Why I Ran for Office

I ran for the City Council position because I felt that the city council was not making decisions based on facts that they discovered themselves, and that they were spending money and making decisions based on emotions. At the time I felt the city council did not do their homework because it is easier when you work a full time job to “rubber stamp” recommendations rather than to investigate them first. After 6 months in office, sadly I found out that I was not only correct in my assessment but in my opinion the inklings I had when running for office have become even more self-evident.

The council and the citizens of Tehachapi don’t realize that the council position is a full time position if the job is to be done properly. This is strictly a “public service” position because $300 per month does not pay for a full time position. I went into this job knowing that I wanted to be in public service, to give something back to the community.

My time, as a council member is spent doing my homework, researching the issues and working for the citizens of the City of Tehachapi. I know most every square foot of this city and spend a lot of time driving around, observing the changes, and thinking about what needs to be done and the possibilities for the future.

When I think about the future, I consider the here and now, but I also look down the road of time and think what will this city look like in 20, 30 or 100 years and how can we shape that destiny for that space in time. The days of 3 or 4 families controlling the city are over. We are on the cusp of becoming a “large city” and no longer a small town. This is why we desperately need to preserve our downtown city heritage and move any new building away from the historic areas.

We have within our grasp the ability to preserve the downtown historic areas and over time turn this area in a major art and tourism center. I would call upon the Chamber of Commerce to step up its efforts in this regard. There is no reason that we should not have a major event at least every month to bring in the tourism traffic which would then allow our local antique shop owners, art stores, and tourist shops to increase their incomes and production capacity and thereby provide jobs with living wages.

I would like to see the new local housing tracts as being contained master planned communities, and not the helter skelter housing tracts we’ve seen in the past. There should be Active Adult Communities for retirees, with a mix of low, middle and high-income “quality” building, condominiums, and neat and well-maintained apartment complexes. I am not opposed to instituting new city statutes that would force cleaner properties and streetscapes.

I see new commercial office buildings as being across the freeway by the post office and where the new hospital is going to be built. As I have stated before, I would like to see a new city hall and civic/cultural center, close to the new hospital, with a forum for the citizens to attend the council meetings and possibly town hall meetings. There could be an art museum, classroom space for college extension courses, an auditorium for entertainment venues and much more.

Also, in a worst case disaster scenario the civic center could be used as a staging area for the hospital and shelter for the citizens of Tehachapi. This property will allow for room for expansion and growth for future generations so that the whole project doesn’t have to be redone in the near future with an extraordinary expenditure of capital in 10 to 15 years. If we build this structure in the current downtown area or along Tucker road the facility would become landlocked and the rebuild would be a certain future expense, and the property in the commercial zone would be gone by then.

Because some city infrastructure and services can be seen from the freeway, the City needs to landscape make sure that these eyesores become more pleasant to look at and environmentally friendly. Growth will come to Tehachapi, there is no way to stop it, however, the growth can be carefully managed and if done properly the citizens of Tehachapi can prosper along with the growth and the community can maintain its “small town” feel.

My main goals as City Councilman is to get the community involved in shaping their city’s destiny because most of the tax dollars are coming out of their pockets. To ask the questions that need to be asked of our public servants, not to think about what is “politically correct”, to use what I have learned over the years to serve the citizens of Tehachapi, to really study the issues, and to make decisions based on my own investigation of the issues. I don’t ever intend to just show-up and rubber-stamp any item on the agenda and I will place items on the agenda at the appropriate times.

I won’t compromise my principles and ethics in some back-room political deal to gain points with the other council members in order for them to support my projects. If I feel that something needs to be done and I can’t explain it to the citizens of Tehachapi and get their backing, then I will have to work harder. The city council represents the citizens of Tehachapi and they are starting to respond when the citizens show up for the meetings.

When an ill-conceived city-fostered project literally came knocking on my door, I jumped in and really looked at what was happening in our town, with our planning commission and with our city council and I said, “I can make a difference!” Then, I carried that statement one step further. I got involved!

I have an open-door policy. Any citizen can contact me anytime at 822-1907 or by e-mail at Stan@StanBeckham.com. I am available to my constituents and they can see my announcement on the Bright House public access station. I hope you will contact me if you have a concern about the City.