More about the blog
City Councilman John McCowen, who was the person who mentioned a Wattenburger recall effort to John Graff at the Daily Journal and whose intent was to say that he opposes a recall effort - see his letter to the editor and his comment posted here - says that he believes this blog is a place where I deliberately "publish" things that would not normally go into the newspaper because they are on shaky ground accuracy-wise and then by publishing the blog on Sundays in the print version I get around the normal bars to publishing things that I don't know are absolutely true. He says that anyone can just whisper in my ear something they know to be untrue and it will likely end up in the newspaper through this blog. I told John that's just not true and as I said in the blog earlier, I will judge the source. Also, if John had been reading the Daily Journal over the years I have been writing the Commerce File or my Sunday column, he would know that I have passed along tidbits heard around town I believe to be interesting and as a way to get people talking about them. Very often that does produce more information, which is the idea. I think McCowen understands that. I have a copy of an email McCowen recently sent to Ukiah Mayor Mari Rodin in which he says "This is a warning shot that people should be checking her blog and posting comments. As long as the comments get accurately posted it can be another method of providing information to the community. The same goes for letters to the editor. I do believe they play an important role in framing the debate and elevating public awareness."
Since the recall blog item came out and the comments have been noted, here's what I believe: John McCowen did indeed tell John Graff about discussions of a recall. He later told Graff (and says to me too) that every time he's asked, he refuses to get involved with it. Every time? McCowen has since told me directly the Smart Growth Coalition had a recall discussion a few weeks back and rejected the idea because Wattenburger's up for reelection next year anyway. (The betting is that McCowen will run for the seat.) McCowen also told me that local activist Beth Bosk is the person who continues to raise the recall issue and did so at another Smart Growth gathering recently, but the idea was rejected again.
Speaking of Wattenburger's seat, Jim Mulheren the Ukiah planning commissioner who favors a retail mall at Masonite, says if Wattenburger doesn't run and McCowen does, he will throw his hat in the ring against McCowen. Mulheren's actual place of residence is still in question by the way. He maintains he lives above his cabinet shop on Waugh Lane and not at "my wife's house" outside the city limits, but no one really believes it. Seems that at neither the city nor the county level does anyone actually check to make sure that people holding offices actually live in the places they say they do.