After spending a week thinking on how I wanted this to be written as well as received, this is what I have for the people, the voters. There will be more opinions, thoughts and what I feel the city is lacking. If there is anyone that wishes to voice their ideas, complaints, well wishes, or just ask a question I may be contacted via e-mail carey.alderson@yahoo.com I look forward to hearing from one and all.
Here is my first statement.
As I currently serve on the Twentynine Palms Planning Commission I have seen that there are times that this city seems to just give in to the whims and pressures of those that want what they can get from the city. This needs to stop. We have given in to going against what is currently written in the city code. The “giving away” of this city has to stop. There needs to less catering to the few and focus more on the needs of the many.
I promised to help empower our citizens through participation in the city’s decision-making process. The City should hear from each and every citizen. I hope to change the notification processes on projects, requiring more than just the property owners to receive notification of pending permits. This would allow the public to weigh in on projects affecting this city and their neighborhoods.
Another change I would like to institute is allowing public access to budgetary process. People should be able review and make comments before each budget is passed —no more simply rubber-stamping the city’s proposed spending. As our local economy has weakened, I have seen very little budgetary restraint. Fiscal responsibility must be a high priority. Make no mistake we are in tough fiscal times, we need ways to develop the resources we already have.
If elected I want town hall style meetings and frequent round table discussions with citizens. I believe strongly in establishing community “buy-in” on all projects and policies. We as a city have done little to invest in our youth. I have 5 children and I see firsthand the challenges facing our young people. I will build a network between educators, youth leaders, parents and city hall to give our kids positive activities and opportunities to keep their lives on the right track. We need more sport fields, activities, and parks for children and adults alike.
I want to see our City grow. I want to see redevelopment projects underway that make sense, roads being paved based on a priority list that is usage driven, more community improvements, a retail shopping center that keeps tax dollars local, and I want our residents and tourists to enjoy our wonderful city art and dessert attractions.
Our city needs leadership that will be responsive to the voice of the people and able to tackle the tough jobs before us. The city needs leadership that will pull the whole community together spearheading the projects that will turn the decaying eyesores into a beautiful, thriving city. We need a City Council responsive to the voice of the people and able to tackle the tough jobs before us. I believe in teamwork, patriotism, cooperation, progress and ecology. We need advocates, activists for youth, those less fortunate and ecology. I am enthusiastic, responsive, dedicated to positive forward progress, skilled, creative and hard working.
As a Marine Corps veteran, I have traveled extensively and I have witnessed teamwork and cooperation at its best from communities with similar challenges. I know that I posses the skills, knowledge and ability to help lead this city in a positive direction. Moving forward will take more than an individual; it will take the people of Twentynine Palms.
Good post. Carey is another good candidate running for council.
if you have any issues that you would like to know my position on I encourage you and the other candidates to ask. These blogs are the superior media for dissemination of candidate’s views. That said we are closing in on the Election Day. I will have a few questions for all the candidates in the coming 29 days.
I would like to see the citizens of 29 get and feel more involved. One way I see people connecting with our municipality is providing all details on all expenditures in a comprehensible format in real time on the city’s web site. Let’s enable the citizens, they will and do make the best auditors.
How do you feel about putting some light on the city’s finances by exposing every dollar spent in real time on the city web site?
29 used to have a chamber of commerce that could be the model for the Wikipedia definition of chamber of commerce “A chamber of commerce (also referred to in some circles as a board of trade) is a form of business network, e.g., a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to advocate on behalf of the business community. Local businesses are members, and they elect a board of directors or executive council to set policy for the chamber. The board or council then hires a President, CEO or Executive Director, plus staffing appropriate to size, to run the organization. The chamber we have now does not fit this description; they now look at our tax dollars as an entitlement. It is my opinion that as long as the chamber can set back and slop up our tax dollars they fail at their chartered function of being a business association. Those that been here for a while can remember 29’s heydays and how the chamber brought people together, it may have been necessary for their own survival.
There was a day back in the mid 90s when the chamber was broke, and thought they may have to close their doors. When Karen the director told me that, I said “let me see what I can pull off”; six weeks later with a group of the 29 faithful we had The Mud Bogs. We gave them a nice check and were told by the board president we had a lifetime membership in the chamber. Not long after that the chamber fired Karen, started receiving your tax dollars, and my business has not heard from them for more than 15 years. If you have noticed Pioneer Days is but a skeleton of what is was in the glory days before they were funded by your tax dollars.
Now my question; should the chamber survive as it was chartered serving their business members in return for funding from those businesses, or continue the current entitlement of your taxpayer dollars for their survival?
The taking of ones property by the governing body or Eminent domain was once only use to enable a provider of public services to complete public projects. Recently (time flies it has been over four years) the supreme courts ruling gave local government the right to seize personal property for the needs of private developers. I am proud of our court system, however they occasionally make a ruling that appalls me and this is one of them. To give a governing body such as the 29 council the power to take property from a citizen to give too a private business is a huge responsibility and is ripe for abuse, to me it is plain wrong. As a council member I could and would not vote to use the power of emanate domain for private development. I would like to know how the other candidates feel about property rights and, the use of emanate domain?