The following blog posts are from the 2010 City Council election campaign.
Submitted Tuesday, April 13:
Election day is today!
Sho Tay
These past few months have been extremely busy for all 6 candidates. We’ve all been busy campaigning, meeting, and speaking to voters, day in and day out. Yet, I still find that many voters are unsure of the issues and undecided on which candidates to elect.
I’ve come across residents and voters who are only choosing to vote for someone just because they’re Asian or just because they’re Caucasian. It’s no surprise to me that these same voters are unaware of the issues we are facing. I would like to challenge voters to get involved with the city and learn what the issues are.
The best thing you can do for Arcadia’s future is becoming an informed voter. Learn what the issues are and learn where each candidate stands. Educate yourself on which candidates can best serve Arcadia and can best represent you. This upcoming election is an extremely important election for our community; some consider it the most important election in Arcadia’s history.
We have so many important issues that need to be addressed in the very near future: the Shops at Santa Anita, the Gold line, the General Plan, budgetary problems, etc. It’s my opinion that these important issues will definitely shape the future of Arcadia.
Be sure that you investigate the candidates thoroughly and get to know who they are and what they’ve done; don’t just listen to the campaign rhetoric. Call the organizations the candidates say they belong to and see what they have to say. Make sure the candidates you elect have a track record of commitment and dedication to Arcadia.
Our future depends on it, the futures of our children depend on it, and the future of Arcadia depends on it; become an informed voter! – Submitted Friday, April 2:
Last Friday I had the pleasure of meeting with a gentleman who had some concerns about our city. He had posted a suggestion on www.ArcadiasBest.com that the city of Arcadia start a CERT (Community Emergency Response Teams) program.
Prior to meeting with him I did a little research on the program and found it to be very impressive. After spending 2 hours with him and hearing the benefits of starting a program in Arcadia, I was sold.
Many other communities around Arcadia have already put together CERT workshops to prepare its citizens for emergencies. Shouldn’t Arcadians be prepared as well? This would not only be a great way for people in the community to get to know each other, but it would also educate Arcadians on proper emergency response procedures.
As the Master of Arcadia Masonic Lodge, I decided to book May 22nd, 2010 as the date for a CERT workshop. The event will be held at the Arcadia Masonic Lodge and refreshments will be provided. So bring your neighbors, family and friends and come enjoy an event of fun and fellowship while learning about important emergency response procedures. Stay tuned for more details!
Submitted March 26:
I’ve said it before and I will say it again; this election is getting dirtier and dirtier by the day. I have been trying my best to answer all the comments and questions I receive on ArcadiasBest.com in a respectful and professional manner. However, 99% of these comments are racial and personal attacks. As soon as I address one, another is posted. It’s a never-ending cycle. What does my ethnicity have anything to do with my abilities?
This election is no longer about addressing the issues but has become a dirty, disgusting, racist election. I have run before in the past with 3 of the 5 candidates and the election was a clean and respectful race…you do the math. There was no sign stealing, no name-calling, and most definitely no using of fake aliases to personally attack candidates. I’m not sure what has happened in this election, but to call it dirty would be an understatement.
To further fuel the fire, many of you have probably seen the article on Star News by now regarding our election. I was reading it this afternoon and I couldn’t help but feel insulted. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw the mention of Asian candidates vs. Non-Asian candidates. The editorial claimed that supporters of Asian candidates would not support Non-Asian candidates and vice versa. NOT TRUE. They used statements like “the many thousands of yard signs set on sprawling lawns rarely mix Asian names with Anglo ones”, “there are three incumbents, all white, defending their seats. The three challengers all have family roots in China”, and “many dozens of houses sported candidates’ signs, showed precisely none with signs from both white and Asian candidates.” I cannot believe a respectable paper would racially split our community to sell more papers.
I’ll always continue to live by the quote “Harmony is the strength and support of all society, especially of ours.” The more I see these racial remarks the more upset I get. If you would still like to contact me and discuss the REAL ISSUES, I would LOVE to hear from you. You can always reach me on my cell phone (626) 447-2935.
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Submitted March 14:
In Masonry we have a saying: “Harmony is the strength and support of all society, especially of ours.”
The Masonic lodge can only run smoothly if all the members work together in harmony. It’s acceptable for lodge members to have a difference of opinion. As a matter of fact, respectful disagreements help build up various aspects of the lodge. However, when brother masons start gossiping and verbally attacking each other, failure is inevitable.
In the past couple weeks I have noticed that there have been some candidates and their supporters running negative campaigns; this is not what Arcadia is all about. I’ve heard rumors about myself and other candidates that absolutely disgust me. How can one man face another after spreading nasty lies about him?
Now, what if you and those you spoke unfavorably of get elected? How will you then be able to work together? People forgive but hardly forget.
It’s important that differences of opinion be settled in a respectful and neighborly manner. We all need to work together to better our community any way we can, be it as elected officials or community volunteers.
As city council candidates, we need to be community leaders. Let’s be role models to our children and upstanding citizens. Together we can all work towards a common goal: making Arcadia the greatest city in world.
Submitted March 4:
I would like to thank Gene Glasco who will be hosting a campaign rally on Monday, March 8 at C-21 Ludecke. If you are interested in attending this great event please contact Gene at 626-456-4366 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 626-456-4366 end_of_the_skype_highlighting or email him at Gene.Glasco@gmail.com. There will be a buffet and refreshments. I look forward to seeing everyone there!
Submitted Feb. 20:
I am very honored to announce that the Arcadia Police Officers Association and Arcadia Firefighters Association have chosen to endorse me as a candidate for Arcadia City Council.
As a council candidate and concerned Arcadia resident, I am devoted to maintaining safe streets and neighborhoods. The men and women of our police and fire department put their lives on the line to keep our communities safe. . An endorsement by both the APOA and AFD means that they have chosen me as a candidate they believe they can best work with. With my prior background as a police officer, I know that I will be able to not only relate but also communicate and work efficiently with our police and fire. Together we’ll keep Arcadia safe! . Submitted Feb. 18:
Planting and gardening is one of my hobbies. I especially enjoy planting trees that bear fruit.
I have been planting fruit trees in my yard since I’ve moved to Arcadia over 25 years ago. My kids have grown especially fond of the orange tree we have in our back yard that is as old as they are. Every spring they look forward to the big juicy oranges that grow from that very tree.
I take pride in the trees that I’ve planted and the fruit they bear. I have planted many different types of fruit trees in my average sized yard and it is fun to watch them grow and bear fruit. I love watching the fruit ripen, then harvest the fruit and share them with my friends and neighbors. Year after year, my family and friends still enjoy the fruits. However, I only wished that I had a bigger yard so I could plant more.
I remember a few years ago I went to visit a good friend of mine. I remember taking a tour of his yard and was amazed by all the different species of fruits and plants he had grown. One thing I remember that shocked me was the trees in his yard that were producing multiple types of fruit. My jaw nearly dropped when I saw that one citrus tree was able to bear oranges, lemons, tangerines, and grapefruits. I observed another pear tree with several species of pears hanging from its branches. It was unbelievable; I had never seen anything like it. In his average sized yard, through a technique known as grafting, he was able to grow more species of fruit than I was in my yard.
It was exciting to learn and see something new; I was impressed that my friend had taught grafting in the past. Since I had the perfect teacher right in front of me, I was eager to learn from him the technique of grafting. With the technique he taught me I was able to grow more types of fruit in the same yard then I was able to before.
It’s amazing how nature works. God created different species of plants, yet they are able to adapt and grow together on one tree. Just like our community, we have different people of different creeds, ethnicities and backgrounds, living in the same city. How are we able to live together in harmony? Through communication and education, and by working together to make our community a better place.
I’m proud to be running for a seat on the Arcadia city council. I hope through my campaign, and by acting as an example, I can encourage all the residents of Arcadia to work together as a community. Let’s all work together and make Arcadia the biggest “tree” with the best “fruits”!
Submitted Saturday, Feb. 6:
I would like to take this opportunity to show my appreciation by thanking each and every one of you who attended my campaign kick off party at the Arcadia Masonic Center on Friday, February 5, 2010.
This event was successful because of the support and kindness of all of you, even on this rainy day.
This is just the beginning of my campaign and I am looking forward to meeting all of the residents of Arcadia. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact my personal cellular phone: 626-447-2935. Of if you like, you can e-mail me at shotay@arcadiacity.com.
Submitted Tuesday, Feb. 2:
I am honored to be endorsed by past Mayors of Arcadia: Ed Butterworth, Jack Saelid, Floretta Lauber, Barbara Kuhn, Jim Helms, George W. Fasching, and Gail Marshall.
I truly appreciate their endorsements. Along with these distinguished mayors, I am also grateful to have received today, another endorsement from past Arcadia Mayor and former California State Senator, Bob Margett. I want to take this opportunity to thank them all for their vote of confidence. I also wish to thank all of my endorsers and supporters for giving me the opportunity to serve Arcadia. – – Submitted Saturday, Jan. 30:
Arcadia, “The best city to raise kids in California.” Doesn’t that title sound nice? It’s no surprise to me that Business Week magazine rated Arcadia as the best city to raise kids in California two years in a row.
I believe that one of the reasons why Arcadia is such a great city is because of its residents. Our community is fortunate to have residents that take ownership and pride in Arcadia. Many years of volunteer efforts have been invested into our community to make it what it is today. I truly believe that volunteers are what sets Arcadia apart from other communities.
I was enlightened many years ago when I first decided to get involved with the community. The first organization I decided to be a part of was the Arcadia Chinese Parents Booster club. At the time, both of my children were going to Arcadia schools and I thought it would be the right thing to do to get involved.
I enjoyed helping newly immigrated parents with English translation, selling scrip, helping in school days and grad nights as well as planning fundraisers to help purchase equipment for our schools. Through that organization I met neighbors and friends with whom I shared a common goal, making Arcadia Schools better. That’s when I first realized that community volunteers are crucial to a great community.
Since then I’ve joined many other organizations such as The American Red Cross—Arcadia Chapter, Rotary Club of Arcadia and Arcadia Chamber of Commerce, just to name a few. I’ve met many community leaders that I’m proud to be able to call my friends. We enjoy working together to make our schools better, our streets safer and our neighborhoods cleaner.
That’s why I strive to promote community unity, an inspiration where our youth, seniors, and community members of all ethnic backgrounds come together to create a better future. I believe that volunteering betters the self, the community and society. After all, “We make a living by what we do, but we make a life by what we give.” – Winston Churchill
Submitted: Tuesday, Jan. 26 – 11:20 p.m.
One of the main focuses of my campaign as outlined in my candidate statement is to promote balanced budgets and adequate reserves. The best way to balance our budget and increase our reserves is by decreasing unnecessary spending and increasing our revenues.
Our sales tax revenue has dropped 15% in the last year, which is approximately $1.5 million dollars. When businesses in Arcadia don’t generate as much business as they did the year before, the city loses sales tax revenue.
Whenever residents of Arcadia spend money outside of Arcadia, the city loses revenue. It’s very simple; the money that is spent outside of Arcadia could be spent within the city to increase the sales tax revenue so that it can be used to for our city services, fire department and/or police department.
As a city, we need to understand where our income sources come from. The majority of Arcadia’s income is from sales tax rather than property tax. But if sales tax revenue continues to drop, our main source of income will be property taxes. Nobody likes increased taxes, so wouldn’t it be nice if we could generate more income for our own community through sales tax revenues?
If we shop in our own city, Arcadia, we would be able to increase our sales tax revenues. I know that with the lifestyles some of us have, it may not always be possible to spend in Arcadia. But for those that are able to, it is something that could be very easy for many of us. The next time you feel like shopping, shop in Arcadia! Or maybe the next time you feel like dining out, try a new restaurant in Arcadia! Need to buy groceries? Try Arcadia! Need gas? Fill up in Arcadia! Let’s all promote “SHOP ARCADIA!”
Application statement filed with City Clerk’s office:
Sho Tay
Age: 52 Occupation: Businessman
My wife and I have lived in Arcadia for 25 years. Our two children were born and raised in our beautiful city. I firmly believe that strong family values build the foundation of a great community such as ours.
With 30 years of successful business background and expertise, I am uniquely qualified to serve the city. My experience will be especially valuable for the city budget and improving efficiency in city services.
I am committed to providing safer streets and neighborhoods, improving traffic in school areas, and monitoring sensible growth for our city while safekeeping our rich history.
I will work closely with our schools to provide greater educational opportunities for our children. We need to protect our seniors and I plan to attend to their needs.
I strive to promote Community Unity, an inspiration where our youth, seniors, and community members of all ethnic backgrounds come together to create a better future.
I pledge to be your voice and bring a fresh image to our city government with integrity, dedication, compassion and transparency.
I am not just another candidate, but an experienced community leader who serves all the citizens of Arcadia.
www.electsho.com
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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