The Valley Chronicle - LETTER TO THE EDITOR - June 7th, 2018ng

Dear Editor, I recently retired from a job in Hemet and Hemet is where I do 90 percent of my business and shopping. I suggest that the City Manager surrender a percentage of his grossly bloated salary for the purpose of making the city presentable. Do any of you drive by the empty lots near Lyon and Florida by the Salvation Army store? Have you thought about mowing down the dry weeds and cleaning up the debris that is piled around that area? It is a very long-standing disgrace. The city officials, from Chief of Police to City Manager, are paid about three times too much. That money should be going towards making the city a decent place to live in and drive through. Put the city’s interests ahead of the plans to get rich off the taxpayers for awhile and clean up the city. I would hope that surely part of a city manager’s job is to periodically clean house. Let me add that I resent having the bus stop ads in Spanish. This is still the U.S.A and we are entitled to have our public advertisements written in the language of this country. I also resent ads promoting the group “La Raza”. We all know that means “The Race”. Why is that okay? I would like to know. Because it’s sure not okay for all of us - it would not be tolerated for one second coming from a whites-only group, and rightly so. Sincerely, Phyllis Walker

Dear Ms. Walker, You make several good points. While council members are taking some action, such as endorsing Karlee Meyer’s Homeless Outreach Team “Know Where It Goes,” and working with the Homeless Task Force, there is still much that needs to be done. We can only hope our valuable taxpayer dollars are not going to waste. As far as the city officials’ salaries, they are equivalent to those in comparable cities, a level that is needed to attract qualified applicants. We may not have seen much change in the city’s appearance, but there are officials who are doing their best to maintain the integrity of our city. Finally, in regards to your resentment towards Spanish ads, our country was founded by immigrants and therefore it would be hypocritical to be intolerant of different cultures and languages. Editor

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Dear Editor, Finally, someone is standing up to the forces that are driving Hemet into bankruptcy. Mayor Pro Tem, Karlee Meyer is proving to be the only member of the Hemet City Council capable and willing to tackle the city’s endemic social problems and corruption within city hall. Anyone that’s been around the block can easily surmise that rocking the boat in an honest quest to perform the job for which she has been elected and effect change to the status quo will become the brunt of criticism and ridicule. Not knowing Karlee personally, but as a close observer of our officials at all levels of government, the other Hemet City Council members have distinguished themselves as incompetent bureaucrats vegetating in their chairs. I’m impressed with her forthrightness, and integrity in her pursuit to correct the existing course that is taking us directly to the poor house. From what I have seen, Karlee is willing to bump heads with her fellow council members and their accomplices in the Measure U Oversight Committee in order to bring some semblance of honesty and accountability to both. Let us hope that others like myself are also watching and that during the next election for city council they will vote for people willing to work for the good of the entire community and not just for their own special interests. Here, here for Karlee Meyer! She is indeed a breath of fresh air in a highly polluted city council. Name withheld upon request