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Dear Neighbor,
My name is Gary Thornton. This is an outreach to my neighbors in the La Merced neighborhood of Montebello. Election Day will soon be here (November 8) and I know that you are already receiving a stream of political mailers, calls, texts, and emails. This is actually a historic election for Montebello. For the first time in our city’s history, each City Council member will soon begin representing a different district of the city. The La Merced Neighborhood lies within District 1, including everything east of Wilcox Avenue and north of Victoria and Lincoln Avenues.
Four candidates seek to represent District 1 on the Council. Kimberly Cobos-Cawthorne is currently serving her first term on the Council, including in the role of Mayor, and seeks to be reelected. Rosie Vasquez served one term on the Council, 2005 to 2009, was not reelected, and is now on her third try to return to office. Edward Franco and Georgina Tamayo are newcomers to our local political arena, but not newcomers to community service.
I look forward to public candidate forums, to hear candidates answer questions and address issues. Sadly, it doesn’t appear like that will happen for this election. Montebello also gets little to no media coverage where reporters put questions to candidates. So, for myself and my neighbors, I emailed questions to each District 1 candidate that I thought might help us make a ballot decision. I stated that I would share their answers, unedited, with my neighbors.
I asked each the following four questions:
1. Based on what you know about City government, what do you see as top priorities for the City and what specific reasons do you give for these?
2. If you received a $1 million grant to use for the city any way you wanted, what would you do with it and why?
3. How do you plan to involve residents in the decision-making process in our city?
4. What is your most compelling argument for why voters should select you for this seat?
ONLY ONE CANDIDATE RESPONDED. Thank you to the candidate who made the time (see below). I reached out a second time to the remaining three candidates. As yet, I have still received no response. I appreciate that fellow residents are willing to run for office in our city and take on the added stress, expense, and "heavy lift" to their lives and families. Nevertheless, candidates are job-seekers. Voters are the employer. A political campaign is an effort to get hired for the job. Questions like those above are part of the job interview. Yet, for reasons unknown, three candidates for City Council, District 1, did not show up for this part of the job interview. I still urge these candidates to respond. I would be happy to add their answers to this post.
Question: Based on what you know about City government, what do you see as top priorities for the City and what specific reasons do you give for these?
Answer: First and foremost, we need to regain the trust of the Montebello residents in regards to the political atmosphere within our city. Watching the City Council meetings has been disturbing to watch due to the level of bickering and infighting that takes place. Frankly speaking, this type of dialogue leaves people discouraged and embarrassed to partake or even simply watch the proceedings at times. This type of behavior has become normalized and the time for change is now. We need to bring professionalism and respect to the position of city council. Only after making these necessary changes can the city make progress and address the issues that are obvious and plain to see. After all, we simply need to step out of our houses to encounter some of the issues that need to be addressed.
Many residents like myself see our streets in simple disarray. Our streets are filled with cracks and potholes. Many of us have experienced tire punctures due to the conditions of our roads. My plan would be to survey the residents and prioritize the streets that need to be fixed. We need to have a transparent process that explains why one street is picked over another. We need a street repair plan with dates that prioritizes the streets with the most need. We need to end the random selection of repairs based on political favors.
Another top priority is to attract business to our city. When our city does not have a clear path to revitalization, it is obvious that nobody wants to do new business with us. It is time to develop a plan of revitalization and stop the mass exodus that is currently happening. Our city can’t sustain the exits of companies such as Costco and numerous other chain stores within our Shops of Montebello. This hurts our ability to create tax revenue that the city desperately needs to progress forward.
As we continue to see the development of the Metro Heights project it worries me that no plan is in place to address the influx of residents that are projected to move into the city. With ingress and egress of traffic currently all scheduled to be absorbed onto Montebello Blvd it will surely increase traffic to a street that is already impacted throughout the day. The new development will put an additional strain to our understaffed police and fire department. Within 100 days of being elected I would recommend the formation of a committee to address the added demands this project will put on our city.
Public safety is another of my main priorities. Currently both of our Police and Fire departments are understaffed. That means that response times are affected. Slower response times means that lives are put in danger. Currently our Fire and Police Departments need all the support that we can give them to be effective and in turn we will receive the level of service that is expected.
Question: If you received a $1 million grant to use for the city any way you wanted, what would you do with it and why?
Answer: My first step would be to carry out a participatory process that would highlight the improvements that residents would like to see in the City. (This is discussed in more detail in Question 3 below).
Amongst the many issues facing this City today, I believe that four of the main concerns are: 1) Public Safety 2) Infrastructures) Economic Development and 4) Environmental Justice.
Public Safety -
Montebello is in a unique position in that we have our own Police and Fire departments. Currently, both of our Police and Fire departments are understaffed. My understanding is that the Police department is down about 40% - 50%. This is huge. Resources need to be focused on expanding our Police department. The Fire department also remains understaffed. I have spoken to the Fire Chief, and he would like to carry out a plan that helps retain current Firefighters and hire new ones in an expeditious manner. The efforts would involve a partnership between the Fire Department and the City. Working to improve both the Police and Fire departments would be an overall benefit to the residents in this City.
Infrastructure -
Infrastructure is a critical component to our City and many times overseen. With our City being 102 years old, we have an aging infrastructure. In addition, with the construction of the Metro Heights, it is of utmost importance that the infrastructure is improved in order to be able to sustain new development. This includes, at minimum, roads, water supplies, sewers, lighting, electricity and telecommunication measures.
Economic Development -
In speaking to residents, as I have canvassed District 1, one of the wants that has come up continually is better shopping options. Montebello is ideal in that it has easy freeway access. I would work toward attracting new business to Montebello. One main focus would be the old Costco site. Turning under-utilized or vacant sites into thriving businesses will increase the tax base for Montebello.
Environmental Justice -
Improve the public health and well-being of our community. A healthy environment includes access to clean air and water, adequate carbon reduction transportation options as well as safe homes and neighborhoods. Specific ideas for this include expanding and improving bike lanes, installing charging stations for electric vehicles in our shopping centers, upkeep of landscape and brush of the hills, maintenance of our trees and working with code enforcement to not let vacant homes become a nuisance.
Question: How do you plan to involve residents in the decision-making process in our city?
Answer: The first thing that needs to take place is to reactivate all city commissions. Currently, some of our commissions are inactive due to a variety of reasons. The appointment of city commissioners from District 1 would be a high priority for me. District 1 residents need a voice at the table.
I would also like to have small neighborhood meetings to listen to concerns. An example would be “Coffee with a Councilmember.” I have held small meetings during my campaign and the results of these meetings have been fruitful. Our residents in District 1 really care about our city and once elected I look forward to helping facilitate their ideas and address their concerns. Together we can work toward a better Montebello.
An email distribution list is another way to communicate with residents. Ongoing dialogue is important. Social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter allow users to communicate and disseminate information in a quick manner.
Another useful tool is to survey the community. This would allow the residents of District 1 to prioritize their needs. Everyone's opinion and voice are important to me.
Question: What is your most compelling argument for why voters should select you for this seat?
Answer: I have called Montebello my home since my parents moved my family to this city at the age of 15. After graduating high school, I went off to college; and upon graduating, I returned to Montebello and purchased a home with my husband. We have had the pleasure of raising two beautiful children in this city. Our children attended Montebello public schools and they participated in sports programs throughout their childhood. My husband and I have enjoyed our children growing up in this city. Our children are currently away attending college. This city and our public school system have assisted us in raising and shaping our children into the outstanding citizens that they are becoming. I want to continue to give back to our wonderful community. In the past I have held leadership positions in the sports programs that my children participated in. I was involved at my children’s schools through the PTA. I usually held the treasurer position since I have a background in finance. I have over 20 years of experience working in local government entities. This has given me a great insight into how a government should operate efficiently. Thus, I will put this experience toward my job at the city council.
My long history of belonging to this community, my education, my volunteer work, and work history make me the ideal candidate for this position. I hope to receive your vote this election. I look forward to working with you so that we all may work together to get Montebello to reach its full potential.