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Political Philosophy for Tom PerchCandidate for |
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Tom Perch Election Statement I want integrity and honesty put back into our government. I ran for this position to serve you and not the bureaucracy. Holding the bureaucrats accountable and helping folks in this district and even other districts is the most satisfying part of being your supervisor. I believe your government is here to serve you, not to make you their servant. I will never stop fighting on this issue. Of course, fighting hard for you does not make the elitist self interest groups happy with me. They say I am hard to get along with but those I represent say I fight successfully for them. It simply means they are not winning and that you the public are winning for a change. But, it also means that those special interests will be out strong to remove me from being able to serve you. As some of you will recall, I tried to remove public law 818.8-a law that allows government employees and elected officials to intentionally decieve you and not be accountable. You and I know we need to remove that law and many others like it. I tried, but not one other board member supported its removal. But I assure you, I haven't given up. Many of you will remember my tough stands to make life tough on criminals. While I proposed Swamp coolers, Jail Bisquets, Pedal power to heat showers, bunk beds, and hot bunking others on the board were pushing for Air Conditioned rooms (Oken)and swimming pools (Levy) for criminals. Fortunately for us, there were enough votes to stop swimming pools and air conditioned rooms for Juvenile delinquents, but now Oken and Levy are supporting my opponent. That's politics. There are some significant differences between us, which provides voters a choice. A few of the difference are: We had an opportunity for plentiful and inexpensive water. An average of 160,000 acre feet of water in Fresno County, called flood water, is released into the ocean due to insufficient capacity behind our dams. An opportunity to capture a portion of that flood water through recharging the ever depleting underground water supply came before our board. I voted yes, but our Board majority voted no. As a farmer I understand the importance of providing reliable, plentiful and inexpensive water, and as an engineer I understood how to do so. My opponent takes issue with my vote. Do you? If so vote for her. Farmers are now set up for big dollar fines by the government. Rent the house you're living in to four hard working farm workers and you would be subject to tens of thousands of dollars in fines. Not only are you subject to fines, but you are liable for their actions 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Rent that same house to 15 drug addicts, or 15 welfare recipients and it is legal, no fines, and no liability. This law is unreasonably punitive to both farmers and farm workers. Moreover, it defies all common sense. I initiated action to change this law, but met resistance. Call me, 237-5755, to find out why. Vote for my opponent if you think this law is good. Why are welfare recipients now getting almost $18 per hour? Many of us in farming experienced a labor problem this year. Welfare reform was to make a difference and it may have if welfare recipients income wasn't increased by 40%. Below is a factual example demonstrating welfare reform:
Remember, there is no tax or SS deductions on welfare pay. Based on a 40 hour week, welfare subsidy increased from $12+/hr gross to $17+/hr gross. I did not vote for this huge increase for welfare recipients. These facts can be backed up by official records, which I will provide. If this is the welfare reform you wanted, vote for my opponent. Other differences in my voting record, based on official records Voting Record Each year approximately 2,500 issues are voted upon. Of those, 95% receive unanamous votes. Here is a sample of my vote on the 5% where differences existed. Hopefully, being informed on the differences will assist in casting your vote. If you don't agree with my voting record, I urge you to vote for my opponent.
Misrepresenting issues during campaigns is all too frequent. Its sad, but there is a law (Government Code 818.8) that allows politicians and public servants to intentionally decieve the public! |
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Created from information supplied by the candidate: October 25, 1998 20:33
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