Thursday, Sept. 7, 2006 | I would like to see either voiceofsandiego.org, or (can you believe it?) the U-T list the amount of money that Sanders has saved thus far in almost a year as mayor, and how much he has cost the taxpayers since taking office. It seems to me he has done nothing but spend, spend, spend and has not cut one position. Let’s see the numbers.
He wants everyone to agree to enact every single one of the 121 remediation items in the Kroll report, regardless of its $45 million plus expense, and regardless of its necessity. What kind of critical thinking and analysis is Sanders making?
It is appearing more and more like Sanders is just a beat cop, who is not capable of making hard decisions and is just running up the tab on the taxpayers as long as the increases give the appearance of his doing something. If this approach is good government, count me out.
We should already have had substantial cuts in positions, salaries, and programs now and into the future. Yesterday we read that every city employee is filling out an ethics questionnaire, to be followed some months later by ethics training for every city employee. What is the expense of all this? And why are rank and file employees being asked to participate when it’s those at the top who have been unethical? How can Sanders condone this expense? It’s because he is just throwing money at anything that gives the appearance of his doing something. The recall petitions should add his name to those of the City Council who got us into this mess. We need someone at the helm of this city who takes action, who saves money, who cuts positions, who reduces the pension deficit, who cuts salaries of the top people, who eliminates programs, who actually fires people who do wrong instead of training them in how to do the right thing.
This city does not need a PR mayor who is in front of a podium and TV cameras every time there is some news about the city. He should be in his office making decisions. This is not a serious mayor. It’s time for a change.