The deadline set by the City of Hemet for filing of nomination papers was originally on August 6; however, the deadline was extended by the City of Hemet to August 12, 2020. A Statement of Contest of Election was filed by Kenneth J. Graff, a resident of District 4, claiming that Mr. Males missed the original filing date and thus, was disqualified to run for nor to occupy the seat he currently holds as Mayor pro tem as a councilman for the City of Hemet.

The City extended the filing date on the assumption that Ms. Wright was an incumbent, which she was not, having resigned. Under those circumstances, there would not have been a problem, according to Mr. Graff’s suit filed on December 23, 2020, in Riverside Superior Court.

Further, Mr. Graff claims that Males was not registered to vote in District 4 on July 20, 2020, when nomination papers were issued to him and thus, not eligible to hold office as City Council Member in District 4 at the time the election was held.

The deadline set by the City of Hemet for the filing of nomination papers was originally August 6, 2020, but was extended by the City to August 12, 2020, and according to the claims of Mr. Graff, that was six days past the deadline for filing, thus preventing Males from being a legitimate candidate for the seat vacated by Ms. Wright.

On January 25, 2021, Joe Males filed an answer to Graff’s Statement of Contest of Election in which he denies all allegations and denies that Graff states grounds to annul Males election. He further states that Graff’s claim fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted.

Former City Councilwoman, Lori Van Arsdale states in her declaration that she checked the voter registrations for Riverside County and discovered Joe Males, as of October 30, 2020, had a residence at 1129 Hornbeam Court, Hemet CA 92545 (in District 5), and yet he updated his voter registration on August 10, 2020, to show that he lived in District 4.

This seems to be that Mr. Males lived in District 4 as registered in August 2020 or did the registrar of voters fail to update his records, or did he violate a law by filing late based on information from the City of Hemet that he presumed to be accurate – that is the extension of time after Wright left her seat.

Further research developed shows that Mr. Graff’s attorney Patricia A. Madrid in Anaheim Hills, CA, has the same last name as Miguel Madrid, Mr. Males opponent in the November election. Coincidence?

As I recall, Ms. Van Arsdale had some issues about residency when she first ran for office in Hemet. Issues, Issues, Issues. Fasten your seat belts folks for a rough sleigh ride into July 20, 2021, when this web of disagreements makes it to court. Meanwhile, Mr. Males will still be a member of the Hemet City Council for eight months. Would you like saltine or oyster crackers in your soup? Just sayin’

rustystrait@gmail.com

Rusty Strait • Senior Reporter

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I was on the September 3rd zoom meeting of the Measure U Oversight Committee addressing financial discrepancies.

Rarely do you find a City Council Member as honest and diligent as Ms. Meyer who pointed out errors in Hemet’s audited annual report.

District 1 Council Member, Karlee Meyer, took her personal time to examine Hemet’s CAFR. At the Measure U meeting, it was determined Councilwoman Meyer found enough errors to cause the Measure U committee to request an audit. The Committee ordered an audit of measure U revenue and expenses for the last two years as a result of Councilwoman Meyer’s findings. It is rare to find a Council Person so honest and diligent.

Equally as impressive was the “buck stops here“ attitude of Hemet City Manager, Chris Lopez. At least three times Chris Lopez “owned the problem” and indicated there would be procedures put in place to prevent the problem in the future.

Hemet City Manager, Chris Lopez, I commend you for dealing with a big issue. It is encouraging to see you and Ms. Meyer work in the same good direction for my fellow Hemet citizens.

For the first time in at least five years, I believe the city has some potential to move forward in a good direction as a result of the efforts of Meyer and Lopez.

Their efforts are much appreciated. We thank both of them for their time and devotion to Hemet.

Regards,

Sue Savage, citizen and Candidate for Hemet City Treasurer

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Recently, I’ve had the opportunity to sit down with Mayor Russ Brown, and Mayor Pro Tem, Linda Krupa, to discuss Hemet’s state of emergency; what the city is doing in preparation for what seems the inevitable arrival of COVID-19; how public safety operations and our community are adapting to and practicing “social distancing.”

It was comforting to learn that our city leaders have had experience in emergency situations. Mayor Brown has a 30-year background in law enforcement and has responded to disasters in his time serving the American Red Cross.

Linda Krupa has seen disaster first-hand as she recalls the San Jacinto Flood of the early 1980’s when levees collapsed, and San Jacinto was under water; the area was a panic zone. She says, during that incident, “Within three weeks we could see that things were going to be back to normal. But this [pandemic] is a complete unknown.”

But, preparing to navigate these new “uncharted waters” is exactly what our city leaders have been doing these past couple weeks. Last Monday, March 16th, City Council passed a resolution declaring a state of local emergency for the City of Hemet. Other surrounding cities quickly did the same: Beaumont and Menifee, respectively March 17th and 18th. At the time of this writing, Temecula has not declared a state of emergency. Mayor Brown says the decision was imperative as reports of cases at national, state and county levels increased. With his background, he believes in the importance of anticipating all possible outcomes and being proactive.

Declaring a state of emergency places police, fire and emergency operation centers at peak operational mode to provide the best defense in dealing with the unpredictability associated with a pandemic. It also enhances the City’s ability to recover costs related to responding to and mitigating the emergency situation.

“Who would have thought?” says Brown, “We’re always thinking we’d be dealing with an earthquake or major fire . . . and here we are facing a pandemic.”

To adapt to the nature of this pandemic, public safety services have been proceeding with caution and utilizing “social distancing” wherever possible. The manner in which police, fire and medical now operate have been modified:

“What we’re having to do operationally is pare our services down to what is absolutely essential – police and fire at the top of the list – but even those two departments are having to change their operational activities. Before this happened, you could walk into the lobby of the police station and file a report – you can’t do that now. This is out of an abundance of caution for the health and safety of our city employees.”

Also changing is the way dispatchers screen calls. They now ask particular questions of a caller; specifics about their health, questions not normally asked as a way to forewarn first responders of someone who may be contagious. Doing so enables them to respond with appropriate measures and safety equipment.

With constant communication between Council, City Manager, Police Chief, Fire Chief and Emergency Services Coordinator, Mayor Brown sees Hemet being in an “enviable position,” especially in regard to Fire Chief, Scott Brown.

“He’s one of three Fire Chiefs who serve on a 2 week-long rotational basis as Operational Area Coordinators for Riverside County and oversees mutual aid needs . . . so he’s constantly getting information from State Office of Emergency Services, Riverside County Health and CDC . . . and with a paramedic background he understands medical necessity. I’m personally very proud to say that we have leadership of that caliber, along with our Police Chief, Eddie Pust, and City Manager, Chris Lopez, serving our city – and the advice that they give.”

I asked Mayor Brown what we can learn from this current state of emergency. He quickly pointed to the fact that we live in earthquake country and have always been advised to prepare to be self-sufficient for two weeks, with food, water and supplies. If everyone had heeded those recommendations, we likely could have prevented the “panic shopping” we’ve recently seen.

“Remember the experience that you had when you went to the store to get something, and the shelves were empty? . . . We should all be prepared in advance and be considerate of other people,” Mayor Brown advocates.

As businesses, schools and venues close and / or adapt to “social distancing,” the city’s revenues will be deeply affected. Moving forward, Krupa and Brown both agree that the city will need to be proactive and fiscally responsible. Brown says, “The things that are ups and extras that we provided routinely, we may not be able to do. Because paring things down to essential services – it’s all going to hinge on what we can afford to do. So, internally, we’re going to have to look at how we provide service: are we doing it pragmatically and efficiently? Are we working within what we can afford?”

The nature of our current state of emergency, here in Hemet, is a microcosm of what the rest of the world is facing. In essence, we are all in this together. In times of crisis and emergency the best aspects of human behavior can be revealed, and it has been evident here in Hemet – especially towards its senior community.

“The outreach on Facebook has been really uplifting in the number of people who will run your errands, take you to the doctor and buy groceries for you . . . and it’s the younger people relating to the senior communities,” says Krupa.

To keep up to date on Hemet City public notices, go to www.hemetca.gov and click on the red button at the top of the screen.

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