| Los Angeles County, CA | April 8, 2014 Election |
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Lack of Leadership in Long BeachBy Mineo L. GonzalezCandidate for Mayor; City of Long Beach |
This information is provided by the candidate | |
Why I feel is the number one problem facing Long BeachThe most glaring necessity that Long Beach is missing is a leader. I can tell you that we haven't had a real one in many years. We continue to elect the wrong people into office. We elect professional politicians and "successful " private sector business people. Both of which are not the ideal blueprint for a leader. A professional politician is always looking for the next political office that they can jump to once they term limit themselves out of office. They have no sense of loyalty and bail on a current commitment as soon as a higher playing or more prestigious political opportunity comes along. Is that really what we think a leader is? A "successful" business person is not any better. Business success has and always will be measured by producing a profit. Whether it is real or manufactured with fancy accounting does not matter. They might have been seen as a leader in the corporate world but that does not translate to public office. In the corporate world people work for you and have to follow your lead. In public office you work for the people and to be truly successful they freely have to follow. The public is under no obligation to buy into your vision. You have to earn their trust and deliver on your promises.
In case you did know it this city is headed for a big financial crisis in the coming administration. The current Mayor and city council have voted to defer millions and millions of dollars of expenses to be paid at a later date when they will be long gone from office and Long Beach. In the mean time they just pay the interest on this debt in order to balance the books and make it appear as if they are competent. They will saddle this expense onto the new Mayor and City Council as they go into retirement and other political opportunities. These bills will come due soon. Unless the economy makes a drastic change for the better the money will have to come from cuts or higher taxes. The city will need strong leadership to guide us through these rough times ahead.
We will never make any progress without the people of Long Beach having someone in office that they can believe in and trust to follow. Being elected into office does not make you a great leader. It just gives you the power to make decisions. Too often those decisions are not made in the best interest of the public. Instead they are made to placate to the special interest and helped prop up this false leader. They raise and spend thousands of dollars in these elections to convince us that they have our best interest at heart. Where I grew up no one gave you any amount of money without expecting something in return. It's up to us to elect a candidate that has what it takes to be a true leader. A person that will come into office without a list of people they owe favors.
The only thing I am asking you for is your vote. The best interest of the residents of Long Beach is the only thing that should influence the Mayor's decisions. I am not here to champion a particular group. As Mayor I will serve all the residents of Long Beach. If your only interest in voting for me is my last name then don't bother. It will only set us all up for failure. I want your vote because you believe that I have what it takes to bring this city together. Most importantly because I will need your help and dedication in order to get our city back on track. A true leader will be able to accomplish that. |
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Created from information supplied by the candidate: February 9, 2014 21:47
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