As a CSD director, I take great pride in the hard work I do serving this fantastic community. I strive to engage in open and honest dialogue with all of my constituents and that is why I was appalled at the misleading way Mr. MacVittie spoke about Discovery Bay’s budget in his recent letter to the editor.
The CSD Board of Directors worked very hard to keep this year’s rate increase low. We worked together, despite our differences on other matters, to lower a proposed increase of 14 percent to one of 9 percent. Mr. MacVittie is aware of the time and discussion that went into this matter as well as the fact that our water vendor, Veolia Water, is raising its rate by 19 percent, but he seems to be playing politics by withholding information that doesn’t benefit his objective.
The Town Of Discovery Bay Community Services District is a fiscally conservative district with a very lean operating budget that has been run in a conservative fashion from its inception, and if we were to cut anything from it, it would not be “fat” (government waste), but needed muscle.
Mr. MacVittie was even asked recently at a public meeting by Director Mark Simon what he himself would have cut from the operating budget at the June 16 meeting but he could give no answers or suggestions. (This is in the public record and speaks for itself.)
I hope you move forward after reading this letter with an investigative spirit, one that questions and looks for facts before one believes a candidate’s campaign platform. Unfortunately for voters and concerned citizens, our political climate has become one in which it doesn’t pay to be substantive and honest.
Our community has important issues and challenges on the horizon and we need serious people to solve them. It isn’t enough to be vague, to offer up a narrative paragraph to cover an entire issue, to bend statistics to meet one’s own personal and political agenda. Our community deserves directors with original ideas, real solutions and the ability to deliver.
Discovery Bay deserves the best. This is a time for forward-thinking people – the days of business-as-usual in Discovery Bay, as well as in the state, county and nation, are over. This is why I’m running to retain my seat on the CSD; I look forward to speaking to every interested voter about both the challenges our district faces, and my actual plans to take them on.
I’m running for election to serve you and I look forward to meeting you as I walk door-to-door in our neighborhoods. In the meantime, please feel free to contact me at 925-219-5842 or by e-mail at brian@votedawson2010.com.
Brian Dawson, Discovery Bay
First, last week's letter was "negative" as well, and this letter, from an acting member of the board, is encouraging Disco Bay residents to dig a little deeper. I read it to mean that I should figure out what is questionable and ask each candidate for a concrete answer as to my concerns or their plans. I think this is our responsibility as citizens and voters. Also, I don't believe the press would publish any candidate's plan - that should be on their websites or campaign material, not in a letter to the editor.
Second, I didn't read the paper version of this, but above it says "election" not "re-election" so is it possible that the author or the paper simply made a mistake, and this isn't some sort of political conspiracy? When I see the yard signs and listen to the debates, I'll be checking to see if this is a trick being used by Mr. Dawson. Until then, I'll assume that we're all human and err accordingly.
And what about his statement that he is running for "re-election"? I always thought to be "re-elected' one must first be elected. This guy was never elected to the CSD, he is a Board of Supervisors appointee. Due to resignations there were two empty CSD seats and through a manipulation director david piepho caused the CSD not to be able to fill their own seats. Instead mr. piepho maneuvered the process so that his wife and the rest of the Board of Supervisors could select their confidant mr. dawson (who the other Directors did not support).
I would invite dawson to stop being vague and negative toward other candidates and to submit his "plan" then explain how someone never elected gets "re-elected".