Issues Statement

By Fred M. Whitaker

Local government's central purpose is ensuring people are secure in their homes and in public and my vote as your councilman will be guided by that conviction. Our police and firefighters must always receive the moral and material support they need to effectively do their jobs. Due to budget woes, the city has numerous front line Police and Fire positions vacant. There are now actually fewer men and women in uniform on the street during the late 1980's + even though we are a more populous city. We need the courage to make hard choices. We need to reorganize our spending priorities to ensure we have enough men and women on the street to protect our lives, property and freedom.

Government Accountability/Fiscal Responsibility

I propose following the example of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and initiate an Orange Performance Review, pulling together talented and public-spirited Orange citizens and city staff to perform a top-to-bottom review of city operations. The mission of the Orange Performance Review will be to "blow up the boxes" and recommend ways Orange city government can be restructured to deliver better services more efficiently and at a lower cost. These are difficult times financially for state and local government, and we cannot afford to be lax or careless with taxpayers dollars. I will work to find new and more innovative ways for city government to achieve its goals at less cost, such as expanding privatizations efforts and public-private partnerships, and streamlining city operations

Taxes

It is the sacred duty of elected officials to guard the taxpaying public from the tendency of the government + be it local, state or federal + to grab an ever larger share of the people's money. I believe Americans are overtaxed as it is, and I will do everything in my power as your councilman to ensure that the City of Orange does not contribute to the problem. If anything, city government should constantly be seeking ways to lighten the tax burden on its citizens.

Business Climate

Business activity is the lifeblood that supports the city's public safety, infrastructure, and recreational services. For more than 25 years, state government has grabbed the lion's share of our local property taxes. The most recent budget deal means Sacramento will take even more for at least the next two years. This means the sales tax, business license tax, and permits are now the main source of revenue to the City.

Whether it is reopening City Hall on Fridays so people can pull permits, being more willing to accept increased hours of operation requested by a business, streamlining the permit application process, or being friendlier to "special events and sales", the City needs to be more open for business. Even if a business does not generate sales tax, it does create jobs that enable people to shop and spend in our community. I am the only candidate who has served on the board of the Orange Chamber of Commerce and the Economic Development Partnership. I have worked to attract and retain business in Orange as a private citizen, and will continue to do so as a Councilmember.

Parks & Recreation

A good parks system and active city recreation programs are integral to the quality of life that makes Orange such a great place to live. While Orange has many great parks, we still are still well short of the state's recommended ratio of 3 acres of parkland for every 1,000 residents.

I realize that in an established city such as Orange, opportunities to acquire parkland are limited. However, as your councilman I will work to maximize the amount of parkland in the city's inventory + especially additional sports facilities to meet the recreational needs of our city's youth and active adults.

We need to be more creative in our thinking to solve this issue. I reject suggestions that we issue bonds, borrowing against our children's future, to obtain park land. We are better and smarter than that.

For instance, our local school district has many acres of under utilized land. Private/public partnerships could convert much of this land "joint use" facilities at a fraction of the cost. The city should also seek the assistance of private organizations that issue grants or donate land.

City leadership needs to think "outside the box". These creative solutions are already working in small ways. For example, Orange Little League leases under-utilized land from the school district and maintains the fields with volunteers -- at no cost to taxpayers. The Orange YMCA also just installed a new public playground with the help of private grants and volunteers. With the right leadership, I'm confident our city can work with the Community Foundation, the Orange sports leagues, and the myriad of community organizations to harness their time, talent and resources to bring more parks and facilities to Orange.