Remember “WE the people of the United States of America?” How about “a government of the PEOPLE, by the PEOPLE, for the PEOPLE, shall not perish from the earth?”

As you will recall, these are our founding fathers’ very first words as they appeared in the Constitution of the United States and Abraham Lincoln’s words from the Gettysburg Address. How very profound that these few simple words stand for something so very important to all of us -- our democratic freedom.

 

I have become concerned, as many of you surely have, that many of our elected officials and government leaders are making a mockery of these very words. Transparency and trust is becoming a lost art; deception and trickery is becoming the standard method of operation. But the very words above remind us that this is OUR government and that this government works for US.

For the last four months I have been sharing with you many things going on in our county that you were probably not aware of, and in many cases you might have been quite shocked to hear. But, the truth is the truth, and no matter how you twist it, it remains the truth. The bottom-line is that you are not aware of what is happening because those in a position of authority in the county don’t want you to know what is happening -- what is even more apparent is that they are not interested in hearing from you, even if it directly affects you.

 

I also want to take this opportunity to remind you that Santa Barbara County is managed by Chief Executive Officer Mike Brown, and as of March 2005, all the county department heads report directly to him instead of reporting to the board of supervisors, as once they did. Also, Mike Brown serves as clerk of the board -- so on top of everything else he is the “gatekeeper” of the records; I guess that is for convenience.  I make this point here to simply clarify that if something doesn’t seem right to you, is unclear or incomplete, or is a complete surprise to you -- then I suggest that you look to Mr. Brown to address your concerns. I would also like to remind the board of supervisors that the CEO still works for them and that they still work for us.

 

I think we must constantly remind our elected and appointed officials that public trust is not negotiable, and that the “process” is not a toy that can be played with at will. We demand transparency and will no longer tolerate a policy of “smoke and mirrors.” I also think that the pendulum is swinging back, and the citizens of our community understand that they can not be complacent when it comes to fighting for their right to have an open democratic process that must be protected at all costs.

 

What do you think?

 

Steve Pappas is a regular contributor to the Santa Ynez Valley Journal and is a declared candidate for the 3rd District seat on the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors.