BILL BABER
What do you think are the most pressing issues in your community?
Public safety is my first priority. That is why I am endorsed by the La Mesa Policeofficers and the La Mesa firefighters.
My second priority is to manage La Mesa’s growth. We do not want La Mesa to be too dense with too many apartments. We have to keep repairing our roads.
It is also important to keep our small town charm. I want to finish the park on Waite Street. We also want people to slow down and drive safer on our streets.
BILL BABER
What do you think are the most pressing issues in your community?
Public safety is my first priority. That is why I am endorsed by the La Mesa Policeofficers and the La Mesa firefighters.
My second priority is to manage La Mesa’s growth. We do not want La Mesa to be too dense with too many apartments. We have to keep repairing our roads.
It is also important to keep our small town charm. I want to finish the park on Waite Street. We also want people to slow down and drive safer on our streets.
Another pressing issue is Measure V. We need to license and regulate the safe legal cannabis businesses and close down the sketchy illegal shops on University Avenue and El Cajon Boulevard.
What do you believe the primary responsibility is of a city council member?
To work as hard as possible to serve all the citizens of La Mesa in our areas of core competency: police, fire, roads, sewers, parks and land-use planning. Plus throw a great Oktoberfest every year!
What do you most hope to accomplish if elected to represent your district?
We need to recruit, train and retain the best police officers. We need to give our fire department the tools that they need to remain world-class. Let’s work to improve emergency response times.
I serve on working committees for regional transportation, audit, pension, climate action, cannabis, animal welfare, the civic center and sewage. It’s not glamorous work but somebody has to do it.
AKILAH WEBER
What do you think are the most pressing issues in your community?
One of the top issues in our community is public safety. Everyone wants to live in a safe community and businesses want to operate in a safe environment. Our public safety officers are doing a great job and there is always room for improvement, especially as our city continues to grow. Another pressing issue is housing affordability and availability in La Mesa.
Having affordable housing is good for a community because it provides stability within neighborhoods and schools and allows for economic growth. We need to establish smart development plans that work for La Mesa.
The growing homeless population in La Mesa is also a pressing issue. As a city, we need to provide realistic solutions to this problem and also work with other entities to offer the mental and health needs that many in this situation require.
What do you believe the primary responsibility is of a city council member?
The primary responsibility of a city council member is to listen to his/her constituents and then bring together all key stakeholders to collectively find solutions to the concerns of the residents and the needs of the city.
What do you most hope to accomplish if elected to represent your City?
I want to continue to build on La Mesa’s legacy of family, community and economic opportunity. This can only be done successfully through transparency, creativity and encouraging community engagement and involvement. In doing this, we will be able to accomplish many things such as continuing to improve on our public safety, developing solutions on housing affordability that works for La Mesa, funding and fully implementing our Climate Action Plan and working on the growing homeless problem in La Mesa.
Dave Myers and Guy McWhirterwere contacted for comment but did not respond.
