Ibvg61

I.B. Voters' Guide

THE SUN Continued from page 3

opposition to Brown Field, and always had a kind thing to say about the beloved wildlife issues, which now consumes close to 50 percent of Imperial Beach's total square footage of land that is off limits to its residents and tourists. But the real purpose of the paper was to do last- minute hit pieces on opposing candidates just before elections. Trook told me, before he died, that his biggest regret in life was a hit piece they did on former councilman Don Hall just before an election. It cost Hall not only his council seat, but also his reputation. Trook said Hall was a decent and honest man and he wished he would forgive him for ruining his life, but he was over-ruled by the Careys who actually controlled the editorial direction of the paper. In a subsequent election,

the The Sun did a hit piece on Brian Bilbray just before the election. It cost Bilbray his congressional seat and won accolades from the inner circle of the political action committee. Then Trook passed away. Because the newspaper belonged solely to him, on paper, his heirs had to make a decision whether to continue the paper or shut it down. Daughter Dawn decided to approach the new publisher/editor Stacey Long and asked her if she would carry on Trook's dream and keep the newspaper alive; which Long did with honor. She continues to do a fantastic job of getting the real stories out to you without bias or misleading stories. In the election of 2002, the political action committee wanted to do a hit piece on Ron Rogers. Rogers, two years earlier, had bought $200 worth of campaign signs and gone on vacation only to find out he had crushed appointed councilman Dan Malcolm (cousin of convicted former Port Commissioner David

RAILWAY PLANS Continued from page 1

Continued from page 5

Council overruled the HRB's decision that the rail line was historic. This was done at the request of County Supervisor Greg Cox with the full support of the Imperial Beach City Council. SOHO intends to file suit and defend not only the historic status of the railroad, but to preserve and protect Imperial Beach's future transportation corridor. Imperial Beach may once again have a direct rail link to downtown San Diego.

voters recalled his election. Peace is most well known for tripling the auto license plate fees to make up for state deficits. He also legislated part of the B.F. Goodrich land swap including private lands taken by eminent domain by Chula Vista and the Coronado Railroad right of way, and transferred to Goodrich. When the airport authority came into being, the Port's assets were divided and, strangely enough, Pond 20 now belongs to the Airport Authority.

Page 6 - I. B. Voters' Guide - Nov. 2004

Malcolm). Dan had been appointed to fill the now vacant seat of Diane Rose when she first became mayor. It was an obvious political favor, as was the sweet development deal they gave him (while he was still on the council) to remodel the shopping center which is home to Wally's IGA. The Sun refused to publish the hit piece on Rogers, saying that he was a decent man. Without their mouthpiece, the Careys and the political action committee produced a fake newspaper called The I.B. Citizen, at the last minute before the election. It contained attacks on Rogers and cartoons which were most unbecoming that were dumped on us just days before the election. This so-called newspaper, The I.B. Citizen, printed false and very misleading articles, which no person took credit for authoring. It also contained all kinds of endorsements, for Rose and McCoy of course! It cost Rogers the office of mayor, and created very bad

blood between members of the council. It was just another one of their many dirty tricks. The Careys have a long history of political activism going back to the days of Caesar Chavez. While much of their past effort may have been admirable, their political trickery regarding Imperial Beach and regional politics should be stopped. And, if not stopped, it should be recognized for what it is. No doubt there will be more of it in the upcoming election so, don't be fooled again by this kind of underhand tactic. In one past election Michael Carey stopped into an AA meeting and asked recovering alcoholics to help stop criminals from getting in government. And he paid them each $40 a day to pass out smear flyers door-to-door throughout the city to hurt the last minute election chances of an opposing candidate. In the end, those people were horrified when they found out they had been duped to do something evil.

The redevelopment agency of Imperial Beach recently budgeted $75,000 to produce a "Redevelop-ment Newsletter". It is obvious that the local political machinery has lost its beloved mouthpiece and must do something to counter political opposition. The use of public funds and redevelopment bond money for such a venture is obscene and may be unlawful. I doubt that the combined yearly budget of The Eagle Times and The Sun comes anywhere near $75,000. Residents should demand that the money be put back. Local politicians have been able to do their work without criticism for many years. The majority of local press stories have sung the praises of the ladies on the council. The San Diego Union-Tribune will not criticize local political figures and will sugar-coat even the dirtiest of dirt! A new day is coming in Imperial Beach where a few individuals have come up

Imperial Beach City Council amended its redevelopment zones and not only is Pond 20 included, but also the majority of Imperial Beach north of Palm Avenue. Plans exist for shopping centers, hotel complexes and marinas. A plan for a deepwater channel from Chula Vista Harbor and another deep-water channel on the west side of the bay up to the Coronado Cays already exist. The long talked about opening of Silver Strand to the ocean would increase the value of marina slips tenfold. Although the city's redevelopment agency does not currently have the power of eminent domain, a mere vote of three will change that after the election, if Winter and McLean

are elected. Another large parcel of land in our bayfront was also owned by the Port just to the west of 13th Street and the bayfront. Searches of county records indicate that a very small group of people own a large percentage of property in Northern Imperial Beach. The most northeastern portions of Imperial Beach are secretly targeted to become a gated community similar to the Coronado Cays. Moving to the west is the City Yard, Bayside Elementary School and a number of properties which have been given massive fines by the Code Enforcement Department. Dee McLean, wife of council candidate Fred McLean and

campaign treasurer for Patricia McCoy is involved with the school board and would be willing to use her influence to cause Bayside Elementary School to be vacated to give way to bayfront development. The city already has plans to level the city's yard between 10th and 11th streets and documents exist which express the city's interest in leasing the remaining portion of railroad right of way that passes through the middle of these parcels. It appears that there is a secret plan to consolidate these bayfront parcels to increase their value and develop them. The similarities to this secret plan to the land swaps done at B.F. Goodrich

SEE THE SUN, PAGE 8

SEE PLANS, PAGE 7