The not so great divide

It’s quite the experience, running for a major office within your community. You get to talk to a lot of people and you learn a lot. You also get asked questions from people and the media that are not always easy to answer. I was asked just such a question on Friday as part of The Herald’s candidate interview with the Mayor and myself.

The question was: why is Marina so divided politically? While the Mayor answered with issues from the past that have some resonance, they seemed limited in scope. I feel it’s not a matter of blame or perception on what has happened in the past, it’s how do you deal with it today and how will you deal with it in the future that’s important.

In my conversations with people of all ages, all parties and all segments of our community, I have come to the conclusion that the citizens agree on maybe 85 to 90 percent of the things that need to be done within our community.

We all want our City to function well. We want our Police and Fire services to be the best we can deliver. We want our streets to be maintained, we want recreation programs to be available to all ages, and we want all of our citizens to feel safe, especially our seniors. We want our City staff to deliver the best service possible to our community and we want our City to grow enough that we can have the goods and services available to our citizens that they desire. Finally, we want to have a community where jobs are available so that our kids and their kids can stay within our community and raise their families.

These are the things we all believe in and want for our City. So you see we are not really divided as a community, we are divided politically by a relative few that live and breathe politics. They are the ones that speak before City Council meetings and write letters to the editor. Even they really agree on most everything we want as a community, they just disagree as to how we get there. While it may not be pretty all the time, it’s healthy to have dialog and work towards the compromises that make agreement possible. That’s how our system works.

My goal is to work with everyone to facilitate the agreements needed to move our City forward. I don’t want to argue over who said what when. I want to go beyond that and actually get things done that will benefit our entire community.

More later.

Revenues and more

There has been lots of discussion about new revenues to help our City budget since our community voted for Measures M & N. Part of that discussion has been the lack of new revenues provided by the City since that vote in 2008.

That brings us to last week when our City Council approved a FORA measure that will guarantee at least a 10% share of the property taxes from new development on Ft. Ord. The curious part of the vote was that Mayor Delgado was the lone vote against it. The staff report says that it will provide a minimum of $150,000 annually to our City’s general fund. These are funds that can be used to hire additional fire personnel, to repair and pave our streets or to help market our City to new businesses that can bring jobs to Marina. So it’s a simple question to ask the Mayor: why did you vote against new revenues for Marina?

Perhaps this is another case where credit can be taken but where the actions say something different. Like speaking out against the Wellness Center while it was being planned but taking credit for it now. Or like the movie theatre, where the Mayor voted against the extension to the master agreement that made it possible but wants the credit for it coming soon. We all want to see an open discussion on the issues. Let’s make sure it’s an honest one too.

It’s been just over a week since we could all put up signs in support of our candidates. One thing is certain; we will have no lack of signs around town for the next couple of months. I firmly believe that signs are a way of expressing one’s first amendment right of free speech. What we do not want to hear is that people are taking away that right by removing, damaging or intimidating peoples’ rights to choose the candidate of their choice. Let’s all agree to treat everyone as we wish to be treated.

Finally, I hope you had a chance to watch the recent debates. They were full of detail and discussions on the issues that affect Marina. If you did not get a chance to watch them we have put the entire Mayor’s debate and the Council debate on my website for you to see. Simply go to www.EmersonForMarinaMayor.com and click on the box on the front page. This is the complete unedited version so everyone can watch and decide: who would you like to see lead the city for the next two years?

More later….

The Campaign

It’s the first of September in an election year.  That means that campaigns have begun, not only for President, but for Mayor of Marina as well. I thought I would give you a little insight into the process and what it’s like to be a candidate.

There are many places to be, places to speak, places to talk to people and to hear what you the voter have on your mind. These are important opportunities to understand your concerns and what you want to see for our City. Of course, part of this process also includes walking your neighborhood, knocking on your door and talking to you. If you would like me to attend your meeting or an event please let me know by e-mail (emersonformarina@gmail.com) or phone (595-6282).

There is also the planning and design of campaign materials. This means translating my thoughts and desires for Marina in a way that the voter can understand who I am and what I stand for. It’s an interesting challenge but as a whole this Marina Matters column has helped to define these positions for the voters. The decision to produce our own newspaper evolved from this column and is chocked full of detail that goes beyond the typical campaign sound bites and slogans. Let me know if you have not seen one yet and we will do our best to get one to you.

Another aspect of the campaign that you may not think about is the endless questionnaires and endorsement meetings with various newspapers, interest groups and organizations. These are great opportunities for a candidate to communicate ideas but you wonder just how many of them have made up their minds long before the candidates arrive to answer their questions. Time will tell if that is in fact the case.

Of course, this past Saturday was the Labor Day Parade. This was the first real event of the campaign where you could meet and greet the candidates after the parade. I was honored to have the opportunity to ride “Star” a beautiful white Percheron horse down the parade route to lots of great cheers and support. She was a favorite of everyone young and old. Afterwards we met many of you at our booth and I was amazed at how many of you asked for a lawn sign for your homes. We also registered people to vote and were grateful for your support.

Next up for us will be the Marina in Motion debate this Saturday, Sept. 8^th. Here the candidates for Mayor and City Council have their opportunity to debate each other, to explain their thoughts and to defend their records. It promises to be an interesting hour and a half. I hope you have the chance to watch it either live or on ‘video on demand’ before the election.

The bottom line is that I am proud of the campaign so far. We have a positive message for the future of Marina that resonates throughout our community. It’s clear that many of you want to see a positive common sense approach to the management of our City going forward. I hope to earn your support and VOTE in November.

More later...