Herein lies the root of the problem. Respect is not bought, it is not bullied, it is not elected, it is only earned by thought and deed. We are asked to respect them because they are nice people, and all of them are. All of them are fine, upstanding, responsible persons in their own right. But that’s not the question. The question is what have they produced so far in their term of office. They fired a commissioner because they did not like the organizations he belongs to. The first raise in taxes was to hire more police officers and we ended up with less. The second increase was to better pay those we were able to keep and not all the money was used for that purpose. We have finite resources of both money and time. Yet we fritter away our resources on such things as garage sales and shopping carts while our more pressing needs are economic not cosmetic.
We must halt the continuing exodus of business. We must resolve the ongoing battle new development has with Planning, Building and Safety, and the Community Development Commission (Redevelopment). I was told a seniors housing project was proposed for the old Olympic Fastener site on Dolan Ave. and was rejected out-of-hand for being an inappropriate use because it’s too close to the railroad tracks. History has shown the marketplace is a better arbitrator for those kind of decisions than Planning 101. Furthermore, the problem of the increasing number of unrelated families living in one house requires a council that will do battle with real dragons. What we need is a change of direction from the bureaucratic micro-management by city staff using Redevelopment Agencies and Specific Plans to a more free market approach toward development. This requires vision and the commitment of a city council.
Yes, respect is something earned.