PCT televises live Candidate Forum Thurs 8 PM

By Marty Anaya

Pacifica Tribune Columnist

Posted: 10/02/2012 05:02:40 PM PDT

Updated: 10/02/2012 05:02:40 PM PDT

On Oct. 4, Pacifica Community Television, Channel 26 and The Pacifica Tribune present the Candidate Election Forum 2012.

This two hour broadcast begins live at 8 p.m. live. This is your opportunity to see all seven candidates vying for a seat on the upcoming city council and help make a critical decision on the future direction of our city. There are three seats currently available, one two-year, partial term and two full four-year terms.

With cities like Pacifica in financial crisis, who we elect now is critically important. At stake is not just our ability to right the city's financial ship but just as important, our ability to determine how, and at what cost. Candidates will have ideas that may improve our city or diminish important aspects. It is important for all of us to decide which candidates would make which choices and how those choices will affect us.

Again, the issues of balancing city finances and by what means come down to who we elect. For example, do we feel that the city can afford to eliminate funding for The Resource Center, City Council meeting coverage and library services? Or, Is there another way to balance city budgets without decimating these vital services? Are bond measures or tax increases a viable option? Can the city gain the needed funding to balance its budget by outsourcing the police department? Is the service it would get from the Sheriff's department as good as is reported in Half Moon Bay and other cities who have switched?

Also, can Pacifica's economic concerns be balanced with the need to create a sustainable environment? Is protecting the environment a focus or central goal for these candidates as it has been for previous groups? What does protecting our environment look like? Are faster, bigger freeways an answer?

Is there a plan for the beach at Manor? Rockaway? Is there a plan for protecting our natural resources. Have any of these candidates given serious consideration to these issues?

The answers to these and many other questions will shape the future of the town we live in. We need a council with vision. We need candidates who look beyond temporary cuts to ask the important question of what kind of city we all wish to live in and what we need to do to get there. It is up to you to have an informed opinion on these issues so we have the focus and direction that this city deserves and that the voters require. Please do your part by staying informed and by voting.

Please tune into Comcast Channel 26 on Thursday, Oct. 4, at 8 p.m. If you do not have Comcast cable, go to our website at www.PacificCoast.tv. This program is sponsored by Pacifica Community TV and the Pacifica Tribune in an effort to foster greater information to our audiences.

-- Marty Anaya

 

Submitted by Mark Stechbart