Candidate for
Councilmember; City of Pacific Grove; Full Term

My Fellow Residents of Pacific Grove,

I am a resident and local business owner and I am running for the city council position in November. I have spent 20 years successfully turning around large failing business units in Silicon Valley. Now our city appears to be failing. I would like the opportunity to have a positive effect on the following items for Pacific Grove:

Deficit

• We have a projected budget deficit that will expand each year unless a solution is found quickly. With no stated plan other than raising taxes. Yet, we don't seem to know either how much money we have or where it is.
• We have a system that pays exorbitant retirement benefits for some city employees. Yet we do not have a system that takes care of this beautiful place for the future.
• Our current use of museum and library facilities and personnel seem to be limited and expensive. New ideas should be presented on how to make better use of these city assets or make them less expensive.

• We have built a city hall, a golf clubhouse and restaurant, and subsidized housing on the beach for 48 lucky individuals that are not necessarily current residents. Yet, we have not found the money to make the necessary repairs to our sewers, our roads, our parks and trails.
• We have a system that pays exorbitant benefits for some city employees under contracts that will put a heavy financial burden on our tax payers for future decades. Yet, we do not have a system that takes care of this beautiful place and makes it financially secure for the future.

• We have a large aging forest that needs attention and an aggressive wild animal population, but no plan to manage them.

• Our coastal marine refuge is an irreplaceable treasure that we possess that should be fought for aggressively with a stated city plan for its protection and preservation. Decisions on financially or aesthetically significant items should go to a popular vote. We need to be able to say that we are leaving this wonderful place better off than we found it, without changing its character or charm. I would like to make help this happen.

• The city council continues to make decisions about significant projects for this city without the vote or support of its citizens. Due to these decisions, our infrastructure is struggling and our budget won't balance. I will endeavor to get every significant item to a vote and see that each item has had a due diligence study run on it to make sure that it makes sense, and doesn't change the character of this wonderful place.
• I will listen to the voice of the voters. I will endeavor to make that voice heard in the council. The items that I have listed need attention and focus quickly. I can and will supply both focus and attention on these items if elected.

Sincerely, Loren L. Lauderback