Menifee City Council members defended their previous stance Tuesday in response to statements by Mayor Ricky Estrada that criticized his colleague’s council votes on a recent agenda item.
A Facebook post on the Mayor Ricky Estrada Facebook page Tuesday re-emphasizes comments made by Estrada in the May 20 City Council meeting. In reviewing a decision by the Veterans and Military Families Advisory Committee to recommend against his proposed $250 property tax rebate for 100 percent disabled veterans, Estrada expressed his displeasure to the other council members. At the same time, he admitted he fired his own appointee to the Veterans Committee because that appointee – a 100 percent disabled veteran – voted against his idea.
In that council meeting, Estrada said that “voting in favor of this is voting for Americans,” implying that a vote against the proposal was a vote against Americans – veterans in particular. In his Facebook post, Estrada reiterated his position on the matter, in which the council voted 4-1 to accept the committee’s rejection of the proposal. He included a link to the video of the meeting and stated in his post, “In the future, I will continue to advocate for funding which supports Menifee Veterans.”
Both at the May 20 meeting and on Tuesday, council members listed the reasons they – and four of the five Veterans Committee members – voted against Estrada’s proposal:
— The proposal would give the rebate only to Menifee veterans who are 100 percent disabled and homeowners, excluding all other disabled veterans.
— The proposal would reward only a portion of the population, excluding other groups such as senior citizens.
— The proposal would cost the city an estimated $475,000, according to city staff. Council members disagreed with Estrada’s suggestion to take those funds out of the reserve budget.
— Such an expense is considered by council and committee members to be an irresponsible way to portray support of veterans. Exploring other means of support without such financial consequences was suggested.
The Veterans Committee includes disabled Vietnam veteran Ed Samuelson, 80 percent disabled veteran Darci Castillejos, and 100 percent disabled veteran Al Maybeno (until he was fired by Estrada).
“The biggest thing is it could take $500,000 to $700,000 out of the annual budget. That’s 10 police officers, things the city needs,” Castillejos told Menifee 24/7. “I couldn’t in good conscience say that it was a good use of city funds.”
During the May 20 council meeting, Mayor Pro Tem Bob Karwin had a quick response to Estrada’s statements about the proposal, which was voted down by the Veterans Committee months ago while he was on deployment.
“I take exception to the statement that a vote for this is a vote for Americans and veterans, implying that a vote against it is a vote against Americans and veterans,” Karwin said. “Absolutely not, in this particular case. It seems like a manipulative tactic.”
On Tuesday, council member Ben Diederich expressed similar concerns about Estrada’s actions.
“I do not believe it is fair or accurate to suggest that those who had concerns about this particular proposal somehow do not support veterans,” Diederich said. “Reasonable people can disagree about the legality, structure, fiscal impact, or effectiveness of a proposal while still acting in good faith and with the best interests of the community in mind.
“I remain committed to continuing the conversation about meaningful, responsible, and sustainable ways the City can support our veteran community moving forward.”
Council member Dan Temple, a Marine veteran, also defended his earlier comments in a statement on Tuesday.
“I fully support and agree with the decision made by the Veterans Committee,” Temple said. “I also was concerned about the excessive administrative costs which would be borne by the taxpayers of Menifee. Additionally, I was bothered that it applied to a small group of veterans while ignoring others who have made a similar sacrifice.”
At the end of the May 20 council meeting, Diederich made a future agenda request to work with the Veterans Committee on other options for supporting veterans. Council member Dean Deines, a veteran himself, supported such an idea as well.
“The Menifee City Council created the Veterans and Military Families Advisory Committee with the specific purpose to help advise us on how best to support our military community, and I stand by their recommendation,” Deines said. “As a veteran myself, I worked with my colleagues to begin our annual Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans event that pays respect to those who did not get a warm welcome when they returned from their service overseas. I look forward to continuing to work with the committee to identify ways that the city can best utilize its resources to support and honor our active military members, veterans, and their families.”
Estrada’s Facebook post, which was shared in other Facebook groups, drew mixed opinions from residents.
“Why would they strike it down like that?” Johnny Angel Lozano asked in one Facebook comment. “You have a great idea! C’mon now, City of Menifee, y’all need to get your priorities straight and take care of veterans in our community.”
“Sounds like we need to start talking to our city council on why they would not be in support of this,” wrote a resident who apparently had not heard the council members’ justification of their votes.
On the other side, Scott Sleight wrote this in response to Estrada’s actions:
“Can we just call a spade, a spade? The mayor made it clear what his goal was with this. He wanted to do something that he could put his name on and say in his next political campaign that he gave veterans a refund. He tried the same thing with the banner program.
“Eight of the 10 people that looked at this proposal thought it was a bad idea. Why does the mayor want it? So he can use it in his political campaigns. He didn’t care if it was a big or small program, as long as he could say he did it. A large part of his political campaigns are that he’s a veteran and an educator. This was going to be another feather in his cap.
“Then what did he do when he didn’t get his way? He fired the person he appointed to the committee to make those recommendations for him. The mayor’s comments were clear: If you don’t do what he wants, he will retaliate. That’s not how leaders act, but it is how career politicians act.”
Contacted by Menifee 24/7 on Tuesday, Estrada responded to suggestions that he is using his position for personal gain, thereby driving a wedge between himself and the rest of the council.
“I am not choosing to drive a deeper wedge,” Estrada wrote in a text exchange. “I am simply sharing the discussion we had at the city council meeting. It’s important residents know about the topics and agenda items at the council meeting. There are many veterans I have talked to who support it and appreciate the conversation.”
