Nancy Hall's Letter to the Editor

Editor:

 

As we Pacifican's enter election season, the usual ruckus ensues with the usual suspects firing comments from their prospective camps, a simple minded Punch and Judy show with business development proponents duking it out with those devoted to environmental protection. Any thinking person understands that we need to invest in both things intelligently and cooperatively, but that would require a leap of evolution we seem slow to make.

 

Example: In last week's paper, Frank Vella's venom against local enviros mentioned the biodiesel project's demise as proof that we greens don't have the answers. Mr Vella doesn't mention that he and his cohorts devoted themselves intensely to the project's failure, spreading crazy talk about giants gas clouds melting the faces off local school children etc, etc. This was at least in part payback for my having devoted myself to not having an entire city built in the Quarry. Back and forth we go.

 

The leap is this: stop waiting for Superman. Stop expecting elected officials to be either super-humans on our behalf or punching bags on which we vent all of our own failure and frustration. We have a culture where we wait for the latest batch of mommies and daddies to solve all the problems while everyone else sits back creating them, and when they fall or don't live up to impossible expectations, we crucify them. Public servants are facilitators of OUR collective dreams for the future, and not solely responsible for them.

 

I recently had a coffee meeting with one  city council candidate. A new face. A business person. We chatted a while, and I listened to concerns and complaints about our finances, "the city," the current council, the lack of a sturdy enough tax base, empty store fronts, the labyrinth that is local licensing and permitting, etc. Then I had to say. "You know, some like to blame our financial woes on environmentalism, but we did the part we, as greens, were wired to do, we've succeeded in making sure that one of this town's primary assets our small green piece of the irreplaceable California Coast-was not paved into oblivion. People's perception of Pacifica has widely improved due to our growing reputation as an unspoiled  authentic community and a great place for many types of outdoor recreation. These folks spend money while they are here, some even end up buying homes. Our improved image and identity is salable,. You guys are the business side of the brain. Let's work some of this stuff out"

 

My question to this candidate was "What have you done in a  positive way to alleviate the things that are frustrating you? Where is your own track record for problem solving?" The answer was that so far the business community has "not been organized" Well, fill some store fronts, find ways to promote locally owned business that keep money right here in town, partner with the greens instead of trying to obliterate us. In other words, stop complaining about what we have done and what you haven't done. Show us your leadership skills if you want to be a leader. We'll follow you if you're going somewhere, but not if you are just complaining about what the "other" side has not done to satisfy you.

 

I am voting for the local candidates I think will not only continue to protect our vital green assets, but work with the business community to help identify unnecessary impediments to developing a more vital, locally owned economy that fills in rather then paves over open land. Those candidates are Jim Vreeland, Leo Leon, and Sue Digre. But regardless of who our council people are, we owe them not only our thanks for their willingness to serve, but our creativity and cooperative spirit lent to collective problem solving.

 

Nancy Hall

Vallemar

 

Submitted by Jim Alex