Over the past month LMCOG has had the opportunity to meet with each of the five candidates for City Council to discuss their ideas for the future of our City. We appreciate their willingness to meet with us and to serve the citizens of La Mesa should they be elected. A common thread among the candidates is their love for our city and interest in seeing it continue to be a desirable place to live and raise a family. Too, each of them seems able to discuss differences in a civil manner - and when it is necessary to disagree, to do so in an agreeable manner. We trust that the victors, whoever they are, will continue to speak and behave in such a positive way.

      In making our recommendation, we were guided by our founding principles: prioritizing the fiscal challenges the City faces in the coming years, advocating greater openness and transparency in the processes and day-to-day decison making that affects us all, and fostering meaningful public participation to ensure those decisions taken reflect guidance from the bottom up as opposed to being dictated from the top down.

      With these principles in mind, we seek candidates who will be frugal with our tax dollars, who have a demonstrated track record of independence, and, finally, who understand both the responsibilities and limits of being a City Council member.

      While we currently have no policy on term limits, we believe that a turnover of council members is healthy. New people bring fresh energy, ideas and lines of questioning to the management of our City. There is inherent tension between this value and a desire to seek or return those with demonstrated track records, and many will debate as to its relative importance on balance.

The La Mesa Citizen Oversight Group has chosen to endorse a single candidate for the two open seats and recommends Laura Lothian for La Mesa City Council.

LMCOG candidate questionaires and criteria may be found at http://lamesacitizenoversightgroup.wordpress.com/ballot-measures/the-ballot-november-2012/