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Community Corner

NOVATO'S SHOPLIFTING SUPERVISOR

Arnold forfeited any consideration for “past indiscretions” to be overlooked by recently mailing to Novato voters two last minute “hit pieces” accusing Shroyer of mudslinging when Arnold’s pieces do exactly that and mock Shroyer’s work on behalf of the Novato Police department. Arnold’s entire campaign strategy from the beginning has been to relentlessly attack Shroyer from the beginning as a person while ignoring performance and accountability issues where Arnold is vulnerable.  Arnold has a history of continually attacking with derogatory “hit piece” mass mailing, avoiding issues while letting her massive out-of-district campaign funds overwhelm the voters with venom against her opponent.

Arnold will maintain that the damaging information that follows is a smear tactic. Not at all, it is simply a matter of public record. In this case a very bad one for Judy Arnold. .  If you have any doubts about the veracity of the facts check Marin Court records or Rob Rodgers Independent Journal article dated 14 Oct 02 at http://www.marinij.com/ci_4492836  “Old shoplifting case haunts candidate Arnold in supervisors race.”

The tipping point for disclosure came when the IJ recently published a letter to the editor by Patsy White a well-known political co-conspirator and member of Arnold’s political inner circle. The last paragraph includes the statement “…Shroyer cannot come close to measuring up to Judy Arnold in experience, wisdom or integrity.”

If serving in 1993 a six month probation for shoplifting after pleading no contest to shoplifting charges brought by Longs Drugstore in Novato defines integrity then Shroyer certainly doesn’t measure up to Arnold’s standards. While not technically an admission of guilt for commission of a crime a judge will treat a plea of “no contest” as an admission and proceed to find the defendant guilty as charged.

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Standard practice is for a judge to ask either the attorneys or the defendant, “Is there a factual basis for the plea?” to affirm the facts of the case before the bench and the accused person’s acceptance of the facts as being true. If the defendant agrees the facts are true the judge then accepts the plea, finds the defendant guilty and sentences the defendant, e.g., in Arnold’s case guilty and six months of probation. http://dictionary.law.com/Default.aspx?selected=1327 - http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/No+Contest

Arnold would later deceptively maintain that the charge was dismissed. However, this was only after she served out the sentence of six months’ probation. It is “old news” according to Arnold. To us non-shoplifters, for a grown woman and public officeholder to be caught shoplifting, charged and effectively plead guilty is a big deal regardless of time, and particularly when she is publically trashing someone running against her who has not been convicted and has a clean criminal record. Ethics are never “old news”.

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If a mother was going to hold up someone as a role model for their children, should it be the 4-H club founding, graffiti erasing, pennies for police dogs Toni Shroyer or the guilty shoplifter Supervisor Arnold?

Voters rejected Arnold in 1996 when she lost the election against Steve Kinsey for the Supervisor race in District 4. The defeat was partly attributed to Arnold’s conviction.

Arnold’s last hit piece accuses her opponent of having   “…spread blatant lies and exaggerations.” and being “…a pure demagogue with no idea what she’s doing.” Arnold sounds like she is becoming unhinged by the prospect of being tossed out of her cozy office.

People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw rocks. Judy Arnold foolishly never learned that lesson.

Arnold has a smarmy reputation in political circles. Her open use of County workers on her re-election staff is particularly troubling. Her stints on the ethically challenged and controversial Burton, Giacomini and Midgen political staffs and her similar behavior while in office generates an uneasiness among many of her constituents that they are merely pawns in a much bigger political game.

I for one prefer not to have a convicted shoplifter as a representative of my District. If I vote for her or my fellow district voters elect her we are in effect endorsing what she has done, something she has never apologized or publically admitted (except to the sentencing judge).

The rest of Marin finds the shoplifting Supervisor case as an affirmation of their poor opinion of Novato. What other Supervisor District would elect a convicted shoplifter?

Novato can and deserves better – Elect Toni Shroyer.


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