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The Proctor Is In: Recall Madison?
By Aaron Proctor | May 16, 2008
Should Councilmember Steve Madison be recalled? One of my readers thinks so:
Steve Madison reeks of shear arrogance. He should either vacate his seat or a recall petition should be started. City council is supposed to be a “part-time” position though it really is more of a full-time commitment and he can’t even honor that. PATHETIC. How can anyone of at least average intelligence even consider Madison as a possible viable mayoral contender. He may contend but he won’t give the time commitment that is required. Bottom line is this, If he can’t make council meetings due to his workload how the hell is he ever going to put in the time required to be an effective Mayor. The Mayor of Pasadena is not a part-time job.
More here.
- AP
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Topics: Main Page, That's Entertainment, The Proctor Is In, Pasadena |
May 16th, 2008 at 7:39 am
Yeah, but he’s not the mayor of Pasadena right now, so the question is he doing a good enough job as a councilmember. I know Madison’s got a lot of naysayers but can anyone demonstrate that he’s actually been negligent in representing his district? By that I mean that his absences or remote appearances have hurt his district?
May 16th, 2008 at 8:06 am
Worst attendance record of any Council member since January of 07.
If you don’t show up, you’re being negligent.
May 16th, 2008 at 9:04 am
I don’t know about this one Aaron. The guy missed a lame ass PUSD-Council joint meeting and on Memorial Day there is NO council and he is phoning in the other times when he can - so it seems like he doing what he can to be a part of things.
Is this your own personal bias seeping through??
May 16th, 2008 at 9:27 am
Hells yeah it’s my own personal bais seeping through
He’s missed tons of meetings before, though, too…
I don’t know. All I know that he’s getting paid not to be there. If I miss a day of work, I don’t get paid. Why should he be exempt for what the rest of us have to do?
If anyone had his attendance record at any other job, they’d be fired or be on some kind of probation.
I think at very least - if we can’t recall him, he should give back his portion of his stipend or give it to a legit charity (not WPRA or something) every time he misses a meeting unless it’s an emergency or something.
Goes for other Councilmembers as well.
May 16th, 2008 at 10:08 am
There is something to actually making the city council meetings…since he is, after all, a city councilmember, and much as a I love telecommuting, I’m not sure I’m a fan for my elected officials to do the same.
Again, though, the bigger question would be whether it’s had a real impact on his constituents.
May 16th, 2008 at 10:17 am
Considering some of the news media here in Pasadena obviously has a bias toward Steve Madison (since certain public editors are friends with the guy) most constituents probably don’t even KNOW Madison isn’t showing up for meetings.
If this were Jacque Robinson doing this, you’d have a million people saying “See - she needs to step down!” (like the time she phoned in from Washington).
Fair is fair. At very least, he shouldn’t be getting paid for meetings he’s not attending.
I know you have to have a job and feed a family - but since when was being an elected official “a side gig”. Don’t give me the “He’s Not Mayor” stuff. Elected is elected. Whether you’ve been elected dog catcher or been elected Councilman - do your job. If you’re not doing your job, even in the slightest, isn’t that an impact on your constituents?
May 16th, 2008 at 10:22 am
Also - representative government.
Meaning, you don’t think you’re better than other people.
Meaning - again - if I had the same shoddy attendance record as Madison, if I had the same lackluster attitude toward my job - it would be hindering my company enough to where I’d get a written warning or be fired.
The guy even brings his law work with him in boxes to City Council meetings. If I were supposed to be paying attention during a meeting and the boss found me working on my blog, I’d be in some serious doo doo.
May 16th, 2008 at 11:03 am
I’m all for multitasking, but that seems pretty ridiculous. It’s almost like city councilmembers don’t actually take their jobs seriously…hmmm…that’s funny because they still have a lot of control over a city with a $600 million budget and their decisions can affect your day to day life in a huge way (see smoking ban).
May 16th, 2008 at 11:13 am
I do agree, if this were Jacque people would be claiming how she shouldn’t be in office.
May 16th, 2008 at 4:54 pm
*nods* So a recall doesn’t seem so hasty, does it?
May 16th, 2008 at 8:58 pm
A recall seems way too hasty if it is just an effort to get publicity and your name in the paper. Do you even live in District 6?
May 17th, 2008 at 6:02 am
Now now, I never said it was an effort to get publicity or my name in the paper. Although I am definitely a whore for attention..there’s no doubt about that. If I want to get publicity or my name in the paper, there’s plenty of other easier tasks I could endure.
I do not live in District 6 but I care about Pasadena…and if this were happening anywhere else, I’d still be saying the same exact things.
May 17th, 2008 at 6:31 am
[…] has now been some pretty good discussion of the pros and cons of a recall over on the Foothill Cities […]
May 17th, 2008 at 2:57 pm
When is the local news media going to do an expose on all of those free trips that he took
to Havana, Cuba at the expense of the Southwest
Voter Research and Education Project and the
Willie Velasquez Institute? These numerous trips were never reported as gifts on his FPPC filings at Pasadena City Hall.
May 17th, 2008 at 2:59 pm
Well, for a place that’s highly critical of entities like Fox News - the media in this town isn’t going to talk about anything of the sort.
I want to know how many Cuban ladies got the Madison special, too.
May 17th, 2008 at 11:37 pm
A JD degree does not equate to intelligence. It is possible to memorize all that is required.
May 18th, 2008 at 12:00 am
Yes Centinel, Steve Madison’s constant absenses have hurt his district because he’s missing important meetings that involve his district and require his vote. He was absent during the smoking discussion that greatly impacts the business’s in his district. He Flip Flopped on the NFL. He doesn’t return phone calls. This is called being AWOL from sworn in duty. Do you call this mayoral material? If he can’t find the time to be a responsible councilmember how the hell will he find the time to be mayor? It takes time and it takes a committment. I doubt very seriously if Mayor Bogaard would like to turn his gavel over to Absent Steve.
May 18th, 2008 at 9:35 am
And now Madison is commenting anonymously on my blog from his New Jersey wireless connection:
“Mr. Madison goes out of town on business and, not wanting to shirk his duties as a public servant, calls in to participate in the council meeting so that District 6 constituents and all Pasadenans are represented. While most would call this dedication, Mr. Proctor considers it malfeasance. Mr. Proctor is being crushed by the weight of the gigantic chip on his shoulder. It’s OK to let this one go, sir.”
Well, Madison, why not grow some balls and start commenting publicly under your own name?
May 18th, 2008 at 8:32 pm
Steve Madison is the primary reason that we need to enact Term Limits in Pasadena and Victor Gordo is right on his tail. Two terms and out. It might also be a prudent idea to discuss making the council seats a full-time paid position as to rid the “shirk his duties” problem from occuring in the future. The electeds will then be able to put what ever time is needed to govern our city.
May 18th, 2008 at 11:01 pm
make the city council full-time, fully paid? oh, yeah, that’s a really good idea. would pasadena then be the smallest city in america with a full-time council? i believe it would be. only a relatively few large cities do that — or corrupt smaller cities. and the pay would be set at … what? and with these term limits in effect, a talented mid-career person would take off eight years from her or his job in hopes of returning to …? come on. even the california legislature should be part-time. and part-time paid. it passes too many laws as it is. to make a city council full-time is to invite the worst kind of chicanery.
May 18th, 2008 at 11:11 pm
OK Larry, point taken on full-time positions but not on term limits. What is your honest opinion on term limits? It works in the Assembly, State Senate, the Mayor of LA and with the Governor so why not in a city such as Pasadena? One more thing, phoning in your council duties on more than one occasion says that you’re too busy to hold the seat. If your profession won’t allow you the free time to represent your district as you were sworn in under oath to do then you shouldn’t hold that seat.
May 19th, 2008 at 6:10 am
I guess, to some, serving your City isn’t that important.
Who knew?
May 19th, 2008 at 6:41 am
How about getting an accounting from Madison for all the money he has made selling off those Rose Bowl tickets every year to his downtown law firm pals?
May 19th, 2008 at 6:42 am
Full-time council members are a bad idea. Full-time politicians in general are a bad idea. Look at all of the nothing happening full-time members of congress that have done next to nothing while gas skyrockets and people lose their homes and in the meantime, they just give themselves raise after raise while the people get a lousy 1200 stimulus from the government and thats if you’re married.
As far as term limits, the current system works just fine.
May 19th, 2008 at 6:44 am
And get “Pink Houses” by John Mellencamp off of repeat, Larry.
I’m sick of the Pasadena “Oh but we’re just a tiny small wittle town” cop out.
World-renowned events happen here all the time. How the hell are we just “another small town”? Oh wait, we’re just “Mayberry RFD” when it comes to letting anyone outside of our borders know that anything bad goes on here.
So, how come we’re big time Pasadena when the floats come through on New Year’s…but we’re small time Pasadena when Councilmembers are screwing up or someone is getting murdered in our Northwest (the part of the City that doesn’t exist during all of our world-renowned festivities)?
May 19th, 2008 at 7:18 am
[…] biggest “Sex In The City” fan and PSN Public Editor, Larry Wilson, chimes in over on the Foothill Cities side of the discussion: would pasadena then be the smallest city in america with a full-time council? i believe it would […]
May 19th, 2008 at 8:54 am
AC, as far as the current system, it does not work fine. You had councilmembers falling over each other trying to get a seat on the failed Youth YAC just for political gain, you have some councilmembers who are afraid to think out of the box because it may hurt their future political aspirations and you have people like Steve Madison who really don’t have the time to dedicate to the city even in a “Part-Time” capacity. And you think the system works? What city are you talking about, Bagdad or Sadr City?
Two terms and out with the opportunity to run again after sitting out a term. It works in most cities, it brings in freshness and new ideas and it breaks up the malaise that settles in when councilmembers are tenured into their seats.
May 19th, 2008 at 9:20 am
And term limits fix that how???
Then you have people thinking I only have a LIMITED time, and they do the SAME thing ONLY quicker - just to pad their resume.
Politics will always be about partisan personal agendas until we can do it without people and I don’t see that happening.
May 19th, 2008 at 9:32 am
I like the idea of term limits - but AC does have a point, it just creates a revolving door of douchebags instead of a DMV-esque queue of douchebags.
Although, you do have the possibility of more people running that aren’t part of the Good Ol’ Boys club.
With that said - of course politics is about personal agendas. Life is pretty much about personal agendas. Yeah, I can’t stand Madison. Everyone knows that.
That also means I’m the best person suited to get him to pay back his stipend or step down or whatever.
It’s not fair that he gets to get away with not serving the community while others are quickly criticized when they miss a few meetings or have higher political aspirations.
It’s not fair that he’s protected by a lot of the media in this City and that he’s given this image of “he can’t do wrong”.
And it’s not fair that I’m painted as a “Vicious bad guy” because I call him out on his crap time in and time out.
Madison thinks he’s safe as houses because he has a big line of defense in this City - including the Mayor and guys like Larry Wilson.
It’s not the same old same old in Pasadena anymore and I want to make sure everyone knows this is NOT how a Councilman is supposed to serve.
May 19th, 2008 at 11:15 am
AC #28 “until we can do it without people”
A virtual city council? 2nd life of 2nd Life
May 19th, 2008 at 11:21 am
I once lived in Pasadena. It totally reminded me of small town southern politics. What can you do for me attitude. Then, I move to Monrovia……….
May 19th, 2008 at 11:46 am
We can’t do it without people Miss H. That is the point, and all people are flawed and have lives, families and ideas about the city.
It’s funny people claim they don’t want the good old boys, yet everytime Robinson, who is NOT one of thegood ole boys so much as shows up late or makes any error - everyone says how great Henderson, who has been in politics for years, would have been or Robin.
Jacque is EXACTLY what people who hate career politicians CLAIM they want. Yet those same people probably would post how they don’t like Jacque. We don’t like the good ole boys, but only when it is NOT our good ole boys.
If Clinton, Hillary or Bill, went into Iraq and could not find the WMDs, the Republicans would have had a fit about the war and the Dems would be saying we need to be there.
Why?? Because we are sheep, we follow our candidates based on party lines and never research or listen to the other side, which sometimes has great points.
People who have hated McCain for years will now vote for him simply because he is a Republican and many black folks who held Bill Clinton up for years as the first black president, now say they NEVER trusted him, which is bull.
Term limits can’t fix what’s wrong with American politics. Until we learn to vote for a person and not a party we will always be screwed by politicians.
May 19th, 2008 at 11:56 am
[…] AC We can’t do it without people Miss H. That is the point, and… […]
May 19th, 2008 at 12:09 pm
Term limits are a start to getting career politicians off the council. it’s a bit of a catch 22 because at times you may end up with someone like Jacque Robinson and then it’s a crap shoot which you’ll probably lose. At least it’s a fresh voice and if she can’t handle it or doesn’t like it she can vacate her seat our not file for relection. Good candidates will show their mettle during the course of the campaign through forums and interviews. Term limits would prevent these candidates from ever entering the fire. Term limits are good because a bad councilmember will be vetted out after 2 terms rather than being able to keep the seat for as long as he or she wants it.
May 19th, 2008 at 1:19 pm
A bad councilmember can be vetted out after one term if people vote. Why do you need term limits when you have the power to change the council by voting.
May 19th, 2008 at 1:24 pm
The longer they last on Council, though, AC - the more money they get and the more impossible they get to run against.
Look at anybody who’s tried to run vs. Bogaard.
May 19th, 2008 at 2:38 pm
Sorry to say, no one credible has run against the mayor. Money has nothing to do with why Bogey is still in office.
Bogey definitely did not need the little money he makes as mayor for his campaign, he was ALREADY loaded.
If money decided this then MAsuda would have beat Haderlein and I am sure Jacque did not out spend Henderson, Salzar or Leon.
If money dictated politics, Romney would be the Republican VP. Sorry, but as far as the mayoral race neither you or Koebel resonated with the majority of those who voted.
Money just gets the message out, it doesn’t buy a connection. I am sure prior to Idaho Hillary had outspent and raised more than Barack.
But who connected to voters more??
May 19th, 2008 at 2:50 pm
I’ll give you the fact nobody credible as run against Bogey.
Money in local races makes a big difference though..when one person is loaded and the other person isn’t.
If a credible poor person ran against Bogaard, though, they’d get the same result as a Koebel or as a Me.
May 19th, 2008 at 2:52 pm
Besides, isn’t this whole argument about someone NOT serving their community? Absence and tardiness are a big deal if you’re representing people.
May 19th, 2008 at 2:53 pm
And look at when Madison is there, he works on his Quinn Emanuel work..look at those big boxes he brings to meetings.
May 19th, 2008 at 11:40 pm
Well spoken Aaron.
May 20th, 2008 at 3:50 pm
Aaron,
With all the effort you are putting into this recall of Councilmember Madison, I would hope you would do your homework before you straight away make accusations that are not supported by the facts. We all know you do not like Councilmember Madison (which might be clouding your judgment just a bit); however you should at least first do the math. If you are going to base your recall efforts on his attendance record, which equals negligence (see your comment 2 above), you will also have to start recall efforts for 3 other council members prior to getting to Councilmember Madison’s place on the attendance list.
For the calendar year 2007 through the May 5th 2008 council meeting, Councilmember Holden has 11 absences, Councilmember Haderlein has 9 absences, Councilmember Gordo has 6 absences, Councilmember Madison has 5 absences, Councilmember Tyler has 3 absences, Mayor Bogaard has 1 absence, Councilmember McAustin has 1 absence and Councilmember Robinson has 1 absence. It should also be noted that both Councilmember’s McAustin and Robinson did not get sworn in until the first meeting in May of 2007, so this is not a true “apples to apples” comparison for all the current councilmembers.
While I do not know if Councilmember Madison is adequately serving his constituents in District 6, basing your recall effort on his not being at council meetings is a stretch.
May 20th, 2008 at 3:55 pm
How many times has Madison been late? How many times has he been in his seat for the Pledge?
How many times has he brought his boxes and done other work? How many times was he playing on his blackberry? How about laughing and joking with Gordo when someone is making public comment at the Ad Hoc gang meeting?
May 20th, 2008 at 3:56 pm
You can have perfect attendance and get straight F’s.
May 20th, 2008 at 4:10 pm
Aaron, you have made many good observations in the last year and a half you have been on the Pasadena political radar and I enjoy reading your blog on a daily basis, however you risk losing credibility by pursuing a personal agenda veiled in a “good government” argument.
May 20th, 2008 at 4:21 pm
What credibility?
May 20th, 2008 at 4:22 pm
So, I didn’t lose credibility when I joked around about Margaret McAustin masturbating in a bathroom - or when I joke around about wanting to fuck just about anything with breasts involved in City government - or when I constitently call Larry Wilson gay - or..should I go on?
May 20th, 2008 at 4:26 pm
JM,
You make excellent points!!! I have the stats as well and you are absolutely correct.
Sorry Aaron, but he doesn’t get straight F’s. So what does Haderlien receive an F minus?? What about Holden??
I respect him for still participating when he is out of town.
May 20th, 2008 at 4:30 pm
If Holden and Haderlein were showing blatant disregard for their districts, I’d be going after them with as much vigor as I am with the Madison deal. I still say that he (and any other Councilmember, like I’ve been saying) should pay back their portion of their stipend when missing a meeting for non-emergency purposes.
And it’s not a veiled personal agenda, JM, it’s pretty much out in the open.
May 20th, 2008 at 4:31 pm
And..again….what are the stats for Madison being tardy?
And does the City even keep stats for bringing in big boxes of work and working on them during meetings?
May 20th, 2008 at 4:42 pm
But you know what?
I’ll just swallow my pride and call this whole thing off.
I guess it’s ruining this magical credibility I have all of the sudden.
Recall effort exeunt.
May 20th, 2008 at 4:46 pm
Aaron,
If I remember correctly, you apologized for the comments about Councilmember McAustin, and as you readily admit, it’s a joke about your lust for those involved in City government, however you do have a point about your credibility when it comes to Larry Wilson.
My point is that most of your crude comments are, shall we say, a miscalculated effort at humor, and nothing else. However your agenda against Councilmember Madison (and Larry Wilson) is not a joke but appears to be just a mean spirited, spiteful and malicious attack on people you do not agree with politically or socially. We can all disagree politically and socially in a civilized manner, and as I tried to point out in my first initial post on this thread, argue the facts, not opinions or misinformation.
May 20th, 2008 at 4:47 pm
[…] After much debate and advice from friends, I’ve decided to call off my “recall attempt” of Steve Madison. […]
May 20th, 2008 at 4:49 pm
http://www.proctorformayor.com/2008/05/20/recall-down/
Credibility restored?
May 20th, 2008 at 4:52 pm
Aaron,
I never said you lost credibility, I said you risked losing it. Since you have not yet lost it, it can not be restored. Let’s just say you have maintained your credibility.
May 20th, 2008 at 4:54 pm
That’s the only thing I hate about blogs. I’m not being forlorn or self-depricating. I’m being sarcastic when I say the “credbility” comments.
Besides, this whole Madison stuff makes a good point about people not doing their jobs.
May 20th, 2008 at 4:57 pm
“However your agenda against Councilmember Madison (and Larry Wilson) is not a joke but appears to be just a mean spirited, spiteful and malicious attack on people you do not agree with politically or socially”
Never said it wasn’t any of those things.
May 20th, 2008 at 4:58 pm
Aaron,
Your are right, I should have said “you have maintained whatever credibility you had”.
May 20th, 2008 at 6:13 pm
For JM, it would be interesting to know why Steve Madison often brings in a box of papers and envelopes that he goes through and reads during the council meetings. I don’t see any other councilmembers doing the same. I would think that the importance of his position would require him to give 110% of his attention to every speaker and every piece of business discussed. Maybe he is the master of compartmentalizing things but that talent doesn’t belong in the council chambers. Think about it, seriously, how can a guy as seemingly as busy as Steve Madison is ever be considered a serious Mayoral candidate. He may run but what kind of work ethic and committment would we get from him. If past experience is the lithmus test he’ll be a failure.
May 20th, 2008 at 6:15 pm
It’s still obvious Madison doesn’t care about being a Councilman.
May 20th, 2008 at 7:53 pm
Mark,
I agree, it would be interesting to know why Councilmember Madison often brings in a box of papers that he peruses during meetings. Someone should ask him at his next District meeting.
However, I’m not here to defend his practices, but let’s get real, everything that is discussed at council meetings has been on each council members radar for weeks, if not months. It has been discussed and vetted in commissions, reports and sub-committee meetings prior to being on the agenda at a council meeting and most council members have made up their mind on specific issues prior to the council meeting. The time to really get your input and opinions heard by the council members is in the early stages of the discussion, not at the last minute and/or the night of the vote. The time council members spend at council meetings is just a small fraction of the time they commit and spend to being prepared for those meetings. So while you say he should give 110% of his attention, it is possible that he already has, but what he is hearing at the Council Meeting is just a repeat of what he has already heard and read. But if he hasn’t done his homework, then he should be giving 100% of his attention. Nonetheless, every council member should show proper manners and etiquette when others are speaking.
As to his time commitment capacity to be mayor, I guess that will be an issue he will have to address if he does run for mayor. Good questions to ask at any candidates forum. However, I don’t think he has declared his candidacy yet, so he does not need to address it.
And one last thought, Pasadena has been spoiled by having Bill Bogaard as Mayor these past years. The Mayor and Council are part time, relatively volunteer positions. No matter what your political views of him are, Mayor Bogaard has been able to give that position his full time focus. With whoever is elected the next mayor (if Mayor Bogaard does not run again), Pasadena will most likely see a significant drop off in mayoral productivity.
Just my thoughts.
May 20th, 2008 at 8:12 pm
I’m not saying Madison should get a pass for doing work at the council if that is what he is doing.
However, deal in facts. Make SURE that is what he is doing. How many minutes does he do it per meeting?? What is the average??
May 20th, 2008 at 9:49 pm
Mayor Bill Bogaard has been the consumate Mayor of Pasadena. And yes, Mayor Bogaard does indeed give the position his full time focus. When he decides to give up the gavel the next Mayor should offer nothing less than the same time committment that Bill Bogaard gave to Pasadena. Anything less will be cheating Pasadena of the standards that Bill Bogaard set for the position. If you can’t give the time committment don’t run. If your profession requires travel and a heavy daytime load of job responsibilities don’t run. Yes, this is a full time committment in any and every way that you look at it. The bar has been set and anything less will be unacceptable. Maybe it will be time to look outside of the sitting council for a visionary as the next Mayor. Three years is a long time till the next election and the usual cast of characters and candidates will be mentioned here and other places. Maybe a Dick Riordan or Mike Bloomberg type will arise above the ubiquitous names to lead Pasadena to greater heights.
May 20th, 2008 at 10:51 pm
[…] After much debate and advice from friends, I’ve decided to call off my “recall attempt” of Steve Madison. […]