Five pull papers so far for City Council
August 6, 2012 in Uncategorized By: Dave Emerson
Marilyn Poe at tonight's Council Meeting
(Los Alamitos, 8/6/2012) Both incumbents, an ex-Mayor, a Traffic Commissioner, and a popular former member of the Rossmoor Homeowner’s Association have all pulled papers so far to run for the two Los Alamitos City Council seats up for election this November. Papers must be returned by Friday.
Assuming they all return the paperwork, money, and signatures, here’s the lineup:
- Mayor pro tem Marilyn Poe
- Council Member Ken Stephens
- Former Mayor Dean Grose
- Traffic Commissioner Richard Murphy
- Former Rossmoor Community Services District Boasrd Member Tom Poe.
At least one more candidate may be filing.
From what I can tell Tom Poe is not related to Marilyn. I’m told that he had served on the R.C.S.D. board and was highly regarded. I believe he was renting in Rossmoor and then bought in Los Alamitos. He apparently is the Tom Poe who served as Chief of Staff for former Long Beach Ctiy Councilwoman Kell. He has also served as the Assistant to the Director of Governmental Affairs for the Port of Long Beach. So he knows a lot about city government.
Richard Murphy recently was appointed to the Traffic Commission and has been a long-time Council observer who cares deeply about Los Alamitos. I don’t always agree with him, but I’ve found him to be thoughtful and independent. [ad]
Pulling papers is not the same as turning them in, (Remember George Briggeman himself pulled papers two years ago!) It’s good to see two new faces caring enough about Los Alamitos to get involved at this level. [ad]
Frankly, although I often disagree with him, it’s nice to see Dean Grose willing to run against two of his former allies, but I think it’s time for a couple completely new faces on the Council.
Faces that will actually show up for meetings! (See “Edgar, Poe, & Stephens no-shows at tonight’s Council Meeting.”)
In the interest of informing our voters and encouraging discussion LetsFixLosAl will be happy to publish any information about goals, vision, etc. submitted by any of the candiates, either directly in a comment or via the “contact us” button as a free standing post.
What is the primary job of a member of the Los Alamitos City Council?
To show up at City Council Meetings.
That is their primary responsibility.
I may not like Mr. Grose. I may disagree with him on 99% of everything he says. But, he shows up (even when I don’t want him to).
Stephens and Poe have clearly shown that they do not take this primary responsibility seriously.
I find it funny that after disregarding their primary responsibility that either of them would have the audacity to run for a position they hold in such contempt again.
But then again, maybe it’s just the citizens of Los Alamitos that they hold in contempt, not the job.