Placer SUP D2 Update: Paul Joiner Gets Torched for Sexist Comment as Mr. Joiner is Validating Criticisms of Himself

 2022 Elections, Paul Joiner, Placer County Sup D2 Race  3 Responses »
May 302022
 

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.

Placer SUP D2 Update: About that I Love Newsom Comment by Paul Joiner. See His Own Words Here. (And the other side of the mailer too)

 2022 Elections, Paul Joiner, Placer County Sup D2 Race  1 Response »
May 092022
 

So, your intrepid blogger got shelled with text messages after Paul Joiner got lit up by Shanti Landon.

I went to Mr. Joiner’s Facebook Page and saw that he was complaining over getting lit up with a mailer sent by Landon. I am not sure if he checked with Mr. Gilliard (his campaign dude) before making the facebook post, but usually, the candidate responding to getting hit themselves is not a good thing. We are going to see why shortly.

Let me answer Paul Joiner’s question and then follow with one of my own: (A special thank you to the reader that texted me this screenshot of Joiner’s own words.)

The context becomes complete with the next comment below that is delineated with the arrow. His praise of Newsom was sincere and at least one non-Democrat commented and recognized it for what it was. Read Joiner’s words as many times as is necessary.

Now, problem two for Joiner who decided to highlight the hit in the mailbox is this. There is a second side to the mailer that he did not post. I also got that via text from multiple people:

Why wasn’t Paul Joiner complaining about this? I mean, he went down to Sacramento to complain about the State Auditor’s findings on this very subject matter? Perhaps getting hammered by the grand jury and the state auditor is a problem?

When you are a candidate and you complain about a hit piece against you, it usually makes it worse and blows up in your face. Here is the latest example.

Placer Sup D2 Update: Paul Joiner Actually Was Not Missing, He Went to Sacramento to Argue Why Lincoln Was Justified in Ripping Off Its’ Residents!

 2022 Elections, Paul Joiner, Placer County Sup D2 Race  1 Response »
May 092022
 

From a confidential informant (Typos left in to confirm authenticity):

I mentioned that I and a buddy hired an attorney to send two letters to the Lincoln City Council .  One of the letters was sent prior to the council voting to approve tiered water rates and the second letter was sent to the city council after they had approved the tired water rates.  I was told by one of the council members that the city attorney informed the city council that even though the tiered water rates may be in violation of Prop 218, that they should pass it because “no one will sue you anyway”.  For your delectation, the attachments below include both of the letters and a copy of the lawsuit
Joiner and the council members refused to meet with us, so our LIFT Group was forced to sue the city of Lincoln for violation of Prop 218.  Through mediation, we were able to negotiate a full refund of the over $7M that had been overcharged to the citizens of Lincoln.  But it took a lawsuit to force the city council; including Joiner and Gilbert to do the right thing.  Disgraceful!!!
I sent you the below transcript of the May 16, 2018 JLAC testimony of both Lincoln City Council members Paul Joiner and Peter Gilbert.
And here is the state auditors report dated March 20, 2019:  http://www.lincolnca.gov/Home/Components/News/News/2504/73?arch=1.
Either Joiner and Gilbert were lying during their testimony before JLAC or they were completely oblivious to the horrible financial condition of our city. 
These are just two of many examples of how Joiner doesn’t have a clue about how a government functions or about doing the right things for his constituents.  I have more information if you need it including the complete Fiscal Sustainability Committee Report dated February 24, 2012, that has been ignored by the city council since we presented it to them.  I doubt that any of them even read it.  One of the issues concerns information about the losses incurred by the Lincoln Airport that exceeds many millions dollars.  The loses continue to spite recommendations from the FSC and more recently the Placer County Grand Jury.
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The presentation of Paul Joiner to the State of California was absurd. I have known firsthand for years that Lincoln has been a mess. In addition – the City of Lincoln got hammered in court for what they did with the Water Rate Gouging.
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Here is the key question – what will Paul Joiner do as a Placer County Supervisor. At best he is completely disconnected from reality and believes that Government has a right to flout the law. At worst he bald-faced lied to the State Auditor. Neither are a good look and both possibilities are a clear departure from the conservative he claims to be.
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It actually pains me to write this stuff about Mr. Joiner, a friend of many years, but this stuff is a very clear expose’ of failure in government and has to be considered in light of the current campaign. I can’t support him for supervisor and people should not vote for him, period.
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To Be Continued.

Placer Sup D2 Update: Placer Grand Jury Detonates the Lincoln City Council While Joiner was Mayor

 2022 Elections, Paul Joiner, Placer County Sup D2 Race  No Responses »
May 032022
 

We even went international with our Milk Carton

Do I have any doubt Paul Joiner is a conservative? Nope. The issue has always been the difference between his beliefs and his deeds. While I have known Mr. Joiner for years there has always been a mystifying disconnect between his beliefs and deeds. The Bee Lit up the City of Lincoln

A Placer County grand jury report found the city of Lincoln mismanaged public funds and overcharged residents, echoing findings from a scathing state audit report released two months ago.

Lincoln ignored governing regulations related to water rate-setting, overcharging developers and homeowners, and collecting nearly $41 million in excess in a water connections fund, according to the Wednesday grand jury report. The city “repeatedly failed to conduct required nexus studies to determine reasonable costs” to charge, the report found.

The city also loaned money from the water connections fund to separate accounts “with no assurances that the funds receiving the loans will be capable of repayment,” according to the report, breaking the city’s interfund loan policy.

Where was Paul Joiner when this happened? Where was Paul Joiner when boards and commissions he was on raised fees and taxes? I almost never heard of Mr. Joiner standing up against Staff or standing for rate-payers. In this case, the City of Lincoln ripped off its’ citizens.

What did the City of Lincoln Do? Let’s have a look at the Grand Jury Report.

Lincoln has transferred funds from the WCF, in the form of loans, to other city funds including, but not necessarily limited to the following:
 $5.33 million – Redevelopment agency
 $5.25 million – Airport
 $4.16 million – Fire Stations – Fund 242
These loans are not consistent with California Government Code 66013(c). At the time of this report there were no strategies for repayment, and it appears from sources reviewed that the funds receiving the loans may not currently have the ability to be able to repay those loans in any reasonable timeframe.

Ouch. Remember the shuttered Fire Station that I posted pictures of? Some of the overcharged water money was used to open it up according to the Grand Jury Report.

In July 2017, Lincoln city officials imposed a new rate structure for its retail water customers modeled after PCWA’s. This rate structure was implemented even though Lincoln had not conducted the required studies to demonstrate that these fees did not exceed the reasonable cost of providing the service as required by state law. Lincoln held no hearings and no city council approval was obtained. The net effect of this change increased fees for some properties and decreased others. For example, under the new rate structure, citizens of the Lakeside development were charged fees of $18,353 per lot whereas under the former rate structure, fees would have been $15,295, or approximately twenty percent less.

In January 2019, Lincoln’s City Council approved changes to Municipal Code 13.04.360 to modify the PCWA water connection fee without first completing a formal study. The City Council was advised by city staff that neither a hearing nor a study were necessary because the new rate structure would result in a reduction of the fees. While this modification did result in reduced rates for some, it did not address or correct the lack of studies for the imposition of the 2017 rate structure which maintained the increased rates for other properties. For example, a home on a 35,000 square foot unregulated lot currently has a connection fee of $63,983 (Appendix 2). Per the Twelve Bridges agreement the maximum the city can charge is $45,833 (19,339 x 2.37). The current fee is a forty percent increase. In contrast, PCWA’s highest charge for their retail customers is $48,348.

The Grand Jury Report goes in to excruciating detail on the abuses of the citizens by the City of Lincoln. Where was Paul Joiner when this happened? He was Mayor when the state auditor and the grand jury lit up the City of Lincoln…

to be continued…

Placer County Sup D2 Update: It is Time To Take a Look at Paul Joiner’s Lincoln. Slammed by State Auditor for Gross Mismanagement

 2022 Elections, City of Lincoln, Paul Joiner  2 Responses »
Apr 262022
 

Paul Joiner has been on the Lincoln City Council since 2008. He owns this.

The California State Auditor’s office slammed the city of Lincoln for years of financial mismanagement of public funds, lax accountability and inadequate oversight from officials that “threaten the city’s stability,” in an audit report released Thursday.

Lincoln overcharged developers and residents millions of dollars, made “questionable” loan transfers, and shuffled money from restricted funds to offset deficit-ridden accounts to falsely present the funds as solvent, according to the state auditor’s report which reviewed city practices between 2013 and 2018. These actions “did not always follow state law,” Chief Deputy State Auditor John Billington wrote in a letter to legislators.

For many in Lincoln, the state audit validates a long-held belief that city officials repeatedly failed to heed concerns raised by residents, contributing to bad accounting practices and government oversight, said Tony Manning, a co-founder of a neighborhood watchdog group called Lincolnites for Integrity and Fiscal Transparency, or LIFT.

The Sacramento Bee (in this case legitimately) torched the City Of Lincoln for:

Ripping off its’ residents

Jerking off the books, perhaps laundering money to trick auditors

Breaking State Law

It appears that the financial maladies from the City of Lincoln circa 2008 continued to exist and were covered up with Slight of Hand, under the Watch of Paul Joiner.

And to think, my limited experience with Lincoln was the shuttered fire station with the $1.4 Million Ladder Truck Sitting in it.

The Lincoln City Council acknowledged “mistakes were made” that have eroded the public’s trust, in a letter signed by all members published Thursday on the city’s website.

Perhaps Paul’s opponents should send a copy of the letter out and ask if they can expect another one when he brings the same practices to the County of Placer? (Do note that the link to the letter in the original Bee article is broken)

The audit found Lincoln made resident ratepayers cover $1.6 million in the city’s municipal utilities costs from January 2014 through February 2018, violating a state constitution provision. Voters in 1996 approved Proposition 218, which allows local government to charge ratepayers only for the cost of servicing the ratepayer’s property.

Whoops. Perhaps this is why public employee unions are drooling over having Joiner on the County Board of Supervisors? Will he hide a bunch of new toys for the unions in the County Books?

Lincoln also overcharged developers and builders for the cost of water infrastructure, with the city collecting nearly $41 million in excess for its water connections fund as of June 2017, according to the report.

The city would then loan money from the water connections fund, in addition to other funds, to separate accounts that “clearly did not have the capacity to repay those loans,” according to the report, breaking the city’s interfund loan policy. The city has five outstanding interfund loans it is obligated to pay back, totaling $9.6 million, according to Hanson.

The city would also temporarily transfer money from the water connections fund each year to several other funds with deficits, such as the Fire Department, Parks Department and the airport, from 2013 to 2017, misrepresenting its financial position in its annual financial statements, the audit reported.

Between fiscal 2013-14 and 2016-17, transfers from the water connection fund ranged from more than $7 million in 2016-17, to nearly $19 million the previous year.

The mismanagement stems from years of city officials failing to follow their own policies, the report states. Several past financial investigations by the city’s external financial auditor reported “recurring deficiencies, including the city’s inability to accurately prepare its financial statements at the end of each fiscal year,” but little changed, the report said.

Here is the clincher:

Lincoln’s last permanent city manager, Matt Brower, resigned in June 2018. Lincoln’s current mayor, Paul Joiner, has served on the City Council since 2008.

So – the City of Lincoln was ripping off the residents and developers. Then, they used the money to backfill the budgets of the Fire Department and the Police Department. If anyone reading this blog thinks that the current union endorsers of Paul Joiner are not aware of this practice he sanctioned they are out of their minds.

Paul Joiner has a lot to answer for.

P.S. The City of Lincoln never had to pay the money back. What’s next for Placer County???

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