There’s been a lot of slander tossed around lately and I want to tell you about it from first-hand experience. I know the victim.
The negative accusations I’ve read and heard about him are nothing more than falsehoods used to convince you to vote against the citizen-initiated recall. This man has in fact worked for years doing exactly what he is being accused of not doing.
This man is a voice for Oceanside residents who don’t have the time or energy to deal with issues impacting us all: traffic, gangs, 911 services, water/sewer rates, lost city revenues, poor city business practices, senior and veteran housing, public transit. Even now he is working tirelessly to make your voice heard at council meetings, neighborhood gatherings and among business groups. He is speaking for everyone who wants a paramedic to come when they have a heart attack or their child is seriously injured. He is speaking to let the City Council know you don’t want a concrete plant next door before they build it. Sounds like someone we need on our City Council.
Charles “Chuck” Lowery was born and raised here in Oceanside, graduated from Oceanside High and MiraCosta College. He founded, operated and recently sold his successful local bakery, owns his own home, and helped raise his family here. He is fully invested in our community and now has the time to help all of us.
One thing I need to say about Chuck is that he understands numbers. When the council majority recently approved a $990,000 landscape project, he questioned how that was more important than budget cuts to paramedic services. For asking that, he was branded a “union pawn.” Without our professional first responders, each of us will have to worry about becoming victims of politically motivated budget cuts. We call them our heroes when they risk their lives for us. It’s called a “power grab” when they ask to be paid for taking those risks.
That just seems wrong.
Of course Mr. Lowery thinks we need to stabilize spending so we don’t go further into debt. When Chuck recently asked City Council about certain elements of the water/sewer rate increases, he was told he didn’t understand the issues. Oh, he understood them all right. Now we are paying sewer costs for a favored developer’s new project, thanks to one departing council member and another who is being recalled. They are the ones who failed to disclose where the new rates would be spent. Your monthly payment will make someone else rich.
I trust Chuck Lowery to find where the city can cut costs while restoring police, fire and paramedic services. I trust him to research everything before he votes. I trust him to treat everyone with courtesy and respect. I trust him to listen to our voices.
The future of our city is at stake. Please vote for Charles “Chuck” Lowery so we can create a more beautiful, prosperous and safe city.
Ron Mirolla is an Oceanside resident.
