|
DR. BILL KIRBY RIDES AGAIN! – My dear friend and first-rate healer Bill Kirby has let it be known that he’ll be running for a seat on the Auburn City Council in November 2008, now that Bob Snyder won’t be seeking a second term. The good doctor talked casually but seriously about his candidacy the other day. “My main focus will be on infrastructure, fiscal frugality, commitment to responsible expansion, and a decisive ‘No!’ to blanket eminent domain,” he declared. Bill’s been a practicing physician and surgeon in Auburn for 28 years and has been a busy bee in community affairs since he set up shop. He’s been president of the Auburn Little League, chairman of the Auburn Recreation District Board and medical chief of staff at Sutter Auburn Faith Hospital. He’s also one of the volunteer doctors for athletic teams fielded by Colfax and Placer high schools. And let’s not forget his Herculean work as a member of the Auburn Rotary. “I’ve been involved with many budgets and I know how to cut costs,” he said. “I’ve also led many diverse groups and feel confident that I can bring the diverse opinions of our community together. And I pledge to serve no more than two terms...” Bill Kirby is no stranger to the campaign trail. He was unsuccessful in a primary election run against heavily-financed Rep. John Doolittle in 2002 and in a last-minute campaign for a Sierra College Board seat in 2006. But he made a lot of friends during those outings and I’m sure they’ll come in handy in this latest endeavor. Bulletin: The Kirby for Council campaign has just been endorsed by Councilman Mike Holmes (scroll down for more on this bloke), Supervisor Jim Holmes and retired Supervisor Harriet White — a good start.
* * * MEOW AND WOOF-WOOF DEPT. — Georgiana Lohman, the friendliest and most
effective animal control officer to ever grace the City of Auburn’s
payroll, will kick me in the slats if I forget to mention that the 5th
annual Santa Paws Pet & People Photo Event will be held this
Saturday the 3rd from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in the Rite Aid Garden
Center in Rock Creek Plaza in North Auburn. There’ll be lots of
veterinarians, microchippers, trainers, nutritionists, pet-sitters and
alternative care folks on hand. There’ll also be a super raffle and the
opportunity to have your pet, your kids or even yourselves photographed
with Santa (Jack Kenny). The whole thing is sponsored by Auburn Area
Animal Rescue Foundation, better known as AAARF, ta-da! * * * ATTENTION VIETNAM VETERANS -- This year’s Veterans Day Parade on the
11th should be a doozy, and retired Sheriff’s Sgt. Larry Webber wants
to make sure that Vietnam vets are well represented. Webber has been
asked to round up as many Vietnam vets as possible and have them march
together in the parade from the Coolie statue down Lincoln Way to
Memorial Hall. Call Larry, a U.S. Navy vet, at (916) 663-2159 and tell
him you’re hot to participate....The Higgins Corner Lioness Club will
honor any and all veterans on Saturday the 3rd, starting at 11 a.m., in
the Higgins Corner Lions Club on Hacienda Drive off Combie Road near
Lake of the Pines. It’s a free event and you can call Sue Hall at (530)
823-0103 for details. * * * ELECTION NOTE — County Clerk/Elections Chief Jim McCauley expects a 54
percent voter participation in next Tuesday’s election on the proposed
merger of the Loomis and Ophir school districts. At this writing,
approval of the proposal appears a fait accompli, probably because of
perceived support in the more populated Loomis district, where the
school board is so certain of a win that it’s already reserved a spot
on the February presidential primary election for a $17.7 million
general obligation bond measure. I have no connection with either
school district, but I did do a double-take the other day when reading
the ballot argument against the merger. It was penned by an old friend
of mine, Bill Fawx, who in his working years was the smartest career
bureaucrat I ever met in California state government. Bill and his wife
Emma fault the merger promoters for “not contacting all relevant
persons,” including the Fawx family that owns some of the Gold
Hill/State Highway 193 property that serves as a “bridge” linking the
Loomis district to the Ophir district. They question the lack of
support from the Ophir School personnel and community residents, and
they claim the proponents have failed to “significantly justify their
proposal.” I hope the voters keep these concerns in mind while making
their determinations. * * * HOLMES ON THE RANGE — Auburn’s Mike Holmes is back in town after
spending some time in the northern portion of the far-flung 4th
Congressional District that he’d like to represent starting in January
of 2009. He spent some time with the Plumas-Sierra County Cattlemen’s
Association and re-established some solid contacts with old friends
like Jim Dobbas and retired Judge Jim Roeder. This is Mike’s second try
to wrest the GOP congressional nomination from nine-term incumbent J.T.
Doolittle and he’s relishing every minute of it. * * * DOOLITTLE DOODLINGS — Three persons have asked me if the recent report
in the Sacramento Bee about the Bruce Kranz-Ted Gaines situation was
true – that Bruce got ticked off at Ted when the latter refused to
endorse his possible candidacy for the GOP nomination in the 3rd
Assembly District. Bruce told the Bee that while he was “unhappy” with
Ted’s rebuff, it had nothing to do with his proposal that the Placer
County Republican Central Committee censure Gaines for shooting off his
mouth about possibly running for Congressman Doolittle’s seat. Yeah,
I’d say the Bee story was legit. The resolution, as you know by now,
was shelved and Kranz is still stuck seeking a second term on the board
of supervisors while Gaines, cued by his chief of staff and campaign
consultant, has yet to announce if he’ll go for a second term in the
Assembly or abandon that secure seat and run for the Republican
congressional nomination with or without Doolittle in the race. I’m
still betting that Doolittle will prevail here — unless he gets
indicted by a federal grand jury for corruption stemming from his
friendship with imprisoned lobbyist Jack Abramoff. If JTD is a
candidate for reelection, I’m sure Gaines will opt to run for another
Assembly term. I don’t think he has the guts to actually run against
the man who handed him his political career on a silver platter. So
what about Mike Holmes’s announced candidacy? Will it be affected by
any Gaines/Doolittle decision-making? Not in the least. As noted
several lines earlier, Mike’s in for the long haul. And so, I gather,
is Eric Egland, the 30-something Air Force reservist who is raking in a
lot of campaign contributions from Republicans inside and outside the
4th C.D. who think that if Doolittle is the nominee he’ll be clobbered
by Democrat Charlie Brown, who almost turned the trick a year ago.
Brown, who’s already raised close to a half-million dollars, is said to
be praying that JTD is his opponent in next November’s general election.
 |
Subscribe to this comment's feed