Loose Lips: All this just to see the city budget

If a former mayor can't fight City Hall and win, who can? Gurpal Samra, who was voted out of office last year, moseyed into Livingston's City Hall on Tuesday afternoon to compare the proposed budget with the one he passed last year to see what may have changed. Lips thinks Samra may need a new hobby. Origami maybe?

The book wasn't on the counter, so Samra asked a clerk to round him up a copy to thumb through. The clerk returned and said she couldn't find it. Would he fill out a Public Records Act (PRA) request?

Samra was flabbergasted, as the requests usually pertain to information that takes time to research and may need to be redacted before being released. The budget is about as public as a document can be.

One clerk, according to Samra, said that politics were behind the request, which the former mayor believes involves his opposition to water rate hikes supported by City Manager Richard Warne.

Warne denied that politics were at play, adding that the former mayor was treated like an ordinary citizen. The PRA requests are mandatory so the city can make sure documents are delivered on time.

The police report (obtained by Lips through a records request) quotes a city clerk recalling Samra saying the paperwork was "blippity bleep" and "this is political bullbleep."

Samra later told an officer he said, "I just want to look at the frickin budget."

After the outburst, Warne called Police Chief Bill Eldridge, who dispatched an officer. Samra told Lips he called the clerk back and apologized for his frustration. He also encouraged us to speak with the chief to vouch for his character.

The former mayor has always kept a cool head, even if other politicians were stabbing him in the back, Eldridge said. "(Samra) kept a lickin' and kept on tickin'," he noted.

True to form, Samra wandered over to the library where he found the budget on the counter. And as far as we know, the police weren't called, and the air remained bleep-free.

Merced Five-O

In tough budget times, it shouldn't come as much surprise that people are out shaking their money-makers. Still, Lips was caught off guard to see Merced Police Chief Russ Thomas, Cmdr. Floyd Higdon, Cmdr. Norm Andrade and Economic Development Director Frank Quintero shimmying. A video from "Russ's Retirement Soiree" on Saturday was posted to YouTube for all the world to view, though only 154 people have taken that opportunity as of late Thursday. Thomas has retired, though he's sticking around until the next chief is picked.

See the footage for yourself at the end of this column below.

By the time you're reading this, the video may be gone so we'll set the scene. In Andrade's backyard, Thomas' daughter is offering the four men hula lessons. She starts with a basic hip shake before moving onto a more complex one, which left the men rolling their eyes.

Andrade shimmied with swivel hips, which could come in handy if he's appointed chief. The council's going to want someone who's in step with their song.

Loose Lips can be reached at editor@mercedsun-star.com.