Jean Okuye: Vote to protect your community
Voting is a way you can be an activist to protect where you live.
What is the vision for Merced? More than 50 percent of Mercedians drive out of the county to work, creating air pollution and leaving kids to fend for themselves back home. Where are the jobs?
Ferrari Ranch development is now being planned for Bellevue Corridor in Atwater. If Mike Amabile becomes mayor in Los Banos he wants to annex at least 2 percent more land into the city even though 1,100 residential lots have not been built on. Who benefits? Jobs for builders is a one-time harvest. And the people are left with more of the same – empty lots and buildings and more pollution and debt.
Who pays for the roads, police, fire, schools? And who will want to live here with polluted air and water? Groundwater pumping is only water source for homes and it is disappearing. But we talk of annexing more land and not protecting our resources. Why can’t our leaders provide resource-efficient communities?
Beware of propaganda and promises. Think of who will pay. But be sure to vote.
Jean Okuye, Livingston
This story was originally published October 30, 2014 at 5:14 PM with the headline "Jean Okuye: Vote to protect your community."