Editorial Decisions?

Thursday greetings to all inhabitants of Tazerville!

Something interesting apparently happened on the way to the presses for the Contra Costa Times. When we got hold of today's edition, we found a front page article by John Geluardi and Karl Fischer about Irma Anderson's quest to get her "Safe Streets Now" measure on the November ballot. The title: "Mayor's initiative confronts violence".

The Tazer thought it was good enough to find online and post here, but imagine our confusion when there are TWO articles by Geluardi and Fischer with identical content but different titles. The one that was published bears today's date, but the other bears yesterday's. Its title: "Richmond mayor launches signature-gathering campaign to fund more cops".

Needless to say, this caused a minor stir among Team Tazer. Sure, it wasn't published in the paper (our edition of the paper, that is), but an enthusiastic and false title in Anderson's favor was mulled and posted online. According to the "SSN" proposal -- as cited in the article -- it funds recruitment and hiring, both of which are processes that do not necessarily result in an officer for the Richmond Police Department.

The Tazer even has a quibble with the published version title. We've never seen an "initiative" confront anything, let alone violence, but Madam Mayor might hope it does, so that she won't have to do it herself.

And here it is, complete with the published title.

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MAYOR'S INITIATIVE CONFRONTS VIOLENCE
If approved, money would be directed from budget toward hiring additional police officers

By John Geluardi and Karl Fischer
CONTRA COSTA TIMES

Mayor Irma Anderson stood on the steps of the Richmond Police Department on Wednesday to announce a petition drive for her $6.5 million anti-violence special election initiative.

At the news conference, Anderson said she has 180 days to collect 6,000 signatures for the initiative to qualify for a special election. If approved, the initiative would earmark money in next year's budget to hire police officers and fund anti-violence programs.

Anderson vowed to take the initiative to the voters after her council colleagues voted it down last week.

"I am here to take a stand against violence in our city," Anderson said. "From now on, I will not engage in anymore political rhetoric. I simply cannot stand by while more lives are lost."

About 25 community members, including a representative of state Sen. Don Perata's office, stood with the mayor Wednesday. The news conference was coordinated by the Lew Edwards Group, the same political consulting firm that is handling Anderson's re-election campaign.

Council members are criticizing the initiative as a financially reckless plan calculated to enhance her campaign by exploiting the heartbreak caused by years of chronic violence.

It is telling that the timing of Anderson's news conference coincides with the beginning of her campaign, Councilman Nat Bates said.

"The mayor is trying to get her re-election campaign going, and unfortunately she's using the homicides," Bates said. "It's a very sad commentary that a person would go to that extent. It has nothing to do with solving the problem, and I hope the citizens will see through it."

Anderson denied her motivations are political and said council members do not want voters to have a say on the violence in their community.

"I expected more from the council," she said. "They fear our community cannot make a good decision about how their money is spent."

Anderson's initiative would mandate 5 percent of next year's budget -- about $6.5 million -- be used to recruit and hire new police and fund anti-violence programs. The goal is to cut violent crime by 50 percent in the next five years, Anderson said.

About $4.2 million would go to recruit and hire new police officers. Violence-prevention programs such as after-school tutoring, job training and parolee re-entry support would received $2.3 million.

The initiative would not raise new taxes, Anderson said; the funding would come from recently increased city fees and projected increases in revenue.

But it is likely that the projected increases would not cover the $6.5 million and that other departments would suffer cuts in order to fund the new officers and programs, said Councilman John Marquez, who is also chairman of the Public Safety Committee.

The diversion of funds could seriously threaten the city's financial recovery from a crippling $35 million budget shortfall in 2004.

Marquez also said the need for more police funding is highly questionable. Richmond currently has a complement of about 155 sworn officers, and in the current budget funding has been approved to reach 179. Prior to the budget crisis, the department's authorized complement was 205 sworn officers.

But like other Bay Area cities, Richmond has had trouble finding qualified recruits. Until recently, the city was financially unsound, there was no permanent police chief, and police officers agreed to salary cuts in the wake of the budget crisis. In addition, the police station is in sub-standard condition and may be a health hazard because of a mold problem, according to a recent report.

While cautious not to seem ungrateful, leaders inside the Richmond Police Department said they had no role in crafting the mayor's proposal and were not entirely clear how all of the new money would be used.

"I appreciate the commitment from all of the elected officials, including the mayor," police Chief Chris Magnus said. "While we were not involved in this particular proposal, I think the discussion is helpful."

Supporters of the mayor's initiative said that ending the chronic violence is the most important issue facing Richmond.

"It's simple arithmetic, you would have more available bodies to stop crime," said Brian Arnold, manager of the Monterey Pines Apartments in South Richmond. There have been two homicides near the apartments in recent years.

In 2005, there were 40 homicides in Richmond and 213 nonfatal shootings. Since the 1980s, there has not been fewer than 18 homicides in the city, and one year there were more than 60.

Contact John Geluardi at 510-262-2787 or at jgeluardi@cctimes.com