Mayor Wright explains reasons for a yes vote on Measure W

Dear Editor:

As a business owner and former CEO of the Antioch Chamber of Commerce I came to the office of Mayor with a mindset to search through the budget and cut out the fat.  I found a city that runs with a very lean workforce and pays our non-police employees less than surrounding communities.  Any fat had already been trimmed during the recession to avoid bankruptcy.  I sat looking at a city with a revenue problem not a spending one.

To put this in perspective- Antioch has a population of 115,000 with an annual budget of $55 million compared to our neighboring city of Brentwood with a population of 65,000 and an annual budget of $59 million.  Brentwood pays more in property taxes than Antioch residents and they have more money to improve their city as a result.  As some of our residents have moved to Brentwood- they have chosen to tax themselves with a more expensive house and higher taxes.

Measure W gives us a choice to increase our financial ability to make our community safer, create more activities for our youth after school and to improve our quality of life.   A citizen’s oversight committee will help to hold future Council’s accountable and ensure that these vital resources are utilized appropriately.

We have an opportunity to come together to support a sales tax measure to raise the funds necessary to continue moving Antioch in the right direction and help us reach our full potential.  Please join me on November 6th in voting Yes on Measure W.

Sincerely,

Mayor Sean Wright– City of Antioch


5 Comments to “Mayor Wright explains reasons for a yes vote on Measure W”

  1. Loretta Sweatt says:

    I voted Yes on W and I am trusting the Mayor and Council to honor the sacrifice we make to pay this higher tax. The only raise I am getting next year is on my social security check. I am trusting the City Council to handle this money with the utmost Integrity and Ethics, as it is written to be spent on the ballot. I’d like to see 125 Police Officers. People were talking about 100 Police Officers 6 years ago. I want to see Antioch be the #1 Safest, Most Beautiful, Prosperous City in California. I want our Police Officers equipped with whatever they want or need to do their job and keep them safe and to be very well taken care of financially. I walked over to Mr. Pickles the other day for a turkey sandwich and a very nice looking young man actually tried to steal my purse and I thought, “This shouldn’t be happening here; I should be able to walk around the neighborhood safely.” I also thought “How sad, that this young man hasn’t been taught to do something better with his life” Maybe Youth Services will address that. I also remember the Mayor saying that the city was in good shape, had a surplus and other than the (everywhere problem) Pers, Antioch was fine?? I call Pittsburg, Antioch and Brentwood, The Tri City Area; Brentwood doesn’t have the crime or homeless that Antioch does. It’s not just about having more money, although anyone in touch with reality knows that Antioch needs more money and that the money needs to be spent wisely and effectively with Safety First.

  2. Ralph A. Hernandez says:

    Well Mayor Sean Wright is at it again, misleading the public and Voters. Measure “W” is definitely what he and the others want you to believe. It is another scam, just like Measures “O” and “C” have proven to be! Promises made, promises unkept and yet more fooling the public.

  3. Ralph A. Hernandez says:

    I forgot to mention that I voted for him and thought he was honest and better than Wade Harper. But, he has shown himself to be no better than Wade was. Deceiving the Voters by him and the rest of the Council, staff and certain employee groups has been the most obvious since they desperately want your money – to give more salary and benefits to the employees.

    If Measure W passes then for 7,300 plus days the increased Sales Tax applies each and every day. you could pay for a single purchase hundreds of dollars more in the additional Tax increase alone. It is NOT just a penny more when the item costs more than $1.00.

  4. Ralph A. Hernandez says:

    I forgot to mention that I voted for him and thought he was honest and better than Wade Harper. But, he has shown himself to be no better than Wade was. Deceiving the Voters by him and the rest of the Council, staff and certain employee groups has been the most obvious since they desperately want your money – to give more salary and benefits to the employees.

    If Measure W passes then for 7,300 plus days the increased Sales Tax applies each and every day. you could pay for a single purchase hundreds of dollars more in the additional Tax increase alone. It is NOT just a penny more when the item costs more than $1.00.
    Vote NO on W, or pay more for the next 20 years!

  5. Loretta Sweatt says:

    Well I hope the Mayor and City Council Member are not simply running a clique and popularity contest. It took a lot more than 9,000 or 10,000 votes for any one of the Council to be elected. I was very disappointed that the various housing development Initiatives were put into effect by a council vote. I never thought it could happen that way. In my opinion, those council members that voted for the Initiative, took the easy way out and disrespected themselves. I feel the measure would have prevailed on the ballot. All the pro speakers said this is what Antioch citizens want, so why be afraid to put it on the ballot? 10,000 signatures on an Initiative in not in any way shape or form representative of the 115 thousand Antioch citizens. I thought the initiative was passed in a cowardly manner by the city council vote. One council member wasn’t even there. I say follow the straight and narrow path and put Initiatives on the ballot and get a city wide vote, so every one is indisputably sure and heard. If the council wants the people of Antioch to feel part of the community, but takes away their vote, how does that make citizens feel involved? Denying Antioch citizens their right to vote, effectively says, the council doesn’t care about what “everybody” thinks and just wants to do whatever they want to do, because they know what people want based on a simple minority sampling of 10,000 people. Dah? Really? How involved does that make people feel? It was a good Initiative and I would have voted for it and I wanted to vote for it, had it been on the ballot, but I was denied my right to vote and I don’t like that. Will I ever know what the real majority of Antioch citizens want without question?

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