Even among those with whom we disagree, we are part of the same community, the same nation. The norms we uphold together give us the vision and vigilance to keep our communities and country strong.

Norms

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Norms are what we value as a society. They weigh into our decision making, since whenever certain choices seem like they cut against what we value, we’ll look to make different choices.

In our own self-governance, we instill many of these bedrock principles into our constitutions or charters. We state clearly that any powers exercised by the government that go against these constitutional provisions – these specifically articulated values – are not allowed; they’re not legal.

We believe in our right to freely speak, assemble, and pursue our religious preferences. [1]

We believe the government shouldn’t search us or take things from us unless it’s warranted. [2]

We believe that the state must make their case to a jury of our peers before being convicted of a crime. [3]

We believe centralized power can be abused, so we have checks and balances between coequal branches and power is distributed among many state governments. [4]

But not all things that we value are enshrined in constitutional language. There are other civic values that we cherish, and we generally consider these norms. They are how we behave in and around each other because, while we may have disagreements, we recognize we all live in the same society. We establish our values in the way we treat each other, in the traditions we uphold, and the principles we foster.

Basically, we say “here’s what we value – here are the principles we uphold - here’s how we’re going to treat each other.” This compact is with ourselves.

We don’t want to be in the business of regulating norms – society changes, and we should be open to changing with it if our values change.

Some decisions are norm breaking because the norms were just wrong, at least by today’s standards. For example, a half-century ago, banks could legally deny women credit or charge them a higher interest rate if they didn’t have a male cosigner; it took a 1974 law to be passed doing away with this as a societal norm. [5][6]

Leader of the Free World

In global geopolitics, America has been a beacon of freedom and democratic self-governance. Through democratic principles as well as economic and military strength, the twentieth century was the American century. We beat back fascism and Nazism against the Axis powers in World War II, and we defeated global communism by winning the Cold War against the Soviets. We allied with like-minded communities of nations to grow the world economy, lower the temperature of hot wars, and become a trusted world partner for the collective safety of free democratic nations.

Yet right now, that norm is being broken. America’s leader is threatening our neighbors [7][8], bullying far-off nations to acquire their territory [9][10], siding with Putin [11] and abandoning our European allies [12].

And what does the world think of is? We’re being met with boos and jeers.

The week, Canada beat the United States in an NHL-sponsored “4 Nations Face-Off,” a mini-tournament between NHL players from Canada, Finland, Sweden, and the United States. [13]. When the US played Canada in Montreal this week, the home fans booed when the Star Spangled Banner was played. [14]

If the U.S. President is threatening an economic trade war and suggesting annexing your entire country as a state, is there any wonder why Canadian hockey fans would boo when they play our national anthem? (I mean, this is Canada!)

During the Cold War, the battle for the world was freedom versus totalitarianism, and that meant that if you were for freedom, you were rooting for Team USA.

And this also played out in the arena of sports. Lake Placid. 1980. An amateur band of college players, brandishing “USA” across their jerseys to take on the Soviet national hockey team. In the ultimate underdog story, the kids from America upset the Soviets who had won gold in every Olympics since their debut in 1956. [15]

The Soviets were the authoritarians, and since authoritarianism is destructive and wicked, the world rooted for us. The Soviets were threatening the world with aggression, and since free people want to be free, the world rooted for us.

Post from Mike Luckovich on Threads [18]

We were the good guys, and the world rooted for us.

Well now, our leaders are choosing, by their own actions, to make America the bad guys, and we’re siding with the wrong people.

GOP U.S. Senator Thom Tillis from North Carolina said as much on the Senate Floor this week: [16][17]

“Whoever believes that there is any space for Vladimir Putin in the future of a stable globe better go to Ukraine. They better go to Europe; they better invest the time to understand that this man is a cancer and the greatest threat to democracy in my lifetime.”

Siding with Putin is siding with the bad guys. [18]

Merit-Based Decisions?

This week saw turmoil at the top levels of military leadership advising the President.

Over the past decade, General Charles Q. Brown served in Air Force and Pentagon leadership overseeing the following commands: [19]

Director, Operations, Strategic Deterrence, and Nuclear Integration, Headquarters U.S. Air Forces in Europe - Air Forces Africa
Commander, U.S. Air Forces Central Command, Air Combat Command, Southwest Asia
Deputy Commander, U.S. Central Command
Commander, Paciﬁc Air Forces
Air Component Commander for U.S. Indo-Paciﬁc Command
Executive Director, Paciﬁc Air Combat Operations Staff
Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air Force
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

However, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth had been critical of General Brown, questioning his rise and taking aim at Brown, asking whether he would have gotten the job if he were not Black. [20]

About Brown, Hegseth wrote in his book The War on Warriors: [21][22]

"Was it because of his skin color? Or his skill? We'll never know, but always doubt - which on its face seems unfair to CQ. But since he has made the race card one of his biggest calling cards, it doesn't really much matter."

Hegseth had seemingly decided Brown’s fate when discussing his book back in November 2024: [23]

“Well first… you know you got to fire the chairman of Joint Chiefs and… obviously you're going to bring in a new secretary of defense but any general that was involved – general, admiral, whatever - that was involved in any of the DEI woke shit, has got to go.”

If one looked at Brown’s resume, it’s hard to question his merit for being considered as the nation’s top military advisor. If we’re questioning his merit “because of his skin color,” there’s a word for that… and it demonstrates that our leaders are not as color blind and/or merit-based as they would have us believe. In his book, Hegseth was also critical of the role of women in our military. [24]

One final note – the Joint Chiefs of Staff comprise eight heads of the military branches. Below is a picture of when Trump and Hegseth took on administration leadership. Two of these members were fired. Given Hegseth’s comments, if you guessed which two were fired, you’d probably be right. [25]

Members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff pose for a photo in the Pentagon, November 14, 2024. Front, left to right: Gen. CQ Brown, Jr., Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Adm. Christopher W. Grady, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Back, left to right: Gen. Randy A. George, Chief of Staff of the Army; Gen. Eric M. Smith, Commandant of the Marine Corps; Adm. Lisa M. Franchetti, Chief of Naval Operations; Gen. David W. Allvin, Chief of Staff of the Air Force; Gen. B. Chance Saltzman, Chief of Space Operations; Gen. Steven S. Nordhaus, Chief of the National Guard Bureau. (DoD photo by Benjamin Applebaum). General Brown and Admiral Franchetti were recently fired from their respective positions. [26]

Post from Donald Trump on Twitter/X [28]

This is interesting, of course, since President Trump in 2020 was quite proud of his decision to nominate General CQ Brown back in March 2020 to become the next Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force, [27] calling Brown “a Patriot and Great Leader!” [28]

Retreating into old views about where merit comes from doesn’t yield the best of what America has to offer.

Huntington Beach

Norms get broken at local levels as well.

Over the past few years, local politicians in Huntington Beach have gone to war with state leaders in Sacramento over housing policy, at one point refusing to move forward with a state-mandated housing plan [29].

Tony Strickland, a former Assemblyman for Thousand Oaks, led a GOP takeover of the Huntington Beach City Council, where he and other Republicans swept all seven seats and the elected city officer positions. [30]

Recently, the city council voted to install a plaque at the local library in celebration of the library system’s 50th anniversary. The plaque contained the following messaging: [31]

Huntington Beach Central Library

Magical
Alluring
Galvanizing
Adventurous

The overt political message, which was confirmed that the acronym was deliberately chosen to represent “Make America Great Again,” [32] sparked public outrage. The City modified the design, but the modified plaque only moved the MAGA acronym lower and added an additional slogan: “Through hope and change our nation has built back better to the golden era of Making America Great Again!”

The use of “Hope and Change” and “Build Back Better” in the revised design were slogans used by former presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden, respectively, and seemingly included with the intent to outrage.

Councilman Butch Twining celebrated the revised plaque design, posting on social media, “Last night the Huntington Beach City Council voted 7-0 to approve this 50 Year Anniversary Commemorative Plaque (read bottom part). The Left went insane!” [33]

Former NFL punter Chris Kluwe and Huntington Beach resident was arrested at the City Council meeting after delivering an impassioned speech criticizing the design of the plaque. [34]

It’s one thing to win elections to implement policy choices; it’s another to use that power to impose values of one side onto an entire community.

The Rotation

In Thousand Oaks, we rotate leadership among elected officials and appointees, demonstrating the respect for differences while being part of the same community.

Thousand Oaks is a general law city and the council selects one of its own to serve as Mayor, the “president of the legislative body,” [35] whose authorities are generally limited to presiding over council meetings and signing approved minutes and city contracts.

Four years into the city’s incorporation, Alex Fiore was elected Mayor and was the first to be elected “to the office of Mayor for a period of one year.” [36] Each year the Council reorganizes, electing someone to serve as Mayor for the next year.

There is no specific resolution or ordinance that specifies that the mayoral position rotates. The position could go the same person every year, but it doesn’t. It’s a tradition honored by the councilmembers involved… unless some make decisions to do otherwise.

The Council broke tradition for the first time in 1984 when it denied Councilmember Madge Schaefer the ability to serve in leadership. Since initiated in 1968, the tradition proceeded without incident; the Mayor Pro Tem from the previous year was selected to serve as Mayor, and the Council selected the councilmember next in line, generally a councilmember who hadn’t recently served in leadership.

During the reorganization meeting in early 1984, Schaefer followed the Council tradition and nominated Mayor Pro Tem Lee Laxdal to serve as Mayor. However, when it came time to nominate for Mayor Pro Tem, Councilmember Fiore became the first to depart from Council norms and passed Schaefer over, nominating Larry Horner instead. When it finally came time to the vote, the men on the Council voted in approval; Madge Schaefer and Frances Prince abstained from the vote. [37]

After the 1984 election, Frank Schillo joined the Council, replacing Prince on the dais who chose not to run again. At the next organization, Schillo nominated Schaefer for Mayor Pro Tem, but the Council majority of Horner, Fiore, and Laxdal voted against her nomination again. [38]

When Linda Parks joined the Council after her 1996 victory, [39] she urged her new colleagues to nominate Councilmember Zeanah as Mayor Pro Tem, given her seniority and honoring tradition of the mayoral rotation. She had served on the Council since 1990 and as Mayor only once for a shortened term to allow Alex Fiore to end his 30-year tenure as Mayor, and Parks argued Zeanah was next in line. “A lot has been said this evening about tradition,” Parks said, “and I think it is our norm to have every council member during their four years serve as mayor.” [40] This Council majority, however, spared no words in passing Zeanah over.

Mayor Lazar, reading from a prepared statement, gave what was described as a “stunningly harsh critique” of Zeanah and detailed reasons for not supporting her in leadership. [41] “I cannot support the selection of Elois Zeanah as mayor or mayor pro tem,” said Lazar. “She has attacked me personally… and yet she would ask for support to be elected from this council,” said Lazar. “I do not think she deserves it.” [42]

Shortly after Mayor Lazar’s remarks, a quiet but not-so-subtle campaign against Zeanah began; Thousand Oaks residents started getting flyers promoting the recall of Zeanah with their orders of Domino’s pizza. This initiated the expensive and ultimately unsuccessful 1997 effort to recall Zeanah from the Council. [43]

Years later, Claudia Bill-de la Peña served as a lone voice against the Council’s four-vote majority. This meant that Bill-de la Peña had no Council allies, and when it came time for the traditional Council leadership rotation, there was no one to nominate her if the Council majority chose to disregard tradition.

After Councilmembers Dennis Gillette, Andy Fox, Jacqui Irwin, and Tom Glancy had each been nominated as Mayor Pro Tem over prior four years, Bill-de la Peña was now next in line. However, in 2008, the Council passed over Bill-de la Peña, starting the rotation over within the four-member majority by selecting Gillette. [44] In spite of the snub, Councilmember Bill-de la Peña offered congratulations to Mayor Glancy and Mayor Pro Tem Gillette, hoping “that the entire Council will be able to work together and that the voice of dissent will be taken seriously in the next year as well.” [45]

In 2009, the Council passed Bill-de la Peña over again. [46] In 2010, even though Bill-de la Peña won re-election with over 20,000 votes, besting her colleagues in that year’s Council elections, [47] the majority again refused to elevate her to leadership, passing Bill-de la Peña over for the third straight year. [48]

In her characteristically professional and calm tone, Bill-de la Peña scolded the majority for its power play over the years. “When there is a supermajority as we have tonight, nothing will change,” said Bill-de la Peña. “One way for the Council supermajority to have extended an olive branch would have been to offer the 20,000-plus voters to have a representative that will become Mayor or Mayor Pro Tem. That has not happened.”

Bill-de la Peña continued, “While the title is not what really matters, it is really the voters of Thousand Oaks who have shown confidence in the Councilmember and are now receiving a slap in the face. This is the third time I have been passed over. I have remained quiet over the last few years, but I will not do so tonight. I hope that things will change, but I doubt very much, and it is unfortunate.”

“So, I wish everyone else quite good luck and I’m sure you will work well together, but I want the residents of Thousand Oaks to know that things are happening as usual, as they have in the past, and that’s not necessarily a good thing. I’m looking for progress and I’m not seeing it,” Bill-de la Peña concluded. [49]

2011 would finally be different, as the Council nominated her for Mayor Pro Tem, and, by 2012, Councilmember Bill-de la Peña would serve as Mayor of Thousand Oaks for the second time after ten years on the Council. [50][51] She would ultimately serve Thousand Oaks as Mayor two more times, one of only four members to have served as Mayor at least four times.

Since that time, the Thousand Oaks norm of mayoral rotation has thankfully been unbroken.

The above is an excerpt from Tuesday Night Fights, spanning the last half-century, detailing the birth and tumultuous rise of an American city. It is the unique and compelling story of Thousand Oaks, California, which started from humble Western beginnings, served as a backdrop for Hollywood’s “Golden Age,” and became home to a global biotech giant and over 100,000 residents.

If you’d like updates on the availability of Tuesday Night Fights, subscribe to the Decisions newsletter now!

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Planning Commission

City committees and commissions also have similar one-year leadership rotations, and the norms tend to hold there; the Vice-Chair is generally selected to serve as Chair for the year, with the Vice-Chair being selected from the other members who has not recently served in leadership.

Of course, forgoing norms is something that we’ve seen on the Planning Commission as well.

Last year, the Planning Commission broke tradition passing over Vice-Chair Justin Link [52] after he voted against the Thousand Oaks General Plan update because “he [was] not in favor of mixed-use at the Borchard site and would like to keep its land use as previously assigned.” [53] The 37-acre parcel in Newbury Park lying within a FEMA 100-year floodplain was proposed for high density mixed use development, and I joined Link with a “no” vote for these and other reasons. [54]

Admittedly, when other commissioners chose not to nominate Link as expected, I was unsure if the commissioners weren’t aware of the tradition either in making or accepting the nomination that would shun the city’s traditions. I nominated Link and reminded the Commission of the tradition, that they elected Link as Vice-Chair the year before, and that I had seen nothing to warrant passing over Link for Chair in hopes that they would step back. [55][56] Unfortunately they did not, and no rationales were provided then or immediately afterwards.

It’s important that we keep our norms when they serve to support what we value, even and especially when supporting norms goes against what we may want in the short term. Norms are about the value of our community, our society, our state, and our nation.

When norms are being broken, there is either a good reason of which everyone is aware or it’s political.

In one last example, in 1995, Linda Parks was Vice-Chair of the Planning Commission and due to become Chair in 1996.

However:

Joe Gibson was a member of the Planning Commission as of December 11, 1995, and resigned shortly after that meeting for health reasons. [57]
On December 12, the City Council made an “emergency appointment of [a] planning commissioner” of Forrest Frields, who rejoined the Planning Commission [58]
On December 18, Frields was sworn in, bringing the panel back to five members. [59]
At the reorganization meeting on January 8, 1996, the Commission elected Frields as Chair on a 3-2 vote, passing over Parks who was next in line as Vice-Chair. [60]
Parks was nominated for Vice-Chair again, but the majority voted that down 3-2. [61]

Though passing over Parks for Planning Commission Chair, the political move didn’t work as they might have hoped. Parks qualified the Parks Initiative, the predecessor to the popular SOAR initiatives in Ventura County, protecting open space within Thousand Oaks, which became law in June 1996; [62] Parks then won a seat on the Thousand Oaks City Council later that year, winning with the most votes in city history at the time. [63] She eventually went to serve five straight terms on the Ventura County Board of Supervisors.

An Update on Standing Up

President Trump spoke at a recent meeting of governors, welcoming the governors to the White House. At that meeting, President Trump specifically called out the Governor Janet Mills of Maine. As he was speaking about an executive order he signed earlier this month on transgender athletes, [64] he sought out Mills in the room after singling her out a day earlier in remarks to the Republican Governors Association. [65][66]

President Trump: “Is Maine here? The Governor of Maine?”
Governor Mills: “I’m here.”
President Trump: “Are you not going to comply with it?”
Governor Mills: “I’m complying with state and federal laws.”
President Trump: “We are the federal law. Well, you better do it; you better do it because you’re not going to get any federal funding if you don’t...,” saying Maine may be a Democratic state but its residents largely agree with him on this issue.
Governor Mills: “We’re going to follow the law.”
President Trump: “You’d better comply. Otherwise, you’re not getting any federal funding.”
Governor Mills: “We’ll see you in court.”

Now, after the public defiance, the Trump Administration ordered that Maine be investigated by the Department of Education [67] and the Department of Agriculture. [68]

Narratives

The book I’m reading or movie I’m watching

“Paradise” - Starring Sterling K. Brown, James Marsden, and Julianne Nicholson

“Paradise” is a limited series on Hulu set in a serene community inhabited by some of the world’s most prominent individuals. But this tranquility explodes when a shocking murder occurs and a high-stakes investigation unfolds.

GIF Game

Norms

Norm from *Cheers* (played by George Wendt)

Notes and Sources

[1] – United States Constitution, First Amendment, https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/amendment-1/

[2] – United States Constitution, Fourth Amendment, https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/amendment-4/

[3] – United States Constitution, Sixth Amendment, https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/amendment-6/

[4] – James Madison, “The Structure of the Government Must Furnish the Proper Checks and Balances Between the Different Departments,” Federalist No. 51, 1788, https://guides.loc.gov/federalist-papers/text-51-60#s-lg-box-wrapper-25493427.

[5] – Elaine Silvestrini, “50 Years Ago, Women Won Equal Access to Credit,” October 1, 2024, https://www.kiplinger.com/personal-finance/credit-debt/years-ago-women-won-equal-access-to-credit

[6] – “Chapter 41 - Consumer Credit Protection, Subchapter IV — Equal Credit Opportunity,” Title 15 USC §1691-1961f, Oct. 28, 1974, https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2011-title15/html/USCODE-2011-title15-chap41-subchapIV.htm

[7] – Will Weissert, “Trump’s remarks on Canada becoming the 51st state raise a lot of questions,” AP News, February 13, 2025, https://apnews.com/article/how-canada-could-become-us-state-42360e10ded96c0046fd11eaaf55ab88

[8] - Kayla Tausche, Kevin Liptak, David Goldman, and Elisabeth Buchwald, “Trump threatens 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada on Feb. 1, punting Day 1 pledge,” CNN, January 21, 2025, https://www.cnn.com/2025/01/20/economy/tariffs-trump-executive-order/index.html

[9] – Ian Aikman, “Trump says he believes US will 'get Greenland',” BBC, January 25, 2025, https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crkezj07rzro

[10] – Samantha Waldenberg and Michael Rios, “Trump reiterates threat to retake Panama Canal ‘or something very powerful’ will happen,” CNN, February 2, 2025, https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/02/americas/panama-china-belt-and-road-initiative-rubio-visits-intl-latam/index.html

[11] – Humeyra Pamuk and Pesha Magid, “US and Russia forge ahead on peace talks, without Ukraine,” Reuters, February 19, 2025, https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/europe-says-it-is-committed-ukraine-ahead-russia-us-talks-2025-02-18/

[12] – Kevin Liptak, “US resisting including reference to ‘Russian aggression’ in G7 Ukraine anniversary statement,” CNN, February 20, 2025, https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/20/politics/us-resisting-adding-reference-to-russian-aggression-to-g7-ukraine-anniversary-statement/index.html

[13] – “2025 4 Nations Face-Off,” NHL, retrieved February 22, 2025, https://www.nhl.com/events/2025-4-nations-face-off

[14] – “Fans in Montreal loudly boo U.S. anthem prior to Americans' 4 Nations game vs. Canada,” NPR, February 16, 2025, https://www.npr.org/2025/02/16/g-s1-49252/fans-montreal-boo-us-anthem

[15] –Wayne Coffey, (2005). The Boys of Winter: The Untold Story of a Coach, a Dream, and the 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team, New York City: Crown Publishers, 2005.

[16] – “Thom Tillis: Reacting to Trump, Putin is the 'cancer' and 'threat to democracy',” WRAL News, February 22, 2025, https://www.wral.com/story/thom-tillis-reacting-to-trump-putin-is-the-cancer-and-threat-to-democracy/21873450/

[17] – “Sen. Tillis Delivers Remarks on the Senate Floor,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBEvqjQ6axE

[18] – Mike Luckovich [@mikeluckovich.threads.net], Threads, February 23, 2025, https://www.threads.net/@mikeluckovich/post/DGTx7EZvBUQ

[19] – “Charles Q. Brown, Jr.,” United States Air Force, retrieved February 22, 2025, https://www.af.mil/About-Us/Biographies/Display/article/108485/charles-q-brown-jr/

[20] – Chris Gordon, “Hegseth Gives Brown Vote of Confidence as Chairman, Pledges Pentagon Overhaul,” Air & Space Forces Magazine, January 27, 2025, https://www.airandspaceforces.com/hegseth-brown-vote-of-confidence-pentagon-overhaul/

[21] – Pete Hegseth, The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free, Broadside Books, 2024.

[22] – Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali, “Hegseth, advocate for firing 'woke' military leaders, picked for defense secretary,” Reuters, November 13, 2024, https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-says-he-will-nominate-fox-news-host-pete-hegseth-defense-secretary-2024-11-13/

[23] – “Pete Hegseth,” Shawn Ryan Show, November 7, 2024, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoN5ovwB8s4&t=1950s (32:30)

[24] - Hegseth, The War on Warriors, 2024.

[25] – John Ismay, “Hegseth Fires Navy’s Top Officer,” New York Times, February 21, 2025, https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/21/us/politics/hegseth-navy-lisa-franchetti.html

[26] – “Members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,” 241114-D-LS763-1001, November 14, 2024, retrieved February 22, 2025, https://www.flickr.com/photos/thejointstaff/54149122510/

[27] – “General Officer Announcement,” Department of Defense, press release, March 2, 2020, https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/2099461/general-officer-announcement/

[28] – Donald trump [@realDonaldTrump], Twitter/X, June 9, 2020, https://x.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1270411061376815108

[29] - Noah Biesiada and Hosam Elattar, “Huntington Beach Loses Housing Mandate Lawsuit Against California,” Voice of OC, May 15, 2024, https://voiceofoc.org/2024/05/huntington-beach-loses-housing-mandate-lawsuit-against-california/

[30] - Noah Biesiada, “Republicans on Track to Sweep Every Elected Position in Huntington Beach,” Voice of OC, November 12, 2024, https://voiceofoc.org/2024/11/republicans-on-track-to-sweep-every-elected-position-in-huntington-beach/

[31] - Travis Schlepp, “Huntington Beach will install ‘MAGA’ plaque at library with revised design, added security,” KTLA, February 19, 2025, https://ktla.com/news/california-politics/california-city-will-install-maga-plaque-at-library-with-revised-design-added-security/amp/

[32] - Ibid.

[33] - Ibid.

[34] - Travis Schlepp, “Former NFL player arrested while protesting MAGA at city council meeting,” KTLA, February 19, 2025, https://ktla.com/news/california-politics/former-nfl-player-arrested-while-protesting-at-california-city-council-meeting/

[35] - California Government Code Section 34002.

[36] - Minutes of the Thousand Oaks City Council, April 16, 1968

[37] - Minutes of the Thousand Oaks City Council, January 17, 1984.

[38] - Minutes of the Thousand Oaks City Council, November 20, 1984.

[39] - Resolution 96-228, Thousand Oaks City Council, December 3, 1996.

[40] - Miguel Bustillo, “Parks Is Not Looking for a Fight, but…,” Los Angeles Times, December 2, 1996.

[41] - Miguel Bustillo, “City Council Elects Lazar New Mayor,” Los Angeles Times, December 4, 1996.

[42] - Ibid.

[43] - Kate Folmar, “Pizza Comes With a Side of Political Promotion,” Los Angeles Times, December 31, 1996.

[44] - Minutes of the Thousand Oaks City Council, December 9, 2008.

[45] - Ibid.

[46] – Minutes of the Thousand Oaks City Council, December 8, 2009.

[47] – Resolution 2010-100, Thousand Oaks City Council, December 7, 2010.

[48] – Minutes of the Thousand Oaks City Council, December 7, 2010.

[49] – Ibid.

[50] – Minutes of the Thousand Oaks City Council, December 13, 2011.

[51] – Minutes of the Thousand Oaks City Council, December 11, 2012.

[52] – Minutes of the Thousand Oaks Planning Commission, February 12, 2024.

[53] – Minutes of the Thousand Oaks Planning Commission, November 13, 2023.

[54] – Ibid.

[55] – Minutes of the Thousand Oaks Planning Commission, February 12, 2024.

[56] – Makena Huey, “Planning commission shuns tradition,” Thousand Oaks Acorn, February 23, 2024, https://www.toacorn.com/articles/planning-commission-shuns-tradition/

[57] – Minutes of the Thousand Oaks Planning Commission, December 11, 1995.

[58] – Minutes of the Thousand Oaks City Council, December 12, 1995.

[59] – Minutes of the Thousand Oaks Planning Commission, December 18, 1995.

[60] – Minutes of the Thousand Oaks Planning Commission, January 6, 1996.

[61] – Ibid.

[62] - Ordinance 1265-NS, City of Thousand Oaks, adopted June 18, 1996.

[63] - Resolution 96-228, Thousand Oaks City Council, December 3, 1996.

[64] – Donald J. Trump, Executive Order 14201, “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” February 5, 2025, Code of Federal Regulations, 90 FR 9729, https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/02/11/2025-02513/keeping-men-out-of-womens-sports

[65] – “WATCH: ‘See you in court,’ Maine’s governor tells Trump on transgender athlete ban,” PBS News, February 21, 2025, https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/watch-see-you-in-court-maines-governor-tells-trump-on-transgender-athlete-ban

[66] – “WATCH: 'See you in court,' Maine Gov. Mills tells Trump on trans athletes,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gu30vxluOe4&t=3360s

[67] – Rachel Ohm and Randy Billings, “Trump administration orders investigation after Gov. Mills publicly defies president over transgender policy,” Portland Press Herald, February 21, 2025, https://www.pressherald.com/2025/02/21/trump-threatens-to-cut-federal-funding-to-maine-over-transgender-athlete-policy/

[68] – Wendy Watkins and Dan MacLeod, “Trump administration launches Title IX investigation of UMaine,” Bangor Daily News, February 22, 2025, https://www.bangordailynews.com/2025/02/22/politics/washington/usda-launches-review-of-umaine-for-possible-title-ix-violations/

[69] – “Paradise,” Hulu, 2025, https://press.hulu.com/shows/paradise/

Decisions with Mic Farris

Seek Truth. Honor Differences.

Upholding Norms. Breaking Norms.