Hard Truths is a monthly newsletter about national, state, and local issues, with (sometimes sassy, other times serious) personal updates from the author – Heather Schmidt, M.PA. Heather is the owner of Heather Schmidt Consulting Services, Executive Director of VC Voter Edge, and a busy Mom to three.
National Nonsense
This section is titled “national nonsense” to highlight the fact that most of what goes on at the national level is just that: nonsense. While I remain cognizant of the very real ways decisions in our national organizations – in particular, the organization in the White House – impact our daily lives, it’s also important to remember that in many ways, what goes on up there also does not impact us all one bit.
At least it’s supposed to be that way.
Nevertheless, social media has had a profound impact on our perceptions about national issues. And not necessarily in a good way. Recent studies have shown that social media has an impact not only on how we vote in elections, but on the ways in which we perceive the state of the world overall. So-called influencers have, through the trust of para-social relationships and self-proclaimed expert-status on everything, crafted an alternate or variable reality for many people, one that is more impactful than mainstream media and the public pressure of certain social settings combined. During election periods, the goal of this is evident: candidates now pump millions of dollars into marketing firms whose focus is solely on social media and news and politics influencers, with the intended goal of influencing the outcome of an election. During non-election periods, though, those same firms and influencers have to compete for views and clicks, which results in an unprecedented number of things going on in the world being politicized by those same influencers for engagement. The result? Everyone is now an expert on everything, and their analysis (if you can call it that) of any given national issue or event is now hyper-partisan, resulting in further polarization of the general public consuming this stuff.
To solve this problem, we need to get people off social media, at least for some time, and de-influence the public through media independence and demonetization of political campaigns. Just today, I read that studies show only three days without a smart phone completely rewires neural pathways. Just three days.
Read more on this issue HERE.
From the Greatest State in the Nation
California is very close to calling a special election this November to do “emergency redistricting” of the Congressional districts. They’re doing this – apparently – in response to the State of Texas threatening to redraw their own district boundaries to kick out five Democrats. Personally, I’m not sure what Texas has to do with California, but since we’re going to play these games of chicken at the governor’s will, at least it’s being put before voters… right?
Wrong.
Presently, only 52% of polled Californians support the idea of redistricting mid-census. The plan would effectively throw out the independent redistricting committee that draws new maps every ten years. These maps, firstly, are a long, expensive and arduous process that was just done four years ago. To “combat Texas” by asking Californians to pay more for new maps, everything else that goes along with redistricting, and a multi million dollar special election this fall is… insulting. We have failed homeless spending audits, ongoing fraud issues at EDD, entire communities to still rebuild after the devastating fires earlier this year, and a budget deficit that exceeds tens of billions of dollars, causing local governments to make hard decisions and deep cuts.
Moreover, voter turnout during special elections and non presidential years is alarmingly low. The thought that even 30% of voters will come out to cast a ballot on this issue is questionable. And when only a razor thin margin of majority polled approve of the idea, it suggests that we will all be stuck with the result chosen by a handful of people, like partisans and few else. This is a common strategy among unpopular candidates and initiatives overall – rely on just your friends voting, you still can win if you play your cards right.
Personally, I think we have better things as a state we could be spending our time and money on.
Just Local Stuff
Last week, the Oxnard City Council voted to join several other cities in Southern California to intervene in the ACLU versus Department of Homeland Security lawsuit for targeting people for deportation based on factors such as skin color, language spoken, and place of employment. This, coupled with an already slowed down deportation activity across the southland – I believe – will be enough for the people that have been showing up to council meetings every other week with pitchforks and torches. Did they get everything they demanded? No. But this was more than nothing, which is what many of them were actually expecting.
Interestingly, two council members did not vote “yes” to joining the suit, even though all council members have spoken out against ICE activity in the community. My own representative, Aaron Starr – Oxnard’s well known gadfly and self-professed Libertarian – abstained due to his concerns around retaliation from the Trump Administration. This, I feel, is a valid concern, especially given the number of people and millions of dollars relied upon in this city for national housing assistance. The other council member that didn’t vote affirmatively, though, was Bert Perello; and he didn’t just abstain, he voted “no.” To be frank, I’m not sure why. As a friend put it to me after the vote: it was evident the measure to join the lawsuit would pass. If there is going to be retaliation from the Trump Administration, it is unlikely anyone at the White House would say “oh… well Bert said no, so let’s let them off the hook.” I look forward to his explanation, but am not holding my breath for one.
This isn’t the real local stuff I want to talk about today, though. No, I’d rather focus on the issue of housing costs and how insane they are here in Oxnard. A tired topic? I thought so too, until I saw some of the recent data.
Over the last several weeks, several “lists” on news sites have been published about Oxnard and our lack of affordability. One list marked Oxnard as the second most expensive place for seniors to retire, while another listed Oxnard as the fifth most expensive metropolitan to buy a home. But Oxnard isn’t all home owners anyway, with over half the city renting, housing prices shouldn’t be an issue, right?
Also wrong.
Only 10% of Oxnard is presently designated for inclusionary housing (aka “low income”). This affords a healthy amount of new development to be priced at whatever the hell it wants, as long as they place in 10% of units earmarked to be affordable. The end result of this has naturally – quite quickly, in fact – become the type of gentrification that Oxnard has long lusted for. I can remember all the way back in 2006 and 2007, when there was an initiative to schnazz up the downtown area with a nicer, more modern appearance to the movie theater and restaurants. People said then that the goal was gentrification. Today, with the new signs all over town, the endless public speeches about “beautifying Oxnard,” and the sheer volume of high end housing and rentals going on, it is plain as day.
Just look at this new development over by The Collections, with an amazing view of the 101 on one side, and a Chick Fil A and Shake Shack on the other: three bedroom units with only two bathrooms are going for – wait for it – as much as $5200.
Of course, if you ask anyone about that, they tell you “this was always what the plan for that development was,” or “well they still have 10% earmarked for low income.” This vastly misses the point. A percentage of developments going to low income families does not address the bigger crisis of affordability for middle income earners. And of course developers – by and large – do not develop for the average middle class because there are few ways for them to recoup all the costs that go into building in this area. Either there need to be more jobs in the community for high earners, or there need to be cuts to the regulations and permitting that are used to pad the revenues at city and state governments (the truth is, we need both).
Until then, good luck filling those units. Here in Oxnard, and just about anywhere in the county, you’re going to need it.
A Bit on Me
Well, the truth to the bit on me is that I am nearing the end of my rope. Since that fateful night at the onset of the COVID 19 pandemic,I have slept in the living room. And sleeping is a loose use of the term: my husband working overnight (in the bedroom) in film is loud. Sleep is interrupted either by the noise he makes, or the discomfort of the couch. No, there is nowhere else in the house his desk and equipment will fit. No, he cannot wear headphones. No… to all of the suggestions. I don’t understand the answer to all of it, but it’s just… no…
While we’ve moved several times since then and I’ve tried to find a corner of the house to squeeze a bed into, it’s just never worked out. When we’ve moved, it’s repeatedly been a downgrade since COVID began. It was never out of our choice either. Those of you that have been around a while know that in January 2022, our landlord delivered us a “no fault eviction” so friends could move in. Of course no fault eviction acknowledges that we did nothing wrong, they just wanted the house. The friends moved out six months later, but by then we were already multiple rentals down the line. In a housing market that is tumultuous and competitive, there was, and remains, little for us in our price range. Especially that meets the needs of our family size and dynamic. Moreover, the market is volatile.
What has me at the end of my rope, though, is the insanity of the world around me amidst this ongoing, personal housing crisis. For whatever reason, I have always had some sort of magnet on my back for *all the drama,* but since moving to Oxnard, it has only worsened. A few months ago, my daughter and I were driving, running errands, and a man behind us became enraged that we would not speed. He began honking, then screaming, then he hopped onto the shoulder and cut us off, only to slam on his brakes and get out of his car to run and scream at us. Recently, while working on a white paper on the issue, I learned this pattern of behavior was not unique, in fact it’s a growing crisis in the realm of road rage (which has also been on the incline since the pandemic).
Of course, again, I’m not new to the drama. Years ago, when my son was still a toddler, I was driving him around to calm him down to sleep one night, when a man thought I was his ex-wife, and he came running at my car, hopping on my hood, banging and screaming. I’m sort of used to the way people are just unhinged these days, but none of that could have prepared me for the incident today, in the parking lot at Petsmart.
My daughter was inside buying dog food, while I was outside, sitting in my car, checking my email. All of a sudden, I heard a woman screaming and swearing near my car. You can imagine my surprise when it became evident she was screaming and swearing at me.
From what I gathered, from the very brief and – frankly – terrifying encounter, the woman was upset because her boyfriend’s car was parked close to the line, and this was somehow my fault. She began demanding I get out of my car and show her whether or not the back or front doors could be opened fully, or if they would hit their car. Now, there was no indication I had opened doors into their vehicle, in fact her car – dirty and banged up as it was – had no visible damage of any kind on the side facing my car. Nevertheless, she screamed some of the craziest and most vulgar things I have ever heard – at me – until I said “look, I’m sorry but this is kind of crazy, sir can you help out here,” to which she stepped off the curb and began lunging at me. Her boyfriend stepped in front of her, threw her in their car, apologized to me, and sped off. As they drove off, with the window down, this deranged woman yelled that she was going to “beat” me “within an inch” of my life, and that I’d “better watch” my back.
I’m still unclear what I did.
Shaken, everything just flooded into my head at once. Like the road rage incident from a few months ago, or the fact that our new neighbors fight every night, drink all day, and play guitar at midnight. Like my husband’s loud night job, which pays our bills, but is also probably going to kill me prematurely due to lack of sleep and unhealthy living conditions. That is not dramatics. Imagine sleeping on a hard couch every night for the rest of your life while movie trailers blare through the ceiling above you at all hours of the night; that appears to be what’s in the cards for me. Or the fact that our 17 year old daughter has to carry pepper spray on her because she’s hit on so often by middle aged men, and the difficulty letting my son play around the house because a homeless man who picks through our trash has repeatedly asked him to “play.”. Like the large piece of wood someone jammed into my tire the other day, costing me $236 to replace, and trying to work and be a mom and juggle life along with all of this… It’s just… a lot…
I’m just trying my best to be everything that is expected of me. To be a mom to my three kids, at very different stages of life. To be present. To be financially responsible while also provide for my kids in an economy that feels rigged against us all. To figure out ways to sleep amidst the noise, to pay the bills without more debt, to put myself out there – here and elsewhere – to provide more for my family, even though that in and of itself brings more drama and chaos in the short term. To keep the house clean, manage the laundry, plan, shop, prep, and cook three meals every day for everyone in my house… everything…
Isn’t that what we’re all doing though? Just trying our best to do everything while also staying afloat? To tread water until something gives and things get a little easier or better or cheaper or lighter?
Of course the problem for me is, I don’t know how to swim. Literally or figuratively.
Anyway, until next month…
Heather Schmidt Consulting Services 
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