Anaheim Councilwoman Lucille Kring
Anaheim Councilwoman Lucille Kring sent out this e-mail yesterday evening to her list of Anaheim voters and residents:
To Anaheim Residents and Voters:
I want to talk about the issue of districts which will be discussed at tomorrow night’s council meeting. For 156 years Anaheim has been effectively governed by a five member council elected- at-large. It was only as a result of a change in our charter in the late 1990s that Anaheim voted for a directly elected mayor.
With the at-large system anyone can e-mail, call or otherwise contact any or all 5 members of the council. We all represent you and have a vested interest in helping you. Unfortunately, with districts, no matter how many members there are on council, the only one who represents you has a vested interest in helping you.
Currently, you have a very responsive council working for the benefit of the entire city. District council- members would only be interested in their districts.
The mayor would like to hold a special election in June 2014 to decide if the voters want to support districts. This election will cost the taxpayers a minimum of $250,000. If the same items were placed on the November 2014 election, it would cost almost nothing.
Additionally, if the number of council members were to be increased, each new member would cost the taxpayer a minimum of $150,000. That is the cost of one police officer on our streets reducing response time when you call 911.
At tomorrow’s meeting we will be inundated with people who have been led to believe that districts will give them a bigger voice in the city. If you do not support districts and support the system that gives you the ability to vote for the candidate of your choice no matter where you live, please join us at council and voice your concerns. If you don’t feel comfortable attending the meeting, please e-mail the mayor and council or call at 714-765- 5237
Thank you for reading this.
Sincerely,
Lucille Kring
Council Woman
These are all common sense points. I would also point out regarding placing these questions on the June v. November ballot: the November and June electorates are different. It is the November electorate that elects the mayor and city council, and is the one that ought to be decide whether and how the city council should be re-structured.
Ah, the irony of sending out an email objecting to $250,000 of public money to facilitate a public benefit while celebrating a public donation of $150,000,000 for private enrichment. Excellent.
That money does not exist until a year after a hotel is built, people start staying in it, the tax is paid to the city. Then it goes to the developers lender to help pay back the loan. Would you rather see the entire garden walk just close up and turn into another boarded up junk heap?
It was not an optimal solution, but something had to be done to get that area back to life.
If you’re suggesting that the city had to take action to support a failed venture at the GardenWalk, I’ve already commented on it. See “Tripling Down On Stupid” @ theJuice.
Read about my criminal record here.
I think Councilwoman Kring makes excellent points and it’s a shame to see Ryan Cantor try to throw out debunked distractions instead of addressing the issue at hand. How is having only one person invested in helping you better than five?
Oh. My. God.
Being snarky isn’t a response, Ryan,
Go back to Fullerton, Ryan!
Don’t worry, just visiting. Heard there was a discount on four star hotel rooms and thought I’d stop by.