The Geeky Brit

So, yesterday Fresno County Supervisor Judy Case decided to show her political colors by lying to a Senate Rules committee in order to further her political career and be confirmed in her appointement to the California Air Resources Board.

Luckily the committee saw through the thin disguise, and voted 3-2 to oppose the nomination.

Judy was nominated by the Governor to fill the Valley Air Districts’ spot around the CARB table. Yes, she sits on the same Valley Air board that voted to delay cleaning some of the nations most polluted air by 11 years, and that decided to decline the help of medical and environmental experts to asses the impact of the problem we face here in the valley.

It is an open secret that Judy wishes to run for state senate, and her being on CARB would have given her some much needed state credentials.

Who supported her nomination?

Well, the governor proposed her, so we will count him. Then there is the master of deception himself Seyed Sadredin, APCO for the SJ Valley Air District. Then there is the trucking industry, which contributes to her political coffer, and fellow members of the Valley Air Board. Hmmmmm, the good ole boys then.

How come so many health and environmental groups opposed her nomination?

Because it seems she does not know the first thing about the effects of air pollution in our valley. She also apparently does not fully recognize that she sits on a board of a “public health agency”, despite this being a phrase directly quoted from their mission statement.

When asked a direct question by the senate committee about how many kids within the district she represents have asthma, she had no clue. She guessed. And she guessed wrong. She said 16% when the actual number is 30%, and she could not translate this to an actual figure. When a person who has to vote on health issues is not aware of the actual impacts of the decisions they are making, it is VERY worrying.

She also has an interesting voting record. For example, she voted to ban in home fires, but voted to allow crop burning by agriculture.

Isn’t she a nurse though?
She defends herself by proclaiming herself to be a nurse. However, by her own admission she last practiced as a nurse 18 years ago. 18 years ago. Yeh, she hasn’t lost a bit of her knowledge since then. Judy, you are now just a politically ambitious hospital administrator now. Get over it.

So how did she lie?
Well, besides the usual dancing around the truth that these political types do, she pulled this one out of her hat:

“I do not actively oppose SB719”.(sic)

SB 719 was the piece of legislature that added some city,health and environmental representation to the Valley Air Board. Despite this being a Senate Bill, the Valley Air Board voted to oppose this. I was mad at the time, as I considered this debate and vote a complete waste of time. Their vote has no impact on the issue at stake. At the county supervisors meeting, the county also voted to oppose this senate bill. So who proposed this motion? You bet, Judy Case. If this is not “actively” opposing this bill, then I do not have a clue what is. After she was called on this, she asked for a clarification on what the term “Actively Opposing” means. It reminded me of a certain Bill Clinton request for clarification.

At a local meeting here in Merced a few months ago, I challenged her that this sort of behavior was just a PR exercise that she and the board were trying to pull. She got extremely defensive and vigorously defended herself and the board. Again, I would consider this reasonably active. Her public record does not match the facade she presented yesterday.

The only thing I wish the Valley Air Board to do is to go back, stop playing PR games, and start making our air clean. Judy Case is not right for CARB, and I think this will be reflected in today’s full senate vote.