Spear: It takes two to tango, but three to
pass an agenda item
It is good to see two other Candidates for the Council come forward.
I
believe that we will hear much the same message from almost all the
candidates. As was published in the Desert Trail in July, I had stated
that a city of 110,000 is simply too much. I have posted on my website,
since 1 August 2006, the two prong approach that I feel is needed to
address the issue.
First being, for us as a city, to decide what
we want to be through the use of Public Hearings and a Citizen’s
Advisory Committee. The next step is to then address the General Plan
to implement that decision.
However, the zoning map needs to be looked at very, very, soon.
What
many people do not know is that once a project is in the
“pipeline”,
meaning fees paid, initial plans made etc. there is virtually nothing
that can stop that project from becoming a reality.
What I’m
talking about is to stop the ability of future “mega
subdivisions” from
even happening. This can be done by rezoning and establishing some
fundamental ground rules for construction in our city.
These are
not minor modifications. The effort that will be needed to save our
small town character while ensuring growth will be monumental. The
critical key to remember is that no one Councilmember will be able to
accomplish the task alone.
Remember, a minimum of three members
of the Council need to be on the same sheet of music, or at least in
the same dance hall in order for any change to happen at all.
For
4 years I have fought some pretty interesting battles in the Chambers.
I have won some and lost some. However, I have learned much from these
fights of how the inner workings of the city and the Council operate. I
also have learned that having great ideas is just not enough at
times.One must be well studied, articulate, convincing, insistent, and
sometimes outright stubborn, when discussing issues while on the Dias.
There is no pre-debate meeting with the other members of the Council.
Many an important issue is decided that night and a candidate for
Council needs to be prepared to deal with it on the spot.
I’m sure that as the weeks pass many discussions will be had by
the Candidates as well as the voting public.
This will prove to be a pivotal election for the city and an exciting
one for the voters to observe and engage in.
Steve Spear