In my opinion, the voters of Modesto, and Stanislaus County won more than they lost in our election. I was involved heavily in efforts to get district elections for Modesto City Council members. My efforts started when Carmen Sabatino proposed district elections during his term as Mayor of Modesto, and continued during the last year. This was a big win for the people of Modesto. It is unfortunate that the City Council wasted $1.7 Million fighting the effort. This money is much needed in the budget elsewhere.

The citizens of Stanislaus County spoke loud and clear that they want controlled growth, and saw through the competing measure placed on the ballot by the Board of Supervisors. Leaving growth up to the Board of Supervisors is like putting the fox in charge of the chicken shed. This is a really big deal, and will put a level of citizen oversight on future development of our precious farm land. 

The citizens of Modesto lost big time with the passage of measure M. After the many instances of bad planning, and wasted money, the Mayor and City Council are rewarded with raises in ;pay that will total around $250,000.00. The Mayor gets added powers, that will actually counteract the good that is going to occur from district elections. For the first time, our City Council members will not necessarily be beholding to the big money special interests that run the City of Modesto. By giving the Mayor added powers, the special interest groups will still keep their strangle hold on the important decisions that affect every citizen. That means more situations like Village One will probably be in our future. The building industry has a healthy appetite for our tax dollars, and a more powerful Mayor to manipulate. It is sad how the citizens can be hoodwinked by deceptive slogans like "Increased Accountability." This measure was all about making sure that the good old boys stay in charge.                          Tux

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