Larson and Leavitt

Happy Friday. Not much to say on this post, except what’s the point of having access to public officials’ emails if you can’t print exchanges like this one between radio host Lars Larson and Vancouver Mayor Tim Leavitt?

From: Larson, Lars [Lars.Larson@alphabroadcasting.com]

Sent: Thursday, February 07, 2013 9:04 AM

To: Leavitt, Tim

Subject: i thought you guys were broke

Glad to have you on yesterday and looking forward to an hour next week
My wife just called to say that a city truck just showed up, six guys, with shovels, to plant good sized trees in a forest that the city doesn’t take very good care of now (looks like a slash burning pile most of the time)
What’s up with that Mr Mayor?
Another “city forrester” project?
Lars

From: Leavitt, Tim [mailto:Tim.Leavitt@cityofvancouver.us]

Sent: Thursday, February 07, 2013 9:28 AM

To: Larson, Lars

Subject: RE: i thought you guys were broke

Trees are good for us and our environment, Lars!

I’m happy to inquire with the Urban Forester on the nature of the project.
If I recall correctly, there is a low-grade wetland area near your home, that may have some protection associated with it. Regardless, planting more vegetation will improve the quality of that natural resource, and, may even improve the value of your property!
Best,
tim

From: Larson, Lars [Lars.Larson@alphabroadcasting.com]

Sent: Thursday, February 07, 2013 9:32 AM

To: Leavitt, Tim

Subject: RE: i thought you guys were broke

You mean they’re planting trees in the “Tim Leavitt Mosquito Breeding Center”?

Lars

From: Leavitt, Tim [mailto:Tim.Leavitt@cityofvancouver.us]

Sent: Thursday, February 07, 2013 9:33 AM

To: Larson, Lars

Subject: RE: i thought you guys were broke

Funny!

City policy is that city public spaces/buildings/trails can’t be named after an individual until they have deceased!

Are you planning on knocking me off?

From: Larson, Lars [Lars.Larson@alphabroadcasting.com]

Sent: Thursday, February 07, 2013 9:40 AM

To: Leavitt, Tim

Subject: RE: i thought you guys were broke

Not right away…unless you get that stupid light rail coming into town.

If the lawsuit is successful, are you going to allow a vote on the issue? The one where 32 petition signatures out of 13,000 kept the thing off the ballot…and city council refused to do the right thing and let the public vote

Lars

From: Leavitt, Tim [mailto:Tim.Leavitt@cityofvancouver.us]

Sent: Thursday, February 07, 2013 10:15 AM

To: Larson, Lars

Subject: RE: i thought you guys were broke

Uh oh…guess I’ll need to ask for a security detail line-item in the next budget.

Maybe even a fortified SUV for traveling around town!

I doubt any lawsuit will be successful, because it is contradictory to State Law.

As you may know, there are different laws for State-wide petitions versus local petitions.

Regarding the petition…to be factual:

1. The signature gathering attempt #1 failed. Some 8,000…..8,000!!! signatures had to be tossed by the Clark County Auditor. Wonder how much taxpayer money that effort cost all of us?
2. At that point, the City of Vancouver, per our Charter, had the option of dismissing the petition, or, allowing another opportunity for the signature gatherers to go to work. We decided to be giving with our decision, and offer them another opportunity.
3. So….they enlist David Madore and ask him to PAY for signature collection. He pays $2/signature and spends some $17k. Still, some 1200+ signatures had to be tossed for various reasons. (Makes one wonder how genuine the signature gathers are when they are getting paid for each signature….). Consequence: Still have not obtained enough signatures to qualify for a ballot!
4. Important to note….every sheet of the petition had this statement on it: Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seeking an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. Do you think law enforcement should pursue and make inquiry with these individuals?
5. In last Novembers General Election, about 66,500 Vancouver residents voted for the Metropolitan Parks District proposal. Now…I’m not sure how many registered voters there are right now in Vancouver, so I grabbed this number from the Elections website. Let’s just use this number for kicks. The signature gatherers are known opponents of light rail and have been raising heck for many years about their opposition to light rail; they have been attempting to collect signatures for more than two years; they have been paid to collect signatures. With that background, let’s do some math. Needed valid signatures = 5,472. Number of voters last general election (parks MPD) = 66,500. Thus, percentage of registered/valid voters needed to be collected (likely conservative number) = 5,472/66,500 = 8.2%. So, the signature collection effort has failed twice to collect valid signatures for what is surely to be less than 8% of the legal, registered voters in Vancouver.
   Just some thoughts to ponder…

From: Larson, Lars [Lars.Larson@alphabroadcasting.com]

Sent: Thursday, February 07, 2013 10:56 AM

To: Leavitt, Tim

Subject: RE: i thought you guys were broke

Points taken Mr Mayor. Now fire that Urban Forester

Lars