Don’t be misled by falsehoods and divisive messages

November 1, 2016

OPINION by JIM HILL

In Arroyo Grande, Richard Waller’s campaign materials misrepresent and misinform. It starts with his introduction. His family is third generation but Richard spent most of his life in Nevada.

While his family does have agricultural heritage; Richard’s is limited to his current residence on the family property.

Now Mr. Waller says he’s going to bring $40 million in new revenue to Arroyo Grande without raising taxes or fees. It’s a wonderful idea but like his others, a bit short on detail of how he’d accomplish that.

Even if he turned the entire city into a marijuana grove, where would the water come from?  He’s stated that “a building moratorium won’t save a drop of water” so obviously he won’t be implementing that.

Waller champions desalination as the panacea to Arroyo Grande’s water issues, conveniently ignoring that there is no seawater intake, the jurisdiction of the California Coastal Commission, and the fact it is the most expensive of the available options.

Waller claims to champion “civility,” but in looking closer he is really advocating censorship and forcibly restricting the right of residents who disagree with him to free speech.

When confronted with the fact his proposals consistently ignore basic requirements of state and federal law, he naively claims he’ll just change those laws. Waller’s disrespect for the public is also demonstrated by his repeated placement and replacement of campaign signs against property owner’s wishes.

Richard is aligned with Tony Ferrara appointees Kristen Barneich and Caren Ray, who claim to favor a “building moratorium that respects citizen’s property rights.” Their view of citizen rights apparently doesn’t extend to the water we’ve worked hard to conserve.

Ms. Barneich recently voted not to implement a development moratorium for several more months, until the level in Lopez Lake drops even farther. This would allow numerous large development projects time to be approved and escape the moratorium.

It appears rights of the developers are their real concern, not the rights of current residents who expect water they conserved to be reserved for their own future use.

Ms. Ray indicated on Dave Congalton’s show that CalTrans will force the reopening of Brisco freeway ramps on Dec. 11. Actually, CalTrans has been very cooperative with the city on extending the Brisco ramp closure.  We may eventually be required to provide a more robust closure, but maintaining the closure at least six more months will encompass the February opening of Food For Less and demonstrate traffic flows with that business in operation.

As a planning commissioner, council candidate John Mack voted against the large East Cherry Avenue development due to unanswered concerns about water and traffic. He and council candidate LeAnn Akins have consistently called for living within our resources.

Akins is a strong advocate for balanced budgets, while Ms. Barneich was a champion of the charter city proposal which would have done away with the balanced budget requirement.

Don’t be misled by the slick mailers and divisive messages from Waller, Barneich, and Ray. Notice their signs posted on a major developer’s project sites.

John Mack, LeAnn Akins and I will join Tim Brown in putting the interests of Arroyo Grande residents first. Your vote matters on Nov. 8.