Candidate for
Member, City Council; City of Duarte

My philosophy revolves around letting people make decisions for themselves and allowing the voters to vote on decisions as much as possible. Unfortunately over the past few years, politicians have thought that they know what is best for the people and will tend to disregard the liberties that so many have fought to achieve. Since the state of California has chosen to decimate Redevelopment in our cities, our city has had to make cuts in staffing (from 52 full time staff to 42 in the last 4 years) and in many services, to ensure that we have a balanced budget. Four of the 5 councilmembers voted to let the citizens of Duarte vote to determine whether they wanted to restore some of these services. Because one councilmember objected, the people of Duarte were not able to vote on this matter. This was a basic right that was taken away from the citizens and goes against our democratic principles in this country.

But we must continue to forge ahead to make life the best it can be in Duarte. Dial-a-Ride is important to many of our non-driving people in our city and this option should be pursued. We also have to continue to keep our crime statistics heading downward. Crime in a community is the biggest negative and people will move out quickly if crime is not ameliorated.

For more information please go to my website at http://margaretfinlay.com