Setting the Escondido record straight

By: Ed Gallo - Commentary | Sunday, May 6, 2007 7:43 PM PDT ∞

Tania Bowman, president of the Escondido Democratic Club, wrote in this forum where she lambasted the current condition of Escondido and its council ("Escondido worse off than it appears," April 29). I will now give you the correct information.

The $16.5 million was and is not a gift to a hotel developer. It is an investment in the future of Escondido. If Ms. Bowman had researched the hotel project, and all the other issues she posted, she would know that this investment is paid back over time. She criticized the city for taking two years to begin construction on a public safety facility. Perhaps we should have contacted her first, as she must know shortcuts in engineering, design and wading through bureaucratic agencies. Her same illogical comments regarding the new fire station deserves the same response.

She states our wastewater facility is at capacity. False. The original outfall pipe was built decades ago and needs to be expanded. The length was mandated to be increased another mile in the early 1990s, and Escondido undertook the reclaimed water project, which was to recycle and conserve water and to reduce the amount of flow to the ocean. This is environmentally sound and I would hope even she would have sensitivity toward our environment.

She stated she is against "new residential housing." New housing is but one element in improving the quality of life for our citizens as we work to eliminate the illegal overcrowding. Additionally, her comments about privatization is totally off base, for as fiscal conservatives, the council should look to privatization wherever there are taxpayers' savings.

No one owns this City Council. Throughout the region this council is known as one that works together for the betterment of Escondido and its citizens. Other cities are impressed by what is occurring in Escondido. For her to say "the middle class no longer has a voice in City Hall" is vitriolic, ill-conceived and irresponsible.

I do, however, agree with her on two points, which are "democracy is not a spectator sport" and "silence will be costly." To this end, the council reaches out to the community to fill 99 positions on 13 boards and commissions. The council must and does address quality-of-life issues such as illegal immigration, overcrowding, gangs and graffiti.

Escondido has some of the finest family-oriented events in the county, such as the largest Christmas Parade, the best cruise night in the U.S.A., Grape Day celebration, the second largest Street Faire in the state, the only Niki de Saint Phalle exhibit in the United States, top-notch youth sports programs and facilities. Add the best-equipped and -trained police and fire departments in the county, dependable public utilities and a community of involved and dedicated volunteers, and the list goes on with the betterments we all enjoy in Escondido.

Conclusion: "The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they are ignorant: It's just that they know so much that isn't so." ---- Ronald Reagan.

Ed Gallo is an Escondido city councilman and president of the Escondido Republican Club.

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