Communities become cities for a reason - to provide better services to their residents.
Through these relationships I have been part of alliances supporting the widening of Highway 4, the designation of Vasco Road at Highway 84 and the Byron Highway as Highway 239.
The 19 cities in our county now realize that we need to pay attention to Sacramento and become proactive in reviewing legislation. The East Bay Division has since taken positions on bills in the State Senate and Assembly. Our legislators now know that they are being watched and have actively sought our input on proposed legislation.
Recently there was a push to force "smart growth" on the cities by a coalition of special interest groups. What those special interest groups neglected to recognize is that high density housing may be fine for San Francisco and Oakland, but it is not what our residents want.
People want the American Dream - a single family detached house; not social engineering into high density housing.
The State needs to respect that each city should be unique. We need to promote regional cooperation; not regional government.
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