Crime and the Candidates - Mum's the Word.

Recently in La Mesa there have been:

Two shootings in two weeks, one dead, the other with a critical head wound. The murder victim was killed one mile from my home.

Numerous gun and knife armed robberies in the last couple of months.

A neighborhood trying, most likely in vain, to stop a 24-hour store that sells liquor from opening in their front yard.

Four gang/youth brawls - three of them in the last couple of months - at the Spring St. Trolley parking lot.

Gang units called to Oktoberfest Saturday night forcing the rides to shut down early.

My office tagged front and back Saturday night.

Of the five candidates running, only I have addressed any of these serious problems La Mesa faces today. And only I have offered any solutions for reducing crime: 

1. ADMIT there’s a problem. With the exception of periodic police updates from Chief Aceves, crime is never talked about at City Council meetings.
2. Stop opening liquor/convenience stores – the number one business that gets robbed. We have 30, why open more? We’re up to five 7-Elevens and on the verge of a sixth. Are we trying to be seedy?
3. Stop denying the trolley brings crime and insist MTS provide better lighting, security cameras & security guards at all La Mesa stations. Have stores promptly retrieve abandoned shopping carts passengers leave behind after buying groceries in town, wheeling to the trolley, then riding the trolley back home.
4. Be wary of future high-density housing. El Cajon has suffered mightily in terms of image, property values and crime because of their glut of apartment buildings.
5. Get tough on slumlords. There are multiple ordinances that allow inspections of substandard apartment buildings and that compel apartment building owners to be in “harmony” with their surrounding neighborhoods.
6. Care about being a beautiful town. Pretty towns are a joy to live in and visit, and are always SAFER. Eliminate weeds and trash, conceal ugly dumpsters and require lot owners to maintain their empty lots. It is grossly unfair to neighbors to live next to negligent property owners.

 

It’s going to take a lot more than platitudes to live up to our new motto:

 “The Finest Small Town in San Diego County”

Our city needs positive action – that’s why I’m running for a seat on City Council.