Comments on: Fremont: Khan for Council

By: bbox321

bbox321 — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 05:19:49 +0000

Maybe we should apologize to Mr. Khan here – I feel like we’re using his “thread” to discuss Mr. Bacon’s position(s).

But – with that in mind, I encourage Mr. Khan (or any of the other prospective council members) to join in the conversation and I hope they all feel free to post their respective positions on the issues mentioned earlier.

By: bbox321

bbox321 — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 05:16:05 +0000

Vinnie -

Thanks for the timely and thoughtful comments on the A’s development. I encourage all city residents to review your comments, whether or not they choose to vote.

Mr. Bacon puts forth, in relatively few words, a fair and balanced representation of the trade-offs that sit on the margins of this important decision.

I, for one, am impressed with Bacon’s ability to, in realtively few words, make this highly complex issue approachable by most electorate. His balanced views and careful positioning of contrasting considerations is a breath of fresh air and contrasts sharply with the hyperbole and obfuscation that I feel has surrounded public discussion of this issue to date. Thank you, Vinnie.

I appreciate your comments on tax projections. If, as you suggest – these are fairly predictable, how do you rationalize the seeming wild swings in position by City Managment – one minute driving for a tax measure under the auspices of insufficient tax revenue and the next minute declaring a relative surplus ??

By: Vinnie Bacon

Vinnie Bacon — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 05:40:13 +0000

Here’s a link to my position paper on the A’s.

http://www.bacon2008.com/ballpark.html

I have position papers on redevelopment and crime on my web site in the next day or two. I’ve written about the City’s burglar alarm policy on my comments page (June 24).

The pension issue is a tough one. We need to make sure our employee benefits are in line with other nearby cities. Overall, we need policies that will help our city’s finances for the long term. For example, we can’t allow continued development that won’t pay for itself in the long run. We also need strong, conservative fiscal policies.

Tax projections are fairly predictable for property taxes. Sales taxes vary more with the economy. This is relevant to the A’s as the property taxes would go mainly to the Redevelopment Agency and the sales tax would go to the General Fund. We can only pay for police and fire services from the General Fund.

Good questions! THANKS!!

Vinnie

By: Coyote Bill

Coyote Bill — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 18:18:43 +0000

Hey Bbox, Fremont Bill sends his greetings

Vinnie Bacon will have his position paper on the A’s and Cisco field on his website today or very soon.
I believe on his website He is listing all the position papers He is in the process of writing.
http://bacon2008.com/
You need to check his website to find out what a really good guy He is. You can also leave comments on his website.
This is a grass roots campaign. Vinnie is accepting no donations from Developers, so we are depending on grass roots small donations.
I am a volunteer on his campaign committee. Vinnie has no paid staff members or consultants. We are all volunteers.

By: bbox231

bbox231 — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 23:29:24 +0000

Hey Coyote Bill – thanks for the tip on Vinnie. I could like this guy a whole bunch. But, I need some positions on some difficult issues – here’s a few I would really like to hear his thoughts on – Fremont Redevelopment, development of Cisco Stadium/A’s, how to keep public employee pensions/costs in line with private sector, how do we obtain accurate projections of city tax (and other) revenues, residential alarm policy – how could we turn this denial of service to constituency into a revenue-producing opportunity for the city ? – just for starters.

By: Jon Simon

Jon Simon — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 17:42:15 +0000

Newark has a huge tax base from the mall. Fremont’s lack of retail kill’s its budget. If a worthwhile deal is cut, a stadium would directly bring more tax money in that the cost of police and other services. Then there would be a bonus from people using Fremont businesses when heading to and from the game.

By: worble

worble — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 14:40:53 +0000

NO TO THE A’S IN FREMONT!!!!!!

By: Gregg Maloof

Gregg Maloof — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 13:12:17 +0000

On the As moving to Fremont. What a rediculous idea! Our traffic is already a nightmare. Will the proceeds go the the City of Fremont, or will they line the pockets of the wealthy group of people looking for taxpayer handouts to fund their new stadium? Are we to become the next ‘Oakland crime center’? Look at the areas around any sports stadium in the country. They are disgusting, completely paved, and over run with low income housing. I for one am dead set against the idea of the As coming here unless some safeguards are put in place to ensure the quality of surrounding neighborhoods and the fair distribution of profits is worked out.

By: Gregg Maloof

Gregg Maloof — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 13:03:10 +0000

I have noticed a lack of community sponsered activities for young people in this city. How is it that Newark, a poorer city by my standards, has erected a wonderful civic center, while the best Fremont can do is try to beef up it’s police force to chase the growing number of misdirected kids on the streets at night. I hear their sirens trying to chase criminals out of the bushes. Where are the active community security patrols, where are the mandated fines for parents who can’t control their children, where are the centers for youth after school activities? This is the kind of stuff we need; not newly paved roads around the Hub trying to impress the Starbucks crowd.

By: Doug

Doug — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 14:39:09 +0000

Thanks Walter. Very helpful info. I’m bookmarking this site.