Citizen advises Council District 12 Member Greig Smith (written before Smith was elected)
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January 1, 2003

Mr. Smith, I agree with Mr. Netkin's assessment of the dangers of Special Order 40, and agree that his arguments against this order are valid. You may or may not like his presentation of the issues, and you may find him abrasive, but people also thought that way about Teddy Roosevelt. Netkin is shedding light on valid issues.

Please remember the basic, unwritten rule that governs politicians and public servants: You are allowed to have all the fun, money, and personal advancement, and enjoy a lot of other "fringe benefits" of being a public official, but the citizenry allows this only because it is based on the implied agreement that you will act responsibly in the public interest on larger issues of safety and overall quality of life for those you represent.

All the money, power, and prestige of a successful political career 'ain't worth a heap of shit' if you let the city you run become a dump. Being a City Councilman in Los Angeles is better than being a Mayor in Tijuana...at least for the time being. So please, protect your investment of time and money in your political career, and do what it takes to NOT let Los Angeles become Tijuana.

If you can do that, the citizens of a better quality LA will usually turn a blind eye towards those quiet fringe benefits that politicians enjoy. Dick Riordan was a hero in LA because he stepped up to the plate and put the city back together after the earthquake. We got results, a better city that recovered from a disaster quickly, we saved millions of dollars and years of time because Riordan got things to work efficiently, and nobody bitched too much about his family and friends becoming a little more successful in the process.

Los Angeles and America have a big security problem. The Mexican border was once a minor problem, then it became a big problem, and now it threatens to become a crippling problem. Los Angeles was supposed to be part of a different country than Mexico or Canada or France or Iran. Not only do many parts of LA  look more and more like a third world country, but the open door for illegal aliens has changed the risk level from "quality of life" to "loss of life". THAT is where you must shift from "business as usual" to "keep our city (any my property, my family and my bank account) safe".

I wish you success in your campaign for public office, so long as your agenda does not conflict with the things that are important to me. Like many lifelong Angelenos, I am concerned with the quality of life I have, the welfare of animals, and not having my own culture, language and ideals weakened in the name if diversity. Diversity is like water, air, fire, and food...there are times when there is not enough, and times where there is too much. In my lifetime I have seen diversity go from one extreme to another, and now there is simply too much. "Diversity" has now become a scapegoat excuse for many public officials, to not enforce valid laws, to weaken and undermine American culture. Los Angeles is becoming a worse and worse place to live every year because of this.

Today, this leaves us with an open door for "dirty" nuclear bombs, poison, bio-warfare, and hostile forces to walk right into our city. As I have written to another public official, is YOUR home, family, and lifestyle any more well protected against a terror attack than mine or anyone else's?

I remind you again that your responsibility is to maintain our quality of life and our safety first, and then enjoy the benefits of public office second. Every harmless looking street food vendor, every blind eye towards the immigration problem, every de-prioritization of enforcing the immigration laws is violating that tacit and unwritten agreement between the people and their representatives.

Sincerely,

Name Withheld
Sherman Oaks, CA


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