The Naysayer? Other Issues, posted by GSB, a resident of the Castro City neighborhood, on Apr 12, 2009 at 10:23 pm
From Mercury News' "The Phantom":
NAYSAYER: Since joining the Mountain View City Council in January, Council Member John Inks has become quite the contrarian.
At last Tuesday's meeting, though he barely spoke, Inks was the only council member to vote against ... well, everything. He voted against using federal stimulus funds to pay firefighters (the federal government shouldn't be spending money it doesn't have), against the new Charleston East hotel project (the city shouldn't be spending money it doesn't have), and opposed using reserves to help balance the budget (the city ... you get the idea).
The Phantom watched the television premiere of "Parks and Recreation" this week and saw parallels with the parks director who doesn't want to build any parks. Guess that's to be expected from a Libertarian. But let's try for some variety next time, eh?
Posted by eric, a resident of another community, on Apr 12, 2009 at 11:39 pm
I'm not endorsing Inks or his votes (truly, I dont know what to make of him), but there is a very reasonable arguement to be made for not using one-time monies (ie- stimulus $) for ongoing operations. If the vote was a Jindal/Palin-esque refusal of the funds, then I question Inks and his fitness to represent my town.
I dont know if 'The Phantoms' parenthetical comments were just assumptions or a real reflection of Ink's views. If the former, then the Phantom is a lightweight. If the latter, he should have extrapolated. I personally oppose the Charleston hotel because of the gridlock it will create and the damage it will do to the business community out there. How is the city spending substantive cash on that-- they voted to choose a private developer!
Posted by Ezra, a resident of the Jackson Park neighborhood, on Apr 13, 2009 at 10:12 pm
I wonder how many people would vote for John Inks again if they knew he would vote this way. I bet a lot of people just voted for him last election because he took the time to walk all over town and distribute his flyers, not necessarily because they agreed with his views.
Posted by David Johnson, a resident of the Shoreline West neighborhood, on Apr 18, 2009 at 12:18 pm
Hurray for John Inks! Finally a city councilmen with common sense!
People out in the real world have to cut back their spending when the economy is rough and funds are tight. Government should do the same and cut back on its spending when revenues fall.
If fiscal sanity is "contrarian", then we need more contrarians!
Posted by Mike Laursen, a resident of the Monta Loma neighborhood, on Apr 18, 2009 at 1:48 pm
A lot of voters didn't know that much about Inks, but that's true of most voters when voting for ANY candidate. Inks is well-known among the more informed, though, and won because of his record of public service.
Don't take the Naysayer's comments too literally: I doubt, for example, that Inks is opposed to using the reserves to balance the budget. It's more likely he wants to make a strong effort to cut the budget where possible before using the reserves.
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