Is There a Local Politician Worth Supporting?
Yes.
His name is Matthew Heath. If we are lucky, we will hear more about him soon. If we are not, it will be because he followed the tracks of thousands of other principled people who went before him, into and out of the fray of the current political system. Some of those, ended up in prison or dead.
That may sound outlandish or severe, but if you do your homework, you will find that I am not too far off on this claim. For starters, do a search on Congressman George Hansen. There are others. Their stories are buried. Our history is littered with them.
Make no mistake; our current political system is designed to get rid of people like Matthew Heath. Most do not make it past the school board level and that is where Matthew is now. He is also on the Sonoma County Republican Central Committee and serves as the Communications Secretary.
I first met Matthew at a local Ron Paul meeting at my home. When I first saw him I thought he might be a liberal environmentalist who came out of curiosity or for some other reason. True, there are no Ron Paul types out there. In fact, one thing of note in all of the Ron Paul support groups among the states is the wide cross section of people that are attracted to his message. But, nonetheless, Matt stood out with his long hair, sparse beard and dress; he would fit right in with the typical Sebastopolians most of who see Ron Paul as a throw-back anomaly.
Matt seems to enjoy the mistaken perceptions and has perfected the art of respectfully reminding people not to judge covers too quickly. We became fast friends and I ended up helping him with his election to the Republican Central Committee. That was a lot of work for a position most people don’t even know exists.
Now Matt serves in two positions locally and is making a difference. You should get to know him. Here’s his bio that he wrote about a year ago –
I have been married to my wife, Jampa for the past eight years and have a two year boy. We live just outside Sebastopol. I am a licensed painting contractor and have owned and operated this small business; Heath Painting for five years.
I was born in New Jersey in 1974. My father, Steven E. Heath Sr., was a corporate and civil lawyer for most of his life. From 1970-74, he was a councilmen and then mayor of Willingboro, N.J. He died from cancer in 2004. My mother, Susan L. Ghansah, taught public elementary school for over thirty years in Willingboro, N.J. She is now retired and currently resides in Sonoma spending time mentoring a child in the Sonoma school district. I have two older brothers. Steven E. Heath Jr. is married, has a M.P.A. and is a self-employed health policy consultant in Washington D.C. Michael K. Heath Sr. is married with 4 children and is the Senior Pastor at Word Tabernacle Baptist Church in Philadelphia, Pa.
I was raised a Roman Catholic, was an alter boy and graduated from Red Bank Catholic Highschool in 1993. I was a letterman football player during highschool. I went to Moravian College in Bethlehem, Pa. I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science in 1998. My father was diagnosed with cancer during my college years. This resulted in me having to work many different jobs and take out student loans to pay for college. I worked as a painter, a landscaper, a carpenter’s apprentice, a dishwasher, a grill cook and a cashier. Immediately upon graduation, I made plans to move to California. I worked as a substitute teacher and gas station attendant to save money for the move.
I moved to Berkeley, Ca in 1999 and met my wife within the week. We were married shortly there after and moved to Oakland; eventually buying a house in Oakland. In Oakland, I was co-chairman on my local neighborhood crime prevention council working closely with the Oakland Police Department. I helped head an effort to get walking and bicycle officers in East Oakland. The citizens continuelessly expressed a desire for more police; but, did not want to pay any more taxes. Tax increases were always voted down. The idea of walking and bicycle officers was to give business and customers in crime ridden East Oakland a sense of security. I had hoped that this would have created an additional tax base, through additional sales tax revenue. This would have enabled the City of Oakland to hire more police without the burden of higher taxes. Red tape and community organization in-fighting stalled this effort.
In 2005, God blessed my wife and I with a healthy baby boy. Within 3 months, we bought a home in Sonoma County and shortly there after sold our home in Oakland. We wanted to raise our son with a sense of community. We have found that in Sonoma County and plan to raise our family and spend the rest of our lives here.
Issues
The Constitution
I am a strict constitutionalist. I whole-heartedly agree with our founding fathers; when they said that a federal government was a necessity for the survival and safety of the states and individuals. The federal government was also to be weak and rely upon the states and individuals for its power. I understand the Constitution as a limit of powers for the federal government; not, as a limited power for the states and individuals. The rights of all mankind; life, liberty and property are given to us by God not the government. The masses have lost sight of this concept and now look to the federal government for these rights. This is in blatant contradiction to the Constitution. All Americans should be taught the founding fathers concept of the constitution. It is not a living, breathing document.
Taxes
Taxes are too high. The high tax problem is especially high at the federal level. Because the federal government collects most of the taxes and then pays the states and the local municipalities, local citizens rarely see the benefit. If all taxes were collected by local governments, local citizens would see the benefit of their tax dollars. The more the local the tax, the more control the people have over how the money is spent. Local citizens would have a greater control over such things as public education and infrastructure.
Education
The purpose of education should be to create vital citizens. A vital citizen must be literate in the three R’s, but must also be literate in the values of our society. America was not an accident, it did not spring up out of no where. It was the product of a political and economic tradition which allowed the individual to succeed and our society to flourish. For too long, the education establishment has been using its position of trust to pursue an agenda designed to undermine the traditional culture of our country. We must not allow our schools to continue being used as laboratories for collectivist social theories which stand in contrast to the traditions which have so successfully nurtured us.
Infrastructure
Our infrastructure was built in the 1950’s. It is in need of serious maintenance. This requires money. Continually, bureaucrats siphon our tax dollars into pet projects which are in conflict with the will of our citizens. Entitlement programs are growing and using more and more tax dollars. This limits the amount of money that can be used for our infrastructure. This relationship needs to be debated and decided on by local citizens.
Sovereignty
A country will only survive with a common language, border and culture. This is under attack here in America. Because my wife is a Tibetan, I have learned the history of Tibet. Communist China has and continues to destroy Tibet through it destruction of its language; moving more Chinese speaking people to the region, destruction of its border; completely erasing the border through invasion, and the destruction of its culture; outlawing the free worship of their God, their cultural identity. We in America must not allow this to occur here. We must have English as our binding language, we must have protected borders and we must protect the unique American culture. These are necessary for a sovereign United States of America.
Here’s an email note he sent out to folks in the Gravenstein School District –
From The Desk of Gravenstein Union School Board Trustee Matt Heath
Neighbors,
In December of 2008, I was sworn in to serve on the Gravenstein Union School Board. This is truly an honor and privilege to be your public servant, representing your interests on the board. Many of you, I have never met; but I assure you that I will be available to you with any of your concerns or questions.
Just this month, my 3 year old son, will be starting at the Pre-School at Gravenstein Elementary School. My wife, Jampa, and I are thrilled that we have the opportunity to send our son to such a wonderful school. We look forward to the many years we will share with you in our neighborhood and schools.
I am writing this to you, so that we can start a conversation about how the governance of the Gravestein Union School District should be. I want to know what you think are the important issues facing our school district; and, what are your opinions on what to do about them. This is the essence and meaning of being your public servant. Your input is crucial.
Please email me, call me or even stop by my house sometime, so we can meet and chat about how you want me to represent you. Again I look forward to the many years to come in the Gravenstein family.
In Liberty,
Matt Heath
823-8407
I think this note sets him apart from probably 99% of all other such politicians in the whole state of California. He calls himself a ‘public servant.’ Imagine that.
http://www.matthewheath.org/
There are a few things that Matt and I disagree on, but that matters little in the grand scheme of things. The fact about Matt that does matter is that he is out there doing something and making a sincere effort to turn things around. He is going about it in a rather intelligent manner. He knows when to keep his mouth shut, a characteristic I cannot claim for myself. He is patient and has no problem with the reality that in order to change things, it will take some time.
My opinion is that time has run out and that it is time to hunker down and weather the storm. I hope he is right and that I am wrong.
UPDATE:
UPDATE
Censure on agenda at Gravenstein School District
by David Abbott
Sonoma West Interim Editor
The library of Gravenstein Elementary School was packed with about 30 members of the public for Tuesday night’s meeting of the Board of Trustees.
The crowd showed up to the normally quiet meeting to find out if the board would vote to move forward with a censure of its newest member over actions he took to help defeat Measure A in the special election earlier this month.
Matthew Heath, who ran unopposed for his position on the Gravenstein Union School District (GUSD) board of trustees last November, worked behind the scenes in an effort to defeat the parcel tax, after the other members of the board had unanimously agreed to put the measure on a special March 3 ballot.
An audience composed of teachers, administrators, and long-time members of the community labeled Heath either a “chicken,” or a solid member of the community and there were several tense moments in the meeting.
Measure A would have extended the existing $36 parcel tax for eight years with exemptions for parcels owned by persons over the age of 65, and multiple contiguous parcels would have been charged as one parcel.
The funds were intended to support music, language, and technology programs for the 570-student district comprised of Gravenstein Elementary and Hill Crest Middle schools, and the defeat of the tax could cost the district more than $500,000 over the next two years.
The board made the decision to move forward with the special election a month prior to Heath’s seating.
Heath — the father of a 3-year-old son, who will likely attend school in the GUSD — is an outspoken opponent of taxes, and his web site touts “reform we need,” featuring a prominently displayed “Liberty Compact,” which states in part that he pledges to work to “restore liberty, not restrict it; reduce taxes, not raise them; abolish programs, not create them.”
The compact is part of a pledge by the Republican Liberty Caucus (RLC), which calls itself “the conscience of the Republican Party.”
Heath and other members of the RLC walked precincts and handed out anonymous flyers to try to affect the outcome of the elections.
The flyers called for a vote for “fiscal responsibility,” and called the extension of the tax a tax increase.
Heath’s flyers accused the District of using “scare tactics,” and asked “do they really think we’re that stupid?”
His activities came to the attention of Board President Jim Horn when he received a Google alert about web activity involving GUSD.
The other board members who voted unanimously to place the measure on the ballot, and worked to help pass it were upset by the revelation, and after its defeat, Horn wrote his censure resolution.
The resolution specified portions of the Board Bylaws — specifically 9005, 9010 and 9200 — which outline board member behavior and expected unity of purpose.
Bylaw 9005 states in part that, “to operate effectively, the Board shall have a unity of purpose,” and Bylaw 9010 that, “the Governing Board recognizes the rights of Board members to freely express their views and encourages open decision of issues during the Board meeting … When speaking to community groups, media or other members of the public, individual Board members should recognize that their statements may be perceived as reflecting the views and positions of the Board. Board members have a responsibility to identify their personal viewpoints as such and not as the viewpoint of the Board.”
Bylaw 9200(a) outlines “Obligations of Board Members” stating in part that “Board members should hold the education of children and youth above any partisan principle, group interest, or personal interest.”
Horn felt as if Heath’s actions broke with the spirit of the bylaws and decided to take the action that was open to him.
The board was not allowed to discuss the matter until it was brought forward in a public meeting due to the restrictions of the Brown Act, which outlines legal requirements for keeping public entities information public.
Members of the public who attended the meeting were split between support for Heath and support for the board.
When the meeting began at 5:02 p.m., Heath made a motion to strike the censure resolution from the agenda so that the board could get on with budget issues he’d put on the agenda.
“It’s a waste of peoples’ time and filled with factual inaccuracies,” he said. “We have more important budget matters to address.”
The board voted four to one to keep censure on the agenda, and after allowing Heath to question large portions of the District’s budget, discussion of the censure began.
Horn began by clarifying the difference between “censure” and “censor.”
“There’s no legal effect. It doesn’t effect behavior. It’s just expressing disapproval,” he said.
Board member Sandra Wickland expressed her disappointment at Heath’s actions and talked about getting angry calls from parents who believed Heath had violated his duties as a board member, and decried what she called his “misplaced political aspirations.”
“You did this without ethics and without integrity,” she said. “There’s a real crisis California schools are facing, and even a small parcel tax can make a difference.”
She encouraged Heath to read the bylaws and attend seminars in order to learn more about the budget process.
After the board outlined parameters for public speakers, Heath made his statement. He spoke of his roots in public education and his mother’s 30 years as a teacher.
He further explained that he’s not against funding education, he’s just against taxes.
“I don’t want to lay off or fire any teachers or shortchange anyone,” Heath said. “(But) I believe that more money doesn’t lead to a better education.”
He believes that people would be willing to give to support education but that it shouldn’t be “taken away,” and that he represents more than 20 percent of the community, which he called his “boss.”
Several self-proclaimed Republicans expressed outrage at Heath’s tactics and stood firmly with the board, while others, such as Greg Guerinoni, stood up for Heath’s right to free speech.
“Maybe we should censure the rest of the board,” he said. “He has a right to express his views. I don’t feel like we should be forced to pay a tax that we don’t feel is right.”
Guerinoni has donated $36 to the District and volunteered to do whatever he can to help raise money.
In the end, the board voted four to one to bring the censure up for a vote at its April meeting.
