So I did speak to Jon Hatami at some length on Friday night while his nascent internet campaign launched and received coverage here on SCVTalk, which I then firmly believe drove some coverage from the SIGNAL. The bulk of that interview will appear in the Myers Musings column in the Signal on December 4, and before everyone jumps up and thinks I "hated" on the nonincumbent the column is extremely favorable.
I found Jon Hatami intelligent and articulate. When comparing him with the current sitting council members he certainly has the best education. (He went to an accredited law school unlike Frank Ferry.) I believe strongly that he would probably test highest on the Wonderlic test if it were given simultaneously to him and all the sitting City council members, but.....
Jon exhibits a certain charming naivete about the City of Santa Clarita and the issues facing it. He reminds me of the time years ago before the Lakers acquired Pau Gasol and Kobe Bryant went on his off season "deep sigh" media tour asking to be traded. Laker "superfans" would complain on talk radio about team management's "lack of effort" in acquiring impact players, as if their acquisition could be facilitated just by adding them to the roster and the issues surrounding contracts, salary caps and general availability could be ignored. This shows in his preliminary "platform" discussed below.
Jon and his campaign brain trust have been extremely busy over the holiday weekend and on his Facebook page he delineated a kind of "Contract with Santa Clarita," to wit:
Jon Hatami's "Contract with Santa Clarita"
I found Jon Hatami intelligent and articulate. When comparing him with the current sitting council members he certainly has the best education. (He went to an accredited law school unlike Frank Ferry.) I believe strongly that he would probably test highest on the Wonderlic test if it were given simultaneously to him and all the sitting City council members, but.....
Jon exhibits a certain charming naivete about the City of Santa Clarita and the issues facing it. He reminds me of the time years ago before the Lakers acquired Pau Gasol and Kobe Bryant went on his off season "deep sigh" media tour asking to be traded. Laker "superfans" would complain on talk radio about team management's "lack of effort" in acquiring impact players, as if their acquisition could be facilitated just by adding them to the roster and the issues surrounding contracts, salary caps and general availability could be ignored. This shows in his preliminary "platform" discussed below.
Jon and his campaign brain trust have been extremely busy over the holiday weekend and on his Facebook page he delineated a kind of "Contract with Santa Clarita," to wit:
1.Crime Prevention (Proactive policing) (New police station, Canyon Country substation, 2 OSS detectives, and a burglary suppression team) (Aggressively combat graffiti, vandalism, gang activity, and illegal drug sales in the SCV, especially among our young people) (Ban medical marijuana dispensaries in the SCV).2.Education (K-12 and COC): Support our public schools and help keep them number #1 (our tax dollars go only to our schools).
3.New courthouse
4.Ban Section 8 housing in the City of Santa Clarita
5.Child molesters are banned from schools, parks, the mall, arcades, etc., and no Halloween lights, no Christmas lights, etc. Do everything within the law to dissuade and prevent child molesters from moving into the SCV.
6.Allow CCW permits within city limits to all residents who qualify, even if they do not have a clear and immediate danger to their lives. Allow law-abiding citizens the right to protect themselves before they are threatened or placed in harms way.
7.Temporarily stop the building of new houses (Promote, protect, and preserve the Santa Clarita Valley environment) (Stop overcrowding)
8.Incorporate Stevenson Ranch and Castaic into the city for tax revenue.
9.Promote and encourage business in the Santa Clarita Valley (Againest Cemex mine, ban mining in Soledad Canyon)
10.Work to provide a high quality of life for the residents of Santa Clarita (low crime, safe and effective schools, family living, good public schools, preserve green spaces and parks, and ban section 8)
3.New courthouse
4.Ban Section 8 housing in the City of Santa Clarita
5.Child molesters are banned from schools, parks, the mall, arcades, etc., and no Halloween lights, no Christmas lights, etc. Do everything within the law to dissuade and prevent child molesters from moving into the SCV.
6.Allow CCW permits within city limits to all residents who qualify, even if they do not have a clear and immediate danger to their lives. Allow law-abiding citizens the right to protect themselves before they are threatened or placed in harms way.
7.Temporarily stop the building of new houses (Promote, protect, and preserve the Santa Clarita Valley environment) (Stop overcrowding)
8.Incorporate Stevenson Ranch and Castaic into the city for tax revenue.
9.Promote and encourage business in the Santa Clarita Valley (Againest Cemex mine, ban mining in Soledad Canyon)
10.Work to provide a high quality of life for the residents of Santa Clarita (low crime, safe and effective schools, family living, good public schools, preserve green spaces and parks, and ban section 8)
So to break this platform down. The City Council has already outright banned medical marijuana facilities within the City limits (though I wonder what Mr. Hatami's thoughts are on "synthetics" are that currently sold over the counter in certain establishments in town) The City does not control the K-12 school system or its funding, and in the second point Mr. Hatami seems to moot the possibility of completely changing the funding of schools back to local sources which would require the repeal of Prop 13 or the enactment of several parcel taxes.
On the issue of the new courthouse, the City also does not build these or control their location but they went so far as to promise land for a courthouse located in the Golden Valley area. The new courthouse, once it is built, will be in the Castaic Junction area.
On annexation Mr. Hatami is definitely for it and probably wonders why it has not happened already, unaware of the efforts thus far in that direction, the referendum on status held some time ago, and the County fighting tooth and claw against further enlargement of City borders beyond the freeways.
Mr. Hatami also takes the "risky" positions of being against child molesters, promoting local businesses, arming the population, a "temporary" building ban, etc. But let us focus on one thing made clear in his list: A "ban" on Section 8 Housing.
Now scapegoating the poor is a time honored American political tradition, and certainly no stranger to Santa Clarita politics, but a quick internet search reveals that activist groups and public interest law firms have used the federal Fair Housing Act to overturn even seemingly benign local zoning laws designed to discriminate against the poor and/or minorities. And the even better news: The City of Santa Clarita would not only get to pay legal fees to defend the ban but also get to pay the attorney's fees of the activists when they successfully overturn the restriction, which would seem to be quite easy with an outright "ban."
Also, for those thinking that Mr. Hatami's campaign has blasted off with a bang, his Facebook page currently has 51 "likes," but it is fun for us few but faithful to talk about.