Ventura Elections

The theme of this election echoes the theme for a lot of activity at city hall in relation to the arts: lots of good intentions and ideas, really lousy, often terrible execution. This city could become a serious art center if it ever got its act together.

Recommendations and comment:
Measure A [increase local sales tax to help a lot of good causes]: A great idea; totally wrong solution. A sales tax hike at this time is completely wrong: it hurts the arts; it hurts small business; it hurts consumers; it's regressive, right at a time when people at the bottom are hurting the most. It is a contracting move at the depth of a contraction. Further, classic economic theory says it won't work: if you raise a sales tax during an economic contraction, you are more likely to DECREASE overall tax revenues because you are going to hurt sales volume to a point where you offset the tax increase. During a contraction, if you want to increase sales tax revenues, you have to increase sales: something this city seems to be real good at not doing. There was plenty of room for improvement on the city's part in terms of efforts to get creative and try to increase sales. But they chose not to do that. This ordinance is truly a case of too many people at city hall drinking the cool-aid.

Measure B [give power of creating building height ordinance to VCORD]: Great idea: the city really needs a view protection ordinance; but again, totally wrong implementation. Giving all this power to VCORD is NOT the way to go. We need to reform city hall, not give new power to special interest groups who have no responsibility to voters.

Measure C: Again, great ideas, really bad solution. This ordinance is written so badly it's insane. It cannot possibly accomplish what it claims to do.

City Council:
I have to confess I am conflicted here. I usually vote Democratic/Progressive, but they are all so strongly for Measure A, I have to pause. Also, a lot of the arts community, including myself have been very unhappy with recent actions and lack of arts leadership on the present council [for the supposedly "New Art City" - the Auto Center is still the number one priority on the city plan - which is really helping the city right now, right?]. I personally could not bring myself to vote for one incumbent. City Hall desperately needs new blood and new thinking. I went for new blood. I have no specific recommendations other than that William Knox III, Wendy Halderman, and Maureen O'Hara were the only candidates who seemed even dimly aware of the current arts situation here and the arts role as the most viable engine for the revitalization of this berg.