Thread: Escondido being driven to distraction

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Escondido, CA Focus Campaign
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Last modified Tuesday, October 3, 2006 12:34 AM PDT

Escondido being driven to distraction

By: North County Times Opinion Staff -

Our view: City Council's stumble into national debate with rental ban shows lamentable lack of leadership

Before Escondido's City Council members vote to ban landlords from renting apartments and houses to illegal immigrants tomorrow night, they have one more chance to reflect on where following this particular angry mob could lead the city.

There's no doubt illegal immigration has again become a hot-button issue locally and nationally. Folks are frustrated by what they see as a federal government unable, or unwilling, to stem the flow of those entering the United States illegally.


So, in a sense, Escondido's council members are representing their constituents, and that frustration. But leadership requires more than riding the election-year tide with the biggest political payoff.

We are reminded of Voltaire's story about the French revolutionary leader who saw the peasants rioting and said, "I must find out where my people are going so that I can lead them." It's bad enough that the City Council is following the mob, but it's even worse that the council doesn't seem to be considering where the mob is going.

True leadership demands more than playing to popular frustration and jumping to the front of the pack. We'd rather see City Council members leading the way to find specific solutions to citywide ---- not nationwide ---- problems. That's why we elected them in the first place.

The rental ban has become a dismaying distraction from the real issues facing Escondido ---- traffic, development, beautification and, yes, overcrowding. Supporters of the rental ban say ousting illegal immigrants addresses those problems, but it's an imprecise solution at best. If overcrowding is an issue, the city already has the power to act through its code enforcement and police powers without evicting thousands of residents. If only this council could muster the courage to address those problems over which it has jurisdiction.

Instead, Escondido's leaders are about to stake their claim to the national scapegoating of the Latino illegal-immigrant population. They are set to enact a law that targets a certain ethnic group in the city ---- unless you believe that complaints will be filed against landlords who rent to white residents, or that landlords will close their doors to would-be tenants who don't have the right papers but have the right skin color.

What's more, the law will be impossible, and costly, to enforce. This is all so City Council members can capitalize on raw, election-year emotions and say they're doing something about illegal immigration ---- a problem that can only be solved on the national level and not in the City Council chambers.

We're glad the council will also consider a provision to measure the costs of enforcing the ban and defending the city in what is sure to be a number of lawsuits. We welcome a tally of the burden on city coffers that this massive bureaucratic expansion surely entails. Such accountability should be standard for new government programs, but the three council members behind the rental ban ---- Marie Waldron, Sam Abed and Ed Gallo ---- vigorously resisted tallying the costs at first.

Business owners in other U.S. communities that have blazed the trail under consideration in Escondido are starting to report their sales are down since their local governments pulled up the welcome mat for their Latino and illegal-immigrant populations. Escondido's crackdown could have serious economic consequences far beyond city staff time and litigation defense.

In an era begging for enlightened leadership, Escondido's council majority seem content to follow the herd wherever it leads. We urge them to reconsider.

Business owners in other U.S. communities that have blazed the trail under consideration in Escondido are starting to report their sales are down since their local governments pulled up the welcome mat for their Latino and illegal-immigrant populations. Escondido's crackdown could have serious economic consequences far beyond city staff time and litigation defense.

In an era begging for enlightened leadership, Escondido's council majority seem content to follow the herd wherever it leads. We urge them to reconsider.

Huh? "Enlightened leadership?" What does that mean? If you are for enforcing our laws, you are not enlightened?

"Follow the herd wherever it leads?" That "herd" you are talking about are American citizens! Rightfully angry about illegal aliens in their country!

This must be written by some left-wing elitist.

D.W.

Originally Posted by DavidWidman

Business owners in other U.S. communities that have blazed the trail under consideration in Escondido are starting to report their sales are down since their local governments pulled up the welcome mat for their Latino and illegal-immigrant populations. Escondido's crackdown could have serious economic consequences far beyond city staff time and litigation defense.

In an era begging for enlightened leadership, Escondido's council majority seem content to follow the herd wherever it leads. We urge them to reconsider.

Huh? "Enlightened leadership?" What does that mean? If you are for enforcing our laws, you are not enlightened?
Create a Vacuum, Fill the Void
Law of Nature.............business will improve in short time as solid citizens begin to flow back into the areas that were negatively impacted by the Illegals. Never fails but takes time to rebuild. Business will do just what they did when the Illegals flowed in.......they adjust their services to the environment.
"Follow the herd wherever it leads?" That "herd" you are talking about are American citizens! Rightfully angry about illegal aliens in their country!

This must be written by some left-wing elitist.

D.W.