On September 24, Mayor Kristy Sayles of Lathrop issued a statement to Manteca Live! in answer to some of the accusations being spread on the "opposition website" devoted to destroying her and her candidacy.Manteca Live: Mayor Sayles opens her statement by addressing the use of the name Edwards.
Mayor Sayles: I first would like to start with the issue of the use of Kristy Edwards as my name. This name was given to me by my mother upon entering kindergarten. My biological father left when I was 3 years old and my mom remarried Ron Edwards. She wanted to be certain that I felt as though I belonged to Ron, and gave me his name. This is the father who raised me, the one that I still call dad to this day. Although he never adopted me, my divorce attorney informed me that if I went by Edwards before I was married, I could return to Edwards (as my maiden name) after the divorce, and that is what I chose to do. My birth certificate says Rees, but I do not have a familial relationship with Gary Rees.
Manteca Live: There are accusations that Mayor Sayles lied when she said she was born in Lathrop, pointing to her birth certificate that states otherwise. Mayor Sayles responds:
Mayor Sayles: I was born in Oakdale, as that is where my mother's doctor was. There are no hospitals in Lathrop. My mother's address prior to my birth and the address that I was brought home to was 410 W. Louise Avenue, Lathrop. The words "born and raised" to me means "where I lived since birth and was raised." I was in no way trying to mislead anyone.
(Editor's note: Oakdale is 25 miles east of Lathrop.)
Manteca Live: In response to accusations that she lied when she was campaigning for mayor in 2006 and claimed to be a life-long resident of Lathrop and claimed to have the endorsement of her uncle, Steve McKee, a former mayor of Lathrop, Mayor Sayles says:
Mayor Sayles: I have never said that I was a lifelong resident. I speak openly of not being able to afford a house in Lathrop in my younger days, purchasing my first home (with my husband) in Stockton. I have also never said that my Uncle Steve endorsed my campaign. I have all of my prior campaign pieces if you are interested in seeing them.
Manteca Live: There are accusations on the "opposition website" that claim the mayor bounced 40 checks in 1993 and was subsequently arrested in Alpine County. This what the mayor says:
Mayor Sayles: I have no knowledge of 40 bounced checks. I would love to see the so called proof on that one! In 1993, at 20 years old, I bounced one check in Alpine County. I was divorcing and moved without forwarding my mail...I didn't learn about mail forwarding until I was 23! I was told about the check when I ran a stop sign in Lathrop in 1995 (I did not learn how to drive well until about 24) and took care of it immediately. I have always been embarrassed and ashamed of the misdemeanor on my record.
(Editor's note: In documents dated 1993 there is a bank statement showing some returned checks but on the same statement it shows that sufficient funds were deposited to cover those checks. Bank of America failed to honor the last check and instead closed the account.)
Manteca Live: It was brought up on the "opposition website" that Mayor Sayles runs a day care business but didn't file for a fictitious business name statement until recently. Here is the mayor's response to those wondering why she waited so long:
Mayor Sayles: As a sole proprietor, I am not required to file a Fictitious Business Name Statement if I do business under my name. I chose to go by a business name this year (Early Start Child Development Center) and filed the Fictitious Business Name Statement. I have called my child care center by that name for quite some time, but never needed to make it official until I changed it on my bank accounts and other legal documents. I am trying to insure that I actually have a business when this is all said and done. Those who are operating the website are also calling the State Licensing Board making all sorts of accusations to try to shut me down. I found this out when State Licensing came to visit yesterday!
Manteca Live: Critic and former city employee Laura Thimler, posted a statement on Manteca Live!: "(what about) Taking a trip to Washington on the city's dime only to report back that 'There's an awful lot of alcohol in Washington!'" Mayor Sayles responds:
Mayor Sayles: I did go to Washington, but cannot recall a conversation in which I said anything about alcohol, especially considering that I rarely drink due to the fact that I am a workaholic, and do not need to be impaired while I am working. Oh yes, and that other little thing of being a mother of 6 children and trying desperately to set the right example.
Manteca Live: One of the more dastardly things the "opposition website" has done is to target the mayor's husband Tom and his brother and Sayles Construction in an attempt to destroy the business. To those who are asking questions, Mayor Sayles responds:
Mayor Sayles: I cannot and will not speak to the facts of Sayles Construction. My husband and his brother were working together long before I came into the picture. I have been assured by their attorney that what they do is legal. That is all that I need.
Manteca Live: Our thanks to Mayor Kristy Sayles for allowing us to publish her statements. We'll be doing a second follow-up interview with the mayor to get her statements on some of the actual issues in the city of Lathrop, including the Lathrop High School sewer issue. Stay tuned!
It is nice to see Manteca Live do this interview. I am a strong believer in free speech which is also why I do not agree when Manteca Live asks people to disassociate themselves with the www.KristySayles.com web site. That site, just as this one, is for everyone. Everyone!
ReplyDeleteI enjoy BOTH sites. They represent what I care for. They are sites that evoke thought, anger, enjoyment and I hope for some people, an insight as to how critical it is for all of us to really know who we are electing.
I would agree to be interviewed by the Manteca Live people/person.
There have been many occasions where I meet a new person as I walk the Lathrop neighborhoods and they say they no longer read local Manteca owned newspapers while being a Lathrop resident. They say that to them, it appears that the Manteca papers and even this web site endorses the least successful candidate for Lathrop and also have a strong agenda to bolster Manteca and degrade Lathrop so that new businesses and new home buyers pass on Lathrop and buy/build in Manteca.
Frankly I have wondered about this also. I mean, I hear it constantly and for quite a number of years.
At the start of my campaign for Lathrop Mayor I called the office of the Manteca Mayor and asked for an appointment to meet with him.
I wanted to see if any of the above was even remotely true and let the Manteca mayor know, I will always support Manteca as I build Lathrop.
The Manteca Mayor, Willie Weatherford at 209-239-8417 has never agreed and to this date, even when the Mayors secretary assured me she will give him my request, he has never called me. We should have Mayors in both Manteca and Lathrop who are open to discussions and to WORK TOGETHER.
This web site can take my words and work with me….or not.
I will comment on another item that is important to me. This web master has had incidences where he/she has not received or seen inappropriate local government services. This is precisely the type of individual I want to see come to me when I am Mayor of Lathrop.
I support web sites that support: We the People.
Folks: This web site and the other web site is what makes America great. Get involved and learn about the candidates and go VOTE.
If I’m not the right guy for you then fine but always know your candidates and vote.
Respectfully
John Rock
www.RockLathrop.com
Dear Mr. Rock,
ReplyDeleteThe policy of the other website that you have mentioned gives the right of Mr. J.D. Maurer who has been engaging in character assasination the perogative to edit what he does not like. It is obvious this Livermore resident is biased to a degree almost unheard of in a website that is interested in "truth".
The criticism that you have directed towards Mayor Sayles is the same individual that has cared for your daughter for almost two years up until last month as a day care provider. Is this the same person that you suggested stay home and take care of her family, apparently she has stayed home and taken care of your family also. The website that you suggest is so good, is a disgrace to common decency.
"When a man/woman knows the right thing to do and does not do it, they commit a wrong".
Mr. Maurer and the people who hired him are not interested in the truth, they are interested in half-truths, propagating misinformation, and perversions of the truth. Examples include: Behavior when Mayor Sayles was sixteen, the relationship of Laura Thimler to Steve McKee, the threats made by developers, Thimler and others, to name a few. Is this what you support? The website using the Mayor's name is an abuse of her as a person designed to cloud the truth of the election.
In a recent comment, you stated that you would want to investigate any wrong doing at city hall. Will that include the behavior of Councilman Oliver when he voted to pay off Nancy Rustigian $500,000 with a total cost of $1.2 million to the citizens of Lathrop. In an interview with the Manteca Bulletin and the quoted words of Leroy Griffith, "Mr. Oliver dated the City Clerk Rustigian". Not to mention the other two gentleman on the council who dated her and with at least one of them having sex. I guess $500,000 for sex is a nice payoff and they deep sixed the truth.
Of course the council can't discus personnel issues unless Mr. Oliver can explain why on his website he discussed the current City Manager. It has since been changed as result of a letter from an attorney.
In conclusion: this website makes an effort to tell the truth in a decent manner. The other website is infested with hearsay from third and fourth persons, information that is more than fifteen years old, from a paid assasin claiming he cares about Lathrop, not to mention oportunistic Mayoral candidates jumping on the bandwagon. J.D. Maurer is not what makes America great, he makes me ashamed of the political process as do you.
Respectfully,
citizen
This dialogue is good even if you disagree with the free flow of peoples personal thoughts. Please check yourself before making an accusation towards another person. Hence, claiming that I have criticized Kristy. I disagree with how Kristy does work for the City of Lathrop. To disagree and to offer to voters my experience, my views for what I will do for Lathrop is a normal course of any political campaign. The items discussed on the other web page make me very displeased. Frankly speaking, it would be improper for me to write there or here in the style as you have. I must, as a friend, a candidate and a public servant, allow people to express their views without becoming angered. These are the true qualities I look for in a political candidate. I wrote my first comment to the Manteca Bulletin when Kristy had the elderly lady removed from City Hall by Law Enforcement. I disagreed with Kristy then and now about such behaviors.
ReplyDeleteI will agree with you on many points you made. Insofar as me investigating the past and current actions in City Hall once I am Mayor, yes indeed, I certainly shall. I would be terribly remorseful and possibly negligent if I occupied the Office of Mayor and did nothing to examine any lingering liability the City could face based on an array of past actions, contracts or agreements. Hear me loud and clear, if I needed a babysitter for my daughter tomorrow, I would not fear to have Kristy care for her. Kristy has done many things I suppose that I or many of us may not have if even a small percentage of what is on the other web page is correct on. However, I know Kristy and she is not a monster, not many negative things others try to portray her as. I helped get Kristy elected and that may have been a dishonor to a friend. I did not know many things such as education, past marriages and so on. Just like most of us when we vote and or support a candidate, we haven’t asked the hard and deep personal questions we really should have asked. It is not what we as a society does. I would never have forecasted how she would change once she had what she felt was power. For a couple of years now I have asked Kristy to have coffee in a public place so I can help her with some decision making processes. Kristy has never called and it saddens me to see her circling her wagons for an attack and I’m not her enemy. I am only an opposing candidate. I feel the job as Mayor was simply to taxing for her but with the tools she does have, she has done the best she can. When I say tools, I mean experiences in the workforce holding a professional position. How could any person who has never been a Union member really understand what a Union representative is speaking about?
Even after my wife and I walked the streets to support Kristy and she was elected, we never received a thank you card. It is my belief that we have two Kristie’s. One is the day care provider that many of us knows and trusts. The other is a person in what sure seems like turmoil.
If I am guilty as a friend for getting her elected and now see the change in her plus the turmoil, I wouldn’t be much of a friend if I didn’t take the initiative and step in and give that person a time out.
I will agree with you solidly on another point. I doubt Mr. Oliver is without past wrongful actions. I respect him and the others on the Council and I shall not bash them. Doing so is not professional. However, it is ok to agree to disagree just as you have with your post here. You think the other web page is bad. I actually felt the first time I read it that it was paid for by Mr. Oliver however, I seriously doubt this is the case.
That web master is doing what he feels is appropriate, just as you do: anonymously.
I felt at first that Oliver paid for the web page and investigation because of the data so quickly posted. Only Oliver, and the others would know such things. Just think, Kristy was my Babysitter and I knew none of this. All I ever knew was my child was happy with Kristy and said Tom yelled far too much. I have arrested many men but never for yelling.
So where do we draw the line when an election is approaching? Do we keep bashing Kristy and contend that with me being in the election draws votes from Oliver and helps Kristy? People can wrap themselves around a barbed wire fence post if they only allow emotions to steer them. You offered data, I offer data, this and the other web page offers data and the readers can make their own decision. I have faith in people. Think of when have you ever seen a candidate TRY to do what I am trying to do? I am running a campaign with NO money from any person or group. When I am sworn in, I shall have no need to remember who gave me money or who I had asked and they turned me down.
I enter the Office with a clean and pure slate armed with God, my Family, professional experience and Morals to guide me.
I would vote for any such candidate because that candidate has shown me he/she cares about the job, not the power (Remember Mr. Oliver just won an election and is already on the City Council. Now he wants to be Mayor after only a few months) and a candidate such as I, seeks and encourages voices such as yours. For without a voice from the public, how can a leader do as the public wishes?
All of you I hope shall seriously consider running for an office in your City in the future. Don’t worry about people posting a negative this or that. A free and open society has open dialogues and good debates. Yes, that is what makes America great.
Respectfully
John Rock
www.RockLathrop.com
Hairdude, I mean anonymous, my goodness, you sure do use a lot of words for someone who doesn't say much. You skirt the true issues and try to use ridiculous smokescreens and big words out of context in order to buffalo the "uneducated masses of the Central Valley." This statement alone, proves you are not from this area, do not care about this area and do not belong here! You and SYbil fly in on your brooms in 2004 and profess to know everything about this City you have never seen before. You criticize the REAL blog that kicked you off for trying to use fake email addresses and now sing the praises of a blog that has not produced one shred of evidence to back up any single statement and/or accusation it posts. All this and insulting remarks about people you are not worthy of licking the feet of. You do not know the community. You are strictly in it for the so-called name, fame and glory, which I find disgusting because these are none of the reasons a candidate should run in the first place. Not to mention the fact that although you are not the one in office, you seem to think that riding on your wife's coattails and title (which she has not earned) make you somebody. How pathetic that your whole life is lived vicariously through other people: Kristy's Uncle builds the City. Kristy takes credit for all the good things she had nothing to do with, while criticizing others for all the bad that she is directly responsible for. You do not have a title, none of the children are yours and the business you proclaim to be yours, is licensed to your brother. Have you ever done one single good thing on your own?
ReplyDelete"Mr. Maurer and the people who hired him are not interested in the truth, they are interested in half-truths, propagating misinformation, and perversions of the truth. Examples include: Behavior when Mayor Sayles was sixteen..."
ReplyDeleteSO WHAT DID KRISTY DO WHEN SHE WAS SIXTEEN? PLEASE TELL.
She told the Manteca Bulletin that "I haven't committed a crime". Then, when it came to the attention of the public, she admits the conviction."Born in" means just that. Not near, by, around or raised in. When public documents are made available, that confirm the truth is in conflict with what is being claimed, be thankful for them. The truth will help us decide. Don't kill the messenger!!! The messenger has provided truth for all of us to use in making an informed decision. Not a decision based on ignorance, loyalty, or apathy. I have seen his truth, and I have seen her truth. His information has helped me come to an informed, educated decision. I suspect the truth is helping others to make an informed decision. That danged old truth just keeps popping up and getting in the way!!!. Get a life Hairdude! Embrace the truth and come out of the darkness! Try using "Guilty with an explanation". Not "Guilty with a fairytale story". Oh yeah, No Contest your Honor, allows one to say GUILTY without HAVING to say GUILTY you Honor!!! I know how the game is played. If you run for political office, and you have lots of luggage, be up-front and truthfully explain it. Don't deny it, twist it,and try to downplay it. TRUTHFULLY expalin it. The voters have respect for truthful candidates.
ReplyDeleteMap
ReplyDeleteThis is how the distance from Lathrop to Oakdale was estimated. The Manteca Live Chief Cartographer estimates it as 24.6 statute miles from the rough "center of the city to center of city" (21.1 nautical miles or 39 km) so it was rounded to "25 miles."
Let me know if there are any other inconsequential nitpicks of no significance, I'll be happy to answer them.
LOL - I went off Google and believe since they OWN THE UNIVERSE their numbers are to be believed. Regardless she wasn't born in Lathrop, the City website is WRONG. She wasn't even born in San Joaquin County!!!
ReplyDeleteWebmaster, do you suppose American Hero left out an 'R' in 'nitpicks?'While we're nitpicking (uncovering the truth), what about the "raised in Lathrop" part? Does 'raised 'mean the first 18 years of ones iife?
ReplyDeleteDear Laura:
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments. I purposely left off the "r" because I don't want to call anyone names but instead the "nitpicks" are the ideas -- not any person saying such things.
It's not our role to tell people what to think or what's important. We have asked the question and the candidate answered it. It's up to the voters to decide what they think of the matter.
That being said, that never stops me from offering an opinion anyway, that's what's great about a "blog." So I will offer the opinion that I do think that most of the English speaking world would understand that being born and raised in a town has a colloquial meaning and doesn't imply that the person has never once left the confines of the city limits at any time in their youth. Like, maybe she spent the month of August at Camp Winnyhahaha when she was 9 or spent a week at Christmas at her grandmother's cabin in the sierras would that violate the "born and raised" statement?
The mayor offered her reason for why her birth certificate would read as it does in response to the scurrilous claim that there was something amiss there. In my view the investigation and the explanation just verifies her claim. But that's up to you to decide.
And while were finding nits to pick, I've got one no one seems to have thought of. How could her birth certificate list "Lathrop" as her birth place? Lathrop didn't exist at the time! I think it was Indian Territory or unincorporated land ruled by feuding tribal warlords or something at the time. Lathrop wasn't incorporated as a city until 1989, a score less four after the future mayor's birth.
Yes, that's a silly thing to say but so is the whole issue because most people understand the short bio statement about being born and raised in Lathrop to have the meaning just as the mayor meant it.
I just read your post about your talk with Mrs. Sayles. I thought she had 7 kids one adopted? and in reponse to her saying she never put that she was a life long resident of Lathrop she may have not put that on het litature who would still keep such things pack rats maybe but I for for one can sawre that she did tell both me and my husband when I met her that she was a life long resident I till this day still tease Frank Cavaco about her statment as well as his about the life long residency. has for her day care who can she says she's a workaholic when she is realy at her day care center as per her neighbors and some of the parents of the children she as cared for in the past. if Manteca live wants the truth Kristy is not the one to ask we all know her record on truth. I ask Manteca live Jackie or Joe or what every you are calling yourself are you going to to give the same chance to the other candidtes to answer questions you pose them? maybe your web site would like to sponser an in person candidte forum where the public gets to ask the questions with out any body like frank getting to decide what questions the public asks are really going to get to be heard. I thinks the Rush forums seem a little one sided for my taste I think we should get to hear every question that might be on the minds of the people of Lathrop and expect to get and answer not read for a prepared index card I for one would jump at the chance to get to hear what the public concerns and questions are. I know you know how to reach me and at least most of the others who are running for seats this year. like I keep saying give the public a chance to hear for them selves what the candidtes satnd for.
ReplyDeleteThanks
Rosalinda
American Smearo,
ReplyDeleteWhat a bunch of b.s! First, are you telling me that because Lathrop wasn't incorporated until 1989, it did not exist, did not have a name, the people, families and businesses there did not exist? I know a great number of people who would beg to differ.
Secondly, I was born in Stockton and moved to San Francisco when I was four. Would it be deceptive of me to say I was born and raised in Stockton? I will be happy to trade sarcastic barbs with you another day - on a subject we both know something about, but not this one.The bottom line is, I couldn't care less what rock she was hatched under, nor on what planet. All we want to show is the constant, life long pattern of lying. BTW you are wrong...nobody I know accepts your pathetic excuse for her misleading the voters.
Kristy is pretty hot, I would do her.
ReplyDeleteDear Laura:
ReplyDeleteThanks for the questions. I know it's hard to believe but Lathrop didn't always "exist." In the same way California didn't exist before 1858 and the United States of America didn't exist before 1776. If there's a "great number of people who would beg to differ" I'd like to meet them. I hope they aren't members of the Lathrop Historical Society.
I don't know how you would phrase your mini-bio is you moved somewhere when you were four years old. There are many politicians who move around in their youth and somehow they find a way to explain this anomaly. Many politicians were children in military families who never spent more than two years in one place. How do they ever answer the question "where are you from?"
It's up to the voters to decide but I don't think most people think it's a good idea to pick a mayor based on nitnoid points like if her mother gave birth in a nearby town. Chances are the voters will get a worse leader if they base their decision on overblown hype from some guy's "oppositional web site."
It's a wonder anyone ever runs for public office if they are going to be subject to the rantings of manufactured outrage designed to manipulate.
Dear Rosalinda:
ReplyDeleteI must be a pack rat; it doesn't surprise me that Sayles would have all her campaign literature. If I ever got elected dog catcher I'd keep all the campaign literature, but that's just me.
Sometimes people say something in response a question and sometimes questions aren't crystal clear. Mostly likely she said she was a long time resident, grew up here, something along those lines and different people interpret that their own way. It could be she meant she didn't just carpetbag into town like say, Hilary Clinton went to New York to run for office.
Once I had to apply for a Top Secret security clearance and they wanted to know, well, everything. I had to list the exact date that my family took a trip to Niagra Falls when I was like 9 years old and we stepped onto the Canadian side. That counted that as a visit to a foreign nation! I remember telling this sergeant "well I remember a pond with fish in it and we feed the fish with bread crumbs..." and the guy just barked, "dates!" and I can't repeat the rest of what he said. The type of answer depends on the context. If a guy asked me on the street where I grew up, I wouldn't launch into the story of the Canadian koi pond, etc. etc.
This is why I say most people don't expect such details when they ask "where are you from?" Most are looking for a general (but accurate) response but it's not an interrogation. So that's a non-issue if there ever was one.
And I want to point out that I'm "joe" and not jackie. We might sound alike because we generally share a political philosophy but she has her own sharp wit. Sort of like Sarah Palin.
When seeking "the truth" a good place to start is to ask the person involved and then go from there. No one knows more about their own life than the person involved. Even "lies" can sometimes be uncovered by asking the person involved. It's up to everyone to interpret Sayles' comments as they wish, but consider: Despite all the nonsense from the smear campaign, no one has yet shown a single instance of Mayor Sayles lying about anything at any time. And barring that instance, years ago, of a checking account error or a traffic ticket no one has shown Mayor Sayles involved in any "crime" or wrongdoing in any way.
Now there's a vast difference between doing something I don't agree with such as approving a development agreement I don't "like" or conducting a meeting in way I don't approve of and "wrongdoing" or "lying." Sometimes elected officials do things that I don't happen to like or they hire the person, say, for city manager someone happens to not like but that doesn't make it "a crime."
You bring up a great suggestion I was just working on questions for candidates. You can help with any suggestions. What you think is important for a candidate to say or do? What are the problems and solutions for what ails us?
We will be supporting the candidates' forum with whatever resources available even in if it's in some tangential way. At the least we'll participate in any such forum and put our two cents in and report on it.
I should say that I'm not sure you'd like all our questions because question number three would be something like "Do you think participating in a disreputable web forum found to be spreading misleading nonsense should disqualify a candidate for holding public office? Why or why not? And you wouldn't be the only one of course, there's quite a list.
I appreciate your forthright attitude and thank you for your comments.
-Good luck.
Newsflash:
ReplyDeleteI just found out there is a candidates' forum being put together by the Sun Post and the League of Women Voters and not sure who else. It will probably take place on the 16th or 17th of October, probably on a Thursday evening in Manteca. Not sure which candidates will be involved or if there will be a separate forum for the Lathrop candidates.
I'll publish more details if/when I get them.