More to See From Alex See

I was in a quandary, of sorts.
 
Just because someone has Democratic friends, does that mean I should never vote for them? Just because the candidate has endorsed Democratic candidates for office, then I should never endorse them or vote for them?

With that kind of purity, I don't know if anyone would ever got a vote from anyone else.

Liberal Democrat Dianne Feinstein supported Condoleeza Rice's nomination to Secretary of State in 2005, even though Senator Barbara Boxer blasted the nominee, and questioned her integrity.

It made no difference, and Rice became the second African-American conservative Republican in one Administration.

No wonder fewer people take the Democratic Party's charges of racism against the GOP seriously.

Now I turn to Alex See, small business owner and Torrance City Council Candidate.

He shares the following remarks about his friendships and views on key issues:

Thanks Arthur for your article and concern about the well being of Torrance. 

Alex See

1.  I have known Ted Lieu [Democratic state senator] since 2000 and Al Muratsuchi [Democratic state Assemblyman] since 2004 before he became a school board member. I don't recall if I ever endorsed Lieu for any offices. I endorsed Al for school board and assembly elections because of our friendship.  I found Al very helpful and a man who kept his promises.   (Nathan [Mintz, GOP candidate or state assembly in 2012] is also my friend too, and he understood why I supported Al and not him.) Al helped me a lot when I was a board member and principal of Chinese school, he also volunteered in our Chinese Parents Group . We served on multiple school district's committees together over the last few years. 

 

Al endorsed my city council candidacy, but Ted has not.

 

For the record, Alex has not endorsed Al Muratsuchi for 2014 reelection to the State Assembly.

2.  I support current employees contributing more towards their pensions. However, we need to honor what was promised by prior councils. I want to make sure critical city services, especially regarding public safety, are not cut so that our public safety employees continue to make Torrance a safe city. We need to solve the issue by way of increasing city revenue without increasing taxes. I strongly oppose any tax increases paying into the pensions. 

 

I am satisfied with this statement.

Regarding the steps he has taken to ensure his retirement:

 

3. I am not wealthy but I am very comfortable with what I achieved so far.  I have a great family, good career, and good business.  I paid for my children to attend college and paid my taxes every year.  I contributed toward my 401K, and I can retire comfortably in a few years.  I don't envy others who received great pensions that they've earned through their service to our city.  As a business man, my goal is to make sure my employees are compensated fairly so that I can keep them for long time.  Satisfied employees are crucial to a successful business, and same goes for a successful community. 

Alex

 

Thanks, Alex, for responding to my questions and sharing your thoughts.

 

Alex came to a Torrance School Board Meeting when I asked him to in January. I had never met him before, and he had never met me, either. Shortly after the meeting, Alex  related to me many concerns he had about the city, but also his friendships with people on both sides of the political aisle.

 

A few months later, I have learned that many people who are handicapping the city council races are not fully informed about the individuals running. The task of vetting and voting is more time-consuming than I expected, and even Alex shared his frustration with some of the aspect of this council race.

 

No wonder most people don't even bother to vote! No wonder most people just fill in the box that says "Incumbent" or decide to vote for anyone but the incumbent when they receive their ballot. It takes more time to get all the facts, and the local media has not done the best job of seeking of providing this information.

 

Despite the back and forth from different people in Torrance, about insiders and outsiders (and all the round-about arguments), we the people have to make a decision if we choose to vote, and if we wait for the perfect, we will miss out the good.

 

Thanks again, Alex, for your responses.

 

I support Alex See for City Council!