Your Vote...Your Call...the Issues

You Vote….Your Call…..the Real Issues

In a few days, you vote. The national situation is well known, but what about issues here in Redding? The real issues, not just the campaign “tell you what you want to hear” stuff from the candidates. The real question for me is “which candidate has the ability and determination to make a hard decision on issues and stand by it?” We have some major things going on right now, and we have to make decisions now. #1. Cut expenses or increase revenue, and #2. Get jobs. Simple. Sure, we hear that we need this and that but in reality, we need to face our current local economic situation head on. Redding could be in trouble if we don’t.

First, we have a current situation where we are losing businesses and jobs, thus income to the city is going to be decreasing. In the past few months, a number of companies have closed, the most recently Mervin’s, with a loss of several good jobs. Before that it was Maui Wowi , along with 2 local Starbucks, and a number of other small businesses, each with a loss of vital jobs and loss of income to the City. Still, the City is spending money as if it was “business as usual”. Is this a wise thing to do? And with this spending the City may require a needed additional source of income. If it isn’t from sales tax, where will it come from? Will it be by increasing taxes? Shouldn’t the City be thinking about cutting expenses, one way or the other, rather than looking for taxes to “bail them out? This is not the time to add expenses to the typical household in Redding. This is an issue. An alternative for the City would be to raise development impact fees. No way. The WalMart expansion called for huge development and impact fees of over $1,000,000 before construction. How many businesses that are considering coming to Redding can afford this amount in fees before they break ground? Fiscal conservativeness for the City for 2009 is an issue that will have to be addressed by the Council.

Secondly, and maybe this is priority #1, Get jobs. We have a City Economic Development Office and we are losing employers. What’s the story should be the issue. Is anything happening? Isn’t it time to quit talking and act? Let’s have some Council leadership to convene a multi-jurisdictional “committee”, if you will, made up of the brightest and most creative minds in our area. In fact, make it open to volunteers, not “appointed or anointed ones”. Throw it out on the table asking “what kind of business can we bring to the north state?” Naturally have the pros there, for they have the contacts, but in our community we have some very bright folks that are well educated, have been around and lived in other areas, and participated in growth and development issues in various locations. Solicit their ideas and follow the Disneyland model of “no bad ideas when you are creating”. What do we have to lose? From high tech to recreation and tourism, from transportation to basic manufacturing, from our natural resources to our natural labor force, we should be open to it all. Are we going after it, or are we just doing “more of the same, over and over?’. This is the issue, and we need strong leadership that will say “Time to act and I will now”.

Our national mess is the result of “failure to act” on the part of legislators, in my opinion. In Redding, let’s not let this happen, and by holding our elected officials accountable, by constantly supporting them by constructive criticism and positive suggestions, and by letting them know regularly that we want action not just words, we can change things for the better in Redding. After all, with good jobs, low taxes, and controlled expenses, Redding will be what we all want…the best place in the world to live, work, and play. Your call and your vote.

14

Oct

Wha

So You Want to be on City Council?

Why do you want to be on City Council?

This question should be asked of each candidate in the upcoming city election. It is a good question, for this job might be considered a thankless job. Yet, a large group of candidates are going to spend quite a bit of money advertising in one way or another that they want to serve you on the Redding City Council.

So what is so good about serving on the Council? Well, let’s take a look at what makes up their jobs. First, they have to attend meetings to prepare for the Council meeting, which will meet every other week. These Council meetings usually start at 7PM, unless called earlier, and will last 3 to 4 hours, or longer. For each of these meetings, Councilpersons, if they are doing their job, must prepare for the subject matter at hand. This might involve meeting with community members, interest groups, or members of the city staff, as well as reading the documentation. This must be done if they are going to be knowledgeable on the various matters that will come before Council. Many of the matters and issues must be studied and understood, rather than just being rubber-stamped. Bottom line: lots of meetings, study, and thinking of what’s best for Redding.

Then Councilpersons have to become knowledgeable about how the City runs. In Redding, we have the City Manager form of government, and the role of the Mayor is to run the Council meetings and to represent the City and Council in public events and activities. The Mayor actually serves at the pleasure of the other Council members, for a 1 year term. All of the Council members, though, should develop a good understanding of how the various departments function, for matters will come before them that range the entire community, from pet care to paving the streets to planning a budget for personnel gains or losses. As Redding is operated, the Council depends to a large degree on the preparation that is done at the staff level, but this does not take the place of preparation on the part of each Councilperson. In fact, in Redding, there has been a great deal of concern about how much the Council just takes the staff reports as they are presented and doesn’t really do their own individual homework before the staff presentation. This issue, by the way, should definitely be asked of each candidate. Specifically, will you accept staff reports without questioning these reports, and if you question them, will you have done enough work to know what you, and they, are talking about? Will you just “rubber-stamp” reports?

Well, there is more than above, but this gives a brief idea of the Council job, and of course leads to the next question, who is qualified to serve on the Council if they are, in fact, going to do the job as above. This question needs to be asked of each candidate, for some are obviously more qualified than others and more knowledgeable than others about City matters. Some of the candidates have actually attended Council meetings, and some haven’t. You, the voters must ask these questions, for this will help to determine the qualifications. Already we are seeing signs stating integrity, experience, qualified, etc., realizing that the candidates can only put favorable characteristics on their ads. I mean, who would advertise negatives, like I’m dishonest, can’t be trusted, a scoundrel, but vote for me anyway. The only way we can get to know the real candidate and their attitudes and viewpoints, and prejudices too, is to ask the hard questions, and then wait for the answers. And, voters should be able to “hold their feet to the fire”. We deserve a high caliber of elected officials, and we need to do a better job vetting them out. Are you in favor of increasing development fees, and why? or, do you think we need a new Police station, and why? and have you figured out how the City can pay for this? If you get the deer in the headlights look, maybe that candidate doesn’t know what’s going on. And if the candidate tries to spin the answer, then don’t let them get away with it, and ask it again, maybe this time with a different inflection, like “do you really think the City can afford Turtle Bay?”. Ooh, not a good subject, but guess what, you will probably get an answer, which is what we need to know before the election.

Well folks, we have a few weeks left, and the campaign is just heating up, so here’s your chance to help influence the future of Redding. Here’s your chance to (1) elect a candidate that is going to represent you and (2) to exercise a valuable right, the right to vote, so be prepared. The future of Redding is largely influenced by the attitudes and actions of the City Council. No easy task, so let’s not treat it as if it is just another election. You can make a difference.

Ron Largent