FOUR YEARS AGO, ONLY THE INCUMBENTS RAN FOR OFFICE...

By L. "Jason" Moreno

FOUR NEW CHALLENGERS HAVE STEPPED FORWARD TO REPRESENT THE CITIZENS OF HAYWARD, FOR A CHANGE.

Four years ago, only the current incumbents ran for their positions on the Hayward city council. Such was the general malaise that exists even now among our citizens. This year, four challengers have stepped forward to champion the causes of every day citizens before those of "special interest groups". I AM AMONG THOSE FOUR.

I oppose the city manager and city council's practice of discouraging citizen's participation such as the "secret" budget meeting of October 1998, that only two members of the public were able to locate; the moving of "Public Comments" at city council meetings to the end. In stead, I would promote more openness and greater participation by our citizens by having "Public Comments" at the beginning and at the end of city council meetings and the posting of the minutes of public meetings on the Internet. I would oppose the eviction of any person from city council meetings without good cause.

I oppose the current 3 day, 12 ½ hour shifts for police officers that has proven to be such a detriment and waste of resources. With the election of the four challengers, I feel confident of a return to "common sense" policing in Hayward that will make more officers available for patrol and save millions of dollars. I also support requiring new police and fire fighters live within a 30 minute response time from their headquarters as a condition of employment. Such a policy would begin to bring our safety net of Public Safety personnel closer to Hayward plus the tremendous wealth of our city in the form of public safety wages currently being lost to far away counties such as Sacramento and Calavares Counties. As of June 1999, only 18 police officers and 8 firefighters live in Hayward.

Finally, I oppose city council decisions approving the destruction of "open space", e.g. the approval of the South of 92 development, and, the deterioration of our quality of life, e.g. the location of the mega-store, Home Depot near residential areas. I co-authored the Home Depot referendum to give our citizens a chance to voice their opinion on this project. I have represented senior citizens, people living on a fixed income, and others against landlords and their attorneys under the Hayward Rent Control Ordinance winning thousands of dollars in refunds and rent reductions for landlord violation of the Ordinance.

I am asking for your support for all of the challengers.

My Sincere Thanks, Jason Moreno