Candidate for
Council Member; City of Hemet

My Political Philosophy:

I am running for a seat on the City Council because I believe that city management and oversight is about the citizens and businesses of this community, and priorities dictated by needed and desired goals outlined and established. I am a concerned citizen and resident of the City of Hemet who feels that the city needs people with a fresh new perspective to achieve the goals of successful growth and a balanced budget without straining the pockets of the citizenry. Lee Iacocca said "Pick good people and set the right priorities" is the formula for success. I believe this applies whether you are running a corporation, a city, county, state or a country.

My uppermost concern for the city of Hemet is the safety of its citizens and visitors. This can only be accomplished through the Police and Fire Departments. By maintaining adequate fire station locations, equipment and work force levels assuring the citizens that their safety, property and general quality of life will be protected. With regard to the Police Department, in a poor economy the last thing any city can afford is to reduce is its Police protection. As the economy deteriorates and cost of mere individual survival increases, criminal elements and criminality will become more prevalent and more active requiring a greater Police presents to deter the rising activity in our community. Here also policies and procedures probably need to be reviewed and updated. I do feel that tactics that threaten the safety of the public (job cuts in the Police and Fire Departments) should never be employed. I feel that it is very irresponsible and amounts to terrorist tactics, relieving the leadership of having to make the difficult decisions to correct, possible, poor judgment calls. President Dwight Eisenhower once said, "You don't lead by hitting people over the head. That's assault, not leadership."

Secondly, I feel that we can further trim additional fat from the City budget. I hate to be a prophet of doom, but looking back at past elections when the citizenry of this city have been asked to provide additional funding for schools and school projects, the local Hospital and improvements there, those efforts have been overwhelmingly rejected. I can only assume that the effort being launched in support of `Measure O' by the City Officials and the additional expenditure of funds further jeopardizing an already strained budget will experience the same fate. It is my belief that when an article appeared in the Valley Chronicle by Charles Hand as told by City Manager, Len Wood, stated that the "Measure O" provisions would levy a 5% Utilities Tax on all utility bills except for the trash collection costs, and that this Measure would be permanent, that the voters will reject this also. I base this on the fact that a tax on utilities includes all utilities (phone, electric, water, cable, etc.). The utilities (Verizon, Southern Cal Edison, Lake Hemet Water District, and Eastern Municipal Water District) all want to increase rates and have petitioned the Public Utilities Commission to do so. Lake Hemet Water District wants to increase their rates by 15 to 25%, and Southern California Edison wants a 30% rate increase. "Measure O" as with most tax increases, particularly when tied to essential services such as utilities, serve to impose the greatest burden on those that are least able to afford them. The literature states that low-income seniors would be exempt from the tax. What is low-income? Is this just for seniors or do all low-income people become exempt? This subjective and arbitrary term very seldom sees a definition until it is too late. This is a monumental task, I know, but when you cut your household budget, you don't take the food off your table, do you? We all have to make sacrifices in these economic times, and that should start with your leadership. I will support taxes only when I am entirely sure that all other options have been explored and only as a last resort. Personally, I see this proposed tax (if voter approved) as a permanent source of income for the city to bail out of irresponsible spending. I also see this tax being increased ad infinitum over the years as being the easiest way out for those choosing not to dig for alternatives. This is the danger I see in this type of bailout. However, on the other hand, if after reviewing all the possible cutbacks in spending and reviewing all potential revenue producing areas, we still need a city tax then I would support it. This same city gave substantial raises to a few of its top managers while failing to fill, and eliminating, other jobs. Perhaps we are too quick to raise taxes; perhaps this is the easier softer way out. Take a good look at our State and Federal policies of tax-and-spend. We are in a deficit on both fronts because of this attitude and as a result, many needed programs may be cut. We need to keep people and priorities ever before us. Perhaps we need to take a good hard look at the spending habits of the city and make cuts where it does not have such a financial impact on the people of this community who are least able to shoulder the burden. I think that we should possibly be looking at a city sales tax, as I feel this would be more equitable to all of our citizens. A tax on necessities such as utilities and water have a great impact on elderly with fixed incomes, families where the bread winner has lost his/her job, families whose incomes are just barely over the poverty line and working people in general. To think of imposing a tax on utilities and water at a time when the utilities and water departments are seeking an increase makes me shudder. To think of imposing a utilities tax on our community when Sacramento and Washington are talking about tax increases makes me angry. As individuals, we have all had to `tighten our belts', now perhaps the city needs to look at doing the same while seeking out other sources of revenue. I would be in favor of this tax only after all other avenues have been explored and we have found no other way.

Thirdly, what if anything has been done to encourage manufacturing or industry to consider locating to this area? Job creation should be a high priority for our City administration. Retail is fine and in many cases provides jobs, but what about those that are not inclined to work in a retail environment? Additionally, retail is notorious for paying minimum wages. We need additional job creation in order to provide funds for people to be able to support the retail establishments and their efforts.

I feel that the current City Council, being accustomed to riding high on the wave of economic prosperity has had its time. I feel that they have lost touch with the pulse of the community and appear to have become a big disappointment to a large segment of the population. It now becomes time for long time members to step down and turn the reins over to those with fresh new ideas (priorities) that will improve the quality of life in the City of Hemet. I believe that this is the time for the city to become `lean and mean.' The Council needs to become more proactive and less reactive. The need to evaluate what has been done and ask, "Is it working?", and show where it is working. If it is not, pull the plug. I believe that we can continue to convince more businesses to come to Hemet in order to create more jobs within our community. We need to take a new look at our community to see where we can make improvements in order to bring in people to purchase our empty homes; we need to listen to the citizenry as to what their needs are, what they would like to see improved in this city and perhaps suggest ways to accomplish that. While we have been making a transition from a retirement to a bedroom community over the past few years, a large portion of our population still makes up a retirement community, and we need to listen to the concerns of our senior citizens. When we know what the people of this city want within their community, then we are enabled to do the best job that we possibly can. We also must court industrial and manufacturing possibilities and make it attractive enough to locate operations here and provide possibilities for the unemployed and low-income to not only feel better about themselves but also become viable contributors in our community.

Ideas to improve life for the residents of Hemet? People, it is that simple. If we are going to figure out how to fix what is wrong with this city, we need to pick good people without personal agendas, but who have the best interest of the people of this city at heart. Because, if the leaders are poor (as some believe) and the priorities are screwed up, nothing else works right. Teamwork is what makes business and government successful. If you want to succeed, you have to have a group of people who can work together toward the same goal. That is not to say that they should all agree with your opinion, but to say they should be open to communication and most of all open to listening to the concerns of the people.

As a disabled veteran who fought for the rights and freedoms afforded us by our Constitution, it drives me nuts and makes me angry and ashamed that many Americans do not vote. In the Presidential primaries, about 45 percent of those eligible cast a vote. I have to say, I worked the polls here in Hemet during the primaries and we had a very low voter turnout. Are you embarrassed or ashamed? I am. Ask yourself, how much difference it would have made if all eligible voters turned out? So with that in mind, I would seek to further motivate people to read, listen and educate themselves, and in so doing improve the quality of life in Hemet and the country as a whole. Everyone wants to be liked, and when you are not it feels lousy. However, I failed miserably at diplomacy 101. I have never been one to keep my mouth shut; I think it is more important to tell it like it is. This may cost me in the election process, but it may also serve to wake some people up. I'm asking to, and want to, be the eyes, ears and voice of the people of this city and help to make this city a `great' city.

I believe that term limits should be instituted for all elected officials in the City of Hemet (to be worked out and agreed upon) and that appointed officials term expires with the term of the appointing elected official.