moderate comments (see above parenthetical).

Many more changes are afoot at Foothill Cities, and comments are just the first incremental step. Feel free to fire away on posts old and new. As an additional incentive (as if you needed any more), the best comment(s) every week will get a main page post on Friday. For longer thoughts, letters or juicy tips, email is still preferred (thanks to all who have written in!).

Foothill Cities PR

Richard MacLean of Foothill Pages pens a very kind op-ed based on a recent interview (via IM) he did with yours truly.

Introducing: Centinel

Hold your applause until the end, please.

As you may have noticed, Foothill Cities has added another shady—er, shadowy—author to its mysterious ranks. Thankfully, Centinel has joined what can now be almost called our merry band, the better to provide you all with a more productive, expansive, and generally new and improved Foothill Cities blog. So give our fellow anonymous Foothill Cities blogger a warm welcome, then soak up his sweet eloquence.

But as they say on those loud "1-800" TV ads for new-and-useless-products: wait, there's more! We've also added another city—Pasadena—to our coverage area. So expect more exciting new developments in the future; enjoy increasing amounts of fresh baked local bloggage; and watch the local news revolution unfold before your very eyes.

We truly appreciate the growing number of you, our readers, and we welcome any and all comments, suggestions, or questions. Just email foothillcities -at- gmail -dot- com and holler away.

Claremont Insider Resurrected

Out of town for the weekend. Blogging will resume sometime tomorrow; lots to catch up on.

In the meantime, you all might be interested in the blog I discovered today called the Claremont Insider. Thanks for the link, Claremont Buzz.

Foothill Cities Gets Observed

Thanks to Kevin Roderick of LA Observed for the much appreciated link. As he says, this is an "anony-blog, so anybody could be behind it."

I would like to make clear that the intent of anonymity here is not to throw stones and hide behind an anonymous wall so much as it is to let my arguments and posts stand on their own. (I am far from being in their position in an infinite number of ways, but the Founders of our country wrote anonymously too, most famously under the pen name Publius in The Federalist Papers.) I know when I read anonymous blogs I take what they say with some hefty grains of salt, and I know my readers are smart enough to do the same. Trust me, if you knew who I am you wouldn't get that excited anyway.

I don't plan to have this become some online bastion of hidden rumor and innuendo or to secretly support causes and candidates. I would like, rather, in the limited time I have for it, to get people interested in San Gabriel Valley politics while airing my views. While I'll be keeping track of the news, I'll obviously be talking about some stories to the exclusion of others. In sum, what I choose to talk about or not talk about will obviously be biased.

If you do have a problem with what I say, feel free to email me. I don't plan to allow comments on the blog, but there is a good chance that I'll post them if they are thoughtful enough.

Now back to your regularly scheduled programming.

Props

Thanks to the cool aura of the LAist blog for the link.

If more grainy city council meeting videos from Claremont, Pomona, La Verne, San Dimas, Glendora, Azusa, Duarte, Bradbury, Monrovia, Arcadia, or Sierra Madre were posted on YouTube, the world would be a better place.

Or something.

Props

Thanks to SGV Trib City Editor Edward Barrera for the link. I agree it is hard to find good local blogs. As time goes on, however, I do think there will be an increasing number of them. I guess the good folks at placeblogger are banking on that.

Props

Thanks to Living in Monrovia and 2020 Hindsight for helping spread the word about this blog.

What is this blog about?

Please excuse the surrounding state o' the blog at present. As I get the time I'll shape it up. What's going on here, you ask?

As a resident of one of the “foothill cities” in Southern California, I am fascinated by the stories, people and interests that make up the often strange and always amusing local political scene. All politics is local, as the saying goes, and by observing local politics closely one can learn a lot about what makes people and politics tick as well as fulfilling one's civic duty. And heck, its also just plain entertaining.

As our area grows, it is vital that our local governments be transparent and accountable to residents. After all, in America government exists for the common good of the individuals and communities they represent, not for the good of government officials or special interests. This good is best achieved by limited governments that foster individual freedom and allow the natural ingenuity of our diverse foothill communities to flourish—not through regulation, red tape or the dangerous assumption that only government can solve our problems.

In light of all this, my blog exists to point voters and the local officials they elect in the “foothill cities” of the San Gabriel Valley and elsewhere to local stories, information, issues, debates, and scandals of interest. I will use the best (and worst) of local media as well as doing my own research. I hope that readers like you will help me by emailing foothillcities -@- gmail -dot- com with tips, comments, and questions. What's the point of me remaining anonymous if we can't stir the pot a little bit?

Also, if I get the hankering, I'll put up restaurant reviews and other more frivolous items of local interest just for fun.

Let's get started...