eVoter Profile of Laura Lothian Candidate 2010 California General Election

My opponent has been on La Mesa City Council for 30 years, the last 20 as mayor. In his first run for mayor, he promised "to do something about crime in La Mesa." Two decades later, La Mesa consistently ranks in the top two or three cities in San Diego County with the highest crime rate.

In 2010, we are the city with the highest crime rate in the county. He is either in denial regarding crime, and a problem cannot be fixed until it is admitted to, or he diminishes its importance in a bid to save his job. Whatever he is is or isn't doing, it is not working.

In addition to high crime, La Mesa suffers the 2nd highest property tax base, the 2nd highest sales tax and the 3rd highest pension burden in the county. This year, the mayor voted to reduce the pension benefits collecting age from 60 to 55! Who retires at 55? Social security is now at 67 - a full 12 years older than the age La Mesa city employees can collect their benefits. This is a recipe for paying two employees for one post and a financial disaster for La Mesa.

To put it in perspective. This year La Mesa paid $4,300,000 toward pensions (12% of our entire budget) and $176,000 toward street cleaning (and it shows). The pension problem isn't on the horizon, it's here. Citizens are paying for but not receiving basic vital services. And with votes like the current mayor's vote this year, it's going to get a lot worse.

La Mesa has a choice this election between a three-decade career politician and a from-the-private-sector but civic-minded, successful businesswoman.

I have had my real estate offices in La Mesa since 2002. Regardless of the economy, I've been fortunate that my real estate business thrives. Marketing and commerce skills coupled with high ethics and non-stop drive, the foundations for my success, would be the disciplines I'd bring to the mayor's post.

The first step to getting La Mesa going in the right direction is to clean house figuratively: replace the five-term mayor with a person driven to improve the city and the opposite of complacent and literally: clean up the trash and graffiti that is demoralizing, depressing real estate values, engendering people and businesses to move from our city not to our city, and very likely contributing to high crime.

Please log on to www.LaMesaLaura.com and look at my "To Do" list. It spells out my concrete objectives and plans of action that will decrease crime, improve our image, and raise revenue, not through taxation, but by exciting business ideas and implementation!