Category politics
Riverside Deserves Accountability, Not Excuses from the Mayor and City Council
Note: I will be including the City Council video clips with this blog so residents can review the public comments, Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson’s remarks, Councilmember Sean Mill’s response, and the Council debate on the new City Attorney contract for themselves. Riverside’s Mayor and City Council appear to have discovered a new governing strategy: blame […]
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Riverside Leadership Crisis: Mike Futrell’s Unresolved Fallout
I previously promised readers of knelsonvsi.com that I would follow up on my prior blogs regarding Riverside City Manager Mike Futrell, Susan Freeman, the City Council’s failure to act, and the growing public-records trail showing a serious breakdown in leadership at City Hall. That follow-up has taken longer than expected. Part of the delay is […]
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Riverside’s Latest Photo Op: Taxpayer-Funded Speculation Disguised as Economic Development
The City of Riverside is celebrating the launch of Voltu Motor’s heavy-duty electric truck production as if it were an economic development triumph. Press releases feature smiling politicians, ribbon cuttings, and promises of thousands of jobs and billions in future economic activity. Residents should ask a simple question: How many times have taxpayers heard these […]
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Understanding Public Meetings Under the Brown Act
A City Council meeting is not a private corporate board meeting. It is a public meeting where public business is conducted. The Brown Act could not be clearer: “All meetings of the legislative body of a local agency shall be open and public, and all persons shall be permitted to attend.” California law also says […]
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Riverside’s Measure Z: Questioning Fear-Based Tax Arguments
The most troubling aspect of the current Measure Z extension campaign is not the debate over taxes itself — it is the continued use of fear as a political weapon. When elected officials and their allies repeatedly push “vote for this tax or people will die” narratives, they are not engaging in responsible governance. They […]
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Riverside City Politics: Voters Must Look Beyond Campaign Slogans, Endorsements, and Political Theater
As Riverside moves deeper into another election cycle, voters face an important question: Do we continue electing political insiders, operatives, and ideologues who helped create our current problems, or do we finally demand qualified leadership with real-world experience, fiscal discipline, and accountability? The answer will determine whether Riverside continues its decline into the same failed […]
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Fool Me Once: Why Riverside Voters Should Reject Measure Z
Fool Me Once: Why Riverside Voters Should Reject Measure Z For nearly a decade, the citizens of Riverside have been told the same story. We are told the City is in crisis. We are told essential services are at risk. We are told police, fire, roads, homelessness, and “quality of life” all depend on giving […]
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Riverside Needs Results, Not Another Self-Congratulatory Sales Pitch
Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson’s recent opinion piece asks Riverside residents to celebrate outside partnerships, national conferences, climate grants, visiting mayors, advisory networks, and symbolic recognition. But Riverside residents are entitled to ask a much simpler question: If City Hall is producing so much progress, why are residents being asked to pay higher taxes again? The […]
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Op-Ed: Riverside Cannot Tax Its Way Out of California’s Homelessness Crisis
Op-Ed: Riverside Cannot Tax Its Way Out of California’s Homelessness Crisis Summary: Riverside taxpayers should meet the City Manager’s latest homelessness propaganda post with a heaping dose of skepticism. California has the highest homelessness rate in America. We cannot tax our way to better results and Riverside residents deserve honesty about failed government policies before […]
Riverside Taxpayers Deserve Results, Not Political Résumés
Riverside residents are repeatedly told there is not enough money. Not enough money for public safety. Not enough money for streets. Not enough money for infrastructure. Not enough money to address homelessness effectively. Not enough money to prevent another “crisis” at City Hall. Yet there always seems to be money for conferences, coalitions, committees, advocacy […]
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