By Jan J. Bilson

I'm calling for responsible and truly supervised growth and an end to the "sardine syndrome" of development being forced upon us by the housing industry and politicians who salivate at the prospects of more tax revenues.

I believe in honesty and openness in a City Government answerable solely to the people. I support preservation of the environment and would like to see campaign finance reform to limit contributions and expenditures in City elections.

Age: 47, born Feb. 17, 1955 Occupation: Property Caretaker, after 21 years in the film industry Background: shop steward, 12 1/2 years service on Executive Board of Local 174 as

Trustee, Vice President and 4 1/2 years as President

Issues:

Representation

The basic need of residents to be heard, not just for input, but when they have complaints, is not a main concern of our current City Council members. Time after time residents inform me that their calls and e-mails go unanswered. My background in representing the people I worked with means I'm not here to represent big business, special interests or political partisans. I'm looking to establish a City Government that is answerable solely to the people, and their needs.

Water pollution

The perchlorate contamination in the Saugus Formation is our most serious issue. Because it is not as visible a problem as growth, traffic congestion and our school deficit, it receives the least attention. The local water agency has downplayed its seriousness because of special interests whose future depends on a clean and plentiful water supply in order to do more construction. The agency is doing now, the kind of preparation and work it should have conducted five years ago when the contamination was first discovered.

Growth

The "Sardine Syndrome" of growth we're experiencing is patterned after that of the San Fernando Valley with one overlooked reality. The San Fernando Valley is laid out in a grid system with repeated North-South and East-West streets to distribute their traffic flow. Our topography presents a unique environment in which we have a handful of main roads that are now overburdened by their tributaries. This fact has been overlooked, or has been compromised by politicians looking for more tax revenues and a housing industry that has no real supervision.

Porta Bella

Lawsuits don't clean pollution. The lawyers are getting fat on this one while the City is dictating to a remediation company how it should go about cleaning a brownfield. Negotiation rather than litigation would be the best way to solve this problem, but our local politicians have been influenced by a major local land developer who doesn't want competition. Three major roads, including Via Princessa, which would be a second, true cross valley connector, pass through Porta Bella and would make a significant contribution to relieving congestion at Bouquet and Soledad.

Valley/Calgrove gate: Emergency Medical, Police and Fire Officials were correct. This public road leading to a freeway off ramp should be open to all residents.

Diaper recycling program: $250,000 of taxpayer money spent on a program that has failed in the previous (only) three cities where it has been tried. This money was spent without the knowledge of the costs required to maintain the program, which hauler would participate or additional fees incurred.