tom bartee

Vallejo's attempt to renew and expand an existing utility tax struck a positive chord with Vallejo voters Tuesday. Measure U offered voters a chance to slightly reduce the telecommunications portion of their tax in exchange for more taxes on other technology -- like cell phone texting, pagers, Internet phone services and more. While opposition to the tax rippled across the city, no unified stance was voiced against it.  

When Vallejo Mayor Osby Davis scopes out which candidates to focus on in the Nov. 3 City Council race, he takes the assignment literally. Councilmember Tom Bartee, seeking re-election, was the only contender to receive a reported donation - $180 - from Davis in campaign financial forms filed Thursday. Davis said Friday that he was attending fundraisers for all the incumbents, and donations for the others might show up before the election.

It shouldn't be interpreted as I'm endorsing (Bartee's) campaign   -Osby Davis

 

The Vallejo Chamber of Commerce's Political Action Committee has endorsed the re-election of Tom Bartee and Hermie Sunga for City Council. The decision was reached after individual interviews with each of the seven candidates vying for the three open council seats, the agency reported. "ValPAC is most interested in ensuring that our future council members are experienced community members who are committed to responsible business growth and development," ValPAC board chairperson Freda Dill said.  

latest financial disclosure statements filed Thursday. Brown's nearest fundraising competitor is incumbent Hermie Sunga with $29,804 in cash and non-monetary contributions. Brown's campaign war chest is larger than the combined total of Benicia's four city council candidates, who also filed financial statements Thursday.  

Organized labor has stripped previous support from two Vallejo City Council incumbents partly because of their support of Vallejo's bankruptcy, which led to employee contracts being dissolved. An official of the Napa-Solano Central Labor Council said the lone council candidate to win its backing this year is political unknown Johnathan Logan Jr. Seven candidates are vying for three council seats.

There generally was some concern for the events that have taken place over the last couple of years and how it would concern labor   -Tom Bartee

 

It was a scene right out of the pages of history when Vallejo Councilman Hermie Sunga rode a horse to City Hall on Saturday morning surrounded by his gang of caballeros. "It's my first time riding a horse," Sunga said, carrying a large flag replete with symbols of the Golden State. The flag -- which features the state flag's famous bear against a large red heart and fireworks -- is the design of historian Riccardo Gaudino and the subject of Saturday's pageantry.

This is a really inspiring part of Vallejo's heritage   -Tom Bartee

 

Vallejo's seniors have a new source of information with the advent of the city's public access television station's new ongoing series called Seniors Today. The first episode airs at 6 tonight, organizers said. Hosted by City Councilman Tom Bartee, the weekly half-hour program will feature various guests discussing issues of import to seniors, said producer Shaaron Fox, 69, who conceived the idea for the V-CAT show.

Tom hosts the Senior Roundtable at the Florence Douglas Senior Center, where we discuss senior issues, and we began to realize how many of the seniors don't have transportation   -Shaaron Fox

 

Vallejo City Manager Bob Adams says he will delay for two months issuing up to nine planned police officer layoff notices. The decision came after hours of council debate, continued from recent meetings, over how to avoid the layoffs. Mayor Osby Davis and Councilwomen Joanne Schivley and Stephanie Gomes strongly protested the delay, saying it was an unwise gamble with city finances.  

The city budget-conscious plan to mail out 26 layoff and demotion notices to Vallejo police officers on Saturday, was hotly debated Tuesday night. Ultimately, the timing of the layoff notices were left in the city manager's hands, as long as they go into effect Oct. 1. The city is not required to give any advance notice, per the police employee contract, City Manager Bob Adams said.

If we wait until the figures are absolutely accurate it's going to be too late   -Joanne Schivley

 

As of Friday, the Vallejo City Council had enticed seven contenders for three seats in November's municipal election. The three incumbents, including Tom Bartee, Stephanie Gomes and Hermie Sunga, fell into line in recent weeks. Their seats will be contested by first-time candidates Marti Brown, Sam Kurshan, Johnathan Logan Jr. and Marie "Punkie" Nelson.