Valley Voters Sent Clear Message
Your editorial says “the Valley wants more police officers, if it doesn’t have to pay for them.” That is a very cynical way to interpret the results of the election.
What should be clear is that the people in the Valley are fed up with ever-increasing crime while our mayor is jaunting around the world with our tax money. It’s not that the people of the Valley expect the city to provide more police officers without paying them, it’s that the people in the Valley think that there is already plenty of money in City Hall to begin with.
The message that was sent in this election is that we want some accountability in local government. The people of the Valley understand the fundamental tenet of capitalism, which is that competition lowers cost. The centerpiece of Richard Riordan’s campaign is to lower the costs for city services through competition (such as contracting for garbage disposal services), thereby freeing up enough money to hire not 1,000 cops, as Proposition 1 would have done, but 3,000 (which is closer to what the city needs anyway).
If raising taxes were the way to solve our problems, this city should be a utopia by now.
ROBERT K. LEVY
Tarzana
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