When our forefathers first founded the great city of Bartertown, they had a dynamic vision of a perfect centralized city, a veritable Shangri-La with beautiful waterfront properties, green parks, and a strong industry to support the growing population.
If only they could see things today.
In the city that I love, a political dictatorship rules with an ironfist. Not one for delegation, Mayor Ng holds control over all aspects of the city, planning, budget, and security. He decides what gets built, when and where. Rather than being concerned with independent citizens of Bartertown, Ng has been consumed with a relentless overarching drive to make Bartertown a statement about American cities. This is no longer a home for the common man. Instead, we are all just pawns in his gigantic virtual playground.
In a city where residents are leaving in droves, where job growth has dipped to 45th in the Simnation, where we have lost an educated workforce of 21,000 over the last five years, and where local budgets fluctuate month to month, one would think that our leaders would get their act together. But they haven't. In the interest of personal gain and theoretical design ideology, the people are now an afterthought.
As an Independent candidate for Mayor, the people of Bartertown can be assured that I'll fight for them. I am not an interloper or an academic. I AM a lifelong resident of Bartertown. This is my city. You are my people.
I witnessed what a cancer unstable financial planning can do to the local economy. When an airplane crashed into the airport burning it to the ground, there was not enough funds to repair and rebuild that airport for 25 years! That's why I'll pursue a strict balanced budget. All year long Mayor Ng masquerades with a budget of 5%, culling favor and approval from the residents, only to skyrocket it to 11% or 12% when the fiscal year closes.
After I stabilize property taxes, I'll do something about the mass exodus of people and businesses after the earthquake. It's been 4 years, and in some parts of the city, the fires are still burning. My plan will increase local aid made available from the rebalanced budget, demolish any remaining rubble and then assess the rebuilding on a case by case basis. When I lived in Little Havana, the area was rich and diverse because of the unique neighborhood culture. The butcher that I patronized was also my next door neighbor. The pharmacist lived upstairs from me, and the dry cleaner lived across the street. People lived blocks away from where they worked. I took my skateboard to work. It was a community.
I also plan on bringing an end to the unprecendented sprawl we've seen in the past 20 years. Perhaps Mayor Ng's vision for the future of Bartertown includes droves and droves of suburban tract housing, but those "model homes" are just sitting empty right now. Crime doesn't just happen downtown, and last month's "suburban Bordello" sting is a great example of that.
These are serious problems that face our town. And we need serious people to fix them. Bartertown is not just an experimental petri dish. It is a living breathing city. Mayor Ng, it's been 129 years, and your time is up.
Steve Gates, Independent for Mayor
1 comment:
I REALLY like the negative campaign ads (i.e.. annotated screen shots). Well done. You should continue with these. Often. But don't neglect Mayor Ng - he should retaliate with ads that depict the "good parts" of Bartertown.
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