Local Elected Official Junket Watch

Maui, Naples (Florida), Wyoming, Orlando, Palm Springs, Las Vegas, Incline Village (Lake Tahoe), Yosemite, Washington D.C., Monterey (CA), Colorado, Arizona, Atlanta, New Orleans, and Baltimore are some trip locations for elected officials of the City of La Mesa, Helix Water District, Grossmont Healthcare District, and Grossmont Union High School District. The two most expensive were trips that cost $4,695.00 each.

We are reminded that California’s Brown Act clearly states, in its preamble, “Public commissions, boards, councils and other legislative bodies of local government agencies exist to aid in the conduct of the people’s business. The people do not yield their sovereignty to the bodies that serve them.  The people insist on remaining informed to retain control over the legislative bodies they have created.”

Check the new Junket Watch page of the La Mesa Citizen Oversight Group to get more information on who spent how much and for what. Was it required? Was it necessary? Could the information gained be obtained through modern electronic media without the cost of the travel and lodging? Was there an ancillary personal benefit? In short, was it really worth it for the citizens, taxpayers and ratepayers? It's your money, it's the public's business and your right to ask your elected representatives for their detailed reports on what was actually gained, for you, by their trips.

Check back from time to time as we continue to add information received from other local public agencies and dictricts.