Lemon Grove at the Crossroads

By Thomas E. "Tom" Clabby

A small city like ours still has all of the responsibilities and needs of a big city. Leadership, budgetary smarts and vision are key to fulfilling both in Lemon Grove.

REALITIES: Today, many professional offices are gone, small businesses and car dealerships are struggling, and our beloved school district faces stringent budgets long-term. Yet, our citizens still love Lemon Grove and its small-town, friendly atmosphere. The citizen volunteerism that I know so well because Dona and I have been part of that for nearly 60 years,is a major strength of Lemon Grove, and has been for over a century.

But, as we all know, good intentions and volunteerism don't pave streets, build sidewalks, remove blight and protect life and property. During my 14 years on the LG City Council, we bought equipment so that we could accomplish many Public Works tasks like paving and pothole repair. We cut the number of employees and furloughed others, to save money. We required employees to pay more into their pensions. We shuttered City Hall on Fridays (thank goodness it's back open two Fridays a month).

Some have called for firing even more public employees and eliminating key departments like Parks & Rec and Community Services. I disagree. Remember, we're firing skilled, valuable human beings with lives and families--these are employees our residents have come to know and trust. With a population of some 25,400 residents and only 50+ public employees to serve them, Lemon Grove is hardly a "wasteful spender."

VISION: I believe that without beauty in the landscape and built environment, without cultural amenities like our beautiful Parsonage Museum and the H. Lee House Cultural Center (with their FREE resources for local residents), our quality of life would be far less--and our reputation in the wider world will be reduced. Many of you know how I fought for a new library for Lemon Grove and what a joy it was to craft a design for this vital institution--only to have our bond effort defeated by just over 300 votes in 2004. But we'll get our library yet! Today, I'm proud to serve on the Prop W Citizens Oversight Committee on the plans to build a new joint use library on the campus of Lemon Grove Middle School. THIS WILL HAPPEN--BELIEVE IT!

I look forward to the months and years ahead, serving the city I love. Please join me in this effort.