Creepy Bill Horn accepts Golden Fleece award for callbox board

The San Diego County Supervisor serves on the board of the San Diego Service Authority for Freeway Emergencies (SD SAFE) and on its behalf he accepted a "Golden Fleece" award, a stuffed sheep that represents irresponsible spending of tax dollars. It's a long-standing tradition at the event, held annually at the Town & Country in Mission Valley and well-attended by a who's-who of elected officials, political insiders and journalists.

As CityBeat reported in-depth in March, SD SAFE is authorized by law to collect a $1 fee on all annual vehicle registrations in order to maintain a county-wide emergency call-box system, but over the last 10 years, the organization has built up more than $12 million in reserves and now spends hundreds of millions of dollars on activities only remotely tied to motorist aide. It's essentially a slush fund for a few elected officials (including Horn) that have been on the board for decades.

Horn jockeyed for attention on the stage with newly elected San Diego City Councilmember Lorie Zapf, who, along with colleague Councilmember David Alvarez, has pushed back against the board and demanded accountability. While Zapf  attempted to deliver an impromptu speech on why she's not playing the game, Horn stuck the stuffed sheep in her face to kiss her. Then Horn delivered a snide remark and walked off stage.

There's no official transcript or recording yet, but here's a portion of the exchange from memory:

Zapf:  I've only been to three meetings, but you all thought I'd be sweet when I came on to the board. Boy were you wrong—

Horn: [Makes sheep fly like a helicopter; shoves sheep in Zapf's face]

Zapf:  I'd never thought I'd say this, but I want to thank Dave Maass....

Horn: Next time you have a fire and a helicopter comes, you'll know who paid for it.

It's really good to know that one year you can have a hostile relationship with an public figure (CityBeat hounded Zapf incessantly during the 2010 election cycle) and the next year set that opposition aside to address real problems in government. Thank you, Lorie. Also, it really takes a lot of chutzpah to compliment CityBeat right in front of Horn, whom we've identified and regularly hammered as the worst politician in San Diego County.

Case in point: Horn's morbid remark about the fire is another example of how he doesn't think the law applies to him. It's not just creepy, it's outrageous. 

The text of the act that authorizes the $1 fee states that the money is supposed to go to call boxes. However, SAFE is phasing out call boxes, and instead of suspending its activities, it's looking for new ways to spend the money, including funding a rescue helicopter. Now, this isn't to say that helicopter funding is a bad thing—it's simply not authorized by the law to change its mission. Nor is the giant marketing campaign SD SAFE has funded to make the argument for its relevancy. Nor the $4 million SAFE has set aside for a U.S. Department of Transportation experiment with traffic modeling.

You want to pay for those things? Get the Legislature to change amend the law. Otherwise, it doesn't matter whether you're spending money on helicopters or clown noses: You're taxing and spending without the taxpayers' permission.

I'm really proud that my reporting helped bring this to light and Zapf, Alvarez and the San Diego County Taxpayers Association deserve a lot of thanks. Now, if only San Diego can bring about actual change on the SAFE board...