The influence by the social media has turned up the volume of this campaign season by several notches. I am amazed at the amount of money that has been spent on the effort to win our votes. Newspaper headlines, TV ads and the internet segments have flooded the voters with contentious, demeaning and insulting rhetoric which has been diced and spliced to confuse the voter. In my opinion, these political campaign ads are an insult to the intelligence of the American people or have we really become that ignorant when it comes to how we vote?
The ads don’t really want to solve the problems, they want to make you afraid and convince you of who’s to blame. The unrelenting barrage of negative ad campaigning does not send an accurate message. Let’s face it, there will always be dissident voices expressing opposition but in some ways we have become a nation of sheep and allowed ourselves to be sucked into a black hole of promises. We have allowed special interest groups to set the course for us whether we like it or not.
This election is very important to us. We live in a period of global danger and our state balances on a thread of economic uncertainty. Locally our cities are being devastated by the continuous diverting and taking of local funds by the state. Trying to plan our city’s future becomes more problematic every day.
My colleagues on the Foster City Council as well as councils around the state are facing tremendous challenges with the state legislature dipping into our funds because they lack the ability to make the tough choices. Local communities are being “pinned to the mat” by state lawmakers whose arms are being twisted by political parties and special interests.
Proposition 22 is a non partisan initiative that will stop the state from borrowing, taking or diverting taxpayer funds. It is meant to protect local control for cities and it will close the loopholes to prevent the state from taking those funds dedicated to cities, counties, special districts and redevelopment agencies. This continuous borrowing of our funds jeopardizes local government’s ability to provide essential services. It’s time to make Sacramento more accountable. A YES vote on Proposition 22 will stop the legislature cold and we will no longer be the enablers of a dysfunctional system.
The state has gotten itself into a deep fiscal mess because they have relied on budget gimmicks like tapping into voter protected funds and borrowing which only pushes our problems into the future. The voters have repeatedly voted to protect these funds from state raids but despite these voter mandates, state politicians keep finding ways to raid, borrow, or transfer funds we use for transportation, basic local services, road safety and redevelopment projects.
We have become the state’s “overdraft protection”. You are beginning to hear that passing prop 22 will takes funds away from other programs. How can that be when the funds we are protecting are cities’ property tax increments, funds set aside for transportation and money in redevelopment agencies to help with the affordable housing mandate that cities must achieve? Proposition 22 protects what is already earmarked for local government agencies and not what belongs to any other program which the state dedicates funds for.
A strong America depends on its cities. The present and future problems facing communities will depend on whether we can stop the state from taking what is ours. The values we hold true are to keep the local economy sound and retain revenue which supports that effort. A YES VOTE ON PROPOSITION 22 IS ESSENTIAL. IT MAKES SENSE TO KEEP LOCAL FUNDS LOCAL!!!
I appreciate comments on this and other issues. Contact me at: lkoelling@fostercity.org.
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