Monday, January 16, 2012

Welcome to my new Blog. Please check back for updates soon! -John Coffey (ID # 1363367)

13 comments:

  1. FOR THOSE THAT GOT THE COLOR FLYER FROM THE STATE PRISON GUARD POLITICAL COMMITTEE entitled "John Coffey's troubled past doesn't belong in the State Assembly", John, Coffey has the following comment:

    The California Correctional Peace Officers Association's Independent Expenditure Committee (the state "screws", who by the way are one of the top 2 political contributors in this state) have spent the time and money to send what is referred to as a one page glossy "hit piece" (ironic that the law enforcement union would put a hit out on a guy that has raised less than $2,000 for his campaign).
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    The first question, putting aside the accuracy and or misleading context of the flyer, is the question why bother with a guy that is indigent and who has held no prior elected political office?
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    As for the flyer, yes, I have an open divorce proceeding--there were many issues in dispute, but what the "screws" don't tell you, is that San Diego County Child Support closed their file with zero arearages the middle of last year and before that, the judgment had been appealed--obviously successfully so. While the "screws" may not care about due process (or political fairness), I did, the Count eventually did and so should the voters.
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    Yes, there was a filing for a civil domestic violence that was never served and was dismissed by the court without a hearing (another factual omission by the friendly "screws"). Parenthetically, the action for alleged domestic violence was filed after my ex-wife moved from the community home.
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    Finally as to the political registration, I am a registered Democrat, have voted Democrat and had our informed "screws" read the law, they would find out that there could never be registration as a "reform party" member--in fact, since it is not a recognized party, no one in California is registered a "reform" party member--they have no ballot access.
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    By the way, it makes sense what Jahn said at the San Bernardino County Fair (who obviously knew about the hit piece coming) when he said, "I am surprised Coffey would show"--maybe the expenditure was not so independent!
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    Your servant...
    .
    John Coffey

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  2. Heh guys John Coffey was just re-endorsed by the California Labor Federation on July 30, 2012 and the International Longshore & Warehouse Union Southern California District Council on July 24, 2012! Great news!

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  3. 8:20 pm Just returned from a VERY well attended and provisioned meet and greet at Paul A Courtney's home. Lots of pols, biz and gov't types like Bev Lawry, Hizzoner, Bob Smith, #2 #3 #4 Sheriff's Dept guys. The sense of uncertainty about many local and other races circulated in the room like a/c. The keynote speaker was stressed and very emphatic about jobs and transportation development for the Barstow area. Can you guess who that was?

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  4. The following endorsements were received today:
    California State Legislative Board--Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers & Trainmen
    International Brotherhood of Teamsters
    Timothy L. Smith, Chairman Tsmith@sbcglobal.net

    The California Federation of Teachers, AFT, AFL-CIO has endorsed me for the 2012 General Election 33rd Assembly District

    Thank you, my brothers and sisters for your trust and confidence, and your support. jdc

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  5. 10:00 pm non-endorsement news
    The San Bernardino County Safety Employees Benefit Association refused to endorse either candidate in the 33rd Assembly District. They did endorse candidates in the 36th, 40th, 47th, and 52nd Assembly Districts. President, Laren Leichliter www.seba.biz/Endorsements.aspx

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  6. Yesterday the sample ballots were delivered, customized by precinct. My name on the ballot preceeds Mr. Donnelly's in the Assembly District Box! The candidate statement came out really well, thanks to Bob Conaway. Also delivered were the first two full color mailers on two issues: Paul Cook and No on 37 (the GMO food labeling initiative).

    You can vote early at ROV starting Oct 9. If you find yourself in the San Berdoo neighborhood, stop by 777 E. Rialto Avenue and lock in your vote.

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  7. A San Bernardino County school district must immediately comply with a previous court order allowing a parents group to convert a failing elementary school into a charter, a Superior Court judge ruled Friday in a case is seen as an important test of California's "parent trigger" law.

    Judge John Vander Feer said the Adelanto Elementary School District must allow the Desert Trails Parent Union to select a charter operator to take over Desert Trails Elementary School, said Mark Holscher, the Los Angeles lawyer representing the parents free of charge.

    "Judge Vander Feer made it clear that the court will not tolerate the district's attempts to ignore court orders," Holscher said.

    The parents group returned to court Friday after the school board in August refused to abide by a previous court ruling that ordered the district to proceed with the parent's petition calling for a charter operator to take over the school.

    Instead, the board voted to form an advisory council to study reforms.

    School board President Carlos Mendoza did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday's ruling.

    The parent union is scheduled to choose a charter operator to take over the school for the 2013-14 academic year on Thursday, said Doreen Diaz, lead organizer of the parent union.

    "We are thrilled," she said.

    The parents union is using California's so-called "parent trigger" law to force the school conversion. The law allows parents to force reforms at low-performing schools through a petition signed by a simple majority of the students' guardians.

    The law is opposed by teachers unions and administrators who see it as encroaching on their area of expertise.

    The Adelanto case has generated interest across the country as the nation's first successful parent trigger petition.

    The Associated Press

    JC: It's about darn time there was some enforcement of accountability for failing public schools. Adelanto School District has been a poster child for vouchers since "No child left behind" was passed and implemented. But they are hardly the only High Desert district with schools in the tenth year of a five year improvement plan. I sincerely hope that SANDABS gets the message while there is still time to do something about it!

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  8. Again in the Endorsement News, the California State Association of Letter Carriers Executive Board today endorsed me for the 33rd Assembly District. As a former Post Office Department part time letter carrier in Denver in the 1960's, I know how hard they work. I thank them for their trust and confidence and support in their time of stress and need of public support.

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  9. Bob Conaway wrote on Facebook:
    In Thursday's October 18th Desert Disptach (newspaper) I saw three letters ("The Buck never stops", "Broken Record & "No Shows") that make some points but ignore the obvious....whatever President we get come November 6, 2012 (or whoever came to a local political forum or not), we are the same people. To improve Barstow and the surrounding areas (and this is true for any community), we need to take charge of what WE can do which includes (and this is not a complete list but some personal favorites), (1) buy local and preferably, and if available, American made products to increase the need for American jobs, (2) similarly urge our friends to buy local and preferrably American, (3) use local service providers where available--maybe the City can make up a directory to hand out or put it on their website and once in a while advertise in the on-base newspapers or local radio for local businesses? (4) Resist creating new box stores that sell products m...ade in China, which means maybe fight the Wal-Mart-type invasion once in a while, (5) to compete with the Wal-Marts, look into starting a food co-op like they do in Inyo county, to buy food and goods at wholesale cost and only sell a markup sufficient to cover overhead, (6) hire locals and not forever search for people in other cities, (7) hold our school superintendents and elected boards accountable for producing a record number of "graduates" that need remedial course work in English and math before they can take even community college courses--if we produce a technically deficient student product, we cannot draw much less keep local business and expect job growth, (8) quit making an excuse for polluters--when our air and water get impacted, who wants to bring their families here? Get more involved in investigation and clean-up status so when the subject comes up, you can tell people how the problem is being addressed, (9) start thinking about what type of community service volunteer work you can do to improve how Barstow (or any community for tat matter) looks and maybe by that we might just help housing and commercial space values; (10) we need to ask banks in our area, why are they denying loans to locals who have been here for decades who are trying to keep their homes; (11) put on line packages for companies to use to inquire about moving to the area and explain the type of incentives and advantages Barstow (or any other community) might be able to bring to a light commercial manufacturing operation--advantages like Barstow has -- highway, rail, available labor and low cost housing---selling a city starts with US, not the U.S.of A.'s current or future elected leadership.
    Yesterday at 3:08pm ·

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  10. Battery firm backed by federal stimulus money files for bankruptcy
    By Carol D. Leonnig, Published: October 16
    The Washington Post

    An electric-car-battery company that won a $249 million stimulus grant filed for bankruptcy Tuesday, reigniting Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney’s criticism that the Obama administration wasted taxpayer money by subsidizing clean energy companies.

    The company has received $130 million of its federal grant, which it used to build a Michigan plant to manufacture lithium ion batteries for electric cars. The company said it would create thousands of jobs.

    But the start-up was besieged by problems, including malfunctions and fires in its batteries and a heavy reliance on a single troubled buyer, carmaker Fisker Automotive.

    “A123’s bankruptcy is yet another failure for the president’s disastrous strategy of gambling away billions of taxpayer dollars on a strategy of government-led growth that simply does not work,” Romney campaign spokeswoman Andrea Saul said in an e-mailed statement.

    A123 is the fifth prominent clean-energy firm the Obama administration subsidized with loans or grants that has filed for bankruptcy protection, joining solar firms Solyndra and Abound Solar, energy firm Beacon Power, and battery company Ener1. Solyndra, whose lead investor was linked to a key Obama donor, is often cited by Republicans as a prime example of “cronyism” in President Obama’s stimulus program.

    The Energy Department had agreed to lend Fisker $529 million but in 2011 refused to release funding beyond the $193 million that had gone out.

    A123 chief executive David Vieau said in a December interview with The Washington Post that the company was hitting the same “minor bumps in the road” that every start-up experiences.

    Obama had touted A123 as a job creator and illustration of his stimulus program at work. He made a highly publicized call to A123’s Livonia plant for its 2010 opening and said the plant signaled “the birth of an entire new industry in America.”

    An Energy Department spokesman said that the company’s fall is natural in a free market, and that Johnson Controls, which makes batteries and energy systems, has bought A123’s factories.

    “In an emerging industry, it’s very common to see some firms consolidate with others as the industry grows and matures,” Dan Leistikow wrote in an e-mail.

    A Johnson Controls spokesman said the firm intends to use A123’s technology. Johnson Controls won a $299 million stimulus grant to build two battery plants. It is running one at half-capacity and has put off plans to build the second.

    Note: Another 35 or so companies that have received half a million dollars or more for so-called "green" projects, especially photo-voltaic and related hardware, have filed for BK or are "foundering". As I have frequently stated at numerous public "hearings" for permit approval and CEQA approvals, this has been a fast buck artist's dream. The only thing green about these debacles is the money these firms have somehow spent but not produced anything usable or reusable. I will print the fabulously expensive list on a later blog, together with amounts spent as above. In the meantime, the Department of the Interior (you remember, the same Department that ran the Bureau of Indian Affairs tribal trusts into oblivion for 80 years and the taxpayers had to settle for great big bucks because the "books" were gibberish) has completed their 6 state land grab in the name of "green energy". See "Solar PEIS" (google it). Yo digo Ustedes seguro, compadres, BASTA!

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  11. Just got off the phone with Andrew Edwards, Reporter, SB Sun. A bright young man with an inquiring mind, he wanted to review some material we had previously discussed before completing his political piece on the 33rd Assembly District contest to be published Sunday or Monday. Legislative agendas, new ideas for fiscal restructuring (The California State Bank), how to fix the public schools, the "parent trigger" law enforced in Adelanto, undocumented workers and their families (some of whom are native born citizens of the US), HARP 2 home refinance and loan modifications, seniors, veterans, and other related topics were visited. Check it out Sunday or Monday in the Sun. He did not share what my opponent discussed, and I did not ask him to. I hope he does the "compare and contrast" approach on issues so the voters have something coherent if not intelligent to use in making their decisions. Have a safe weekend everyone! :))

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  12. Another busy week in Barstow and the Victor Valley for the campaign. I'm getting a lot of positive feedback from my friends who commute to Barstow but live in the Victor Valley about the signs they are seeing in Apple Valley and Hesperia. Many many people have already voted, and some have shared their support for my election. If the registered Democrats vote in the 50% range, and the DNS break even or 60/40, I can win this. Mr. Donnelly's quip to the Sun reporter on the 20th that "It's Coffey versus the Tea Party" was a real gift to me. Lots planned for this weekend, Barstow's Mardi Gras Parade is Saturday about 6 PM, should be fun. I'll be there with Eddie U. Garcia and much of the faithful.
    If you are a vote by mail voter, please make your decisions and mail or drop off your ballot at the Barstow Public Library Ballot Box. Sixty-five cents is the required postage for the non-yellow mail in evelopes. ROV Mr.Scarpello informed candidates at a recent forum in Victorville that the County will pay any postage due amounts to the Postal Service. But the best way is 65 cents. Don't forget to sign and date the back of the mail-in envelope. Thanks for all the very hard work since January 3 and let's get this DONE--YAAAAAY:))

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  13. The SB Sun, on October 28, 2012, in their Election 2012 Special Section entitled ENDORSEMENTS ROUNDUP, page S3, surprised everyone with the following endorsement of me for the 33rd Assembly District: "Coffey, a Barstow educator and Army veteran, understands the needs of men and women who have completed their service to our nation, and endorses efforts to bring new training and jobs to the High Desert to support military families--a huge need for the Barstow area, which is home to the Marine Corps Logistics Base and the city closest to Fort Irwin."

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