A view on candidate qualifications I read...

A view on candidate qualifications

I read in one of the elementary school board candidate profiles

that having children in district schools is an important

qualification. Does this make the candidate more qualified than other

candidates who have had children in district schools but whose

children are now older? If this was a defining qualification, then

there wouldn’t be many candidates over 40 so uniquely qualified. How

many on the current school board can say that?

I certainly wouldn’t limit my choices to current parents only,

especially since they may not have the leadership skills or

experience to be effective.

Another ballyhooed qualification is “fiscal conservatism.” Too

many candidates don’t understand financial policies or budget

analyses, and yet say they are “fiscal conservatives.” Saying you are

something doesn’t make it so, and doesn’t mean you know what you are

talking about in the first place.

For example, in the Ocean View School District, the fiscally

conservative move regarding the disposition of its Bolsa Chica parcel

would be to declare it surplus property to remove a $46,000 annual

tax burden and to position it for a $12.3 million sale to the state.

Not doing so would be fiscally irresponsible and not “conserving”

resources for the district.

In addition, not selling the unneeded property to bring badly

needed revenue into a cash-strapped district would similarly be

irresponsible. Reports from all responsible administrative and legal

sources bear this out.

It is time to quit playing the “kid” card or the “conservative”

card and concentrate on playing the “report” card in doing what is

right in running our local school boards.

TIM GEDDES

Huntington Beach

City needs to be careful with money

In regard to this sports complex, where the city paid somebody

almost a million dollars and did not seem to get the product that it

bought. As far as I’m concerned, the city should go after that guy

and the city should also put the people in jail that signed that

check or approved it: either the City Council or the Planning

Commission, or whoever is responsible for signing those checks.

Because any fool knows that you don’t give money away until you

get your product, or at least a portion of it.

DONALD LIMBOCKER

Huntington Beach

I don’t understand why Huntington Beach, a city this size, cannot

figure out how to hire contractors that aren’t being sued by other

entities. This is just horrendous. That whole sports complex was way

over the cost basis, anyway and it should’ve never been built.

People wanted a small softball field, or something, and here we’ve

got this how-many-million-dollar ridiculous situation that we can’t

even finish now. The city is out almost a million dollars that

they’ve paid to this guy. This is just nonsense. The whole City

Council should be totally tarred and feathered for this. And anybody

that is involved in this -- I don’t know: the city attorney. They

should all be just sued for throwing away our money. This is

ridiculous.

PAMELA BUROS

Huntington Beach

The city should definitely work diligently on reclaiming the money

spent for the sports complex that the developer apparently has

embezzled. We should spend all the effort possible and have his

personal assets seized and so-forth: that money belongs to us.

And, indeed, on future dealings with these types of contractors,

there’s hardly a case where city governments are unable, or unwilling

or do not pay contractors, so therefore, it makes no sense to pay any

advance fees and we should work with organizations that have

sufficient capital to order the supplies and needed materials so that

they don’t need to be paid any advance fees until the job is

completed.

DAVID PLANTE

Huntington Beach

Condo owners should pick up tab

I believe the condo controversy is a terrible scam that’s coming

down on these people. They should’ve never been exposed to that to

begin with. And I believe that if it wasn’t people who are deeply

involved in our city government that these homeowners wouldn’t be

responsible for that. If I was a person who illegally converted

apartments to condominiums, they would probably want to see me put in

jail, so it’s not fair that people who are the victims have to pick

up the huge tab -- it should be the people who did the illegal

conversions.

ARNOLD YAKLEY

Huntington Beach

Needs to be more accountability

I believe that it would be very important to investigate who is

responsible for spending taxpayers’ money, and who’s accountable

after it’s spent.

As an example the sports complex. Someone authorized that

expenditure of that money up front, which pretty much all homeowners

know never to do that. So there’s something fishy going on, in my

opinion, and I would like to see the candidates address the issue

that there should be an outside investigation going on that sports

complex deal. So it would be good if they spoke on accountability in

the city government so that there would be a lot less waste for the

citizens of Huntington Beach.

ROSEMARY COWELL

Huntington Beach