Disclaimer: The comments in this blog are my personal opinion and may or may not reflect an adopted position of the city of Glendale and its city council.
Some candidates can’t help but run a negative bashing campaign and it looks like this Lupe is one of them. Recently he posted a video attacking his opponent, Incumbent Councilmember, and current Vice Mayor Ian Hugh.
The video had 3 themes. The first was that Vice Mayor Hugh is too old and out of touch. Let’s take a deeper dive into this allegation. The Vice Mayor is 70 years old. I am 82 years old. The last time I ran I was 78 years old. Age is not the determining factor. It’s mental competency. Vice Mayor Hugh is mentally sharp, and he is in very good physical condition. At 82 I am as sharp mentally as ever but physically, my legs are failing me.
Keep in mind that the majority on City Council comprised of Mayor Weiers, Councilmember Hugh, Councilmember Malnar and me, despite the constant opposition of wanna-be mayor Aldama and Councilmembers Tolmachoff and Turner, have moved Glendale forward in many positive ways. We have a Pavement Management Program designed to keep every road in Glendale in good condition on a rotating schedule. We have started a years long program to upgrade every park in Glendale. We have also instituted a multi-year program to improve the landscaping in every right-of way.
We have embarked on a 3-year program to renovate City Hall, Council Chambers, the Amphitheater and Murphy Park. This city investment in downtown Glendale has spurred developers to invest in downtown. Soon you will see a Hilton Hotel under construction in downtown to name but one major, private investment.
Look at Westgate with a nearly one billion dollar investment in the VAI Resort and Mattel Adventure Park. The city owned arena, Desert Diamond, is earning higher revenues than ever before. Bell Road corridor is thriving and continues to reinvent itself to remain relevant and successful. The “New Frontier,” the Loop 303, is still exploding with new growth. Witness the latest company to invest in the area, Amazon. We have grown nearly 24,000 jobs in the area.
Age is simply not a factor. Mental acuity is. To borrow a quote from the late President Reagan who was 74 in 1984 when he ran for President, “I am not going to exploit, for political purposes, my opponent’s youth and inexperience.”
At the bidding of Worker Power, who has real heartburn about the VAI Resort, Conchas threw in the proposed city-owned parking garage at Westgate as his second theme. He and Worker Power contend the public parking garage is not needed. Not so. There is not much land left in the Westgate area and as surface parking continues to disappear as new buildings are constructed, the need for public parking becomes greater. If we want Westgate to continue to thrive and grow, thereby earning more sales tax dollars for Glendale to be used for the benefit of you, the residents of Glendale it becomes more and more critical to have adequate parking in the area.
Conchas’ last theme in his video was to accuse the Vice Mayor of allowing schools in Glendale to close. What planet is Conchas on? Obviously, he doesn’t know that the Glendale City Council has no authority over school districts and their school boards. Nada. None. This demonstrates how ill informed he is about what a councilmember does.
There is nothing the Vice Mayor can do about the school districts’ policies regarding school closures or anything else school related. Yet Conchas has said, he is “focused on addressing the basic needs of students.” He wants to, “increase school funding at the State Legislature, support teachers, advocate for pay increases, reduce class sizes, and educate the whole child.” That’s fine. He’s also running for the Alhambra School Board. That seems to be his priority. If you agree with him, then you will vote for him for that position…not Glendale City Council.
It’s time for Conchas to stop playing in the mud. Let’s hear what his priorities are as a city council candidate. Haven’t seen or heard anything? That’s because he hasn’t offered anything.
But that’s what you can expect from a Progressive Democrat, Marxist candidate.
© Joyce Clark, 2024
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