With Paul Joiner, it is more complex. I’ve been friends with him for 15 years. That friendship is likely over as he told me what he thought of a previous post on him. (More on that in a bit)
One of the biggest criticisms I have heard about Mr. Joiner over the years – and I used to defend Paul from this criticism – is that he is aloof and entitled. The entitlement was on display with a sexist comment that Paul Joiner left on one of Shanti Landon’s Facebook posts:
Shanti – why the hell are you out of the kitchen?
Shanti Landon, to her credit, responded thoroughly and lit Paul Joiner up good. I don’t know who the ill-advised person is that liked Joiner’s comment, but that is another issue for another time. (Please note I saved screenshots of the FB ad and the original thread Joiner’s Comment came from in case any hair-splitters attempt to contest the authenticity of this)
Take note of the line in the first paragraph. “Mr. Joiner was and still is the only elected official that refused to meet with me in my role as the Director to Supervisor Weygandt.”
Before I decided to go into battle on Shanti’s behalf (thus honoring a personal commitment I made to her FOUR years prior (it was at the waffle house in N Roseville in 2018)), I attempted to reach Paul with at least two text messages, one email, and at least two voicemail messages that I recall. I did not receive a response. One of the most consistent criticisms against Mr. Joiner is his refusal to promptly return phone calls and messages from anyone.
I wanted to tell Mr. Joiner that I was supporting Shanti and why. Clearly, he did not want to hear the message, and now our friendship is basically over. That is his fault, not mine. I had attempted to reach him to honor our long-standing friendship.
Before this campaign – I was unaware that Paul Joiner went to Sacramento to testify to the legislature in defense of ripping off the ratepayers of Lincoln. I knew about Lincoln getting sued and figured it was something similar to repeals of taxes in Roseville. When I did research, I realized that Mr. Joiner’s entire attitude towards government is wrong. He does not govern like the Conservative I know him to be.
His derisive comments to Shanti are even more absurd when the other most common criticism of Joiner is his allegiance to Lincoln City Staff. He was effectively mortgaging his own reputation on the floor of the committee room in Sacramento, defending the staff whose idea it was to rip off the ratepayers of Lincoln!
Then the financial maladies and his half-measures to address them come into much clearer focus. Paul has been on the Lincoln Council since 2008, and the city has never been highly regarded for its’ management.
Contrast this to the hundreds of meetings and thousands of hours Shanti Landon spent getting the Placer County Conservation Plan implemented. Perhaps this is why Joiner got so triggered. His campaign has not gone how he thinks it should, and the stark contrast between servant leadership and family legacy leadership was laid bare.
Many years ago, when I first quit drinking, I met Paul’s father, Charles Joiner. Mr. Joiner died in his late 90’s with over 50 years of sobriety. Charles Joiner founded the Rocklin Fellowship of AA, where I spent a lot of time early in sobriety. I am one of many people whose life was affected significantly by Charles Joiner, and Paul has benefitted from that goodwill.
Similar to the previous posts where I had to unload on Paul, this one was not easy to write. The conclusion is simple, though, Paul Joiner should have learned more from his father’s example. I spent many hours with Charles Joiner in my formative years of sobriety, and the man was solid spiritually and had a high work ethic and commitment to service. Shanti Landon will beat Paul Joiner in this election because of all three of these traits she shares in common with the late Mr. Joiner.
I wish my friend of many years had emulated his father more in how he governed. Had he done so, I’d have been supporting him over Shanti.
