What does that mean?  It means our government is charged with the duty and responsibility of shepherding our resources and guarding our best interests while we are busy living our lives.  I have a vision for Escondido.  I always have.  It is one of a community that is self-sufficient.  A community where we can choose to work at a decent salary.  It is a community where we can afford to buy a house, and our children can afford to buy a house if they choose to live close to their parents.  Escondido should be a place where businesses are vibrant and needed and wanted.  We should also be a community that cares about each other.  We cannot ever expect to please everyone every time.  That notion would be nice for us politicians but not realistic.  The common good sometimes requires flexibility and giving by individuals to insure that our vision for Escondido continues to move in the right direction.

The good people of Escondido, in an election, decided to support an Art Center.  I have supported and guarded that asset even when it was unpopular to do so.  Now when I talk to citizens in our community they take pride in the fact that we have a cultural arts center in our city.  We can see Mikhail Baryshnikov here in Escondido.  Our children can have the benefit of high quality art in our community.

The citizens of Escondido are demanding relief from the traffic congestion associated with their commutes.  They are asking for good paying careers that originate here in Escondido.  I have in the past, and still do, proactively seek new and cutting edge businesses to locate here in town.  I continue to support existing businesses.  They are the life blood of a community.

Our citizens are crying out for affordable housing.  I have always supported the vision of urban core infill even when it’s been misunderstood and attacked.  We all want to cherish our open space.  That is why infill makes sense.  We can’t bury our heads in the sand and halt all building.  That only hurts our community and brings all of us down.

I can go on.  A lot of wonderful things are happening in Escondido and we as a community are proud of who and what we are.  I ask for your help and continued support to keep our vision alive and our clarity of mission moving forward. 

We need to continue to build on Escondido’s strengths.  We are unique, we have high quality restaurants, one of a kind experiences.  I have talked to a lot of people that come up to Escondido to eat at Vincent's, 150 Grand, Asia Vons, 201 Grand, Remy's, O'Sullivan's Pub, Bistorzzi Grand, and La Tapetia.  It is special.  There are no other experiences like the ones you can get in Escondido.  That is a strength we need to maximize.  Our values are consistent.  We have strong culture in our downtown.  That strength will draw better educated people to our community, they will choose to live in our community and spend their better than average income in our community.  Our downtown urban core is a strength.  We need to build on it and spread its area of influence.

Jobs:
I will continue to meet with anyone interested in opening a business in Escondido.  I want businesses to know that the City of Escondido will do it’s part to be a partner in establishing job generating businesses.

I will continue to vote for opportunities to expand our industrial base.

I will continue to work with the Escondido Research and Technology Center to bring a great industrial park to Escondido.

We need more jobs.  I will do everything I can to realize that need.

Traffic:
Escondido is in a unique position.  We are at the crossroads of I-15 and Hwy. 78.  We will benefit from the completion of the Sprinter Train.  We continue to spend millions of dollars building managed lanes on I-15.  Escondido will have considerable sums of money invested in transit that will improve service to our citizens especially those traveling to San Diego for a job.  We will have a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) running along the I-15 corridor and enhanced service along Escondido Blvd.

All of this investment supports choices for our residents.  Fundamentally that is what we need.  It is nearly impossible to build another freeway corridor, just imagine how wide that swath of land actually is and try to imagine where we can find another swath of land that wide.  Not likely, so to have enhanced corridors where we can move people will contribute significantly to our quality of life.  Our residents will have a choice in transportation.

We all know it is a major problem we need to confront.  The last time the nation dealt with the issue was 1986.  We thought that was the end all solution.  Unfortunately that legislation did not deal directly with the issue of employment.  As long as individuals could come across illegally and find a job with no recourse and we Americans continued to hire individuals that are illegal the problem would continue and escalate.  And, it has.

Fundamentally there are two places to deal with illegal immigration.  At the border and at the job.  The only place that works effectively to prove that you are in this country and you belong here and the papers you carry prove you can be employed here is at the time of employment.  The federal government notifies employers when irregular employment documents have been submitted.  Eight million such notifications have been sent.  Just recently the federal government has begun to follow up on those letters of irregularity.  If the employee cannot follow through and correct the irregularity, the employer has to let the employee go.  An individual cannot work without proper documentation.  The federal government has to follow through diligently and consistently.  If an individual is illegal, they ultimately will not be able to work and they will have to return home.  The draw to this country is the job.

Congressman Brian Bilbray has advocated consistently for a tamper proof National Identity Card.  We already have a national identity card, it is our Social Security Card, it has never been altered since the first one issued.  A tamper proof ID card can be created.  Identity can be verified.  This is the age of the computer, they should provide some public benefit.  Our California Driver’s Licenses have our finger print on the back, a national ID card could as well.  When you apply for the Social Security card/ID card, verification should be able to be made independently with every county’s birth records.  I support Brian Bilbray’s efforts to solve our illegal immigration problem.  It is the federal government’s responsibility.

It would be wrong to impose the solution on local governments.  The tax dollars we have available to provide services, such as parks, filling pot holes, libraries and a fire and police department should not be spent at the federal level.  Our dollars are too scarce.