Polly Low responds to letter writer
Polly Low sent this email to me today. I forwarded it along to our opinion desk, but figured I'd post it, too:
This letter is a response to the inaccuracies written by Mr. Michael A. Saccaro in his letter, New Same as Old (Tribune, March 23, 2008). First, he stated that “It appears from her [Polly Low] comments on the plan that she feels the city is like a doughnut hole…” The facts are that this was a comment made by another council member and I have never made comments that the city is like a doughnut hole. Mr Saccaro’s unfortunate and woeful opinion that we do not have “…any high-rise buildings with mixed uses like other cities do. Therefore, she [Polly Low] voted with Mayor Tran and Councilman Nunez for acceptance of the plan” is based on fiction. I have never stated or even implied such statements. I think it is important for me to clarify that these were not my comments or feelings.
The only fact that appeared correctly in Mr. Saccaro’s letter was that “many speakers spoke for and against the revised general plan”. He is absolutely right. There were residents who spoke for the plan and some that spoke against it. As a council member I recognize that any projects or decisions will have its pros and cons. It is my responsibility to understand the benefits for the city and the concerns of its residents and it is my responsibility to work with staff to mitigate the concerns as we strive for a win-win situation. Sometimes it is easier to not move forward in fear of controversy. People elected me to make policy for the betterment of the city. Not doing what is beneficial to the city in the long run due to fear of controversy is a selfish and cowardly act. In contrary to Mr. Saccaros’s letter, the majority of the council is very interested in listening to both sides of each issue. We do our best to mitigate the concerns while moving the city forward to provide more and better services to the residents.
Polly Low
Rosemead City Council Member
Good job, Polly!
With some people, you just can't win. They holler at you for not listening to them, then they attack you for going to "their" meeting.
With others, you can "resort" to reason. So here's too reason!
And so it begins...the fleecing of Rosemead.....
And so it continues: They think if they keep repeating the same words, people will believe them.
I think that people who have had the city council majority for thirty-plus years should be able to run on their record of accomplishment. Instead, they and their mouthpiece, Pravda, need to attack their enemies rather than support their friends.
You wanna know why Californians support term limits? It's because they see people who spend decades "on the job," yet have so little of consequence to show for it. If I had thirty-four years or even fifteen years on the job, I'd hope there'd be more than just that one store I could point to and say, "That's what I did for Rosemead."
And yet, when I ask Pravda for a list of accomplishments, all we get back are more attacks. Isn't that the best proof there is that her friends have done nothing but filled a seat and cashed a paycheck for decade after decade after decade after decade?
Well Anonymous if you were anything but politically savvy you would know that anyone who takes on a political position gets the short end of the stick no matter what. We as voters elect people (just like us) to help make our cities a better place to live. We hope and pray that they make wise decisions. But as we all see that is not the case. They enter into office do what they must and then their own agendas enter the ugly sceen. I have attened several council meetings in various cities. To be quite honest I find the Rosemead City Council meetings the most entertaining. It is like watching a very bad movie entitled,"What Should I Do as a Councilmember,Once I am There?" Do these new councilmembers read their agendas? Do they even bother to open them? Seems like all the questions they ask are to be found in their own respective agendas. Are they playing "Where's Waldo?" The majority of three play it so well. It is like watching a wrestling tag team. Tran, Nunez and Low are something else. I would encourage all to attend and see for yourselves. In this case actions, tone of voice, votes, and body language speak louder than words.
It really would be nice if more people could see Rosemead's council in action. But, for some reason, the folks who have been in power for thirty-plus years never got around to getting their meetings recorded and available via public access cable.
People really should watch those meetings, but they should also be able to put these things in context. Our Garvey Pool is on the verge of failure, with repairs that will cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Who let this situation develop? Who kept approving band-aid approaches that only let the problem get bigger and bigger, so that now we're stuck with a huge bill?
I agree with you Mr. Garcia. These meeting are unbelieveable. I feel for the other two council members.My hats off to them for sticking it out and doing the job theywere elected to do. Good luck and keep on trucken.
Rosemead has many deferred maintenance problems, and there are no excuses for them. The "new majority" does have some issues but they should be given credit for their concrete efforts to address some of the deferred maintenance that have long been ignored. It is better to try and make mistakes than not do anything at all.
Imagine if all five councilmembers could work togther. What a much better city we would have. Five brains are better than three.