Integrity-101

This is insider crime history-my account of politicians, government officials, developers, contractors, and cannabis kings who operate a criminal machine that streams through my small county. It is bankrolled by public funds, campaign donations, and pallet loads of cash generated by the most valuable crop in the nation. As the mayor of a friendly little beach town, my story should be a happy memoir. Instead, it evolved into a sinister citizens-turned-spy suspense epic of bribery, extortion, dark money, and death. How could the beach and vineyard paradise that Oprah called the 'Happiest City in America' be riddled with corruption, and be legendary with the FBI? I heard whispered stories, sat at board room tables behind closed doors, and had access to people and facts that others do not. In “The Happiest Corruption” you will: • Journey alongside determined citizens finding government misconduct and learning how you too can spot it and fix it. • Be inspired by the courage and tenacity of ordinary people who saved their communities and established good government. • Know a government con when you see one and know why you know it. • Find out how to beat city hall at its worst and be city hall at its best. • Most important of all, you will be equipped to make sure your town doesn't become the next Happiest Corruption in America.

Local government can be fascinatingly intriguing, significant, and captivating. This book grew out of years of determination while I was a Mayor, Councilmember, and Planning Commissioner to make local government and public meetings approachable, friendly, customer-oriented, accessible, accountable, and understood. It is a process that needs work on all sides of the dais-by the public, by staff, and by elected representatives. As the first directly elected female Mayor of my town, I achieved all of the goals I set for my two years in office except one: I wanted to set up a course for new Councilmembers to teach them their roles and responsibilities as directors on the many Boards on which they sit. This book is my fulfillment of that goal. Boardsmanship is an art, a science, and a learned skill that isn't taught, but which would enhance the service we provide to those who elect us if we understood how to do it well. The problem is that there is no playbook, no job description, no education for newly elected representatives or for the public that explains what is expected of us and what our jobs are. It's all happenstance. The electeds get thrown in at the deep end, and their constituents often don't even get to the pool, or they check in with their representatives in a haphazard way. I became familiar with local government practice and process by osmosis over the course of thirteen years. You can do that too, but you will be much more effective and waste much less time if you learn how it works before you take up your role. “City Council 101” will shorten your learning curve so you can hit the ground running.