Good Fits for City Council


Mraz, Courtemanche good fits for City Council

By Kelvin Wade
October 21, 2009 4:50PM

It's hard to go wrong choosing among the candidates for Fairfield City Council for the two available seats. We have some great candidates.

The first person I'd consider voting for is John Mraz. It was Matt Garcia who encouraged me to meet with John. Matt encouraged me to see the man behind the caricature.

The criticism I hear about Vice Mayor Mraz is mostly style rather than substance.
Yes, he rubs people the wrong way. Yes, he's the type of guy who'll tell you the dress makes you look like a hippo but that's because if you ask his opinion, you're going to get it.

He walks the walk. He pushed for a youth center. He supported a gang injunction. He's been a hardliner when it's come to local crime. And the results speak for themselves.

You want a curmudgeon in office especially during financially lean times. In Mraz, you'll have a public servant who will keep public safety at the forefront of the budget but will keep a watchful eye over how our money is spent.

While he has earned his reputation for prickliness, I know he's the type of guy you can call up and say, 'John, I have a problem' and he's going to listen and if he can, he's going to help you. He's the pitbull you want on your side.

Teresa Courtemanche would be an excellent asset to the community and lift the city's profile as our newest council member.

In politics there is a long history of relatives pursuing the political aims of their departed loved ones. Who better to pursue their loved ones' goals than someone who knew them best?

As part of a family victimized by local violent crime, Courtemanche brings a different perspective to the crime issue. While Teresa seeks justice for victims of violent crime, at the same time she empathizes with parents of murdered gang members. While I've tended to focus on those parents as just being part of the problem, she realizes that those parents and families can be part of the solution.

Teresa's perspective and inspiration with young people can help fight crime without having to spend a ton of money.

No one who votes for Teresa has to wonder why she's running for City Council. We know it's not just to add a notch to her resume. We know she's not interested in feeding at the public trough, flying here and there and living it up on the taxpayer's dime. We know her inspiration.

Through her work for the Matt Garcia Foundation, she's shown she's ready to roll up her sleeves and work for Fairfield. She didn't have to manage a foundation, raise funds for charity, promote nonviolence and sponsor a gun buyback program. She does these things because she's a lifelong Fairfield resident who loves her community and wants to ensure her son's goals are achieved.

She's not asking for your pity. She wants your vote so she can go to work in a new capacity for the city of Fairfield.

I think Fairfield's interests are best served by the yin and yang of the watchful, skeptical eye of a John Mraz paired with the compassionate heart of a Teresa Courtemanche. Peace.

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