Candidate for
Council Member; City of Galt

• Views On A Good Council

  To be an asset to the Citizens of Galt as a member of the Galt City Council, you need a couple of things going for you to make it possible to do a good job for the other council members an the community. You don't have to be a brain surgeon or a rocket scientest, just a few simple abilities.

• The ability to listen and hear what is said.
• The ability to understand what was said.
• The wisdom to know when to speak and when to be silent
• The ability to keep your composure when other members are lacking in the above.

I have the ability, and I've lost it a few times in the past year and a half, but I had to be provoked pretty hard before I lost it. My nature is to bring solutions when needed, so I keep trying.

• I wish more council members had it!

• Pretty simple, but it's rare to get the right combination on the council.

• The council got along and worked as a team.

Around June, 2001, it all changed. The council went off on separate missions, as separate individuals, with separate agendas. We have not tackled any of the numerous problems facing the City of Galt today. And because of this splintering of the council, and lack of responsible leadership, our legal bills are unbelievable.

• The sewer plant alone will be in excess of $100,000.00 this year.

If I am returned to the council, my dream is to have one new member. One new member that will break the current voting block of the "Three amigos." I am not advocating a new block. Any voting block is bad. But I would hate to leave office knowing that the council I served on was the worst council I have seen in the 20 years I have lived in Galt.

I am one of the easiest going people you will ever meet. I can work with my worst enemy as a rule. I don't hold grudges, I don't believe in revenge, and I actually like working with different people with new ideas. That's the best way to learn and grow.

• That's not what we have now, but it could be with one new council member.

I thought when I was first elected, that at the end of my term, I wouldn't have to worry about reelection. Now, almost four years later, evryone is on somebody's side, except mine. I guess it doesn't matter whether you try or don't try, work with people or don't, it gets down to who has the money, and who has the best spin. Records mean nothing.

It would be nice to leave office after a term of continued accomplishments as a group effort, and not being the baby thrown out with the bath water.

• Worse yet, being reelected with the same group.

• That's a scary thought!

I have worked hard, and I have given more of my energy than most. My record is not a secret to anyone, and I have always told the press what was going on, so that the public would be better informed.

Have I made mistakes? Yes, but if you don't, then you are not involved in the tough issues we are facing.

I have learned from mistakes, and I have learned how the system works. I don't like the system, and I will not be out talking to citizens telling them that I am wonderful and please vote for me, because I can solve all the problems. I can't. It takes a team.

After four years with more heated issues than I can remember, I have always let the public know what I was doing, and I have spent many hours talking on the phone to any concerned citizen that wants to talk to me.

• I wish more citizens would be concerned and call!

• Why I Resigned As Mayor

If it wasn't so ridiculous, I would laugh, but some people are not aware of the facts.

• For The Record

I didn't just wake up that morning and decide. I discussed it with others, and they came to the same conclusion. We agreed it would be the best thing to do for the City of Galt.

It is to detailed to get into here, but if you are concerned, please call me.

At the meeting I resigned as Mayor, I had to fight back tears until the discussion was over. I was backed into a corner, and I had no way out.

Recently, I had to testify over an investigation into council misconduct, and I was asked questions about my resignation, and the emotions came pouring out. Even after a year and a half, I still get upset when I talk about it.

The easiest and most gutless thing to do, would have been to quit the council. And that was an option I discussed with others. But, I was elected to the council, and I felt that quitting was not an option. I could stay and serve on the council, but not as a Mayor that had no control. The others wanted it, and they got it.

It was dificult, and it has remained very hard to attend meetings when you are the minority vote of one, and you are time after time ignored on major issues. And I miss a couple of meetings, and guess what? Anything that is wrong happened because I missed a meeting. My attendance record is probably better than the other long term members. In three and a half years I never missed a meeting. But listen to the stories, and I hardly show up at all.

Since the special election in March, it has gotten much better. I am at least in a minority of two, and we see the same problems, and we are committed to get our city out of the mess we are in right now.

Please call me if you have any questions. You may not always agree with my views, but they will be what I truly believe, and I will always listen to someone that has a better idea than mine.

There are some good candidates running this time, and if they are elected, they will do a good job. But again, for the record, I don't think anyone can try harder than I have to put the time and effort into doing the rigth thing for Galt. And I am waiting to see if that matters at all.

I have been beat up more than once for bucking the system, but that's the way I am, and that's the way I will be.

You will never get " Political Hype" from me to get reelected. That's not my style.

I have said from the day I was elected, many times during me very trying times and tough votes,

• "I would rather lose an election for doing what I believed to be right, than to win a reelection based on bad votes and lies."

• 745-3517

• 745-1439

• Or e-mail me at:
• danpills@inreach.com