Chief's Corner

This week the Chief's Corner in the Valley Chronicle is an article that everyone in Hemet needs to read. How our city got to this point is due to a sequence of events that either required our informed participation yet failed, or was merely out of our control.
I think we can all agree that the recession was beyond anyone in Hemet's doing or control. The ability for our city to ride out the social and economic implications of a recession was left to its constituents. The utility tax was defeated by the voters. Franchville and Youssef were elected to council while campaigning against that tax. Both left the City of Hemet with its hands tied and improperly armed for what was ahead. Hemet, for the most part, is a set/ low income community. What exactly did everyone think a recession was going to attract?
You cannot put a price on safety. Well, actually you have to because we have to pay for it. What it comes down to is you are really only as safe as what you can afford to spend or are willing to spend. You know I am against unnecessary tax increases and wasteful spending but was your peace of mind, looking back, possibly worth that tax? The city is getting through this but not the way we imagined I'm sure.  Keep in mind, this is only because we have retained local control of our public safety. Imagine where we would be had the city been bound to an outside contract.
Just to talk a little about wasteful spending... The Milne, Smith, Youssef majority spent several hundred thousand tax dollars on consultants to rid the city of HFD. Those funds should have been allocated to HPD. Those three decided that your safety was far less important than an agenda.
The good news is that we do not have to worry about that majority making poor decisions and misusing our tax dollars for much longer. However, this does not mean that we become complacent. Our city reached its current state out of complacency. Here's what we need to do... Keep on our City Council. We need to make sure that they are moving this city forward and ridding us of unnecessary spending while simultaneously putting our tax dollars to work where it matters most. This means that we must be properly informed. The other thing we need to do as a community is rally around our police department and back them up! As much as we need them, they need us. If they are going to get this done, then they need to know that this community stands behind them 100%!

Election Day Results- Where do we go from here?

All right... Grab your cup of coffee or tea and take a seat! We gotta talk!   There are still a significant number of people who either have no idea who Stone and Minor really are or they just do not really care. Of course, the latter concerns me more. This is the reason why we need to make sure that we commit to keeping the people informed.  Stone beat out Garcia for the State Senate seat, which leaves his County Supervisor seat available. I am going to be watching to see what happens with that.
On the winning side of things... Hemet now has a council majority committed to keeping our public safety under local control. Even though this is a big win, we need to make sure we push for an agenda that evolves the city into the city we need it be. Public safety is arguably a significant place to start with regards to rebuilding a city however more needs to be done about growth and sustainability. More than ever, we need to push our leadership to implement plans for both. Those areas are vital in reducing unnecessary maintenance/energy costs and building our tax base. If you missed it, measure cc in San Jacinto was defeated and it now leaves the city council to cut needed services it can't afford.
If leadership in Hemet is savvy and can creatively re-build our small business community and middle class, we will not have to worry about cutting services that are vital to the citizens. As a city, we pulled together to keep local control which ultimately prevents, to a significant degree, the possibility of more severe cuts. I am very proud of the people for stepping up and taking the future of the city seriously. If we are informed, only then can we elect the people who will do their job. There was a great poll taken by CNN that demonstrated how uninformed Americans really are and because of this we, as a whole, elect people that push substantial amounts of money to areas of our government where it is truly unneeded and could be used wisely elsewhere.
You want to talk about wasting tax payer funds.... Staying accurately informed is the only way to get a handle on this country's social issues and fiscal problems. We need to start thinking about it as our responsibility. If we do that, then we make smarter choices as an electorate and country.

Election Day is HERE!!!

The November elections are always an intense day, at least for me. I'm usually exhausted by this point, which only magnifies the day's events. When we put the will of the people to work, it can cause excitement, anxiety and stress (particularly if you worked on a campaign). This day is about what we fought and continue to fight for. Do I wish it were more peaceful? Of course, but as of this moment that is not the reality.
Know that every vote does count. Know that you have a voice. Know that our actions do have consequences.
We shape our future and if you ask me; that is worth the exhaustion, the stress, the excitement and everything else that goes into it.
I will take living in this experiment called democracy over anywhere or anything else.
Now, if you haven't already, get out and vote! We have a job to do because this freedom; it isn't free.