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Post by not good news on Jan 7, 2005 19:52:05 GMT -8
 It's on the Azusa online web site, it happend yesterday, but it says he should be OK. But if you want to read what happened, go to www.azusaonline.com, click on 'azusa news' and there's a head line for it there.
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Post by Jennier on Jan 8, 2005 11:06:14 GMT -8
I'm very sorry to hear that. We hope that he and his family have a quick recovery. We are also appreciative that he is still running for the city council.
As for the other people running for city council and mayor, it would be nice to hear what the differences are between them.
Did they support the Monrovia Project?
What are they going to do to get the downtown and Foothill Center developed into successful shopping districts?
Did they support the development of Mountain Cove?
How aggressive are they going to be in turning this city into a city that is at least as nice as the cities around it?
What would be their main objectives while in office?
What are their political backgrounds?
What are their primary concerns for this city?
Do they support Starbucks coming into the downtown?
What do they think about he gun club issue?
What more can the city do to support the school district?
What can be done to deal with the traffic along Foothill during rush hour?
How important is it to you for the city to have a balanced budget?
Well, those are some of the most important questions to me that would tell me a lot about what direction they want to take the city.
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Post by story on Jan 8, 2005 11:49:49 GMT -8
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Post by McLite on Jan 8, 2005 12:30:47 GMT -8
Well Jennifer those questions might be for another thread that isn't about Mr. Rocha's car accident.....
But if you don't mind, I'm gonna repost your questions on the A(zusa)OL (lol!) boards to see if I can get any other non-MC residents to respond..... I'm not sure if anyone else but us knows about that site yet, though. I'd like to for us to get more engaged with all of Azusa, but it's kind of a ghost town as far as the message boards go, and the only people I've seen post there are mostly ones I've seen on this board too.... (That kid really needs to do some publicity!) By the way, there was a link to the Tribune story added to their article too, but the AzOL story has contact info for Rocha if anyone wants to send him a get well note.
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Post by Uriel Macias on Jan 10, 2005 16:11:40 GMT -8
I too wish Joe Rocha a quick and speedy recovery. He is a huge asset to us in Azusa. However, I don't think he'll be down for long. He is very resourceful.
As far as Jennier's questions. I will be glad to answer them as your current city treasurer and candidate for mayor.
1. Yes, I was instrumental in drafting the development agreement, which in my opinion is one of the best I've ever seen. This is the agreement that sets the fees to be paid to the city for the development. A big coup on this was the transfer of the water rights. We stand to gain big by having acquired this. Credit for this goes to Joe Hsu, Director of utilities.
2. We are currently in the process of issuing Tax Allocation Bonds (TAB's) which is basically borrowing money that is tied into our sales tax revenue stream. These funds will allow us to have the resources to re-develop our downtown, Foothill Shopping Center, and other areas. This in no way will increase taxes to our residents.
3. Yes, I was instrumental in helping draft the CFD bonds which made it possible to build out the infrastructure to, in turn, build the Mountain Cove homes.
4. I grew up in Azusa and moved to Miami after college for one year. I chose to come back to the place I considered home. I have seen all of the nice things that the surrounding cities have done and we have been left behind. We have been on the outside looking in. Enough is enough. I will be very aggressive and persistent in bringing us into the 21st century. We need to have options for shopping, business, housing, and entertainment. I will work had to give you, the residents, options.
5. My main objective in office will be to be a "bridge builder". In other words, I believe the mayor has to not only lead but to be able to bring all opposing sides together and come to a resolution on any matter. This includes the council, staff, and residents. This will allow us to move forward and work on these progressive projects without the usual conflict which has stalled us for many years.
6. My political background is community based. I have been the elected city treasurer for four years and I am very involved in the community. I was also the chairman of the tax reform committee and spearheaded a "belt tightening" at the city. In so doing, we avoided having to raise taxes for our residents; of which I am adamantly opposed to.
I do not consider myself a "politician". I am a businessman. I have a degree in finance and am currently a CFO for a large corporation in Ontario and Riverside. I am non-partisan because I believe there is no room for partisan politics in Azusa. We are elected to represent everyone - not just one party or the other.
I am free of any special interests and non-biased when it comes to Azusa policies other than I want what's best for Azusa.
7. My primary concerns for Azusa are re-development, public safety, education, and quality of life.
8. I support the second proposed Starbucks, as I did the first one. I believe they will be a strong anchor tenant for our downtown. However, I do not agree with the way it is being handled. It was done through a no bid contract and we are subsidizing a huge portion of it when we could have saved ourselves a lot of money just by having gone out for bids on the development instead of giving it to an ex-employee of the City's.
We waited a long time to do something like this and we should do it right!
9. The gun club issue, in my opinion, was mishandled. They deserved a little more respect than what they received. However, the residents of Azusa need to make decisions for Azusa. I support the relocation of the gun club with adequate time and help (not necessarily monetary) from the City.
10. The City and Azusa Unified School District need to have a "partnership" and pool resources to best serve the children of this City. There is no reason they cannot continue to help with certain issues like the crossing guards and there is no reason we cannot help them with items they need help with.
11. Traffic is a major concern and we need to take a more regional approach to this problem. We need to get the attention of our State, County, and Federal legislators to help us with this. There is no easy solution to this but one thing that will help is the extension of the gold line. We need to make sure we get one and possibly two station stops in Azusa.
12. As City Treasurer I was beating the drum, along with Diane Chagnon, for a balanced budget and for us to "live within our means" throughout the last three years of our budget crisis. This is something that will surface again next budget year. We need long term solutions of fiscal responsibility.
I hope this has helped. If you have any other questions please e-mail me at:
umacias@ci.azusa.ca.us
or call me at:
626-812-5252
I will get back to you as soon as possible.
Your neighbor,
Uriel Macias
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