Mayor Sam Picks Up On Dennis Zine Post

Mayor Sam’s Sister City writes on Friday’s Hotsheet:

Councilman Dennis Zine has earned the ire of some of his constituents who are opposed to the opening of a new Costco store in his District in Woodland Hills. At a community meeting, Zine said to a Neighborhood Council member speaking up against the big-box retailer ““Let me stop you right there. Costco is a done deal. There’s no way I am going to refuse a huge tax base like that for the city.”

For a lively conversation and interesting comments on both sides of the issue visit their site.

With regard to Zine’s comment to Karen Koe, this commenter make a point which closely resembles my own:

Words matter. They are the means we use to communicate. If Zine meant something else, he should have said something else. We have to assume he meant what he said and said what he meant.

Goals matter, too. If a politician’s state goal is to maximize tax revenues, he may create or destroy jobs. He may, for example, decide to raise taxes to raise revenues, and thereby drive employers out of town.

I think it’s fair and reasonable to expect elected officials to whom we pay six-figure salaries to listen to people’s concerns, and to explain the reasons for their decisions.

Zine could have said, for example, that, while he understoond and sympathized with the increased traffic the project would create, he believes that the jobs the project would create make it good for the city as a whole, especially in a recession.

That’s a far cry from “mo money, case closed.”

Popularity: 4%