Final District 7 candidate Gary Ettl speaks

I've had some trouble getting in touch with Gary Ettl, the final district 7 candidate who did not fund-raise, and missed several council forum events. But today he gave me a call and assured me that his campaign is active.

Ettl did differentiate himself from other candidates in his stance on issues, saying he does not favor the completion of the 710 extension, whether it is a tunnel or not. He also downplayed traffic problems and other issues on the Westside of the district.

"There is no support for the area east of Lake Avenue," said Ettl, accusing the other candidates of ignoring the eastern part of the city. There is at least some validity to the point, I think, which I attribute to the fact that most of the people that are actively involved in city affairs are further to the west of the city. All of the neighborhoods that organized community forums, for example, were in the west of the district. Under those circumstances, it is to be expected that it would get more attention.

Ettl's main issues about the eastern part of the district seem to be mostly focused on traffic and parking around Pasadena City College, which really is terrible. He also believes that college police and security is overzealous about pulling cars over, or pursuing cars, outside of the campus and immediate area. It did sound, however, like he may have had an ax to grind with PCC on this issue.

Ettl also mentioned high speed limits and traffic problems on San Gabriel Boulevard.