Listen to him tell it like it is
http://www.myspace.com/tevis4council
Posted on 10/13/2009 8:57:45 AM PDT by Zevonismymuse
When Justin Tevis recently met with the Santa Barbara Police Officers Association to seek the union’s endorsement, he thought the meeting would be about ways to solve the city’s crime and gang violence problems.
Instead, he was immediately handed a document with a pay scale showing how much Santa Barbara police officers made in comparison to similar-sized cities.
He was stunned.
In fact, reforming public employee salaries and pensions is among the top things on Tevis’ list of reforms if elected to the Santa Barbara City Council.
“These are huge lobbying groups,” Tevis said. “These are huge power groups.”
Tevis is competing against 12 other candidates in the race for three open seats on the Santa Barbara City Council. A fourth seat could open up if Helene Schneider or Dale Francisco is elected mayor.
With the city of Santa Barbara facing serious budget problems, many of the mayoral and city council candidates are trumpeting the easy and convenient sound of “fiscal responsibility.”
But for 26-year-old Tevis, fiscal conservatism, personal responsibility and a return to back-to-basics government, isn’t a facade or an opportunistic campaign strategy.
It’s who he is and how he has always lived his life.
“You work hard for what you get,” Tevis told the Daily Sound. “You have to compete. Wealth is achieved through hard work and dedication.”
A conservative Republican who grew up in the Santa Ynez Valley, Tevis’ campaign has picked up momentum in recent weeks with on-the-street buzz and some key endorsements, including the Santa Barbara County Republican Party.
He recently purchased a television ad, and has a team of grassroots volunteers boosting his campaign.
Tevis, inventory manager at The Territory Ahead, wants to restore fiscal responsibility, if elected. It’s clear that when he speaks, he’s not recalling talking points. He believes that he can make a difference for the better.
“We’re kind of seeing our American values in jeopardy,” Tevis said. “Everyone is looking for someone else to help them.”
Tevis would like to see government operate more like the private sector, where cutting costs is difficult, but an absolute imperative. He said last year employees at The Territory Ahead were let go after working as many as 15 years for the company – and right before Christmas. Yet, in government, employees were getting raises and services were being cut.
“People are hurting in the private sector,” Tevis said.
Tevis has a lot of strong values, and much of that comes from his upbringing.
He said he grew up in a broken home, the son of divorced parents. His family didn’t have a lot of money and he had few role models.
“I should be the last person who is conservative,” Tevis said. “I wasn’t born with a silver spoon in my mouth. I didn’t grow up in a wealthy family. To get where I am has been a huge struggle.”
Lacking a lot of guidance, he threw himself into sports. He started wrestling as a child, and later played football in high school and college.
Tevis, who speaks English and Spanish, earned a bachelor’s degree in international relations and history at Claremont McKenna College, where he was the 2004 Team Defensive MVP.
The muscular, athletically built Tevis is also trained at Brazilian jiu-jitsu, a form of mixed martial arts. Earlier this year, during the heat of the campaign, he won a high-profile tournament.
“Sports have always been an inspiration,” Tevis said. “It’s a big part of my life.”
With three weeks to go in the campaign, Tevis believes he has a good shot at victory. As an athlete, he believes there’s always a way to win the game.
“I never would have done it if I didn’t think I was going to win it,” he said.
In addition to fiscal responsibility, Tevis said he wants to restore, “Small Town Santa Barbara.”
What that means, he said, is stopping unnecessary high-density, subsidized housing projects.
“We need to live within our means,” he said. “Don’t hand out subsidized housing. People should work hard and realize it’s a privilege to live here.”
He also wants to refocus police resources so officers can focus on the gang problem, rather than writing tickets for parking offenses.
“The police constantly have to generate revenue to make up for the council’s fiscal irresponsibility,” Tevis said.
Despite his strong opinions, Tevis wants people to know that he’s not some hard-line conservative who lacks compassion. He just believes people can be successful without government’s help.
“Yeah, you can get down and out, but if you work hard, you can pull yourself up,” Tevis said. “
Tevis’ supporters feel strongly about his campaign.
“He is a very smart young man, and he gets me fired up about America,” said Karen Jones, the mother of one of Tevis’ friends. “The smart money may not be on Justin Tevis, but I bet on Justin Tevis. I know him. He’s a winner.”
Bio Box
Justin Tevis
26
Inventory Manager, The Territory Ahead
Hobbies: jiu-jitsu, sports
Wow....go Justin!
Is this a puzzle?
How much do they make in comparisons to other cities?
What’s a henway?
He was stunned.
Huh?? What stunned him-that they made too much or too little!
oh gawd, not that crap again.
99% of conservatives fit that profile. I really hate when so-called conservatives perpetuate stereotypes.
Good to hear about young conservatives. Our young Illinois Republican rep Aaron Schock is another.
4 pounds or so.
>> Huh?? What stunned him-that they made too much or too little!
I took it to mean he was stunned that their paychecks, rather than something related to crime or policing the city, was their #1 hot button issue.
Ha!
I think he was stunned that the police officers were already pressuring him to raise their pay, when he was there to talk about combatting gang violence.
This kind of heresy will not stand! Media and unions - ATTACK!
Look to Oakland County (MI) in L. Brooks Patterson for his model.
Go the Unions to agree to 401(a)'s and Health Savings Accounts for a AAA Muni Bond Rating one of 34 in the country.
This young lad should follow L. Brook's Model.....
Sounds like Tevis has bought some of the liberal propaganda on the stereotype of a conservative. Most conservatives have not been born with a silver spoon in their mouths. They understand the meaning of personal accountability and the importance of hard work.
I would like to see the Santa Barbara politicians vote to expand off shore drilling and sanction the Chevron Refinery instead of having police officers dedicated to bringing revenue off the backs of working people.
wealth is not a prerequisite for being conservative.
Listen to him tell it like it is
http://www.myspace.com/tevis4council
Thanks for the post, I will forward it to family in Goleta.
Justin is not a so called conservative; he is the real deal. In Santa Barbara this stereotype is played out because so many SB Republicans are mushy moderate types who really are country club Republicans.
I'll admit it, I didn't read too much more after this line. I ASSUME they were showing that they're grossly underpaid. If that's the case, can I ASSUME that they're having a hard time finding qualified recruits to fill open positions? Or is there a waiting list to get one of those cushy gov't jobs with a retirement package after 25 years or so?
I'm sick of these people whining that their pay sucks. It's a gov't job. It should be as low as the market will allow. You want to get rich? Don't become a cop or a firefighter.
>>>rant over<<<
No doubt. These silver spoon republicans are the problem. And they aren’t conservative.
policing and firefighting is for young men. as they get older, management positions are few....someone has to leave to get better pay. I suggest they move on to a more lucrative career if money matters to them.
Pols like justin have bent over backward to appease these groups and use here monies and man power to get elected. then they pay them back by agreeing to terms the taxpayers cannot afford
Throw in a couple bad years on wall st. and your city faces finnacial ruin because of the contracts it has agreed to and can't pay.In my city a police man can retire at age fifty at often imes more than his curent salary. They are able to count thier largest pay year toward the computations, and can use OT hours. so one or two years late in ones carreer getting as much court time as possible.leads to retiring with more than you made as a base.can't begin to fathom what this does to the courts in bad tickets and bad cases.
As long as he works with Shawn Spencer and Gus he is okay in my book. LOL :)
The kid has it completely backwards.
I hope he grows up fast.
ROTFL!! That was a good one!!
Santa Barbara police start at $67,106.60. That goes up when they finish the academy.
It would be great if he wins. Santa Barbara has become as radically left as Santa Monica and Berkeley in recent years. Same thing with Pasadena.
Exactly!
Psych is filmed in Vancouver BC.
Thanks People's Republic of California!
I think it is great that a conservative young man is on the verge of getting elected in a liberal city. This young man loves America and the Founding Principles. I am surprised that you want to pick apart the story and try to find something negative. I am for conservatives taking back the country.
>> As long as he works with Shawn Spencer and Gus he is okay in my book. LOL :)
Psych is filmed in Vancouver BC.
Thanks People’s Republic of California! <<
I blame the Unions and crappy California Tax policy for driving away large chunks of the film industry.
Does Santa Barbara have a residency requirement?
What is the cost of living in Santa Barbara relative to "other" cities?
There's a lot of vagueness in this article.
“99% of conservatives fit that profile. I really hate when so-called conservatives perpetuate stereotypes.’
Interesting. Please cite your sources ( 99% )and tell us who is not a stereotype in this day and age.
This is what I am thinking. I think it is great that such a liberal city is on the verge of awarding a seat to a a pro-market Freedom Fighter. He would be the youngest conservative ever elected locally and I think it sends a powerful message to DC that people are not giving up on America.
The stereotype that conservatives have to be rich or come from wealthy families is just plain stupid.
I was too busy getting tingles from the rest of the advertisement. /s
“What that means, he said, is stopping unnecessary high-density, subsidized housing projects.”
This kid gets it. Excellent.
It was a stereotype in the past, valid in places, that many Republicans fit the silver-spoon, country-club model. Especially in the northeast.
But very few if any conservatives ever fit that description. The ultra-rich elitist types are 99% ultra-liberals, even if they label themselves as Republicans.
He sounds like a really good kid - let’s cut him a little slack. I wish he was President.
Wouldn’t that be an inprovement for California (with the moral/psychological as well as fiscal) state that Hollywood is in?
Wouldn’t it be better if some alien spaceship just abducted the whole town?? (They’re already half way there already)!?
He really does get it. One of the things that motivated him to run was the proliferation of taxpayer subsidized "affordable housing" and condos for homeless people being built with stimulus money. Bums who just blew into town were living in nicer studio apts than Justin, a guy who was born in Santa Barbara and works hard at a full time job to pay rent on a place he shares with house mates. I like the way Justin Tevis got angry about the bailouts and stimulus packages and decided to do something about it. We can try to pick apart a few quotes or we can get behind this young man.
The article sounds a sour note, thanks to the words of Justin Tevis.
He says, ““I should be the last person who is conservative,” Tevis said. “I wasn’t born with a silver spoon in my mouth. I didn’t grow up in a wealthy family. To get where I am has been a huge struggle.”
How reliable is the judgment of someone who so horribly miscasts the definition of who is a conservative? For starters, this guy needs to be shown how to keep his foot out of his mouth.
Hey, Justin: How many of the trust fund babies and those who married big bucks, in the Senate, are conservatives?
“You work hard for what you get,” Tevis told the Daily Sound. “You have to compete. Wealth is achieved through hard work and dedication.”
Sounds good to me. Sounds like something Ronald Reagan would have said....Not comparing this young man to Ronnie,of course,but doesn’t this kind of statement ring true of conservatives?
“We need to live within our means,” he said. “Don’t hand out subsidized housing. People should work hard and realize it’s a privilege to live here.”
Yep...conservatism.
Justin Tevis has come from out of nowhere and is now a serious contender for one of the 4 seats that will open up on the city council of one of the most liberal cities of it’s size in America.
++++++++++++++
Good for him. He’ll be 1 of 12 and set against the Mayor, to be sure. Perhaps he can expose corruption and gain influence that way, if elected?
Less in the case of a bantam.
I’m not picking apart the story. I am merely wondering if this young man knows what “conservatism” truly is. It is his statement that is disturbing, not the story.
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