As your City Councilman

  1. My goal will be to provide you with the best possible services at the best possible cost, in the most efficient manner possible.
  2. I will always lend an ear to your complaints, your frustrations and your concerns.
  3. I will investigate fully any complaints of abuse of power and public apologies will be issued and a reasonable compromise will be negotiated.
  4. I will use common sense, and when necessary, I will call for any studies of any new projects that the City Council may deem to undertake BEFORE we proceed with the project.
  5. I will obtain all the facts on any issue that comes before me; I will present the issue to the citizens and listen with an open mind to their opinions before rendering any decisions.
  6. I will insist on transparency in your government. You should NOT have a difficult time trying to find out what is really happening in your city and in your neighborhood.
  7. I will insist that any communications sent out to the citizens proposing any new development of land, includes the ‘commonly known as’ address, as well as the APN number.
  8. I will insist that our City Council meeting agendas are published early enough that the community can be involved. As of July 1, 2008, any back-up information for agency agendas MUST be published along with the agenda 72 hours before the scheduled meeting. At this time, this information is only available AFTER the meeting. I will be happy to assist anyone in the public with a California Public Records Act request, or a Federal Freedom of Information Act request.
  9. I will insist that our City Council meetings are available for public review.
  10. I will enact legislation that any developers must post a 4′ x 8′ sign with project information and contact information so that the citizens in the immediate area of the development are aware of the development and what is being developed so that they may address any last minute concerns before the project has progressed too far to make changes. (Thank you Sue Benham, Bakersfield City Council Member for this brilliant idea. I know you had a long hard fight on this one and prevailed.)
  11. I will encourage our small businesses to seek out and make use of the heritage and unique attractions that the City of Tehachapi offers.
  12. I will encourage more citizen involvement, and Citizen Volunteers with the Police Department and Chief Kermode.
  13. I will audit the spending for the Tehachapi City Fire Department to date and make sure their is an appropriate accounting for the enormous amount of money that has been spent to date, only to decide that we didn’t need such a department.
  14. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, I will not tolerate rudeness and intimidation from the hired officials in your City Hall. From this point forward, the favoritism, nepotism and cronyism will stop. You deserve better and these people work for you and you deserve their respect.
  15. Let’s work on a new vision of Tehachapi together. I want and value your input in the design of the growth of your city. Let’s figure out ways to say WE CAN, and not WE CAN’T and still have a wonderful and livable town.