Why I Am A Candidate For The Vista Fire Protection District

By Margarette Morgan

The Lack Of Leadership By The Incumbents Puts Resiednts' Safety At Risk

I have been a resident of San Diego County since 1969 and a resident of the Greater Vista area since 1989. I lived in the City of Vista for 7 years prior to moving to the Vista Fire Protection District area 8 years ago.

My interest in fire safety began with my father who served in the Oregon Department of Forestry as a Firefighter. As a child I learned the fundamental importance of having an evacuation and Fire Safety Plan to protect our family from disaster.

I live in the Elevado neighborhood, which is typical of the rugged, limited access canyons in our District. For a vivid description of the existing Fire Board's failures in the Elevado neighborhood, read Robert Fougner's letter [http://www.vistafire.info/fougner.html]

The lack of any Fire Safety or Emergency Planning in our neighborhoods is inexcusable. The current Board ducks these issues by stating, "they are not a land planning agency". However, the only land planners and property developers in this race are the incumbents themselves. It is ridiculous and hypocritical for them to claim that they are not using the Board for land planning when in fact that is what they do for a living. By making this claim, they are not being honest with the Public.

I too want our home to rise in value with continued improvements and enhancements to our community. But I also want a fire safe community. This means taking the necessary steps now to prevent fires from spreading, and making sure all residents will have timely warning and appropriate plans in place to evacuate safely if a catastrophic fire threatens our community. It is unbelievable to me that our current Fire Board opposes these measures by calling them "land planning".

The incumbent's lack of leadership is demonstrated by:

1. No contract with the City for Fire Service,

2. No Fire Management Plan

3. No public plans or acting upon our safety concerns.

We need new leadership on our Board that puts the Residents interests first. That means facing up to the risks we all share and living up to the Board's responsibility of serving its residents. We need better fire prevention and emergency planning now!