Crime:
Crime is a major problem here in the City of Antioch, statistics show that violent and property crime are up dramatically and if we don't get a handle on this situation its only going to get worse. If elected I would ensure that the city is maximizing its potential to create revenue, then we will be able hire more police for the department and it will create a permanent job creation rather then a temporary band aid. With more officers and maintaining more money the Police Department will now be able to be more proactive in there enforcement in the city rather then reactive, having the funds to fund programs such as Narcotics Task Force, CAT Team, Traffic Enforcement, Code Enforcement, Gang Task Force, and numerous others. This is not an issue that will go away over night but if elected I will ensure that we together will get this done and be on the path to a more friendly neighborhood for all in the City of Antioch.
Antioch City Budget:
The budget in the City of Antioch has been getting worse and worse for the last few years, currently the budget is in a 1.5 million dollar defict, next fiscal year the deficit will be 2.5 million dollars, and for the following year the deficit it supposed to be over 4 million dollars. As you can see the budget just keeps getting worse, so we need to do something about it. If elected, I would like to take the city owned property downtown and sell it to a developer to build commercially, and begin to renovate the downtown area bringing in businesses like Whole Foods and others to the Downtown Area. I would bring fresh ideas to the table such as street light advertising, solar street lights, solar traffic lights, and convert all city owned buildings to solar powered. I would also like to recieve ideas from other Antioch Residents, I would also make it easier for businesses to come to Antioch, ecspecially factory and industrial businesses! I think if we implement these little things they will take the budget a lon!
Antioch Youth Education:
With the recent budget crisis between our city and state, our schools have really felt the impact and if elected I would like to work with the school board to ensure they have the funds they need to ensure that children are not left behind. My son has Aspergers Syndrome ( a high functioning autism disorder ) and my wife and I have been battling the school district for 2 years trying to get him the help he needs, what happened to the No Child Left Behind Act? These kids are our future we can't afford to keep leaving them behind and socially promoting them, then leaving them high and dry in middle and high school. This to me is unacceptable and we must act now to fix it and we must act together! So join me in my efforts to end this, so our children don't fall in between the cracks like my son and get left behind!