TMC: Thirty Miles of Corruption

The city of Riverside has been plagued with political corruption for decades. Too often we witnessed the giving of favors and benefits, often in the form of land and contracts to special interests such as very close friends and connected companies (hello American Medical Response!) at the expense of the taxpayer. Our city was in real trouble and we felt like we needed to do something.

My name is Vivian Moreno, and 7 years ago a group of citizens and I got together and started to identify the problems that troubled our city. My husband and I also started Thirtymilesofcorruption.com to shine the light on all dark corners of municipal affairs that needed to be exposed to the public and force the city of Riverside through public pressure to move in the direction that would benefit and create real value to its residents and other stakeholders.

For the longest time, the Council and Mayor would have none of it. The issues we brought forward were criticized and insulted, and the Council itself perpetuated and even sometimes exacerbated the problems at City Hall. Years of abuse continued needlessly, not only to the taxpayer, but to each other on the Council, and to the staff as well.  These have been dark times.

As Mayor I will work to give back the $200 million in excessive reserves due to over-collection from Riverside Public Utilities ratepayers, clean up the corruption once-and-for-all, and stop establishment politics. It is time to bring true economic development and value to our City and the citizens of Riverside.

The city of Riverside has experienced 12 years of massive financial abuse, decades of crony capitalism. We have seen millions in wasteful spending, countless frivolous lawsuits and settlements, toxic spills and abuses to the public in and around Ag Park, ever-rising utility bills, the lies, deception and corruption that has defined the City Attorney’s office, Code Enforcement, and Public Works, etc., etc…we could go on forever.

The new administration at City Hall has recognized that the concerns we have tried to warn the Council about for many years are very real, and so now, the City begins to long, arduous process of clean up: the intrafund/interagency loans that should have NEVER been approved by the Council, including all the land deals in the Northside that have to be undone eventually. Instead, the Northside neighborhood will be saturated with warehouses – 1.5 million square feet of them – all approved unanimously by our Council.

We’ve spoke on these pages about the liabilities the City creates every day in the form of sexual harassment claims and now the stories finally make the headlines of the local press.  There are too many scandals to cover-up all of them effectively anymore.

Even after all these debacles we have heard the new administration will hold no one accountable for all the corruption that has transpired, too often at the behest or blind eye of senior management. The City continues to make the taxpayer pay for all their mistakes and indiscretions, even as special interests and their highly paid employees laugh all the way to the bank.  The whistleblowers have all been fired.

But it’s not too late.  As Mayor I will tell the public the truth and bring trust, integrity, and fiscal responsibility back to our local government. We need to cut the budget by reducing spending, and give “REAL” value and benefit back to the taxpayer. We need to hold those accountable who are responsible for the quagmire we’re in.

Finally, I will create an Office of Ratepayer Advocacy that would protect our residents and businesses from the excessive billing and taxation that has continued for years at Riverside Public Utilities. I will reduce our utility bills to where they should be legally … Cost-Plus-Service.  And through these changes, we can all benefit and watch with pride as Riverside reaches its true potential.

Now let the campaign begin…

– Vivian Moreno, Candidate for Riverside Mayor 2016