Truth

If she's a puppet who fixes up that corner, everyone in the south side will be very, very happy.

I'm not opposed to the day laborers, because they could probably be convinced to move into a single location to seek work, but the intoxicated people and guys selling fake IDs (and whatever else) are the real problem. They just loiter there, bother people, and don't do anyone any good. That corner's been like that since the 1980s, when Builder's Square opened up. Nothing's been done for 20 years. People leave trash in the landscaping, and in the gutter. It's a mess. How about the city get a couple drunks into AA, and hire them to pick up litter that the "responsible" people throw onto the pavement.

Well, yeah. I (who live in northern Rosemead) spent much of the past election campaign (and the one before it) walking in the south, and they are worlds apart. It was not at all surprising to see Polly - and to a lesser extent, Victor - do so well in the south, which has been worsening and virtually ignored by Jay and Gary for decades. Of course Jay & Gary played very well in the relatively nicer north, where they both live, and focused more of what attention they could be bothered to pay. Hopefully, with four southerners on the council now, she and the other three will get down to serious business and start giving the region, especially the western portion, the attention it needs and deserves.

By the way, we (non-union in my case) who "hate" Wal-Mart also feel that way because it wastes millions of *our* tax dollars, too. Specifically because, as the largest and most profitable retailer on the planet, they pay so badly and provide such horrible medical coverage that a substantial portion of their employees (and around 50% of their employees' children) end up receiving some form of public assistance. Who do you think pays for that? And competing with them has been driving the surviving retailers - remember the grocery strike? - to slash their pay and benefits. And who do you think will ultimately pay for that if the trend continues?

I know that Mike Lewis spent hundreds of thousands of Wal-Mart's dollars to try to persuade you otherwise, but the fact is that the city council can not increase your taxes.  Because of 1978's Prop. 13 and 1996's Prop. 218, any new or increased general city tax requires a majority vote of the people of Rosemead; any special tax increase requires a 2/3 majority vote of the people of Rosemead.  THAT is the truth.

Now, what I want to ask you is this:  "Why did the incumbent's supporters have to rely on lies and distortions in order to retain their seats on the Rosemead City Council?  Why couldn't they just run on their record?"

I would also ask you why you think it's Polly Low's responsibility to clean up San Gabriel and Garvey?  Taylor and Imperial had been in office for thirty years each.  If you're concerned about the conditions of something in the city, why don't you hold THEM accountable for the situation?

[Incidentally, I'm pretty sure the city council can't do anything about day laborers.  City and state governments lack the authority to enforce immigration laws, and the federal and state constitutions effectively guarantee people the right to freedom of association, which the courts have generally interpreted as allowing people who aren't otherwise breaking the law the right to be out on a public street or sidewalk.]

Does anyone else think that maybe there's a sexist or racist undertone to all of this talk about Polly being a "puppet"?  Because it sure seems to be playing off the stereotype that an Asian woman could not possibly have opinions of her own.

But, let's face it:  Polly is a smart, hard-working, highly educated manager of who-knows-how-many employees in a field of business that is dominated by men.  You don't get where she's gotten in life by being a pushover.