The following blog posts are from the 2010 City Council election campaign.
Submitted Monday, March 29:
Arcadia has a rich historical and cultural heritage that we need to preserve.
Jason Lee
As a member of Arcadia’s Historical Society and a history buff, I am all for identifying, inventorying and preserving all of Arcadia’s historical buildings, sites and landmarks. We owe a tribute not only to our city’s founder, Lucky Baldwin, but also to the men and women who followed him in making Arcadia such a great city that we know today.
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Submitted Thursday, March 25:
Trees are what has made Arcadia green and aesthetically attractive. Trees are part of Arcadia’s strong appeal as one of the most desirable and prestigious residential communities in the entire nation!
Our city’s current Oak Tree Preservation Ordinance prohibits the cutting down of oak trees, with the exceptions of them being safety and/or structural hazards. However, it does not contain an express enforcement provision, i.e., penalties associated with the unpermitted felling.
If I am elected to the Council, I will immediately work to amend the said Ordinance to include a hefty penalty to deter the unpermitted cutting down of oak trees and to expand the Ordinance to protect other legacy trees such as pine trees. –
Submitted Friday, March 19:
One and half months ago, fellow Arcadia City Council candidate Mickey Segal and I had a dialogue about the 210 Freeway noise issue.
Shortly thereafter, we fully discussed the issue on the phone, over breakfast and dinner. We have fully reconciled our differences of opinion. If both of us are elected, we will be congenial colleagues. – Submitted Monday, March 15:
One of the perplexing problems faced by Arcadians is traffic congestion.
A major contributor to this problem is the fact that every morning at least a few thousand parents have to drive to drop of their kids at Arcadia Schools. In the afternoon the same number of parents have to drive out again to pick their kids. There are six elementary schools, three middle schools and one high school in Arcadia. During both the drop off and pick up hours long lines of cars snake around these schools creating traffic jams.
I am writing this posting for my blog to make a suggestion: Maybe instead of having a few thousand parents driving cars, dropping off and picking up their kids from the schools, we may think about busing the kids to and from school. Busing the students will alleviate traffic congestion, reduce air pollution and do away with the expense of dropping off and picking up kids while saving the parents the time and freeing up their schedules.
A natural corollary of busing the students is the cost, but driving the kids to and from the school will also cost the parents anyways.
Does this sound like a good idea?
Submitted Friday, March 5:
Last night on the patio of Matt Denny’s Restaurant, we had our first candidate forum, which was sponsored by the Arcadia City Employees Association.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank ACEA for giving me this invaluable opportunity to meet with and introduce myself to city employees, as well as the public in general, to tell them about my qualifications and professional experiences and to answer questions on important issues facing Arcadians.
I want to reiterate here that the best resources of our city are these hard working employees who have been responsible for providing the excellent public services and for maintaining the high quality of life for Arcadians. It is their hard work that has contributed to making Arcadia the best city to raise kids in California.
Submitted Feb. 19:
This past Wednesday California Gubernatorial Candidate Meg Whitman, formerly the CEO of the hugely successful eBay! online auction site, was in Los Angles rallying support for her campaign.
I was at this event and had a chance to meet with her to to discuss some of the issues currently affecting California. We both agree that in order to make California a better place, jobs must be created, spending must be reduced, and education must be emphasized. . (In fact, we agree on so many things and because she and her staff value the importance of my views, she and her team recorded my comments about her for a media release and one of the Meg Whitman campaign videos that you can see by clicking the previous highlighted words). . It is these core values which I hope to apply as Council Member of Arcadia, if elected. I will do this by stimulating business growth in Arcadia, reducing unnecessary spending by the City and making sure that Arcadia Schools remain some of the best in the nation. . Submitted Feb. 7:
My wife Daisy and I walked the long Highland Oaks Drive talking to the residents living on both sides of the street today, Sunday.
The Highlands is the northernmost section of Arcadia nestled against the foothills. It is probably the most beautiful area in all Arcadia, with California ranch style houses, lush landscape and big oak trees dotting the area, set against the clear azure sky, with patches of white clouds leisurely drifting. It is quiet and even secluded, except that the tranquility if broken once in a while by a speeding car racing down the street.
The speed limit for the residential area is 25 miles per hour. However, it is apparent that some of the cars are racing down the street at 40 mph. Residents have complained to us that there needs to more speed limit signs. We walked the entire Highland Oaks Drive and only spotted one or two speed limit signs.
Had the developer of the Highlands, Mr. George W. Elkins, been alive, I think he would agree with me in regards to erecting more speed limit signs because the curvy street he had designed and built does not have enough bends to deter speeders.
Submitted Feb. 5:
As a concerned Arcadia resident, a concerned parent and a concerned City Council Candidate, I had meant to raise this issue for discussion before Hon. Joann Steinmeier requested a “clear definition of the term'” in a comment (below) about my blog addressing the 210 Freeway noise.
A preliminary investigation conducted by talking to parents and students while I walked the precincts, reveals that the “over-crowdedness” of AHS means that there are too many students in the school, some 3,700. The facilities cannot meet the needs of so many students. For instance, parents have complained that their sons and daughters come home hungry because they did not eat lunch at school. They did not eat lunch at school because the lines for the lunch were too long. By the time they get their food, it is time for them to go back to class. Parents complained that very often several students had to share one portion. These high school kids need the appropriate amount of nutrition and protein to keep them function well both in the classrooms and on the playground due to the mental and physical exertions which are typical of high school kids.
We need to find a solution to this problem. We need to initiate a feasibility study about splitting AHS into two campuses, or alternatively about constructing additional facilities to meet the needs of these students.
Submitted Jan. 31 (with Feb. 11 update below):
During my recent door-to-door campaign canvassing in the Lower Rancho area, I heard complaints from a few residents there about the loud noise coming down from the 210 Freeway.
The Lower Rancho Area is probably the most desirable and prestigious residential area, along with the Upper Rancho, in Arcadia, with large lots and ranch style houses. The drawback is the loud noise coming down from the highway traffic.
I will closely work with the State Department of Transportation to have a higher block wall erected along the south side of 210 freeway to block off the traffic noise from reaching down to the Lower Rancho residences.
The noise problem will become worse when the Gold Line Extension starts operating. As a City Councilman, I will do all within my power to advocate the noise reduction cause for the Lower Rancho and the College Area residents to truly afford them “the quiet enjoyment” of their properties.
Feb. 11 update to this topic: I wish I could promise EVERYONE a reduction in freeway noise. A reduction in freeway noise for everyone would be fantastic, wouldn’t it?! However, I will only worry about Arcadia residents living on both sides of 210 Freeway. It would be ideal to have a higher sound wall built on the north side from Baldwin to Santa Anita, of the same height as the sound wall from Michillinda to Baldwin, and to have such a higher sound wall erected on the south side stretching from Michillinda to Santa Anita.
Application statement filed with City Clerk’s office:
Jason J. Lee Age: 47 Occupation: Attorney at Law
Education:
* B.A. in English Literature
* M.A. in Journalism
* Juris Doctorate
Qualifications & Experience: A former BBC Radio Program Producer based in London, I covered world events. I have internalized the qualities of my impartiality, objectivity, and fairness. No I spend half of my time attending hearings and trying cases in the court. I can easily transition to City the Council. I will apply my analytical skills as a mediator & facilitator to solve complex problems. I will also utilize my business management skills to manage the city’s resources. If elected I will quickly respond to my fellow residents’ questions and complaints and take actions to address them.
Past Civic Services and Community Involvement:
* Board Member, U.S. Army L.A. Advisory Board
* Member, L.A. County Sheriffs Department Chinese Advisory Board
* Rotarian, Arcadia Rotary Club; Paul Harris Follow
* Member, Arcadia Chamber of Commerce
* Director, Arcadia Chinese Association
* Member, Arcadia Historical Society
Goals:
* Keep Crime Rate & Taxes Low
* Keep Quality of Life & Property Value High
* Improve Facilities for Seniors & Youth
* Work Closely with School District to Resolve AHS’ Over-Crowdedness
* Pro-Business, for Well-Planned and Controlled Development
This is one of six blogs provided by ArcadiasBest.com to the six candidates running for three seats on the Arcadia City Council in the April 13, 2010 election.
Candidates are free to submit whatever statements they want here and comment on each other’s blogs.
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